Two Sister's Farm

[Broadoak]

The second Bachmann Brill trolley mechanism is still available but a bit more expensive now.
It has a slightly smaller can motor with a gearbox and is quite heavy. The chassis to give an idea of its size is 110mm long but has been modified to suit the model, in this case the GMC truck. Exactly the same chassis is used in the Chevrolet the wheel base of the two bogies is 65mm. As with the older chassis it is a piece of flat plastic, so it is easily modified. Again as with the other chassis one bogie could be used for a small 0-4-0 diesel or similar. The wheelbase is the same as the other at about 22mm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter M

Edited April 19, 2018 by Broadoak

[Broadoak]

A Massey Ferguson 35 a 3 cylinder diesel tractor outside the workshop. Another new tractor on trial on the estate in 1958. It is intended for yard work and light carting, certainly not for cultivating the heavy Lincolnshire clay soil. The model is a Universal Hobbies example and is mainly die cast metal with plastic accessories.
The tractors are not glued in place but are moved around as the fancy takes me. This was bought as the colour is a contrast to the mainly blue painted Fordson fleet.

 

 

 
Here showing the tractor being checked over by a mechanic wearing brown overalls before starting the day’s work.

Peter M

Edited April 19, 2018 by Broadoak

[Broadoak]

I had never been very happy with the appearance of either the Porter 0-4-2 locomotive or the wooden side tippers. They are all Bachmann ON30 scale models, the locomotive has been modified slightly to make it look more 1/32 scale but the wagons have not.
I wanted them to have a rather neglected look about them but not too rusty or decrepit as they are all still used.
With the side tippers I basically painted the wooden sections a variegated pale greys and then applied thin washes of black to represent unpainted wood. The iron work being picked out in various rust shades.
With the locomotive it was washes of rust colours over the metalwork and the same treatment as the wagons with the woodwork.
I am now more pleased with their appearance, I think they look a little more interesting than they originally did.
The photographs were taken on my HO scale switching layout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter M

Edited April 19, 2018 by Broadoak

[maunsel]

 

 

 

 

 

Peter M

 

 

What a superb photo, and not a train in sight. It's certainly captured the scene. 

 

Eric

[Broadoak]

Thanks Eric, I think there is enough to look at without a train in site. The photo is of course an Andy Knott special.

 

Although I always try to have something moving all the time, youngsters especially, have a very short attention span.

 

Peter M

Edited December 14, 2014 by Broadoak

[Broadoak]

 

 

 

 

 

 
The Davenport leaves the flat wagon outside the workshop and runs off to collect an open wagon for delivery to the fields.
 

 
We see the loco about to depart with the man standing on the footplate. It was obviously taken in the era before health and safety became an issue. You may remember it, we just used common sense in those days.

 

Peter M

Edited April 19, 2018 by Broadoak

[Broadoak]

Eric, a few more pictures without locomotives for you to enjoy.

Andy Knott my fellow operator brought his small Canon compact camera with him when we did a show at Haynes.
We were the only large scale narrow gauge layout, but there was an oval of track that the 16mm guys were running an assortment of radio controlled live steam on.
 

Z

 
The picture shows the wood chopper taking a rest with his Labrador puppy in his shirt.
 

 
This one features a Fordson EIA Power Major warming up before starting the days work.

 

Peter M

Edited April 25, 2018 by Broadoak

[Broadoak]

 

 

A mechanic in faded brown overalls peers at the rear tyre of a Fordson E27N while a chicken hunts round for scraps behind the horse drawn implement.
Note the lack of a three point linkage on the tractor, it was trailed ploughs then I guess.
 
 

 

 
A couple of shots showing a little of the detail in the workshop and the Fordson having his rear tyres inflated.

 

 

Peter M

Edited April 19, 2018 by Broadoak

[rue_d_etropal]

Peter,

It's great to see you publishing pictures here. As you know I have had the chance to see the layout a few years ago at Crewe, and have followed the progress on other forums. Initially I wasn't certain about the large lorry based locos, but then I saw similar real vehicles in Romania.

Given your background it would be interesting to see a Scammell conversion, but not only are there very vew kits available in either 1/32 or 1/35 scale, but the bigger lorries might be a bit too big. I would be at the front of the queue if there was a good quality model for one of the Mechanical Horses or Scarabs and have used kits for similar Japanese 3 wheelers for a potential narrow gauge layout. I started on those a few years ago, partly inspired by when I saw you layout first time, I suspect.

