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War Department First World War Narrow Gauge Layout O-16.5 WDLR

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And now for something completly different

Well, one thing I have managed to keep up recently is my rather infrequent rate of posting, so just to spoil that rather perfect record her is a little update.   Tracks to the Trenches at Apedale went very well indeed. The layout ran really well and all the help I had in opperating (very much appreciated! - see later), and even meant that I was able to take in much of the action outside. The quantity, quality and range of stuff going on was truely fantastic. At one point, I was sat there just
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TTTT2 and some Deja Vu

Those of you with a longish memory may remember a similar post 18 months ago just before the first Tracks to The Trenches event at Apedale which was the raison d'etre (there seems to be a lot of French going on tonight!), for the whole layout. However, the ticking clock was a cause of some alarm then - what a difference a year and a half makes! Last time I think I averaged three hours sleep a night in the week running up to the event desperately trying to get things ready but now , nine exhibiti
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Ambulance Van

The last show at Church Stretton seems like ages ago - well that is because it was ages ago and I am only just getting around to thanking Simon, Geoff and Geoff's son for all their help in running the layout. Thanks also to the show organisers and helpers who looked after us nicely and provided all the help I could have wanted when I was setting it all up by myself on the Friday night. It made a huge contrast to Narrow Gauge North where Simon and I were rushed off our feet all day and was actual
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Loud and Clear

One new development that I introduced for narrow Gauge North was a better system of communication between each end of the layout. What I would ideally like is a big old telephone that you have to wind up to make ring and then then have to talk in a terribly terribly BBC 1930's accent. Well the last bit is highly unlikely to happen as is the first actually! So compromise is some walkie talkies and these Baofeng units off Ebay fitted the bill perfectly;     They fit nicely in your hand or can
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Electrical Help!

Narrow Gauge North went very well and I am told they had 500 visitors and made 2000 pounds ( will pound symbols work now?), for the local hospice. It seemed for most of the day that all 500 were looking at my layout and all asking questions at the same time! Simon (with whom I couldn't have done it without - Thank You!), and I were rushed off our feet all day so I do appologise to some people who I know came to say hello but I got distracted before we could have a proper chat. At one point I eve
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Narrow Gauge North - this Saturday

Just a quick one to let any Norhern based people (or those from anywhere else who are feeling adventurous!), that Up the Line will be at the Narrow Gauge North show at Pusey, Leeds on Saturday. Am busy going through all the bits that the visitors never see or appreciate! Cleaning wheels, sticking various bits back down, looking for loose wires - and finding them! All this while keeping a close eye on the weather forcast as is a 150 mile trip and at moment looks like we might meet some snow on th
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An Adolescent Alco

Rather like a child that you see everyday and don't notice growing up, the Alco, with little bits being done when time allows, has suddenly turned into an adolescent without me noticing! All those little bits have added up. I finally managed to finish the pony trucks complete with ball race bearings and pick ups;     My attempts at machining the domes from brass in the traditional manner were not really getting any further that producing piles and piles of expensive swarf so having some go
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Mystery items

This post is a slight aside to my normal activities - activities that, incidentally, are continueing but at a rather boring pace and am saving up progress for an entry that might actually be interesting!   Anyway, yesterday, I was fortunate to come across a couple of boxes of bits and pieces most of which I could identify and either put to good use or find homes for but these two items have stumped me and I wonder if anyone can identify them. The first is aluminium and has a small stamp which
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Dirty Little Wagon Wheels and Mickleover Tomorrow

Another thing ticked off the to do list - have been meaning to clean the wagon wheels for ages and with a trip out tomorrow (see later), thought it would be a good time for a Spring clean - and did they need it! The amount of grot that came off them (particularly the D class wagons which are the oldest and possibly most used), was unbeliveable. Also the number of wheels that had what looked like little lumps of glue on the flange, loose tyres. out of gauge or even not going around at all was qui
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Alco - Valve gear and pony trucks

Very much as predicted, progress on the Alco has slowed somewhat as I start to get into the dark and possibly dangerous waters of the valve gear. Couldn't put it off any longer (although the Markits etch was looking tempting!), so set to it and after pretty much a whole day of drilling and fileing I had this;     not much to show really but this is a complete set of parts for both sides. Yes it is both sides as I made them up as pairs soldered together so that they would be the same and sav
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Alco - Cylinders, Plates and Firebox

It couldn't be put off any longer, so with a loco body almost finished I had to look at the wiggly bits. Various bits of brass tube, rod and section and an evenings work resulted in these rather nice cylinders;     But before they could go on the loco they had to have something to fix to so the front apron / cylinder block was made from copper clad sheet. I would love to have used proper metal but due to being split framed, it could not have been soldered on. In the end I gapped it in the m
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Alco - Tanks, Backhead & Boiler

I have to admit that I was really not loking forward to making the tanks and even considered using a plastic box I found that was a remarkably close fit in size - only problem was I only had one of them and not sure where it came from and anyway, it was plastic so wouldn't really do. So, out with the bending bars to sheer off some more nickle silver sheet, a technique I am now using very sucessfully thanks to Simon Bolton's book ' Scratch Building Model Railway Locomotives' I made up four identi
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The shape of things to come

