Michael's Model Railways

Mocking Up

2012-01-10T23:13:00.001Z

Site clearance has started at the top end of Awngate station! Two trees have been felled, bushes cleared, and the embankment near the water crane cut back, exposing some strange white spongy soil ...

I've always intended there to be an engine shed at this end of the layout to act as view-break, as well as some foreground interest. However the site is quite cramped, so to ensure the structure will fit and look right, I've used some cereal packet card to mock up the size and shape. This saves spending time building a structure only to wish I'd done it differently ...

Actually I've had three goes here! From left to right the shed has got 5mm shorter in length and 5mm wider with each iteration, and the height has varied too. In the foreground are some N-scale factory windows which I think will work well for this building.

This is the third iteration roughly in place on the layout, the railcar shows there is ample clearance to the "main" line, while the shed appears wide enough for maintenance to happen on the loco inside. From this angle the exit hole in the backscene can still be seen, but from a more normal viewing angle the shed hides it nicely. The shed is quite short, but long enough for the typical locos used on the layout, and anyway most of the building is hidden behind the "wing" that hides the end of the backscene so the length is not apparent. For that matter, I might not bother with the window to the right ...

The question now is what materials to build it from. I was thinking brick walls with a corrugated roof, for a reasonably substantial structure to match the station, a slate roof might give an older appearance. But perhaps a wooden structure with a corrugated roof, or a completely corrugated structure, would add a little variety. After all there is plenty of brickwork on the layout. I've also been looking for prototype inspiration, and considering putting a water tank on the roof for interest. Any thoughts?

Happy New Year!

2012-01-07T13:57:00.000Z

Since this is the first post of 2012, may I wish a Happy New Year to all readers. I know we are already a week in to this "Olympic" year (does anyone else think they will be bored of the Olympics before they even start?), but I have contracted my usual post-Christmas cold, leaving me with little energy for picking up the modelling of an evening. And anyway, the way I am coughing now, holding a scalpel would be dangerous! Fortunately for you the common cold is not a virus that can be spread via the internet.

Last year proved a busy one for my modelling, as I couldn't resist entering the EXPO-NG Dave Brewer Challenge, and a year ago I was hacking about a box-file and building track for the first time. The whole project took me in new directions and was great fun, and the result Landswood Park even won the competition! While I was building that I also had an invitation for Awngate to be shown at EXPO-NG too, which as one of the biggest NG shows in the UK, was a great honour. So I also spent some time upgrading and completing some of the scenics, and finishing some stock, and of course the day of the show was rather busy! The concentrated effort to have both layouts ready resulted in a lot to report on this blog, with my busiest year yet averaging 5 posts per month.

So what will 2012 bring? Well probably not quite so much modelling activity, but Awngate is booked to appear at Narrow Gauge South at Winchester in April (another of the big NG shows!), and I have a few jobs I'd like to do by then. There is the possibility of further shows later too. I have some ideas for locos and rolling stock to build, although that will probably be as I fancy, as there is already sufficient stock to run the layout.

Landswood Park may have no further purpose as the competition that it was built for has passed, but it is a fun little layout and I have enjoyed working in 014, so more wagons may appear. And a couple of months back I took delivery of a new project:

The photo above shows the prototype for the kit, an O&K RLc1 now at the Amberley Museum, not far from me, which I think it would be entirely suitable for a farm railway.

Christmas Decorations

2011-12-24T14:37:00.001Z

It is the season of goodwill and of course delightfully tacky decorations. Walking around a garden centre yesterday and looking at the range of Christmas decorations on sale, it struck me how many featured trains. Now this seems a little odd to me, after all we all know that Mary had to make do with a donkey, and I doubt the wise men came from the East by the Starlight Express. And as for Santa, Rudolph is a reinder not a steam locomotive. So why are there so many decorations of Santa riding a train, or trains running through a snowy village?

My in-laws even had a fantastic decorative tree with a Flying Scotsman running around the base, and various other famous trains working their way up the "slopes", including a Festiniog Double-Fairlie and a Snowdon Mountain Railway train. Sadly it seems to be suffering the wrong kind of snow and no longer works. Anyway here are a few typical railway-themed decorations spotted recently:

Perhaps the reason is that everyone likes a Christmas-themed train, and toy trains are associated with Christmas (at least as much as Mary Poppins and those big round tins of sweets you never seem to see the rest of the year!). I've often thought of building a proper Christmas-themed model railway as a decoration, it's been done before and 009 is an ideal scale for it, but I've built enough layouts this year so perhaps another year!

May I wish all readers a happy Christmas time, and may the new year bring many happy hours of making models!

Changing Rooms

2011-12-08T13:13:00.000Z

Here is the reason for the lack of updates recently - the installation of a new kitchen:

When we bought the house we knew the kitchen needed replacing, but there were other more urgent priorities. Now nine years later we finally have a nice kitchen! I must point out that I didn't fit it myself - my DIY skills are nowhere near that good - but even so the installation has been disruptive. It is a kitchen-diner, which meant not just clearing out the kitchen units but my layout(s), bookshelves, and tools have been packed away for a few weeks. And that when the obvious storage space - the garage - was full of new kitchen, so the whole house seems to have been taken over with boxes. I've also been busy decorating the room, and laying the new laminate flooring.

While things are gradually returning to normal there are still a number of jobs I need to do (fitting curtains and blinds, planing doors, floor joiner strips...) in addition to the usual family preparations for Christmas, so it is unlikely I'll get any modelling done until the new year. Still, after several months of intense activity on two layouts it is nice to have a bit of a break ... and plan the projects to pick up in January!

Landswood Park - More photos and it's own page

2011-11-17T23:05:00.000Z

Landswood Park now has it's own page, which you can find from the links on the right. While I am at it here are some more photos which have come out rather well.

You probably won't be surprised that after such intense activity in preparing two layouts for EXPO, I'm enjoying a rest from modelling. However there is another reason too, we're having a new kitchen fitted and suffering the upheaval that goes with that, not least that both layouts are in storage! And while I am not fitting the kitchen myself, there are plenty of associated DIY jobs to keep me busy...

The Boxfile Challenge

2011-11-08T23:12:00.000Z

Finally I have got around to uploading the pictures of the Box-file layouts from the David Brewer Memorial Challenge at Expo. There were 11 entrants that made it to the show, a good turnout, and as always a variety of different ideas and scales. Most of them were finished too, which in itself is a challenge as it is easy to forget how much work is involved even in a layout as small as this! You can see pictures of all 11 here, but here are some of my favourites.

Eastlight (009) by Samual Eveleigh was awared a runner up prize, and I can see why as the scene is very convincing. Samual just 13 years old, but the quality of this model shows he has real skill and I'm sure he'll be producing superb "proper" layouts soon ...! He was also making a loco from tinplate, and making a good job of it.

Schrödinger's Cat (09) by Matt Wildsmith, also awarded a runner up prize. The name is a reference to a philosophical question, but being an Engineer I didn't get the point of the question! However I do see the point Matt was aiming for with the colouring, after all most pictures of old railways are in black and white aren't they? (yes, this is a COLOUR photograph!). The effect is better in the photograph than in reality, but it is very cleverly done.

Nine Wells Watercress Line (009) by Daniel Figg. Another young entrant, demonstrating the value of these sorts of competitions to encourage newcomers and youngsters into the hobby. Purists may scoff but the limitation of a container or size means that anyone can have a go, without the need for large budget, space, or time investment, and results (hopefully) in encouraging the builder on to greater things. Anyway, back to this model, the location and purpose of this line was obvious to anyone who has seen photos of the narrow gauge lines serving the watercress beds in Dorset, and that is an achievement in such a small space. A more suitable (small i/c) loco would have been nice, but they are very challenging in 009, even for an experienced modeller. The track plan is not the most exciting, but Daniel had it running on a shuttle module, I guess that saved him from going insane!

Little Hope Mine (009) by Trevor Street was nicely modelled and presented. Portraying a small mine working it is quite convincing, as small operations did indeed look as simple as this. I like the use of different levels to the scenery, and the spacious feel that demonstrates how much more the same space is worth in 4mm/ft against my own model in 7mm/ft!

Temple of Pfalocos (09) by Christopher Dack. Inspired by a photo of tracks used for moving stone blocks for the restoration of the Acropolis in Athens, this is another old ruin being restored with the help of a narrow gauge line. The idea was that a wagon would ascend and descend in the lift, with a loco to collect it at the bottom and a man pushing at the top. Sadly the lift refused to work smoothly! Still I love the concept and it was nicely finished, this being one of two models that used the box file in the vertical orientation.

I hope all the other entrants had as much fun building their box file layouts as I did building Landswood Park. And if that has got you thinking about building a small layout of your own, the challenge for next year has been announced on the EXPONG website, which will be for "pizza" layouts (circles) of up to 60cm diameter. If you decide to go for it, all the best - but I won't be doing another challenge. Have I said that before? Twice? Oh well...!

EXPO-NG: The other layouts

2011-11-02T23:43:00.002Z

I did manage a little time to look around the show, and as always there were so many superb and inspiring layouts it is difficult to pick out favourites. However here are a selection of my better photos, for the full set click here. EXPO-NG is also the place to find all the specialist traders for narrow-gauge modelling, but I didn't have so much time for shopping!

Charlie Insley's St Etienne-en-Caux is definitely a favourite of mine, even though French narrow-gauge is not something I take much interest in the quality and detail of the layout draws you in, and the interesting rolling stock adds to the character of the setting.

Garreg Wen (009, Matthew & Helen Kean) won one of the awards (The Reinier Hendriksen Trophy IIRC) and it is easy to see why, it looks so "right" for a moment I was wondering where in Wales the prototype was! Better lighting would have helped it though. The other award (David Lloyd Memorial) was won by Corris 1930 (009, Rod Allcock), another superb layout that was hidden by crowds much of the day - that and the fact that I have seen it twice recently meant I didn't get any photos.

Grossbierdorf was an 014 layout by the Group Escradrille St Michelle, set in East Germany just before the fall of the wall it had just the right care-worn appearance of an industrial line, while avoiding the overly-decrepit look. It was well detailed and ran well too.

I had been looking forward to seeing The Loop (0 and 0-16.5) by Giles Favell, after seeing photos on the NGRM forum. It is the careful attention to colours and textures - especially the ground cover and details - that make this layout feel so real when viewed close-up.

I has also been looking forward to seeing Peter Kazer's latest model, of Boot on the "Owd Ratty", in 1/4in scale, and as expected it was finely detailed and of the highest standard. However there was so little modelled beyond the boundary fence that it seemed to lack a sense of place, a little more depth of scenery would have made a lot of difference. Now I know this is being picky, and it was a great model - but for me Peter's model of Corris a few years back was the most inspiring of his work. Nonetheless, Peter shows that standards of Narrow Gauge Modelling can be as high as any, and it is great to see a serious model of an attractive but obscure prototype.

Exhibiting Myself

2011-10-29T23:48:00.002+01:00

Well it has certainly been a long day. The traffic was kind and we arrived at the EXPO-NG venue a little before 8am, which gave plenty of time to unload and set up. This went smoothly too, and both layouts were set up and being tested by soon after 9am. This left me a little time for a quick look around the show. A big thanks to Simon Wilson and Mark Holland for helping out with operating, set-up and packing up, we rotated between the layouts and breaks which certainly kept boredom at bay!

Simon Wilson mastering the controls of Awngate just before the show opened

Awngate attracted a lot of positive comments, which is nice to hear, and some potential show invites too. The preparation of the locos paid off as the layout ran very well all day, with the only track-cleaning before the show opened. The fiddle yard improvements were worthwhile too. However the couplings were temperamental, with some items of stock refusing to uncouple and some magnets less effective than others, so shunting the goods was a brave move! The passenger trains ran more smoothly though.

Landswood Park set up and ready to operate

Landswood Park behaved well too, with the couplings working as intended about 95% of the time (remember both layouts use the same couplings!), perhaps better magnets? However with only one loco it was guaranteed to cause problems, which it did about half an hour into the show when it refused to go. Having checked the track power I stripped down the loco chassis and fettled the pickups, which seemed to cure the problem and apart from the occasional relapse requiring a poke, it ran fine the rest of the day. The other problem was that a point blade came loose, fortunately it was the "kick-back" to the workshop which I never use, so it could be ignored. Despite the size of the layout, the "inglenook" plan and the easy-shunting made it a pleasant and surprisingly engaging to operate.

This layout generated a lot of interest too, I'd say it provoked more conversations than did Awngate, perhaps because of it's unusual theme and relatively uncommon gauge. There was a good turnout for the box file competition with 11 entries making it, most of which were complete, and showing a good standard of modelling. So I was honoured to be awarded first prize!

Fiddling around

2011-10-27T12:56:00.002+01:00

At home the fiddle yard consists of a 5 inch wide plank on which cassettes can be connected to the layout, however I had previously made an extension that could be bolted on the back to provide extra storage space when there isn't a chimney breast in the way! However after the first (and so far only) exhibition for Awngate it was clear that, despite the extension, there was insufficient space for organising the cassettes. Hence the addition of the "spice rack" shown below, providing space for two train cassettes to be stored above, which was simply knocked up from some offcuts of MDF and hardboard.

The other problem experienced is that when picking up cassettes the trains tend to run out the end. I made up pieces of plastic to slot in, but that was fiddy to do. So I used the same idea I had with the 014 cassette for Landswood Park, by having pivoted barriers at the end. The barriers are cut from a length of plastic section (square in this case), slots cut at the ends of the cassettes, and a pivot made from a length of paperclip wire passed through a hole at one end the barrier and glued under a lip inside the cassette trunking. Simple to make, simple to use, hopefully effective!

Here's a close-up shot of a barrier in the open position. I didn't bother with loco cassettes as they don't tend to roll, and they have less clearance. Also visible here is that the lead track has a couple of whire whiskers just outside the rails, these have been added to help with alignment.

Locos and Stock

2011-10-23T23:43:00.000+01:00

Final preparations are under way for Expo-NG next weekend, with some small jobs being done. One was loads for wagons, as with my 014 stock it struck me that shunting empty open wagons around is both dull and generally unrealistic. I realise so is shunting loads into then out of the same station, but at least the trains look more interesting!

These loads are all quite easy. Coal is a piece of black plasticard to fit in the wagon, with an off-cut of plastic in the middle to space it up close to the top of the wagon. It is not supported all round, a prod with a finger tips the load and it can be lifted out. Real coal of course is glued on top. This photo also shows the carriages, which have had a weathering wash to tone them down and add shadows.

The timber load is made in the same way as the coal loads but with coffee stirrers cut up and glued on top instead. The sheeted object is offcuts of foam-core board with a single ply of tissue glued over it, and painted with enamels. The nearest wagon has various items glued to a removable floor.

