St. Penleo - late 1980's Cornwall

[alexross42]

Intro/Overview

I don't think I'll ever fully understand why after an absence of 25+ years from model railways I decided to take up the hobby again when our first child was a mere 5 months old. To say a lot in this hobby has changed is nothing short of an understatement - the learning curve has been very steep. From the outset I told myself this would be a fairly slow-paced and long-term project, something that having a small baby definitely ensures!

Some weeks there's barely any spare time to dedicate to the layout, so patience is a must as is learning to grab any minutes available here and there in which to do something whether it be gluing part of a card kit, filing the end of rail or just standing and musing over the track plan!

 

What started as a shelf layout that was intended to be a diorama more than anything else has soon evolved into a 10ft DCC layout designed with future expansion possibilities (following a house move) in mind!

 

St. Penleo

St. Penleo is a fictional coastal mainline terminus located in the far West Country, set in the late 1980s in the midst of the BR blue/sectorisation transition. It is by no means an original setup however it's definitely one that appeals to me most and that I have strong familiarity with.

The station consists of two main line platforms, a third bay platform for the branch and a small loco fueling area / maintenance depot that is connected to a freight only branch (predominantly china clay) that runs in past the bay platform and joins the up main line.

Just past the end of the main platforms the branch line deviates from the main line and there are sidings for rolling stock which are intended to serve as the main line should the future expansion happen...

 

Traction & Rolling Stock

Motive power is a mix of loco-hauled MK1/MK2 sets partially based on the 1980's class 50 Plymouth-Penzance stopper services (although with a little artistic licence on the NSE liveries/flashes), a blue/grey class 101 DMU for the branch and a Railfreight Distribution sector class 37 with ECC wagons for the freight line.

 

Trackplan

 

Images

To give a flavour of what the layout's about.....

 

I've recently taken my first steps into the world of weathering...

 

I'm quite pleased with the initial results - I owe thanks to a friend who's heavily into model tank kits and recommended the Tamiya weathering kits - so far I think they do the job pretty well!

 

Next major projects are track weathering and ballasting (and covering up the unsightly wallpaper backdrop!).

 

Thanks for looking!

 

 

Edited December 6, 2018 by alexross42

[deltic9014]

Looks good, will be keeping an eye on this.

[alexross42]

A recent addition to the rolling stock fleet is a pair of Bachmann MK2 NSE TSO's, however as others have mentioned there's an issue with the seemingly incorrect height of the stock compared with the MK1s, which means when running a mixed rake something looks 'a bit off':

 

 

 

To improve this I crafted a rough cardboard shim and inserted this between the bogie and the body, which did make a difference but still not quite enough to fully conceal the disparity in height - this is something I'll have to revisit at a later date though:

 

[Ed Winterbury]

How big is this?

[alexross42]

How big is this?

The main section is 12 ft 10 in long and and at it's widest (which is at either end) it's 2 ft 2 in - as there's a chimney breast in the middle this section is reduced to 1 ft. The right angled section on the right-hand end runs along the wall for 7 ft.

 

Hoping one day to extend by quite a bit.....we shall see what happens

 

Thanks for looking!

[alexross42]

The construction team have been in over the past couple of days building pavements, roads and railings.

The station building is the wonderful Metcalfe Mainline Station kit, for which I've created some pavements to fit around the front steps using a Scalescenes printable texture sheet (paving slabs) and surplus platform edging stones to make kerbs.

 

Pavements under construction:

 

Station and pavements in situ with road texture:

 

View along the road (another Scalescenes kit) showing the station entrance with the freight line running in from the left - 37671 'Tre Pol And Pen' waits patiently with an engineer's train:

[alexross42]

Progress continues although at an almost glacial pace...much track weathering and ballasting is now underway.
Opposite the station entrance a shelter has been constructed at the bus stop:
 

Next steps will be to extend the fencing around the back of the shelter then to fill in the gap between the fence and the track.

[alexross42]

 

Things don't always go to plan!

Despite measuring (twice) I had somehow managed to pin the track at a slight angle - as trains entered the platform they got increasingly closer to the platform edge until the door steps were literally riding along the edging! Great for passengers but not so much for realism.....so with a deep breath and after soaking the glued ballast with water I set to it with some small screwdrivers and a healthy dose of determination.

 

Note to self - check how everything runs at every stage before moving on to the next one!

[alexross42]

Been a while since I posted any updates but the progress continues....the misaligned track was relaid and thankfully runs true to the platform.
I managed to track down Hornby's 50046 after almost giving up...I think I searched every online site I could think of, then one just appeared on that well known auction site!
Electrics continue to expand, with further point motors being installed...LED lighting will follow soon.
And finally, the backdrop has been installed, to cover the unsightly wallpaper - it's now a true deep blue Cornish sky

50002 and 50046 enter the station:

 

Overall view with the new backdrop in situ:

 

The list of things to do keeps increasing though!

