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About this blog

Updates on what I have been up to on various layouts

Entries in this blog

The things people do to their locos!

I had a a couple of locos back into the workshop for repair today. The first was a County Donegal railcar that 'needed a loose wire resoldering'. True it did. In fact I think it had been rewired so many times, the wires were too short to make new connections, so I replaced them. As the front pony truck was only held in place by the remaining wire, I repaired that as well. However, when I applied power ..... nothing! A quick investigation revealed that the motor shaft and gear were securely arald

Killybegs

Killybegs

News on Worseter

As threatened, I have started a thread on Worseter under 'Layout Topics'. Initial entry covers the first steps in scratch building a pair of coaches.

Killybegs

Killybegs

Plenty of progress on Worseter

I can't believe its nearly a year since I last posted on this blog. In the last nine months I have:   Built an incline connecting the fiddle yard to the low level section that will house the MPD. This also involved modifying the removable bridge section that carries the tracks across the doorway.   The track for the MPD has been built, laid, ballasted and wired up. The base for the MPD including inspection pits was also installed at this time.   The coaling stage/water tower was built.  

Killybegs

Killybegs

Another sunny day south of Worseter

Well Donegal really. Just taking advantage of another sunny day (that's nine in a row) to take some pics of some recently refurbished stock. The coaches (Comet) have had their bogies replaced by Bill Bedford's and now glide beautifully through the slips in the fiddle yard. The cosmetic sides were removed from the old Comet bogies and, after having the rear faces opened out to allow the springing to work, were epoxied to the new bogies. The coaches have also had a bit more weathering applied and

Killybegs

Killybegs

More vans for Worseter (and Clinkerford BR(W))

As a break from working on Killybegs Station, I have been working on the large number of vans and wagons that I need for Worseter. I have been experimenting with different painting and weathering tecniques to get a reasonable representation of the variation in colour found in any train of vans. This batch (all Parkside Dundas kits) were sprayed with Halfords red primer then weathered with Railmatch acrylics. I used a variable mix of 'frame dirt' and 'roof dirt', well diluted with water, brush ap

Killybegs

Killybegs

Making hay while the sun shines (a chance to get outside with the camera)!

It is pretty amazing that, while you poor guys in the UK are suffering the most horendous weather, we have clear blue skies here in the north west of Ireland.   In between working on the train shed for Killybegs, I have been getting on with building wagons and vans for Worseter. Some of these are due to see service on Clinkerford at York next year when Kempenfelt of this parish (the new owner) is hoping to run the layout in BR guise on at least one day, so that's given me an incentive to get o

Killybegs

Killybegs

The train shed - getting there slowly

The outer wall now has cladding and windows and both sides of the upper roof now have their louvres complete. Next job is to clad the ends, these have quite a lot of decorative work on them. Once they are finished, I will get the airbrush out, after which I can think about doing some slating and finishing off the glazing. Then I will need to do some weathering, build a bit of platform, make a few seats, some fencing ..............

Killybegs

Killybegs

Fabricating rooflights (or Thank heavens for RSU's)

I spent quite a while ruminating about how best to deal with the glazing on the train shed roof for Killybegs. The original plan was to use sheets of clear acrylic with glazing bars represented with plastic microstrip. I wasn't really happy that this would look right, so looked to the real thing (metaphorically speaking as Killybegs station building is long gone) for inspiration and eventually opted for a brass frame into which individual sheets of glazing could be fitted. For ease of fabricatio

Killybegs

Killybegs

Sunshine and a coat of paint - what a difference!

The trainshed roof and outer wall are now one unit. The jig to hold everything firmly in place while the two parts were soldered together was quite simple in the end. 3 lengths of brass tube that were a tight fit in the square tubes of the columns were let into the board to hold the wall vertical. 2 larger diameter tubes were notched vertically to be a tight fit on the wire cross bracing of the end trusses then let into the board in a position where the foot of the rafter butted against the ins

Killybegs

Killybegs

Killybegs Train Shed

The roof and wall structures are now finished. The next step is to build a jig to hold the roof and wall firmly in the correct position while I solder them together. Both components are too big to fit in the sink so I ended up cleaning them in the bath!