A more important job has been the going over of the stock and locos. The stock have had the back-to-backs of the wheel flanges checked - and in many cases adjusted - using a borrowed gauge, I really should get one. All the locos to be used have been had their wheels and pick-ups cleaned, couplings checked, and a drop of oil where appropriate until they ran smoothly and at low speeds. The photo below shows them all lined up at Awngate. Of course this is at least twice as many locos as the layout actually needs, but it adds variety and provides spares!

Final details for Awngate

2011-10-20T23:52:00.002+01:00

I've already mentioned that one of the tasks ongoing over the last couple of months has been the preparation and painting of a number of details. The fun part is adding them to the layout to complete the scene. I really don't want to over-crowd the layout - after all it is a very small layout, and meant to represent a quiet tramway - but it is also an urban scene, and I do want the railway to appear to be serving it's community.

So the details include a few more figures, fire buckets, a platform chocolate machine (can you even see it?), and signs of goods traffic including coal being bagged and loaded onto a lorry. There is also coal in the factory yard and on a (newly made) coal stage, with loco ash nearby. Despite the urban backdrop there are sheep in the field in the foreground, and sharp eyes might spot a rabbit, hare, rabbit, hedgehog, and three birds ...

Uckfield Show

2011-10-15T23:34:00.000+01:00

Uckfield is a bit of a trek cross-country for me but it always proves to be worth the effort. This year's show lived up to that expectation, with superb layouts (no exceptions) and good trade support too. Here are some of my favourites, including of course, the Narrow Gauge layouts. Corris 1930 is beautifully detailed, and Christopher Payne's layouts are always interesting. However one layout that really impressed my was Yeoton Wharf, a mixed standard and broad gauge LSWR layout based in Somerset in the 1870's. Built in 3mm Fine-scale (with 14.2mm and 21mm dual gauges) it featured some highly unusual and interesting period trains, as well as superb scenery.

Corris 1930 - 009 - Rod Allcock

Gravel Bottom - 0-16.5 - Brian Wilson

Brink Valley Tramway - 0-9 - Christopher Payne

Yeoton Wharf - 3mm scale, 14.2 & 21mm gauges (yes, broad gauge!) -
Nick Salzmann. Set in the 1870's.

Superb modelling of an interesting railcar on Yeoton Wharf

A great afternoon out. If you want to see more of my pictures click here.

A spot of fencing and some gutters

2011-10-13T13:28:00.000+01:00

It is the subtle details of a model that make it feel more complete, and hopefully more real. The lack of some details is not always obvious, but the mind knows something is missing. Something I felt was lacking around Awngate station was fencing, even though the line represented is a tramway where the railway had it's own right of way - such as this semi-urban terminus - it would have been well fenced off.

Some digging around in my stock of useful bits revealed some lengths of Ratio fencing. So the field along part of the front of the layout has post-and-rail fencing added, carefully bent to follow the contours of the ground and boundary. Beyond the tree towards the road (on the backdrop) this changes to iron railings, assuming the neighbouring property is a building rather than livestock. Compare the view below to that in the last post. The rest of the front is left as open ground as I like the eye-level views of the trains, I'm assuming the land was bought in irregular-shaped plots and so the boundary there is further from the track.

I've used more of the railings at the back of the station, separating the access path to the houses from the railway property. The Wills railings are moulded in plastic, but are not only as fine as any etched railings I have seen, they don't look as flat as etches, and are not as fragile as you'd imagine. Amazing really. I'm not sure how long the fences at the front of the layout will last though!

You may also notice that the houses have gained guttering and downpipes, after someone on the NGRM forum suggested they would be a good addition. He is right, they do add relief and visual interest to the card kits, although it would have been a lot easier to have added them before the houses were stuck in place! Again it was by bits-box that provided a pack of Wills building accessories, the gutters are half-round rather than hollow and the downpipes a "D" section but for the back of the layout who would know? This is another detail that is subtle, but missed if not present.

More greenery ...

2011-10-06T23:21:00.003+01:00

Yes, I have been busy with trees and grass again - but this time for Awngate. There's not a lot of greenery on the layout, but what there was wasn't that convincing. So I set to with the dilute PVA glue, static grass and the Noch puffer bottle, adding layers of the static grass over the existing flock. I wasn't that impressed with the grass effect on Landswood Park, but over the (slightly) larger areas here it seems to have worked more effectively. I've blended in longer yellowy grass over a greener grass, which I think has been reasonably effective.

The trees were described a couple of weeks back, they have had extra flock added to give variety of colour, and have been planted to create deliberate view blocks to the scene. Hopefully their placement will look natural, add visual interest, and by splitting the scenes may even make the layout appear bigger. A few more bushes and extra texture to the existing ones has helped too.

I have also given the track a couple of thin washes of muddy brown to tone down and colour both the sleepers and the ballast. The darker brown of the sleepers and the grey of the ballast still show through, but the overall tone is much more natural now.

Where the engine shed doesn't (yet) stand I have grassed over the end of the siding, and a large bush from rubberised horsehair and ground foam flock helps to disguise the end of the layout. This corner is barely visible from normal viewing angles anyway, so the engine shed can wait for another time. Anyway, I'm stuck for ideas as to what it should look like.

I think the result is that the greenery is less "flat" and is much more convincing than it had been, and the track blends it better. Next a few more details are in order.

Closing the file!

2011-09-30T23:24:00.003+01:00

So after a busy few weeks the Box-File is complete. This is one of those stages of building a model railway where everything comes together, and it appears that a lot of progress has been made in a short space of time, in reality the preparation and painting of the details has been ongoing for a couple of months. I'll do painting in batches two or three evenings at a time, but then need to do something different or I'll go potty!

The details are mostly from Duncan Models and Phoenix, and have been picked to be in keeping with the farmyard/estate setting. I've tried not to get carried away, although to be honest the scene is a little crowded, hardly surprising given the size of the layout! This 7mm scale is still bigger than I am used to ... anyway such a small layout needs visual interest, and I think the balance is about right.

I'm very pleased with the end result of Landswood Park Farm, especially given that it was entirely built within 9 months, including track, scratch-built buildings, and of course the loco and all the stock. It was my first exercise in building my own track, just as well it is buried in the cobbles! Indeed it is my first ever venture into 7mm scale, so despite it's tiny size this layout has provided plenty of challenges and interest, and best of all, fun.

Coal, Straw, and Manure!

2011-09-28T13:38:00.000+01:00

The farmyard is now being "dressed" with the details that will make it appear to be a working farm. In the era in which the farm railway would have been used (up until the early '50s at the latest) coal would have been important to the working and domestic needs of the farm, such as household fire places, the blacksmith, the dairy, and steam traction engines. More obvious materials found in a farmyard are straw, and of course manure.

Coal is best modelled using ... real coal! I liberated some from my parent's bunker and smashed it up with a hammer until about the right size - old photos show lumps of coal that are surprisingly large, so not too small. A pile has been created by the tracks in the yard, probably the dairy is just off-scene. Manure is simply paster (filler) mixed up really thick and lumpy, with powder paints added for the colour. This was splodged around the animal pens, and a big pile added outside the barn waiting to be loaded into a skip and taken to a field! Straw is mixed in using long static grass in a suitable shade of yellow.

The photo above shows that I have disguised the end of the layout with a gate behind the barn, and a lean-to the other side containing the stocks of straw (or is it hay?). The barn has a pen inside. I've used more coffee stirrers for these. At the other end of the layout I have made another pen, this time using cocktail sticks and "chicken wire". You know those balls of netting that women have in the shower? I've no idea what they are for, but my wife's has a bit missing!

It has always been my intention that the rolling stock is very much part of the layout, so some of the wagons are recieving loads of the same materials (and traces of them when empty). The skips have plasticard false-floors, which in this picture are having the manure or coal added. The cling-film is to stop the loads sticking into the wagons, hopefully they will be a removable snug fit.

A gaggle of wagons

2011-09-26T14:08:00.000+01:00

I'm not sure what the correct collective noun for a group of wagons is, but anyway I've finally completed the 11 you see here, which should be sufficient for Landswood Park. They are all KB Scale kits and based on the Hudson "Rugga" Skip, but using some of the KB Scale variations (including brake ends) plus my own interpretations I've made a variety of different wagons. My intention is to use different loads too, so they all look different, having visual interest in the wagon fleet is important to such a small layout, and is one of the reasons I chose a farmyard as a subject for the model.

I painted all the wagons as a batch, starting with Halfords Red Oxide primer as an undercoat (all wheels, couplings etc. removed and blue-tak in the bearings). I used a trick I hear of for rust, spraying them with water and liberally sprinkling salt over them. Once dried they were sprayed with Humbrol matt black (aerosol can), then rubbed until the paint came away from the salted areas. Although not quite as effective as I'd hoped it did reveal patches of red oxide and peeling black paint.

A couple of washes of rusty brown to tone down the red oxide and dirty the black, plus a dusting of weathering powders and a spray of Testors Dullcode matt varnish finished the job. Woodwork was washes of grey/brown and the barrels picked out in militay-ish green, they must be MOD surpless! The photo below could have better lighting, but hopefully shows the effect, which I am quite proud of.

These wagons are little bigger than those I am used to building in 009, and being plastic are quite light, so I have packed them with as much lead (old roofing offcuts) as possible. This is easy for the flat and open wagons, having a useful floor, and I did remember to put some lead in the barrels, but open skip chassis have had to have strips of lead put under the centre and end bracing bars. A strip is also added to the bottom of the V skips too, which I hope to be able to hide.

Wheels popped back into place, couplings fitted and adjusted, V skips held in place with a dab of PVA, and they are ready to go. Apart from those loads of course ...!

Cosmetics

2011-09-23T23:54:00.001+01:00

As the layout nears completion it is time for a quick tidy up of it's external appearance. Now the rules of the competition dictate that the box-file lid must close, but in any case I wanted the layout to still be a box-file externally when closed up. In other words, to look as much like a normal box-file as possible and be able to be stored as one. Since I am going to the trouble and compromise of building the layout in a box-file, it seems to me to defeat the point were it to loose those characteristics. However the outside of the box was starting to look a bit tatty and "butchered".

Amazingly I found a matt-black emulsion paint test-pot (Crown "rebel") at my local DIY store (presumably for the Goths, but why would you need a test-pot to see what black looks like?!). All the exposed chipboard of the box sides where it has been cut had already been sealed and smoothed with PVA glue. So the edges, and any other exposed card areas, or marked external surfaces, were touched-up with the black.

Other than the two holes in one end for the tracks, the main modification to the box was to cut out a section of the front. I've kept this to re-fit, using some small hinges obtained from Squires. The hinges are super-glued to the box and then track-pins pushed into pre-drilled holes via the holes in the hinge plates. The lid catch still works, the hinged front now makes the closed box much stronger.

I need somewhere to store the buildings, end-panels, extension track, and stock for this layout, so what better than a second box-file? I've been using one to store all the bits of the project, but to protect the contents I have used some cereal packet card to organise it. The backscene end panels slot inside the lid, the extension track along the back edge, and a set of "egg-box" partitions protect the wagons. The trouble is there isn't space for the tops of the buildings so I will need to re-organise, I'm sure they should fit in somehow!

Spring has arrived!

2011-09-21T13:43:00.000+01:00

Well there are now leaves on the trees anyway!

As you can see from the picture I've had a tree foliage session. The tree in the polystyrene block on the left is the wire-trunk one I made for Landswood Park, the rest are for Awngate. The two in front in cork bases are based on whitemetal trunk/branch armatures from Realistic Modelling Services, the other smaller trees in the polystyrene block are based on plastic trunk mouldings picked up for a few pence at an exhibition. Given a lick of paint to take away the shiny plastic look, and with foliage matting stretched over the outside, the effect is quite good considering the little effort involved!

Foliage is the matting type, I had some Heiki and some Woodland Scenics, which is teased out and either stuck accross the branches (in the case of the large tree), or just stretched over the outer branches like a tent. The second method was much quicker and just as effective for smaller trees! The branches were coated with PVA glue first, and after the main foliage was in place a spray of glue (or hairspray) was applied, and any left over foliage scattered over the top, ensuring no bare areas.

The big tree fitted in place on Landswood Park, it adds to the rural feel, helps hide the hinge in the backscene (lid), and disguises the fact that the buildings are low-relief. It is actually a "low-relief" tree, he long trunk slots into the plasticard "pocket" fixed to the back of the box-file, which has now been hidden by a short fence made from coffee stirrers.

The buildings have now been fixed in place with PVA, the joins where they slot into the ground have had a little excess glue applied and some static-grass applied with a Noch puffer bottle. It hasn't stuck up as much as I expected, it's the first time I have used it and perhaps it will work better on a flat area.

This is really coming together now, I have been gradually making and painting up detail items which are about ready to be added. I also need to have a tree-planting session on Awngate!

Glorious Goodwood!

2011-09-16T23:34:00.001+01:00

I spent the day at the Goodwood Revival today. It's a classic car race meeting at a race track dating from 1948, however it is far more than a gathering of enthusiasts. Everything is in period style - from the race cars, air display, stewards and marshals, even the burger vans! The atmosphere is what makes this event, and a great day out ... apart from a touch of sunburn!

Painting the ground

2011-09-16T00:30:00.000+01:00

I've been doing some painting, including the cobbles of the farmyard. I used thinned enamels, as I was worried that water-based paint would dissolve the DAS clay - it probably wouldn't. I started with a dark grey, which took a lot of paint to cover well into all the cracks. Then I applied coats of lighter grey/browns over the tops of the stones to try and match the photos of Tatton Park farm. The "metal" plating over the points was given that rusty dark brown colour that manhole covers go. After checking that the track still worked and a loco would traverse it (and after fettling with a screwdriver to clear any excess paint and clay from the rail head and sides), the whole lot was given a final, well-thinned wash of muddy brown.

The result is delightfully uneven and looks about right to me. Not sure that the photo shows the colours right though, the back of the layout looks darker which must be a combination of shadow and a mix of the tungsten room light and flourescent layout lamp!

Here's a photo of Tatton Park Farm, which shows the ground effect I was after, and I think reasonably achieved.

A load of old cobbles!

2011-09-11T20:33:00.000+01:00

And so to a job I have been thinking about for a while - laying the cobbles in the farmyard. As this covers the entire ground of the layout, including the track, it is pretty critical to the look and operation of the layout to get it right! Now I have read on the NGRM Forum and also Chris Nevard's Brewhouse Quay of using DAS clay for inset track. I last used DAS as a teenager for stone buildings but never got the stonework looking right, but that was some time ago so why not give it another go?

First as you will have seen previously the area between the tracks was covered in thick card up to sleeper height, then any gaps between the sleepers were levelled with small pieces of clay. I wanted to cover right up to the buildings, but didn't want to get them messed up, so gave them all a "skirt" of paper. This may not have been necessary as no doubt the clay could have been wiped off, but remember some of them need to be removable. Then the clay was rolled out to a thickness of about 1.5-2mm, cut to approximate shape (some paper templates were used), and laid onto a layer of PVA. The idea was to have the ground surface just below rail height, so as not to lift wheels off the track and to allow the rail head to be cleaned.