[alexross42]

I didn't realise it had been almost 9 months since my last update to this thread....there seems to have been two main courses of development - enhancing detail throughout the layout and buying too much rolling stock that I don't have the room to run properly! The recent release of Bachmann's (wonderful) MK2Fs have reinforced that latter point even further but at least it's enabled me to move toward recreating a mostly prototypical rake for the late 1980's Plymouth-Penzance loco hauled stopper services that saw a brief spell of service when the new Sprinters were pulled from service to sort a number of issues.

 

Two other areas of development that feel like they've made a difference:

• Introduction of figures onto the layout.
• Installation of LegomanBiffo's Class 50 sound chip into 'Ajax'.

 

​Both of these points have really brought the layout to life, the sounds from the chip in particular are excellent - just missing a little exhaust smoke now!

 

Extension of the layout itself is something I'm very keen to do however it's still waiting for the house move that the wife and I talk about lots but actually are doing little about...and a certain current political/economic situation may dictate that it doesn't happen until late 2019.

 

It does feel like the more I read/learn/absorb/try/retry the more I feel I should have not actually started a layout for about 12 months but just done lots of research first....but I don't think I'd ever quite have the patience! At least when the layout does expand I can apply better techniques to those sections.

 

Some images of more recent developments on the layout:

Concrete fencing installed between the factory and the tracks (further finishing touches to follow)

 

The Orange Army helping move things along

 

50046 waits with the mail, 50002 departs with a stopper service to Plymouth, the Class 101 DMU branch service has been strengthened with the addition of a bubble car...

 

Thanks for looking!

Edited December 5, 2018 by alexross42

[alexross42]

A few things have been happening lately (albeit slowly), I decided that the lineside fencing needed a bit more to it so I constructed a small polystyrene based mound under the length of it, grassed it then inserted the fence posts through the foliage and into the polystyrene, which means it can be re-positioned without too much trouble:

 

After having some LED platform lights for almost a year I finally got round to getting the wiring sorted and installing them in one of the platforms.....not without one or two LED casualties though - it's been quite some time since i studied electronics!

 

 

After having looked at it online about a thousand times over the past few months i finally picked up Kernow's ltd. edition 47706 last week when passing Camborne - must say I'm really pleased with this model, the weathering and detail is exceptional. I nearly lost some years off my life when fitting the DCC chip though as the last of the 6 screws holding the body to the chassis just refused to come out, it was turning endlessly but never releasing. Eventually I braved it and decided to see if the body would give anyway and 'thankfully' the thread of the screw hole must have worn as it finally eased apart (and one of the door windows fell out too just to add to the tension).

Loving the cab interior lights:

 

Finally, I followed up on a middle-of-the-night idea that came to me regarding how to construct a loop for running trains. I realised that for both true running in of new engines and maximum enjoyment of being able to sit back and watch consists roll by a loop was the only way to achieve this. It has required the removal of one of the platforms and building of a board section across the window in the room but this was only ever a temp location for the layout anyway and they are small sacrifices to make for much larger gains!

 

Happy Modelling

 

Edited March 15, 2019 by alexross42
Spelling

[alexross42]

I had no idea it had been over a year since my last post and what a time we find ourselves in now. Hopefully most of us can find some time to seek solace in modelling and running trains, a welcome distraction from the anxieties, worries and frustrations that are all around at the moment.

 

St. Penleo has still reached its current limit in terms of track layout, the development of the loop has certainly been a game-changer though and brought greater levels of enjoyment to running trains of more prototypical lengths as well as easing the whole running-in process.

 

A curious development has emerged through the acquisition of further stock over the past 12 months...I've been absorbing a lot of detail concerning operations around the Exeter area in the 1980s and as a result St. Penleo has migrated Eastwards somewhat, namely by the addition of a Dutch Class 33 and blue Class 31 to the loco stable - certainly not common visitors to far West Cornwall! Thank goodness for Rule #1

 

I also found time to work on the Peco bridge girders that had been sitting around in their box for far too long. Along with some brick paper, packing foam and road textures I followed the guide as outlined in the excellent Catford layout thread (click here to see it), so full kudos to Rich for sharing this technique. Now it's just a simple matter of major landscaping and scenic works to put it in place....

 

Thanks for looking.

Be well,

 

Ross.

Edited March 29, 2020 by alexross42
Link typo

[alexross42]

Unfortunately the owners of the land that St. Penleo operates on have come to the unanimous decision that it must be closed and redeveloped for accommodation due to a recent significant increase in the local population.....

Although not the original intention, St. Penleo has been a great test layout for my re-introduction to modelling and I have learnt so much in the 5 years of its existence that in a way I'm glad that it now has to be dismantled until the day comes that I get the opportunity to build again from scratch and to put all the things I've learnt into practice....and then to learn many more besides!

Most importantly it has provided many hours of enjoyment and so I'd like to share a few final recent pictures of stock being operated:
 

47537 rounds the 'scenic curve' with a postal service:

 

47706 rounds the 'scenic curve' 

 

The view up the steps and onto the platform:

 

On the platform. 50002 awaits its next turn of duty:

 

08818 hauls some PBA tiger wagons under the obligatory road bridge with vehicles on:

 

The lights turn green for the last time as the final scheduled service readies to leave St. Penleo:


All the best,
Ross.

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2021 by alexross42