A new arrival at Brookford station from the works - an old favourite class of loco for me, which I first saw on the Isle of Wight on a boyhood trip with my brother around fifty years ago.

 

Adams O2 arrives at Brookford station by P L S, on Flickr

 

Adams O2 Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight by P L S, on Flickr

 

I used to develop and print my own photos as a teenager, with heavy curtains in my bedroom and a Keep Out notice on my door. I obviously left this print in the fixer too long and failed to rinse is adequately, but it certainly looks old! Obviously it's a different loco, and fitted with Westinghouse pump and reservoir as well as enlarged coal bunker, but otherwise pretty much the same as its mainland cousins, as ran on the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway. Like No 234, which found its way to Brookford after the latter line closed, having found glory starring in "Oh, Mr Porter!" and earlier, "The Wrecker".

 

Adams O2 class arrives at Brookford by P L S, on Flickr

 

Still a bit more work to do on the painting and weathering, plus a decision of whether to varnish over the weathering, which is all Caran D'Ache water soluble crayon drawn or washed on, to protect it or not. The danger is that of losing the variation in surface textures of the different areas. Against the danger of the weathering coming off with handling. Difficult.

 

Adams O2 joins Hudswell Clarke at the coaling stage by P L S, on Flickr

 

Earlier post, last week I think:

 

New loco at Brookford by P L S, on Flickr

New photographic backscenes and a contractors' two foot gauge line modelled in O14 have been two of the major changes to Brookford since I first posted here about the layout, in the text and pictures further down.

Plus, of course, the arrival of a standard gauge tank engine in the form of an Adams O2 class 0-4-4T, as used on the prototype Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway, from which the imaginary Brookford draws much of its inspiration, along with the Mid Suffolk Light Railway. This loco was recently purchased in need of a little TLC, and 're-branding' from 1960s Isle of Wight British Railways to 1930s Brookford Southern Railway. It runs beautifully, the chassis built by Ian McGibbon with fixed driven front axle, sprung coupled axle and compensation beam to sprung bogie mounting, with micro plunger pickups on the driving wheels. A DCC LokSound decoder from SouthWestern Digital has been installed.

 

Brookford Simplex at Beaconsfield

by P L S, on Flickr

The O14 Simplex also runs well, but I have left the narrow gauge to run on DC, as there is little room for adequate sound, and there seem few benefits in DCC on an end-to-end line with but one point and one loco in operation.

 

Grass by P L S, on Flickr

Experiments with grass and foliage have followed.

 

Brookford platform by P L S, on Flickr

The Earl of Brookford with his trusty Lab, use the station regularly, accompanied by the Countess and her maid, while the senior porter seems unfazed by the auspicious company.

 

And as for the chauffeur,

 

chauffeur by P L S, on Flickr

Figure painting has been an enjoyable diversion.

 

Brookford dog walk by P L S, on Flickr

 

And building stock for the narrow gauge contractor's line has been a new departure.

Brookford Hudswell Clarke by P L S, on Flickr

 

Snapseed by P L S, on Flickr

 

Brookford is due at Farnham District MRC O Gauge open day on Monday 6 May, at Chatham on 15/16 June and Cardiff on 19/20 October 2013. An article about the layout is also due in Model Rail magazine in the not too distant future.

 

 

 

ORIGINAL POST FROM MARCH 2012:

 

Sunrise at Brookford by P L S, on Flickr

 

Hello. I have recently started to take my O gauge DCC layout Brookford to exhibitions, although there's a great deal more to do on the model.

 

Brookford is an imaginary location on the Hampshire/Suffolk border, with leanings towards the ex-LSWR Southern Railway. It depicts an era from the late 1930s to the late 1950s, depending on what stock I feel like running.

 

 

Shed yard by P L S, on Flickr

 

BACKGROUND

 

The Brookford & South Western Junction Railway was incorporated in 1901 and built in the first decade of the twentieth century under the Light Railways Act 1896, and was initially operated independently. One of the original directors involved in establishing the line had previous experience on other light railways including the Mid Suffolk Light Railway (the ‘Middy’), another on the Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway.

 

Another founding director had close social and sporting connections with directors of other railway companies and had the knack of persuading them to offer stock and equipment for purchase at reasonable prices. It is rumoured that the presence of an autocoach originally built for the GWR on the stock list was the result of a sporting bet. The ex-GER Worsdell Y14 0-6-0, no 513, one of many that returned from service in France and Belgium during the Great War, was withdrawn in 1920 by the GER due to excessive damage. It was believed to have been scrapped, however in the mid 1920's the locomotive was seen at Brookford, in use on occasional Engineers duties on the line, its presence no doubt the result of another deal. It’s sister locos formed the J-15 LNER class which lasted into 1950’s on the Middy. Some say it was taken into BR stock as No 65454, but this is incorrect.

 

The line's locomotive facilities, turntable and engineering depot are also at Brookford station, effectively the headquarters of the line. However, a one and three quarter mile siding did in fact originally continue past the goods shed to the site of a military training camp located on the Downs nearby.

 

The line always failed to show a profit as many of the stations were sited miles from the communities they were meant to serve. The Southern Railway was reluctant to take the line on at the Grouping, and throughout the 1930's used every legal loophole to avoid doing so, during which time a limited service continued. Occasionally, however, special trains between Southampton and Victoria serving the Imperial Airways worldwide Clipper flying boat service were routed through Brookford, with Pullman cars for the wealthy passengers, in stark contrast to the ex-LBSC Stroudley six-wheelers the locals were used to on the line.

 

From 1939 War Department traffic once more kept the line busy but ordinary traffic was suspended. Following the evacuation from Dunkirk, the army camp was used to receive thousands of troops brought from Dover and Folkestone over the Southern Railway in Operation Dynamo. One locomotive used on such duties was Adams T3 class 4-4-0 No 571 which runs on the layout, and was depicted fresh out of paintshops on the front cover of the October 2011 edition of the Railway Modeller magazine, running on Weydon Road, the Farnham and District MRC's exhibition layout. It’s looking a bit more weathered now. The records show that this loco was withdrawn in 1943 and subsequently cut up, but in fact it was taken into use on the Brookford line without ever changing it’s SR livery.

 

 

No 571 on the turntable by P L S, on Flickr

 

 

THE MODEL

 

Brookford station buildings are based on those on the Middy, with the loco shed from Laxfield. The goods shed (originally a model built by Bill Hunt) is from Lambourne. The station also stables the line’s breakdown train, based loosely on the 15 ton Cowan Sheldon crane used by many lines from pre-grouping times onwards. An illustrated feature on the building of this model appeared in the July 2011 edition of the Railway Modeller magazine. Future projects include a weedkiller train, an Adams O2 0-4-4T loco plus a two foot gauge feeder line in O14, bringing aggregates to an exchange siding, hauled by various motive power, some of which was first used on the Western Front in the First World War.

 

I'm still pondering on where to have the 2-foot gauge track installed - probably just lightly laid track panels as per the prototype.

 

Cheers for now

 

Paul

 

Adams Radial tank No 3125 arrives with the local by P L S, on Flickr

 

Thanks to Matthew Cousins for this photo of his loco visiting Brookford at a recent exhibition at Tonbridge.