Though Tredethy Wharf has been a good introduction to Scalefour modelling it has not been a layout that I’ve been tempted to operate at home. When set up at home it’s normally just there as a static diorama collecting dust. That said I have enjoyed taking it to shows along with helping out on other layouts at shows. I’ve become to realise making an exhibition of myself in front of a layout is a rewarding experience. Meeting up with friends who help, the meeting of fellow modellers along with the
It's been a while since I've posted anything on RMweb, this has mainly due to the outage and then realisation that I'd have to re-upload picture to any posts. Also since moving house I've had many months of other projects taking up much of my time. During the last few weeks there has time has been spent mulling over what direction my modelling will take and also if I was going to continue blogging. I'm a member of the Scalefour Society and have not really been posting my progress on its forum a
I'd been invited to show Tredethy Wharf at SolRail 2022, this is the Working Model Railway Exhibition held in November each year. After dragging the layout out of storage, our house is undergoing some major renovations so the layout was hiding behind stacks of furniture. I set it up in our living room, which had just had a new level floor laid but was still a building site. There were a few things that needed fixing especially one turnout that was not working. Eventually after a little tinkering
It's been awhile since I visited RMWeb but I recently found these two videos that were taken at the Immingham show back in 2019. Just thought it might be worth posting links to these videos on YouTube.
Class 08 shunter on a full chine clay trains
Class 08 shunter on an empty clay train
I was hoping to take a few more videos of the layout, but it's been packed away while we have some building work completed.
Since Missenden I've not had much time available for visits to the Man Cave. What time there has been has been put to installing Sprat & Winkle couplings on a few more wagons. With the Easter Weekend looming and the thought of having at least two full days of the four free for modelling I'd not been too worried. But how situations can change in a moment. During the week prior to Easter, we had a request from the Fostering team to take on an emergency placement. The little lost sole is with u
My aim this weekend was to install all the electromagnets that will be used to uncouple wagons fitted with Sprat and Winkle couplings. It all started well marking the position of each electromagnet by drilling through the boards from above with a 1.5 mm drill. The hope is that the small holes, one of which that can just be seen in the picture below, will be easily filled so they're not too obvious and might be used as a position marker.
The thickness of the baseboard was then calcu
The other day I received an email from Missenden Abbey reminding me of the up and coming Spring Weekend that I've enrolled on. Of all the courses available, I'd chosen to attend the session on 4mm Locomotive Kit Construction. It was a tough decision as there were 4 other courses from which I could learn much: Weathering; Backscenes and scenery;Trackwork; also DCC Sound. In the end I realised that my skills in locomotive construction are currently my main weakness. Though I have had an 03 chassis
To add a little variation to the rake of brake vans for the Brake Van Special, I decided to dig out a Parkside's kit of a Toad B. I believe that some lasted into the 1960s in their original state so thought one might have found its way down to Cornwall. This is probably unlikely but as a Toad E was used on the Wenfordbridge Branch it might have happened...
When building plastic wagon kits I normally remove the plastic w irons complete with springs and axle boxes leaving just the wagon soleba
Well painting the cattle and Pip got me started on figure painting but these are becoming a real task to paint...eventually I built up a small head of steam and completed the few below.
Well, they still needing a little shading and a coat of matt varnish applying but, they look to be a reasonable start. I have a number more to paint as the Brake Van Special will consist of about six vans. Unfortunatally this is about the maximum number of brake vans my cassett
One would think that after painting hundreds of wargaming figures I'd be able to quickly pick up a brush and get a number of figures completed for a Brake Van Special. Well it's not been that easy as at some point I seem to have lost my mojo for painting figures. So thought I'd try to break back into figure painting by having a go at cattle.
I always intended to have a small herd of cattle in the field on the left, just to add a little more interest at that end of the diorama. Trouble is, I
A new addition:
BR Class 03 where briefly used on the Wenford Branch when they replaced the WR 1366 locos and before Class 08s took over haulage along the branch.
A couple of years ago I'd purchased a High Level Chassis kit along with Gibson wheels and all the bits to build a chassis for an 03. Though I'm being told that High Level kits go together very well, with instructions that are second to none, I still feel this kit might be a step too far for me at this moment in time. Thi
Well, after the Lincoln Show not a lot, that is on the modelling creation side anyway. What I have been up to is tackling the mess in the "Man Cave" after Tredethy Wharf was dumped after the show before we left for New Zealand. Then, on our return home while tidying the "Man Cave", I also decided to sort though the accumulated "stuff" from both hobbies (railways and wargaming) with a view to raising funds for future hobby projects, oh and a set of golf clubs! This exercise has been very successf
Last weekend was an excellent experience on a number of fronts.
