barrowroad

A possibility. A Duchess did pay a visit to Bristol, I think on a special, but went to St Philips Marsh shed for servicing. I need to check my records.

Earlier this year I came into possession of a Proscale Princess which was originally built by Alan Sibley. The model,46200 Princess Royal, was DC with a Portescap motor and I have converted it to DCC for use on Barrow Road - not strictly prototypical but I like the model. Alan obviously was sparing in his use of solder to assemble the kit as I had to re-attach a lot of small parts which fell off when I breathed on them!!! Hope you like the video 46200 Princess Royal

Further work on the buildings continues with the 'new' sand dryer building, which from aerial photos in my my possession was built in the late 1940s . I found a stock of old Formcraft bricks which I decided to use to build the front with it's pillars and use slaters english bond sheet for the remainder. On reflection this was probably not my best idea as it took rather longer to build than anticipated. My first attempt at adding 'sand' by using talc did not convince so I raided that grand daughters covered sand pit - with permission - a borrowed a cup full. Next building project is to clad the arches of Barrow Road with Wills coarse stone........

David, I used to like loco kit construction - I must have done 40/50 over the years - but with the vast improvement in RTR models in the past 15 years I have chosen to convert to P4 and add detail, life's too short. Providing track is laid well P4 converted models will run well without the need to introduce compensation as do 2 axle wagons. If you want a large layout with a lot of stock it's the way to go. That said I really like your kit built locos and your latest Black 5 is in a class of it's own. Keep up the good work. Robi

I have now completed my second Patriot conversion to P4. This loco belongs to a friend who asked me to do the conversion for him. The decoder arrived this morning, now fitted for it's first run on DCC. Here is the youtube video link. 45504 Royal Signals passing Bristol Barrow Road Shed 4 Jubilees and 2 Patriots outside the roundhouse.

Jay, Here are some photos I took for an MRJ article on Sheep Pasture Top. I have used the same operating arrangement as Geraint for the scotch blocks on the top of the incline. The vertical pulley wheels were 'borrowed from my sons Lego. Incline Fiddle Yard with wagon on down line. Operation of the incline is by rotation of the black pulley wheel using fingers or 'digital' operation. Top of incline showing vertical pulley wheels [ Lego]. The Up scotch block is visible on the right Geraint's design for operating scotch blocks. Cranked brass tube sits in the slots with the other end attached to the scotch through the baseboard. Pulley wheels at the top of the incline.

David, thank you for your kind comments. I am in the process of upgrading the Bachmann ash plant as the lifting mechanism supplied is plastic and rather fragile. Brass replacement pending. The other ladders are overscale ie 1foot 6in gap between steps.

Nice photos Tim and good to see Paul H is living up to his reputation for appearing everywhere:-) Robin

I remember it well Geraint - bird poo on the layout covering sheets first thing in the morning. Friden boards looking good. Robin

Dave, I was wondering what they were and I'm sure you are correct with the fire-iron rest. With the support brackets missing or broken it doesn't appear it got much use. This is supported by other photos in my possession. Robin

Dave, Broke a few bits whilst drilling the holes on the nickel silver strip. Robin

The next building on my list is the brick built shed next to the ash plant which I believe housed the plant control equipment. The model is made from plasticard with overlays of Slaters english bond brickwork. The ladder rom the ground to the roof of the building together with the longer one to the platform on the ash plant are scratchbuilt using 1mm x 0.3mm nickel silver strip whilst the steps are 0.45mm wire. The mortar course is a wash of black acrylic which is then sand back to leave the a nice finish for the bricks. Photo Copyright Robin Whittle Robin

The next building on my list is the brick built shed next to the ash plant which I believe housed the plant control equipment. The model is made from plasticard with overlays of Slaters english bond brickwork. The ladder rom the ground to the roof of the building together with the longer one to the platform on the ash plant are scratchbuilt using 1mm x 0.3mm nickel silver strip whilst the steps are 0.45mm wire. The mortar course is a wash of black acrylic which is then sand back to leave the a nice finish for the bricks. I'll post some more photos later as I'm being blocked by the 10MB limit at present despite the four totalling under 1MB Robin

Justin, Good luck with your project. If you want any information just ask. I used to assist Geraint with his Middlepeak layout and have my own P4 layout of Sheep Pasture. Robin

Hi John, Yes it was only there for around 8/10 years. Definitely not there in 1955.

There are a lot of small buildings and structures in any shed yard not least those associated with the ash disposal plant. My latest efforts have focused on two of these - the small concrete building used by staff working the ash pit and a brick built shed which I believe housed the ash plant controls. Both are shown in the following photo. The first model to be attempted is the concrete shed, the dimensions of which are scaled from photos in my collection, which is probably a Taunton product which appeared at the shed in the late 1950's. The model is constructed from plasticard and suitably weathered. Interesting as the model is position over a board joint. The following photo, taken in 1965, has some clutter on the roof which I might add at some later stage. Now for the ash plant control hut.

Dave, I've given some thought about ballasting the layout but haven't decided what method to use. I need to experiment. A lot of the shed yard has a compacted ground surface which will require building up the surface to near track level. I've thought about card and/or some form of filler - Any thoughts welcome. Robin

It's a bit of both John. I have one of my colour tags by the joint as there is a step up in the track onto the ash pit. Needs sorting. I've just finished another building - a prefabricated concrete shed near the ash plant. I'll post something in the next few days. Stay safe Robin

I've been a bit busy on DIY this past week decorating the bathroom - my regime has been decorating in the morning modelling in the afternoon. Remembering I promised some photos of the Shed in situ here are a few. Keep safe, Robin Repainted the darker patch on the door wall as the photo shows it up as too dark.

As the description in the title it was the Ambulance - first aid building presumably for staff of the shed. The other purpose was for training and education bu staff for staff - ie mutual improvement. Robin

David, the door is scratch-built using strips of plasticard with the door handle made using the head of a lace makers pin.

Dave, The Catt photo is from 1965 when everything about the shed and site were very run down and I suspect the building was unused. Photos show roof felt around the windows slipped and torn whilst windows are blocked with card or paper. Photos from 5 to 10 years earlier show it in a reasonable state - I'm modelling this period. Robin

Following completion of the Foreman's Hut my next building for Barrow Road is the Ambulance & Mutual Improvement Shed which was situated in the shed yard adjacent to the viaduct carrying Barrow Road itself. With time during the current situation spent between house decoration and modelling this model has taken about a week to produce. Construction uses two layers of plasticard - a 30thou base structure laminated with a 40thou layer of 2mm [ 6in] Evergreen V Groove sheet. I produced a 4mm scale drawing the dimensions obtained by scaling from photograhs I have in my collection. The following photos show stages of the build. The tiles are 3M strips I have spare from the roundhouse and come from York Modelmaking. Some photographs of the Ambulance Shed in situ on the layout will follow.

One of Barfleur for you.

The Jubilee in the photo is 45690 Leander - the loco is still here shame about the shed.