Nearholmer Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 This might belong in Southern, it might belong in Collectable/Vintage, you can decide! The Implausible Introduction: Birlstone is a town on the northern border of East Sussex, and if you want to know a little of its recent history,you can do no better than read " The Valley of Fear", by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, which contains a good description of the village,which it then was, c1885. In railway terms, it was served by the LBSCR, originally a branch from Hurstwood in Kent, but the line was soon extended to join the East Grinstead to Tunbridge Wells route, making it, in theory, a through route. In practice, many trains actually terminate at Birlstone. The attached map may assist readers unfamiliar with this part of the world. We arrive in 1938, or possibly 1947, or even 1953, but we certainly don't arrive between 1939 and 1945, when the town was "off limits" to other than residents and certain military personnel. The Slightly More Plausible Facts: Birlstone is an 0 scale layout under construction. The unusual bit is that, as far as is practical, it is being built using approaches, techniques and materials that were familiar to railway modellers in the period 1935-55. The only plastic item of rolling stock, so far, is a Leeds Model Company van, which is Bakelite. I do run some trains of genuine period stock, but, frankly, I can't afford to equip the entire line with contemporary stock, so I am making liberal use of modern "coarse scale" items. These aren't replicas as such, but are very much in the spirit of the period. The track plan is attached (the proportions are a bit wonky; just bear in mind that it is about 16ft x 10ft overall. The two views of the layout show: - Hugtight corner. There is a lot under development here: an Adobe hacienda by my daughter; part of the Great Fire of London by my son; and, the first sketch of the Hugtight glue factory, by me. The hacienda and the fire are scheduled for removal to a separate shelf! The train is composed of modern-made loco and stock. - the Schools at a signal. The loco is a modern one, by Ace Trains of London, but the signal is, I'm fairly certain, pre-war. It was made by a little-known firm called Joymatic. It has pea-bulb lamps, but is in need of TLC. This is not its rightful location, which you can probably work out from the track plan. If there is any interest in the layout, I will file further reports. Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
janner Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 If there is any interest in the layout, I will file further reports. Kevin Yes please, lots more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted August 13, 2015 Author Share Posted August 13, 2015 Janner This might appeal to you, given the loco that you are aboard. The 7:42am, Birlstone to London Bridge. This is the stockbrokers' train, and picks up more coaches, through from Sanditon, at Hurstwood, then calls only at Oxted and East Croydon, allowing passengers to get into The City well before trading opens. It is always the " big engine" train of the day, but a Light Pacific is rare indeed in these parts, so the photographer was very lucky. the loco is another Ace beast, but the first coach (Exley) and the wagon in the foreground (BL) are of pensionable age. Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted August 13, 2015 Author Share Posted August 13, 2015 Just remembered that we made a vintage-style home movie of the layout back in the winter: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vy4nGKB75v0 Please excuse the music! K Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RateTheFreight Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 Hi Kevin, I'd be very much interested in seeing the progress of your layout. I've only relatively recently (last year or so) got into all things coarse scale O and have become hooked. I've often thought about doing a similar project to yours that combines course scale with some of the other interesting/fun elements of railway modelling such as research and creating a theme for a layout. Please keep it coming! Greg (Brummagem on the ACE forum) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 Hello Greg Two confessions: - if it was easier to post photos from an iPad in the other place, this tale might well be there; and, - I now have two plastic vehicles (hangs head in shame). The Bakelite van has been joined by an MTH Stanier 50' BG, to be part of the parcels and newspapers train. It is very good, but is a shade lower and narrower than tinplate stock, so I won't be buying any more MTH things. I haven't yet worked out if it is under-scale, or everything else over-scale. Progress on "the built environment" is painfully slow, due to work and family commitments, but here is an 70 year contrast in tank wagons. Ace c2008 on the left; BL c1938 on the right. The latter is tatty, but I like it! Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mervyn Posted August 24, 2015 Share Posted August 24, 2015 Really enjoying reading about the layout ..more please...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RateTheFreight Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 Hi Kevin, What dimensions are your layout and what's your minimum radius curve? Cheers Greg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 Greg Roughly 3m x 5m, or 10ft x 16ft in old money. It is on 0.6m (2ft) wide kitchen units, around the perimeter of our utility room, which is about 3/4 of the length of what used to a garage. Minimum curve is 27" radius, on what is currently the fiddle-yard side, never to be scenic. On the to-be-scenic areas I've used 38" and 34" radius, and all the points are 38" radius. One of the reasons that scenic development is so slow is that I have made about ten-zillion minor alterations to the track plan, and one major one,which I found made things less good, so I complexly reversed it. Latest change was to turn what was a second, very small, terminus into the FY, because it was causing domestic disharmony over stacking washing as it came out of the tumble dryer! The FY has a lid, so trains can now sometimes stay in situ, while washing is stacked above their heads. More changes will doubtless occur, one being to lengthen the FY by moving the entry points into "Broom Cupboard Tunnel", which is .............a tunnel, through a broom cupboard. My small daughter loves to sit in said cupboard on a a stool, and watch the trains come through the tunnel with their lights on. The track plan now looks exceedingly like a CJF plan called "Zeals", which must have sat for years in my unconscious, because I was really surprised when I found it in one of my books, after building the layout. Lots of CJF's plans would work really well in coarse 0, the ones that are 4ft x8ft in 00 are ideal for a garage in 0. Ramble complete. Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RateTheFreight Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 That's really impressive that you've managed to fit such an interesting layout in a relatively small space. It just goes to show you don't need masses of space to enjoy an interesting O scale layout. How many coaches/wagons can you fit on behind a tender loco before it gets too tight? Out of interest, are there isolation points on the layout to enable the storage of other locos and stock/shunting ability. I'm a big fan of CJF inspired layouts as they all typically pack operational interest in confined spaces. G P.s love the pic of the two tankers, especially the Colas one as I'm going to work for them in the near future. I keep meaning to get one too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 The 9:54am to Hurstwood, awaiting departure (and a driver, by the looks of things; maybe he's 'oiling round' on the other side). Not a hugely popular train this, but it does make onward connections to Victoria in the one direction, and Sanditon in the other, so will be far from completely empty. Locomotive by ETS, coaches by Darstaed. The SR used low-roof six-wheelers on Eastern Division suburban services until they were displaced by electrification in the late 1920s. Most became holiday bungalows or bonfires, but a few had the Cleminson system and centre axle removed, and were converted into short "push-pull" sets, used most famously, but not only, on The Isle of Wight, where one can still ride in them. The assorted scraps of timber still refuse to transform themselves into a proper platform and station, despite being given ample opportunity to do so. Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 Greg More typical CJF stuff: a 4-4-0 hauling three coaches; or, an 0-6-0 with eight goods wagons. A Mogul also works on either train. I had to twiddle around with things to optimise for these trains, largely because curved points are prohibitively expensive. In practice, the loops serving the through platforms will take five coached plus a Light Pacific, and the latter will fit the turntable, but long trains highlight how small the layout is, so I don't usually run them. There were vast numbers of SR prototypes for three coach trains anyway. At the moment, I use the switches on the locos, or the points, for isolation, but that is quite limiting, because some locos don't actually have switches - I retain a special strip of old cornflake packet for sliding under the skates when else fails! So, yes, section switches are on the (endless) "to do" list. As a side thought, I believe that fine scale 0 gaugers have painted themselves into a corner, by believing that they need huge radius curves for all their trains. In fact, there is a good deal of slop in nominally fine scale 0 gauge. I'm convinced that if one used drop-link couplers to obviate buffer-locking, and stuck with the 4-4-0 or 0-6-0 formula, everything could be made to run very happily on 34" curves (27" would probably be taking things too far). In short, I think the same layout could be built, in the same space, in fine-scale. Further ramble terminated. Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RateTheFreight Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 It's an interesting point about minimum radius. I'd agree that too often people assume something won't run round a curve without trialling it first. That said, I've had issues with the Clemson system on tighter curves. I purchased a nice LSWR 6 wheeled goods van from Darstaed but it didn't like the smaller curves and derailed. I've kept it though as I love the livery. Out of interest, how do you find the ETS Terrier? They've always been attractive locos and the model looked great, especially in LBSCR and LSWR liveries. It's a shame in many ways (but something anyone could rectify, even me!) that there are rarely reviews of coarse scale O gauge products. I'm always intrigued how a new product looks, works, etc but unless you know someone who has one, it's difficult to know (albeit a benefit of joining a like minded railway club) what the quality of something is. You compare that to the more popular scales and there's a relentless wealth of written and virtual reviews of products to the nth degree. G Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted August 27, 2015 Author Share Posted August 27, 2015 Greg A few thoughts on various products, based on experience of self and friends: ETS Terrier - beautifully smooth mech; good bodywork; livery finish good, except for some misalignment of fine lettering and lining; will pull 12 axles of coaches on straights and shallow curves, or about 9 axles on tight curves, happy with more axles of goods wagons; overall, it does pretty much exactly what a real Terrier will do, then "looses its feet". ETS in general - every loco I've seen runs sooooo smoothly.q Darstaed coaches - approach with caution,mand make sure you inspect closely before you buy, because QC is poor and a high proportion have minor faults. Darstaed locos - be very careful indeed, because the mechanisms components are sometimes very poorly finished and put-together. Personally, I wouldn't buy another, and got shot of the one I had. Ace Coaches - can't fault them. Ace locos - Current ones seem superb. Pre-2008 ones need deep care, and really need to have the mechanism stripped, cleaned and reassembled before they are used intensively,otherwise they will self-destruct; once this is done they are superb. Goods wagons - everyone seems to be able to get these right! BL (Corgi) locos - I've only got knowledge of the Peckett 0-4-0ST, which is an absolute masterpiece in appearance and running, and the SR mogul, which looks beautiful, but mine has an early-production gearbox, which makes a horrible high-pitched whine,although it runs well. BL (original) - need care and respect, none being younger than c55 years old (funnily enough, I feel the need for care and respect now I've got to that age too), but they are simple,robust and well-made. Hornby (1930s electric) - the only loco that I like is the L1, and I can't afford it! How's about that for "reviews in a tweet"? Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
