Staff Show & Tell
A sneak peak at what the Model Rail team have been getting up to.
Itook a couple of weeks of I leave in early July, meaning that progress on ‘Lisburn Lane’ has been modest this month. Indeed, I made a point of taking a break from model railways completely and indulged some of my other hobbies instead. I’m glad that I did, as I’m now itching to get on with this project.
Since returning, several evenings have been spent building the main overbridge that will stand beside the station. I’d initially thought I’d be able to re-use the salvaged remains of the bridge from the earlier version of this layout. After consideration though, I opted for an all-new structure, which is taller, deeper and longer than my first attempt. I’ve also decided to add a second arch on the ‘landward’ side, which will allow a station approach road to be incorporated.
The raw materials for construction came from a Wills three-arch viaduct kit which, as well as the arch sections, also provides material to create piers and plinths. There will be quite a lot of leftover material, but the large expanses of stonework have been harnessed to create infill sections between the twin arches. Wills dressed stone embossed sheets have also been used to create the wing walls, buttresses and parapets.
The bridge has been built at an early stage – before the track has been laid – to allow the required shape, size and position of the exit portal in the backscene to be discerned. Now that the bridge is complete, the profile of the arch has been traced onto the plywood backscene and the curved aperture will soon be cut out. This is a job planned for the next few weeks.
As for the opposite end of the baseboard, a smaller portal will be cut into the backscene, as this exit is to be disguised by a line of trees rather than a fixed structure.