No photos yet, sorry, but I’ve started to fit the windows to the structure of the signal box.
Having established that the windows wouldn’t hamper the final fitting of the operating floor and internal detail, it was also clear that it would be much easier to install them without the internal detail getting in the way.
The windows are etched products by Modelex (formerly Churchward Models), but have had to be filed to fit, as the window apertures of the Ratio components don’t quite m
I've gradually been painting the interior detail items for the signalbox over the last few days, here are some photos taken this afternoon, in all the cruel detail that only a digital enlargement can offer...
Most of the furniture still isn't secured, and the floor is yet to be painted. I should finish painting the interior walls first, before much else is done...
The fact that the floor isn't painted is very clear in this view, as are the brush marks on the lever frame, alth
Today I've been doing something I rather enjoy - playing around with various bits of plasticard and making stuff from them. Apart from the signalman's ancient 'comfy chair', the other items were measured from furniture in actual signalboxes, including the W.R. token instrument.
The token instrument (which will apply to the single line section to Coalpit Heath West Junction), will have some representation of electric tokens added after it's been painted.
Finally, as I was t
Once Railex was over, I was planning to start work on 'Callow Lane' again, and so I've been doing a bit more work on the signalbox.
The lever frame has been painted and the main structure of the box has been sprayed with a mixture of Humbrol and Precision cream colours. The box will represent one of those Midland examples that got repainted into Western Region chocolate & cream in the 1950s. I will be picking the main structural woodwork out in a chocolate colour in due course. My protot
I've finally tackled one of those jobs that I've been putting off for a while - adjusting the sharpness of the curve into the main fiddle yard on 'Engine Wood'. Whilst generally around 2' 6"+ in radius, a very short section was inadvertantly laid rather sharper some years ago, which some of my locos didn't like.
As a result, I've lifted the very sharp track, tidied up the board and re-laid it with new track and a re-aligned cassette 'docking station'. This took most of the afternoon, but I a
It's been a busy week and today I've had the first chance since last weekend to do a bit more on the new chassis for 82044.
To re-cap, it's a Bachmann body, but the chassis just wouldn't run smoothly until I dismantled all the valve gear. Having seen how essentially loose and apparently wobbly the valve gear was, I decided to build a replacement chassis, based on a Comet kit for a 76XXX 2-6-0.
The Comet side frames needed a lot of alteration to fit the Bachmann body, and they also needed
Just a quick entry, this, because I have to get back to the hair shirt....
I managed to dismantle the Bachmann chassis for 82044 and found, after some cleaning and careful re-assembly of the side rods only, that the problem was in the valve gear. The basic 0-6-0 chassis ran reasonably well with wires directly soldered to the motor and the valve gear and cylinders removed. I found one of the connecting rods quite badly bent and twisted. They are of very hard metal, so it could not have been c
I've not had very much modelling time lately, for various reasons, and what time I have had, has been devoted to weathering the Bachmann chassis for 82044.
Tonight, I thought I would give it a good running-in on my circle of Lima track, which I keep specially for the purpose.
Prior to the start of running in, the chassis did exhibit signs of jerkiness, especially in one direction, but, ever the optimist, I hoped that this would improve with some running. However, after 90 minutes of cont
As part of the on-going work to get some new/different stock ready for use on 'Engine Wood' at Railex in May, I've started work on 82044, which started life as 82029.
There were only 2 or 3 black Standard Class 3 tank locos left on the Western, once Swindon had painted the rest of the Region's allocation green, and 82044 was one of them.
Allocated to various sheds in the early 1960s such as Barrow Road/Taunton/Exmouth Jct/Horton Road, she was given a unique livery from 1963, in that the
I've temporarily suspended all work in P4 for the time being, including work on 'Callow Lane', in order to get a few things done in OO.
'Engine Wood' is appearing at Railex this May, and there are a few loco and rolling stock projects I've been wanting to get done for a little while in time for the show.
I also need to make a minor adjustment to the curve coming out of the main fiddle yard and into the tunnel. This may need a baseboard spacing piece of (say) 6" in width inserting between
Here are a couple of photos of the new M.R. style lever frame, which I decided I ought to build, following some discussion last night on whether the GWR-style frame was really appropriate for the Midland box at Callow Lane.
In short, it was not appropriate, so I built the basics of the lever frame base from plasticard last night, and added some modified etched Smiths levers today.
The levers are set at 6" centres, which is how earlier M.R. frames were arranged. My thanks to Keith Norgrov
Well, as I mentioned in the comments section of the previous blog entry, I was getting uneasy about the size of the box, as compared with the smaller size of the lever frame. Even with the gate wheel, I decided that the box was too big for the location, and I started thinking about how I could re-build it to a smaller size.
