MoF - The First Attempt

[Peter Bedding]

The evolution of this layout, and changes along the way, have been narrated in the topic entitled "SouthWest by Southern". I have now reached a point where most of the key features have been settled, and the fictional station given a credible near-fictional name.

 

To recap, the setting is a rural district somewhere in Wessex between Waterloo and the Atlantic Coast. During the 1850s the directors of the LSWR were still uncertain about the best way to reach Exeter, and were backing two options. A central route (in stages) including the Salisbury and Yeovil, and Yeovil and Exeter. Alternatively, a coastal route from Southampton to Dorchester (including Castleman's Corkscrew), and a proposed link from Dorchester to Axminster. In the event, the favoured line was the central route, which skirted the fictional minor market town of Minster on Fosse.

 

As at other places (Godalming, Chard et al), a false start was made and then abandoned at Minster. An intended through station became a useful terminus, and served a Vale of Medium Dairies. In the Hitler war, Minster on Fosse was also a useful railhead for military traffic. with easy connections to both Dorchester and Yeovil.

 

Generally, the LSWR favoured the station architecture of Sir William Tite, but for Minster on Fosse a S&DJR station design was thought less expensive and adequate.

 

Although built as a single line, heavy traffic was wanted, and the civil engineering was sufficient for A class 4-6-0s. Other traffic varied widely, and visiting motive power could come from Exmouth Junction, Salisbury, Yeovil or Dorchester.

 

 

 

The track plan is a simplified version of Padstow (undeniable LSWR pedigree).

 

 

 

The S&DJR influence is apparent in the station building.

 

 

 

A class passenger loco (King Arthur Number 736 "Pendragon") has arrived with a cross-country train, comprising ex-LSW corridor coaches of Set 410.

 

 

[tender]

Hi Peter.

The King Arthur looks really great in black, I can see the spray can coming out for one of mine.

[Peter Bedding]

Having reached the scenic part of the project (the bit I have not looked forward to, and kept putting off), I thought to return the assorted buildings back to their likely resting place.

 

Obviously most of them will need to be "customized" before they may be deemed finished, and planted in the ground rather than on it. Likewise an attempt must be made to add the flora and fauna to where such things might be seen. I turn to others and recent layouts for inspiration, and some shameless plagiarism. "Charford", "Rowlands Castle" and "Hintock" all tick my box, but there have been others too.

 

 

 

 

From the market place of Minster on Fosse (off-stage left), a cross country B road heads across the stage to the larger town of Durnover (off-stage right). A few cottages and some rural industry line this road on its way. Level crossing gates need to be sourced and much else. I envisage a duck pond immediately behind the baseboard edge, centre front.

 

 

 

 

A good and appropriate range of Milk Tanks from Dapol and Bachmann, are too good to be ignored, as are the Bachmann r-t-p buildings. The northlight industrial unit will serve as an egg packing station, and the creamery building is self-evident.

 

 

 

 

The station yard is space-limited, but will include military activity with the normal station business.

 

 

 

[john flann]

Peter, I look forward to progress with this. A jolly good start and I like the story behind the line.

 

Kind regards,

 

PS, and I appreciate the mention.

[Andrew P]

This is very nice Peter, you have a lovely room and you have NOT over crowded it with a big wide board, I will be following this with great interest.

 

Andy, (alias Bodgit)

[Peter Bedding]

This is very nice Peter, you have a lovely room and you have NOT over crowded it with a big wide board, I will be following this with great interest.

 

Andy, (alias Bodgit)

 

Hello Andy,

 

My "room" is half of an attached garage, the other half being access to the in-use garage.

 

As to the board size, it is a purpose built U shape, intended for central access and control. the boards were professionally built for me to have fun with their assembly and installation.

 

Here shown laid on the back grass, following delivery by the village super-chippy.

