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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
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1840s couplers

Using PECO 009 couplers for magnetic uncoupling

A couple of years ago I started using PECO 009 hook-and-loop couplers, as the buffer beams on 1840s models are much lower than the beams on more modern stock and the usual 00/H0 solutions don't work. Gluing the plastic shafts of PECO GR-101 couplers to the bottom of the beams worked okay,  but I decided to try a more organised approach to  coupling and uncoupling stock.  I recently read that the 009 Society recommends setting narrow gauge couplers 6 mm above rail height, and I decided to experim
GWR

Two new bargain restorations

Following the theme of the last entry, here are two more cheap and cheerful vehicular restorations.     The 3.4 litre Jag is a Lesney model that was in a very tatty state. I flush-glazed it from the outside using Glue-n-glaze as I didn't want to faff around getting into the rivetted interior. It worked surprisingly well although I've not always had success with glazing big gaps like the windscreen. The model was repainted. The Lesney wheels were retained, but I swapped the o
Barry Ten

Barry Ten in GWR

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Kit building

Dapol Kitmaster Presflo uplift.

I haven't used the blog section for a while and thought I would show what I have been up to this weekend.    I enjoy kitbuilding rolling stock, particularly wagons. Here are a few "improvements" I have made to the Dapol/airfix/kitmaster presflo wagon... A few changes include... Drilling out the sole bar mounted end steps as they are solid on the model but open on the prototype.  Some additional brake rigging detail An object which looks like a tie bar.  Lanark
Kit Making

A Stove Equipped BY

This seems to have taken some time to get mostly finished off, but I think I am done (bar adding ballast and the couplers, but I'll sort these out en masse when I have a few vans/wagons built).   Here is a Parkside BY Utility van (Van C) - kit PC34, finished in BR(S) green. Being in the very low range number wise (this is S402S), this has a stove and so has the relevant yellow panels. Many thanks to those who responded helpfully to my thread over here!    Had a couple of hicc
4 COR

4 COR in Kit Making

4
General

Broad Gauge Trio – 2nd Movement

In my previous post, I described modelling of some of the earliest wagons ordered for the GWR in the late 1830s. At that time, much of the railway was still under construction – the complete route from London to Bristol was not opened until 30th June 1841. Information on these early wagons is sparse, although we are fortunate to have several illustrations by J.C.Bourne, which are sufficiently accurate to indicate the main features.   Bristol Goods Shed – J.C.Bourne 1842  
MikeOxon

MikeOxon in General

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GWR

You little Minx

After a trip to the dentist last week I treated myself by popping into the toys & collectables shop on our high street. They sometimes have some railway stuff and I had my eye on a Superquick church kit that I'd spotted in the window a week or two earlier. Alas, the aforementioned ecclesiastical structure had gone but a rummage in one of the bins turned up a nice little white metal car kit in the John Day range. Although I didn't realise it at the time, it's a prewar/war Hillman Minx.  
Barry Ten

Barry Ten in GWR

3
Coaches & Browns

Slater's GWR dia E37 Tri-compo clerestory coach

My GWR E37 tri-compo is ready for painting, built from the Slater’s kit. Earlier I did a blow-by-blow account of the C19 build from the same range, so this post will focus on new experiences and things that were different.       There was more flash around the windows than in the C19 kit, especially at the bottom. The window edges are quite thin and hard to distinguish from the flash, and therefore easily damaged when the flash is removed. Inspecting the sides from behind helped.
Up the Line

Mickleover

'Better late than never', as the saying goes so here a mere eight days but 192 very hectic hours (OK, I was asleep for some of them!), after the Trent Area 7mm Narrow Gauges' lovely showlet at Mickelover in Derbyshire, is a brief update on my contribution. A contribution which which spanned two tables with a six foot test track upon which four years work shuttled happily back and forth and and 14 out of the 22 planed models were displayed in some form of completion or other. It is rather scary t
KH1

KH1 in Up the Line

1
46444 Blog

Wagon Miscellany. GWR ballast wagons x 3 and a Ratio Huntsman Ales kit.

Tonight's blog entry is an eclitic mix of wagons I am working on that are currently on the workbench.   The kit below I am working on is an excellent Chivers GWR P17 permanent way wagon. As with all Chivers kits the quality is superb.    It's just waiting for some of Mr. Frank's finest buffers from Lanarkshire Model Supplies (LMS).     The Cambrian GWR P18 is enhanced with Lanarkshire Model Supply buffers and Chivers door bangs.    
46444

46444 in 46444 Blog

8
2024

Ceteris Paribus: a lesson to remember

Ceteris Paribus I've been reminded of two assumptions I was taught when I studied economics, about how markets function:   The first seemed quite fanciful at the time - the idea that buyers (and sellers) have perfect market knowledge.  Although it was presented to us as a means of simplifying analysis, the rise of the internet means it is now within reach.  When it comes to model railways, I can compare prices, quality, availability and alternatives for anything I'm wanting to eit
Keith Addenbrooke

Keith Addenbrooke in 2024

4
General

A Broad-Gauge Trio of Wagons

Following my stock review , I realised that, although I have quite a good selection of early broad-gauge carriages, there are relatively few examples of early goods wagons.   While thinking about the possibilities, I looked at the contemporary pen and wash sketch by J.C.Bourne, which shows three types of early broad-gauge wagons, including one with wheels outside the body sides and a tilt cover.     For more information and drawings, I turned to the invaluable set
MikeOxon

MikeOxon in General

9
16mm photo-plank

How does your garden grow? With 16mm Garden tools, obviously

Following a request for some garden tools I took to the Thingiverse and found a couple of items to print. The spade, fork and grass rake were made for 12th scale but scaled down to 16mm without too much issue. I then drew up a rake and, because I couldn't find ones I like the look of, a watering can and plant pots.     The nice thing about the plant pots was that I only had to draw one size and then scale them in the slicer on the printer to get a range of sizes.  
General

No. 583 , a condensing Jumbo.