Firstly, I hope everyone had a good Christmas! Unfortunately my much anticipated 'home alone' stint turned out to be rather shorter that was planned so the massive strides forward in the Alco build have not exactly happened. There has been some progress though but will update on this soon. Right now, I am going to talk about a couple of rather nice and well chosed Christmas presents which may be of interest.   Firstly there is a rather natty little etched kit of a Wright Flyer, convieniently a
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A start on the Alco

At last a start on the Alco and what a good start! Just as a bit of background, the Alco (American Locomotive Corporation), was the 2-6-2 version of the rather more numerous 4-6-0 Baldwins that were built in America for use on the Western Front in the First World War. A slightly bigger loco alround and one for which no kit is available (as yet!), in 7mm scale. The origins of this project started with a chat with Trevor about maybe converting an unmade Wrightlines Baldwin kit I had into the Alco
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Hudswell slow progress

Well we all want our locos to progress slowly - on the track though and not on the build! Well hopefully the rather slow progress of this project (18 months and counting!), will reflect in a slow and reliable progress on the track. Now, all was going well and had taken measurements from the original chassis for the cylinder mountings and had drilled and tapped these - Ok, spot what is wrong;     One clue is that it is not that the firebox is on the outside of the cab but you should be looki
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Hudswell progress at last

First a bit of catching up - survived Weston show intact, no best in show this year but as we were beaten by a layout with real water, Iz was not too upset! Very good day out (apart from the full size trains which were awful!) at Warley show on Sunday. Once again I was most impressed by the Dutch and Belguim layouts, they do seem to have a flair for doing the unusual in a very convincing fashion. What is more, I didn't actually spend very much this time!   Back to the modeling. The cover shot;
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Weston on Saturday

I am afraid that this probably isn't going to be the most exciting post ever as nothing really very exciting has happened! The Welshpool show went well with loads of help from Trevor, Geoff and little Iz. It was a pretty impressive setting with the layout set up underneath a huge painting in absurdly ornate frame. Not entirely sure the fact it had been on the wall for years was reasuring as it just meant it was closer to the point it would fall down and crush us all! Sadly, I don't have a pictur
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Welshpool this weekend and rant warning!

I just don't seem to have stopped at all in the last few days and much of my activety has been centered about this Saturday's show in Welshpool. Had thought I might leave the rant until later but hell, might as well just get it over with! Hence I just (expletive!), hope that the visitors (and organisers!), appreciate how much work is involved in turning up to a show! Apart from all the stuff that I promised to do to the layout after the last show, the mere act of cleaning track and wheels and pa
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Pigs, poppies and rubble

I appolgise now for the rather random scatter of subjects in this post but that is pretty much how things have been - just trying to pick off easy little jobs. Just to get the more unusual one out of the way, I decided that the little field kitchen scene was a bit lacking in in detail that made it actually look like something was going on so something to cook. Most of the cooking was done from scratch (an awful modern term for proper cooking!), so with no handy pre packed meat a side of pok was
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Small but not insignificant

Having been still rather starved of quality modeling time I have been snipeing at smaller little jobs that have been nigling at me for ages but will all together add up to me being much happier and having an even better looking and working layout. Firstly though, here are some pics of the armoured Simplex now all but finished.     Have kept this one in grey like the preserved Greensands one which will also add a bit of variety to the endless dull green. Only thing I have to sort out is the
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A New Approach and a bit more Simplex

As you may have noticed by the lack of updates over the Summer, I have had precius little time to do any modelling and even less time to write about it. This, however, hasn't stopped me from thinking about it! One part of my thought has been to how I can use my limited time more effectively and how to manage to finish everything that I start. So here is the conclusion of my thinking and a bit of an exaxample of it being put into practise. At this point I expect you, dear readers, to split into t
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A Tin Turtle is Born

Why did I call it a 'Tin Turtle'? Have always hated that name. From now on it shall be an Armoured Simplex (40hp to be pedantic!).   For those of you who may have missed the genesis of this project, which was hidden at the end of a rather indulgent rant at the weekend, I shall recap. The aim is to resurect a Wrightlines white metal kit of a 'protected' Sinplex that was dropped almost exactly a year ago but in the form of a fully armoured version. As there is no kit available a bit of scratch b
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Big Trains, Little Trains and Trains Inbetween

At Last! I have found two moments to rub together to make time for a blog. My silence over the last few weeks has been down to an unfortunate state of being stupidly busy and thus no modelling worth talking about. But, has not been entirely railway free, so here is a very potted history of last couple of months with a few pics thrown in and, if you make it that far, even a bit of modelling.   Much to my Francophile wife's disappointment there has just not been the opportunity to cross the chan
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I am still here!

Just in case any of you were wondering if I had called it a day at my landmark 100,000 views, I hate to disapoint you but I am still here. The reason for no posts? No progress! I wonder if all these people getting married and wanting me to photograph them know how inconsiderate they are being! And as for schools going on holiday and leaving us with children to entertain.......   So brief round up;   Joffre is completely stalled after valve gear and gear box exploded on first powerd run despi
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100,000!

Well here we are - it has taken two years of persistant blooging but at last have reached the rarefied heights of 100,000 views which, for such a niche interest as mine is a worthy achievement 'though I say it myself! So a big thank you to everyone who has stuck with me and an even bigger thank you for the 591 comments along the way - all very much appreciated.   What is more all all this comes on the momentous day of my half century and just look at the great surprise my lovely wife organised
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