NOV 20 Scorbiton

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Factfile
Layout name: Scorbiton 
Scale/gauge: 4mm:1ft scale / 00 
Size: 20ft x 11ft continuous run 
Era/region: British Rail 1980s 
Location: Shropshire 
Layout type: Continuous run

New era, new project Back in 2000, with the Club having several younger members with an interest in British Rail of the 1980s, a layout was designed to showcase trains of this era whilst giving plenty of scope for all Club members to contribute. Little did they know just how many trees they would have to make!

Set in the Shropshire/Welsh Marches area, ‘Scorbiton’ centres around viaducts crossing the River Severn, with the town of ‘Scorbiton’ rising uphill to the right, and a canal system approaching on the left through a more pastoral landscape. Aiming at plenty of viewing area, the scenery extends around both ends of the layout, with fiddle yard to the rear. The prominent town scene is inspired by buildings photographed in Whitchurch, Shrewsbury and Malpas. Traditional in design Open-framed baseboards of 6mm plywood and softwood framing, with chicken wire and plaster bandage infill, facilitate the variety of levels. The Peco track-work sits on a ½ in chipboard track-bed.

The station building is fictitious, but had to be built to a predetermined footprint. Hopefully the end result complements the rest of the town scene. The two-storey section would have been used as accommodation for railway maintenance staff, but when first built would have been the station master’s accommodation. The single-storey portion houses the booking office. Access between platforms is via an internal walkway within the building.

The interesting structure in the foreground was based on one in Whitchurch. The shop had been removed to allow access to land behind but with the roof remaining in place, maybe to support the surrounding buildings or as storage space in the loft area. The roof tiles were cut from strips of emery paper as this gives a texture to them.

As we move further up the street, the nearest building on the left is from the Hornby Skaledale range. The next two buildings are also from Whitchurch. One building has been modelled as a gas showroom - which was a common sight on the main street in the ‘80s. The upper storey window is open with the curtain billowing out. There are models of cookers and fires in the window but no-one can see them apart from the model people passing by!

The layout is wired for conventional DC control, with route-setting switches controlling point motors and track feeds automatically via a diode matrix and system of relays. This aids the supply of a frequent and varied selection of trains to entertain onlookers. The layout is lit on all sides by the Club's standard lighting units - these being plywood box beams containing fluorescent tubes. Although heavy, these have survived the rigours of many exhibition outings, and provide an even level of light.

The stock is provided by several Club members, with an emphasis on freight workings which were a staple on the type of route depicted. Enthusiastic building and detailing of stock means there is now more than enough to fill the fiddle yard, even having resorted to adding four extra roads to the outside loops to give more capacity. Perhaps this is a lesson for future layouts! The Station

Construction of this key detail was from a basic card box with Plastikard overlays. The roof slates were laser-cut from card which saved a lot of time. The canopy brackets and valance, windows and doors were also laser-cut. The brickwork was coloured industrial neglect industrial neglect using the pencil system described in Ken Ball’s book ‘Modelling Buildings The Easy Way (No. 1)’. The colours were fixed using fixative spray, then weathered using Tamiya Weathering Master mediums. The initial pencil colouring was done on a full sheet prior to cutting - it’s easier! White-metal chimney pots and plastic gutters and downspouts have been employed, although vulnerable pipework was made from brass rod.

Posters appropriate for the period such as Red Star Parcels were copies of originals and produced by a printer we know, as were the ‘Scorbiton’ sign boards. Enamel paints were also used, all suitably weathered. The station structure is complemented by an overall north-light roof over the platforms. The idea is to give the observer the impression that trains come from a different direction than they actually do. Both are removable as the roof straddles a baseboard joint and has to be installed before the building. The garden to the side of the station is redundant and uncared for since the stationmaster left. The telephone box with occupant, post box and concrete bollards are all proprietary, as are the people. Street light standards are ‘home-brewed’ from laser-cut clear acrylic, card and brass tube.

Architectural Prominence

The white hotel building is the ‘Frog and Nightgown’. The light-coloured extension has been grafted onto a much older building that started life on another layout over 30 years ago. The latter had a roof that had to be discarded and had a gable wall missing. Construction of the extension is Plastikard with laser-cut card roofs as used on the station building. Whilst fictitious, the gable-end detail is based on a feature from a Kendal pub, including its colour. The real thing has smooth rendering and this has been represented on the model by using an appropriately coloured emulsion - match pots are useful! Windows are from the Dornoplas range with the odd laser-cut one thrown in. The sign, although faded, has come from the original 30-year-old model. The extension is deliberately prominent as, in reality, the landlord would want to use its location to advertise ‘The Frog and Nightgown’ to the ‘passing world’!

Enjoying a different subject of modelling, we decided to model the mill at the back of the layout in a half-demolished state. This meant making many internal structural elements like roof beams, support pillars, brackets and floor joists. Many of these parts were laser-cut in mount board from designs drawn in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Brick textures were etched into the card in the same process. The card was sprayed with red oxide primer to seal it, then overpainted with various hues of enamel brick colour and heavily weathered.

Laser-cutting allowed us to incorporate hundreds of individual bricks with frogs – seen strewn about the demolition site. After collective painting, the bricks were mixed with a concoction of red brick dust, sand and cement, grey plaster and plaster of Paris, all glued with various mixes of PVA. The JCB is from an old Airfix kit. It had a dirty windscreen, but this seems to have fallen out, perhaps due to the vibration of passing trains. The JCB is slightly old for the 'eighties, but contractors sometimes kept vehicles for a long time. The platform is detailed with laser-cut benches, Bachmann bins and S-Kits etched passenger luggage trolleys, with a BRUTE from Ten Commandments. The railings are Scalelink etched brass. The station building sits on the bridge.

The canal-side brewery warehouse was modelled in semi-derelict condition awaiting demolition. The warehouse was constructed of thick card with Plastikard brickwork, then painted and weathered with enamels to a worn-out look. The change bridge - where the towpath changes sides - was modelled with DAS clay, then scribed to represent the stonework. Water surfaces of the canal and river were created with multiple coats of varnish over a brown/green painted ply base. One wonders how palatable the products of ‘The Canal Water Brewery’ were!

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