Boston Lodge Halt in 009…

I have been working on this project on and off for several months now but for one reason and another it hasn’t really featured before on the blog. Let me introduce ‘Boston Lodge Halt’ in 009…

Born at the same time as the Boston Lodge commission from last year, this smaller cameo layout fits in exactly the same footprint as Pont Dulas, just 60cm wide. The experiment in these small compositions was raising the track bed above the base of the cameo and this again, as with the N gauge scene, feels very promising.

If you look back at the original layout design ‘Frivolous Ffestiniog’ you’ll see the original intention was for Billy book case sized modules. I had spoken with Ben, my customer at an exhibition and his passion for the idea has turbo charged its development and he adopted my shed scene and it quickly became his own - he is still very happy with it sharing photos on his social media (take a look), but here, below with my Prince it’s interesting to think of the possibilities of these two layouts together.

That said I’ve swapped the orientation so that we are now viewing from the road and the back of the old engine shed will be represented in low relief on the right of the scene. The box follows my usual construction methods of 6mm MDF with a hardboard rear and lid. 

Terra forming is just strips of corrugated card let over from Christmas deliveries cut up and glued in place, to form the shape under which plaster bandage and filler could mould a believable hard shell. This has since been painted and I’ve started on the myriad of trees that the scene requires, probably another couple to go… the feeling I’ve tried to capture here is discovery. Walking up the path hearing the locomotive before you see it. The embrace of the lush green trees around a sylvaen setting, timeless.

Not the worlds most operationally challenging layout mind, this is another ‘composition’ piece and as with Pont Dulas will be for sale when completed.

I’ve enjoyed its genesis so far and with the basic structure and wiring done I can lay the track and get that painted and ballasted before starting on detailing and structures… then scenery. 

I always find January a bad month for my modeling creativity and mojo and whilst this (and a few new projects yet to reach the blog) have helped it is still difficult. I know I’m not alone in this wax and wane of at various times of the year as our moods oscillate with some hidden pulse of life but I’m lucky that these days, in the whole, there is something I can turn my hand or mind to which helps. I hope you can too. Until next time, more soon…

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