Lapford Gate North Devon BR Blue O gauge bodging

[d600]

Hi anymore updates,pictures of this excellent layout.

 

Cheers

[Devonbelle]

Well d600 you only patiently waited 4 years. Layout has had a dust off and is the subject of some work. 08149 has been out this afternoon shunting. The Croatian Co-Co I have scratchbuilt will get a test run this week. I’ll post some updates on both Lapford Gate refresh and the Croatian loco (on the Ozjusko Stari thread). 
 

best wishes Paul 

[D602bulldog]

Wow 4 years later looks good tho 

 

 

 

[Ramblin Rich]

Good to see this make a comeback Paul! Really thought it had been superseded by the Czech layout.

[Devonbelle]

Thanks both for the comments. Appreciated.

 

I’ve found I cycle round layouts to keep hobby fresh - and the awful weather yesterday triggered a need to do some shunting. I don’t have bags of space but my layouts are smallish - the French o layout Nouvion is 15 feet long. Lapford Gate is 6 feet long excluding the fiddle sticks (as opposed to fiddle yards). The Croatian one (only baseboards presently is 10 foot plus yet to be built fiddle yard.
 

I’ll share some photos of work on Lapford Gate this week. Plus I really must finish the Croatian loco in O I’ve scratchbuilt. See pic below. So a North Devon/Croatian week this week. With lock down it’s prompted a thought I won’t get to Croatia for quite some while - albeit it’s easier to get to North Devon - but in both cases I can model from safety of home. One of photos below shows a Vanfit I have under construction - a Slaters kit. So typical of wagons seen on the Exeter-Barnstaple Torrington line in the 70s and early 80s before air braked wagons.
 

 

[Devonbelle]

Last one for today. I’m off work presently (Drs orders) so capitalised on a wet a dreary day. I built three wagons; a coopercraft 7 plank wagon; a Slaters Vanfit and a GJH VGA 4 wheel air braked box van - one of my favourite types of wagon and the second one I’ve built. The kits I’ve had on hand for several years. Picture of them tonight - with two of the wagons having their first coat of paint. I’ll have a break from wagons tomorrow! Paul 

[Devonbelle]

I’ve cracked on and spray painted the VGA box van I built last week - it’s getting there - some tiny bits of overspray to address then on with painting axle box covers yellow and applying transfers and couplings 

[westerner]

Surely the Slater's van is a Vanwide. I've just finished building one myself.

[Devonbelle]

36 minutes ago, westerner said:

Surely the Slater's van is a Vanwide. I've just finished building one myself.

You are correct Westerner; the door type gives the game away; mind my BR colleagues referred to all vac braked 4 wheel vans as Vanfits - vans and they are vac fitted! Thanks again. 

[Devonbelle]

2nd VGA nearly finished; had a run out today with the other VGA wagon I built plus an OCA wagon I built some ten years ago from a Mendip Models kit. Cracking on this pm with the Vanwide; working on its brake gear. 

[pwr]

I made an OCA from what is now a PRMRP kit. Unfortunately I didn't notice until I had finished it that the wheel set at one end is mounted too high so the whole wagon has a lopsided look which I haven't corrected yet as it will ruin the paint finish. 

 

Paul R