Fablewood (Coed Y Chwedlau)

David Hennessey · December 27, 2015, 10:12

Quote from: Scott Rixon on December 27, 2015, 08:01
Just played catchup on this thread to see what you have been doing, very nice. You've got a great little layout coming together and great that you have been able to exhibit it, something I'd like to do one day.

Thank you kindly Scott! :)

tedp · January 07, 2016, 09:18

Happy New Year to you, David.

Have you been able to do more work on the layout recently? It seems the Rainhill show was a great success.

David Hennessey · January 07, 2016, 10:45

Quote from: tedp on January 07, 2016, 09:18
Happy New Year to you, David.

Have you been able to do more work on the layout recently? It seems the Rainhill show was a great success.

Hello Ted, and happy new year to you as well.

I am presently taking a short break from working on Fablewood following it's debut outing, but I will resume the task again shortly. The fencing is to be completed, plus more scenics need to be done.

David Hennessey · January 20, 2016, 11:25

20/01/2016

After a short break between Fablewood's exhibition debut and Christmas 2015, it was back to work...

One of the first jobs to be tackled, was another cutting to partially mask one entrance to the fiddle yard. As with all the other hills and cuttings, this one is made out of styrofoam material, and will be covered over with plaster and paint in due course. A picture of the completed product will follow...

In the station area, it was decided to create retaining walls to protect the station ramp; before, it resembled a real life situation where someone using the ramp (whether walking, using a wheelchair or otherwise), could fall off and cause themselves an injury (and Health & Safety wouldn't be too pleased about that!). To do this, foam-core board is being used, with the protective film stripped off, and replaced with Metcalfe brick sheeting. Some measuring and cutting of the foam-core board was carried out, and gaps were cut into the paving slabs on the 'pedestrian' side of the ramp.

Whilst all this was going on, remember that gap I left in the 'pedestrian' area of the station forecourt? It has been decided to place a flowerbed in that gap, topped with small strips of rectangular plastic painted grey. The strips were measured and cut accordingly, painted twice, and glued into position. They will eventually incorporate grass and flowers.

Another job to do, was to apply filler material at the bottom of the hills, cuttings and the inner ramp of the level crossing, to cover unsightly gaps. All this filler will eventually be painted over and covered in scenics, in due course.

Another piece of rolling stock joins the ranks. An L&B brake third, in the style of the Ffestiniog's Snapper Bar (aka Carr 14); as the layout is set in the present day, this will make a fine addition as an unusual visitor to the railway!

Finally for now, Fablewood has another exhibition appearance on it's hands. On the weekend of Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th March 2016, the layout will be at Rainhill again, but this time as part of the Rainhill MRC's main annual exhibition. This is held every year at the Rainhill Village Hall; a note for your diaries!

More progress to follow, as it unfolds. Comments welcomed as always.

David Hennessey · February 02, 2016, 20:49

02/02/2016

Work continued on the retaining walls around Fablewood's station ramp. This was achieved by cutting half an inch of foam board, peeling the backings off each side, and replacing it with Metcalfe brick sheeting. Then, a small amount of balsa was cut to the right thickness and length, glued onto the tops of the foamboard pieces and painted red. The walls were then fixed into position, and any white spaces in the brick sheeting painted over on the top.

(Note that there was originally a piece of Dapol platform fencing in place at the 'South' end of the platform, but it broke off. Another piece of fencing will take it's place shortly.)

Meanwhile on the motive power front, the railway's first diesel engine makes it's appearance, in the shape of the Chiver's Ffestiniog 'Harlech Castle' style locomotive (kit courtesy of Stan Williams at the Rainhill 009 show last November). Incidentally this happens to be the first time ever, that I've put a white metal kit together! Powered by a Graham Farish J94 chassis added separately, the kit was put together with superglue (a slightly messy process, as some parts kept breaking off) and has recently been painted up in plain green, with red framework and yellow warning panels. The real Harlech Castle was designed for permanent way use, but I've decided that, on the count of having a good running motor, the loco I built would be most suitable for mixed traffic purposes. Trial runs have taken place, and apart from a few minor niggles, the loco runs smoothly. She will remain nameless for the time being, until I come up with one.

