Mantles Wood

[BG John]

6' 6" platforms . That's the full length of my biggest layout!!

[Metr0Land]

I wanted a fairly small signal cabin for the London end of the station, something like the size of Rickmansworth or Chorleywood.

As the back-story is along the lines of it being a joint Metropolitan/LNWR line there was no such thing as a prototypical signal cabin. Metropolitan boxes were wooden with ‘4 square’ windows. LNWR boxes were generally brick base with wooden boards on the top half and more complicated windows.

I thought I’d found the answer in that ABM Railcraft started doing SECR boxes which were the same as some District Railway cabins and the right size. Unfortunately the owner became ill and closed the business. Scratchbuilding is beyond me at the moment but I’m up for some butchering.

LCUT Creative make a number of buildings in laser-cut material and I bought the signal cabin LCC B OO-03 which was a good size for the position. Unfortunately the windows are GWR style with 3 small windows

over 2 large ones. Fortunately LCUT sell all sorts of building parts and they had some ‘4 square’ windows

 

Until I got them on the bench I hadn’t realised the new windows were a different size from the ones supplied with the kit so some very careful scalpel work was needed to make them fit. (The material is VERY thin, especially the widow bars).

 

Some while later I had a partially-built kit to check the ‘footprint’ and I was happy with this.

 

After a few more hours squinting and cursing, I had the overall structure

 

I decided to enhance the planking as it’s quite feint to the naked eye (though appears quite good in the previous photo). Redutex make a planking sheet though only in brown AFAIK so some was cut to shape and painted off-white. Woodwork was painted off-white or maroon as appropriate. (Note the roof is only plonked on and not finally positioned in the next 2 pics). The brickwork was then coloured and weathered.

 

For the BR maroon I used Testors Long Island Maroon which I felt was a good match for weathered paint on buildings. A comparison here with a Skaledale shelter shows it to be a good match (though the cream will have to change on the shelter).

 

I’ll leave it for now apart for a couple of minor tweaks which are still to be done. I have half a mind to extend the wooden planking to just below the main windows as that would make it more like LNWR but I’m happy with the compromise for now.

Edited June 30, 2017 by Metr0Land

[Metr0Land]

Just a little update to show some practice work.

On my previous layout I installed the lineside cabling quite early, but this involved quite a bit of stretching with the electric drill to reach awkward corners. Although I don’t have to stretch so far on this layout, I am expecting to have some tricky shapes. Sooo as is my custom I’ve spent some time trying to find an easy way to do this.

As an experiment I drilled a line of holes in some foam-board (also called artist’s board and Dahler board I think). It doesn’t matter that the ‘peg’ in the Radley Models posts sticks a little bit proud as this is a practice, and in any case I’m thinking it would be covered by ground material. A little blob of PVA holds the peg in place.

 

My thinking is that I should be able to create runs of cabling on the workbench, and then offer them up to layout, thus being able to work from both sides if needed

 

Edited June 30, 2017 by Metr0Land

[Metr0Land]

Apols - this isn't a posting, am just trying to retrieve the 'lost pics' situation due to Photobucket, and now trying to refile some pics from Flickr (and some directly to the board)

Edited July 11, 2017 by Metr0Land

[Metr0Land]

Welcome Back! It’s been a while.

 

Unfortunately I had quite a disaster with scenery which dented my mojo a bit, followed by a lot of family illnesses which were a major call on my time – hence no updates for ages.

 

In the meantime, early 2017 was quite a good time for decent locos being available in the new year at reasonable prices and I had some time to tinker with loco weathering and detailing, working a few minutes at a time. A Hornby D16 was renumbered as 62584 which was a Cambridge loco and worked Cambridge-Oxford services 1954-57 so was a good candidate for a cross-country train being diverted due to weekend engineering.

rev 62584 800px front by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

Also Hornby’s delightful J15 was renumbered as 65405, one of the handful that were allocated to Neasden for the Watlington branch

rev J15 c 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

I missed out on the SLW Class 24 D5000 first time around, but this loco did work Marylebone-Nottingham trains (albeit slightly later than my timeframe). A 2nd-hand one came available on that well known auction site that often drains me of my funds and although not cheap at £140 buy-it-now was too good to pass. This is the one that changed everything.

rev D5000 excursion 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

It turned out that the vendor was a lady selling off her late father’s estate of railwayana and models, and this had been in a wardrobe along with other models waiting for that last great project that was sadly never going to happen. Whatever my problems, at least I was alive and kicking, and had had a decent amount of track down since mid 2015, so if I don’t get on with it, when would I?

 

In the interim, I’d been mulling over whether to have a backscene, and whether to have an additional spur for a standby electric loco at the London end of the station. This would mean relaying the bay platform road and a complete rebuild of the station. In the event, I went for both. Not sure why, but the backscene seems to come out more lurid in pics than to the naked eye. Possibly this is due to the fact the garage his 8 fluorescent lights, and the fact the camera resolves this differently than the human eye.