Edited December 15, 2014 by rue_d_etropal

[PhilJ W]

On the subject of ex military vehicles converted to rail use there are pictures of jeeps being used in Burma shortly after the war. It was found that if fitted with flanged wheels the jeeps fitted the metre gauge exactly, the photographs I have seen are of a jeep at either end of two or three railway wagons, the trailing jeep being pulled in neutral gear. Also there are pictures of an Austin 'tilley' converted to rail use in New Zealand.

[Broadoak]

Thank you Simon, I am having to redo a lot of my photos as they were on image shack. I have had nothing but problems with them.

 

With regard to a Scammell a 1/32-1/35 version of the original mechanical horse would be nice. The big recovery and oil rig jobs would be much too big

for my tiny layout.

 

I have an OO scale Mechanical horse in GWR livery and very good she looks too.

 

Phil I have a Tilly as you will see before long.

 

Regards Peter M

[Broadoak]

A selection of photographs taken at various exhibitions by the narrow gauge specialist photographer Mick Thornton. Mick is never happy with his pictures but they look fine to me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter M

Edited April 24, 2018 by Broadoak

[maunsel]

I think I may have been a tractor fan all along without actually realising it. In many ways it is the farming and agricultural side of this layout that has the greatest impression. And please take that as a compliment. Let me try to explain.

 

Whenever I see layouts it is always from the aspect of a railway modeller. As such I am willing to overlook some of the surrounding incongruities in order to appreciate the toy trains whizzing about the layout. You know the stuff - a Optaire bus next to a Dennis F8 fire engine, or my bete noir a narrowboat moored up with its tiller tube in situ or even worse - in mid stream without a steerer or a chap on the aft deck instead of sticking out from the cabin.

 

But in real life (that ugly and course thing outside the front door) the railway is the necessary evil, not the raisin d'etre so the life around the railway is always more important. Very few railway modellers hit upon this little secret. In my opinion Two sister's Farm has.

 

I also understand the uneasiness of lorry based rail vehicles. After all we are used to wheel arches reflecting the wheels within them, and by nature we see a lorry not a loco.

 

But there are many examples in the real world to confound us. Luckily!

 

Some of my favourites are:-

 

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1848320               go on - think about the Britains Mk1 SWB Landy!

 

and the Colonel's version:-

 

http://www.hfstephens-museum.org.uk/rolling-stock/an-oddity-of-oddities

 

And it is there that Two Sister's Farm hits two birds with one stone. Firstly there is the farm, for which the railway has been built to serve and secondly there are the assorted locos which each have their own story to tell. I'm guessing some of those lorries could tell a tale or two down at the local over a pint of Derv or two.............

 

In other words, it's convincing. 

 

Eric

[Broadoak]

Thank you Eric, I like to think it is believable if not very likely.

 

I did do some research before I started carving the lorry bodies about.

I found photos of Bedfords being used in New Zealand on a forestry railway,

it was 3 foot gauge actually. There are still trucks and vans used today in Rumania.

 

Any way thank you for your interest and the links, super stuff there.

 

Regards Peter M

[rue_d_etropal]

Peter,

there was a model of the Scarab produced for 1/32, in resin so not cheap and I was not impressed as windows were too deep. A Scarab would be ideal for a farm as the one Ch4 did up a few years ago, think it is at Keighley, did do a spell on a farm. Met one of the people who lived there when I was running model shop.

Its odd there aren;t any kits for the French licensed versionof the MH, made by FAR, as many ended up in German hands and I have seen a 1/48th scale version of the fixed chassis version. FAR production actually continued after Scammel had given up, maybe they should have introduced the twin headlights used on the Ausi versions, instead of trying out plastic. I think they only dared to try plastic after my grandfather had left the works!

I would like to get my hands on some decent drawing of both the British MH/Scarab and the French FAR versions. Might consider a 3D printed mnodel, but fitting windows might be tricky.

Edited December 15, 2014 by rue_d_etropal

[Broadoak]

Simon, as I stated on another forum when I left school in 1960 I worked at Scammell Lorries in Watford. I wanted to be a technical illustrator but had to do some time in the works first.

I was at Moor Park for a while were lorries were converted into tractor units.

At that time the works had a very successful tug of war team that they were very proud of. Finding another group to act as a weight to pull against for training was always a problem.

One lunch time a group of us volunteered to be the other team and we positioned ourselves at the very end of the work shop. What the proper team did not know was we tied our end of the rope to the front bumper of the yard goat in the yard round the corner. An original 1950's mechanical horse. The real team huffed and puffed but never pulled us over, they were not best pleased when they found out why we couldn't be pulled over.

 

Regards Peter M

[Broadoak]

 

 

 

 
A selection of shots featuring the quad going about its business on several different occasions in the yard.

