Ffarquhar - North Western Region of British Railways

[Csalem]

10 hours ago, Hawin Dooiey said:

 

It will be good to be down again, but I envy you being on the footplate. Which engines are you rostered on this month?

 

Seem to have lost my modelling mojo at the moment, so this thread may go a bit quiet for a bit. I tend to go at things with a 100% passion and then burn myself out a bit. A downside also when your hobby becomes your job (I'm about to do some work for a client on the workbench).

 

A rest to this thread and my own modelling may do me a bit of good.

 

Train now departing....but hopefully returning soon.

 

Haultraugh has always been one of my favourite stations. Would love to "visit" it. This image oozes atmosphere for me:

[BritishGypsum4]

On 04/09/2020 at 09:48, Hawin Dooiey said:

 

It will be good to be down again, but I envy you being on the footplate. Which engines are you rostered on this month?

 

Seem to have lost my modelling mojo at the moment, so this thread may go a bit quiet for a bit. I tend to go at things with a 100% passion and then burn myself out a bit. A downside also when your hobby becomes your job (I'm about to do some work for a client on the workbench).

 

A rest to this thread and my own modelling may do me a bit of good.

 

Train now departing....but hopefully returning soon.

I think it is the Standard Four tank 97 and the following week I am out on 2890. Really looking forward to it as it has been a while.

[Tom F]

Evening guys

I have been on a break from my own modelling since September. To be honest, it was the best decision I made for my own mental health. This week Thomas's works plates arrived, and I decided to fit them.

 

 

I'm slowly (with much trepidation) going to start some of my own modelling again. Model railways should be an aspect of your life that brings you happiness, in my case I was relying on it to bring me all my happiness, which is never going to work.

 

 

Edited December 8, 2020 by Tom F

[Gibbo675]

9 minutes ago, Tom F said:

Evening guys

I have been on a break from my own modelling since September. To be honest, it was the best decision I made for my own mental health. This week Thomas's works plates arrived, and I decided to fit them.

 

 

I'm slowly (with much trepidation) going to start some of my own modelling again. Model railways should be an aspect of your life that brings you happiness, in my case I was relying on it to bring me all my happiness, which is never going to work.

 

 

Hi Tom,

 

I haven't done anything with my models since the beginning of November, I think mainly because I had not done much else other than model trains this year with the way things are. I might think about doing something soon but I'm in no rush.

 

Having your job combined with your hobby is a very difficult balancing act and one that I fell off about twelve years ago. The good thing is that trains are fun again instead of driving around the bend.

 

Gibbo.

[A Murphy]

Great to see you and your excellent models again.

 

Best wishes,

 

Alastair

[outatime]

I'm glad that you are back Tom, Thomas looks great, Percy and Toby as well.

 

Regards,

Björn

[AdeMoore]

Evening Tom glad to see an appearance back here.

lovely models those in your above photo and set well with the books and glass under is it!

Saw your tweet also so knew there was something slightly happening.

Take care.

Ade

[Bucoops]

Hope you are keeping well, Tom

[Tom F]

Thank you all for the kind comments.

 

I am taking things slowly, I've some small projects I might start working on regarding stock for the layout. The main thing is I am just focusing on doing this for me and achieving something that 'I' think is accurate to the Awdry interpretation.

 

This is a real railway that runs to prototypical practice, and fits in with the rest of the BR network in 1959. 

 

 

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by Tom F

[St Enodoc]

4 hours ago, Tom F said:

achieving something that 'I' think is accurate

That's all that counts!

[RedGemAlchemist]

Glad to see you're feeling better, Tom. Onwards and upwards.

[Tom F]

'EBV' to Knapford

[AJW98Productions]

Hey Tom.

 

I'm glad that you've taken a mental health break. I know first hand how much a hobby can become too much if it's where all your enjoyment is coming from, but I am glad you're doing better now. Your Thomas model is looking great, and the picture of Toby taking the "EBV" to Knapford looks wonderful. Great work on both, as always. I'm looking forward to seeing more, but I none of us would want it to be at your expense, make sure that what you're doing in this hobby is what makes you happy, first and foremost. If you need another break, feel no guilt in taking it, I am (and I'm sure everyone else here is too) glad it was a good rest for you.

 

Take care everyone. Don't let your hobbies become too much for you, and stay safe out there, especially with the pandemic still going on.

-Alex

Edited December 17, 2020 by AJW98Productions

[Tom F]

Thank you for the kind comments. 
 

I’m going to make a start painting up my Ffarquhar stone wagons this week. I’ve written a draft of my understanding of how the wagons were branded and worked on the NWR. 
 

Essentially I’m filling in the gaps, or perhaps going into the detail which Awdry never did, which allows for prototypical working. It’s nice being back into it again. 

Edited December 18, 2020 by Tom F

[t-b-g]

It is good to see you back doing some modelling Tom. You have a certain talent for it and although I quite understand the need for a break, I am pleased it was a short one!

