Stoke Courtenay

[checkrail]

Hi John

 

In some ways it is similar to the style layout I have started to build, including the Timber Tracks station and island platform buildings and the same footbridge kit. 

 

Thanks for kind comments sdh.  Best wishes for layout build.  Look forward to your sharing progress with us when you feel ready. Took me ages to dip a toe into the water, but I found our fellow modellers on this forum to be a very supportive bunch.  (Not to mention humorous - I guess you'll have seen 'A Nod to Brent'?  If not it'll lighten up your modelling life.)

 

Cheers.  

 

John C.

[sdh-stbriavels]

And thankyou for your best wishes.

 

I'm only a few months into the layout so a long way off being 'completed' (if they ever are). I wish though I'd come across your layout before I'd started the layout build - copying (plagiarism) is the best form of flattery. Although as I' still a couple of years off retirement, and have less time than I would like, I would have stuck to code 75 track.

 

I have also just come across 'a Nod to Brent' and I really look forward to reading through, but at over 900 pages that could take some time.

 

Notwithstanding the above I have tried to add a rather staged, as still being worked on, photo of the station -showing parts of the Timber Track station buildings and the footbridge. I say tried as I won't know if it has successfully loaded until I've uploaded this post. Fingers crossed

 

Simon

[checkrail]

Nice buildings and footbridge Simon.  (But I would say that, wouldn't I?)  I like the platform surface too. 

 

John C.

[gwrrob]

 

 

I have also just come across 'a Nod to Brent' and I really look forward to reading through, but at over 900 pages that could take some time.20170115 3 (2).jpg

 

 

 

 

We don't bite Simon.

[81C]

We don't bite Simon.

Your safe from Rob he wears dentures. 

 

 

G.N.Asher

[Geoff Cook]

Found this thread on the nominated list of layouts in the Britsh Model Railway Awards link at top of the page, it's worth a vote

 

Regards

Geoff

[checkrail]

Found this thread on the nominated list of layouts in the Britsh Model Railway Awards link at top of the page, it's worth a vote

 

Regards

Geoff

Thanks for kind comment Geoff.  I had no idea I was on this list, or that there was a layout category in the RMweb poll, until gwrrob alerted me.  It was a nice surprise, but I'm very aware that some of the other layouts* on the list would knock my trainset into a cocked hat in terms of scratchbuilding skills, prototype fidelity and above all the wonderful finescale detailing of locos and stock.

 

I note that you've been involved in both 'Black Country Blues' and 'Diesels in the Duchy' - two of my favourite layouts. I think that BCB in particular is absolutely in the fullest sense of the term a work of art. They've both been an inspiration to me, and while I can't emulate their craftsmanship or fine detailing what I did take from them is the concept of the layout as an integrated three dimensional picture that carries the flavour and character of an area, rather than just some track and infrastructure on which to run model trains. 

 

I hope to post more pics of Stoke Courtenay soon, when I've made a bit more progress 'tarting up the trains'.  Got lots of things in bits at the moment as I wrestle with transfers, numberplates, vac pipes, couplings etc., and try to resurrect long forgotten skills which were not that developed to start with.  Finding it quite hard, and live in permanent fear of making things worse rather than improving them!

 

* I say 'some of the layouts', but I can't remember what they all were, because having now submitted my own responses to the poll I can't access it again.  But I guess it's somewhere else on the site?

 

Regards,

John C.

[checkrail]

It's been suggested over on ANTB that a small prairie seldom offends, so here are a few pics of one of mine after having been the first recipient of the 'tarting up the trains' stage of my layout - vac & steam heat pipes, etched number plates, dummy screw couplings, real coal, crew, lamps etc.

 

This Bachmann 4575 class is now 5557, which was at Newton Abbott in the 30s and I think was the Moretonhampstead branch engine in 1938.  The following sequence shows it pulling into Stoke Courtenay with a train from Earlsbridge. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the final pic she's just come to a halt and uncoupled from the B set.  One prod of the button to speed step one is sufficient to nudge the loco back so that the buffers just touch, slackening the tension and allowing the hook of the modified tension lock coupling to rise in response to the magnet hidden under the track. You may just be able to make out the raised hook in the photo.