The 83 members of the 709 Class 0-6-0 tender engines were built by McIntosh from 1895 onwards. They were the original Jumbos, all Westinghouse fitted for mixed traffic duties. Five members of the class Nos 583 to 587 were fitted with condensing apparatus for working the Glasgow underground lines.     The model dates back to the 90s, some of it from a secondhand djh kit, the rest scratchbuilt. Unusually for me it runs on Gibson sprung hornblocks. I noticed that it had developed a s
Dave John

Dave John in General

8
Tractive Effort. Testing. Adhesion. Weight.

15. Worth The Effort....?

Tractive Effort......in practical terms.   I have searched the forums here for an existing thread on Tractive Effort, and other than some mentions in other threads have not found one on this specific subject.   The 4mm scale, OO gauge diorama that I'm building necessitates gradients down to and UP from a lower storage level - or else I wouldn't be writing this. As a corollary of deciding what maximum gradient to allow, it follows that some sort of assessment of what it takes
track plan

Track Plans

I'm jumping ahead slightly here in the decision making process but I wanted to cover what has already happened sooner rather than later.  Which is to say the track plan was developed over a week in early January, a welcome distraction from post christmas lethargy.  The first plan was mark 1.  The idea was to have a distinct pasenger operation mixed and matched with a freight operation.    The knowledge I brought to this was, run around loops are needed for loco operations, trains don't
ngaugenic

ngaugenic in track plan

0
Layout

Cheddar P4 - January 2024 update

Gosh. Another year has arrived and the layout still isn’t finished! This time of year is always busy with various family birthdays but I have managed to find time to get a bit of modelling done. It doesn’t help that my progress this time isn’t really progress, rather the correction of things I didn’t get right in the first, second or even third case. Ho hum…   The camping coach is all but finished, it just needs weathering down slightly and detailing added. Transfers were from Fox
ullypug

ullypug in Layout

4
General

Decisions, decisions

I don't like hanging around so over Christmas plans were made:   Scale: n-gauge Era: 1950s-1960s Setting: Dockside Control: DCC for trains via all in one controller Scenic: tracks laid in concrete/setts with some open ballasted track Pointwork: "electro-mechanical" A hybrid of manual switches on a 12V DC bus powering point motors, switching electrofrog from DCC track bus Track: Peco code 55, DIY track laying Baseboard: Fixed in shed   I had
ngaugenic

ngaugenic in General

0
General

Things to consider, a not comprehensive list

Physical Size portable baseboard/fixed track underlay, nothing/cork/foam glue/pins scale : n,00, etc track peco kato etc Theme Steam/diesel/electric country rural/urban Freight/passenger Track plan! From a book, from helpful forum members, from your imagination, from real life
ngaugenic

ngaugenic in General

3
General

Start at the beginning

I have been interested in model railways since I was a kid.  I have an affection for rail travel and enjoy low key engineering and hobby electronics.  A degree in Physics means I can think through wiring diagrams and geometrical problems.  That's the strengths.   The weaknesses...  Little idea on actual rail operations, little idea on wiring "decoders", "DCC", "automatic points", "electronic train control".  No practice on scenic modelling, track laying, wiring points for "live frogs".
ngaugenic

ngaugenic in General

0
Buildings

Modelling progress continues

I've spent part of this weekend doing a bit more modelling and decided that the building next door to the takeaway will become a newsagents. I was planning to make this a regional bookmakers, but couldn't seem to find the right graphics for it.  Anyway, the magazine retail display unit is currently being fabricated below, with 'Mr Airfix' next to it to ensure scale.  The small amounts of Tamiya masking tape on the 'shelves' will be removed when the unit is painted fully.  This wil
CJM

CJM in Buildings

2
Preservation

Keeping 26043 alive.....we are going to need some more rust...

We start where we left off...     Work has started to re-instate the metal strip which attaches the dome to the cab, the dome itself has been filled smoothed and flatted and given an initial coat of grey primer, the rough join will be hidden by aluminium trim....eventually.     The strip now extends above the drivers windscreen.     Over the past few years we have grown quite attached to rust and we were worried we were running out..
pheaton

pheaton in Preservation

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Wagons

Battered Wagons Two

Another quick shot of some more 'worn out' Parkside 21ton coal wagons. These are a bit too old for the layout era, and I have decided to line them up and 'dump them' when the next set of sidings are installed, with some more added rot..
CJM

CJM in Wagons

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3D CAD

Changing my mind

If we follow a modelling idea for many years, can we change our minds and vote for something else? In my last blog I presented my nod to Cragside house based on a plastic kit from Faller. It made me look again at the other buildings I have made from Metcalfe kits; the Faller kits "relief" in the stonework and roof tiles was very impressive. The second point I noticed was that the buildings I had chosen did not have the look and consistency I had hoped for. When I first started building Metcalfe
Northumberton

Northumberton in 3D CAD

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