Buildings & Railway Structures on Rowandale - Station Section

Viaduct

This occupies a dominant position at the front of the layout. It was built on a slight curve with the pillars at a skew to match the direction of the river underneath. The stream is made from Solid Water by Deluxe Materials

Industrial Units

This couple of small industrial units are Scalescenes kits, with added yard area, together with general clutter and workmen etc.

Water Tower

This is based on the Scalescenes water tower from their industrial set, but with the tower reduced in height and clad in ashlar, rather than brick. Access ladders and small platform was also added.

The Station Inn and terrace

As they are in the front row, the pub is fitted with a bar and has customers inside; only visible on close inspection or with the internal lights on. The terraced houses also have lights in some rooms and an indication of furniture can be glimpsed through the windows. They also have rear yards & garden areas which back onto the goods yard retaining wall.

Small Warehouse

Again this building is complete with warehouse men loading packages onto the wagon. It has internal lights.
Water tower Engine shed.

Buildings Grouped as Modules

The buildings at the rear, which cover the hidden tracks and the control units for the points and sensors, are built as removable modules to allow access to the tracks and the electronics. The modules are shown in this gallery in isolation. The buildings on them are shown in more detail below.
Industrial units. Small warehouse

The Hartmann’s Factory

This large group of factory buildings is over the curved tracks which lead to the hidden holding/storage tracks at the rear. It is based on one of the Scalescenes Factory kits, extensively adapted to fit the site and with a matching range of low-relief buildings along the rear. The main building has indications of machinery in the lower floors. The top floor has a drawing office, complete with drawing boards and filing cabinets, and a typist pool with tables & chairs. People are present throughout the building. The large windows and skylights enable these internal details to be glimpsed, especially at night when the internal lights are on.

The Wythe & Sons Factory

This low-relief factory building is over the hidden tracks at the rear. It is adapted from one of the Scalescenes Factory kits and fitted with lights and internal details. It was originally used on Archie’s Yard; an extra entrance has been added at the left end, a blank wall at the right, and a plinth added to raise the height. The trees at the right are my usual method of heather twigs for their trunks and branches, with foliage from Woodland Scenic.
The Station Inn & adjoining terraced houses.
Most of the buildings and railway structures are built from card with photo quality overlays, using either kits from Scalescenes, some heavily modified, or scratch-built using their Texture Sheets. They all have some added internal details and figures, which can be glimpsed though the windows, especially when the internal lights are on. The majority of the windows in the buildings are etched frets, from Brassmasters, mostly painted white.
The lighting is by small filament bulbs, either the grain of wheat or the even smaller grain of rice. They are 12v bulbs run at 9v, for long life and subdued glow. I find that even the warm-white LEDs are rather harsh by comparison. The signal box is a Ratio plastic kit, as are the girder sides of the road bridge, over the entrance track to the good yard. The turntable is also a plastic kit, and is rotated by a stepper motor.
The viaduct, with goods yard and factories at the rear. Tunnel entrance.

Tunnel Entrance

At the left of the viaduct, the track starts to curve round to the rear of the layout. A tunnel entrance has been built at the start of the curve, with moorland above. The hills are made from expanded foam, sculpted to the required contours. A layer of light weight filler was then added to give a firm crust, before being painted to represent limestone uplands, complete with gorse bushes. sections of the moorland over the track can be lifted off, for track cleaning and train rescue!
Engine shed & turntable Road approach bridge to the station.

Station Approach Bridge

The girder walls are plastic mouldings with the supports and walls in card with overlays of random ashlar stone. Because of the tight gap between the main line, in the foreground, and the turntable, immediately behind it, the bridge is only wide enough for one vehicle to cross at a time.

Engine Shed

This was built from the Scalescenes card kit; two modules lengthways, with added internal lights. The windows are etched frets, from Brassmasters, painted black

Engine Shed and Turntable

The turntable is a plastic kit and is motorised by a highly geared stepper motor, driven by a Raspberry-Pi Zero computer. One press on the control panel button causes it to turn exactly a half revolution, with acceleration and deceleration.
Small goods shed.

Coal Yard & Office

This is a card kit. The office has an internal light. The coal staithes are also card, filled with real coal.

Small Good Shed

This small private shed suffers in the summer by being squeezed next to the cattle dock. This was one of my earliest card buildings.

Platelayers Hut

This small hut is between the tunnel and the viaduct. It was my first scratch built card structure.
Plate layers hut. Coal yard & office.
Click here for:
Buildings on Canal Section Buildings on Canal Section

The row of Eight Terrace Houses

This is at the end of the front row, backing onto the rear of the goods yard. They have lights in some rooms, and an indication of furniture and occupants can be glimpsed through the windows. Each has a garden or yard, and one has a pigeon coup. ( No, the pigeons do not fly! )

The Warehouses

These warehouse building are the final part a low-relief module of buildings over the hidden tracks at the rear. They are slightly modified versions of a Scalescenes’ High Street Backs kit. They are fitted with lights and internal details and have additional yard areas and trees. The right hand one, is a whiskey warehouse, Dewar’s Whisky of course (small blue sign on the wall).

The Mill Building and Garage

Abutting the warehouses are a range of very low-relief façade of some mill buildings. In front of them is a small garage.

Signal Box

This is a Ratio plastic kit. Internal details and a signal man have been added, together with an internal light. The balcony railings around the outside are yet to be fitted.
Garage & Mill buildings. Signal box. The waiting shelter.

The Waiting Shelter

This is also a scratch-built card structure. The windows and roof fascias are characteristic of the Midland Railway, and are brass frets.

The Station Building

The station is a standard Midland Size 3. It is scratch built using card with printed paper overlays, using techniques learnt from previously constructed kits from Scalescenes. The windows and barge boards are characteristic of the Midland Railway, they are excellent multi-layer brass frets from AMBIS Engineering.
The station platform is higher than the station yard, with steps leading up to it at the entrance end; there is a ramp for trolleys at the other end of the building. Internal lights are fitted and passengers can be seen through the windows. There are also passengers and porters on the platform, together with various trolleys, sack barrows and seats.

The Main Goods Shed

This is a standard Midland Railway design. It is scratch built using card with printed paper overlays. The windows are characteristic of the Midland Railway goods sheds.

Building the station.

This gallery shows the build up of the station.
Buildings on Moorland Section Buildings on Moorland Section Buildings on Quarry Section Buildings on Quarry Section Buildings on Archie’s Yard Buildings on Archie’s Yard
Home Home
Layouts Layouts
Archie's Yard Archie's Yard
Rowandale Rowandale
History History
Locomotives Locomotives
Control Control
RPM Meter RPM Meter
Rolling Stock Rolling Stock
Weathering Weathering
Buildings Buildings
Archie's Yard Archie's Yard
Rowandale Rowandale
Software Software