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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
    • 3,303 views
The Sumtown Tramway Locomotive Workshops

BR/Pullman Class 06 No.06 008 - A Profile

The Pullman-liveried Class 06 diesel shunter, as photographed in January 2013. A new arrival to the railway, yet produced some five years previously - this being an official Hornby Club locomotive for 2008 - this engine was an attractive purchase as a limited-release, small-sized shunting engine for the railway. Though the Pullman livery is far from realistic it does look moderately attractive in some ways, with some of the minimal detail on this engine helping to bring its looks up even further
Trainmaster64

Trainmaster64

0
Wenlock's Blog

William Clarke goods shed

Now the station building is complete, I'm giving thought to a design of accompanying goods shed. I like the idea of a shed abutting the platform with a line running through it into an end loading bay, in a similar position as the ones at Ashburton and Bearley. Although the station building is based upon Abbotsbury, I'm not a fan of Abbotsbury goods shed, which in my opinion shares little of the aesthetic style of William Clarke's stations!   I'd like my model to complement the architectural
wenlock

wenlock

11
Sixties Snapshots - 00 scale

DMUs – Close coupling and corridor connectors for Bachmann Types

Following my posts dealing with Collett and Hawksworth coaching stock I am moving forward a few years to talk about Bachmann DMUs, Class 108, 105 and Derby Lightweight.   Location – location!!!   When I acquired my first Bachmann Class 108s I immediately set about closing up the gap between the units. The Bachmann 108s have sprung buffers and it is possible to draw the two coaches together such that the moulded corridor connections are almost touching yet still allowing the unit to negotia
Silver Sidelines

Silver Sidelines

7
Hydraulic Heaven

To The Manor Born - Part 2

A quick update on the Manor...   The crossheads and conn rods are now fitted... and remarkably the loco still runs well.     This doesn't look like a vast amount of progress, but there was some tricky work involved... especially for someone who has never built a steam loco before.   I found assembling the crossheads pretty tricky, largely because their final 'I' shape means that there is no obvious place to apply the soldering iron to get a good 'flow' when you get to the last stage. I
D869

D869

10
Box in a box

Box in a box - at last work re-commences

Not my favourite subject, electrics... However I felt it better to make a sart with them as most of the wiring will be buried under the scenics 'cos there's no sub-baseboard!     The 'back' of the boxes shows the inter-box connectors (RCA plugs & sockets). The four-group to the left will bring power (DCC) into the layout and provide a connector to the 'Potley Bridge' box - the righthand connector provides power to the 'Box Tunnel Cassette storage.     Internally power feeds to 't
scanman

scanman

4
Stock for Brent 1947 GWR

5512 p4 conversion

As is usually the case, now that CIMA has restarted my modelling output has disappeared. Thankfully this is the last one, and in a months time it will all be over.   This evenings plans to sit and watch the Arsenal, quickly lost their attraction after yet another dismal performance. So I figured dig out something to work on.   My first thoughts were to finish off 3863, only to realise that I had forgotten to buy the washers needed to modify the con rods. This will now have to wait until I
The Fatadder

The Fatadder

2
Sasquatch's Blog

LNER fish trains.

The subject of my first ever blog is more about learning as I go on this topic rather than profess to that which is already known. Intending to further prototypical operation on the Goathland layout I have set about building fish vans. Goathland, being on the Whitby to York line must have had fish traffic. There must also be some RMWeb brotherhood members with some knowledge of this subject, who I hope to fish out and interrogate.   Progress so far has been sought from Peter Tatlows excellent
Sasquatch

Sasquatch

8
The Sumtown Tramway Locomotive Workshops

GWR Class 101 No.101 - A Profile

The Class 101 tank engine, as photographed in December 2012. Obtained in September 2012 along with the Class 423 4-VEP, this locomotive was actually produced two years previously as part of the 175th Anniversary of the Great Western Railway. Cheap and cheerful, and sporting a handsome livery to commemorate the feat, the locomotive is No.1347 of 1835 produced.   The side profile of the locomotive. With a simplified valve gear and a standard chassis, the locomotive's performance is of course l
Trainmaster64

Trainmaster64

0
A return to 4mm- having tried everything else!!

Influence from previous layouts!