 

 

Have found all this detailing work harder than I expected, and some bits got lost or broken along the way and had to be re-done.  Removing the plastic 'coal' and getting crews into closed roof tank engines (and getting them to stick there) were particular challenges!  But I persevered and am reasonably happy with the results. 

 

John C.

[Miss Prism]

Love the 'slightly threatening' sky!

[Ramblin Rich]

Lovely photos John.

I'm impressed how unobtrusive the tension lock couplers look. Do you fix the replacement 'loops' to the loco frames or the bogie/pony trucks? And, do you have any problems with the hooks on the rolling stock getting tangled with the buffer beam details?

[checkrail]

Love the 'slightly threatening' sky!

 

Yeah, I rather like the 'storm clouds over Dartmoor' look too.  But I must confess it was totally unintended, being caused by, 1) shadow caused by sharp curvature (in the vertical plane) of the thin ply backscene, which is sprung in behind the purlins, and 2) my failure to avoid bubbles in the lining paper I applied to said ply sheets before painting (especially tricky where paper crossed imperfect joints between sheets of ply).  One might say that every cloud has a silver lining.

 

John C.  

[checkrail]

 

I'm impressed how unobtrusive the tension lock couplers look. Do you fix the replacement 'loops' to the loco frames or the bogie/pony trucks? And, do you have any problems with the hooks on the rolling stock getting tangled with the buffer beam details?

 

Neither Rich. I started out fitting them to the loco frames, but then decided to fit them to the loco body.  They're attached to the inside of the buffer beams with superglue, reinforced later with epoxy, just to each side of where the front or back frames fit when offering up the body to the chassis. Height can be adjusted after fitting, with fine nosed pliers, using a simple home made height gauge.

 

I did worry, just a few days ago, that the buffer beam gubbins might impede operation of auto coupling, but I seem to have successfully avoided this.  (And on the other hand one has to ensure that the same gubbins, especially the slightly bent back steam heating pipes, don't get in the way of connecting/disconnecting body from chassis). 

 

The wire hoops are formed to sit very slightly proud of the buffers.  All stock carries Bachmann 36-030 T/L couplers shortened to same dimensions, so loop is just a smidgeon of a millimetre proud of the buffers.

 

John C.

[Castle]

Hi John,

 

That is a fantastic job - well done! The follow button has been pushed. I don't know how I haven't seen this up until tonight but it has been a very enjoyable read through none the less.

 

All the best,

 

Castle

[The Great Bear]

For tension locks that looks great: might give that a go, though I'm guessing you must have generous minimum radius including pointwork and fiddle yard for that to work?

[checkrail]

Let's continue the story.  In the photos below 5557 draws forward into the loco spur, where it has an opportunity to take on water, before running round its train.

 

 

 

Below 5557 is seen running round.  (The double slip was made for me by Stephen Freeman of this parish. As a rule I try to do everything myself, but I'm testing my limits and sometimes confidence fails me. It was a good choice.)

 

 

But 5557's station work is not done yet.  It needs to pick up an Earlsbridge-bound horse box that's been dropped in the short bay platform by a down main line train.  Here it's seen backing up to the vehicle and retrieving it, before backing over the up main to attach it to the front of the branch train.

 

 

 

 

 

(Just noticed that last two pics got attached in wrong order, and that the penultimate pic above [029] tells me I should have lettered the branch platform side of the running in board!  But there's worse to come.  Should also have cropped view of loft lighting!)  The final two shots show the train departing back down the branch towards Earlsbridge.

 

 

 

John C.

Edited February 10, 2017 by checkrail

[checkrail]

For tension locks that looks great: might give that a go, though I'm guessing you must have generous minimum radius including pointwork and fiddle yard for that to work?

 

4 foot ruling radius on main line, but nearer 3 foot at either end of branch/yard run round loop.  But they all go round the inside track of Peco curved points in the fiddle yard, which I think is about 2 foot radius.  Only problem I've had is reversing ('setting back') goods trains from main into yard loop, where I've had the odd bit of buffer locking on the final 3 foot-ish point. If the loco's a pannier, no problem, whatever the wagon.  If the wagon nearest the loco is of 9 foot wheelbase, also no problem, whatever the loco.  But if the loco is a 45xx and the wagon next to it has a 10 foot w/b. buffer locking can occur.  I've remedied this by gluing short horizontal bits of fine wire behind the faces of the inner buffers on a couple of bits of stock, e.g. GW cattle wagons.  Can't be seen at normal, or even close, viewing distance - or at least not by me!  A pragmatic solution from which the use of Templot might have saved me!

