Life of a Line was built by John Wilkes and was constructed as an entry in the Dave Brewer challenge at ExpoNG. The layout depicts the stages a railway line might go through in its life ... birth, closure, and preservation. A little train goes rumbling round the circle or track passing through these three time zones.
It was built to try out a few experiments in its construction as well as having a bit of fun. It is small, just 30cms x 50cms and this meant it could be made of lightweight material. It was constructed using several layers of foam board mount which has maintained its rigidity as well as lending itself to being carved into shape as the base for scenery.
Three different types of track have been represented. The first, when the line was first built, has ballast covering the sleepers, a practice common in early railways. The second, when the railway was run down, is stone chaired track. The third, in preservation days, is more normal sleepered track.
The top layer of scenery is formed from Alder catkins, dried and then glued into shape.
Lastly, there are some trees in autumn, normally quite difficult to model and represented here using natural products.
A video of Life of a Line can be viewed on the 009 Society YouTube channel here
Coleford is scheduled to appear at the following exhibitions:
| 2022 |
Exhibitions already attended
- Swanley, Oct 2018
- Norfol 009 Group, Mar 2019
- Oxford (virtual), Oct 2020
- Farnham, Aug 2021
- Narrow Gauge North, Mar 2022
- SWING, Worthing, May 2022
