“WASHBOURNE”

[Caley Jim]

Richard always did things on a grand scale.  He once exhibited a scale model of Kyle of Lochalsh at the Glasgow Show - 7mm Scale!!  Not only that, he ran it to the Highland Railway timetable - in real time, which meant there were no trains running on the Sunday!!

 

Jim

[Regularity]

The ultimate is to follow Ian Hopkins, and make packing up (if not setting up as well) part of the exhibition routine.

[St Enodoc]

3 hours ago, Caley Jim said:

Richard always did things on a grand scale.  He once exhibited a scale model of Kyle of Lochalsh at the Glasgow Show - 7mm Scale!!  Not only that, he ran it to the Highland Railway timetable - in real time, which meant there were no trains running on the Sunday!!

 

Jim

He also once built the Fades Viaduct in his back garden - scale size, about 10 feet high.

[Northroader]

To illustrate the scene shifting idea with stuff readily to hand, here’s three settings with an appropriate item of motive power. They’ll all need more work, chopping, painting out, and additions, but hopefully you’ll get the idea.

[MarcD]

The best portable layout that I ever saw was one that folded up into a small suitcase. I think that it was called St Julet or something like that. It was in the style of the Bodmin and Weybridge and build in S scale.

Marc

[Nearholmer]

Brilliant - it certainly works!

[Donw]

6 hours ago, Northroader said:

To illustrate the scene shifting idea with stuff readily to hand, here’s three settings with an appropriate item of motive power. They’ll all need more work, chopping, painting out, and additions, but hopefully you’ll get the idea.

 

 

Works a treat in my view. I reckon you could do that at a show. Put up a schedule  10am to 12:30 UK 12:30 to 15:00 France 15:  to 17: US I for one would want to catch a look at each. With the stock in cassettes it should be reasonably simple.

Don

[Donw]

5 hours ago, Furness Wagon said:

The best portable layout that I ever saw was one that folded up into a small suitcase. I think that it was called St Julet or something like that. It was in the style of the Bodmin and Weybridge and build in S scale.

Marc

 

That was Maurice Hopper's layout not a suitacase but did go into special canvas bag. He took by bus and train to Utrect on Eurostar. 

I beleive Regularity on here may have the layout now.

 

Don

[Edwardian]

Brilliant idea. Stunning work.

 

We just need a slice of France and you'll have the set!

[Mikkel]

On 20/05/2020 at 16:47, Northroader said:

This has been linked to another idea I pushed some time ago, what I call the “Lilliput Lane” concept, where you have a grouping formed by an attractive building and a small train.

 

Great stuff. With concepts like this there's always a risk that it becomes contrived. But that won't happen here.

 

Very much looking forward to the next steps!

[Compound2632]

I'll give a shout out for the Irish scene since no-one's mentioned it. 

[Edwardian]

10 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

I'll give a shout out for the Irish scene since no-one's mentioned it. 

 

Good God, man, what, pray, is a "shout out"?!?

 

Have you been 'down with the kids' listening to Radio 2 again?

[Compound2632]

28 minutes ago, Edwardian said:

 

Good God, man, what, pray, is a "shout out"?!?

 

Have you been 'down with the kids' listening to Radio 2 again?

 

Sorry, must come of living with a trendy lexicographer. Radios in this house only pick up Radio 3.

Edited May 27, 2020 by Compound2632

[Northroader]

I’ve been swapping the scenes around, including the Irish one, plus some blanks, trimming sizes to the back support. Unfortunately I left one of the blanks to the fore, with a very bare board, and this was spotted. “You’re not changing it again!?!?”.

Also on scenic affairs, I’ve decided the Sussex one needs a total remake, going down nearer to the oggin.

Edited May 27, 2020 by Northroader

[Regularity]

34 minutes ago, Northroader said:

going down nearer to the oggin

Is that some Sussex phrase for a sexual practice?

[Malcolm 0-6-0]

I'm afraid that -

 

'I must go down to the oggin again, to the lonely oggin and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;

And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,

And a grey mist on the oggin’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.'

 

doesn't read as pleasantly as the original. 

 

 

 

 

[Northroader]

Malcolm, me old possum, I’ve got a strange feeling of deja vu creeping over me:

 

[Northroader]

Whilst on John Masefield, here’s a sort of railway journey which he proposed and an analysis of it, which may serve as a peg for someone to hang a layout on.

https://calmgrove.wordpress.com/2020/01/12/boxing1/

[Northroader]

Also Masefield, I felt he drew a marvellous image of May Hill, west of Gloucester. This is crowned by a clump of trees, and in his poem he likens the trees to a ploughman driving a team of horses, eternally ploughing the skyline.

 

“The ploughman patient on the hill,

 forever there, forever still,

 Ploughing the hill with steady yoke,

 of pine trees, lightning struck and broke.