Started so many layouts that never got finished theres always the ones you wished had got finished.   This was a small test piece for handmade track - inspired by some of the smaller stations on the Spey valley railway which is now a cycle/walking route in much of its length.   The layout based in the APA box is also of GNSR outline, but in a more coastal location, and 'light railway' insired like St Combs. (see: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38727358@N04/, an interesting Flickr page)    
Russ (mines a pint)

Russ (mines a pint)

0
Box in a box

Box in a box - Mens sana in corpore sano (or something like that!

Thats better!   (with a bit of help from my friends)   Normal service will be resumed - probably tomorrow.   I will admit (without playing for the sympathy vote) progress was definitely affected by the loss of one of our cats on Thursday night. 2-year old Saki was run over and later died from his injuries. Zoe & I met too late in life to have children so the three cats to some extent acted as surrogates and we are both devastated.   It wasn't helped by learning on Saturday night
scanman

scanman

0
halfwit's Wondrous Wagons!

RT Models Hudson Tipper - part 1.

This is an etched kit for a Hudson side tipping wagon, of a type used extensively in the mining and quarrying industries for conveying spoil. The kit is etched nickel silver and comes with whitemetal buffers and turned brass bearings, wheels can be supplied at extra cost. Instructions cover 6 sides of A4. Before I go any further I should mention Adam's excellent thread on this kit. I'm going to go into my usual level of detail about this build, unless anyone seriously objects! I enjoy writing u
halfwit

halfwit

7
Jon020's Workbench Blog

Class 47 detailing project. Conversion of Bachmann 47. "A P4 Brush 4". Part 6 - Bogies finished and Underframe.

Well, it’s been a while since my last proper update on this project... which is now into its 2nd year, so I’ll try to address this omission. The 47 project has been tackled bit by bit; the bogie frames were a task tackled after some consideration as to how to improve on the offerings provided by Bachmann. I picked up some Heljan bogie sideframes (suggested by Jim SW) and whilst these looked nice, I thought that they still lacked form fidelity and fixing them to the Bachmann bogies might be troub
Jon020

Jon020

10
Grasslands Workbench

Falling Behind: A Leader Story (Pt1)

I tried to think of a good Leader pun, but ‘falling behind’ works as an inverse analogy.   36001   The picture above shows one of my favourite locomotives: 36001, Bulleid’s Leader; the monstrous experimental steam engine that looked like a diesel. Leader was constructed in 1948 and ran for a brief 1½ year period (from 1949 to 1950). ‘Ran’, of course, might not be the best word for Leader’s trial runs, as she was prone to failure and was often towed back to Brighton Works.   Leader was fitt
Grasslands

Grasslands

10
The Sumtown Tramway Locomotive Workshops

SFCC Battery Trolley No.4 - A Profile

The SFCC Battery Trolley, as photographed in May 2012. This unit was obtained as a gift, along with the Brill Trolley car, and like it was stripped of electrical componentry prior to arrival. The difference between them lies in their respective heritages and uses; this unit is vastly different in terms of looks than the other. However, this is not a bad thing as this unit still looks fresh and decent.   The side view of the trolley car, showing its intricate design and delicate yet strong lo
Trainmaster64

Trainmaster64

0
The sleepers workspace

A little experiment with Johnson's Kleer

I got my tin of Humbrol Matt varnish out today to dull down the smokebox and cab roof on 1308. On opening the said tin I found it had separated, the same as my Humbrol Satin varnish had done previously, rendering it as 'dodgy' to use in the airbrush. I applied it with a brush instead and when it dried it looked somewhat streaky, so not good. Afterwards I applied 3 coats of Johnson's Kleer or Klir as it's called here in France. Today I thought I'd try experimenting with Klir Matt a la Sleeper.
sleeper

sleeper

2
Layout - Fisherton Sarum

Talking stock #20 The Devon Belle

The “Devon Belle” Pullman service between London Waterloo and Ilfracombe with a portion to Plymouth did not in reality last for long as named train services go. It was introduced by the Southern Railway on 20th June 1947 and lasted until September 1954. Usually the train was worked from London to Exeter with Merchant Navy class pacific’s and was then split with a four coach portion heading to Plymouth and the remaining eight (sometimes up to ten) coaches including the iconic observation car head
Graham_Muz