The picture above shows the clay being laid, that between the tracks in the centre has just been smoothed into place and is having the flange-ways opened out. 014 standards a fine-scale so the flange-ways are mercifully small, especially having been so used to 009! The dark clay beyond has just been laid and embossed with setts, while the lighter clay to the right has already dried. There you can see a mixture of setts (mostly around the rails and doorways) and cobbles, exactly as I saw at Tatton and something I wanted to reproduce. Cobbles help with the rural farmyard feel, setts throughout would have felt more industrial to my mind.

I embossed the clay whilst damp using a variety of home-made tools, shown above. On the left is a flat piece of plasticard with handle, sized to fit between the rails, used for smoothing and levelling the clay. Next is another one with slots for the rails, and ridges for the flange-ways. The black one is also for clearing flange-ways to the right depth. In the centre is a square-section plastic tube, and next to it a block of three, with chamfered ends used to emboss the setts. These work out about a scale 7 inches square, probably a little too big but that's what I had to hand. On the right is a round tube, and a block of 7, also with chamfered ends. These were used for the cobbles, at about 3 inches scale size they are probably about right.

Embossing in this way was relatively easy, and gave a good result - but not too even. Even so, it took me three (long) evenings to complete this scene, only about the size of a sheet of A4 paper! I think it was worth it, the scene is really coming together now. Next up, painting it. And let's hope the track still works at the end of it.

Day out with the kids

2011-09-05T23:52:00.001+01:00

We had a family day out today, to Paultons Park featuring Pepper Pig World. Those of you that don't have pre-school kids won't know how big Peppa Pig is to the under-5's. Suffice to say I don't think the kids would have been more excited had it been Christmas when we told them!

So a day at a theme park full of little people has little to do with railway modelling, except posing the question - is this a railway or a model? Hmmm ...

That was not the only train ride either, we had to take Grandpa Pig's train too!

Growing a tree

2011-08-29T12:24:00.000+01:00

Well, making a tree anyway, horticulturists may be disappointed!

I figured the background of Landswood Park would benefit from the enhancement given by a tree, and it would add to the rural theme. Given the model consists mainly of brick buildings and cobbles, it needs all possible help on that front!

Construction is by the traditional method of twisted wire, a job I find is much easier than it sounds, and quite therapeutic, although if you were making a forest a faster method may be required! The wire was sold as a bundle for tree making for about 50p, and should make about three trees of this size.

The long trunk is for mounting into a pocket on the back of the boxfile, as shown below. Once twisted to a suitable shape the whole lot is soldered, to stiffen it and to smooth the trunk a little. A blow torch would probably be useful for this, but my 25W iron did the job!

At the moment the tree is fixed behind the building and will slot in once the layout is set up. I'm now not sure if that looks too much like it is growing out of the building, so may move it along to the gap between the buildings, with the trunk behind a fence.

This photo shows preparation for the ground cover, which will be cobbles scribed into clay. However putting clay around the moving parts of the pointwork is asking for trouble, so instead I thought I'd cover them up with chequer plate. It is in fact Slaters plasticard, 4mm scale but looks fine to me, cut to fit and mounted just below rail height. Once the clay is in place it will be flush with the ground, but of course could easily be prised up should a point need attention, which the clay could not! The insides of the buildings have received a card floor - I was going to use plasticard, but thought the texture of card looked more like concrete.

More from the wagon works

2011-08-26T23:58:00.002+01:00

Modelling activity has been a little confusing of late, switching between 009 and 014. There is a batch of items being painted, 009 stock being checked over, and various small tasks on the boxfile. In between I have built a few more of the delightful KB Scale wagons.

The fuel bowser wagon and barrel carrying wagon set are superbly detailed, and while a little fiddly to assemble they will make an interesting change from skips and flat wagons. I actually have another pair of these to make up, but they will probably be bashed into something different again.

Talking of flat wagons, I've made up three more, except that a couple of them have gained ends made from plasticard and scored for planking to match the deck. This gives them a nice agricultural feel, and again ads variety. Another feature is the brake stand fitted to one of the wagons. One reason for choosing a farmyard setting was the variation in wagons and loads that can be justified, whereas industrial lines would usually exist for one traffic. Being a small layout Landswood Park will be more interesting - visually and operationally - with a selection of different wagons, than it would with identical skips.

I've also added some lead under the framing and in the skips of the skip wagons, the flat wagons will have lead under the floor after painting. Which reminds me, I have a lot of wagons to paint now! They also all need couplings, although they are all ready to have them fitted, and I think I have enough couplings made up already too.

And back to Awngate ...

2011-08-15T13:52:00.001+01:00

It is not just Landswood Park that I have to prepare for EXPO-NG in October, I also have an invitation for Awngate, my 009 layout! This layout hasn't had much attention in the last couple of years, so I have turned my attention to ensuring that it is presented at its best.

First up the layout has has seen the attention of the Dyson and a soft brush, it is amazing how the coulours change when a layer of dust is removed. Its operation has been checked too, the polarity switching for a couple of points had been intermittant and while I cannot find a problem, I have cleaned up the contacts of the accessory switches on the SEEP point motors. As they were reclaimed from a previous layout they could be well over 15 years old, so a little tarnishing of the contacts is excusable!

I have also been working through my stock boxes. The three Parkside Glyn Valley Tramway coaches that I started last year at EXPO-NG have finally been finished, with couplings, lead weight, passengers, and a coat of paint. The lamp tops and footboards have been made up to match the Vale of Rheidol brake van which has the same dimensions, so making a nice rake that seems suitable for the Awn Valley Tramway. With hindsight I should have added door-handles in place of the moulded ones, and at some point some transfers and weathering might add to their appearance.

The loco in that picture, "Lucy Ann", has also had some attention, finally getting the lead added over 2 years after she arrived from Paul Windle. Roofing lead was stuffed into her boiler and tanks. This has made a big difference to her ability to pull anything without spinning wheels! The plastic body on a Lifelike chassis was far too light and rear-heavy. She could do with a crew when I get around to finding suitable figures.

Another Windle loco, "Toby" has also had extra lead added, although the Bachmann Plymouth diesel chassis has a reasonable weight in this scale more is always better! In this shot are a couple of Eggerbahn coaches that have just had a repaint. Although a little small and continental in style, they do fit the character of the line, and suit Toby rather well!

This loco is one I built many years ago, from plastic and some whitemetal castings, on a Bachmann chassis. It was, and still is, a good running chassis at a cheap price, hence the tramway skirts. The inspiration was the Tralee & Dingle Hunslets, although mine is very much shortened and not to scale! I have just changed the couplings, which meant removing the cowcatchers I had fitted previously, a shame as they added character but I couldn't find a way to make the Microtrains couplers work over them. I've also removed some rather over-sized nameplates, at some point I shall get some new ones but I am not sure how to get rid of the marks from the old ones, short of a full repaint ...?

Other jobs on the list for Awngate include:

- Add trees and bushes

- Improve scenics generally, particularly foreground grass. A fence would be nice too.

- Weather track? It doesn't look too bad so not urgent

- Add detailing items to yards etc.

- I still need to build a loco shed, but this is unlikely to happen before EXPO!

- Check and test more rolling stock

- Check set up of layout on trestles, they've not been out the garage for 2 1/2 years!

- I could do with adding shelves to the fiddle yard, and possibly more cassettes ...

Making a stand

2011-08-07T23:29:00.003+01:00

With the separate cassette slotting into the end without support the boxfile has to be operated on a flat surface, and a table-top is ideal. Except that:
(1) tables at exhibition venues always seem to bow towards the middle, and as the table will probably be shared with another boxfile that could mean a serious slope to one end! and...
(2) a table is a little low for most people to view.
So it seemed to me that it would be worth making a stand to place the layout on.

And here is the result of the raid on the stocks of offcuts and recycled pieces of wood in the garage! It is simply 6mm MDF on some softwood ends, making a box about 2ft wide, 1ft deep. and 6 inches tall. It provides a flat surface for the layout, by adding packing under one end it can also be levelled, and has an open rear providing somewhere to hide the exhibition paraphernalia. The lamp used to illuminate the layout can be clamped in place too. (You can see here why I thought the gates on the cassette shown in the last post were necessary! At the time of this photo they had not been added).

This view shows the the lamp over the layout, it works well and gives a very good light. The extra 6 inches of height help with the display, without making it harder to operate or more difficult for children (and the disbled) to view. I might even stick some information about the layout on the front.

You may have noticed the backscene. My first attempt was to spray white over a grey background, with paper templates for hills etc being removed with each coat to give a "shadows in the mist" effect. Actually the effect was terrible! Fortunately my parents were visiting so I asked my Mum to bring her paints - she has got quite good at painting backscenes over the years! The cloudy sky works well with the flourescent lamp and the hint of countryside beyond helps set the farm scene.

With the boxfile packed away, and a second boxfile being used to store the buildings, backscene end boards, and stock. the stand can be inverted to provide a carrying box for the lot. There should also be space for the transformer and lamp! From underneath you can see the pencil marks and screw holes from a previous aborted project. OK, so the stand is a bit of an extravagance - being larger than the layout - but using it as a transport box as well as a stand makes it doubly useful, and it isn't extra kit to transport as I'd probably need a box anyway.

Adding the "Stick"

2011-08-07T21:32:00.003+01:00

The rules of the challenge allow a single cassette, described as a "Stick, to be attached to one end of the boxfile as a fiddle yard or headshunt, it can also be attached to multiple opeinings. Clearly my plan for Landswood required such a "stick" to make it runnable. I wanted to make a cassette that could be fitted to either of the tracks that leave the boxfile (although I doubt it will need to be connected to the shed/workshop line very often), and can be reversed - in order to allow wagons to be shunted to the workshop siding.

I made the cassette from plasticard, I could of use the trunking I used for Awngate but I didn't have any handy, and I only need a foot! To attach the cassette to the layout I used brass rod in brass tube. The rod is soldered into the tube on the cassette end, as it couldn't sick out of the boxfile! The cassette can slot into the layout with the brass tubes providing alignment and electrical conductivity in one easy move.

Now I can see you thinking, what stops the train falling out the end of the casstte? (If you weren't, I beat you to it!). So I added the gates in the picture below from L-section plastic, pivoted on a paperclip! They simply push up and down.

On the layout itself I have added uncoupling magnets. These are the Microtrains magnets, however as bought they are about 2" long, much longer than needed. So I break them in half to get twice as many for the money! I've also packed out the area surrounding the tracks with thick card.

Tinker's Park - In The Sun!

2011-07-30T23:05:00.003+01:00

After the drizzle of last year's Railway gala at Tinker's Park, this year's event was warm and sunny, well rather too hot in the tiny coaches with little ventilation! Still, what better way to spend a sunny summer afternoon than around steam trains, steam rollers and traction engines, and model railways too! It turned out to be a long day, having spent the morning at the local Fire Station open day, including a ride in a fire engine. My son rated the fire engine above the steam train and steam roller rides of the aftenoon, but still insisted he liked trains more than I did - he must really really like fire engines then!

Visiting loco this year was Kidbrooke, a rather nice Bagnall 0-4-0, sharing duties with the resident steam loco Sao Domingos, an O&K 0-6-0. It was good to see the line has been extended since last year, by about 50 yards, and the "station" improved. There was a collection of industrial locos too, this photo (below) should come in useful when I come to paint those KBScale skips I have ...

The volunteers at Tinker's Park have been busy in the past year, there being a new railway shed. So new the rails in the floor haven't yet been connected to the railway outside, but it was in use for the model railway exhibition. There was a reasonable selection of layouts, but the highlight for me was Raven Rock, portraying a slate quarry in 0-16.5, and including a working balance incline. The scenery and detail was superb, so no apologies for including a couple of photos!

More photos below:

Animal Barn Painted

2011-07-23T22:41:00.001+01:00

You've probably guessed from recent posts that there have been distractions from modelling of late, however I have been making slow progress with little things. For example some detailing parts for Awngate have been primed and are being painted, and there are some more wagons for Landswood Park on the workbench. More on those another time, but I have also completed the animal barn.

The bricks were painted individually, in a similar manner to the the other buildings. The wood was given several coats of thinned enamels to get the almost-black creosote of the wooden structure at Tatton, the corrugated iron roof is also near-black to represent the tar coating used in the days before zinc plating. However what has really brought it to life is a dusting of weathering powders, a grey to give to woodwork a fading, silvery hint, which nicely emphasises the grain of the wood, and the first signs of rust on the roof.

This is the view that will be apparent once on the layout. The final job was to attach the doors, which puzzled me as there would be virtually no material to glue (the hinges are imitation). My solution was to drill small holes into the edge of the doors, and into the end of the planking at the sides of the doorway. I then used L-shaped pieces of steel wire (well, staples) pushed into the doors then into the sides of the opening. The result is virtually invisible but works well, I haven't even added any glue.

The making of the Octopod

2011-07-21T22:58:00.002+01:00

For those of you without small children and who don't have to watch CBeebies, the Octonauts are a band of animal characters who come to the rescue of sea creatures using various sub-sea ships, and of course have an underwater base called the Octopod (that's the orange thing in the picture below). Now my son is mad about the show so we recently got him a magazine all about the Octonauts, including toy characters, and in the back of the magazine were instructions on how to make your own Octopod.

So having collected the required parts together - a tub from a shop-bought trifle, some of those yoghurt pots that are almost spherical, tin foil and of course a toilet roll tube, we were ready to start in true "Blue Peter" fashion. The instructions said to paint the pots orange, but of course the food container plastic refused to take paint, so I trundled off to the garage where I happened to have a can of red-oxide primer!

The photo contains evidence of "proper" modelling too, a batch of whitemetal details for Awngate are getting a coat of grey primer in what passes for my spray booth!

My wife gave them a couple of coats of orange poster paint mixed with PVA, the result is still a bit red but never mind, my Son and I were set for a Sunday afternoon of cutting and sticking. I attached the yoghurt pot pods using drinking straws with pipe cleaners inside, which involved a drill and a pair of pliers, they are somewhat wobbly! The printed "windows" from the magazine were stuck in place and the Octopod was ready for the Octonauts to move in!

A bit of a change from "serious" model railways (not that I ever take it too seriously I hope!) but a bit of fun that should encourage a 4-year-old boy to think that making things is fun. Roll-on the Airfix kits ...!

Holiday Season Part 2: Devon

2011-07-14T23:30:00.001+01:00

A couple of weeks ago we were in Devon, one of my favourite places and not just because of the cream teas (although that is a factor!). The scenery is great and there are loads of things to do, even with small children, including of course the beach. This is the beach at Goodrington:

Conveniently there is a good view of the Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway, which runs from Paignton to Kingswear (where you can get a ferry across the river to Dartmouth). However between Goodrington and Kingswear is a large rocky hill, and as you can see the climb out of the station is quite severe. Makes the beach more interesting...

