The third module on the Narrow Gauge layout will be the quarry section featuring an approach road up from the village to the quarry workings with all its associated buildings and infrastructure.
So here is the Quarry baseboard module with the boards fitted and painted and the trackwork and electrics completed apart from the end sections where the track will join onto the adjacent boards
And below is a rough sketch showing what I am working towards although the final details may vary slightly according to the size and placement of the associated buildings.
Work Starts on The Quarry
Where the new quarry section butts up against the Village board there is an access for the tunnel section in case of derailment or maintenance. I needed to keep this option available so I built the first section of quarry walling as a lift out module to protect against emergencies.
Once I had completed all the moulded rock faces they were gradually coloured in using a mottled painting with progressively darker shades of grey to give some texture and variation to the stone face. A final touch was to dry brush a very light grey on which catches the high points of the stone and creates a very nice relief effect.
Then finally I created a slag heap or waste tip, using genuine scraps of Welsh Slate, where unsuitable or broken pieces of slate could be disposed of by tipping over the edge with a from a rubble wagon.
Slate Quarry Build Video
The Slate Quarry face
I used 10mm black high density foam sheets to create the quarry face, the main outline was first carved to shape then additional smaller slabs were carved and added to the front to give a more realistic outline.
These were then painted a base slate grey colour and the a Mig earth brown was dabbed into cracks and crevices, once this had dried grass flock was sprinkled on places where vegetation might cling to.
All the pieces were then assembled to form the complete quarry face then a blast shelter for the workers was sited just outside the tunnel entrance plus a larger shelter in case any Loco’s working nearby needed protection.
These will be fixed permanently and blended in once the ground has been textured.
Working The Quarry
Now the main buildings have been sited we can add in the workers to see the process of slate preparation.
Firstly the large slabs of slate are brought down from mine to the cutting sheds ready for breaking up into smaller manageable pieces
The next step after that is to trim and split them into slate size pieces. Which for our purposes I have shown as taking place outside so that we can see what’s happening
And finally the slates are stacked ready for loading into wagons for their trip down to the Quayside
Setting out the Quarry
At the top of the quarry we see dump trucks waiting to tip their spoil over the refuse site and coal being broken up ready for the Hunslet Quarry Locos
In the centre of the site is the slate cutting building with extra work platforms outside for final slate trimming and lower down is the main site storehouse with an abandoned cottage at the exit as you leave the mine.
On the lower level is the engine shed area for the yet to be developed country branch line.
Engine Shed – Fire in the Hole
The engine shed has three components but in the corner of the main building is a built in fireplace which I thought was too good to waste so I decided to fit a fire effect light there plus an overhead light, and as it turned out the Train -Tech module was a perfect fit for the fireplace.
As supplied the flickering light appeared to me to be too yellow so out came my collection of Quality Street wrappers and a darker red one was glued in place.
So we finally ended up with quite a pleasing effect.
Gravity Slate Train
Originally the finished slates were taken down to the harbour on a gradually inclined track using only the force of gravity. The loaded wagons had brake trucks spaced out along the length of the train with a brake man sat on each one to control the descent of the train. At the front sat a man with a bugle to warn the train was coming and signal instructions to the brakemen. This has been recreated today and they actually run gravity trains on special occasions, so here are a few pictures of my model version of that event.
Murcia Model Railway Club 