You could always declare the churchyard closed by Order in Council under the Burial Act of 1853, so no new burials and no need to buy all those figures to make up a funeral!

Great work renovating the graveyard Stephen. I’m excited to see what you do with the new UndergrounD layout. Thanks for sharing and keeping me motivated. Roy.

Hi Stephen, It seems like only yesterday when you originally built the church and the vicars home and now you're going back to update the churchyard. All I can say is what a change since I first started following your RU-vid Channel, the layout looks great. I have just one suggestion, from something that caught my eye in the closing video segment. I don't know if it's popular in the UK, but here in the States many folks add a skirting to the bottom of the layout to help hide storage bins beneath the layout, giving the layout a more finished appearance. As always Stephen, I enjoy your layout update videos and running session and look forward to the improvements being made at St. Eldar's churchyard. Cheers, Rich S.

Good morning Stephen! Wow! What a lot of gravestones you've had to paint! I bet you're glad that little task is over! I think the churchyard will look all the better for the additional graves though! One thing I wondered was about "headstoneless" graves! I used to visit a cemetery quite regularly where burial spots were denoted by small grassed over six inch mounds of earth that usually had a flowerpot at one end, presumably because a gravestone would have been too expensive for the family! I'm quite excited to see how your underground project progresses, especially now that you've decided to make it a separate entity! I'd love to see some vehicles moving around in the cityscape you create! No pressure! :) All the best, Ian.

The cemetary plans are all looking good. As a suggestion; if you want to light the vicarage up, how about a pair of carriage lights on poles at of either side of the building just infront of it by the gravel drive? Its the sort of thing a vicar might have installed so he can see his way from his car to the house after late night mass or visiting parishioners, starting with gas lights and then ending up as electric. Just an idea.

Greetings Elvenhome and hello St Stephen 😇 I'm glad you survived the latest Innocent Tale without too much damage 🤭 Far from being a dead-end job 😲 the grave yard is proving very stimulating 👀 looking forward to seeing the finishing touches 😍 Very exciting news on the Underground 🚇 adding the surface station 😎 can't wait to see what inspiration you find 😇 Very best wishes to Spooky Towers from the Emerald Isle ☘️

great stuff..

Hi Stephen. I do like what you've done so far. Don't forget Yew trees feature in most older graveyards and cemeteries. Pete

Hi Stephen, wives are always full of good ideas and as much as Mrs Exehaven (Melanie) doesn’t want to be involved it was her that suggested the cabin after I’d spent some months trying to up grade a rickety old shed, unsuccessfully I might add! I’m really looking forward to the underground layout and the city scene above especially! As for the graveyard that seems to be coming on nicely, I love trees , the more the merrier as far as I’m concerned they really make a layout. I’m going to have a go at making some wire trees come the time, which at this moment seems far away as there are so many things that are taking precedent over Exehaven at the moment! Looking forward to what will transpire as you work further on the graveyard. As ever always interesting Stephen, cheers for now, John

Loving the gravestones. You don't realise how many you need in such a small scale. When you think a 7ft grave is just 14mm in n gauge. Having a few trees will add some extra detail as well. Looking forward to seeing the new underground layout. All the best Allan

Hi Stephen I like the plan for the underground layout by the side. I am eager to see the progress on the church yard area as well as the new layout. Great video as always. Nat 👍🚂

Hello Stephen More developments all interesting stuff and it wi8ll no doubt come to be a really nice scene, again very inspiring. Thanks

Good evening Stephen, this upgrade is going to look very interesting. so far so good as they say. i am really looking forward to the full transformation of St Elders church yard. cheer's Tony.