Firstly for the help I received from Gordon prior to the show and during. Also from a good friend, Nick, who travelled from near Ilkley just to play trains on the Saturday before nipping to Derby to visit his son. He enjoyed the show so much he called in on Sunday morning on his way home to offer help for a few hours. To both I offer my sincere thanks.
Secondly for the organisation of the show. From setting up on the Friday
Well, I think, for the moment, the empty clay wagoms might be finished...
In the future I might do a bit of extra weathering but they will definitely be OK for the Lincoln show next weekend.
Being regularly away from home for work has stopped me progressing Tredethy Wharf as much as I would have liked. This has had a major effect in the preparation of the layout for next weekend's Lincoln show. I'm hoping that what I've been able to achieve will be enough to show the layout and the Scalefour Society in a good light.
Anyway this week I decided to take with me a couple of figures to paint while staying in a hotel for work. After my colleagues had departed during the day on Wednesd
Just to prove I have been doing something relating to Tredethy Wharf during the last few weeks. I've posted a couple of pics below of the next batch of china clay wagons that are now ready for the paint shop.
These five clay wagons are being built using the Ratio kit with modified axle boxes and brake gear. The intention is for these wagons to be empty versions of the early unfitted British Railways Dia. 1/051. British Railways built the first 300 unfitted but qui
Another month has passed and only a small amount of progress has been made on Tredethy Wharf. My wife and I hosted this month’s (December) Area Group meeting during which one member (Gordon) ran some locos on the layout that are being offered as motive power for the February show. This small running session did bring to light a few small problems that I have since worked on and hopefully solved. A further running session (dress rehearsal) will have to be planned for late January/early February..
With only 89 days left before the Lincoln Show I feel the scenery is now at a stage where I should move onto other things. I would like to do more with the scenery, especially as I've not planted any nettles yet and feel a couple of trees are required... but... I need to build, more clay wagons; more cassettes for the storage sidings; a few more open wagons as well as box vans. There is also some tidying up to do on the presentation information. So I've still plenty to do...
Well, the last two weeks have not gone to plan... How often do we all say that? With two weekends away visiting friends and family along with a number of week nights spent away with work, progress almost ground to a stand still on Tredethy Wharf. What I have been able to achieve is not really much to shout about so will have to wait for the next blog...
But.., while spending evenings in hotels, not drink in the bar but playing "Billy no mates" in the hotel bedrooms, I've been giving some tho
This evening, after adding a few bushes, weeds, and scenic bits at the cottage end of the layout, I thought I'd take a few pic's to see how it is starting to look when some rolling stock is added to the mix.
I'm not sure about the yellow flowers in the field, also I feel the grass texture in the field is looking a little flat but over it's begining to feel OK.
There was some heavy rain during the night but after a warm start to the day the early morning mist has cleared. Then with a blue sky and the sun beating down there are only a few puddles left...
Not sure if these capture the effect totally but, after reading an article in one of the modelling magazines showing how to create puddles, I was dying to have a go at representing pools of water within the hard standing area. After all, Cornwall does get its fair share of rain and can g
The cottage and barn are almost finished but I've still to decide on the cottage garden. Is it to be a pretty cottage garden or more of a plain garden suitable for a working farm cottage? At the moment I'm thinking more towards the latter.
I've also been trying to get the right finish for the hard standing around the wharf sidings. I've only seen one picture in colour of one wharf, the rest have been black and white. All pictures give the impression that the ground cover was compacted earth
Wow, I can't believe it has been over 5 years since my last post on RMWeb. In the intervening years some very slow progress has been made but posts have not made here due to me not being sure of my ability and the value of sharing this test plank with the RMWeb community.
But I've recently had a huge reality check, I've been invite to show the layout at Lincoln Model Rail Show in February 2017... just over 5 months time. This opened up a few discussions with the boss and I'm now getting into
Yesterday evening I spent a few moments how to construct this kit. It looked a little more complex than the previous Dia. 1/108, 1/109 wagons. The sides are in two sections and have to be put together with an angle that matches a couple of supports that will be applied to the sides later in the construction. Also the floor does not fit flush to the outside edges of the ends with the sides recessed in from the ends. I was a little confused as to how to fix the floor to the ends, keeping it all sq
A brief update to report a little progress on the initial six wagons for the Scalefour Society's Challenge. The current state of affairs at the close of play yesterday evening is shown below.........six 16 ton mineral wagons all in different stages of construction.
Two Parkside standard Dia. 1/108 with W irons attached can be seen at the back. Top left is an old Airfix kit Dia. 1/108 with a replacement floor fitted. On the left is a Cambrian Models LNER 16 ton mineral wagon. In the cent
