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  • SouthernRegionSteam

    Coastguard Creek - 15 months of planning!

    By SouthernRegionSteam

    Hold on to your socks - this is going to be a lengthy one! (In fact it's so long, I've now split it into 2 separate posts - the next will be up soon...)   I think it's fair to say that you are all long overdue an update on Coastguard Creek. Due to other commitments, no real progress has been made since the last post way back in March 2021; almost 15 months ago! If anything, things went backwards for quite a while, as I kept finding more and more inspiring locations that I really wanted
    • 8 comments
    • 3,310 views
drduncan's workbench

The locomotive shop - 28xx no 2811 part 3

The crank pins have arrived and I've managed to escape to the workbrench for short periods over the last few days.   The coupling rods have had Alan Gibson brass coulping rod bushes soldered in place to reduce the rather large holes in the Hornby coupling rods down to somthing appropriate for Alan Gibson crank pins. At the same time the chemical blackening was gently buffed away using a glass fibre brush.     The rods were then put to one side while I worked on the driving wheels. First,
drduncan

drduncan

4
Dave Holt's Blog

Delph - Ballasting started

After putting this off for ages and some fairly inconclusive test pannels, I've bitten the bullet and started laying ballast. To ease into the process and learn on the job, so to speak, I've chosen the easyest board first - the one with the single track approach, some of which disappears into a deep cutting and long over-bridge/short tunnel to hide any disasters! I've used C+L ash for the cess and 2 mm scale light grey for the track. Originally, I intended to use a rubber based carpet adhesive
Dave Holt

Dave Holt

0
Northall

Ince & Mayhew’s factory – part 4

The first job I had to do now was adding the windows behind the weathered factory wall. In the past I use a solvent free glue from Pattex. This time I used double sided tape from 3M, as David Neat advices in his excellent articles. I had re-size the windows from Scalescenes first. I used window c form his excellent Arches and Windows TX00 kit. After adding the windows I tried out how to create the final look. I had several possibilities that were usable. I decided to build an inner wall wi
Job's Modelling

Job's Modelling

5
Buckingham West

NE-thing goes

In 1900 the Great Central Railway opened a double track branch to Banbury from their London Extension, joining at Culworth Junction. This line became the main interchange point for trains between the Great Central and the Great Western. It allowed trains from the northern cities to run to the west and south. Trains ran from such places as Sheffield, York, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, to Southampton and Bournemouth. Often these trains saw the loco and stock from different companies, such as a GCR loco
Richard Mawer

Richard Mawer

2
Dannogeezer's Blog

Photos of late 1970's goods yards

I'm in the process of making a shelf layout of a late 1970's goods yard   Any photos would be a great help guys   I remember the BR blue era very well as a child, and I would like to recreate a layout to bring back some wonderful memories   I will post some photos once it starts to take shape   Thanks for your help on this subject   Danny.
Dannogeezer

Dannogeezer

3
Peter Findlay's Blog

Adding Bark

To make the armature easier to handle, I mounted it in a block of wood left over from a flat pack DVD rack. The wire was then covered with a dilute solution of PVA and a few tweaks made to the position of some of the "branches".   For the bark I bought a small premixed bag of Artex from a well known DIY chain and mixed a small amount with the PVA and a drop of black poster paint borrowed from the kids arts and crafts box. The mixture was applied using a small paint brush and left to dry overni
peter findlay

peter findlay

0
drduncan's workbench

The locomotive shop - City of Bath

I converted this loco a few months ago - actually it was done behind Westcliff at the Watford show and took about 3 hours or so for the basic conversion, so it was running on Westcliff, thanks to Richard Butler's indulgence, towards the end of the Sunday of the show. The only problem (not that its really a problem, the conversion was so easy) was I sort of promised to do one for Richard when he manages to find the correct wheels in amongst his bits and pieces cache in exchange for a stock box!
drduncan

drduncan

0
Peter Findlay's Blog

Branching out - a first attempt at making trees

As part of my armchair modelling I read the landscape modelling books by Barry Norman and Tony Hill and was taken with how it was possible to create such life like scenes. A definite far cry from my father and I dipping torn up Halfords sponges into green gloss paint to add scenery to my first layout.   Feeling inspired and determined to actually make something, my annual trip to Model Rail Scotland had new focus. I came home with a bundle of scenic materials and Gordon Gravette's book on mode
peter findlay

peter findlay

0
Steam_Julie's Layout Blog

Trefeglwvs Road - Lack of Progress

Hi   The reason that there has recently no progress on Trefeglwvs Road is that they layout was designed to fit into a wheeled case for easy transporting, e.g. to shows.   The problem is that is doesn’t fit. I need to find a way to reduce the strait side dimension by 7mm. I think I have now decided how I am going to achieve it.   Hopefully there will be a posting soon.   Julie
Steam_Julie

