Using a well known "on line air photo service" I have annotated the remaining vestiges of what made up the gas works and the coal yard:
I think it should now be possible to scale off and build the gas works diorama as an add-on. Quite when this will happen is anyone's guess! One possibility, though, would be to "build" it in SketchUp.
I've been busy cutting up copper clad strips for regular track sleepers this afternoon. A laborious, monotonous process. Which reminded me that back in the early 1970s the copper clad sleepers (we called them PCB sleepers back then, short for Printed Circuit Board) came already cut to size and gapped. Not these days. On the other hand the longer strips for turnouts were the same width as the regular track sleepers when they should be wider, 4mm vs 3.3mm. So there is give and take between th
Other than one photo on Warwickshirerailways.com, there is very little evidence that Shipston ever had a gas works. But this short movie has come to light with a very blurred view of the plant:
http://www.macearchive.org/Archive/Title/midlands-news-23121963-closing-of-smallest-gas-works/MediaEntry/6692.html
Note the movie says it was the smallest gas works. Whether this was in all the country or just Central England is not clear.
I am not sure how this will be incorporated into
A little refinement on the track plan (I have finally got a double slip that fits!) so I am back to a 9'x2' scenic layout plus 4'x2'extension/fiddle yard.
Some late night checking against the historical photos has helped to place foliage on the plan. And the good news is that the trees will help rather than hinder the appearance. The station platform underwent several phases of gardening over the years and the placement of gas lamps also varied, but the optimum 1930s appearance is reasonab
Well, this is not the end, but it is certainly the beginning. Using Templot has been interesting, challenging, rewarding and at times frustrating. The latter is due to my being on the steepest part of the learning curve. I have not given up on the double slip, though the current design is actually more prototypical. The problem is, by sticking to OO-SF criteria, I have had to extend the basic area from 9'x2' to 10'x2' whether I use the double slip or not. This is not a space problem dictate
24 hours later and a new Templot arrangement is complete, following my studying up the instructions to build a single slip from a diamond crossing. But I have yet to fill in the details to make the double slip as the instructions suggest it is best to leave modifying the crossing until later. I have taken that suggestion to heart! But it does make sense not to plough straight into the difficult bits, honestly.
So here is the new plan, utilizing a future double slip where the crossing is now:
Now, I am sure there are lots of improvements to be made and I think there may also be a few hidden errors, but I am beginning to understand Templot and have drawn up my initial interpretation of the branch line terminus layout.
The branch line enters the station at upper left (the lower track is a headshunt) with the single station platform top right. The release loop has an end loading dock at the right hand end. The third track down passes through the goods shed and also serves the
Although I already have Peco track for Shipston, I am slowly but surely moving toward a better looking OO-SF look and design. Several years ago I used Templot for a while, working under a PC emulator on my Mac (I have been a Mac user since 1992), but the emulator was expensive to upgrade and really didn't seem to be that reliable. Templot fascinated me in that it appears to have a steep learning curve for those of us who have done a lot of CAD and vector based drawing on computers. This is be
In an earlier post I discussed Arthur Jordan's definitive book on the S&MJR and showed a quick attempt at using the floor plan of Stratford Old Town Station for a SketchUp 3D model. Since then I have progressed slowly up the learning curve and have realized that I need to keep things simple for the time being. So, no interiors this time round.
As well as Jordan's book, the good old reliable warickshirerailways.com site provides numerous photos of various vintages, including one or two
A belated Christmas present to myself arrived today - Arthur Jordan's classic "The Shakespeare Route" book on the Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway. This has additional photos not published elsewhere with particular emphasis on the Stratford end of the line (unlike the Towcester book!). But still no definitive Midland 3F sightings in the mid-1930s.
The plan of the station building at Stratford Old Town prompted me to use it as a "go by" for SketchUIp practice. But as is oft
Yesterday I returned from France via Birmingham Airport. I then took the first train into New Street and walked across to Moor Street to just make it onto Platform 1 for the 2:01 p.m. train to Stratford. I was just a bit surprised that the London Midland train did not turn right after Tysleley but continued down the main line to Solihull. With limited stops the train took 40 minutes to reach Stratford. I have since studied Network Rail Timetable 71 and see that the once hourly service has be
The entire but not very large layout is now in southern France. It could be renamed but there is not much point in that. Shipston actually comes from Sheep's Town, so Moutonville would be a close approximation, but I don't think the GWR, S&MJR, etc. would approve!
Unpacking, I realized that there are too many projects on the go, so toward the end of January there will be an attempt at rationalization. There will a strong temptation to start baseboard construction which I will not be able
I have been away (and no Internet, how did we survive without it?) for a few days and came home to a package from Fox. Now the GWR brass plates can be affixed for 2551, 3207, 5724 and 4804. But not until the entire stock is moved to southern France in a few days time. I have made the decision to keep the two layouts (Shipston and Legge lane MPD) in France for the time being. SWMBO needs the space here in England, what more can I say? (But then I like France). The good news is that the modu
My Warley "splurge" has joined the Shipston-on-Stour roster and has received a few modifications. The model is the GWR green 9003 which will be re-numbered 3207 when an order of brass plates arrives from Fox Transfers. This is the one that started out life at Stratford (GWR) shed.