 

Of course I could also have avoided the problem by keeping (shortened) T/Ls on the locos, but that's not a look I like. 

[Bogie]

Great stuff.  Love the "accidental" threatening sky too.

[gwrrob]

That's a glorious looking water tank John, what are its origins please.

[checkrail]

That's a glorious looking water tank John, what are its origins please.

 

Hi Robin.  Like my 'Truro' signal box it's one of those resin buildings commissioned from Bachmann by Kernow Model Railways as part of their collection of Cornish prototypes, and is based on the one at St Ives.  It comes as a sort of kit, with support columns, lattice work (nice brass etching) etc. to be attached by the purchaser.  Due to the minor distortions that happen with resin casting It was quite a job to get the columns to stand vertically and I had to discreetly cut through some of the diagonal support struts before I could get the thing to stand foursquare (well, sixsquare actually!).  As with the signal box I repainted it to match my other buildings. I like the resin 'water' too, though it needs dusting from time to time.

 

The design was obviously not confined to Cornwall - there's a good pic of an almost identical one at Kingham in Adrian Vaughan's 'GWR junction stations'.

 

John C.

[gwrrob]

Here's me thinking it was scratchbuilt.Modifying a rtp item is very clever and a good cheaper timesaver too.

 

 

 

[checkrail]

If you've had enough of small prairies look away now!  Here are some pics of 5557's sister engine (well, half-sister I suppose) 4574.  This was also based at NA in the 30s.  (I try to assign numbers that were in the area but without getting too hung up about it.  By definition none of them were ever at Stoke Courtenay 'cause it doesn't exist!)

 

This started life as Bachmann's 4539, and needed a bit more work than 5557 in that I replaced the tank side lettering.  But more on that later.  Here 4574 approaches SC with a short pick-up goods.

 

 

 

 

The Ocean wagons in the pic above are the ancient Trix (later Lilliput) 3.8mm to the foot items, bought via eBay and mounted on Cambrian underframes.  (It was amusing to receive a model of a wagon belonging to the Ocean Coal Company of Treorchy in packaging stamped 'Made in Austria'.)  I had one of the originals many decades ago and always liked the quality of the printing.

 

 

 

The picture below has revealed to my horror my omission of the brick facing on the down platform. I told you I was lazy, and when I started out it hadn't occurred to me what good photo angles might be possible with a little camera - indeed the notion of photographing the layout had barely even crossed my mind.  Otherwise this is a promising shot, so I'll get to work to remedy this and similar bloopers before Andy York comes to work his magic.

 

 

John C.

 

 

[A Murphy]

Atmospheric, inspirational and a pleasure to look at and read. Thank you John,

 

Alastair M

[bgman]

One of the best starts to my day thank you for posting superb photographs and informative text, BIG thumbs up from me !

[Ramblin Rich]

.....  Otherwise this is a promising shot, so I'll get to work to remedy this and similar bloopers before Andy York comes to work his magic.

 

John C.

 

Oooh, so a magazine appearance may be in the offing then?  

[checkrail]

Last few prairie pics (he says, resisting the temptation to attach a picture of grassland with grazing buffalo).

 

Below 4574 slows through the station to stop clear of the trailing point which will allow it access across the up main line and into the yard. 

 

 

 

These wagons could do with loads - or at least some tarpaulins to hide the lack thereof.  Another thing on the long 'to do' list. No wonder they say model railways are seldom finished.

 

 

In the shot below the points have now changed (one key stroke on my wireless handheld sets 'route 3', changing all necessary points), and the loco can now set back its train. ( I'm sure many of us are looking forward to the new Hornby 'Toad' - I'll take three please! -  but this Bachmann one ain't so bad.  It captures the character.)

 

 

Finally, two pics of 4574 in the headshunt taking a break from shunting, allowing the branch passenger train to use the run round loop.

 

 

 

I have a feeling that the plated-over porthole windows on 4574 might be incorrect for such a high numbered loco (last of the original flat top tank version).  But all the S. Devon 1930s 45xx photos I could find showed locos not yet fitted with outside steam pipes, so I may have traded off one inaccuracy for another.  But I don't let it keep me awake at nights.

 

John C.