 

 

At this point I still had no settled ideas for the track plan. My preference was for a version of "Minories", and my modelling legend would have been an ex-LSWR terminus in London, alongside the Southern main line, and sited roughly where the film "Passport to Pimlico" was filmed. The siting of a small terminus alongside a mainline has prototypical precedent, the LBSC built their London Bridge terminus alongside the SER. I felt that this would be a tasty subject, with cobbled Sarf Lunnon streets, trams, stairs-outside buses et al.

 

In the event the shortage of space killed this idea stone dead, and so yet another rural BLT was under way, and I had to dream up the Wessex legend to justify a terminus close to the Jurassic coast, with King Arthurs alongside Ns, T9s, and M7s. Hornbys Maunsell R4 coaches went a long way to meeting the passenger needs, and I was fortunate to have some Roxey and Northstar coaches built for me for the ex-LSWR flavour. Add to that Scenecraft buildings and current r-t-r freight stock and I have only my skills of hand to blame if it does not work out.

 

I have absolutely no connection with any commercial enterprise, so when I get pleasure to identify something I like, I can sing the praises without partiality. 

 

PB

[Peter Bedding]

At the other end of the layout, the inevitable fiddleyard, represents the rest of the world. For my purposes this includes a triangular junction as at Bournemouth West. Other triangles included Fullerton Junction and the Longparish Loop, and (post war) Yeovil Town, Pen Mill and Junction. As ever, the fiddleyard is as large as space permits, and is still too small.

 

 

However, being a nice morning I took myself and my camera to watch some trains go by, from a vantage point. The fiddle yard also represents some emergency carriage sidings laid down as a precaution against air raid damage in the major cities.

 

Forum readers with access to Middleton Press and Irwell books may recall having seen some 1945 pictures of T9 Number 283 on shed at Wadebridge, and some contemporary pictures of Set 20, also at Wadebridge though both would have arrived on a Padstow train. So I was rather pleased to create the opportunity to re-unite these worthies in 4mm, for use on the Minster branch

 

 

 

Also posing for the camera was L11 Number 170. In reality, Yeovil had an L11 which daily took the milk tanks from Seaton and Chard Junctions to Templecombe, from whence they joined other tanks coming off the Somerset and Dorset on route to the various London bottling plants.

 

 

 

As Minster on Fosse has its own creamery, the L 11 starts its daily run here before joining the West of England main line at The Junction. I should like to think that the Minster Creamery also does valuable service producing custard powder.

 

The turquoise piece of plastic in full view started life as a cocktail swizzle stick, then liberated from a local pub, and now even more use as an uncoupling pole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gruffalo]

This is a layout with plenty pf potential Peter. Did our very own Station Master claim any credit - noting the plate in the every first picture?  

[Peter Bedding]

This is a layout with plenty pf potential Peter. Did our very own Station Master claim any credit - noting the plate in the every first picture?  

 

He could well have done!  I have had these two replica signs on my bookshelf for longer than I care to count, so it occurred to me to put them to use. One real value to them is that they were made when the originals were still in daily use, and the replica green was thought to be acceptable. So they are the datum by which I compare current debate.

 

The CI "Beware of Trains" sign is an original which I bought from Collectors' Corner (Euston) about the same time, and have carted round the country with many changes of address.  I think that set me back £25 then. It may have been a good investment!

[tender]

Hi Peter, nice pictures. Are the Set 20 coaches part of your 'Northstar' collection?

 

Ray.

[Peter Bedding]

Hi Peter, nice pictures. Are the Set 20 coaches part of your 'Northstar' collection?

 

Ray.

 

Thanks Ray, I have a Sony "DSC-P10" which is appropriate for my point and click wishes. Even so, I have to take care to exclude reflections of the overhead light bulbs, and prop the camera against a firm surface. I also intend to improve the lighting in the "railway room" such that I can get more detail in the close-ups around the layout.

