Happy New Year

2017 came and went so quickly.  So much has been done on the railway,  I'm pretty happy with how it has developed.  In 2018 we should start to see just how the scenic side of things will look,  which is my favorite part of building a model railway.  Perhaps,  a first locomotive project will get under way,  and I must do something for coaching stock, the passengers are complaining about riding in open wagons  !

Happy Holidays

  Just a bit of fun :)  quickly filmed video featuring a " special " delivery to Windrush Junction.  Work on the railway for 2017 is just about finished for the year.  A lot has been accomplished considering the limited time I've had to work on it.  All track / electrical work complete,  control panels finished,  extension to fiddle / storage sidings in closet finished (* topic of future post),  track painted,  platforms built,  main station building,  loco shed,  and water tower all built and mostly finished say a little weathering / detailing. Fortunately a lot more modelling to look forward to in 2018,  so much to do ;)

From the staff of the B.B.R. ~ 
We Wish Everyone a Happy Holiday Season,  and a Super Healthy Fun Productive 2018  !      Cheers,   Felix

Windrush Junction

  Latest development is the completion (is anything ever completely finished on a layout ?) of the station building for "Windrush Junction".   

What's in a name ?   With the dock / seaside village of "Boxer Bay"  I needed a name for my other station.  A splendid suggestion from my Dad who came up with it.  For those classic English Comedy film fans,  you might be able to figure out where the name came from !

 The Station is a nice kit from Skytrex,  formally NMB models.   Resin with white metal details. It went together with minimal work,  and the size fits in nicely with the space available and theme of my Col. Stephens railway.  Now time to start adding some details,  and get painting some proper figures !     I'm working on some history (fictional of course) notes for the B.B.R.,  complete with maps and slightly updated / revised track plan.    Cheers

Stone Bridge

  More progress on the creek and stone bridge this week.   The plaster bridge casting was painted and weathered with acrylic paints and chalk powders.  Later I added a bit of vegetation growth on the side with Woodland Scenics flock and some Elmers glue.   The creek now has a base.  I'm pretty happy with the overall shape and look.  Next phase will be painting and then the tricky bit of adding the water,  which I've never done before !

Adding the creek

Operating my railway the other day,  I decided it was time to make it less flat,  and discovered I had a nice plaster casting of a stone bridge that just happened to be the right size for a small bridge,  so out came the saws,  carving knives and after an afternoon of some fun,  this is the result.  I do plan on having a couple hills and tunnels,  but I thought this was a nice variation on the terrain,  lower then track level.   Next up is painting & weathering the bridge,  as well as maybe a detail or 2,  and installation.  Then the creek itself is up next.  This is what I really enjoy about building a layout,  scenery,  so much fun !

Col. ~ The Water's Arrived !

  "Col.  The water tower is finished !"  There was much rejoicing in Boxer Bay,  another important structure is now complete  (at least for now).  A very nice resin kit by Skytrex (originally by NMB models I believe).   It looks very impressive and definitely demonstrates the awesome size of O scale structures.  I'm happy that I didn't try to jam in more track then I'd originally wanted to !   With the position of the loco shed and tower,  it frames the view of passing trains through the station nicely.

  Who am I kidding,  building these structures is just delaying the unavoidable track ballasting,  guess I'd better start soon,  maybe tomorrow,  or next week,  it'll kill a few cold dark Winter hours I'm sure.
Cheers !

 Love this vantage point !