RMweb Gold Popular Post Brinkly Posted August 6, 2014 RMweb Gold Popular Post Share Posted August 6, 2014 (edited) Greetings and welcome to my new layout thread! As many of you will remember this project started in the dim and distance past of the last version of RMWeb; March 2009 to be precise! After a number of false starts, I finally have some proper progress to report. Background Information Horrabridge is a small village on the outskirts of Tavistock in West Devon. The station was one of many on the 31 mile route from Plymouth to Launceston. The railway reached Horrabridge in June 1859 and closed 103 years later on 31st December 1962. At the time of closure the village had a population of around 1500. The station was a busy place with reasonable levels of freight received and dispatched from the station right up till closure, with two daily goods workings and 14 passenger workings. Horrabridge was passing station, with two platforms, although neither were particularly long; the up and down platforms being 230 and 345 foot respectively. Before entering the station, the line crossed the A386 over a particularly unusual bow-string bridge on a high embankment. Horrabridge was a crossing station with an up loop of 397 feet and down loop of 442 feet. There were also a set of level crossing gates towards the Plymouth end of the station, although these were closed in 1952. However on my version the gates will still be present. When shunting precautions had to be taken as the station was on a 1 in 6-0 gradient; wagons had to be place in the refuge sidings prior to shunting work being undertaken. The track layout at Horrabridge included up and down refuge sidings, with a capacity of 35 and 44 wagons respectively. The up siding formed a headshunt for the goods shed siding with a similar situation for the down siding – this siding usually held wagons destined for the Princetown branch, as Yelvertonton, the junction for the branch, lacked goods facilities. With regard to buildings on the station site, a small wooden building formed the Station Master’s office, booking office and waiting room was located on the up platform, with a small dressed stone shelter on the down platform. A small signal box, built by Saxby and Farmer was located next to the main station building. The site also had two water cranes and a water tower (located near the down siding), a legacy of when the station performed the role of a junction prior to the construction of Yelverton Station. A small goods shed and granary were located along the up siding and refuge line – both of these were constructed from local stone. Model I really enjoy designing track plans, although could not get Horrabridge to work! So in 2012 I commissioned Iain Rice to design a layout plan, below is his work and I have to say it was well worth the wait. Iain really has worked his magic. The layout is designed to fit in a 20ft by 12ft space, although the footprint is 19ft by 11ft to allow a bit of wiggle room! My model will try to recreate Horrabridge as it was during the mid-1950s (1955-6), enabling some locomotives to operate in BR lined green and coaching stock in maroon, although the vast majority will be seen in BR black with passenger stock in the very smart plain crimson and crimson and cream livery. (I plan to write a separate post for the stock requirements.) The model will be built to P4 standards, with the locomotives being operated with the well-known Gaugemaster system. Points and signals will be operated via slow action motors with a lever frame. Couplings will be a mixture of Alex Jacksons and 3-links. Track work will be constructed from Exactoscale products, although I will be using hi-nickel silver rail, rather than steel. The track bed will be C&L rubberised cork. The baseboards have been built by Maurice Hopper and have provided a very firm foundation to the layout! Maurice very kindly offered after last year’s Scalefour AGM and I was very quick to accept his offer! At this stage I would like to say a big thank you to Maurice, the boards really are a work of engineering beauty! Anyway, on to the first bit of work. Below are the first two boards, this forms about 2/5 of the overall length of the layout. The first board shows the embankment with the small access road leading up from the main road. The MK1 BG is sitting just before the level crossing. Rubberised cork is currently being laid, with the help of my stock of Italian pasta sauces! Right more later. Regards, Nick. Edited April 25, 2020 by Brinkly New title. 32 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ady77014 Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 (edited) Looking good so far Edited August 13, 2014 by ady77014 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold gwrrob Posted August 6, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2014 This is going to be superb . Following with interest Nick. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stivesnick Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Nick This is a great idea for a layout, with a very interesting setting. Look forward to seeing progress. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted August 6, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 6, 2014 (edited) Sensible comment for once from me.........I knew it quite well, but sadly after it was closed! Lovely woodwork BTW. Such graceful curves and superb joinery. Phil Edited August 6, 2014 by Mallard60022 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted August 6, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2014 I had occasion to drive past the site of the erstwhile bow string girder bridge today, and even made a comment to the effect that you were building a model of the former station that used to be just up there above the road. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ramblin Rich Posted August 6, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2014 Oh, this looks to be a very good start Nick! I wondered some time back whether this was going to happen after some previous preliminary posts. I always like seeing 'Rice plans', he has a way of setting the scene & suggesting how the finished article will (should!) look, far better than some computer based design packages. The bare boards look impressive on their own, far removed from the flat rectangle which is the extent of my abilities.... Definitely one to watch; even though it's not my chosen era or company, some layouts just have that certain something which makes them essential viewing! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Taz Posted August 6, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2014 Good to see you've started a thread at last. So what happened to 00-SF? You change your mind more often than a woman. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
westerner Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Brilliant to see you have started Nick, I will follow with great interest. I've always liked Iain Rice's plans and this looks excellent. Thoroughly enjoyed the photos of the real Horrabridge. Good luck with the layout. It looks simple yet with the number of trains you've mentioned it looks as though it will be interesting to operate. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Brinkly Posted August 6, 2014 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2014 Good to see you've started a thread at last. So what happened to 00-SF? You change your mind more often than a woman. P4 is decidedly cheaper than women! Well as Dave Harding said, '... once they (Scalefour Society) have you, there's no letting go!' I have discovered a box of P4 track, which would be silly not to use. And that stock kind of persuaded me last week. I had occasion to drive past the site of the erstwhile bow string girder bridge today, and even made a comment to the effect that you were building a model of the former station that used to be just up there above the road. Small world CK! I wish I'd had chance to travel on the branch, although not being born till 1986! 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Brinkly Posted August 6, 2014 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2014 Sensible comment for once from me.........I knew it quite well, but sadly after it was closed! Lovely woodwork BTW. Such graceful curves and superb joinery. Phil Thanks Phil, Maurice Hopper designed and built the boards, he really has done a cracking job! Thanks for all your encouragement gents. Tomorrow will see the next board having the cork treatment, followed by some track laying on the embankment approach board, with any luck! Regards, Nick. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Fatadder Posted August 6, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 6, 2014 Good man Knew you would see sense! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianusa Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 Great idea for a layout. Always glad to see the Tavvy branch on any shape or form, or scale! Used to travel on it many years ago and anything concerned with the line and its surroundings is of interest to me. Relatives used to have a house at Shaugh Bridge and my father knew the station staff at Bickleigh well. That would be another fine model as well as Yelverton with the Princetown branch and of course Tavistock which would be a fair size. Shall look forward to the progress. Brian. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Mikkel Posted August 7, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 7, 2014 Hello Nick, I'm very impressed by your collection of pasta sauce. You'll need some Rivarossi locos to go with that! Very nice to see progress on Horrabridge. Maurice's baseboards really look good. Are these additional to the ones you built in the attic earlier or a new beginning? The photos are very evocative, that bridge is quite special, looks like an intricate bit of modelling! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Siberian Snooper Posted August 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 7, 2014 After a long gestation period it is good to finally see a good start has been made on a very interesting project. I look forward to the continuing updates to this thread. Cheers SS Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRat Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 It's about bl**dy time to! been wondering where you have been! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NHY 581 Posted August 7, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 7, 2014 This really is very nice. Will be watching this with interest. Rob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted August 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 7, 2014 (edited) It's about bl**dy time to! been wondering where you have been! He's been where I've been but maybe not for as long!!!!!!! However, as this is P4 I'm going to remain sensible and only comment on railway related matters. Shaugh Tunnel.......is the old line now Drake's Trail by any chance? If so it would be worth a trip down to my old home area to have a ride/walk on that. P Edited August 7, 2014 by Mallard60022 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted August 7, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted August 7, 2014 Great project, looking forward to its development. Cheers, Dave. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Prism Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 The track reverse wiggle through the platforms doesn't feel right to me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Brinkly Posted August 7, 2014 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 7, 2014 (edited) Thank you again for your comments above gents, I won't reply to all of them, simply as it would be a similar comment for each. The track reverse wiggle through the platforms doesn't feel right to me. Thank you for your comment Miss P. The platforms themselves are on a similar curve to the prototype, what we, or really Iain did, was to curve the bridge section the wrong way and curve the refuge sidings more than they should be. Unfortunately there was no way that a 'scale' version would fit in the space intended for the layout - it would have been close to 34 feet! During the design stage Iain and I did contemplate curving the station the wrong way - thus having the whole layout on a continual curve. The reason this formation was chosen over the first option, was for viewing purposes, as the station clings to the side of a very steep hill. So if we opted for the reverse curve approach the layout would be view from the higher side of the hill, if that makes sense, looking down into the valley below, which nor Iain, myself or other DRAG members thought would be very good! In an ideal world I would have loved to have made the layout to its scale size, but really it wasn't an option! 34 odd feet, plus two 6ft fiddle yards for a small ex GWR passing station is too big, even for P4 tolerances! Kind regards, Nick. Edit - Typo! Edited August 7, 2014 by Brinkly 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Nice one Nick, nice prototype, nice plan, nice boards just nice nice nice, looking forward to board 2. Andy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Brinkly Posted August 7, 2014 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 7, 2014 Greetings. Two days of progress in a row, good lord! This morning saw a flying visit to Exeter to collect the Templot paper plan from Maurice Hopper, followed by a visit to the opticians. The latter has revealed that I am quite short sighted, far worst that I thought, so Mr Brinkly from tomorrow will be equipped with a pair of glasses - intelligence levels will remain the same! Anyway onto more practical matters. Further progress has been made today; rubberised cork now spans both boards and has had 9 hours of the traditional 'pasta sauce' treatment. I've taken a couple of pictures, one shows the track formation looking towards Tavistock, the second looking back towards Plymouth. I particularly like the view looking towards Tavistock and cannot wait to set up the next two boards which should arrive at Brinkly Works next week. Towards Tavy Towards Plymouth. The final photo shows the basic track building components. C&L Hi-Nickel rail (which I must confess does look like steel), Exactoscale sleeper bases and Exactoscale 2-bolt GWR chairs. (I've removed one set of webs.) I spent a couple of hours this afternoon threading chairs onto the rail, whilst listening to Iain Fleming's Moonraker, which I feel is the best Bond book he wrote. I had planned to start work on a point this evening, but have discovered that the blades are made from steel and not nickel silver, which is a tad annoying, but not the end of the world. An order has been placed with C&L so that job will have to wait till Monday. However, plenty of other jobs to be getting on with. Once again thanks for reading/looking/commenting. This is one of the main reasons why I am a member of RMWeb. Regards, Nick. P.S. I meant to write in my first post many thanks to Taz and Captain Kernow, who have been a sounding board over the years whilst on the way to DRAG. I'm sure the pair of them must be feed up with my dreaming... 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Fatadder Posted August 7, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted August 7, 2014 Looking a good start, the curves and changes in height look rather good. (and I agree, Moonraker was definitely Flemming's finest, such a shame the film was so completely awful) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Brinkly Posted August 7, 2014 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted August 7, 2014 Looking a good start, the curves and changes in height look rather good. (and I agree, Moonraker was definitely Flemming's finest, such a shame the film was so completely awful) Thanks Rich, I'm really looking forward to the bridge board, although that is probably a long way off. Yes, Flemming must have been turning in his grave over that film! Regards, Nick. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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