 

I first saw the Northstar advert by chance a few years back, and took an immediate interest. Era 3 ex-LSWR, someone had been reading my wishlist. The only drawback is the weight!  Locos that can cope with six or more Hornby bogies struggle with 3 Northstar. However, since my station platforms can only accommodate loco plus 3 bogies plus a 4w PMV, the weight limitation can be overcome. It certainly sorts out any dodgy tracklaying, though.

[Peter Bedding]

Hi Peter.

The King Arthur looks really great in black, I can see the spray can coming out for one of mine.

 

Hello Ray, further to the above , this view might help you decide (the paint shop work was by Peter Chapman):

 

 

From this distance in time, many a loco has grown its current appreciation society, but the Urie "King Arthurs" must have stirred many a soul in their day. In Bulleid's black (above) they look massive. Even so,  I can't make my mind up which I prefer:

 

 

Running and haulage capacity are every bit as good as I should wish. Both are chipped. "Etarre" is still factory fitted, "Excalibur" has a TCS DP2X-UK retrofit.

 

I should have liked the chance to add a First Series Eastleigh Arthur (448-457), for their Exmouth Junction association before the S15s arrive

[Oldddudders]

Anent your duckpond, Peter, do not hesitate to model this as well-cared for. Very often in their original construction the railways sought routes through and near villages and were persuaded by the locals to take on responsibility for upkeep of duckponds and church rooves etc in perpetuity. Thus Southern would periodically be called upon to pay up!

[Peter Bedding]

Anent your duckpond, Peter, do not hesitate to model this as well-cared for. Very often in their original construction the railways sought routes through and near villages and were persuaded by the locals to take on responsibility for upkeep of duckponds and church rooves etc in perpetuity. Thus Southern would periodically be called upon to pay up!

 

Thanks for the tip, Ian. It's always too easy to embalm a dead pig in the varnish before it sets hard!

 

Once the track was laid, I could begin to visualise how to fill the corners and borders with a number of credible scenic "stories" or "legends", and I am attempting to create a number of these simultaneously. In the rear corners are firstly, the military site, and secondly the creamery. R-t-p buildings will need to be customised in both cases.

 

The legend for the military site is that it is a supporting part of a temporary airfield/satellite landing ground (out of view), where the associated hutted accommodation for technical and domestic purposes was accommodated in Nissen huts tucked amongst trees. There are some superb websites with all sorts of relevant detail, and supporting photos. <Airfield Information Exchange> is a good way of passing the time usefully, and there are other sites for Lincolnshire and Oxfordshire which also set the scene. I do believe in making time for relevant research.  "Doc Furniss' War" on Youtube will also get the nostalgia going, for those of a certain age and pre-disposition.

 

In this hot weather, my railway room becomes an oven, and perspiration soon stops play.

 

The legend for the creamery is conventional, with (in due course) a building for the storage and transfer of milk, and a second to house an egg and dairy product packing station. Both rail-served by the tail shunt off the arrival road. By good fortune, this is not too far removed from conventional LSWR practice.

 

PB

[DLT]

Looks like a great project Peter, Southern in the West Country does it for me!

Many thanks, Dave.T

[Peter Bedding]

Again, readers of a certain age and pre-disposition may recall the hauntingly beautiful melody "Who knows where the time goes", as sung by Judy Collins almost half a century ago. (I first heard it one warm evening whilst sipping a local beer in a Changi bar at that time, and have just recharged my memory courtesy of YouTube). So that recollection crossed my mind when, not for the first time, I measure layout progress against a timeline. Where does the time go.

 

Since my last posting, I have attempted to advance some of the horizontal parts of the scenery, and have concentrated on Minster Lower Street. This rural byway passes the military camp and the creamery which provide much of the contemporary road and rail traffic. The model roadway is crossed by two level crossings (unavoidable modeller's licence), and the land between is occupied in turn by a small pub, a garage, a Post Office/General Store, a requisitioned vehicle shed (for a wartime AFS appliance), and various residential properties. Almost all of the small town of Minster is "off-baseboard".