Of course we took a trip on the train (my wife is getting suspicious that potential holiday locations are being selected on the basis of nearby steam railways, I can't imagine where that idea comes from!). Close-up it is clear how such a long train was pulled up that bank by what appeared to be just a Prairie tank - it is not a Prairie, but a 2-8-0 originally built to haul coal out of the Welsh valleys!

The steep climbs, viaducts and a tunnel, along with impressive sea and river views, made for a very enjoyable trip. Let's face it, many of the preserved lines are not so privileged with their surroundings. The Dartmouth ferry made for a day out too, and we popped in to see the Newcomen steam engine at the tourist information office. I was rather proud of this shot of the train leaving Kingswear, taken on full zoom from my compact camera, across the river Dart.

A completely different railway journey took us down the cliffs at Babbacombe to the beach!

Holiday Season Part 1: Isle of Wight

2011-07-07T13:38:00.001+01:00

Model making time has been limited over the last couple of months, but it is holiday season. Back in May we were on the Isle of Wight, which meant of course a trip on the IoW Steam Railway!

Spotted from the train was this grounded coach body in a field (actually it was one of two), nice inspiration for a model?

Finally on the way back accross the Solent we saw this Aircraft Carrier. Clearly not one of ours! This was the USS George Washington, and at 99,000 Tonnes I doubt it could get into Portsmouth harbour! Since it is nuclear powered, the red vessel is probably delivering fuel for the aircraft. It was easy to figure out what it was doing there, the previous week Obama had been visiting the UK ...

The Barn

2011-06-29T23:30:00.000+01:00

The third and final building is the animal barn. This is used for rearing the young cattle and pigs, and has a track running into it for animal feed delivery, and of course mucking out! Tatton Park Farm had a large wooden barn structure in the centre of the farmyard, so I was aiming for something similar, although the dimensions are set by the adjacent tracks and a need to have it high enough to hide the end of the box file. As with the other buildings that meant a removable section to allow the box file lid to close, and of course it is "low-relief" otherwise the entire box-file would be buildings!

The shell is from 40" black plasticard, with a slaters brick base, the wooden planking is from coffee stirrers procured from various coffee emporiums. This is the first time I have used them, and I am quite pleased with the result, although I would say they are best suited to larger scales. The roof uses Slaters corrugated iron. Compared to the other brick and slate buildings this should provide a nice variation of materials.

At least this building has square corners and parallel sides, making it easier, but even so getting the roof to slot in neatly adds an extra challenge. The tabs under the roof slot into the slots in the false ceiling.

Solving a short

2011-06-22T23:50:00.000+01:00

Having the Lister reassembled and working I have run it over every part of the layout to test out the trackwork. I really must make the off-stage track, as without it there is no way from the front sidings to the back sidings! That aside it all seems to work ... except that on the short-radius point that is the kick-back to the workshop the loco causes a short circuit and stops.

It seems that although the gap between the point blade and the stock (fixed) rail is correct for the back-to-back measurement of the wheels, i.e. the same as the check rails, it is close enough for the back of the wheel to touch, causing a short circuit as the blade was connected to the vee and so the opposite rail. I can't make the blade move over any further - it isn't long enough, and the switch that controls it doesn't have sufficient movement. So that means isolating the point blade from the opposite rail, and linking it to the adjacent stock rail.

As you can see from the photo, the point is such a tight radius and so short that this isn't an easy task without weakening it. I decided the best place to cut the rail was over a sleeper, so both sides of the cut were supported, and the only way to do this in-situ was with a slitting disc in the mini-drill. That has left a larger gap than I'd have liked, it doesn't seem to cause a problem but I am filling it with epoxy to rail height. The curved rail and blade were then only fixed by a small amount of solder at one end, so a piece of wire was soldered in to connect it electrically and physically to the stock rail, also further epoxy glue is being used to support it.

The result is not pretty but it does work, no more shorts. I guess there is a chance of the 4-wheel loco stalling over the big isolating gap, but it seems OK at the moment. You can see I have only done this fix to the straight route, as this is the point it shorted every time, the curved route does get the occasional short but seems better for some reason. I'm hoping paint on the back of the blade might help (electrical switching is done separately), but in any case while the straight route will be in constant use for shunting, the kick-back siding is likely to be rarely used - it is more for scenic effect! The other two point are of larger radius and don't seem to have this problem at all.

Starting Young!

2011-06-21T23:21:00.002+01:00

This month's 009 News arrived today, but before I had chance to look at it my 2-year-old daughter snatched it out of my hands. "Me read" she said ...

More painting: Farm Buildings

2011-06-14T23:41:00.006+01:00

And here are the results of further painting sessions!

I painted the brickwork mortar grey, then dabbed on brick red/brown with a kitchen roll, trying hard not to get it in the mortar courses. Further variations of red, dark brown, and orange were used to pick out individual bricks, or dabbed over areas.

The roofs were given several coats until I got the colour about right, the last being a well thinned black to emphasis the detail. I have made up some doors for the workshop, and all the "woodwork" was painted a dark red/maroon similar to that at Tatton. It's a rather nice colour too, I used it previously on Southon Yard! It was then lightly weathered with thinned acrylics.

As a reminder, this is one of the buildings at Tatton Park Farm, which shows the styling and colouring I am aiming for:

Actually that's not a great comparison because of the tungsten lighting I photographed the models under, verses the overcast daylight of the prototype! Never mind, I think it is close enough. Just need to add glazing and they will be ready to plant on the layout, although I also need one more building ...

Lister Painted

2011-06-08T23:29:00.001+01:00

Recent distractions and a family holiday means that progress has been slow the past few weeks, but I have used the warmer weather to do some spray painting in the garage. This has been followed up with some evenings with the brushes, and finally I have the Lister painted.

I started with an Etch primer from Precision paints, the green is from the Halfords enamel range which seems a good match for the Lister dark green so far as I can tell. Having said that most colour pictures I can find of Listers are post-preservation, so I don't really know the authentic colour! Details were picked out with enamels, and a well thinned wash of dirty brown applied and wiped off, to tone down the shiny green and give a careworn appearance. Some weathering powers, plus rust orange applied to panel edges with a cocktail stick, and coat of Testors Dullcote matt varnish complete the job.

I'm quite pleased with the result, which hopefully gives the impression of a working tool, without being over-distressed. The geezer at the controls has come out OK too. Just need to hide that screw, add some couplings, and re-attach a couple of details that have come loose when re-assembling. After scraping off some paint from between the chassis block and footplate to allow the electrons to reach the motor, it still works too!

Sussex Downs 009 Members' Day 2011

2011-05-28T21:45:00.003+01:00

Today was the Sussex Downs 009 group's members' day. Although I wasn't showing one of my layouts this time (I did at the last two, in 2007 and 2009), four other group members had layouts there, so I knew I'd be helping out somewhere.

As it happened I spent most of the day helping with Mark Holland's layout "Spirit of Welshpool". I've operated this layout before, and Sparsholt last year, but since then Mark has progressed the scenary, particularly the town area. Also he had (just) written an operating timetable - well, sequence at least. The idea was to give some order and meaning to operation, and given that the track layout is based on the real thing (albeit with serious compression) that makes sense. There were some hitches as the sequence was de-bugged, clarified, and operators were educated!

The above photo shows the station and goods yard. Mark has now built one of the W&L Pickering coaches (with several more to build), and has models of the original locos Earl and Countess, although not yet fully working. However this has shown that the track layout was based around more compact stock, leading to some tight clearances and the loco and carriage sheds are too small!

The Dovey Valley railway by Dick Wyatt (above) is one of my all time favourite layouts, featuring in an old Model Railway Constructor album I had as a teenager, and an inspiration for 009 modelling. You may remember it as the one featured in the Two Ronnies sketch!

Charlie Inslay's Kinwardine Wharf is a great little layout, the first time I had seen it in the flesh, although it was in Railway Modeller a couple of years back. Charlie has some lovely locos and stock too.

The award for "Best Unfinished Layout" (on the basis that no layout is ever really finished) was awarded in memory of Alan Fall, a group member who passed away last year. The most votes went to Martin Collins' Llandecwyn, a deserving winner. This layout is Martin's home layout and I last saw it at the first Member's day 4 years ago, it has made some progress since then but is still far from finished. However the quality of Martin's modelling is superb and this photo gives some indication of how good it will look when the layout is complete.

Martin was also responsible for much of the organisation of the show, along with Tim Sanderson, with much work done by Mike and Theresa Fox, and Doreen Fall in the Kitchen. Thanks to all of those, the exhibitors and visitors. The number of visitors was a little disappointing, probably not helped by being a bank-holiday and half-term weekend, and a rather remote location. However everyone seemed to be having fun. I've uploaded pictures of the rest of the layouts, please click on the link below.

Sussex Downs 009 Group Members Day 2011

SWING Show Bognor

2011-05-21T23:27:00.003+01:00

Just a few of the better photos from the St Wilfred's Industrial and Narrow Gauge (SWING) show put on by the South Downs group of the 7mm NG society in Bognor today. A change of venue meant the St Wilfred's part is no longer valid, but hey, why change a witty name? Anyway a good friendly show with some interesting narrow gauge layouts.

Sussex Downs 009 Members' Day

2011-05-16T23:28:00.003+01:00

The Sussex Downs group of the 009 Society present a

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Members' Day Exhibition

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday 28th May 2011

Wivelsfield Village Hall

Eastern Road, Wivelsfield, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 7QH.

10.00 am - 4.00 pm

Featuring Dick Wyatt's iconic "Dovey Valley" (above), and ten further layouts from members of the group, friends, and associates from the local area. All are narrow-gauge and many are rarely if ever been seen in public.

An award for "Best Unfinished Layout" will be made in memory of late member Alan Fall. Since no layout is ever truly finished, all exhibits are eligible!

There will be trade support from suppliers of 009, and the infamous 009 Society Sales Stand. Also refreshments will be available. The venue has ample parking, and is a short drive from the A23.

I shall be busy helping out, although I won't have one of my own layouts on show this year. Please come along if you can, it promises to be a good day for anyone who enjoys model railways and narrow gauge!

Farm Buildings Progress

2011-05-13T23:13:00.001+01:00

Progress recently has been slower than I'd like, as I said in my last post, but also I find making model buildings does take a long time. It would be easy to rush, but time spent getting brick courses to line up at the corners for example, it worthwhile when the model is complete. Anyway the main farm buildings are just about ready to be painted.

The construction is plasticard, with Slaters brick laminated over 20-thou cut to form window and door frames, and 40-thou black plasticard for strength. There are lots of internal walls and floors to ensure rigidity, however there has still been a little warping. I think it is controlled and minimal on these small buildings, but I can see why stronger, more stable materials such as Plywood and Foamcore board are commonly used for larger buildings in 7mm scale.

This project is further complicated by the buildings having to come apart to allow the lid to close, and provide access to the point switches and electrical connections, as well as being shaped to fit in the box (not always parallel to the sides), with openings for the trains!

Tonight I have added final details such as lead roof flashing using tin foil, and door handles from staples. I need to make a set of doors for the loco shed/smithy too. Window glass will be added after painting.

Canals

2011-05-06T23:19:00.001+01:00

There have been a number of distractions from model building recently, including a short business trip to Holland. My word, it's flat. I mean I knew that - but having driven from Amsterdam to Eindhoven (about 1 3/4 hours) and not seen a hill of any sort, it makes Norfolk look like Snowdonia!

Holland is also known for it's canals, but I hadn't realised how extensively the network of canals spread across the country. They are not like Canals in the UK either - limited to narrow boats and now only used by holiday makers, or overgrown and full of old shopping trolleys. No these are very much in use for large barges carrying goods around the country:

This barge was actually quite unusual as most seemed to have a car strapped to the roof of the cabin, with a derrick to lift it off! Mind you, cars have to wait while the barges pass as you can see. Again ...

Mind you, these lifting bridges are quite attractive, this one in a town centre was feature-lit at night!

It's great to see these canals still being used for their original purpose, and keeping freight off the roads. Talking of transport, Amsterdam Schiphol airport is well-connected with a railway station under the concourse. It is a massive airport, I must have walked a good mile between the front door and the gate. Mind you that was nothing compared to what the plane had to do to take off, of the SIX runways my plane had to taxi to the furthest, 7km from the control tower, and crossing TWO motorway's on the way! I was beginning to think we would need a ferry to get home ...

Return to Littlehampton

2011-04-30T23:02:00.002+01:00

A sunny bank-holiday weekend with Grandparents staying, what better than to pop along the coast to Littlehampton for a stroll along the promenade and a ride on the miniature railway. If this is sounding familiar, it is because it is only 8 months since I posted about the 12 1/4" gauge Littlehampton Miniature Railway. However it seems a lot has changed since then...

Yes, the loco is different, and so are the coaches! Chatting to the driver revealed that the line had changed operators over the winter (the track is owned by the council), and that the current owner had hired in the loco's and stock. Clearly some work had been done to the track and infrastructure too.

The line now has two "toastrack" style coaches with roofs and air brakes, and a rather attractive Bo-Bo bogie diesel, it has a resemblance to the BR class 17 "Clayton" I think! OK so a steam loco would be nicer, but if it is a diesel it might as well look like one, rather than pretending to be a steam loco when it plainly isn't. I couldn't find any builder's plates but the stock had the style of Alan Keef to me, which would be logical and the point levers were certainly from that firm.

At the Mewsbrook Park end of the line there had been some changes. The tunnel had gone (unsafe clearances apparently) as had the footbridge (which went nowhere anyway). The track had been relaid and re-aligned, and the layout of the shed changed, including removal of the turntable from in front. There were still turntable releases at the end of each station loop, and the new loco was a very tight fit for length! Indeed work was ongoing and the driver chatted to a man in an orange coat who was "fettling" the trackwork. I nearly suggested copperclad sleepers and soldered construction would be easier!

There is also now a website at http://www.littlehamptonrailway.co.uk including operating dates. Although a little on the pricey side for a short run, it is a very pleasant line and I wish the new operators well, I'm sure we'll be back again to see how they are getting on!

The end of the sky

2011-04-23T23:20:00.003+01:00

I have been thinking for some time about how to make the boxfile's lid stay upright. It has to be able to close to meet the competition rules so fixing in place is not an option, string would stop it falling back but not forward, and there was no space for folding brace pieces, nor anything much to attach them to. So I came up with the idea of using removable end-pieces that support the lid as the backscene, while also continuing the backscene around the ends of the box.

I made the end pieces from some foam board, a sort of stiff but lightweight plastic board I got from the marketing department at work (it is used for promotional signs). MDF would have done just as well. As you can see I cut them to a curved top profile (while together so both have the same curve), this lessens their intrusion while providing an effective backdrop.