 

New spur for electric loco

rev Ground Signals 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

New spur seen from above

rev IMAG0194 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

The photos are a mix of my camera and camera-phone. I’ve discovered I can squeeze my phone in places the camera won’t go, but depth of field is tricky. However this shot hopefully illustrates the long view from the steam loco spur siding.

rev IMAG0190 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

During the long layoff, I also discovered 3D printing. This is a real boon though does come at a price. It meant I could lay quite long lengths of lineside cabling quickly and without it looking too untidy. Also the advent of a cable gantry (albeit at a price) got me out of a real jam where I had to bypass the loco stabling point at the country end in order to continue cabling round to the turnback siding.

rev Gantry 28mm lens 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

rev Gantry 50mm lens 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

A couple of pics of Q stock in areas which aren’t yet complete

rev IMAG0198 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

rev IMAG0200 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

With the loco servicing area almost complete the railwaymen have found some time to tend to their allotment which is coming on well but needs further attention to blend it in completely

rev IMAG0188 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

I really don’t know when I’ll be able to do further updates but hopefully this catch up is of interest.

[Oldddudders]

Interest? Certainly! It is capturing the atmosphere of the Met and that's that. Plenty to like. 

[GoingUnderground]

Excellent modelling. What more can I say.

[sem34090]

Just found this thread - Sublime modelling!

[LULFAN]

Just found this thread - Sublime modelling!

 

Love the cable bridge (if only someone would produce a kit) can I ask how did you make it ??

[Metr0Land]

Love the cable bridge (if only someone would produce a kit) can I ask how did you make it ??

 

Thanks.  It is a kit on Shapeways 3D printing site. It would have been way outside my skill level to scratchbuild one.

 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/9BUFDQRAN/lu-cable-gantry?optionId=59433665&li=marketplace

 

In fact I believe I was the first customer to actually buy one!  BTW the seller is very approachable if you have queries.

[Lord of Narnia]

I second that, Nigel is a true gentleman! He’s actually done bits for me in the past and Radley Models. In fact I’m preparing his latest work; 1967/72 tube stock for production!

[sem34090]

He does proper LT signals too!

[Metr0Land]

He does proper LT signals too!

 

As seen in #30 above!   You need to buy some 3/32" brass tube to complete them.  I got mine from Eileens Emporium (other sellers available)

[sem34090]

I've been eyeing them up for such a time as I bother to build a proper LT layout: my current stock numbering L97 from Bachmann and a Radley Acton Shuttle. I've always fancied modelling Gunnersbury between roughly 1900 and 1960: LNWR Electrics, D.Rly stock, Later 1930's LT stock, Steam, Class 501's - in short most things I like! If I invent a curve onto the Kew Bridge line I can get away with Southern Electrics possibly appearing too.

 

Another idea I revisit regularly is a fictional London-Based layout set immediately post-WW1 with LBSCR Overhead, LSWR 3rd Rail and LNWR 4th Rail electrics all making an appearance, in pre-grouping liveries, along with early Met and District Electric stock, plus token steam locos.

[Metr0Land]

Unfortunately early March 2018 saw the ‘Beast From The East’ roll in, and for the first time it was too cold to work in the garage for some days. Normally in winter the temperature drops to 4 deg C overnight (or more properly 39F for the period of this model). Occasionally it drops to 2C but in any case with good insulation, a couple of electric fires and a zipper jacket, it becomes bearable fairly quickly. Not so this winter! For the first time ever it was zero (or 32F) and with the cold winds, and just trying to walk a few steps from the house to the garage kept me out.

 

This was followed by some periods of family illnesses which rather put paid to further scenic work for a while as I couldn’t find enough long periods to be able to do the work I wanted. All was not lost as my mojo remained fairly intact. It did mean however, I was restricted to short spells of painting and weathering stock – grabbing a few minutes here and there. As a result this update is just ‘new’ items of stock.

 

Ex-LNWR G2a 49061 from Bletchley shed has been seen quite often recently wheezing her way around with coal trains.

 

rev 49061 front 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

rev 49061 curve 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

Our local carriage enthusiast has got quite excited with sightings of some cascaded Eastern Region stock including this Thompson Composite on an Oxford-Cambridge working.

rev Thompson Composite 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

This Gresley 8 compartment 3rd looks like it’s spent far too much time commuting to the smoke.

rev Gresley 8 compartment 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

I’d like to add some figures to the Hornby coaches but those footboards are just so delicate I can’t seem to get the bodies off without wrecking them so I guess they’ll have to spend their lives working ecs.

[metmangraham]

Hi after a long, long break. Your layout is looking superb. I wish that my move from west Wales to south Oxfordshire had produced such impressive results. Not that my original had got very far before our move. I remember you visited just before we moved in early 2015.