Hi Stephen - liking the plan for the graveyard scene. I think we all get better with using static grass the more we work with it. You have a very understanding better half - allowing you to effectively build a second layout. Are you considering having it on much higher legs so the underground part is easier to see as it possibly won't be visible with the street scene on top. Cheers Euan

The Underground layout sounds exciting. Would you include the station concourse above the tube tunnels with escalators or lifts. You could even put sewer pipes in! My only concern with the graveyard it is a bit square with the edges of the board and you could have changed the outline of the graveyard and have part of fields, open ground in the parts between the outline and the edge. I meant to mention this before but I was worried I was being too critical. I just think breaking those lines dictated by the edge of the boards would make it visually more interesting. Dave

Hi Stephen, Nice job on the Green wash I admire your perseverance on this type of work. Commonwealth graves are great too, our local graveyard has a similar small area. A street scene for the underground produces so many opportunities, looking forward to it.

Stephen, Graveyard planning is not easy. I did not see any pink or black granite headstones of the glossy type that resists all weathering and moss. There's usually a couple of wrong 'uns like that! You could make a path around the church by following the grass line. Some graves might be right up against the church and also the perimeter of the graveyard. I know that you decided not to, but you could give the war graves their own single gate and a path with the cross at the end, but no boundary within the graveyard. The trees will make it all look more established. Funeral Cyprus? I'm looking forward to the underground layout. Regards, Stephen.

Very, very impressed with the headstones, Stephen. The green wash is just so effective in ageing them in the most realistic fashion. Perhaps some paths through the graveyard can be emphasised by using 'z' scale ballast (I'm actually using this ballast for Strathtay) or much shorter and slightly different shaded grass? I do so admire your perseverance in painting that many headstones. looking forward to the next instalment.

Very good Stephen.

Great video Stephen. I so admire your patience with the track. My eyesight wouldn’t let me attempt anything like that. With regard to the vicarage, I think you’ve already decided to leave well enough alone. I quite like the idea someone suggested , to start to build another one to see how it turns out. Maybe it could be used elsewhere. I know what you mean about changing things you like about your efforts. I look forward to catching up on with your next update. Thanks for sharing. Roy.

Hi Stephen, re the graveyard, could there be a small war graves commission area and even an area unused for the future. Who knows, the graveyard may be full by the 1070s,I’d also like to see a grave ready for a coffin too but maybe that’s being a little morbid. Cheers Phil

Great video, really look forward to seeing your progress wish I could look that far forward with my layout and plan it a bit better, but seeing yours is such an inspiration to me..G

It's too bad you can't remove the underneath of the vicarage without distroying it. Having a hole large enough to insert the complete interior, with lighting, up through the base board would certainly solve your dilemma of how to light the vicarage. AS FOR THE GRAVE YARD i thought it look too random when you you 1st built it. True that in earlier times graveyards weren't often planned, but over time there was a need to be selective about use of space as the parish grew and developed.

Hi Stephen, I think the vicarage is one of those buildings that just fits. There is always the risk of what replaces it just doesn't have the same feel. The code 40 track looks great. It's going to ve a labour of love to get that done. But I will definitely be worth it. I look forward to seeing the progress. All the best Allan

Can you give me a link to where I can buy the vacuum please?

Hi Stephen, that’s a big commitment making your own track but is a great challenge and I would imagine once finished, very rewarding! Regarding the church grave yard, I’ve read lots of other people’s suggestions in the comments but I situs be tempted to reduce the size of the grave yard and make the gravestones much closer together then have an area for future plots and maybe a funeral taking place as a cameo scene, by the tunnel portal I would add in some scenery such as trees with a old crypt within them, a spooky scene 👻! Great running session with the onboard camera! Cheers Gary

Love the camera on board during the running session. Before fixing up the vicar's house. You might want to get his approval before starting any work. Bill and Janet from California

Code 40 is fantastic. The points from British Finescale, although a bit pricey allow so much better running through the common crossing. Although I'm an N Gauger, I joined the 2FS to get hold of track and copper clad to build my own points. Although Templot is a monster to learn, it's possible to build some nice curved points using it.

