The new walkway over the end of the sidings helping to mask the end of the baseboard.

Revealed at the Astolat Model Railway Show 2012, the new scenic detail added to Ingleton Sidings seems to be well received!

One of the potential issues with sidings layouts is that there is always a halt at one end, leaving the issue of just  how to mask the end of the baseboard.

John & I began thinking about this at Wycrail last November. The conclusion? Brewery pipework!

A basic Google search reveals a few interesting propotypical images and late this week, I suddenly found the inspiration to raid the spares box to see what I could fashion for little or no cost!

With the exception of the piping, pretty much everything else came from old kits or old scratchbuild projects. The new bridge-style structure to the right provides an elevated walkway with pipes secured either side, together with another pipe lower down which pumps the tasty IRON BREW beer away from the factory! This pipe runs all the way back to the buildings at the opposite end of the layout where it is received into a newly scratchbuilt housing.

The housing acts as a useful size adjuster; With the pipe fitting tightly into the structure, the box could then slide along the pipe to ensure the perfect fit to the side of the building.

The brewery pipework terminates into a new housing on the side of the brewery building which acts as an adjuster to ensure the perfect fit!

The painting/weathering process is not yet complete, however the process so far included the usual Halfords primer, followed by Railmatch weathered black. Using the dry-brushing  techniques, Railmatch frame dirt and sleeper grime were added with a final dry brush of Humbrol Metal Cote 270044 to give that metallic shine. Whilst being careful not to overdo the colouring there still needs to be a little more light and shade added together with a little rust here and there!

As you can see from the pictures, the new structure not only masks the plain end board on the right hand side of the layout, it also provides more interesting detail and also enhances the screen view from the CCTV lineside camera.

What is perhaps most surprising & unexpected, is how this relatively simple structure completely transforms the atmosphere created by the layout.

However, what is NOT surprising is the fact that the inspiration for the project once again seemed to appear at the eleventh hour before the layout was due at an exhibition! Anybody else have the same problem, or is it just me?

The new, improved Ingleton Sidings at Astolat Model Railway Exhibition, Guildford in January 2012