Steam_Julie

4
Steam_Julie's Layout Blog

Trefeglwvs Road - Lack of Progress

Hi   The reason that there has recently no progress on Trefeglwvs Road is that they layout was designed to fit into a wheeled case for transporting about, e.g. to shows.   The problem is that is doesn’t fit. I need to find a way to reduce the strait side dimension by 7mm. I think I have now decided how I am going to achieve it.   Hopefully there will be a posting soon.   Julie
Steam_Julie

Steam_Julie

0
Fen End Pit's Blog

1865 Great Eastern station - laser cut station building

Over the last few weeks I've been drawing up a laser cutting drawing for a Great Eastern Railway '1865' style building. These were built on several lines including the Stour valley line, conveniently these came in three sizes, small, medium and large. The Great Eastern Railway society publish some plans of the small version Takeley and an ancient April 1986 copy of Practical Model Railways has drawings of the Medium taken from Lavenham.   I've decided to try this as an experiment on cutting us
Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

4
bgman's Blog

What's in your boxes Pt. IV

This is starting to become a habit !   So.........more boxes and memories which I hope the good members of this parish don't mind me posting.   First off.........My attempt at producing some mixed gauge track in the GWR change over period with a hare brained idea that it might make track laying easier ? Oh! How wrong I was ( I don't think Margate or Beer manufacturers have anything to worry about!)         A master was made about 12" long and then a flexible ? rubber mould was made
bgman

bgman

22
The Legge Lane MPD Blog

An LMS Coal Hole - a prototype needed!

Earlier photos show a carefully constructed Ratio coal stage placed where coaling will be done (eventually). The prototype for this is, apparently, in Scotland, a long way from the English Midlands, so it really will look out of place. Volumes I and II of LMS Sheds have plenty of illustrations of LNWR style coal holes, basically consisting of two roads under a water tank, one road slightly elevated. The example at Birmingham Monument Lane was one such design but in fact there were quite a few
Focalplane

Focalplane

4
Clachbeg: trackwork

Closing the loop: building and installing the crossover turnouts

This template is the largest of them all, and includes the two nearly identical, straight, right-handed turnouts which close the station loop and lead to the goods siding and to the headshunt respectively.   Unlike the other turnouts these have straight 1:3 crossing vees, which should make construction rather more straightforward. The template includes one panel of inner loop track, as well as one-and-a-half panels of 9'-long 12 lb/yd tracks, being the start of the goods siding. The platform-s
Richard T

Richard T

3
sigtech's Blog

Sproston - more scenery

Managed to make more substantial progress with the scenery last week - bought 12 trees (woodland scenics)to make up and install. Had a disaster with the first attempt,- I used hairspray to attach the clump foilage, next day when I came to handle the trees guess what? Yup, most of the green stuff fell off!!   Second attempt at tree making, and this time taking no chances- using uhu clear adhesive, result - success!! Obviously 'Tesco' hairspray is not quite as "firm hold" as they like to
sigtech

sigtech

0
ess1uk's Workbench Blog

VAA van

A few pictures of my attempts to weather my VAA. Railmatch faded red and my own mix of grime. the first 2 pictures are the van out of the box. i was going for a more faded almost pink look but it didnt work so wiped most of it off and left the Railmatch faded red on. needs a bit more work but not bad as a start. Also needs silver added to the buffers 
ess1uk

ess1uk

2
bgman's Blog

What's in your cupboard Part III

Another box, another day..........   That word Box keeps cropping up ?   In answer to yesterday's request I've found this to place at the front of the rake ( another unfinished locomotive, but hey! life can take over sometimes!)     Barnum Class locomotive ( with bonnet placed forward ) built from a Mallard kit in about 1991 I think?   And these are as requested by CK ........it's not finished yet Captain so bear with me ! ( it's lit inside with levers etc.       They've stil
bgman

bgman

6
bgman's Blog

What's in your cupboard Part II

So........more ferreting in the boxes I'd stored away for a rainy day/retirement and I found these........                   They were bought over 30? years ago and are Mallard/Blacksmith/IKB and Ratio models. Now that they've reared their ugly head I think it's time they paid a visit to the Carriage Shop and get a final fettling so they can stretch their bogies on a proposed layout! ( as I said once before........don't hold your breath ladies and gentlemen of the pa
bgman

bgman

14
AllScales' Gerlos Blog

Underground Engineering

No major progress over the last fortnight, just a slow and steady plod...   The key task is to mark out where to cut the upper level board, as a friend is coming to help out this weekend.   In the meantime, I've been lifting the points (again) and fitting wires to the bottom of the frogs with the intention of adding polarisation circuitry at a later date. As the point motors don't have auxiliary switches I'm intending to use a little circuit with a latching relay to do this.   A friend of
AllScales

AllScales

0
Fatface blog

A young modeller, and a very young layout.

