Reeves - Modelling Railway Scenery: Volume 1 - Cuttings, Hills, Mountains, Streams and Lakes

MODELLING RAILWAY SCENERY

VOLUME I

CUTTINGS, HILLS, MOUNTAINS,
STREAMS AND LAKES

ANTHONY REEVES

THE CROWOOD PRESS

First published in 2013 by
The Crowood Press Ltd
Ramsbury, Marlborough
Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2014

Anthony Reeves 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84797 620 8

Dedication
For Nic, Luke, Libby and Benson
and my family, past, present and future.
Take a look around and enjoy every day.

Acknowledgements
The author and publisher would like to thank the following companies for their generous support in the making of this book: A K Interactive, Deluxe materials, Javis Manufacturing Ltd, Noch, P&D Marsh Model Railways, Treemendus.

Disclaimer
The author and the publisher do not accept any responsibility in any manner whatsoever for any error or omission, or any loss, damage, injury, adverse outcome, or liability of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any of the information contained in this book, or reliance upon it. If in doubt about any aspect of scenic modelling, readers are advised to seek professional advice.

CONTENTS

SCENERY n.

the general appearance of the natural features of a landscape, esp. when picturesque.

(Theatre) the painted representations of landscape, rooms, etc., used as the background in a play etc.

INTRODUCTION SETTING THE SCENE

STARTING OUT

Being born in 1967, I missed out on the steam era of British railways, growing up in a time of diesel and electric locomotives. In recent years, a number of the classes from my era have also been consigned to the history books. One element of rail travel that does stay more constant, however, is the countryside through which the trains pass. I have always had a fascination with all elements of railway scenery, both in the real world and in the scale-model world. It is fascinating how the landscape, structures and railways have a profound effect on each other.

I was given my first train set as a gift in 1977, the year of the Queens Silver Jubilee and a great year for music too. It was the Hornby InterCity 125 (HST) set, which, if I remember rightly, consisted of two power cars, one for each end of the train, with a single carriage plonked in between them. The set also contained an oval of track, battery power module, power clip, uncoupling ramp and a cardboard tunnel. It was the tunnel that, even at the age of ten, I found to be the least acceptable item a foot-long arch of cardboard that served no purpose at all. I doubt if mine ever graced the oval of track more than once.

On reflection, it was actually that cardboard tunnel that was the biggest inspiration of the whole train set, as it led me to make my own tunnels on a scenic baseboard for my new train to chase its tail around. Over time, more track was added, to create a double track oval with a couple of points for the train to switch tracks. A few sidings were added towards the front. This was pinned to an 8 x 4ft chipboard base. The base was split down its centre lengthways with an imaginary line, and two plastic moulded tunnel mouths were added, one at each end of the oval.

Fig. 1. Railways run through diverse surroundings, from stunningly beautiful scenery to the most built-up industrial areas of Britain.

Fig. 2. Two power cars are all that remain from that original HST set.

From that point I was free to create my first scenic baseboard. I used chicken wire to make a hillside that joined the two tunnel mouths together. This hillside is what separated the front scenic side of the layout from the fiddle yard at the rear of the layout. Looking back, it may have been a waste of space to have included a fiddle yard on the layout as no one but me and a few family and friends would ever see it. However, I wanted to give the impression that the trains were actually going somewhere when they entered the tunnels and returning from some far-flung part of the country when they reappeared, not just going round and round the same track.

This all happened thirty-five years ago. These days, of course, there is a far wider choice of scenic modelling materials available. Nonetheless, some of the basic building materials and principles I used then are still in use today.

Concentrating on the scenery of what became much more than a train set once I had given it my attention, it had become a model railway completely took over from running the trains. I enjoyed and learnt so much from my early experiences that, when the layout was finished, I took it up and reworked the whole setting. My passion for the scenic elements of railway modelling eventually led me to develop the Treemendus range of scenic modelling materials, which are used today by modellers worldwide.

EARLY INSPIRATION

Most of my childhood weekends and school holidays were spent in our local woods and surrounding areas, climbing trees, bird watching and taking in the sights and smells of natural open places. I have always had a fascination with the way trees and plants grow, the way they interact with each other and their ever-changing forms and colours. As I walk our dog Benson every day, usually down the same lane towards the river Mersey, the shape, colour and quantity of the plants around us seem to change almost on a daily basis. As old plants die back, new ones spurt into growth to replace them. Depending on the atmospheric conditions, colours change, seemingly before our very eyes. Streams and rivers always seem to find the most convenient route and are very much affected by what lies under the ground as, over time, they cut their way through the landscape. Altitude and the harsh elements in mountainous areas have a huge effect on the appearance and characteristics of the way things grow and die.

Fig. 3. Traditional British countryside, showing the incredible variety of colours and textures.

It is important to remember that much of the scenery you will be creating for your model railway is quite literally as old as the hills. It was there long before the railways. Railways were built over streams, under hills, around lakes and through mountains because they had to be. If you can replicate this in any way in your models, it will give a better impression of the prototype. It can also be used to your advantage. Remember the cardboard tunnel? It served no real purpose, but if you put a tunnel mouth at the point just before the spur enters the fiddle yard, it can deceive the eye and therefore the brain into thinking that the train has entered a tunnel that