john flann Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Kevin, a very interesing read and I wish you well with the project. Nicely thought out. "O" too as a lot to commend it. As i get older I toy with the idea but am fairly commited to thngs Hintock. Interesting too in that before immigrating in1990 we had lived at Tunbrigew Wells so know the setting well. Haven't read CD's book though, something I must remedy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Thanks, John, When you do read it (you can get a free PDF on line), remember that Birlstone is almost certainly Groombridge. ACD lived at Crowborough, and was friends with the chap who owned Groombridge Place. You'll spot that I've warped the geography a bit! Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Here we can see the 11:24am goods, arriving from Norwood Junction, but perhaps more interesting is the wagon-load in the foreground. It is "Kestrel", the well-known 12.5" gauge locomotive, built by Bassett Lowke in 1938 for the private railway around the grounds of Birlstone Manor. The miniature locomotive's new owner, former champion jockey "Dinky" Doyle, and the man from BL appear to have retired to "The Wheatsheaf", to discuss the finer details of the unloading operation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted September 22, 2015 Author Share Posted September 22, 2015 The first train of the day at Birlstone is the 5:31am newspapers and parcels from London Bridge, so this picture must have been taken in late June. This train departs from London at close to 1:00am, and lingers at various places along the way, while unloading takes place. Once it arrives, the locomotive is turned and serviced, ready to leave with the 7:42am Stockbrokers' train, but before it can do that, it faces the indignity of having to shunt its own empty stock, which is a bit too heavy for the engine assigned to the local train. Ace locomotive with a motley collection of vans from Hornby, Darsaed and Ace. The mix of liveries is explained by reference to Rule 1. Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RateTheFreight Posted September 26, 2015 Share Posted September 26, 2015 Hi Kevin, Great pic and description (and summary of pros/cons of various makes in previous post). Is there a pic of the 'last' scheduled service of the day? Also, do any guest or out of region locos ever find chaise to visit Birlstone? Greg Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted September 26, 2015 Author Share Posted September 26, 2015 Hello Greg, With my own stock, I will be able to run the timetable in pre-grouping (LBSCR & LSWR) mode once the M7 is delivered, and can also run it in early-BR mode. Guest stock so far has allowed us to run in Metropolitan, GWR and LNER modes. All that is left is to find a guest-runner who has smaller size LMS locos! I was supposed to be organising a guest running session in September, but I really want to install some platforms first, and time hasn't permitted that yet. As to the last train of the day, I will have to see what the local photographer can manage. All the best, Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Metropolitan H Posted September 27, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 27, 2015 Kevin, Do you want to organise a working party day to get your platforms made and in? - If yes, give me a few days notice and I'll bring the tools round. The signal box will take a bit longer! Regards Chris H Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_acp Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Hi Kevin Really enjoying the way the stories relate to your layout, keep them coming... I have a weekend in the gaRage on mine, minus rugby of course... Good to find a new home to chat, all gone a bit sterile on the Ace site. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 Hello, Steve. What I should really do is get on with little jobs on the layout, of which there are about twelve zillion to do, instead of making up stories. As it is, in the odd hour here and there that I get, I end up playing trains instead. It might have worked better if I'd decided to lay the track last. Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatB Posted November 18, 2015 Share Posted November 18, 2015 Greg Roughly 3m x 5m, or 10ft x 16ft in old money. It is on 0.6m (2ft) wide kitchen units, around the perimeter of our utility room, which is about 3/4 of the length of what used to a garage. Minimum curve is 27" radius, on what is currently the fiddle-yard side, never to be scenic. On the to-be-scenic areas I've used 38" and 34" radius, and all the points are 38" radius. One of the reasons that scenic development is so slow is that I have made about ten-zillion minor alterations to the track plan, and one major one,which I found made things less good, so I complexly reversed it. Latest change was to turn what was a second, very small, terminus into the FY, because it was causing domestic disharmony over stacking washing as it came out of the tumble dryer! The FY has a lid, so trains can now sometimes stay in situ, while washing is stacked above their heads. More changes will doubtless occur, one being to lengthen the FY by moving the entry points into "Broom Cupboard Tunnel", which is .............a tunnel, through a broom cupboard. My small daughter loves to sit in said cupboard on a a stool, and watch the trains come through the tunnel with their lights on. The track plan now looks exceedingly like a CJF plan called "Zeals", which must have sat for years in my unconscious, because I was really surprised when I found it in one of my books, after building the layout. Lots of CJF's plans would work really well in coarse 0, the ones that are 4ft x8ft in 00 are ideal for a garage in 0. Ramble complete. Kevin CJF was, of course, a child of the 1930s and, by his own admission, a great many of his nominally 00 track plans adopted ideas first used pre-war in 0 in order to pack quarts into pint pots. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted January 3, 2016 Author Share Posted January 3, 2016 In the very unlikely event that anyone out there is still awake when it comes to this thread ........ The 7:07pm Up Empty Vans, viewed from the newly extended goods yard. This train has somehow acquired a very LMS character, even down to the tatty old Compound hauling it. This loco is in the "handsome is, as handsome does" category, being a real good runner. Kevin Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.