 

Peter M

Edited April 19, 2018 by Broadoak

[Broadoak]

 

 

 
The engine has been left out side the engine shed for repair it was left by the Davenport. She is then seen coupled up to a flat wagon with some bales of hay which will be taken to pig sties in the yard.

 

 

Peter M

Edited April 19, 2018 by Broadoak

[Broadoak]

She made her debut at a specialist narrow gauge show at Barton le Clay Bedfordshire, this is Tilly, the latest addition to the farm’s growing fleet of unusual vehicles. It is an ex Second World War 10 HP light utility car with a pick up body. She is used for track maintenance purposes and not general haulage.
The kit is made by Tamiya and is rather delicate with many parts being a poor fit. I have left the bonnet off to show the details in the engine bay, as it seemed a pity to hide them.
I made a false chassis to attach and locate the body to the power unit which is from an HO Bachmann HI-rail track maintenance van. The body has a solid block of plasticard at the back of the false chassis which was drilled and tapped. One long screw then holds the two together. It has little out rider wheels which also pick up current. I added extra weight in any place I could to help it track better.

The first two photos are of the new track maintenance vehicle arriving back in the yard having spent the day adding sidings from the main line into the fields ready for the potato harvest.

 

 

 

 

Photos by Andy Knott

 

 

Photo by Mick Thornton

 

 

Peter M
 

Edited April 24, 2018 by Broadoak

[DLT]

Great to see this on RMweb Peter,

All the best,

Dave

[Broadoak]

Thank you Dave.

I wasn't too sure about joining in as there seems to be very little in large scale.

Having done so I am very glad I did.

 

 

Peter M

[stewartingram]

Lovely layout, and unusual stock to be modelled. But I do have one comment - not a critisism. The tracktors in the shed, how do they miss damaging the track just outside? I would have thought that if they drove over the rails they would be damaged?

 

Stewart

[Broadoak]

Hi Stewart,

 

With regard to the farm tractors crossing the track they don't. The workshop is a low relief model so is actually much longer in real life, the tractors leave the workshop at the other end.

I hope that makes sense. I suppose in a way the model is a caricature really, I hope it is believable if a bit unlikely.

A local preservation society near me use a JCB tractor and that runs directly over the track, which is standard gauge without any damage. I think it is stronger than it looks.

Thank you for taking an interest.

 

Regards Peter M

Edited April 23, 2018 by Broadoak

[Broadoak]

The Fordson Major 27n powered rail truck is the latest device to have come out of the farm workshop. It looks just the sort of vehicle to find on a farm railway, sadly it was not.
It is very loosely based on a device made by Muir Hill that provided the inspiration for to build something similar for my Two Sister‘s Farm.

I was given a damaged 1/32 scale white metal Fordson and having a photo of the Muir Hill device decided it would be an excellent starting point.
The model is powered by a WB35 Tenshodo bogie. This is held by one screw to a plasticard false chassis which in turn is held by two screws to the plasticard chassis that supports the white metal tractor body. The driver figure is a German tank crewman supposedly playing cards from Master Box.
The finished model is much higher from the rail top than the Muir Hill example due to the space taken up by the Tenshodo bogie. Therefore it is assumed an accident damaged tractor had a chassis built for it in the farm workshop. It is used for light shunting in the yard due to its relatively low power and its three speed gearbox.
It still needs a little more work on the weathering, I find the photos helpful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter M

Edited April 20, 2018 by Broadoak

[Broadoak]

At the same time the tractor based device was being built I was working on another rail truck. This has a Zvezda GAZ-AAA Russian 1/35 scale kit of a Ford based lorry as a basis. The real trucks were built under license in Russia during the second World War. Because the prototype is a small vehicle I used the three axle truck to give a little more length, the two axle version being very short, more like a tipper.
I must admit I am a little disappointed with the way this has turned out. It has one saving grace however, it runs superbly and I’m happy to make allowances for decent running.

The kit was inexpensive and turned out to be rather poor with regard to the fit and quality of many parts. The clear plastic windows being especially troublesome. But with a lot of fiddling and cutting I eventually managed to get it to fit a Con-Cor switcher chassis.
It is a kerosene tanker for refuelling the tractors out in the fields. The tank is actually an HO scale Walthers Oil Terminal item I have modified to suit its new role. I added flat shelves to the body sides to hold the refuelling pipes and a couple of wooden boxes for tools. The hand rails are made from paper clips and the rubber refuelling pipes are resin cored solder.
The exhaust pipe and silencer I have move and now is fitted to the front of the vehicle to minimise the fire risk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter M

Edited April 20, 2018 by Broadoak