CATTLE GRID

Etched detail brings life to a country road

A little more progress on my fictional Irish layout...

This great etched brass cattle grid, from Studio Scale Models, has been installed over a shallow recess in the roadway. Having treated the pit to a wet and murky looking finish, the grid was fixed in place with a little cyano glue. The road was formed from DAS clay, complete with a slight camber. This is a departure from my usual road building method and was inspired by some of Chris Nevard's techniques (although he does it better than me!). Even though the clay had dried, it was still easy to cut out the rectangular section to form the pit. I just need to erect a post and stile for pedestrians to bypass the grid on the left hand side.

The other road on this layout followed my regular technique, using finely ground stone powder from Geoscenics. It's hard to tell which looks the more effective as they're intended to portray two different types of surface. The above pictured road crosses the railway on the level and is meant to be recently laid tarmac, while the minor road that crosses over the bridge - and gives access to the station - is more of a rough country lane.