The 6 wheeled coaches that I have modelled were purchased by WH Austen, who took over the HF Stephens light railway undertaking after his dead in 1931. As with many Stephens enterprises the modification of the coaches for use on the railway was carried out in unorthodox manor. They started life on the LDCR railways as bogie coaches, which were sliced in two and the wheel arrangement changed.

The photograph below shows the origionally a brake third coach, although by the date I am modelling it had become a brake second.

The reason for so doing was the severe curves on the prototype and the weight restrictions over the very light track. The stone built bridges and the sheep creep were constructed as a result of a deal with the land owner to provide the land required for the railway for a nominal £1 on condition that all bridges were constructed on stone and a halt was provided for the use of said land owner and local residence this later became Clovelly Road. The line was operated by the LSWR and later the Southern Railway and then British Railways, although the infrastructure was owned independently until nationalisation in 1948.

The photograph below shows how tight the fit between the coach and the bridge. This was true of the prototype and I have exentuated this on the model to make the layout appear larger than it is.

A mixted train approaches Clovelly Road from the junction.

They need further work to make them correct, but at this point I simply want to prove that the techniques I have previously used in 4mm work in the smaller 2mm scale. I need for instance to change the fixed wheels to disk wheels, add couplings at the fixed end and modify the frames to match the bogie end.

part 1 of the coaches story can be found at http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1849/entry-16890-clovelly-road-the-proof-of-the-pudding/

Julie