These pieces have to be removable of course. They attach to the lid by the simple means of a potruding screw that pushes into a slot in the lid, the slot is angled to help prevent the end falling sideways. A couple of pegs (made from offcuts of plastruct tube) are fitted into the bottom edge and locate in holes in the top edge of the boxfile ends. The photo below might make this clear! I also fitted magnets to help hold the ends in place, but in practice they have little effect. The result is that the ends are quick and easy to fit, and hold the lid in the vertical position effectively.

Alexandra Palace Show

2011-04-09T22:26:00.001+01:00

A couple of Saturdays ago I was manning the 009 society stand at the Alexandra Palace show. This is, by model railway standards, a BIG show, although a bit of a pain to get to by car. The big attraction of the show to me was the wealth of trade support, right through from Hornby, Bachmann and the largest model shops, down to the smaller suppliers and manufacturers. I went equipped with a shopping list and got most of what I needed! There were a number of good layouts too of course, although to my mind they catered mostly for mainstream modelling interests and especially BR-era steam, that is probably in line with the interests of readers of British Railway Modelling magazine which sponsors the show (I've often thought it should be called British Railways Modelling), although it would have been nice to see more variety of genres. Layout of the show for me was Rowlands Castle, set in Hampshire in 1944 it not only features well modelled and nicely running SR trains, it has superb scenery, and fascinating detailing with the troop build-up to D-Day overrunning the sleepy village.

There was some narrow gauge, including right next to the 009 society stand John Thorne's superbly detailed Purbeck.

Back on the 009 society stand, as well as a new display cabinet and a demo layout, there was space for a modelling demonstration. I continued making the coaches I started at EXPONG (I couldn't very well make 014 wagons could I?!), and also made up a number of Microtrains couplings (I use these for both 009 and 014). This generated quite a lot of interest, perhaps surprisingly for what is not the most exiting part of railway modelling!

So here is a picture of the jig I have made up to help with their assembly, from offcuts of plasticard. At the back one part of the coupler arm is held while the iron tail is fitted with pliers. In the middle there are slots to hold the draft boxes while the coupling arms are assembled into them (upside down). The "dirt" visible is in fact the graphite lubricant that is liberally added, the tiny spring is then inserted on the end of a scalpel blade as seen on the left. Finally the top of the draft box is clipped on (well, it becomes the bottom!). The tray at the front of the jig is useful for tipping out the parts on to!

Detailing the Lister

2011-03-21T13:37:00.000Z

So here is the finished article, with all the details added, cleaned up and ready for painting. All I need to do now is find a suitable primer, normally Halfords' works for me, but I am not sure it is best for brass?

Assembly has used a mixture of methods. I have soldered where I could - for example the bonnet assembly, sand pipes, lifting rings, driver's seat and sanding levers. However the mass of the footplate assembly has made soldering practically impossible for my 25W iron, and also I didn't want other parts coming un-soldered while I soldered new ones on! So most of the details have stuck in place with superglue or epoxy.

The gearstick used a pin from the wife's sewing kit, a little filing made the head more rounded. This seemed easier than filing a handrail knob to a ball shape as suggested in the instructions. I hadn't fitted the clutch pedal at the time of the photos, having checked some photos and where the driver's foot will go I can glue it in place before painting.

The holes in the buffer beam weights for the couplings can be seen, the buffer/coupler casting has been mounted about 1/2mm high to clear the couplings. The mis-casting of the sideframes has been rectified with a little filler, although from normal angles it was barely visible.

The Lister Chassis

2011-03-17T23:27:00.003Z

Having assembled the frames to the footplate it is time to add the electrical pickups and assemble the chassis. The pickups are made from phosphor bronze wire, and on one side of the chassis block they are soldered directly to the block, thus making the whole loco live. The other side (shown) has the pickups soldered to a small piece of PCB (there is sellotape behind the pickups too, to prevent shorts).

This PCB has to be connected to the motor - which is mounted above the footplate - with a piece of fine wire. However that means un-soldering the wire from the motor every time the chassis is removed from the body, making lubrication and cleaning pickups a pain. My solution was to make a brass contact from the PCB on the chassis, which acts on another small PCB contact under the footplate, and that is connected to the motor. Thus electrical contacts between chassis and motor are made as the body is assembled, hopefully the photos make this clear.

The underside of the footplate, the PCB contact and black wire to the motor can be seen at the top. The holes under the bufferbeam weights are to locate the microtrains couplers. The sand-pipes have been soldered into the sand boxes.

The chassis assembled, the motor will be hidden under the bonnet. The black wire on the near side goes through the footplate to the PCB contact seen above, the bare wire simply connects the motor to the body electrically.

Initial running tests revealed a problem, there was a mechanical lurch every inch or so. This was probably a gear mesh issue, but I couldn't fix it. However David Janes at KBScale offered to take a look, and it has just returned working perfectly (that kind of service seems to be typical of Dave). It now runs very smoothly and very, very slowly. The gearing of this model is 196:1 via the double worm drive, meaning the motor is screaming away but the motion of the loco is realistically slow.

As well as posting a number of useful pictures, CF sent me this useful link, which includes a copy of the 1933 instruction book. Apparently the top speed of these locos was 5mph! I'm glad I only have a box file, anything larger and that speed could become tedious!

A Brief History of Landswood Park Farm

2011-03-13T23:29:00.001Z

Landswood Park was one of the large estates of Cheshire. Home of the Marshall family for several generations, the Hall dates from the 18th century, and makes a grand impression as approached from the surrounding parkland. About half a mile to the South of the Hall lies the Home Farm, one of several farms owned by the estate and closest to the Hall, but Home Farm (also known as Landswood Park Farm) was managed directly rather than being let to tenants. It was predominantly a livestock farm, with pigs, cows (mostly dairy), and chickens, however it also grew vegetables such as potatoes in fair quantities.

At some point in the 19th century a hand-worked rail system had been installed in the farmyard for making the job of carting animal feed around the cobbled yard easier, this was considered the height of technology for farmyards at the time! However some of the farmworkers returned from the Great War having seen what railways could do over muddy ground, and wondered if the same technology could be of use in their farm.

So the farm manager, Edmund Blackadder (who had reached the rank of Captain on the Western Front) put a proposal to Sir George Marshall, the lord of the manor at that time, who happened to be keen on modern developments, and permission was granted to purchase second-hand 2' gauge track and stock from the war department, including a petrol locomotive. The farm workers laid the track and it was operational by the winter of 1920.

Initially the line served the Landswood Park Farm yard with lines into some of the surrounding fields, however by 1922 it had been extended as far as the yard of the nearest Cheshire Lines Committee station, a distance of around 3 miles entirely over Marshall land, other than a road crossing by arrangement with the council. By 1927 it had reached it's full extent, with around 6-7 route miles of permanent track, serving two other farms on the estate, a wood yard in the forest, and a branch to the service yard of the big house to bring in coal and other goods from the station. Temporary tracks were laid into the fields for harvesting the vegetables.

Traffic included animal feed from the station to the farm stores, then to the various barns and fields, plus of course mucking out of barns and stables - the contents went to the potato fields. Bagged fertiliser and seeds were also transported. Coal was taken from the station to the Hall, the farm dairy, and for traction engine and domestic use across the estate. Out-bound traffic included potato and other vegetable crops, and timber. Occasionally even livestock (piglets and chickens) were transported, and in later years a pair of wagons were modified to carry fuel for the growing fleet of tractors and lorries. Some wagons were converted to carry passengers, probably labourers for the fields at harvest, but this was of course unofficial!

The initial purchase of stock was soon inadequate and worn out. Generally the estate bought off-the-shelf items from Robert Hudson of Leeds, including track parts and wagons, note that 4-wheel wagons seem to have been preferred - possibly due to the tight curves and uneven, lightweight track. Records of the locos used are patchy, and as Sir George and his Farm Manager were canny at persuading potential suppliers to loan locos for trial periods, photographic evidence is confusing. It seems that there were up to 3 or 4 locos at one time, possibly not all in use at once, but we do know that a Lister RT Railtruck was popular for use around the farms due to it's light weight. Trains were generally short as the loco's struggled for traction in places (the track tended to follow the lie of the land!), so the in-service loco spent all day pottering around the estate.

By the mid 1930's the estate was experimenting with tractors and road lorries, and domestic traffic became rare on the line. However WWII and the demand for farm produce kept the line busy, and even as tractors were introduced they didn't replace the railway. Since most goods at that time came via the station the railway was still economic. By the 1950's though most goods were being sent by road lorry, the railway line was worn out and deemed uneconomic because of double-handling, it is believed that it last operated in 1960.

Boxfile Building

2011-03-09T23:09:00.002Z

The buildings for the box file are surprisingly challenging. They need to give the feel of typical farm buildings, and add visual interest to what is a tiny layout, but also fit inside the box file. However the height inside the box file with the lid shut works out around 10 feet in 7mm scale, which means even a single-storey building with a pitched roof won't fit. That means the buildings will either have to be fully removable, or have removable roofs and upper storeys where present.

Here's the first one under construction. I've used Slater's brick embossed plasticard, this is laminated to a 20 thou sheet of plasticard (white) for the door and window frames, then 40 thou plasticard (black) for strength. Further plasticard floors and walls inside reinforce the walls and will hold the building together, this building is "low relief", about an inch deep, but to complicate matters is is not parallel to the back-scene so includes some difficult shapes!. The gable and the roof will lift off - I just need to figure out how to make it do so, while remaining strong!

This photo of Tatton Park Farm buildings gives an idea of the type and style of buildings I am trying to portray, although I have designed the buildings to suit their location on the layout. Note the arched windows, the simple window and door frames almost flush to the brick, slate roofs with no barge boards, and the colouring of the local brick. If I can get those details right the buildings should be reminiscent of farms around Cheshire.

Wagons Roll

2011-03-04T23:14:00.003Z

Sorry about the rather predictable title, but this week I have mostly been building wagons. Here is the total fleet so far, although I do have some more flat wagons and a fuel bowser wagon set to make up.

These KBScale wagons are all based on prototypes made by Hudson using the "Rugga" skip chassis. Most industrial lines bought their wagons "off the peg" from Hudson or one of the other manufacturers of similar equipment, rather than have bespoke-design wagons made as many of the better known narrow gauge lines did. The kits are nicely detailed and not at all difficult to assemble, although like any kit they do benefit from a little time and attention.

Although I haven't yet made enough couplings, all the wagons are prepared and ready to have them fitted, as previously described. So they are just about ready for painting, but first I will distress the deck of the flat wagon a little, and I need to find a way of making those skip bodies look battered and used. I've heard of people using a blow-torch to soften the thin plastic but even if I had one, I'd be sure to melt or burn the plastic instead!

Illumination

2011-03-03T23:35:00.004Z

My wife had a trip to Ikea today, and got me a nice new lamp:

As you can see it will be just right for illuminating the box-file layout. It would be rather over the top to build a lighting rig for such a small layout as I did for Awngate, and rather defeat the point of building it in a box file (just don't ask me what that point is!). However to display a model well requires some lighting, and most desk lamps or clip-on lights don't suit as they would be too close to the model and not give an even light.

This long-arm angle-poise type lamp is perfect as it can sit high above the layout and give an even, diffused light from it's 11W fluorescent tube, without blocking the view, and being lightweight and able to fold up small for portability. The light is plenty bright enough, and will give more of a cloudy day look than the warm, sunny-day tungsten strip lights of Awngate or Southon Yard.

At a little over £13 the "Global" light from Ikea is excellent value, but you can tell it is cheap. Lots of plastic, and the joints need to be tightened with wing nuts to keep it from sagging once in position. It also only comes with a G-clamp rather than a proper stand. However for this use that doesn't really matter, it is cheaper than most strip-lights in DIY stores. It would be great for a permanent work bench too, if only I had one ...

The Lister Build begins

2011-02-21T23:42:00.000Z

So with track made, laid and wired, and a couple of wagons to experiment with couplings (and set their height), it is time to start on the big Christmas pressie, the Lister RT locomotive.

Now my wife might not be that impressed with it, preferring the steam locos as produced by Paul Windle, and she has a point that it isn't the prettiest loco ever made! However to me these little industrials have bags of character. For starters the fact that it looks like a lawnmower, and far too small to be motorised! In fact a lawnmower isn't so different, Lister were making factory tugs like this, a useful tool in pre-forklift days, when some customers asked for a version to be put on rails and the Rail Truck variant came about in 1928. Ideal for lightly constructed lines they were popular for peat bogs and factories, and I think it would have been an ideal loco for a farm/estate railway.

In the box are a good clear set of instructions, lots of black tissue paper containing shiny brass parts, an etch, bags of wire and other parts, and the ready-assembled milled brass chassis. More on the chassis later ...

Most of the kit is made up from lost-wax brass castings. Here are the castings for the mainframes, buffer beams and ballast weights, and the footplate (upside down). As can be seen there is a considerable amount of metal to be removed from the casting process including those arches on the frames, which also show some slight mis-moulding along the top edge where they chamfer to fit the footplate. Nothing a spot of filler won't fix later, but the crisp detail of the cast parts is superb.

As a result I have spent a lot of time lately in the garage at the bottom of the garden hunched over a mini-drill with a cutting disk. The instructions suggest a piercing saw and a file, but I'm impatient! The frames and footplate required some serious fettling to get a good fit but it is worth the effort. A number of holes for details have had to be drilled out too, which is slow as brass is very hard! (well, I usually work with plastic or whitemetal!).

The biggest challenge so far has been opening out the ballast weights to make pockets to mount the couplings. Fortunately they are hollowed out at the rear, but there was still a large amount of metal to remove. I drilled two adjacent holes and opened them out to form an oblong, squaring out with a file, a slow job.

The instructions suggest using a mini blow-torch to solder the frames to the footplate but I don't have one, I'd burn myself if I did, and my 25W iron would never heat up this mass of metal sufficiently for a good soldered join. So I have used 5 minute epoxy ("Araldite" or in this case the B&Q equivalent!) which has the advantage of giving me enough time to adjust to ensure all is square. I assembled one side and end, then the others when hard, blu-tak is very handy here! In this photo the holes for the couplers can be seen, along with the vertical hole for a wire pin to secure them.

Here are some of the lost-wax cast details along with the etched parts used to make up the bonnet. Bending that bonnet piece took a while but I am pretty pleased with the result. More soon ...

Couplings in 0-14

2011-02-16T23:28:00.001Z

There are three coupling types commonly used in 0-14:

The prototypical link and pin, indeed the KBScale products come with the coupling pocket, a link and a pin. While highly realistic, I can see this leading quickly to insanity on a shunting layout!
The Greenwich coupling as commonly used in 009, with a little work these can be built into the skip frames so the loop of the coupling attaches to a peg on the frame of the next wagon, indeed KBScale sell parts for this.
The Microtrains "Buckeye" coupler, the use of which was described by Roy C Link in the Industrial Narrow Gauge Handbook.

