Treneglos: The ACE on the North Cornwall Railway

[2ManySpams]

Part 5. The first Site visit....

 

This period saw the first plan change creep in. As a result of measuring stock it was realised that 1100mm boards would be too short:

The result was that the boards were increased to 1200mm (4') which increased the layout length from 5.5m to 6.0m.

 

Barely two weeks from John's initial thoughts saw me heading down the M5 to Devon and Cornwall to have a look around what was left of the Southern's Withered Arm and to get a feel for the area. Below are my notes from the visit. We still hadn't settled on a particular line and stations on the Bude and North Cornwall routes were visited.

 

 

Little did I know at the time that 6 years later I would be attending the North Cornwall Railway book launch at Launceston and would be invited back to view this building by its new owners, Moira and Rod.

 

The photos below were of what I mistakenly thought at the time was the Station Master's house. Not so!

 

 

 

[2ManySpams]

Part 6. Damian thinks of boards....

 

So 8 days after John's initial letter, we'd done a site visit, taken photos and started thinking more about building something. Here Damian 'Mr Ripsaw (but no sandpaper)' comes into his own. A veteran of building many, many layout boards and of using other people's hands as sand paper! He's already built a test board down the Stafford Railway Circle using this new plywood material. Obviously this wouldn't catch on as the Railway Modeller standard was still 2"x1" timber at 1' centres topped with Sundella...

[Mallard60022]

Spams, cracking pics. No wonder your layout looks so damn good! Only thing is I find site visits like this rather sad but it is good to see places brought 'back' to life (Baynards near Horsham in West Sussex is a grand example).

Thanks for posting,

36E

[2ManySpams]

Spams, cracking pics. No wonder your layout looks so damn good! Only thing is I find site visits like this rather sad but it is good to see places brought 'back' to life (Baynards near Horsham in West Sussex is a grand example).

Thanks for posting,

36E

 

Cheers, this was just a small sample of the photos I took on that first trip. As you say it's a bit of a mixed emotions thing. Joy at finding things still in place (Tresmeer) and sorrow when a site has been wiped from the face of the earth (Halwill).

 

Interesting exercise going through all my old notes....

[Indomitable026]

Part 6. Damian thinks of boards....

 

So 8 days after John's initial letter, we'd done a site visit, taken photos and started thinking more about building something. Here Damian 'Mr Ripsaw (but no sandpaper)' comes into his own. A veteran of building many, many layout boards and of using other people's hands as sand paper! He's already built a test board down the Stafford Railway Circle using this new plywood material. Obviously this wouldn't catch on as the Railway Modeller standard was still 2"x1" timber at 1' centres topped with Sundella...

 

 

Chris

 

I can't believe you've kept all this stuff.

 

I'm dreading whats coming next......

[Sidecar Racer]

You were nearly responsible for me deserting the GWR when I saw the article about Trenglos in RM, I resisted though and survived these horrendous thoughts . It's great to see it on here but I will not be swayed I have learnt that lesson ...

 

... well I think I have

 

 

Keep the faith Kris , GWR green is much nicer than Southern .

 

Still lookling forward to seeing this layout at Trainwest though .

[Indomitable026]

Oih, Spams

 

I've not been able to find any shots of the boards under construction for TG, so you'll have to go with the brightly painted boards posed in the serene surroundings of your garden......

 

Enjoyed the OUaTiTW modelling session with Owd Gringo yesterday.

[2ManySpams]

Oih, Spams

 

I've not been able to find any shots of the boards under construction for TG, so you'll have to go with the brightly painted boards posed in the serene surroundings of your garden......

 

Enjoyed the OUaTiTW modelling session with Owd Gringo yesterday.

 

Probably no photos due to the speed the boards got built - no time for delays through arty stuff like cameras.

[2ManySpams]

Part 7. John takes some minutes....

 

During February, after site the visit and much pondering over the telephone, we decided that there had been enough talk and that it was time for some decisions. So on the 25th Feb 2003 we held a meeting. John produced an agenda, which Damian and I tried our best to playfully ignore, and we had our first of many WAP (Withered Arm Project) meetings. Damian was keen to get wood bashing, John was keen on drawing stuff up and I was getting concerned as our first baby was due in early April.

 

This last point in particular concentrated minds that some boards needed knocking up pronto so that basic scenery could be added before I disappeared in baby sick, nappies and sleepless nights.

 

Just like all the best meetings we eventually got some minutes, these were lovingly produced by John after returning from his local the 'Horns'. Reading back through the Treneglos archive it's interesting to see how visits to the 'Horns' generally prompted John into action

 

It's interesting to note that we:

1. Reached a compromise on the board size (1200mm x 500mm)

2. Obviously discussed the plan whilst looking at a scale foam board mock up

3. We were completely indecisive about legs

4. Thought it was a good idea to set targets

5. Got completely carried away on the layout name. I seem to recall that many of these were the result of John and Damian going on a steam tour trip and helping the bar car make some profit.... Also notable that the final layout name 'Treneglos' doesn't appear on the list.

