Viaducts and variety
Bob Taylor describes how an intrepid band of modellers built one of the finest stretches of the ‘Settle & Carlisle’ in just 19ft.
A trio of modellers have built one of the finest stretches of the Settle-carlisle in ‘N’.
Trivia question. What is the highest operational railway station on the Network Rail network in England? The answer is Dent, on the Settle-carlisle. And which station is furthest away from its namesake town, village or city? Almost four-and-ahalf miles away from its namesake village, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s also Dent station, but there’s one that beats it. Answer to come later. Back to Dent. Unless you have a 152ft model railway room, you won’t be able to depict the station and the village on the same layout – not even in ‘N’ gauge. Modelling friends Bob Taylor, Wayne Webb and Tony Frazer have, therefore, left it off. “There were a few reasons why we chose Dent on the Settle & Carlisle,” explains Bob. “Principally, it was those two large viaducts [Arten Gill and Dent Head], which we knew would make the layout attractive to the public at exhibitions. It was built with showing it in mind, so appealing to as many people as possible was an important factor. “We also wanted to run full-length trains, so ‘N’ gauge was a natural choice. Wayne and I both had large collections of ‘N’ gauge models from previous layouts and we wanted to make use of them. “Since the ‘S&C’ is so diverse, with locomotives from a range of eras still running, it was the perfect subject to model.”
“Since the ‘S&C’ is so diverse, with locomotives from a range of eras still running, it was the perfect subject to model”
Diversity
Such is the ‘S&C’S’ diversity that, at a two-day show, different eras can run on different days and still maintain accuracy; 1950s and 1960s locomotives grace the rails on day one with modern traction on day two. “Because of the extensive range [of models] we already had, we have stuck with analogue control for ‘Dentdale’,” says Bob. “Converting our collection to DCC would have been far too expensive. “The trackwork is very simple, apart from a few points at the station and the fiddleyard behind, so our Gaugemaster controller copes very well.” The electrics were carried out by Tony, who created four isolating sections on each of the six fiddleyard lines, allowing for a maximum of 24 trains to be stored behind the layout at any one time depending on their length. Two hundred relays are installed underneath the baseboards to provide power to the layout. ‘Dentdale’s’ 19ft length is spread over five
“We carefully marked the position of every single tree on the layout so that everything was perfect”
baseboards made from 12mm plywood and softwood legs, which fold for when they’re being taken to and from exhibitions. On top of the plywood, the landscape is a cardboard lattice made from old cereal boxes, covered in paper kitchen towel rather than the more traditional plaster bandage. “We covered the kitchen towel in PVA glue and it set rock hard,” says Bob. “We’ve had no problems with it so far after taking it to over 50 shows and it was a bit cheaper than the plaster, so I would definitely recommend it! “The moorland has been created with a mixture of
grass mat and scatter material, although the majority of the scenery has been done with the latter.”
MAPPED TO PERFECTION
Modellers can go to great lengths to ensure accuracy in their layouts, spending hours poring over track plans and renumbering locomotives so that they are exactly right. The ‘Dentdale’ team have taken this one step further. “We used Google Maps to get everything correct, as many people do, so we knew how many arches were on each bridge and how the road twists and turns. We also carefully marked the position of every single tree on the layout so that everything was perfect. The only thing that isn’t where it should be is the church on the right-hand side of the layout – we’ve moved it by about a mile to allow us to include it.
“Once we knew where everything was going, we could begin the construction. Wayne made the buildings while I worked on the scenery. Everything is scratchbuilt apart from the stationmaster’s house and the two signal boxes, which are heavily modified Ratio kits. “The viaducts each took a month to finish. They’re built using 6mm plywood for their frames with cardboard and plastic card forming the exterior detail. I used cardboard as the former and coated it in bird cage grit before painting it an appropriate stone colour.”
LAYER UPON LAYER
With such attention to detail it is clear to see how the project took two years to complete. Two streams adorn the layout, created by building up many layers of clear varnish. Each one took a long time to dry. The team were particularly careful with this as they’re well aware of the dangers of pouring on a layer that’s so thick it never dries. Some modellers consider it easier to model a rural station than an urban one as there is less to include on the layout, but it can be just as difficult to model a rural station well, as there are fewer items and they receive a lot more scrutiny as a result. The ‘Dentdale’ team have spent a long time getting everything perfect and their efforts have paid off in this superb model. As for that trivia question, as far as we are aware Tiverton Parkway is the station furthest away from its namesake town – at 6.3 miles!