Couplings are a personal choice and we all have different priotities, so there is no right answer, and in this scale probably no significant popular choice either. I don't have the patience for the scale links and pins, and personally I'm not keen on the loop-over-pin type couplings (like the Greenwich type) having used DG's for some years in 009. They are prone to getting bent and seem to need constant adjustment, and for reliable operation they work best with loops at one end of the stock only.

That leaves the Microtrains type which I have also used in 009 and found them to be reasonably robust, getting repeatable auto-uncoupling takes some fiddling with magnets but overall I prefer them, so I have chosen them for my 0-14 adventure. Their downside in this context is requiring space for mounting the "draft box", and while they are prototypical for some railways (partiularly American) they were hardly ever used on industrial narrow-gauge in the UK.

Fitting them to the KBScale wagon chassis is as described in the Roy Link manual, although the design of the coupling draft box has changed slightly. The bottom edge of the curved frame and lower part of the centre channel is cut away where the coupling needs to fit, and filed flat. A hole is drilled to take the Microtrains mounting screw, and the coupling screwed into place. I should cut off the protruding screw really.

This shot shows one wagon with the couplings fitted, to which I had strengthened the frame with plasticard offcuts although I don't now think it is necessary, and another having the couplings fitted showing the recess created to mount the coupling.

I have made a couple of useful gauges to assist setting up the couplings. The first is a block that sits on the track to set the height of the coupling, simply made from plasticard the "finger" needs to slide tightly under the coupling mounting created on the wagon. This is about 7mm high, although so long as they are all the same height the actuall height is irrelevant! Hence always using the same gauge. The second is a piece of 10 thou plasticard to sit on the rails, the iron tail of the coupling is adjusted to just skim the top, meaning it will not foul on points etc.

The result is reasonably tidy although it does mean the wagons are quite far apart when coupled, of course in reality the oval frames are the buffers and would touch, with a single link to couple them. I can live with that for the convenience of auto couplings. The next challenge will be fitting the couplings to the loco ...

Track and wires

2011-02-09T22:57:00.000Z

As I mentioned last time the points are controlled via wire-in-tube from slide switches mounted in the front corner of the board. Because of the cramped space and the short runs to the points this was fiddly to set up. Once the tubes had been stuck in place with a hot glue gun the points could be stuck down with Bostik.

The rest of the track was reasonably easy to lay, the copper-clad PCB strips cut to suitable lengths with side-cutters and stuck down with Bostik, the rail pre-cut and curved before being soldered in place using the KBScale roller-gauges. I used PECO rail joiners (fishplates) on the standard code 80 rail including insulating ones where the points face each other, as the track will be buried this won't get seen. Metal fishplates were soldered to ensure conductivity - it has never been a problem for me but once the track is buried that's it! Finally gap the copper clad sleepers and check with a multimeter.

As you can see the wiring is in place too (apart from connecting up the socket). Grey for the rear rail, blue for the front, and black for the switched rails (frogs or vees). There is also an isolating section at the end of the front-right siding, as it looks a good place to park a loco if I ever want to. Not very likely but it would be hard to add it later ...

Wires go to the most convenient place to attach to the track, and will all be hidden by buildings at the end of the layout or buried under the farmyard surface. They meet in a terminal block that will also be inside a building. The wires and point control tubes are all stuck in place with a hot glue gun: quick, easy and strong.

This close-up shows how the point control switches have been screwed in place with miniature screws, and how the operating wire is attached through a hole in the switch. Also seen is the wiring for switching the point frog (vee) rails, note that the switched feed for the first point also feeds the switch for the second. At the side of the opening (finger hole!) is the microswitch for the isolating section, I had run out of space for a proper switch.

Preparing the box

2011-02-05T23:43:00.000Z

Although for various reasons I was unable to start work on this project before Christmas, I did do some planning and thinking as to how I would build a layout in a box file. As you will have seen Christmas did bring lots of goodies, but before embarking on the loco and stock I thought it best to start by laying some track. The last few weeks have been quite productive, with the three points built, but for now back to the, erm, baseboard!

I decided against laying a board within the box file, as it would rob precious depth, potentially resulting in more difficulties with the buildings. I will be raising the ground level up to rail height anyway which should strengthen the bottom of the file, but the track is to be laid straight on the bottom, which like the lid and spine is made from stiff card. However the "front" and ends of the file are in fact 5mm chipboard.

First the rivets holding the sprung paper-clip were drilled out to remove it. Two openings were then cut into the left hand end of the box (one for the entry line, one for the low-relief workshop which will have a line run into it), by drilling big holes at the top corners and opening out with a power jigsaw. Another opening was made to allow access to switches at the front corner, and a hole drilled to take a 6-pin DIN socket, my standard power connection.

The rules specifically allow the front to be folded down to improve the view, which is a good idea as otherwise the view would be rather restricted to the "helicopter" position. However I thought removing the whole panel would weaken the box significantly, so I have cut away a large section with plenty at each end, and 5mm at the bottom, to maintain the strength. This section will be re-attached so that it hinges down. I have sealed the cut edges with a couple of coats of thinned PVA glue, and will paint them black for neatness in due course.

It will now be obvious why I could not have any part of the points protrude below the baseboard! Here the wire-in-tube that will operate them can be seen, snaking back to the miniature slide switches mounted to some offcuts of wood. The switches will be operated through the opening, and as well as switching the track power to the frog/vee of the point, their positive action will hold the point blades in position.

The Boxfile Plan

2011-02-02T23:00:00.003Z

The idea of building a layout in a box file is not new, I remember reading about an 009 layout in two joined box files in a magazine back in the 90's, and it was probably not the first, although micro-layouts seemed less popular back then. Phil Parker pointed out the Double-O Gauge Association ran a boxfile competition a few years back, and I should say I really admire Phil's own Melbridge Box Co.

Designing a successful micro-layout is not easy, particularly with such tight constraints. Of course "trains" must be short, curves and points tight, and operation will be limited. However while the layout may be a gimmick (let's face it, it is), I want the model to be serious - that is I want (reasonably) interesting operation that is not un-prototypical, a setting that is plausible and not too contrived, and of course to build it to the best standards I can manage. Even with some experience of such small layouts that is a tall order!

The size of the box file and the rules are not the only constraints to the layout design. While the Hudson "Type 1" curves are very tight (93mm radius), allowing for very short points even in 7mm scale, they are not ideal for shunting over and limit stock to the shortest possible, so "Type 2" (260mm radius) are preferred. Experience has taught me to allow enough straight in sidings where coupling and uncoupling is to happen! And while the lead track or "cassette" can be fixed to multiple openings in one end of the box according to the rules, I don't find moving a cassette "interesting" operation, so prefer that to be used only for changing stock

Most industrial 2' gauge lines were built for one traffic, e.g. quarried sand or aggregate, so operation is not always interesting. Also while NG may be ideal for a cramped site, many industrial sites and quarries sprawled over large areas. So what prototype could provide a plausible and interesting setting? Well, regular readers may remember my post about Narrow Gauge in a Farmyard - nearly 3 years ago I found this hand-worked line at Tatton Park Farm in Cheshire, and postulated that it would make an interesting layout assuming locos were used!

The plan I settled on is essentially an Inglenook (3 sidings that can form a shunting puzzle) with the addition of a kick-back. This is the same as I suggested to Phil for his Melbridge Parva layout, and indeed used for my own Pen-Y-Bryn Quarry, as it is a versatile plan for a small space. Here the line enters under an archway (similar to Tatton but much smaller) and splits into sidings serving different parts of the farmyard: a feed store, livestock shed, stables, and a heap of coal (for the dairy as well as domestic use). The kick-back is the blacksmiths, also used to stable and repair the loco(s).

The next task was to mock up the buildings - cereal packets were cut up and stapled to approximate shapes. Being new to 7mm scale I needed to visualise how big the buildings would be, and check clearances. You can see I changed the design of the buildings along the rear slightly, but all seemed to work. Of course the upper parts of the buildings will need to be removable to allow the lid to close.

Here we go again!

2011-02-01T13:45:00.001Z

I mentioned in my post about EXPONG last October that the challenge for 2011 sounded interesting, it is to build a layout in a boxfile. The trouble is I have a weakness for this kind of thing, just look at Southon Yard and Pen-Y-Bryn Quarry - you could say I have "History". It didn't help that even my wife thought it sounded interesting, and for the next few weeks I was doodling ideas.

The "Dave Brewer Memorial Challenge" is detailed on the EXPONG website, however the rules are pretty straightforward. The model (narrow gauge of course) is to be built into a boxfile such that the lid can be closed, and "sticks" of track (or "cassettes") may be added to one end to facilitate operation.

I thought I'd like to do a 2' gauge industrial railway, the sort with small internal-combustion locos and skip wagons (or variants built on their frames). This is tricky in 009, but there tempting me at EXPO was the KBScale stand. As I have mentioned I have long admired the Roy C Link range of industrial 2' gauge models in 7mm scale, 14mm gauge (now in the KBScale range), and the boxfile seemed an ideal opportunity for a mini-project to dip a toe into the waters of a different scale. However I must confess I do enjoy designing and building micro layouts too, and the deadline and silly limitations of the boxfile (let's fact it, it is a daft idea) is good fun.

Now I happened accross an empty boxfile (well it is now), and so out came some track templates (photocopied from the Link manual) to see what could fit. This sort of layout is best planned full-size, it's the only real way of knowing what will fit, however I did find a novel way of "drawing" them. I photographed the paper template plan with my mobile phone, then used an "App" to doodle all over them; here are a couple of ideas I came up with.

The first uses the boxfile as the inside of a factory, with tracks entering through a door, and some dirty windows looking out to grey sky along the back - kind of a reverse of the normal approach! Sidings inside the building could serve a boiler-house, a door through to "Goods Inwards", and a loading area. Battery loco's might suit this best, so a short kick-back to a charging/servicing point has been squeezed in.

This idea is for a railway serving a nursery (the kind that grows plants, not Kindergarten), and yes there is a prototype for this at Poppleton near York. In this concept the greenhouses are served by tracks (O.K. they are only one wagon deep in reality) for taking fertiliser in, and plants out, while next door there is a store, and boiler-house requiring coal. The tracks exit left though a gate in a tall wall to another part of the nursery.

Next time I'll reveal the plan I chose ... and it is neither of these!

Three Points

2011-01-24T23:08:00.002Z

This is the result of my efforts over the last couple of weeks then - three hand-built points. Other than some cosmetic quarry track in 009 (that was never intended to work, or tested to see if it would), this is my first effort at building my own track. I used the Roy Link (KBScale) templates but since I was going to be hiding the track, and I didn't want to protrude pins or moving parts through the baseboard, I decided on the traditional approach of soldering to copper-clad sleepers.

As I have said before I am not worried what the track looks like - it will all be buried or in-set. So the sleepers were spaced for convenience rather than appearance! As I had it to hand I used code 80 (N or 009) rail rather than the code 82 KBScale recommend - as that has a slightly wider head and foot it would probably look better, and the track gauges were a little slack on the code 80. You may also be able to see some "cheats" I have used - the blades are pivoted in fish-plates in a manner similar to some PECO points, I have fitted bent-wire "springs" to the tie bar to hold it and the blades in place (they don't really give an over-centre effect). There are thin wire jumpers to ensure electrical continuity to the blades from the frog, which will have a switched feed.

It has been relatively painless, using a slitting disc in a mini-drill to shape the rails, and I also now have a tub of flux - the first time I have used it, and it does make soldering much easier! However I did take my time, and spent plenty of it "fettling" - grinding rail away, checking gauge, pushing my one wagon through ... so far all seems to work!

Bognor Regis Show

2011-01-16T22:07:00.004Z

Last weekend was the Bognor Regis Model Railway Club show, which was a good afternoon out with the lad. He especially enjoyed the kids "have-a-go" layout, and when we got home he wanted his train set out! Trade support was good with Squires and several suppliers selling more than just RTR boxes.

Fellow Sussex Downs 009 group member Tim Sanderson was there with his Elmsgate & Thatcham Light Railway, which is surprisingly busy to operate despite it's modest size - I should know, I have had the pleasure of operating it.

Kolne USW (H0) by the Wealden Railway Group took my fancy as a small shunting layout (operated as a puzzle), with added passenger interest, and very nice Scenics. Unusually my son liked it too - he normally likes bigger and busier layouts! This scene is very nicely done - fun by the lake? Take a closer look and all is not what it seems! I didn't notice the sign at the time but Pharmaceuticals company Bayer are a big employer in Cologne.

Nuenbruckenbahn (N, Iris & David Guscott) was an Alps scene with rabbit-warren track-plan, working cable cars, and interesting if implausible scenery. It may offend the purist but it was fun and very popular with the kids (mostly guessing which tunnel the train would appear from), and that in my book is a good thing!

Gorringe Park Depot (00 - Denis Stevens) was a neatly modelled modern-image MPD, a bit of a cliché perhaps but with good reason. I thought the setting looked likely (unlike some of this genre), and this scene combined even more clichés ... I like someone with a sense of humour!

Chicken or egg?

2011-01-05T23:19:00.002Z

So when starting in a new scale/gauge, should I start with the exciting new loco kit, the pile of wagons, or the track? Hmmm...

As you can see I started with track! This is only a small project so there was no point in setting up a test track, just crack on with the layout. However that meant starting with a point - or two! Now this is the first time I have made my own track, apart from some "scenic" 009 quarry track many years ago (including stub points), but as that was never wired for operation it doesn't really count!

For various reasons I am not using the KBScale approach for spiked track, but I am using the track templates, here are a pair of "Type 2" radius wye points under construction. The templates have been stuck to a piece of board, and copper-clad sleepers tacked on with a dab of PVA. Later the points will be removed and transferred to the layout. I have been shaping the rails with my mini-drill, and at the bottom of the photo the Vee rails are being soldered up, pinned to another template on a wooden board with dress-making pins.

What worries me most is getting the blades to pivot properly, and work well, while being robust. The KBScale method looks fiddly to set up at the tie-bar/blade end, and I can't put pivots or rods through the baseboard. I've been looking at PECO points with the fishplate pivots, and blades fixed to the tie-bar, and thinking ...

New Year, New Projects!

2011-01-02T00:22:00.002Z

So here is what Santa brought me, courtesy of my Family and the useful ability to add items from other websites to Amazon wish-lists! Yes a nice pile of KB-Scale kits.

So I have a Lister loco, and 10 wagons - in total 3 skips, 3 flat wagons, 2 open wagons and a pair of fuel bowser wagons. That should keep me busy for a while, but first I need to make some track! Over the last month of so I've had a dose of the Flu, a Birthday Party for a 4-year-old, and of course Christmas and associated family commitments, to distract me from model-making. So I'm now hoping to find time to make some progress with my new project ...

Happy New Year to everyone!