6. Thought the layout might cost some money to build.

 

Below is the plan of boards 2 & 3 that were discussed in the meeting.

 

There's obviously elements of the North Cornwall creeping in here and Ashwater in particular seems to have grabbed our attention. There was though, at the time no real concept of building a prototype. 'Freelance based on' was the order of the day.

 

After some research later on the Water Tower was dropped as a feature as they were not a typical feature of stations on the Bude or Padstow lines. The assumption that a catch point was needed was never challenged. It wasn't until 3 years into exhibiting that someone pointed out that the NCR had very few of these. Looking back at prototype box diagrams and track photos it's now clear that we missed this obvious point. Moral of the story - "never assume".

[Kris]

That was very very organised of you, what with the minutes and meetings.

[2ManySpams]

That was very very organised of you, what with the minutes and meetings.

 

No, that was very organised of John...and it din't last too long! I hope though that you can tell it was all a bit light hearted

 

The issue was that we all lived some miles apart and posting plans, actions and drawings to each other, and the occasional meeting, was the only was to make sure we all were talking about the same thing.

 

Little did we realise at the time that nearly 8 years later we'd be reading these notes again and thinking of what we'd do differently 2nd time around. It is also interesting to look at how little we knew about the area at the time and some of the incorrect assumptions we made. Research lagged behind building and in some cases adjustments have been made in later years. As the story continues through to building (board shots coming up in a few instalments) so you'll see how we eventually settled for greater prototype fidelity and eventually settled on a setting on the real NCR (albeit not one that actually had a station!)

 

The story will continue....

[2ManySpams]

Part 8. Firming up the details....

So one month into the project we had....another meeting!

 

It wasn't just chat though, more of a show and tell. John had produced a full scale drawing on some lining paper. Damian had knocked up the first board. I had put together a mock up of a NCR station - we'd now settled on the North Cornwall Railway as our prototype. The scenery 'verticals' were calculated and the viaduct dimensions agreed so that Damian could carry on building boards. Actions were allocated to all. Nearly everything discussed that day ended up affecting the outcome of the final layout (although the Bulleid playing and biscuit eating probably didn't contribute much...).

 

As John rightly pointed out the project had 'taken off like a rocket', probably more so than any of us would had thought. Way it a case that each of us was waiting for another to say 'is this a good idea?' whilst powering on so not to be the one killing off the project? Was it just that there was a lot of pent up modelling waiting to be unleashed - particularly as the project was not bound by the committee approvals and politics of a club?

 

Well for what ever reason the layout quickly went from drawings to reality, as the next few episodes will record....

[Oldddudders]

Really nice to come back after a week away and find such a constructive thread on this fine model. Count me in as a regular reader from here on!

[2ManySpams]

Really nice to come back after a week away and find such a constructive thread on this fine model. Count me in as a regular reader from here on!

 

I'll send you a TG Fan Club badge Ian!

[2ManySpams]

Part 9. Some Inspirational Books....

As can be appreciated we didn't set out to model the NCR in any way, just a generic 'West of Exeter' station. Slowly though we started collecting a selection of great books. Those that had the biggest impact on me are included below:

 

By far the greatest inspiration and source of information was the original 'An Illustrated History of the NCR' book by the late David Wroe. Little did we know it at the time but our paths would cross with a revised version of this book in later years... The book contained history, track plans, plenty of prototype information - everything the novice needed to get to grips with the line.

 

'Southern Holiday Lines' and 'The Withered Arm' had a great selection of information about all the Southern lines West of Exeter and was a great 'compare and contrast' book. It certainly helped me decide which was my favourite part of the Withered Arm.

 

Another goodie, and an introduction to an author we were to later meet up with several times, was 'The Southern Railway's Withered Arm' by Stephen Austin. Again lots more general area information.

 

Last but not least of the early purchases was one from the great M&P series covering the line to Padstow. All B&W and a preference perhaps for the earlier periods but again some great information.

[2ManySpams]

Part 10. Damian has Built the Boards....

Damian is always keen to gety going with the rip saw, glue and hammer. In the case of Treneglos it was only a matter of 6 weeks from John's 'Fuzzy Idea' to a set of 3 boards turning up at my house for initial scenic work (I don't recall getting the 2 fiddle boards).

 

Some might find it unusual that the polystyrene and plaster work was done before track laying, but in this case it was the impending arrival of my son that drove the sequence. We have, however, found that there are certain advantages to this approach. All the gloopy plaster and big saw action can proceed without fair damaging the track. Also the ballast falls on top of the ground, not up to it. Finally the scenic shell gives the track layers and electrical folk something to rest elbows and tools on....