Killybegs

Killybegs

Killybegs Train Shed

With holidays in France over for another year, the drawings finished and materials ordered and delivered, I really had no excuse not to get on with the train shed roof. Construction doesn't exactly replicate the original but it will be very close in appearance (as the trusses will be visible through the rood glazing). The main members are in brass hollow tube and have been drilled to take the lengths of 0.5mm nickel silver rod which represent the bracing. The roof will be removable which is why

Killybegs

Killybegs

Getting back to Worseter

Now that I have officially retired, I have more time on my hands to get back to work on Worseter, my roundy roundy layout. The fiddle yards have been in storage mode for nearly ten years while I concentrated on getting Clinkerford finished and building stock for the layout. The fiddle yard is on three boards which are hinged at the rear to allow them to be folded up out of the way against the wall. Now that Clinkerford has moved on to pastures new, the boards have been lowered to operating level

Killybegs

Killybegs

Further progress on the Cornishman

I have at last been able to get back to working on the Cornishman this week. All nine coaches are now sitting on Bill Bedford Bogies complete with cosmetic sides. I take the discarded Bachmann bogies, cut off the sides and then reduce them to a suitable thickness - a very messy and time consuming task. The axle boxes are drilled out from the back (to allow the pin point bearings to move up and down) then the sides are carefully fixed to the bogies with epoxy. All the coaches now also have Kadee

Killybegs

Killybegs

Castlederg & Victoria Bridge Tramway 2-4-0

The little Beyer-Peacock is finished at last. The Westinghouse brake casting from Alan Gibson was waiting for me when I got back from my hols (you can't see it as it's on the other side!), so that was cleaned up and fitted along with the associated plumbing. Branchlines chopper couplings were also added. It was then primed, filled, reprimed and painted.   There is some doubt as to the colour it carried while at the C&VBT but the concensus is that it retained the LMS crimson lake livery it

Killybegs

Killybegs

C&VBT 2-4-0 - nearly there

This delightful little loco is nearly finished, she's just waiting for her Westinghouse brake (can't get hold of Alan Gibson Workshop to order one at the moment) and chopper couplings (they'll be fitted after she's painted). I'm sure there will be more filling required after a coat of primer. The brass patches are my attempt to modify the cabsides to replicate the prototype. She's a good little runner although with a worm and single gear box she travels a great deal faster than the prototype!

Killybegs

Killybegs

C&VBT 2-4-0 gets her skirt

A little more progress on the 2-4-0 and it's starting to look a bit more like the prototype. However the further I progress, the more differences I pick up between the Isle of Man locos (on which the kit is based) and those supplied to the Ballymena & Larne (and thence on to the C&VBT). Most of these relate to the body. The side tanks should be taller, the bunker larger and there are lots of differences on the cab itself. As the buffers should also be a lot lower, I'm wondering if there

Killybegs

Killybegs

Castlederg & Victoria Bridge Tramway 2-4-0T

A couple of progress shots. This is the Branchlines IoM kit which is being modified to represent this particular Beyer-Peacock loco which started life on the Ballymena & Larne Railway in 1880 and ended up on the C&VBT in 1928 where it lasted for 5 years before the line was closed.   There were various differences from the IoM locos, the principal ones being the fitting of a skirt to one side only (the tramway ran alongside the road and the loco was presumably always facing the same way

Killybegs

Killybegs

Cornishman progress

In response to comments on my last blog, here is a B&W quickie showing progress on the rake to date. Two coaches are yet to be detailed and are sitting on 'bare' bogies. The last two are sitting in the cupboard! I intend to leave all the roofs to be painted at one go. Must get that embankment finished off, not to mention most of the low lvel part of the layout!

Killybegs

Killybegs

The joys of modifying R-T-R for P4

It's only a rake of nine coaches you say, shouldn't take too long. That's only 18 sprung bogies with 36 axles, 72 wheels, 72 pairs of brake hangers and 144 brake shoes to assemble. Don't forget the 36 cosmetic sides. Then there are 18 Kadees to assemble and fit (after modifying the coach ends to take them), 18 corridor connections to assemble and fit, 9 sets of underframe detailing to cobble up, 9 roofs that need all those strips removing. Numbers to be changed, bogies and roofs to be painted, s

Killybegs

Killybegs

L&LSR 4-8-0 Finished at last!

After goodness knows how many hours No.12 is finally finished (all bar a bit of coal and some crew). It has been a long road and one which I don't think I would choose to travel down again. However, at the end of the day she doesn't look too bad and runs quite smoothly.

Killybegs

Killybegs

Castle Conversion

After much blood sweat and tears the Hornby body and Malcolm Mitchell chassis have finally come together. Once she has received her new identity, Totnes Castle will be very lightly weathered. I think the Malvern Hills make a very suitable backdrop!

Killybegs

Killybegs

More Donegal Locos

While beavering away on the Castle in my spare time, I have continued building locos for the County Donegal Heritage Centre.   The latest project is a Lough Swilly 4-8-0. The upper works are now pretty well finished and await the loco chassis. I am waiting on wheels for this one and, as the chassis is of the fold up variety with external frames, it can't be assembled without them!   Back in August I posted an entry on the CDR Class 5A that I had been building but I forgot to attach a pic so

Killybegs

Killybegs

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