Cutting PCB

2010-12-13T23:16:00.001Z

For my next project I intend to make the track using copper-clad sleepers. Since the sleepers will be hidden I don't really care what they look like or what size they are. However my stocks of copper-clad strip have depleted, and it is not the sort of thing you can pick up in a local model shop! It can be bought by mail order but generally comes in packs of 20' (not as one length of course!), which works out quite expensive when you consider I probably need about a quarter of that.

I managed a trip to Squires last month (the wife needed something from Bognor so I took the opportunity!) and amongst a pile of bits and bobs I got a sheet of copper-clad board for about £1.50, thinking I could cut it into strips. However it proved resistant to all known knife blades - this is tough stuff! Then it struck me - rather overkill but perhaps the power jigsaw could be used? But how to cut a small, brittle board with something as large and crude as a jigsaw?

The photo shows how. The copper-clad was screwed face-down to a piece of board (more of that PVC plastic I got for free in this case), which could be held on the bench, and support the board during cutting. In the end I put the screws into the bench too! I managed to cut a dozen strips - not very straight or even, and a bit rough, but fine for my needs - plus the last bit can be cut into larger slabs for board and cassette ends. Sledgehammer and nut? Probably! But it worked.

Train Set - Part 2

2010-12-07T21:31:00.001Z

Although I measured out for a double track, for now I am sticking with the basic oval and siding that comes with the Thomas set. After all, for now Thomas will be the only train! The point is I will be able to add an extra track, and more sidings, later on.

First I painted the track-bed grey with a couple of tester pots from the DIY store (allowing for future track). The track was stuck down with No More Nails (I thought it might be stronger than PVA but it didn't dry clear, PVA would have been better) and pinned, althoug the track pins were reluctant to go through the ply! At the board edges I used a short length of nickel-silver flexi-track, where the rails crossed the joint I put in brass screws both sides, and then soldered the rails to them, then cut the rails. This should make the track robust at the edge and ensure precise alignment, even though it is cosmetically lacking! Each rail then had a wire soldered to it, running over the hinge post to the rail on the other side, ensuring electrical continuity. The photos should make this clear.

The Hornby controller was screwed to the board in one corner and connected up. In the siding I added a re-railer ramp with uncoupler, I'm surprised Hornby don't include these in the train set. I know they are not pretty but for a child they are very useful! A set of Hornby platforms were cut to fit the board joint and the length of the straight and stuck down with a glue gun. I used the small station building as although I have the larger one, it fouls the other end of the platform when the board is folded! I also found a signal box, this and the station came from my parent's loft ... Finally more tester-pots were used to paint the rest of the board a rather un-convincing grass green, I threw some handfuls of scatter onto the wet paint too. Frankly it hasn't worked that well but it is better than bare ply, and this is just a train set! It can all be spruced up over time.

The real test came today, my Son's 4th Birthday. Even with lots of other presents including Playmobil (which needed a surprising amount of assembly!) and Firman Sam toys (which he is mad about), he was really excited when he opened the big parcel of the train set! Then I produced the board and he set to playing trains. In fact I have spent a significant part of the day kneeling on the floor playing with him - apparently I am the Fat Controller! Clearly it has been a big hit.

So does the board work? Well yes, although I really should get some handles to make moving it about easier. As you can see though - it does fit under the bed as intended! It is really easy to unfold and plug the controller in, so can be up and running in a couple of minutes, so mission accomplished!

Let it Snow!

2010-12-03T14:38:00.001Z

We woke to about 8 inches of snow yesterday morning. Since we live very close to the Channel this is most unusual, and is the most snow I have ever seen in this part of Sussex. Mind you, given the last couple of winters it seems to be getting more common! I had been meaning to get a snow shovel, but of course never got around to it. So while in the village my wife popped into the local hardware store; they had sold out, but they were selling what she described as boards of wood nailed to posts! I suspect they had been very enterprising and making their own in the timber store next door!

Well my wife though I could do that myself, so I did! The board is some of that foamed PVC I got from the marketing department at work, the handle a leftover piece of 2" square softwood. OK it is not exactly ergonomic or pretty, but it is surprisingly effective at clearing the path and drive!

A deviaton of gauge!

2010-11-23T20:57:00.002Z

Hmm, I seem to have acquired an out-of-gauge wagon ...!

It is from KBScale, previously the Roy C Link range of industrial narrow gauge products in 0-14. Each time I walked past the KBScale stand at EXPO-NG I found it harder to resist, and ended up picking up a trial set of wagon and a length of track. This is the same kit that Phil Parker described on his blog a little while back.

The truth is that I have long admired the Roy Link range, I dusted off my Industrial Narrow Gauge Manual and found the invoice for it tucked inside ... from 1995! But 0-14 is very much a specialist scale, there is nothing ready-to-run, not even track, although KBScale make some track parts. As someone who has never made my own track (although I did make up some quarry track in 009 once, it was never operational), and uses commercial chassis, this would seem and odd choice of scale.

But there is something appealing about tiny industrial trains, skip wagons, internal combustion locos that look like they were made in a shed (and often were), a very purposeful and no-frills approach to railways. And while Nigel Lawton has shown that these can be modelled in 009, since I am clearly no watch-maker, and part of the point of modelling such an industrial railway is including the detail, to me 0-14 is the obvious scale.

So does this represent a change in modelling direction? No, probably not. But a new project? Well, watch this space ...

Train Set - Part 1

2010-11-15T22:16:00.003Z

With my little boy's 4th birthday coming up we thought it would be nice to get him a train set; a Hornbly Thomas set has been obtained from the bay of e's. However it won't last long being laid on the floor, nor is it likely to get played with often if it is a lot of trouble to set up. Really the track needs to be laid on a board which can be got out when required, but we have no where to store a large enough board.

The plan I came up with is for a folding board that should fit under his bed; it is 5'6" by 4' and folded it is 2'9" by 4' by about 9" deep. The board has to be strong in order to hinge, but not too heavy. I decided to save weight by using a double-skinned design of 34mm x 18mm timber (sold for door jambs) covered in 3mm ply. Yes, 3mm ... it needs lots of bracing (as shown, about 10' of timber was used) but even so the total thickness of ply is half that traditionally used. (Hint, get ply from a local timber merchant, they'll cut it to size which saved me the bother, and meant I could fit it in the car!)

It's not exactly light, but for the size of board it is manageable, and both much lighter and stronger than traditional board designs. As the frame has ply top and bottom it is incredibly strong - it will not twist! The concern was that the 3mm ply may not be thick enough to be leaned on, hence the extra supporting blocks seen in the first photo. In fact I can kneel on the board so it should be fine! A 6mm top would be stronger but of course, heavier ...

The hinges are of the paste-table type from a local hardware store, attached to uprights in the corners of the board, other uprights act as stops. The outer edge of the board is faced in 5mm foamed PVC, which was free from the marketing department at work, offcuts of advertising boards! This fascia reinforces the hinges and stops. The pictures should make it clear.

The last picture shows what could be fitted onto the board. The train set came with (surprisingly) 3rd radius curves, a second radius oval can be fitted inside. The outer oval is positioned to allow a platform to fit on the outside on one side of the board, with a siding outside the oval on the other, obviously plenty of space inside for sidings. There is space for a short straight between the end curve and a length of flexi-track over the board joint, a 6' long board would allow a double-straight (or two points) either side of the joint but that would be too big to fit under the bed. At one end the fascia is raised to allow for a tunnel.

EXPO NG 2010

2010-10-31T23:29:00.005Z

Once again the last Saturday of October is a highlight of the narrow-gauge modeller's year, yes it is EXPO-NG time. This year I was "helping" to man the 009 society stand with the Sussex Downs group, this consists of a showcase (well, two this year), a simple roundy-roundy track to add interest, some posters and leaflets, and a couple of us "demonstrating". I took along a few coach kits and made a start, when I went to look round Phil Savage couldn't help himself and carried on (meaning some real progress was actually made!). Here he is at work, with Paul Davies pretending not to know him.

I had been really looking forward to seeing Rae Bridge, part of Ted Polet's Craigcorrie & Dunalistair line, which was one of the inspiring layouts for me in my early days of 009. Having been extensively rebuilt in recent years the model was superb, and it was great to see Ted's work first hand, as Ted is Dutch so rarely exhibits in the UK.

Another superb layout also came from the Netherlands, Henk Wust is becoming known as a master scenic modeller (previous layouts include Castle Rock) and his latest layout Punta Marina, set in an Itallian fishing village, was stunning. To be honest the trains are bit-players in Henk's layouts, for him it is the scenary that is most interesting, looking at it I could imagine being by the Med', sitting at that cafe ...

There were many other excellent layouts - I was pleased to be able to see "Sand and Gravel" built by Roy Link and exhibited by David Janes, a superb layout - but one I have been following progress on for some time now was Ryd Ddu by fellow blogger Colin Lea. This was it's first exhibition and it sounds like it was a close run thing to get it complete and working - with correct stock too - in time for the show. I watched the first train round the layout at 10.27AM. well done Colin!

One thing I did think this year is that there could have been a few more layouts. Those that were there were of the highest standard, but two or three more would have made the exhibition feel so much more. There would have been space if they were smaller layouts. I guess there were no "challenge" entries, that normally take up space. (The challenge for 2011 sounds interesting ...!) However EXPO is as much about the trade as the layouts, and trade support was excellent. All round, a great day!

I've posted my better photos from the day here.

Uckfield Model Railway Exhibition 2010

2010-10-17T22:57:00.004+01:00

Really enjoyed the Uckfield show yesterday. It's a bit of a drive but last year's was good, and the list of layouts looked interesting, so made the trip - and it was well worth it. As someone who enjoys narrow-gauge and unusual layouts, I appreciated the 4 NG layouts (009, 0-16.5, 0n30, Sn3), but also models of Wantage, Hemyock, Hospital Gates which was influenced by the Whittingham Asylym railway, plus others of pre-group period. In fact, I don't recall a predictable 60's BR layout ...?

In addition everthing seemed to be running faultlessly (yes, even the 009 layout!) which is great to see. Good trade support too, only fault was that it was rather crowded on Saturday afternoon, so difficult to get good photo angles! Definately one of the best "local" shows. For more pictures click here.

I've always wanted a kit-car ...

2010-10-12T23:14:00.003+01:00

I haven't been managing much modelling recently but I have just completed this car, which has slowly taken shape on the odd evenings I've got the tools out. It's a Morris 8 Tourer from the 1930's, using a Springside kit I actually picked up at EXPONG last October!

Although these days there are hoardes of excellent, cheap, scale model cars - ready-painted, nicely detailed, and ready to park on the layout - for some reason they are all post-war models, and just seemed too new for Awngate. So I was forced to use this kit, although it was an enjoyable excercise in white metal, when you think of building a kit-car you'd think of something bigger?!

For some reason I couldn't get the whitemetal hood to fit, I suspect that the kit designer forgot that the hood overlaps the body, so some serious butchery would have been required. I decided that it would be nice to model the car open, so to hide the lack of hood and rear-seat detail I made a tonneau cover from a bit of brown envelope.

I googled for some images when it came to painting, and found I had a tin of red/maroon enamel which seemed to match the red ones nicely. It's gloss paint, which I don't normally use, but here it has given the effect of a new and well-cared for car, as it would have been in the period of the model. Also the black mudguards are slighly gloss, contrasting with the matt tonneau and wheels. The finish may not be perfect, but given the vehicle is about an inch long, I'm as happy as I'll ever be!

A short break, railways included

2010-10-01T22:15:00.003+01:00

A few weeks ago we had a short holiday at Romney Sands Holiday Park in Kent. This was great for the kids, but even better, it just happened to have a narrow gauge (well, miniature) railway running through it! This photo was taken on the site, which also had it's own station on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway. We made use of it!

We also managed to fit in a visit to the Kent & East Sussex Railway, which is of course Standard Gauge, but was a light railway and the headquarters of the Colonel Stevens empire. Our train didn't really have the light railway feel, but the stations retain the charm and character.

All Aboard The Railcar

2010-09-20T23:03:00.002+01:00

The final job for the railcar was to fit some passengers. Long ago I got a bulk pack of seated people, and I can't remember where they are from - possibly Preiser. Anyway a handful were selected (we don't want it to look too crowded do we?) and promptly had their legs amputated! You may recall that the floor of the railcar is in fact at seat height, to clear the chassis. Basic painting was all that was required before gluing them in.

The trouble is that this railcar has two driving ends, so at one end there is a uniformed man seated in the driving position (by the door), at the other a uniformed man is standing by the driving position. Let's just say that one is the ticket inspector ...!

So the railcar is now complete, although I may glue the roof on with a spot of PVA.

Worthing Exhibition Photo Update

2010-09-16T23:21:00.005+01:00

I have got around to updating the photo's from the Worthing show on Saturday, click here to see them all.

The best bit of the show for my 3-year old boy was the Thomas train set, which he could have a go at! N-gauge this time for a change.

Worthing Exhibition

2010-09-11T23:13:00.004+01:00

Just got back from a short family holiday (of which more to follow!), that plus a busy time at work means not much modelling progress recently. However I did get over to the Worthing Model Railway Exhibition today. A good show, probably the highest overall quality of layouts I have ever seen at that show - although last year was good too. Perhaps I am biased given that there were no less than 5 narrow-gauge layouts there, two of them in 009! Certainly a good showing for a local show. However the SG layouts were impressive too.

Last week was my Birthday which resulted in a new camera. Still a compact for convenience and practicality, but with a big zoom, but most importantly (for this blog!) image stabilisation. It does seem to work, and I'm sure you'll notice the improvement in quality of the photo's taken at model railway shows. Especially while holding onto an errant 3-year-old! So here are a selection of photos from the show, I may upload the lot if I get time.

A Gathering

2010-08-21T23:08:00.002+01:00

This afternoon I visited a gathering of layouts and like-minded railway modellers. All the layouts (mostly Narrow Gauge) were superb, and the informal atmostphere was nice. There was a sizeable contingent of minimum-gauge models, Gn15 being particularly popular. That scale packs a lot of detail!

Some of the layouts were shown in an under-construction state, including that of fellow Sussex Downs 009 group member Phil Savage, based on the Darjeeling Himalayan railway. Even at this stage of construction, it couldn't be anywhere else could it?

Another one in the early stages of construction was the Harrogate Gas Works by another friend Steve Fulljames. I'm watching this one develop with interest.

Couplings and things

2010-08-15T23:06:00.003+01:00

While I haven't managed a lot of modelling time recently I have made up a number of couplings. I use Microtrains (ex-Kadee) couplings, and they generally come in packs of 10 pairs to be made up. Assembly is simple enough, although it does involve some very small and easily excitable springs ... I tend to make them up a pair at a time and work through a batch to make up several pairs. When in the rhythm a pair only takes about 10 minutes.

It can take a little longer to fit them to rolling stock though. It is not too hard with larger stock, and especially when building them. The three "Welshpool" wagons I built recently were on the workbench, when building them I had added plasticard behind the buffer-beams to give a flat surface around 5mm square, at the right height to fix the coupling to (I have a height gauge made from plasticard which sits on the track, when the stock is rolled up to it the coupling mounting should just pass over a tongue on the gauge). So all that was needed was a small hole for the fixing screw. With hindsight I should have mounted them slightly further out, as they are rather too close-coupled, but they don't foul on bends so they'll do!

