Cuttings can offer an extra dimension to a layout, and provide visual variety. DAN EVASON shows how to create a simple scene in ‘OO’ gauge.
IF YOU TRAVEL by rail, you are likely in most parts of the country to pass through a cutting – an area of land that has been cut away and lowered to enable the railway to pass through, particularly on approach to a tunnel or below existing infrastructure such as roads.
Years ago, these cuttings would have been carved by hand using picks and shovels, while horses and carts would have transported the spoil off-site. Nowadays, modern machinery is used to streamline and speed up the civil engineering process, as we are seeing on High Speed 2.
Above: Dan Evason has developed a railway cutting scene diorama as his latest superbly detailed modelling project.
For modellers, developing a cutting is a great way to add visual interest to an otherwise flat baseboard. It can also be a great way to disguise a section of continuous circuit layout so the train disappears out of sight for a few brief seconds. They are also useful ways of disguising an exit from the scenic section of a layout. This style of cutting could also be used to lead up to a tunnel portal, with numerous well-known prototype examples,…