Good evening Stephen! Wow! Making your own track? Now that seems a bit frightening! Well, maybe not the straight bits, but if you ever get into points or crossovers... I do like the look of code 40 though! Makes you wonder why the sleepers aren't a bit more spaced out in code 55 or even code 80? I think you could double the number of headstones in the graveyard and there still wouldn't be enough! Although saying that, many graves in the church where my grandparents are buried didn't have headstones, and were just simple mounds with a vase for flowers! The graves were very close together, with very narrow paths in between plots of something like 8 x 2! There were also tombs, like you see in the old horror movies, with bells installed, that could be rung should you be mistakenly entombed! How deliciously morbid! Lol! I'm in two minds about the vicarage! You obviously love the model, as it has some meaning to you, being an early creation! Maybe you could build something new, and see how it looks by comparison, then move the existing vicarage or keep it and use the new one elsewhere? All the best, Ian.

Regarding the vicarage. Would you be able to cut a hole underneath it and then insert your light. But also put blackout over windows you dont want light shining from.

Hi Stephen. Regarding the graveyard. Don’t forget that grave plots are sold, not given, so the graves would be in a uniform pattern of rectangles. Also, there don’t appear to be any ‘family’ plots with a large monument above. These were very popular in the era you are modelling. One final thought: to add character why not have a burial in progress. That way if the vicar is at the graveside he would have switched his house lights off!

If you really want to light the Vicarage you could try cutting out the whole footprint rather than just a lighting hole. This would give you the chance to do separate rooms as an insert from underneath. But don't leap into that because it would be a lot of work.

That Grave Yard has always worried me. Perhaps make it a Crematorium, then there will be less chance of coffins falling through into the tunnel underneath! Vicarage looks OK. Put some of the new gravestones between the existing ones, but crowd them in one area of the Churchyard. If do them in a well-kept state then that would be the poor folk's section. Or model the "new ones" in a rundown/overgrown condition. This would depict an older area of the Churchyard & help establish that the church has been there for sometime.

Hi Stephen, it was great to see the 2mm society track next to Peco code 55 - I was surprised at how noticeable the wider gauge is. I think N gauge wheels would have a lot of lateral wobble on that - they're bad enough on N gauge track! Since you've mastered making your own jig potentially you could cut those sleepers to only a couple of mm wide around each track tie in order to build an inspection pit-style track bed yourself (and could set it to a true-to-scale gauge if the wheels can take it, rather than under-scale N gauge or over-scale 2mm finescale gauge)? I can confirm that the FineTrax track is put together in exactly the same way as what you showed in this video (though I bought a jig along with the track, since it was pretty cheap), and had similar flexibility and webbing arrangement in the sleepers - it seems like the only difference is the gauge. They recommended a slight chamfering with a file to the end underside of the rail to help it slide into the ties with less risk of damage. Another nice thing about FineTrax, presumably also available in the 2mm stuff, is realistic-looking fishplates. If you were able to have the Grey Havens board out and securely held up on its side without too much falling off, or even on some kind of stilts, potentially you could excavate all or part of the vicarage house internal footprint to slot something up from underneath it, like a light box to attach behind a window?

Greetings Elvenhome and hello Stephen 👋 I was wondering what RU-vid made of your "aunt's" name 🤭 I was afraid you could end up over 18 like the National Treasure 😇 Instead of lighting the Vicarage 🤔 what about adding headlights to the car 🚗 coming into the drive 💡 poor Vicar late home after tending to his flock 🐑😇 Very best wishes from the Emerald Isle ☘️

For me, I'd keep the vicarage as is, but the church in my opinion is taking up too much dead space, I'd split the scene in two, gravestones one side and create a scene on the other side. Perhaps a grave being dug, a funeral or both. I'd also have a few larger trees scattered around toward one of the walls, perhaps apple with a couple of kids scrumping

Hi Stephen. I'm quite intrigued to see how the Underground "diorama" turns out. Churchyard trees shedding their leaves: I don't recall you saying that your layout depicts any particular season, so why not set the churchyard in Autumn by painting the trees in autumnal colours? Yes, I think the curve in the road needs a street lamp. Vicarage: I remember you building this. If you think the building will get sufficiently damaged in removing it, then invoke the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Consider that the vicarage is in a bit of the village that is suffering a power cut!

