Dornoch Train

[David Bell]

1 hour ago, AJCT said:

 

OK: all I have to do is find them....  Shall I post them on this thread or would you prefer me to start a separate topic under (say) "Railways of Scotland"?

 

Alasdair

On this thread will be fine. Thanks very much.

David

[David Bell]

I have made a start on the platform. Only long enough for a coach and a van or two but in this scale nearly 5 feet long!

[David Bell]

A bit of a bonus yesterday. I found an old door in the loft I did not know we had. It is 60cm x180cm and is ideal for the base of Embo. I dragged it down this morning and set out the  track and platform in the planned position.

[David Bell]

The track is down an painted and i have started the ballasting. The base for the road is complete. I have been experimenting with ways of producing the road surface and finally decided on sandpaper sprayed with grey and white primer.

David

[David Bell]

A bit more progress on Embo. The track is ballasted and I have made a start on the groundwork delineating the fenceline in front of the track.

[David Bell]

I have moved the build of Embo to the Modelling Real Locations section and will save this thread for the train build.

Cheers

David

[AJCT]

OK then... I've scanned the best of my dad's photos: they have some limitations as they're scans of the original 3"x5" prints and my negative scanner won't cope with 120 or 620 film.

First up is 1646 leaving Dornoch in 1957 -

 

Closing the gates at Skelbo, probably 1957: Dad's caption was "BR's hardest working guard".

An unidentified 16XX (possibly 1646) arriving at Dornoch in July 1958 -

 

Here's 1646 rounding the train at Dornoch in July 1958 -

 

1649 rounding in the branch platform at The Mound (1958 or 59) -

 

1649 arrived at Dornoch with mixed train, 1958 or 59 -

 

 

Unidentified 16XX at Cambusavie Halt, 1958 or 59 (that's my late parents' Vauxhall Wyvern in the foreground...)

 

1649 ready to depart Dornoch, July 1959 -

 

1649 near Skelbo, July 1959 -

 

1649 on arrival at Dornoch, July 1959 -

 

Hope these are of some interest for you.  Most of the original pics are undated but I've done some guesstimation based on knowledge of family holiday dates, etc.

 

Cheers -

 

Alasdair

Edited April 4, 2023 by AJCT
Additional snippet of info...

[Ben Alder]

What a marvellous collection! Thanks for sharing.....

 

[David Bell]

Alasdair these are brilliant. Thanks very much for posting.

Cheers

David

[AJCT]

On 15/05/2021 at 13:18, David Bell said:

Alasdair these are brilliant. Thanks very much for posting.

Cheers

David

You're welcome....  As mentioned on another thread, as a memento of those holidays I've always had an eye out for a 4mm model of a 16XX and my patience was rewarded a few years ago when I picked up a pre-owned built-up Nu-Cast one from Hatton's for a very reasonable price - complete with P4 chassis and Portescap 1219, no less.  It was sold as a "non-runner" but that was only because no-one had wired up the pickups !  So with a repaint and new number-plates it's now 1649, which IIRC gave me my first footplate trip way back when.  Really a "display shelf model", but it's fun to make up a typical Dornoch branch train (albeit with a BR Mk1 BCK as I don't have an LMS one) and give it a wee run round the Newton Duns circuit.  Not quite such a flight of fancy, though, as I believe 1646 and 1649 were hauled through Hawick on their way to the Highlands all those years ago.

 

Alasdair

Edited May 16, 2021 by AJCT
Additional information

[westhighlandline]

Having just recently acquired Model Rail's excellent 0-6-0 OPT #1649, I've developed an interest in the Dornoch Line. This thread proves to be very useful, though I can't see any of the earlier pictures, supposedly of your train, David. Is there any chance they could be reinstated? Is there any late progress? :)

 

Cheers, Kosta

Edited March 30, 2023 by westhighlandline
spelling

[David Bell]

I have not made the train yet. However I did make reasonable progress with the diorama of Embo in Gauge 3.

A few things still to do but mostly finished.

Cheers

David

[westhighlandline]

Excellent work, David! Can't wait to see the Pannier on the diorama. 😍

 

Meanwhile, I'm digging deeper into the DLR, focusing on Cambusavie Halt as a potential subject to be modelled. It took me some considerable time to figure out the exact location from all the pictures available, mainly due to many being labelled incorrectly: the first crossing following the line from The Mound down the line across the damn would be "Cambusmore", often falsely referred to as Cambusavie. Anyway, I find Cambusavie an attractive location nearby the Loch, with only one structure, a few trees, a crossing, a single wooden platform, a single platform lamp, a stone wall and of course the waterline to be included in a reduced, small space. 

 

It'd be helpful to know if the nearby station house was to a standard type, like the ones to be found at Cambusmore and Embo? 

 

Cheers, 

Kosta

Edited April 24, 2023 by westhighlandline
Spelling