Summer holiday = loads more progress!

've spent the last few days doing a little bit of research on Google Earth just to try and get a feel and understanding for the line and the topography. Now I know most of it as I live in the area but it is always worth double checking. After a couple days thinking and sketching I've come up with something a bit wacky! As usual, there is no scale so this could be 12ft long or 30ft - but that's not important right now considering it'll be an exhibition layout meaning it won't be a permanent fixture in the (unbuilt) shed. This has allowed me to go a bit crazy and draw a plan that is frankly probably far too big to get away with.

The most challenging thing I found whilst drawing this sketch was how to fit all my favourite components of the area onto one layout, and yet still keep it looking correct and viable. I found getting two stations onto one layout tough to get to look right. This is simply because if you have them too close it will look silly, and so I've gone for a oval shaped layout with the two stations at either side to give maximum distance.

Anyway, I realised this plan is probably quite confusing and far too large, but it's fun to play around.

The problem with the plan (apart from it being so flippin big!) is that I'm not sure how well a layout with all four sides viewable will work in an exhibition environment. Of course, I could just exhibit one half of the layout on its own!






So I've been working on starting the concrete bridge at Bickerly Common this morning. I've started about half of the brick piers - I noticed each has 3 semi-circular arches not 2 as I originally thought. I think I might build the concrete deck shell from plasticard but then cover it in DAS modellling clay to get the texture and thickness. To scale, the bridge would be 139cm long or thereabouts (that's roughly 4.5ft!) so I don't think I'll be doing it quite to scale length. But then again... I am actually quite tempted!




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