 

The roads are "work-in-progress", and are being built by suitable widths of ply, screwed to the base. A cosmetic surface will be added, after more experimentation. The buildings/groups will each sit on their own sub-base, and will be brought up to height in due course. I plan to fill the spaces in between with a proprietary plaster/cloth.

 

Most of the r-t-p buildings will need some customising. (the Post Office/Store is ex "Masons Arms", and the AFS Appliance will be housed in a Skaledale garage)

 

 

 

An approach road passes the military camp at a tee-junction, crosses the first level crossing and forms Minster Lower Street

 

 

The various commercial and residential properties adjoin each other, another tee junction leads to the town centre, and Lower Street then passes over the second crossing to give access (out of view) to the rear of the Creamery

 

 

 

 

 

[backofanenvelope]

Peter,

 

This is a going to be a lovely layout and I particularly like the back scene. I also have an appreciation of the deco posters which you have captured beautifully. I look forward to further developments.

Tom

[Peter Bedding]

Having lamented my slow progress, I have added a further delay by spending the weekend playing trains. I tell myself that this is the only way to get reliable running from all the stock.

 

 

An elevated view of the rear "stage right" corner.

 

 

I have had to curtail the allocation of Nissen huts for want of real estate. Hopefully a few suitable vehicles will convey the intention, time and place. Who could have foreseen - a few years ago - the availability of the Oxford Diecast range at affordable prices. The skeletal nature of scenic detail (roads, building sub-bases) shows where much more work needs to be done.

 

 

An elevated view of the opposite rear corner.

 

 

With the rail height eye level, the fierce track radii (down to 24") is nicely obscured. Here N class Number 1835 is crossing Lower Street (gates for the future) a Corridor 3-set Number 422 on an Up semi-fast.

 

 

Wide-bodied T9 Number 314 waits to depart with another Up local service, this time a Non-corridor Lav 3-set Number 122.

 

 

There were several types of these 3-sets, dating back to the end of the 19th century. All had started life as cross-country 4-sets, and had lost a coach in the 1930s. In this particular case, 2x50ft composites had been lost, the bodies being used in a complicated exchange programme, resulting in a single new 58ft steel underframe being used for rebuilt wooden bodies. Set 122 and a number of others were characterised by the use of 56ft Brake Thirds at each end with sliding doors to the Guards/Luggage compartment. This LSWR feature survived until the mid 1950s.

 

 

 

The 58ft rebuilt Composite centre coach

 

 

The use of older narrow bodies on a newer wider standard underframe required the use of a triangular weather strip at the bottom of the coach body, to deflect rain from the gap between coach body and underframe. Eagle eyes will see that Brer Adrian at Northstar Design has included this detail.

 

 

The wide single sliding door to each side of the Guards/Luggage compartment

 

 

This conveys, I hope, another of the ex-LSWR features which I am trying to replicate on this layout, and even in the 1950s reached from Waterloo to the Atlantic coast.

 

The T9 is an out-of-the-box Hornby, fitted with a TCSDP2X-UK decoder, The N-class is a repainted early-batch Bachmann, fitted with a TCSM1, hard wired into the firebox space, and tucked hard against the motor can. Both work exceedingly well, the only shortcoming is that the Bachmann loco is noisy in reverse. This seems to have been cleared with later batches.

 

PB

[StJamesStation]

Hi Peter, love the layout so far. Out of interest where did you find the Nissen huts? Are they rtp or did you make them.

I have an airfield on my layout and could place one on there perhaps.

I look forward to the progress reports.

Cheers Steve.

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/64812-st-james-stationnow-with-a-second-level/page-5

[Rivercider]

.....................  I am always conscious that something that satisfies me might be naff to others, or worse, includes overlooked errors. The general standards of modelling these days gets ever higher, and the one sure way for me to create a presentable layout is by use of r-t-r and r-t-p as essential building blocks. For some purists that makes me a collector, and not a modeller. So be it!  

 

I think it is coming along nicely. The LSWR style track layout and how you have set out the various buildings makes it believable.

