Tetley Grange

[Jon Randall]

I'm going to have to change my signature line
Tetley Grange started off when my Mrs stuck her head through my modelling shed, gave me the base of our wedding cake and asked me if I could build a layout on it
After a quick session with a compass and a can of Halford's "Rover Maple"

The plan required two main levels so a piece of foamcard was cut to shape and glued on with pva, making sure that the edges of the foam was well covered to ensure that it didn't melt when sprayed.


Next came the scenic stuff.
I had envisioned a garden setting so a lawn was laid using two colours of ground scatter and a flower bed was added with tea-bag leaves for mulch.
A concrete pad was laid out out foamcard with shuttering made out of coffee stirers and matchsticks.
Topiary was added. The outer two bushes are small model railway trees, the next two in are spiral pasta and the centre-piece is a bird sculpted out of blue-tac. These were then covered in pva and dunked in a tub of ground scatter and had further layers added using hair-spray to fix. More details of how to make topiary and conifers can be found here

Barry had kindly brought a section of Tomix track to the June meeting of The GnOrfolkers and I ordered some 104mm diameter track from Plaza-Japan on ebay as I hadn't time to hand lay.

Next add previously built shed

A better shot of the topiary

The above was all built last Sunday

[More_Cats_Than_Sense]

Having seen (and been very impressed by) this layout at last Wednesdays gathering, I can confirm that this little layout is mightily impressive
The setting back of the track to provide more room at the front for the topiary is inspired

[Jon Randall]

Thanks Barry,

Of course a miniature railway needs miniature rolling stock.
I had purchased a Grafar 08 a while ago for a chassis but luckily I had kept the body (and could find it)

So then all I had to do was build a carriage.
An Ibertren coach was purchased off ebay (it was the cheapest coach I could find).



This needed to be shortened by 60mm or so as it would hit everything else on the layout The windows were removed and sprayed black on the back. Seats and steps made from coffee stirers were added and the coach was repainted in GW Dark Angel Green.
A driver from M3 and two children, kindly given to me from Ralph, were painted.

[Nick Ellingworth]

I hope the seating arrangements are little more secure than they were on Wednesday.

[dr5euss]

Nice one, Jon; simple but very effective

[Colin Peake]

Ground Force was never quite that good....

Looks great, envious of the time taken to build it though...

Colin

[Steve Bennett]

Wonderful Jon, what a great little project. Some really good ideas aswell, I'm impressed by the coach conversion and using pasta for the topiary is inspired, will have to give that one a try . The Farish 08 looks perfect for the loco, a very popular model on many miniature lines and it looks just right, only needs a controller in the drivers hand and a flexible wire to the loco now only joking, but I wonder .

[Oztrainz]

it looks just right, only needs a controller in the drivers hand and a flexible wire to the loco now only joking, but I wonder .

Hi Steve and Jon, try these 2 Aussie 5" gauge battery-electrics for inspiration:
A "Red Fred", based on a 3'6" gauge Queensland Railways railmotor, the controller is in the driver's right hand



and the Bumble Bee twins with the controller on the seat in front of the driver.


Sorry about the photo quality but these were the quickest photos I could find of diesel-outline battery-electric locos with the control boxes in view.

[Steve Bennett]

Hijack time
There are a few here
http://www.worldrailfans.info/7.25inch/GallerySLR.shtml
Not sure if John still visits the forum, think he might be enjoying life too much since moving to the southern hemisphere

[Korschtal]

A very nice model. Congratulations on your marriage too- I managed to be buried in work and miss that thread.

[Steve Bennett]

Knew I had seen a Class 08 recently, how about this
http://pics-by-sam.fotopic.net/p51655547.html
Controller on the riding car this time.

[Jon Randall]

Thanks for all the comments.

I was just gonna pack the layout away as I must concentrate on the suitcase layout (bang goes the trip to Moming ) but now it needs a controller
That 08 is perfect Steve. Anything I can model, you can find the prototype
If anybody was wondering about the name, well.
At this months GnOrfolkers meeting I was describing the materials used in the construction and when I got to tea bag leaves then two GnOrfolkers (who shall remain nameless, but you can probably guess ) remarked "I hope that is Yorkshire Tea and gnot that Tetley stuff" I had to own up that it was indeed Tetley tea
I added Grange as I thought it sounded familiar
And then after posting this I remembered Gnutley Grange

[More_Cats_Than_Sense]

two GnOrfolkers (who shall remain nameless, but you can probably guess ) remarked "I hope that is Yorkshire Tea and gnot that Tetley stuff"

Wasn't me, I Gnormally drink PG Tips And Gnot from teabags either

[Steve Bennett]

I added Grange as I thought it sounded familiar
And then after posting this I remembered Gnutley Grange

At least the name stuck in your mind
Thats more than can be said for the forum search, I can never find my own thread it seems to be invisible .

By the way, I think the name suits your little layout perfectly and had guessed at the Tea connection, Good choice of name, not so sure about the Tea

[Simon Andrews]

Great little pizza Jon Bashing the N gauge coach like that was an inspired idea

Simon.

[Jon Randall]

Doesn't take long to stuff sheds with junk

[Steve Bennett]

Doesn't take long to stuff sheds with junk

Yes they have a habit of filling up quickly
Where did you get the pots from Jon, they look nicely made. I could do with some bigger ones and cant be bothered to make my own again .

[dr5euss]

I'm gonna guess LarryG, if he does pots; I see a few of Larry's other things in there

[Jon Randall]

The small one you should recognise Steve
The larger ones are from my local dolls shop 30p for the smaller size, 40p for the larger. The are made from a clay-based material as the pieces from the first batch I bought prove
Designed for 1:12 they are about the only useful thing under a tenner I could find for 1:24 in the shop unfortunately
Everything else is, as George correctly said, is from Larry G, A bit large (1:19 ) but gnot if hidden in a shed

[Steve Bennett]

Thanks Jon.

[Jon Randall]

After getting Tetley Grange out of winter storage I found that things were growing in the garden




Mould Actually it wasn't as bad as I had expected as the felt had blown off the shed in february. The real shed not the model.
I had used unused teabags, I wonder if used teabags would be less susceptible
Still it gives me an excuse for a bit of a freshen up, the topiary looks a bit tired, the door still needs hinges, the lawn needs mowing.
A gardener's work never stops..........

[Nick Ellingworth]

I guess you can't refer to the mold as genuine plant life then.

[Jon Randall]

Well deconstruction has been completed.



I have decided to replace the track at the same time so I have bent some peco code 80 and threaded the sleepers back on.



Thats the railbender in the bottom left corner.

The topiary is growing at the moment, I'll post photos after their final trim.

[More_Cats_Than_Sense]

Well, that explains something........

Hmmmm, I take it you're expecting something like "PG House" or "Yorkshire Cut" from your cast-off

[Jon Randall]

I thought you could make more use of it than me

More_Cats_Than_Sense wrote:

"Yorkshire Cut"

Shouldn't that be "Yorkshire Cat". It's where you could put your cat wagon