These coaches have been in my stock boxes for years and needed conversion from the "DG" couplings I used to use. They are Parkside Dundas Vale of Rheidol coach kits, although to make them more suited to the curves and train lengths of my layout at the time (Pen-Y-Bryn) I shortened them by a door and a window at each end. They do look a touch "mainline" for Awngate, although even with the VoR brake van they do (just) fit the loop. Anyway, the DG's had been mounted on the bogies, but the Microtrains are rather tricky to mount that way. Being sprung though they work well attached to the body, so the bogies were reversed (I could have cut the coupling mount off instead!), and a plasticard mount built up behind the buffer beam. This time I got the spacing a bit better, though I have noticed there is a vacuum pipe missing from one coach. Not a big deal as come to think of it, they are missing from all my locos!

Tinker's Park Railway Gala

2010-07-31T23:05:00.003+01:00

We decided to brave the drizzle and head over to Hadlow Down, deep into East Sussex, to the Railway Gala at Tinker's Park. I've never been here before but it sounded like a good day out with the kids, and Grandparents too in this case.

The highlight is the "Great Bush Railway" - a 2' gauge line that runs around a field, this was running a passenger service with a couple of quaint home-built coaches, and hauled alternately by a quarry Hunslet (built in 2005!) and an Orenstein & Koppel. In addition there was a miniture railway (5" gauge I think) giving rides, some traction engines, and a selection of fairground organs. The workshops were hosting a model railway show with some familiar faces too!

Despite the damp weather everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, so a good day out!

More pictures here

Holiday Snaps (2) - North York Moors Railway

2010-07-27T13:48:00.000+01:00

I did hint that the NRM was not the only railway interest in our holiday last month. We took a ride on the North York Moors Railway from Pickering to Whitby, which means some nice scenary and long trains pulled by big mainline engines over a good distance. The last few miles into Whitby are in fact run over Network Rail lines, which is unusual. A bit different from my usual preference of narrow gauge, but an enjoyable day out.

Amberley Gala - The Model Railways

2010-07-11T22:52:00.005+01:00

I did spend some time in the model railway exhibition, mostly in the hall normally used to display the narrow gauge locos (they were all out in the sunshine), but also in a couple of the other railway-related buildings.

I got there in time to help Rob set up Peny-Y-Bryn Quarry, his first time of taking a layout to an exhibition. He has been sprucing up some of the scenery (still suffering from the damage inflicted by the mice) with some ivy on the granite loader, plus more ballast. Actually he'd got a bit carried away with that, and we had to remove some with a screwdriver where loco flanges were lifting wheels from the track! Still we got it working, including the top level controlled by a shuttle unit.

Also on the Sussex Downs stand (representing the 009 society) we had the display case, with the oval of track we display with it, and Tim had a new project building a layout in an old stereo cabinet. Mind you, much of the day you'd have been lucky to find one of us there, such were the attractions outside! I did spend a couple of sessions operating Pen-Y-Bryn though, and cursing the short sidings where the uncoupling magnet was always in the way, and the granite chippings going everywhere while loading the trucks. Especially with a 3-year-old "helping" me with that bit!! Still since I built the layout I couldn't complain.

I did get round the rest of the exhibition too, albeit as usual having a toddler in tow isn't the easiest way to see layouts, especially when he was so excited by the real trains outside! There were some good layouts on show, representing narrow-gauge lines of course, and I picked up some interesting (and obscure) books from one of the traders too.

I was really pleased to see Garn by Chris Ford at last, a superbly executed and wonderfully simple layout. Loads of character and yet such a small layout. OK Awngate might have more operating potential for a similar size, but in many ways Garn shows less is more ...

"The Chalk Pit" by Nigel Lawton is a great model of ... well, take a guess. Of course it is also a superb showcase of his own range of tiny internal combustion locos and skip wagons - remember this is 009! Real watch-maker stuff.

Pagham Harbour is one of my all-time favourite layouts, another case of less-is-more producing loads of character. This is the latest version, a complete rebuild on a larger board, although with the extra wharf it is slightly more crowded, but no doubt more interesting to operate too. It has lost none of the character though!

You can see more of my pictures of the exhibition and the gala here. As always I get home and wish I had taken more, but I was too busy enjoying the show!

Amberley Railway Gala - The Big Trains!

2010-07-11T22:37:00.001+01:00

So yesterday I spent the day at the Amberley Railway Gala. I was supposed to be helping with the 009 Society stand, manned by the Sussex Downs group, but since I had taken my 3-year-old with me - and the sun was shining - I probably spent more time outside. If you like small industrial railways the Amberley is always a great visit, but for the gala everything that can move does, and also one or two visitors.

Polar Bear was one of the two resident steam engines running the passenger services. Taking full advantage of the new (a couple of years back) 3-station layout the track was chocablock with two passenger trains, and internal-combustion (and battery) loco's taking turns to slot in between with some trucks. Joshua loved riding the trains (unsurprisingly for a 3-year-old boy) so we did several times - and was so excited when he was allowed to pull the whistle of Polar Bear!

Visiting this year was Darent, an Andrew Barclay. I believe it has been extensively re-built and the cab and saddle tank are probably not original - perhaps someone who knows could post about this loco? Anyway, very attractive it is too.

The other loco on passenger duties was Peter, a Bagnall saddle-tank that was originally built for 3' gauge, then later regauged to 2'. At Amberley it looks massive (compare to the photo of Polar Bear against the same platform!). Riding this train was fun, the coaches (mostly open) were loose coupled - meaning at every start and stop the passengers had to suffer violent jerking! Perhaps seat-belts would be in order? Or just some solid-link couplers like Polar Bear's coaches.

Passing the sheds after the calvacade a number of the locos are visible. It didn't seem overly crowded this year, so we had a great spot - sat on the grass in the shade - during the calvacade, where we got to see all the locos up close. Both of us really enjoyed the day.

Railcar painted

2010-07-10T22:17:00.002+01:00

The Railcar has been with my friend Rob Kaczmarczyk for painting, and today I got it back. And he has done a great job!

Despite the fact that all my other passenger stock is green, this railcar seemed to suit red best - although I have no idea why! And so red it is. I also wanted a "wiped-clean" look, not uncared for, but a well-used look. Rob's sublte touches with the airbrush have really brought out the panelling and underframe detail. All it needs now is the couplings re-fitting (in case of a luggage trailer being required), and of course some passengers!

Rob takes commissions so if you are interested, check out some of his other work.

Granite Quarry in a Chalk Pit

2010-07-08T13:22:00.003+01:00

Pen-Y-Bryn will be appearing at Amberly this weekend as part of the 009 society stand. It's new owner (Rob Kaczmarczyk) tells me he has been sprucing up the scenary and repairing damage inflicted by the mice, so it should be ready for it's first outing in several years!

I expect to be there on the Saturday too, although probably as much as an excuse to look around and enjoy the trains as to actually man the stand! Still, say Hi if you are there.

The National Railway Museum

2010-07-07T21:33:00.002+01:00

We've just got back from a family holiday near York - and of course that meant a visit to the National Railway Museum. It's a llong time since I have been (well, since I was a child), these days the bonus is the museum is free! It is in many ways a "traditional" museum - lots of interesting things to look at but not much in the way of interactive stuff (in fact the kids interactive area was closed, which was a shame), however my little boy loved it, and so did I.

So there are lots of obvious attractions like the Rocket replica, and a very interesting display of Royal Train coaches, but of course I liked the more obscure stuff, like this ancient Black Hawthorn saddle tank, preserved in the state that the museum acquired it. That is, run-down and weathered! That would make a super model.

I even found some narrow gauge interest too, such as the Ffestiniog double-Fairlie Livingstone Thompson, and this odd little 18" gauge loco.

And another un-restored exhibit is this Lynton & Barnstaple Railway coach, as found in a garden!

A good family day out then!

As you might expect that wasn't the only railway-related interest of the holiday ....

A brace of vans

2010-06-22T22:54:00.002+01:00

A little while back an internet friend offered me some surpless kits and bits for Welshpool style wagons, I think they were Nine Lines kits. He'd started them, made some modifications, but lost interest and realised they didn't fit with his plans. I'd guess they'd been kicking around his workbench for a while for a few of the parts were damaged or mising - such as most of the wheels! Still there are enough parts to make up 5 wagons, I picked up some wheels at Sparsholt and have been slowly working on the brakevan, cattle van and goods van.

They make up into rather nice vehicles, slighly larger than most of my stock but not excessively so. The kits have needed some fettling though, and depsite my best efforts all 4 wheels are not quite level - so the solebar/axlebox mouldings are not very accurate! If necessary I'll have to re-work the chassis but they may be OK. I've had to use a few bits of plasticard, including supports for the running boards of the brake van, I've made plasticard roofs using the boiling water method, and added handrails from wire. They have had lead sheet added under the floor for weight, so now all they need are couplings and painting.

A Naming Ceremony

2010-06-02T23:27:00.002+01:00

A little over a year ago my latest Paul Windle loco arrived, just a couple of days after my daughter. It seemed like a loco that needed a name, and my daughter's name "Lucy Ann" just seemed to fit, so my wife suggested I get some name-plates. Well, suitable bespoke name-plates proved hard to come by and not cheap, so when a freind started offering etched nameplates via the NGRM forum I was delighted! So here is Lucy Ann, along with a reasonable representation of Hunslet style works plates too!

While I was at it, in the interest of sibling equality, I got a set of "Joshua" plates, which seemed to fit the Sharp-Stewart tram nicely. And as for the LNER style tram loco, well that just needed the name "Toby"! Both are also Paul Windle models. The plates are finely etched, but do need a background colour. I chose red, just Humbrol matt enamel, and after it had dried I removed the paint from the raised letters and edge with a scalpel blade, and by rubbing gently over some fine wet-and-dry. I lined them up on the side of the loco's against masking tape to get them level and central, and stuck them on with a little PVA, on the basis that it should provide sufficient bond without damaging the paint in case of excess.

Considering that the name plates are just 2mm (a scale 6 inches of course) high, they are very sharp and really add to the locos' appearance, but I am not sure the photos do them justice. If you are interested you can find out more and order your own from Narrow Planet, who also do works plates and are planning other related products. Now I'm sure I have other loco's in need of names ...

Another Sound Distraction

2010-05-30T23:09:00.008+01:00

So here's one reason I haven't posted much about my own models in the past few weeks. As you may have seen from the "About Me" section I am involved with the sound system at my church, and over the last couple of years we've seen some welcome improvements and upgrades. As a result there was some surplus kit, so it struck me that it might be possible to put together a basic PA system for a side-hall and for occasional "portable" use. OK, I didn't have everything needed - a couple of bits came from e-bay, like the flight-case rack. I guess that covers the portable bit!

Another e-bay bargain was a "Zone Mixer", an odd choice perhaps but it has the minimum of knobs and buttons. The settings are mostly internal, so just 6 knobs for 6 inputs plus a volume - perfect for use by anybody! A surplus CD/DVD player (and previously from a charity shop) is the main source of sound, a colleague at work helped me turn some offcuts of aluminium into brackets to attach it into the rack.

The rest of the space at the front was filled with a grille, and a panel of sockets: 3 microphone inputs, 2 stereo inputs for external sources (the final one being the DVD player), and outputs for video, left and right channel sound. The job of wiring up was quite familiar to me, not unlike model railway wiring! The system will be plugged into sockets on the wall running to speakers, although portable speakers can also be used, hence the jack sockets.

Inside the back cover of the case I attached a 4-way extension lead and ran the lead out through a hole, making plugging in straightforward. The amplifier is also in the rear of the rack, which not only leaves space for the panel of sockets at the front, but keeps the amp knobs out the way. Only the front cover needs removing for operation.

Well it works OK in my lounge, but we've yet to install the speakers in the intended room to try it out for real. And please be assured I'll try and return to topic for my next post ...!

Temark Valley at Sompting Show

2010-05-15T22:12:00.004+01:00

Fellow Sussex Downs 009 group member Mark Holland (builder of Spirit of Welshpool) was showing his first layout, Temark Valley, at the Sompting Model Railway Show, so I had volunteered to help out. Mark says that he did everything wrong building this layout - the corners are too tight, gradients too steep, clearances too restricted, the baseboard is large and had to be braced to make it strong enough for exhibitions ... but it is an attractive layout and great fun to operate. The narrow gauge line leaves the yard across the canal from the standard gauge, and one branch dives through a tunnel to a halt, while another winds up to a quarry with interesting shunting challenges!

There was a good selection of layouts at the show in a range of scales and themes, although N-gauge is clearly popular with the organising club. You will find some photos here. This super little layout in 0-16.5 caught my eye, very nicely modelled and just shows what can be done in a compact space. (The builder (Brian Taylor) was also responsible for Pelporro in G-gauge.)

There was even a Thomas layout for the kids to operate, up to 3 at a time. My lad loved it, and spent ages playing!

A day out in Bognor

2010-05-02T23:14:00.005+01:00

On Saturday I took the boy over to Bognor for the second "SWING" (St Wilfreds Industrial and Narrow Gauge) show, having been last year and heard on-line the layouts that were to be there I had high expectations - and was not dissapointed. Perhaps as a fan of all things narrow-gauge and industrial in railway terms that should not be a surprise, but there were 11 superb layouts (not a dud one there) in this small, friendly show. A good range of scales and themes too. OK I had seen about 3 of them at other NG shows recently, but all were worth seeing again. The hall felt a little less crowded and cramped than last year, which was no bad thing and I suspect due to better planning and smaller layouts rather than number of exhibits, I also understand numbers were slightly down. But it was a great show of layouts and well worth a trek accross the county! Here are a few pictures, see the whole set here.

I enjoyed all the layouts so much it would be hard for me to pick a favourite, however perhaps the most impressive layout in terms of modelling was "Selsey Town Station - 1925" in 0 scale by Keith Smith. I understand this won best layout and it is easy to see why. Not only was the modelling of the unusual loco's and stock (including the Colonel Stevens railbuses) carried out to a high standard, but also the scenic work, and it had really captured the character of the Selsey Tramway (that was not too far from where the exhibition took place).

The first photo above is Nick Pidgley's "Touchwood", his first layout in 0-16.5 scale. Having seen my cassette fiddle-yards in action he decided to try it in the larger scale, using the pipe cover for double 22mm diameter pipes rather than 15mm as I used in 009. As you can see below it does work, he has also fitted his fiddle yard with neat shelves for storing cassettes, and had a good idea of using "T" section plastic pushed into slots at the end of the cassettes to prevent stock from escaping. Tom Dauben's "Dunbracken" layout was also at the show, now featuring the same cassette system - I really should have patented that idea!!