 I’ve marked the May Hill ploughman stay,

 there on his hill, day after day,

 Driving his team against the sky,

 whilst men and women live and die.”

 

[Donw]

23 minutes ago, Northroader said:

Also Masefield, I felt he drew a marvellous image of May Hill, west of Gloucester. This is crowned by a clump of trees, and in his poem he likens the trees to a ploughman driving a team of horses, eternally ploughing the skyline.

 

“The ploughman patient on the hill,

 forever there, forever still,

 Ploughing the hill with steady yoke,

 of pine trees, lightning struck and broke.

 I’ve marked the May Hill ploughman stay,

 there on his hill, day after day,

 Driving his team against the sky,

 whilst men and women live and die.”

 

 

I dont' think it quite the same these days. Mind you we would always approach it from the Forest rather than Gloucester. Nice place though. 

Don

[Northroader]

Presume you’d park off the main road at the top in Cliffords Mesne, the easiest grade. If you go down off the hill due west it’s quite a grade down to Longhope and the Farmers Boy, and bus back to Gloucester. There was a nice little stone station, ex broad gauge, at Longhope, thought I’d put a picture in as this has a rare GWR lattice post signal.

[Donw]

Having read the quote from Masefield Ihave had the lines running in my head since then until this morning when my neighbour mentioned Spike Milligan's version

 

I must go down to the sea today

the loney sea and the sky

I left my pants and socks there

I wonder if they are dry

 

As for the mention of the oggin as a possible sexual practice, if it has owt to do with Nanny Ogg it would be.  Oggin the Ogg would not do for a Childrens program I think.

 

Any perhaps this is what you need https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHSdObeUdxI  you could change the backscene for each train. Just take shots of your lovely paintings.

 

Don

[Paul H Vigor]

On 16/01/2016 at 20:24, Northroader said:

This line is being made as a small branch line terminal, for restricted space, with no particular place in mind. It's intended to form a setting for running short pregroup passenger and goods trains. Having worked in most scales, N, TT-3, HO, OO, I have now settled in O gauge for about the last twenty years. This is solely because the bulk of an O gauge model appeals to me.

To make this comparison I only had matching continental wagons, so you're looking at continental O, 1/45, and HO, 1/87; rather than British O, 1/43, and OO, 1/76; but you get the idea. Modelling in O is more expensive, and having trawled through RMweb I greatly admire the OO layouts, which sometimes are done by adapting from a pool of used and RTR models. The chances of doing this in O are very limited. To keep costs down I do a lot of scratch building, the problem here being the time it takes.

Another thing I like is pre-group modelling, generally the 1880 - 1900 period. Trains were compact, well balanced designs and attractive colour schemes. Going back to a time when kids read books, I'm showing my two favourite authors from those days, as they started my interest.

E.L.Ahrons ran a series of articles in the Locomotive Magazine way back in the 20's about the late Victorian scene, which were later printed in book form. (As an aside if you can find bound copies of the magazine in a reference library it's a wonderful source of information, a lot of the outline drawings appear in it, for a start) Then there's C. Hamilton Ellis, who did several histories of specific lines, plus various evocative books and a lot of paintings.

The main characteristic of the line I am making is that it is very small. I never have enjoyed layouts which sprawl, and I wanted to set a very tight limit on the train sizes running on the line. After experimenting with some train make ups, I decided on a train length of 24". Sorry, I'm old enough to be all feet and inches rather than metric!

You'll see for this length it has to be small tank engines only, no tender engines, and either three goods vehicles, or two 4/ 6 wheel coaches. Next post I'll try to explain the design, or perhaps the lack of it.

Irish MGWR rolling stock, perchance? 

[Northroader]

Yes, that’s right, there’s some MGWR bits in there which haven’t surfaced since. Actually, since Stephen has given a shout for the Irish backscene (I know what it means) it’s crossed my mind I could do a trip over to Ireland to introduce that side of things.

In another development, you’ll recall that when the Beeching reorganisation happened there were a lot of public protests. Well, I got a member of the public in the loft protesting vigourously the other day. I couldn’t keep her out, as I did marry her after all. A dead space has appeared in the middle of the loft which she thinks is wrong, bless her, so I’m going to try and put something there. My minds turning to a sort of Little Washbourne.

So that’s two jobs for me to cook up for your delectation.

 

 

[Northroader]

In the meantime, I’ve done some minor changes to allow the right hand fiddle Yard to join on, and it’s now bolted up. It’s transferred from the old American layout, 38”x 17” (970 x 430) with room for three 36” cassettes, which is more than adequate, plus space for another at the back. Two are presently in use for paintshop and wagonshop work, then some Atlas Plymouths being looked at in the rear.

 

I originally intended to use the fiddle Yard from the Washbourne line, but this is now needed as a base for Little Washbourne. The main board is wired up, and I’ve run a loco through the length of the line, which is always encouraging, being able to get trains started, and I can push on with sorting out some scenicing work.