 

I find that the hobby is so addictive that it is easy to end up with a rather one dimensional lifestyle but having a second, or even more, other interests does bring some balance back into things.

 

But I am glad to see you using those talents again and I look forward to seeing what you get up to next.

 

Your project to model the railways of Sodor "properly" is in a great tradition of freelance modelling and is something I find fascinating. I had the books from a very early age and I even have one or two very tatty examples from the 1940s and I remember my dad reading me the stories and telling me that almost every incident that was in the original books had happened on the real railways and that the engines talking were really suggesting what real the engines would have said if they could talk.

 

So it seemed like a real place to me and now you are creating parts of it in model form.

 

Great stuff.

 

Tony

[Tom F]

5 hours ago, t-b-g said:

It is good to see you back doing some modelling Tom. You have a certain talent for it and although I quite understand the need for a break, I am pleased it was a short one!

 

I find that the hobby is so addictive that it is easy to end up with a rather one dimensional lifestyle but having a second, or even more, other interests does bring some balance back into things.

 

But I am glad to see you using those talents again and I look forward to seeing what you get up to next.

 

Your project to model the railways of Sodor "properly" is in a great tradition of freelance modelling and is something I find fascinating. I had the books from a very early age and I even have one or two very tatty examples from the 1940s and I remember my dad reading me the stories and telling me that almost every incident that was in the original books had happened on the real railways and that the engines talking were really suggesting what real the engines would have said if they could talk.

 

So it seemed like a real place to me and now you are creating parts of it in model form.

 

Great stuff.

 

Tony

 

Really appreciate your comments Tony, thank you.

Its been a tricky road, but I think my own mental health journey these past few months has helped me. My Awdry modelling had created two issues, one was certain areas of the hobby not taking my modelling seriously, and a bit of leg pulling. I know it was only meant in jest, but it didn't help me and my mental state at the time.

The other is the 'Thomas' fandom on twitter which only ever saw it as 'trains with faces' and had no interest in my 'real prototype' outlook.  Leaving twitter was the best thing I ever did.

 

Anyhow, that was then and this is now. I'm in the process of working on the first stone wagon today, which I should be able to show photos of in the coming days.

Edited December 18, 2020 by Tom F

[t-b-g]

19 minutes ago, Tom F said:

 

Really appreciate your comments Tony, thank you.

Its been a tricky road, but I think my own mental health journey these past few months has helped me. My Awdry modelling had created two issues, one was certain areas of the hobby not taking my modelling seriously, and a bit of leg pulling. I know it was only meant in jest, but it didn't help me and my mental state at the time.

The other is the 'Thomas' fandom on twitter which only ever saw it as 'trains with faces' and had no interest in my 'real prototype' outlook.  Leaving twitter was the best thing I ever did.

 

Anyhow, that was then and this is now. I'm in the process of working on the first stone wagon today, which I should be able to show photos of in the coming days.

 

I can understand the problem Tom. I have learned the hard way that anything I do has to please me and if anybody else likes it then it is a bonus.

 

I doubt that the people making comments about your modelling have half your skill!

[RedGemAlchemist]

2 hours ago, Tom F said:

The other is the 'Thomas' fandom on twitter which only ever saw it as 'trains with faces' and had no interest in my 'real prototype' outlook.  Leaving twitter was the best thing I ever did.

Amen. Same here.

[Aire Head]

4 hours ago, Tom F said:

Anyhow, that was then and this is now. I'm in the process of working on the first stone wagon today, which I should be able to show photos of in the coming days.

 

 

Glad to see you back Tom, I hope that we make you feel at home and comfortable amongst the presence of true Suderians!

 

Very much looking forward to see what you have created.

[Tom F]

First of the former Ffarquhar Quarry Company wagons is underway.

[Aire Head]

2 minutes ago, Tom F said:

First of the former Ffarquhar Quarry Company wagons is underway.

 

Is this going into private owner livery or is it a railway company wagon?

[Tom F]

1 minute ago, Aire Head said:

 

Is this going into private owner livery or is it a railway company wagon?

 

It will be retaining its original livery, but to all extents and purposes it is now nationalised stock. Black patch, NW prefix and number. Odd planks replaced etc.

[Aire Head]

10 minutes ago, Tom F said:

 

It will be retaining its original livery, but to all extents and purposes it is now nationalised stock. Black patch, NW prefix and number. Odd planks replaced etc.

 

Engineers stock with the black livery? 

 

If so that's a great idea!

[Tom F]

Just now, Aire Head said:

 

Engineers stock with the black livery? 

 

If so that's a great idea!

 

No, not engineers stock as the stone is being used for construction/industry. 

[Tom F]

Essentially, this livery.

However there will be a BR black patch representing its nationalised stock. Some will be repainted into BR grey though (which would be inevitable by the late 50s/early 60s). Even this illustration shows one in BR livery.