Here she is:

Since the above pictures were taken, the paint on the framework was touched up, and small white plastic pieces added underneath to give a small degree of space between the rail heads and the frames.

More to follow, as progress unfolds. Comments welcomed as always.

David Hennessey · February 10, 2016, 16:39

10/02/2016

I finally got round to starting work on the scenics on Fablewood. One of the first tasks involved, was to smarten up the backboards with a roll of Premium Range photographic paper backscenes. My uncle had a roll of 'Hills & Dales' leftover, and was very kindly donated to the project. Whilst the forestry on the paper backscene may not be as quite as dense as I thought it would be, it does more or less look convincingly realistic.

The paper was glued onto the backboards with ordinary PVA glue, with crocodile clamps to pin down any errant pieces that didn't quite stick to the glue! For the purpose of adding the paper backscenes, the rear cuttings were temporarily removed. After the glue had dried, holes were cut out of the fiddle yard exits on either side.

Whilst this was going on, it was decided to turn one of the hills into a giant slate boulder:

(Note: This was the first coat. The second will be applied shortly)

To branch out into another area of scenic work, the first trees on Fablewood appeared. (Excuse the bad tree joke!) These were made of Hornby Skaledale tree trunks, with Woodland Scenics foliage clusters glued onto the branches.

Much more to do... Comments welcomed as always!

David Hennessey · February 16, 2016, 21:14

16/02/2016

Today saw stage one of the grass laying take place. This was achieved, with help from my dad, by spreading a thin layer of PVA glue, before adding 'forest floor' brown and a mixture of light and dark grass material. The hillsides were slightly tricky to do, but my dad and I somehow managed it. Also, following a suggestion, two 'footpaths' cutting from the platform and the bottom track were laid.

When the PVA is dried out completely, small dashes of hairspray will be used to seal the grass material (taking care not to get it into any vital components of course!).

Stage two, the backscene area, will commence once I've got bush material around the cottages. Meantime, here's a selection of snaps showing the results of today's labours.

More to follow, as progress unfolds. Comments welcomed as always.

Jeff Schumaker · February 17, 2016, 14:36

It's coming along nicely, David.

Jeff S.

David Hennessey · February 17, 2016, 14:51

Quote from: Jeff Schumaker on February 17, 2016, 14:36
It's coming along nicely, David.

Jeff S.

Thank you Jeff! Still a bit more to do before it's next outing, but it's really starting to come alive. :)

Thanks again for commenting!

MickT · February 17, 2016, 17:24

OK David, apologies for a little distraction, but can you give details of what the little orange car is please? (!) ie scale and make. I pretty sure it isn't an Oxford so I am assuming it might be one of those German 1/87 scale jobs. I do hope not as I am on the prowl myself for modern image 1/76 cars - plenty of 1950's to 70's around thanks to Oxford & Pocketbond Classix but very few modern cars it seems.

Mick

Gerhard Novak · February 17, 2016, 18:19

Whatever brand the car is it looks like an older Mercedes a-class to me. And it looks like diecast to e. Is it from Schuco?

David Hennessey · February 17, 2016, 21:32

Quote from: MickT on February 17, 2016, 17:24
OK David, apologies for a little distraction, but can you give details of what the little orange car is please? (!) ie scale and make. I pretty sure it isn't an Oxford so I am assuming it might be one of those German 1/87 scale jobs. I do hope not as I am on the prowl myself for modern image 1/76 cars - plenty of 1950's to 70's around thanks to Oxford & Pocketbond Classix but very few modern cars it seems.

Mick

Quote from: Gerhard Novak on February 17, 2016, 18:19
Whatever brand the car is it looks like an older Mercedes a-class to me. And it looks like diecast to e. Is it from Schuco?

Thanks for the comments gentlemen, regarding the car. ~~Not sure who made it though; I just came across it at random, whilst looking for some stuff to add to the layout. Seeing how it's 1/76 scale, it'll fit in nicely anyway!~~

EDIT - Searching around elsewhere, confirms that it is a ~~Herpa~~ Caramara model. Technically 1/72 scale, but I might be able to get away with it!