Graham_Muz

0
A return to 4mm- having tried everything else!!

APA box - small layout/diorama

Having struggled with the fiddliness of 2mm for a year or so with little progress to show, and more importantly vastly reduced inclination to continue I decided the time had come to revert to 4mm scale.   - despite having been in EM before, I was seeing lots of layouts on here and in the mags that were OO and didn't look any the worse for it, so decided to give that a go again.   - time & space lately is such that a compact, relaxing and easygoing set up is what is required.   - I was
Russ (mines a pint)

Russ (mines a pint)

0
Legomanbiffo's sound Blog

Snowed under

The last couple of weeks have seen me snowed under literally and metaphorically. I thought the chip workload might have slowed a bit in January but not so as you would notice. It genuinely pleases me to know that my work brings a little pleasure into people's lives. Another enjoyable part of what I'm doing, and one which Paul Chetter and I have often spoken about is the importance of capturing these sounds as an historic record; a part of the nation's heritage. As I've said before it would be ni
legomanbiffo

legomanbiffo

0
neal's Blog

Corvette blog part 2

Figuring that the hull sides were the most important bit to assemble, and unusually following the instructions, I stuck the two bow sections together this weekend.   It has to be said that here the model shows it's age, and it took a series of clamps and tape to get the halves to stick at the keel, and up the bow.   The deck spars or beams are rather flimsy, and when the halves are glued these are not rigid enough to space the deck correctly, and choosing to go 'off piste', after sealing the
neal

neal

0
The Sumtown Tramway Locomotive Workshops

Brill Trolley No.463 - A Profile

The Brill Trolley car, as photographed in September 2012. This unit had been delivered to the railway as a pair with Trolley Car No.4, and was gifted to the line for promotional purposes. As the unit's electrical componentry was removed prior to donation the trolley serves as a static exhibit, albeit one that turns many heads and is a decent-looking engine in its own right.   The side profile of the street car, showing the wood doors and classic shape of the unit. With dual electrical arms a
Trainmaster64

Trainmaster64

0
Preserved Railway visits

Great Central Winter Gala

On Saturday I enjoyed an all too brief visit to the Great Central Railway's winter gala. What a spectacle. A constant stream of trains on the double track main line section with a good mix of passenger, freight and TPO workings. Gorgeous sunshine and snow lying on the ground made for great photographic conditions. I am sure those who are lucky enough to have a lineside pass enjoyed the show, especially those who positioned themselves around Swithland Sidings. Here trains were looped for others t
andyram

andyram

0
Fourgig East

First Pour

Kids at my parents, did my duty round B&Q helping SWMBO spend too much money on bathroon fittings and fancy "feature" tiles so I earned a couple of hours modelling this afternoon.     400g of DAS clay applied to the hardcore. It does not look it but there should be just enough clay left to finish the job as there's a big area under the loading dock for the goods shed that will not see the light of day, so I won't waste clay on that bit!   Think I'll hand paint the turnout
RedgateModels

RedgateModels

5

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  • Blog Comments

    • Neal Ball
      Autocoach upgrade

      By Neal Ball · Posted

      Maybe with the new bottle, I should have sent it back…
    • MikeOxon
      A Tender for Viper

      By MikeOxon · Posted

      Thank you Annie - I really enjoy re-creating these early engines.  It would have been impossible if the young Edward Lane had not taken a liking to them in the yard at Swindon.  By then, most of them had been superseded by later designs, such as Firefly, but he must have had a sense of 'history'.
    • The Fatadder
      Autocoach upgrade

      By The Fatadder · Posted

      If the IPA is not removing paint, a good trick is to warm it up which makes it more effective.   Though like you say after a number of uses it does loose its potency, I recently had to change mine after it got to the point where it was barely touching the paint 
    • MikeOxon
      A Tender for Viper

      By MikeOxon · Posted

      Thank you Chris - I think it's lovely too!  The Lane drawing was probably made in around 1848, ten years after this engine was delivered and after its time on the South Devon. As my final sentence suggested, I am now looking hard at 'Ajax' which had similar-looking solid wheels.
    • MikeOxon
      A Tender for Viper

      By MikeOxon · Posted

      My impression from the sketch was of a round section and I think the way they are arranged to slide through those supports works best of they were.  Round rods were often used on early engines when flat strip came later - possible driven by the availability of steel.

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