Everything in black and white
How do you create a composition… of decomposition? Paul A. Lunn shows you how to formulate a layout that captures the essence of neglect and decay.
Paul Lunn shows you how to capture the bittersweet essence of neglect and decay.
This month’s issue focuses on dirt and grime. You might think that the application of weathering and suchlike is one of the last jobs you’d undertake on a model railway. But can dirt and grime actually influence layout design? It’s certainly a concept that fits well with my interest in, shall we say, ‘well-worn’ locations – particularly the West Riding area of my home county of Yorkshire. I grew up during a time when the railway landscape was rapidly shrinking. Beeching’s rationalisation struck the harshest blow. Lines that had taken years to build, and had served for generations, were abandoned almost overnight. Dereliction was rife across the railway. Even stations and lines that were well patronised still had an air of neglect about them, and staff morale was low. Viewing the railway as a national asset, it was demoralising. And yet, to a budding artist, there was a strange sort of beauty in the run-down railway. There was a pleasing compositional delight to be found in overgrown track, dilapidated buildings, ripped up lines, rain-stained surfaces, rusting steel and the pervasive spread of rubbish. With that in mind, I used a technique that I call ‘composite design’, to produce layout concepts that take a more artistic approach to portraying the post-beeching Yorkshire that I grew up with.
“Viewing the railway as a national asset, it was demoralising. And yet, to a budding artist, there was a strange sort of beauty in the run-down railway”