Mosslanda: A B C D (A Bridge, Canopy and DMU)...

You can tell it's the end of another year, the puns in titles are getting worse! Lots to share from recent weeks on Wrecsam Canolog (Wrexham Central), my 55cm long, 9cm deep micro shelf layout in N gauge...

Throughout this project I've been torn between producing the station 'as it is today' (or any particular period in the past 30 odd years), or a mash-mash, a caricature perhaps, but one that would support a variety of stock as the mood takes me? Well I've found myself making decisions more towards the latter and as such photos of the classic 1st generation Class 101 DMU on the Borderlands services in the late 1990s became too much to resist and a second (or third/fourth/fifth) hand Farish example in Regional Railways now graces the platform. This is a nice runner but lacked a box or detailing parts so I have since cobbled together something passable - the photo above shows her on arrival. I must look at how to replace the head code blinds with something more suitable as well! This photo, posed as if taken from the road bridge, shows how well the various textures work together, and how the eye, even in this angle, is fooled by the painted surface of the platform.

The biggest challenge on this small layout was how to represent the canopy, and as I have future plans to model a little of Chester station, this smaller 'modern' shelter seemed a good proving ground. The results, above, looked promising but next time I need to think of some form of jig production because it was difficult to keep each arm equidistant and parallel to one another. The end results are worth the effort though, and it looks well here - balanced temporarily on some rather fat pillars - these will be replaced with something more accurate before installation. You can just about make out (bottom right) that the buffers are also now installed - a RAWIE with hydraulic rams behind - the former from a 3D part by Rusty Rails and the latter scratch built.

 

At the exit of the layout I was keen to represent the road bridge and its distinctive shape - as well as the recent addition of support steelwork in the former second track position. This is all formed from various types of styrene, and whilst not 100% accurate, I hope captures the feel of the station and prototype. 

Next up is some paint, and the beginning of finer detailing including the most insanely fiddly looking metal benches from N brass - I hope to keep up the focus on this over the holiday season and will share further progress soon - until next time though...

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