 

I, too, am now confined to the garage, shared with my MGC, so space is at a premium. Having started a rebuild just over two years ago, and being dissatisfied with the much restricted layout compared to what I had in Aberaeron, I have now managed to free up more space in the garage, courtesy of a large garden shed to house the paraphernalia of my other main passion, growing Australasian plants (and an MG? No wonder my time any one hobby is limited!). Anyway, I have just started planning a revamp to commence after the main gardening season ends in the autumn. This should result in a track run almost as long as my original layout, except that I shall lose the long straight 16 feet run before disappearing into the fiddle yard area that I used to have.

 

When I have decent results, I'll post under 'Uxbridge Central' once more.... Keep up the good work.

 

All the best,

 

Graham

[Metr0Land]

It’s been an odd couple of months. Rampaging growth in the garden, a prolonged hot spell, and carer duties have conspired to stop me spending any long periods in the garage. However, I seem to have engineered quite a lot of 30-40 min sessions to work on stock and got quite a lot done. Additional scenery will have to wait until the autumn but here’s some new stuff.

I’d had a Heljan Sherlock Holmes for some time. It’s a great loco but of course the finish is ex-works. At over £100 I wasn’t keen to make a mess of it.
rev Sherlock Holmes 800 px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

Recently Hattons have had George Romily for about £75 – whilst not exactly small change, given the price of new locos these days it’s by no means a bad price, so I took the plunge and had a go at converting her to Sir Ralph Verney in weathered condition. (Modelmaster have stopped doing Met BoBo nameplates so I snapped up 4 of them, though doubt I’ll have that big a fleet but it was another reason to ‘have a go’)
rev Sir Ralph Verney box 800 px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

A shot of No.3 in the stabling area awaiting her next turn.
rev Sir Ralph Verney shed c 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

Many of you will be familiar with the series of pics on the ltmuseum web site of the final coal delivery to Chiltern Court (the building above Baker Street station). I can’t recreate it exactly so in my world, deliveries continued a while but of coke/coalite in hired-in BR wagons.
rev Sir Ralph Verney goods 800 px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

Hornby’s Britannia is a great loco but they’ve been trying hard lately to turn it into more of a toylike appearance.
rev Thomas Hardy RHS 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

With a bit of work she can be made a lot more realistic. I wanted one with the revised WR smoke deflectors and what better choice than 70026 Polar Star which caused the change? I’ve found pics of 3 locos that have the revised deflectors and the earlier crest but decided to go with Polar Star – seen here on a Saturday poshex using the stock from the South Wales Pullman which would otherwise have been idle.
rev Polar Star 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

And finally…… I’ve found a way into the Hornby Gresley compartment stock without doing much damage, so managed to put a smattering of passengers in them so they’re not so bare, and don’t have to run ecs any more.
rev Gresley plus L1 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

[Horsetan]

….missed out on the SLW Class 24 D5000 first time around, but this loco did work Marylebone-Nottingham trains (albeit slightly later than my timeframe). A 2nd-hand one came available on that well known auction site that often drains me of my funds and although not cheap at £140 buy-it-now was too good to pass.....

 

Slightly late to the party, I picked up a secondhand 5016 a few weeks ago. It was very broken, though, so the £76 I paid for it reflects the repairs I have to make, plus it will need rewheeling to P4.

[metmangraham]

I have actually just purchased another of the Met Bo-Bo bargains from Hatton's. I must be a glutton for punishment and incorrect running (my station is 1960ish 'Uxbridge Central' after all), but I love these locos. I now have three; one laboriously built kit from Radley Models, plus two Heljan versions. The two makes sit remarkably well together.

 

All this, just before a planned autumn total revamp of the layout after generating more space in my garage by building a garden shed in the spring. My MG will just about squeeze in next to the expanded layout, which will once more use all the baseboards I had on the Uxbridge Central's original incarnation, though not with the same configuration, back in Aberaeron ... close by where Mantle's Wood now is.

 

Once again, I only wish I had made as much progress as Metr0Land in the past three years...

[Metr0Land]

My wife died shortly after the last update. Needless to say very little progress has taken place since then. However, she was always very encouraging and I intend to carry on this autumn. This update is therefore a bit unusual as it’s mostly about what I intend to do rather than what I have actually done.

 

I needed to construct a subway between the platforms. Stations such as Chorleywood and Chalfont and Latimer have these so it’s prototypical for the area. I’ve experimented with Archers rivets. From tutorials on Youtube etc they seemed to be a bit tricky and so it turned out. Carrier film is quite visible close up, though to be fair they do say these are meant to be applied before paint is added but I’d already painted these sheets battleship grey.