Your back story for the line, which has been mentioned before, gives it a sense of time and place,

 

cheers

[Peter Bedding]

The time has arrived when I have to attempt the signalling. A Forum member has answered my plea for assistance, and requested a track diagram.

 

My first choice for the signals would be working r-t-p models, but if not suitable then non-operating ones from the MSE range. They always look good.

 

I have been back under the baseboards to remind myself of the track and point wiring. It all works well, so I shall not disturb it. If I have operating signals, they will get a dedicated supply.

 

These photos will indicate what is there at present.

 

12v AC is fed into a Gaugemaster Discharge unit underneath:

 

 

From there a supply is fed into the two banks of Peco switch units:

 

 

Then into the various Peco point motors. All old technology, but it does not let me down.

 

 

Finally, the track plan which will form the basis of the signalling diagram.

 

 

 

 

 

The numbers have no operating significance, from left to right they label the points and switches.

[Spannerman]

What a highly enjoyable looking layout. I will be following closely as it ticks all the boxes for me - Southern, using rtr and rtp products blended into a well planned and realistic setting.

 

Atb

 

Nik

[Peter Bedding]

The scenery is being tackled in conjunction with a credible signalling plan. Not that I know anything about signalling, but the offer of good advice cannot be missed.

 

My Type 4 Box (of circa 1890) would be inappropriate for a station first built in the 1860s. A Type 1 or earlier would have been contemporary, and the Bachmann Shillingstone Box is close and needs only minimal modification.

 

 

So the Type 4 was relocated to the Junction and the ex-Shillingstone box took its place.

 

 

The two level crossings at each end of Lower Street might well, in reality, have caused some complications. Modeller's licence may well be essential.

 

 

 

The Skaledale Garage building is being elevated, the joints will be disguised with plasticard. The AFS appliance can now sit safely under cover.

 

And not least, the Bachmann station building with a more suitable canopy now looks the part. Two K6s might be a bit over-generous, but they are such neat little models, and in the absence of an equivalent quality K3, I could not resist.

 

 

The site is now operational for goods trains.............

 

 

 

[tender]

Hi Peter.

That's very good use of RTP buildings, is the station canopy scratch built or a kit of some sort?

I'm looking for a suitable canopy for my station but my first attempt at modifying a ratio kit wasn't too successful.

 

Ray.

[Peter Bedding]

Hi Peter.

That's very good use of RTP buildings, is the station canopy scratch built or a kit of some sort?

I'm looking for a suitable canopy for my station but my first attempt at modifying a ratio kit wasn't too successful.

 

Ray.

 

The canopy consists of three x 90mm sections from a kit, I believe from memory, the Wills kit SS54. I chose to scratch-build the supports:

 

 

 

I used two concentric sections of brass tube, one for the cast iron base, and one for the main upright. I took a length of brass strip, and drilled five holes at appropriate spacing and soldered five pieces of the larger tube at right angles, glued the brass strip to the platform such that it was just below the platform surface, and then glued a short length of modellers ply over the top. Cut to length and pre-drilled clearance holes such that my cast iron bases for the canopy supports were secured and in place. It was then a simple task to slide in the five smaller lengths of tube into the bases, and adjust the length such that the canopy sits at a realistic height. A further length of brass channel was cut and drilled to slide over the uprights, hold them in place, and drop the canopy over. At present the canopy just sits on top of the supports; it will get fixed later.

 

I should have liked to make a more finescale representation of the LSWR canopy, but that would have needed some spandrels which would not have been seen anyway. The photo above is worth a thousand words.

 

I hope to add minor detail to the r-t-p buildings in due course, and repaint some of them, but one of my aims with MoF was to show - if only to myself - just what could be done with today's commercial models straight from the box. I am inspired by Pendon, and the many other finescale layouts that appear on this Forum and elsewhere, but I know my limitations. I model for fun and light entertainment, and within those limits to try and capture a slice of history. I appreciate that my style is not universal.

 

PB