David Hennessey · August 24, 2016, 20:44

Hello, David here!

All is quiet with Fablewood at the moment; no further work has been done, but due to another exhibition appearance (which I'll explain in a tick), it is likely that things will be perking up again shortly. Watch out for an update coming soon...

Fablewood's next exhibition outing is on Saturday 22nd October 2016, at the Stephenson Model Railway Group's third annual exhibition being held near Rainhill, Merseyside. The show runs from 10:00 in the morning till 17:00 in the afternoon, and Fablewood is among nine layouts appearing, as well as a few traders and modelling demonstrations.

The venue is the Old Guide Hall located on the corner of Old Land and Stoney Lane near Rainhill; five minutes or so away from the village centre. Entry is

David Hennessey · October 26, 2016, 20:33

October 2016

Time for a rather overdue update with progress...

Since May 2016 when Fablewood was last out, yours truly has taken a break from working on it, while figuring out what needs to be done next. But with another recent exhibition appearance on the cards, a few minor things had to be put in order. We'll take a look at a few small examples.

First off, the field beside the cottages now boasts some grazing sheep and a gentleman out for a stroll along the footpath. However, there are one or two rebels in this flock; one is eating the flowers out of one of the cottage gardens...

...and another is wandering up the road towards the level crossing, where the Peco fencing also received some attention, and one of the trees which had been knocked down, was glued back into position with more scatter laid down around it...

The goods yard has also been seen to as well. The platform now boasts a Ratio goods crane (painted brown), and a few items have been added. A porter is moving milk churns over to the road loading area, and a few oil drums are awaiting collection. Meanwhile, the coal bunker now has a load of it's own; pink foam material cut to shape, painted black twice, and real crushed coal scattered over a layer of PVA glue. Not sure if I got the size of the coal pile correct, but I'll let you decide.

Five months back, I bolstered the steam fleet by taking delivery of a Peco 'Glyn Valley Tramway' style tram locomotive, which was purchased from the Society's sales department. She's currently running in the livery it came in (though some slight touching up had to be done), but a repaint may be on the cards in the not too distant future. Here she is, with a passenger service at Fablewood station.

A few more passengers have been added to the station platforms, and a postman has turned up to do his usual near-daily collection of the local mail (passengers travelling on the trains and the cottage occupants often post letters/postcards into the letterbox outside the station, hence the post van coming out on an almost daily basis).

Fablewood enjoyed it's third and final exhibition outing for 2016, when it attended the Stephenson Model Railway Group's third annual one-day show, on Saturday 22nd October 2016. The layout performed very well, and was met with more positive comments from the public. Here are a few scenes taken during this exhibition appearance.

So what's next, you might ask? One of the next tasks is to have some of the permanent way weathered (namely oil spillage and used ballast; if anyone has any tips on how to go about this task, feel free to speak up), and to fit some perspex in front of the layout. However, it won't be permanent; it would only be fitted for exhibition outings, and removed at home for photography purposes.

For now though, comments welcomed as always.

David Hennessey · November 14, 2016, 17:21

11th and 12th November 2016

On Friday 11th and Saturday 12th November 2016, Fablewood made a surprise public outing. Only it wasn't to an exhibition somewhere in the North West, but a very unlikely location... The store of Hatton's Model Railways! (The one relocated from it's old base at Smithdown Road in Liverpool, to the present base on Montague Road near Widnes)

The shop was marking it's 70th anniversary, and contacted me three days earlier to ask if I wouldn't mind bringing Fablewood down, to form a small display as part of the festivities. Well, this was one offer too good to refuse, and I was only too happy to oblige (not to mention being honoured to help mark a very special milestone for the former Liverpool-based business)!

Fablewood performed very well as usual, and shop customers showed great interest and left very kind comments. Below, is a selection of pictures taken over the two days of operation...

Yours truly, in his element!

A great few days out, and as mentioned earlier, it was a real honour to be part of a very special occasion for Hatton's.

Comments welcomed as always.