So far I have added the packaged details that came in the box and added screw link couplers to engine and tender. The metal coal plate has gone and there is some real coal in its place. I have also added a TCS
My first Warley Show was excellent. But I am now a poor man! I guess these two statements almost have to go hand in hand.
The Shipston Branch benefited enormously, with several significant additions, including a GWR Dukedog which was my impulse buy, a TCS decoder for the 57XX, new wheels and bearings for the Hornby Clerestories, Brassmasters coupling rods for the Midland 3F and various bits and bobs. The various small suppliers at the show were most helpful. Sylmaster provided many items
I think I have finally found a prototype loco for renumbering my Midland 3F. Though this is not without some uncertainty. Today I received my copy of Middleton Press' "Branch Lines around Towcester" which is a strange title for a book dedicated to the Stratford upon Avon and Midland Junction Railway. Obviously the authors had leanings toward the eastern end of the line.
However, there is a photo of a Midland 3F, No. 3529 at Fenny Compton, hauling a Stratford bound train in 1939. This is
Today I took advantage of B&Q's Senior Wednesday promotion and saved 10% on the purchase of the 4" x 1" nominal framework for the baseboards.
Note I call this "lumber", a relict from my years in Houston, Texas. There is a common thought that the UK and the USA are two nations divided by a common language. This is a very real observation. After over 10 years in Europe I still think sheetrock (gypsum board), trunk (boot), and lumber (timber).
Lumber in the UK seems to be better qual
Stratford has wisely invested its tourist wealth to include many facilities that benefit locals as well as tourists, and at this time of year, on a gloomy Sunday morning, a surprising number of people were out and about along the river side, walking or cycling the Greenway, even kayaking over the weir by Holy Trinity Church. We had chosen a three mile walk from the Greenway carpark to the town, visiting the Tramway Bridge, then taking the Tramway Walk south, then back to the starting point for
Without intending to do so, my research into how the GWR might have made an agreement with the LMS to connect Shipston to the Stratford and Midland Joint Railway cross country line has raised some interesting issues.
These don't relate to the Shipston Branch as such, but do have some bearing on my fictitious parallel project, the Legge Lane MPD. This is based on a small MPD "somewhere in the Midlands" with a strong LMS flavor but set in the BR era. Many of the locos I have purchased or wil
Research RMWeb and you will find lots of advice concerning the removal of pad printed details on modern RTR products. In this case the Bachmann Midland 3F 0-6-0.
People can get quite heated over what to use and what not to use. To be fair, the latter are remonstrating against those techniques that could cause lasting damage to a plastic model.
Anyway, I decided upon the IPA (Isopropyl alcohol) method which can be time consuming and therefore prone to a "hurry up and spoil" result. Adv
During the 1930s the staple locomotive power on the S&MJR appears to have been the Midland 3F 0-6-0 and several were allocated to the Stratford Old Town shed. As we have come to expect, Mike Musson's warwickshirerailways.com has plenty of evidence of various locomotives but generally the actual numbers are not legible on the older photos. There is one:
http://warwickshirerailways.com/lms/smjsa77.htm
which shows several 3Fs on shed. The one to the right matches the Bachmann model,
For the first time since being back in modeling I find myself with a ticket for the Warley Show, 10 days from now. I have usually been working in Africa during the past few years but this year I am not, so Birmingham NEC here I come! I have been told that the show is very crowded, but with so many opportunities to meet vendors, see demonstrations and (probably) spend money, the crowds hopefully won't put me off.
So I have been making a list of traders I want to visit and hope that they may
I have just taken delivery of two 1980s era Hornby Clerestories. In good condition they have already received scale couplers but will need decent wheels and bearings, and some form of improved corridor connectors. These coaches were made in Margate and the quality of the printing, etc. is excellent.
The length of the coaches may be considered a bit over the top for the branch line but my excuse/reason for including them is that the Stratford based Dukedog, 3207, will run a twice daily serv
More research while I am away from home for the week and I have finally identified the best option for a Dukedog that might have served the Stratford-Shipston branch. I had previously decided on 3203 as there is a period photo of this loco at Tyseley on warwickshirerailways.com. But more Internet research using the GWR.org.uk site has done better. 3207 was first allocated to Tyseley's sub-shed Stratford upon Avon. Perfect.
The next batch of Bachmann Dukedogs is due next year and I have p
So, it's been a while and a quick update is in order. The photo has brought out all the as yet untouched blemishes, etc after meddling with the Hornby shell. But the progress is there to see. Loco brake rodding, smokebox dart, spare lamp brackets and top rear tender lamp bracket.
I still have those pesky lamp brackets to fit on the buffer beams and smokebox top.
The connecting rods need to be permanently fixed in place but there will be one more teardown of the wheels and motor b