Hi Stephen That is very fine track and it looks great, when it comes to the vicarage you could always build a new one and not make the decision till it’s completed so you have both options to make your decision, I’ve just realised how quickly time flies it doesn’t feel like 7 years since you were working on that part if the layout. Great running session, I’m looking for a train cam are there any that you would recommend or that you have used. Thanks Nat 🚂👍

Wow Stephen, when at look at code 55 compared to the code40 fine scale it looks like you are comparing N gauge to Z gauge! The fine scale looks much wider. Also have you neglected watering those trees? My neighbour had a Johnny 7 which was based on a Vietnam type machine gun, it also fired rockets and hand grenades from memory, i have seen them on Ebay from time to time. In regards to the vicarage and lighting the may be an alternative, if you get inside the vicarage all you need do is put a box Behind the window you want lit and run a mini LED into the box. This way you can keep it intact as it is a great building. IF you can't gain access you may have pretend the Vicar is on holiday permanently, but you could have outside lights. It would be interesting to know how trains perform on the code 40. Very interesting video and great running shots.

Hi Stephen - a really good thought provoking video. The code 40 track does look the business and you'd probably get imense satisfaction in knowing you've built it from the sleepers up. Might be an idea to ballast a small trial bit of code 40 and do the same for a similar length of code 55 and then compare the finished article - might help you decide. As for the vicarage - I would leave it alone if I'm honest - it looks the part as it is. Have you thought of putting in some further footpaths into the graveyard or possibly trying to introduce some uneven ground ? Can I ask where you picked up that little hoover from - someone's birthday next month so might be a nudge to my better half when I'm asked for ideas 😅. Enjoyed the running session - the shots of all those locos in the shed area - especially pleasing as were the one on the curved viaduct. I'm going to GETS next month - down Friday night and back up late Saturday afternoon - have you thought about going ? Cheers Euan

Keep your endeavours they area milestone for your layout will be interested to watch your track making.

That patch in the corner - isn't that where the compost heap for grass cuttings / wheel barrow / tool store / bonfire / shed for the chap who keeps the churchyard tidy would be located?

Another fascinating video. As far as the corner of the churchyard is concerned, you could make it a compost heap which would let you make it different from the rest of the grass.

Stephen, another interesting video. With respect to the graveyard, sometimes the headstones are arranged in ranks, very close together, almost touching. There are often pavements of flat slabs instead of headstones. The great and the good have vaults, obelisks, needles, sculptures, and box-like sarcophagus structures. Some more easily made than others! If you can prise the vicarage off the baseboard, you would be able to insert a sleeve with rooms for the lighting. Regards, Stephen.

Hi Stephen, thanks for the link to Pride Parkway. Just watched the first video, and am now thinking if I can use my loft space in the same way Geoff has.

What a thoroughly enjoyable watch, Stephen, the transformation in the turntable area is a particularly nice aspect. I'm intrigued about the Underground and, while I like where your mind is going, I'm also concerned for you retaining sanity in hand-building 4-rail track in that scale... I think that the modification to the Peco Inspection Pit could very well be a 'saviour'. Looking forward to the next episode already! Exciting times between both you and Euan.

Hi Stephen, really looking forward to the underground layout build. Gill and I have just had a baby girl so the main layout is on hold at the moment. But i am planning something along the lines of the Hornby magazine shunting layout, but of course in n gauge. Really like what you've done around the turntable area. Everything is coming together with the little extra tweaks. All the best Allan

Hi Stephen. I really enjoyed this video. Your layout is looking good and your trains are running well of course. I hope those plans goes well for you. All the best Josh

Good morning Stephen! Another very entertaining episode! The rework of the area around the turntable has turned out really well, and the additional details only make the scenes more realistic! I enjoyed the running session! Sonic Models have done a great job with the Large Prairie! I only got mine out of the box last week, but it runs great on DC! Can't wait to see how it improves after I've fitted the DCC decoder! Loved you explanation of the plans for the underground! I've not heard of the shuttle system you're planning to use, so can't offer any advice, but yes, I definitely approve of performing some experiments! :) All the best, Ian.