Ramsdale

Ramsdale...

All my other layouts are depicted in the good old carefree 1960’s, so this one is too. It is a model of part of a country estate near to “Ramsdale Hall” and has been getting visitors to see the historic building and its gardens for a few years.  It is situated in ancient park land near the North Yorkshire coast which once upon a time was hunting grounds, and then later controlled by the Monks of Whitby Abbey. 

Of course, every country house worth its salt has a Tea Room, usually where stewed tea is served from huge tea pots, or if you prefer, “Camp” coffee, plus of course homemade cakes & biscuits (Battenburg…there’s always Battenberg!).  Ramsdale Hall has one such tearoom, a short walk down the lane from the house, near to the old castle ruins, in an idyllic setting. It has picnic tables in the garden and a wishing well.  And now there is a new attraction in its grounds, a short one and a half mile 15” gauge railway which runs from the nearby Penny Howe Light Railway via the fields and old castle ruins to Ramsdale.  The railway brings visitors and day-trippers, and some supplies for the house, which are taken up to the hall by handcart.

"Griffin" with the directors coach.
 

"Yeti" shunting wagons in the goods siding.

"Kappa", with the hall in the background.

"Typhon" running into the station.

The Tea Room.

"Mermaid" bringing a passenger train into the station.

Overall photo of the layout.

Ramsdale, some scenics added

 Ramsdale progress:-

A photo taken last week with some of the scenics added.  The tea room, tiny engine shed, memorial, wishing well, rustic tables have been set in place and my wife has spent hours adding scenic materials and greenery.

This photo shows the end of the goods siding with the stone hut (goods shed!), fencing and hand cart now set in the scenery.

Changing buildings for Ramsdale

Originally I built two buildings for "Ramsdale", a lodge in 1:48 scale and a wooden goods shed/store.  I kept looking at the lodge, and wherever I put it, it looked too small especially in compason to the 1:43 goods shed.  First I bought a resin quarry hut kit from 422 Modelmaking quarry as it had a lower roof, but the lodge still looked too small to me.  So I bought a cheap mdf kit from Northumberland Painting Services "Crabtree Cottage" and added Slaters Stone, pantiles, gutters etc. and some fancy bargeboards from York Modelmaking, inside counter area and curtains.  It has become Ramsdale Hall Tea Room and looks much better proportioned.

Ramsdale Hall Tea Room

I had in my minds eye a loco sitting in a tiny shed at Ramsdale so I built a small loco shed from a 422 Modelmaking lineside hut raised on a stone support walls to go at the end of the siding.

The engine shed positioned at the end of the siding.

 

General arrangement of the three buildings.