Southwich

Thanks Mark incredibly helpful! I best get some bits ordered… Will

Funny you say that Chris: A bit of work on one of Bachmann’s new tractors this afternoon. Destined to be 37114 in late EWS days, base model was 37043 in Large Logo. Modifications so far have included; removing and filling the car headlight, Shawplan etched horn grilles, Shawplan etched roof grille, high intensity headlight, reinforced central windows and etched snowploughs from Pete Harvey. Quite a bit to go but good to be back doing some modelling Kind regards, Will

Not posted anything on here for a little while, but over Christmas I have been working away on a few wagon projects. TTA - I'm modelling PR58256 using the Stenson models parts. I have replaced the underframe, walkways, springs, couplings, filler cap (this needs modding to match the prototype) and converted to P4 (Branchline wheels). Left to do on this is: Add lamp brackets, underframe piping, brake actuator, handrails/additional end pipe, solebar plate, solebar dividers/solebar rivets, brake shoes & yokes, brake pipes and swap over the buffers to LMS ones when they arrive. As soon as this is done I can go over the model with a dash of filler and prepare it for painting. ZCA - thanks to @The Fatadder for this donation to model 200543. I have converted to P4 using the suspension units and Gibson wheels which I had in stock, and I'm awaiting buffers from LMS to add to this. Has anyone modelled a VCA under frame that they could post photos of? I'm thinking a level of scratch building will be required here, but any pointers would be much appreciated! SPA - I had a spare SPA kit in the stash, so I have knocked this up and converted it to P4 again using Stenson suspension units. This has used the new under frame kit, which I will supplement with additional wire/scratchbuilding per James Wells' efforts. Number TBC on this one as it was a bit unexpected! I've also got a rake of Seacows on the bench for conversion (5 sets of Y27s and 2 Gloucester sets) so will post about these once I've finished the bogies for the rake. I’m heading to DEFine at the weekend in Risley, so if people are attending please come and say hello! Kind regards, Will

Thanks Jules much appreciated. Due to a house move and then out to Australia with work early next year I don’t know how much further this is going to progress very quickly, however I am hoping to have the points wired up over the Christmas period then I can start testing. The layout is now temporarily in storage but will be back out shortly to set up in my parents garage all being well. A few shots of the state of play before it went into storage: Conscious I’ve never shown off the fiddle yard - one of Tim’s rather nice traversers. This needs a bit of TLC as the cold cabin has meant a few dry solder joints have occurred, but nothing a short modelling session can’t fix. There are 9 roads, 3 groups of 3 based on the configuration of the inbound roads on the scenic boards. They are then wired by tubes and wires to avoid any mid operation - thanks to @newbryford for that tip! I can also isolate each line with the toggle switches as needed. Hopefully a bit more progress on this before I head down under in April! Kind regards, Will

We’re hoping to have some EM/P4 wheelsets by then as well so hopefully we’ll be able to run them! Kind regards, Will

That 31 is superb Peter! Really nice photos as always. Kind regards, Will

That’s stunning work John! Really impressive Kind regards, Will

Really nice that Mark! Will

Thanks Mark - likewise with Bloxwich but that was never going to happen for me given your superb model! Having seen the traction articles on the area it was the operational interest that drew me to it (and having seen the original Fryers Lane at Showcase 2018!) Looking forward to seeing the layout develop and how you go about blending it all together. Kind regards, Will

What Class of loco is a CLS? That sounds like a pre tops diesel 🤣

Looks great Mark - really looking forward to this! Era neutral is a great idea - mid 2000s stock would look rather superb on your layout 😉 Looking forward to seeing this develop further as the original really inspired me to have a go at P4. Kind regards, Will

A few clips of 37422 moving around the yard as the first train to run: Finally the first loco to run the full length of the layout & the fiddle yard: Kind regards, Will

Thanks! All far too clean but run nicely so once the trackwork is done properly I will ensure the stock is sorted as well. 37401 is also joining the fleet so nice to have another mid 2000s tractor to add to the roster. Kind regards, Will

A shot of the initial testing yesterday - all three locos performed very well Kind regards, Will

I’ve done some initial testing and everything seems to work well and there don’t seem to be any tight spots yet. Need to get the blades out the way of the wheels then I can test the points properly

Thanks John! Testing now so we’ll see how the track fares - I’m sure there will need to be some fettling. Thanks! 4 days off work tends to help! Kind regards, Will

Are you suggesting I should be adding another piece of CLS to ensure it doesn’t bow? 🤣 Kind regards, Will

Plenty of progress the past four days that I’ve been off - the layout has gone from not having much competed with no wiring, to having the entire layout wired and all of the track laid minus the back short siding. A few photos of the work: Overall view of the layout: The front sidings and headshunt: Looming at the right hand end of the layout where the road bridge will be/where the fiddle yard transition is: Another thing I had to do this weekend was raise the back sidings by 3mm to replicate the raised track on the prototype: Out with the jigsaw to cut the boards, and then braced with CLS timber. Two shots of the fiddle yard join inspired by various layouts at Scaleforum in September: The brass sheet will be ballasted over and painted black under the bridge so this won’t be seen, but I wanted this to be as bullet proof as possible! Hopefully the check rails will assist with the stock going over the joins. Finally an overall view looking down the layout: There are a few dead spots to fix which I’ll sort over the next few days. The main next steps on the layout are sorting the fiddle yard track and the point motors. Planning on having a few days break on the layout to ensure I don’t burn myself out, but then will look at tackling these few tasks before I can test it properly. Kind regards, Will

Love it Dave - especially atmospheric as usual! The faded 20 looks particularly nice. Looking forward to more photos Will

Correct ish - they also have two screws on the bottom of the bogie frames which need removing before you can unclip them. Kind regards, Will

Yep I’ve done one to rewheel it to P4. Just pull them out as they push into the end of the brake cylinder under the steps. A pair of pliers around the chains and holding the cylinder in place in your hand would be my advice - no glue just a push fit. Hope that helps. Will

Great work Ian - layout looks great! Kind regards, Will

Wiring has started: Not the most exciting job but hoping to have some movement over the weekend. I also got the converted vans out to see how they look in the front sidings: Hoping to have a play with some converted stock over the weekend. Fiddle yard progress planned tomorrow Kind regards, Will

Continuing on with the progress on the track laying of the layout, I have laid pretty much all of the front 4 sidings - these just need to connecting to the existing sidings which have been glued down to the board. These 4 sidings are currently drying overnight so should be good to be connected tomorrow evening. As you can see from the shot below - I just have the two back most lines to go (about a metre of track) and then the fourth siding which leaves the Y point to connect up. Once these lines are laid I can then move onto wiring, as well as starting the transition to the fiddle yard. @WrattingRoad is popping to see the layout next weekend, so I’m hoping we will be able to play trains - best get busy this week! Thanks again to Martin for his help with the track base - building this off scene has really helped with the ease of laying track and not breaking my back leaning over the layout! Kind regards, Will

For some reason I thought you were doing EM! Long day… Keep up the good work! Looking forward to some more progress. Will