First a bit about me , im oliver 16, i love all things buildings, and find modern diesel trains fascinating.   It may shock some of you but i really cant say steam trains are my thing! Diesel All the way.   Yards End is a fictional layout set in the present somewhere in England , the layout is L shaped with two boards each 8x3 ft. Work began on March 6th.   Yards End is a DCC Layout, thanks to the gauge master prodigy advance 2!   Would love it any time for people to leave comments and
fatface98

fatface98

10
BRM Blog

Planning some shopping

Last week, the editorial team sat in a small meeting room for a day and threw around some ideas. Out of this will appear, as if by magic, a rough plan for the next six months or so of BRM content.   As the practical one on the team, this sort of forward planning is excellent news. I now have a big list of projects to work on. Some are quickies that will only take a few hours. Others are far more involved jobs including a new layout.   Knowing what I'm doing and when it needs to be completed
Phil Parker

Phil Parker

2
drduncan's workbench

The wagon and carriage shop - china clay PO and company wagons

Prior to starting this blog, I had been working on a number of wagons for my own, as yet unborn, GWR Cornish branch line. Last night I took some of them along to SHMRC and posed them on Hope-under-Dinmore.   Many of the chain clay private owner wagons were from the POW sides (pre-printed on salters/coopercraft bodies) - and very nice they are too. Very helpfully, POW sides will also change the running numbers for you, so you don't have duplicates - inevitably I only realised this after it was
drduncan

drduncan

0
The EMpire Project

Empire Mills at the MRC Open Day

Well, the MRC open day was a success!!!!!   It was, in fact a very enjoyable day - if hard work - and many people stopped by to chat about the wider layout project, Empire Mills as currently displayed, or AJ couplings (must do a post about these sometime soon as it the thing that got the most interest on the day).   In fact it has to be said that any problems that were seen on the day were down to one of two problems:   1) finger trouble - ie the pressing of the wrong uncoupling magnet swi
drduncan

drduncan

0

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  • Blog Comments

    • Yan
      Post Scaleforum 2024

      By Yan · Posted

      Thank you for leaving the comments and thoughts guys, much appreciated.   Both Butley Mills and Ditchling Green are with new owners that are currently refurbishing them. Even the modelling skill and composition still shine through, so they were both well worth seeing in the flesh. One of Iain Rice's layouts I'd like to get the opportunity to see is Trerice.
    • BarryP
      Post Scaleforum 2024

      By BarryP · Posted

      It's good to see so many positive reviews of a model railway exhibition. I did dabble in S4/P4 way back and Iain Rice's writings were inspirational. I saw Butley Mills when it was first shown at Scaleforum in 1987 and I loved it. Gordon Gravett's models are fabulous and I would love to see them in the flesh, as it were. I did visit two shows specifically to see the magnificent "Pempoul" layout that the Gravetts built, that was the finest I've ever seen. I'm dabbling in "O" Gauge and an opportuni
    • Keith Addenbrooke
      Post Scaleforum 2024

      By Keith Addenbrooke · Posted

      Good to see it was a positive experience - and really nice to see a couple of photos of Ditchling Green (I didn’t realise it was still around).  Always struck me as a lovely layout: an early example perhaps of the ‘less is (so much) more’ approach to railway modelling that is now widely appreciated.  Keep up the good work, Keith.
    • Mikkel
      Post Scaleforum 2024

      By Mikkel · Posted

      The layout and info display looks very good. Thanks for posting photos of the other layouts, always a gift for those of us abroad - especially when they are this good.   Imposter syndrome is common I think, it can hold us back but on the hand I'll take that over bragging anytime.  
    • Mikkel
      Netherport and Basuto Quay Chronology

      By Mikkel · Posted

      That sounds like a good approach Nick, thank you for clarifying. A sense of space is so important, less is more and all that.   The Penzance photo shows unloading of flower traffic from the Scilly Isles (no date). It features on the front page of this volume by Tony Atkins. The book is perhaps not unexpendable and a tad dry, but it is informative and some of the photos are lovely.    

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