COVERING THE GROUND

A look at archive images of the more humble goods yards reveal that the ground cover was invariably compacted cinders, which were a cheap and effective by-product of the steam-age railway. Other options include cobbled ways, which can be recreated with embossed plastic sheets, or by scribing a bed of wet plaster or modelling clay. Cobbles seemed too grand for my yard, but laying loose, ultra-fine scatter material felt like an extra – and unwelcome – chore. Instead, I spread a fine layer of decorator’s plaster over the ground between the sidings and out onto the approach road. With the plaster smoothed out with a small plasterer’s trowel, I took the opportunity to lay the ballast over the tracks. It’s worth bearing in mind that the track and ballast in sidings and goods yards was maintained less frequently and less diligently than the main running lines and this is something worth copying in miniature. We can achieve a variety of weathered finishes with paints later, but we can also give ourselves a head start by mixing up different shades of ballast. Hatton’s has recently branched out further with its own Constructor range of highquality, real stone chippings. These are available in a variety of grades and colours (ballast, coal, sand, limestone and more) and a single shade was employed on the main line. In contrast, a mixture of medium grey ballast and coke (both fine grades) was created before applying to the track. Ballasting can be a drag at the best of times, but progress was swift, thanks to Ballast Bond adhesive from Deluxe Materials. That said, the freezing January temperatures meant that the glue took a few days to harden completely. After painting and weathering the track, textured acrylic paints were brushed over the groundwork, providing a convincing impression of compacted loose material. A number of different shades were mixed together to create some random tonal shifts and avoid an overly uniform appearance. Some excellent textured acrylics exist in the Tamiya range, but I tried out some new products from Wilder. Available in ‘Fine’ or ‘Stony’ grades, I opted for the former and, once thinned with a little water, the paint spread itself evenly over the surface. Some extra work with an airbrush and regular acrylics allowed some fine-tuning and the creation of shading effects, suggesting tyre marks and staining. The airbrush helps to achieve a seamless transition between track and road surfaces, although dry weathering powders can create similar effects.