In the meantime, I constructed the 18 lever frame (from Smiths etched components) and placed it in the original box...
As you can see, it left rather a la
Just prior to Christmas I started work on the signalbox for Callow Lane.
I had been planning to build the Modelex (ex-Churchward Models) etched brass kit, but was put off by the effect of the brass slates, so had already decided to do my own roof.
I then remembered that Ratio do a standard 4-window M.R. signalbox, and after a bit of agonising re the size the box should be (in order to justify not having to undertake either a major kit-bash or a complete scratchbuild), I opted to go for a
A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Noble Realm of SWAG to all in RMWeb Land!
Some specific Christmas wishes:
- May we all contain ourselves successfully until one minute past Midnight tonight!
- May we all eat and drink as much as we need and perhaps even want over the Festive Season!
- May the weather front coming in on Sunday night bring rain, not more snow!!!
And as the flag of Swagonia bravely flutters on the top of Mount Snyeg outside Kernow Towers...
CTMK is a budding writer and blogger, and has composed this piece in connection with a weekly blogging competition, the theme of which was 'Pasttimes, passions, hobbies and entertainment'.
I'm not much of a poet myself, but I thought this one of hers was rather good (with a doffing of the cap to WH Auden... )
The small rail-served factory unit for Callow Lane is now more or less complete:
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
This is the model of a passenger train of the South Polden Light Railway, seen here visiting Combwich at the High Wycombe show a few weeks ago (photo by Chris Nevard):
The moribund coaches and Peckett normally work occasional services between Burrowbridge and Bleakhouse Road...
Then, the other day, I found this ensemble at Buckfastleigh:
Clearly, someone felt the SPLR was worth preserving!!
I'm very happy to say that we have now sorted out our problems with the size of the various websites that we have been having hosted by our ISP, and that http://www.enginewood.co.uk/ is now back on line!
It's been put back up largely in it's original format, and whilst I still plan to change the appearance and update some of the pages, it is at least back. My thanks to CTMK (Captain The Mrs Kernow ) for sorting it all out!
There are one or two places along the backscene side of 'Callow Lane' that call for a half-relief building or two. Due to the semi-urban setting of the layout, I decided a while ago that I would put a half-relief factory or warehouse between the end of one of the retaining walls and the level crossing.
The basis for this structure is the ever-useful Scalescenes range. They do a free download warehouse kit, which I am using as the basis for this structure.
Because it's right next to the r
This coming Saturday (6th November 2010) sees the High Wycombe model railway exhibition at John Hampden School, High Wycombe. 'Bleakhouse Road' will be there, and should be located right next to Chris Nevard's lovely 'Combwich'.
Chris and I have been discussing how we may effect some kind of 'through running' between the two layouts. Due to the time constraints and logistics, however, a permanent link during the show was ruled out quite early on. The solution, hopefully is a 'Transfer Casset
It's well known my many on here that I have a habit of making up fictitious railway histories and palming them off on an unsuspecting public as if it were 'fact'.
My OO layout 'Bleakhouse Road' is one such case in point. It's modelled on a real area, albeit one that never had a railway in that particular location, and the name is completely made up.
Imagine our surprise, then, when we took the layout to the recent Blackburn show. We were sitting in the Wetherspoons in Burnley having our
One of the 'great things' about this hobby (unless you are incredibly clever in the Forward Planning Department) is that you learn lessons as you go along. Once you've made something, you find that you've left something else off it, or perhaps you should have built it in a different sequence or added some part earlier...
Thus it was with the cosmetic tiebars for Callow Lane. I had originally planned to use a Scalefour Society etch but this turned out to be designed for older-type flat bottom
I don't really like having to re-visit work I've already completed, and when things on exisiting 'operational' layouts need fixing, I tend to grit my teeth and resign myself to getting the repair done asap, even if it's something quite small.
Last weekend, we took Bleakhouse Road to Blackburn and had a super show, thanks to the hospitality of the Blackburn & East Lancs club. Unfortunately when removing the (very lightweight) dust covers on Sunday morning (at least, that's when Captain 'C
One of the perils of adding cosmetic fishplates is that if you are using the rather nice P4 Track Co plastic ones, you need to cut them in half (unless you are putting them on an actual rail joint).
When laying the track on Callow Lane, I prefered to lay the track more as lengths of (made-up) flexi track, using their components, rather than actually try to lay individual 45' or 60' panels.
This means that I now have to cut small grooves in the tops of the rail heads at the appropriate in
I've been detailing and weathering a couple of Re6/6's locos, together with a couple of his 'Sharks' for Matford. Not quite my usual period, but it's been fun, and I also get to play with them at Scaleforum!
