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Lineside factory now complete and another half-relief building started


Captain Kernow

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The small rail-served factory unit for Callow Lane is now more or less complete:

 

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The building is a branch premises of the small engineering firm Taffson Evans, which had a long history of occasional locomotive building back into the 19th century, although the Callow Lane premises was only ever responsible for the production of smaller, individual components.

 

When it was first founded, the firm was known as Taffson, Evans & Jenkins and they were responsible for the small fleet of 15" gauge 0-4-0STs for the Vowchurch Slate Tramway in Herefordshire:

 

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More information on these diminutive locomotives and the narrow gauge railway that they served can be found in the book 'The Slate Railway to Churchwater' by Brian Clarke and published by Merlin Locomotive Works in 1977.

 

Subsequent locomotive construction was not well recorded, but the company dropped the 'Jenkins' part of their name in the early 1950s and began to develop a standard small industrial diesel, which they hoped to sell to industry and the MoD, an example of which is depicted here:

 

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Not many were constructed in the event, and the company's trading position began to look increasingly precarious as the 1960s wore on. A management buy-out in 1970 saw the name change again to Taffson Engineering, with the company diversifying into components for domestic appliances and industrial switching gear. It was at this time that the Callow Lane factory was closed and production concentrated in the Rhondda Valley. Finally it was saved from the brink of receivership in the late 1990s by another takeover, this time by a Japanese company, who moved the company to an industrial estate near Peterborough and are now manufacturing cardboard office removals 'storage solutions' and trading as 'Pretentia'....

 

With apologies to those who may have read this rhubarb on the previous version of the forum...

 

The next structure is a more basic 'view blocker', to partially hide where the two running lines disappear into the fiddle yard. This is also meant to be some kind of anonymous industrial premises and is the structure behind the 08 (the photo was taken from the operators side):

 

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Very nice CK! You're doing a cracking job of creating atmosphere around Callow Lane! Any chance of an up to date overall view of the layout? I know...I don't ask for much, but it is Christmas! ;) :P :D

 

Excellent work and a cracking read as always!

 

Paul

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  • RMweb Gold

Would 'Lucy' be a OO5 model by any chance?

She would, too!

 

I'll sort some more photos soon, folks - I was just thinking earlier today of putting all the completed buildings on the layout and taking some more photos...

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Top quality rhubarb CK! The building is looking rather nice as well :) Scalescenes, or excellently weathered?

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  • RMweb Gold

Top quality rhubarb CK! The building is looking rather nice as well :) Scalescenes, or excellently weathered?

Er, bit of both, you could say - Scalescenes brickpaper, that has been additionally weathered, plus plasticard etc.

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Well done Captain that's an excellent scene. Some lovely model work there.:good_mini:

Can I ask about the level crossing ? Is it scratch built or a kit ?

Regards.

Tony.

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  • RMweb Gold

Yip Cap'n

 

Got agree those level crossing gates look excellent set well within the other detail you have created.

The trackwork looks great too

Chris

;)

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  • RMweb Gold

The level crossing is essentially Model Signal Engineering components (gates, gate posts, targets), but with some additional detail added, notably the bracing rods and the mesh. The gates then had brass rod glued into the base of the gate ends - this rotates in matching brass tube set in the baseboard, enabling the gates to open and close (when I fit the operating mechanism...).

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  • RMweb Gold

Taffson? You'll have the Welsh purists down on you! I just Googled the name, and the most coherent entry was 2009 on RMWeb....

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  • RMweb Gold

Taffson? You'll have the Welsh purists down on you! I just Googled the name, and the most coherent entry was 2009 on RMWeb....

Yes, it's a very old and dignified organisation, is Taffson, Evans & Jenkins!.... :D

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