 

rev subway rivets a 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

With weathering and viewed from a more normal distance the carrier film mostly disappears. I probably need to attend to the weathering once ground cover is added and/or have another go as this was my first attempt.

 

rev subway rivets weathered 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

Just before we moved here OO Works produced a run of about 200 LNER C13’s which were available in plain black, LNER black or BR black. At around £200 each I couldn’t be certain I’d have a layout here, or what area it would be, though my last layout was the same general area. It’s one of those decisions that even with hindsight you’re never sure if you did the right thing or not. Anyway, by the time I had something of a layout here and knew I could accommodate a C13 they were long sold out.

 

In 4 years down here this is only the 3rd I’ve seen come up on ebay and they’ve all been LNER ones. This time I bit the bullet and got this LNER one which shouldn’t be a difficult job to change to BR.

 

rev LNER C13 front 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

I doubt I’ll ever have an Ashbury set but as I’m not specifically doing the Chesham branch, decided to pair her with an LNER push-pull set. The composite has now been replaced by an all 3rd (which is actually a downgraded all 1st).

 

rev wide view C13 propel 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

rev ground view C13 leading 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

I’m quite happy with this set as it seems to fulfil a need for some rural connecting service towards the end of the Metropolitan Line.

 

At the moment the plan is to concentrate on filling the foreground at the ‘London’ end of the layout to produce some better ‘train in the landscape’ photo opps.

 

rev wide view scenic space 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

[GoingUnderground]

I'm sure that everyone will join me in expressing our very sincere condolences at hearing of your wife's passing. We may have jokes at our partner's expense, calling them SWMBO or 'er indoors, and some, like my wife, may think of our hobby as grown men playing with toys, but they are part of our lives.

 

I hope that you will feel able to go forward with your plans for Mantles Wood in time as it is an example to all of us of LT/LU modelling at its best.

 

With best wishes,

[Oldddudders]

I'm sure that everyone will join me in expressing our very sincere condolences at hearing of your wife's passing. We may have jokes at our partner's expense, calling them SWMBO or 'er indoors, and some, like my wife, may think of our hobby as grown men playing with toys, but they are part of our lives.

I hope that you will feel able to go forward with your plans for Mantles Wood in time as it is an example to all of us of LT/LU modelling at its best.

With best wishes,

What a lovely post.

[Metr0Land]

Happy New Year 1959 style!

 

rev Q stock allotment by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

I was hoping to have the next module finished by now, and I can say hand on heart that it nearly is. I have several pics to process but having seen the first ones have noticed a few bits that need attention. Late 50’s and early 60’s still saw plenty of allotments close to the railways, and one of our local crew is grabbing a few minutes to tend to some fruit and veg.

 

In the past I’ve built some modules to place behind the running tracks so I’m not continually leaning over and dislodging things. I thought I’d have a go at building a module for the front embankment as it meant I could make much more mess on the workbench. Here’s a snapshot of earlier progress, before it was installed.

 

rev Front Module b 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

Hopefully not too long before I can show how that white area has been filled.

[Metr0Land]

1st January 1959 is a normal working day in England, though the lunchtime news on the wireless has reported large amounts of absenteeism across manufacturing industry. My dad no longer cycles to work but has a 2nd hand Ford Popular, a sign that car ownership is on the rise and public transport is in decline. (Dr) Richard Beeching is a technical director with ICI, of whom most people have no knowledge.

 

The tending of allotments close to railway lines is still widespread but there are signs of decline and change in the air. Only a couple of years ago Harold MacMillan berated us ingrates over the fact we’ve never had it so good. What more could we want? The entrance to the sub-station had lovely wrought iron railings pre-war, but they were cut down as part of the war effort, only to be replaced by awful concrete and wire mesh affairs which have already lasted a decade and half. Surely we could afford to replace it with proper fencing now?

 

There’s been a decline in moral standards since ITV started broadcasting. Some people are saying the adverts are the best thing on the telly. 'You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent'. Coronation Street is still 18 months away so Emergency Ward 10 is the biggest soap on the telly. At least there’s National Service to sort out the young tearaways. Many people think the 60's will usher in an era of change. And yet, scenes like these feel like they will continue for ever......

 

 

rev D5537 aerial view lower angle 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

rev fencing 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

rev L99 through trees 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

rev Q27 ground level 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

rev track level mobile phone shot 800px by Sarah S1ddons, on Flickr

 

(I need to add a brick retaining wall at the far end of the embankment and have yet to build road/embankment leading to the LH side of overbridge)

[Metr0Land]

Ooops! Before anyone notices, D5537 seems to have arrived here 6 months before entering service. I thought it was on a peak hour working from Broad St but it must be on some protracted proving runs.... Actually my timeframe is normally a bit fluid 1956-61 but by creating a back story for 1st Jan 1959 I overlooked this. 1st Jan 1959 was a Thursday and not Sat/Sun so would have been a working day.