 

So here we go, it's the 22nd of March 2003 and the naked boards are set up in the garden of my last house. This was purely to take photos and record Damian's hard graft.

 

The first shots show how the legs are integral to the board and how the original cross brace worked. I think this was the flat station board.

 

The next few show the boards erected, piggyback fashion. This gives a good idea of how the vertical level of each board reflected the final scenic contours. The location of the viaduct can clearly be seen.

 

The next few shots are...well...me playing and imagining the ACE heading to Padstow (not too sure that 34041 was a good choice though). The mock up of the station building can be seen made from yellow card. This, together with the Spam, gives a good idea of scale.

[taytrain]

nice work on those baseboard's

[2ManySpams]

Thanks. Seven years on, 25 shows later the boards have proven to be very robust and have survived 1,000s of miles travelling in vans and storage in various damp garages. Testiment to Damian's solid work!

[2ManySpams]

Part 11. Chris does Plaster and Stuff....

Now I must say that at this point I'm really annoyed that I can't find a photo of the long lost mock up we did of the layout. It was made from foam core display board at a scale of about 1:10. It proved to be a great help both in forming the landscape and showing John and Damian what I had in mind.

 

Anyway, put that to one side.

 

The story continues with two of the three scenic boards making their way into my small garage. To these layers of polystyrene sheet were added (PVA clue) in the rough form of the landscape. To hold the layers in place so nice big 6" nails were pushed through the layers. Despite waht Damian says, all these were actually recovered once the glue had set. (Well ok, I may have missed a couple )

 

The poly was then cut using my trusty 12" hacksaw blade. This is great as it can be curved, dragged and stuffed to created a nice flowing landscape profile. On top of this was added some plaster, reinforced with old (out of date) bandage from first aid boxes. And then, just before the boards we're returned I decided to use up some old paint pots and colour in the landscape..... John and Damian were well impressed by my choice of colour!

 

Anyway here's some more photos to enjoy.

[Deev]

Cor blimey - those baseboards are a work of art!

[2ManySpams]

Cor blimey - those baseboards are a work of art!

 

Thanks Deev. All Damian's work, mostly buried under my dodgy plastering.

[2ManySpams]

Just noticed that the 3D mock up actually appears in one of the photos I've just posted above.

 

See it did exist!:

Very small, sorry.

 

Keen observers will also note that a gap was left in the scenics between boards. This was intentional and for Damian to fill in with two strips of ply - one on each board face. These were cut to follow the landscape perfectly. Also note that the long edges of the boards were also polystyrene faced in places. Again this was because the ply fascia hadn't yet been added - something much easier to do after the landscape has been formed.

[2ManySpams]

Just as a bit of a play here the viaduct board in five stages of construction:

 

Bare board

 

Coarse scenics

 

Getting there

 

Nearly complete

 

Finished with backscene

[2ManySpams]

Part 12. Bertie the Budge does Ballasting....

 

Now obviously once the main 'heavy scenics' were done it was time for the boards to travel 40miles West to John and Damian's houses for a touch of trackwork, electrics and ballasting. Now I've no real recollection of who did what at this stage because my son was born and the mind was elsewhere at the time....

 

John has however managed to dig up just one photo of the ballast work underway on the original three boards. Here's what he has to say:

 

"Here's the only photo I have of working on Treneglos track.

 

As you may remember, I had to paint neat PVA between the sleepers with a fine brush and then apply the dry ballast mix very carefully. A small sprinkle at a time and then tamp with a dry finger into position, because the yellow stuff (Javis granite, maybe 10%) which had been mixed with the Woodland scenics buff (about 70%) and some gray, turned a hideous bright orange if it got too wet. So I had to plod slowly on down the track, all sixteen feet of it.

 

Should have tested a small bit, before deciding to make the whole mix!!

 

As you can see Bertie is making sure I do it correctly, whilst it appears I'm also engaged in drinking some alcohol!"

 

Apparently Bertie is the one on the right

[Old Gringo]

Thanks Chris,

 

Had I realised when joining RMweb a couple of months ago, that my first exposure to the world-wide-web-community would be on "page three" of a thread - with a glass of wine and a stunning bird, well ........ mmmm !!!!!

 

In fact many many years ago, when being hoisted up into the cab of a steam engine, I should have turned to my late father and said, "No Dad, you do not know where this may lead me!" I might have even have considered a different hobby, rather than the steamy world I've ended up in.

 

Sadly Bertie passed away in 2009. "She" was quite a good modeller, often carrying sleepers when we were hand-laying track and always helping with weathering wooden buildings, whether or not they needed it.

 

Anyway, I've been told I can't sit here all day - I'm off to lay some track!

 

All the best, John.