Bye Bye, Polystyrene!

I am at the stage where the vast majority of the polystyrene has been hidden on the Ashlett Creek board. Only the mill and dock is yet to be covered in clay (the dock will have to wait until the track is bought etc), and the space where the pub will go. On to the photos:

I was just about to cover the hill with clay when I realised trees would be unlikely to grow on a slope that steep. Having looked it up, I knew the gradient had to be lessened to at least 1:2...

... And so out came the little saw and the hot wire cutter, and now we have something that looks a lot more plausible!

Then it was time to cover it in clay! As you can see, the change was really worth it. The smooth slope looks so much better, and when filled with trees and thick bramble I think this will end up exactly as originally planned! Note the fence panels ready to be erected in the pub car park (after painting of course!).

I also added more clay to the road in front of the pub, and also either side of the standard gauge line that the 5 ton travelling crane will sit on. The eagle-eyed amongst you may notice that I've shifted the location of the points back to give me longer sidings on the quay.

One last thing I would like to mention in this post is that I'm currently trying to decide what type of loco shed to go for. I was going to build a ramshackle corrugated iron shed with a pitched roof. However, the thought has also crossed my mind that I could build a corrugated iron curved roof engine shed. Kind of like a nissen hut, but not quite. Any ideas welcome!