Stoke Courtenay

[checkrail]

Could you post more details of the signals, I have yet to tackle this on my layout.

Could I also ask how you did the barrow crossings, they look veru realistic

 

Hi Richard

 

Thanks for kind comment.

 

The six signals on the main line (up and down home, starting signal and advance starter) and the branch home signal are from fairly heavily modified Dapol items. More details can be found in a thread I started in August, entitled 'Improving Dapol GWR signals', in the 'Permanent Way, Signalling & Infrastructure' section of this forum.

 

I've been wanting to try some similar butchery on the long awaited Dapol bracket signals for the branch platform, but there's no sign of them yet. (Every year at Warley I'm told, 'Next spring'.) The branch platform looked a bit bare, especially for photography, so I fettled a couple of non-working signals from Ratio kits, shortened for platform mounting and with the addition of some indifferently soldered wire safety rails.  They're intended to be temporary.  (But they said that about income tax.)

 

Barrow crossings are merely plain plastikard, scribed to represent planking and glued in place with plastikard support below as needed.  They're painted with various layers/washes until I got the colour I wanted.  Precision Paints 'weathered wood' and 'track colour: weathered sleepers' were involved I think, as was Humbrol 29 'dark earth'. Now and then I have to touch them up after vigorous track cleaning!

 

John C.

[gwrrob]

I like the platform gubbins and particularly the lamps.What are their provenance please John ?

 

 

[81C]

John I was looking on flee bay there's a chap selling laser cut brackets to use with aircraft type servo's ideal for Ratio signals sensibly price as well. 

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/0-00-009-N-Gauge-Servo-Mount-Semaphore-Signal-Laser-Cut-Kit-Finescale-/122139973481?var=&hash=item1c701c1769:m:m5ptr6GV6RZnmn75XgTpnFA

[checkrail]

I like the platform gubbins and particularly the lamps.What are their provenance please John ?

 

A mixture of stuff from all the usual suspects:  Shire Scenes, Langley, Dart Castings.  Barrow is Coopercraft, luggage I think free in one of the mags, brass GWR benches from Shire Scenes I think.

 

Just had a search for the lamps in SS, DC & Langley sites but afraid can't find 'em just now.  (Great products but very difficult-to-navigate and user-unfriendly websites with rubbish 'search' facilities.)  I do remember they were supposed to be street lights and not platform lamps, and that they came in sets of 4 plus one bracketed lamp for above a door or similar.  They have white metal posts and tops, but the lamp casing is a fold-up brass etch.  That was fine, but sticking the little irregularly shaped glass panes cut from the clear plastic sheet provided using the etch as a template, proved beyond me.

 

But one thing I'm learning in this game is that if the optimum method or solution eludes one's skills there is (1) nearly always a feasible workround, and (2) at normal viewing distances most people won't be able to tell.    So I bought a pack of the crummy old green Merit (now Peco 'Modelscene') gas lamps, put their clear lamp mouldings in my new lamps, and binned the rest.  They're too small to fill the whole casing, but as I said - from a distance ....

 

John C.

[checkrail]

I like the platform gubbins and particularly the lamps.What are their provenance please John ?

 

Amazing what a couple of beers can do.  Remembered while walking home that platform lamps were from Scale Link.  Just checked site - product code SLC149. 

 

BTW, flower tubs were from Harburn Hamlets.  Hope they grow as well as your palms.

 

John C. 

[vulcanbomber]

Thanks for info on barrow crossing have added weathered wood paint to my shopping list for Warley

[M.I.B]

The old Lima siphon behind the Hall still has BR Mark 1 bogies with 1970s Lima 'pizza cutter' wheels (I have some 8 foot American bogies to replace them when I get round to it).  Amazingly this vehicle rattles through all my 00-SF pointwork with its 1mm flangeways without coming off the rails, but it makes a hell of a racket while doing so!

 

 

John

 

How have I missed this superb layout?  Definitely one of the top 5 on RM Web.

 

I have recently rebogied all of my Lima SIPHONs as well as changing to the correct sized buffers at the same time.  When I get 5 minutes I will post pictures.

 

I agree with your previous comment about the SIPHON C - great to have in RTR - I will battle on with my plastic one and my cast one.

 

I also "rescued" a poorly finished SIPHON F last week - I will post photos soon.  Shame so few were made as this is a good looking small bogie van to have either as tail traffic, or in a mixed rake of brown stock.  Sadly unless you model Calne in the mid 50s, you can only get away with one of these on a layout.

 

Thanks for sharing your talents by picture- your photos are excellent too.

Edited November 25, 2016 by M.I.B

[checkrail]

 

I have recently rebogied all of my Lima SIPHONs as well as changing to the correct sized buffers at the same time.  When I get 5 minutes I will post pictures.

 

I agree with your previous comment about the SIPHON C - great to have in RTR - I will battle on with my plastic one and my cast one.

 

I also "rescued" a poorly finished SIPHON F last week - I will post photos soon.  Shame so few were made as this is a good looking small bogie van to have either as tail traffic, or in a mixed rake of brown stock.  Sadly unless you model Calne in the mid 50s, you can only get away with one of these on a layout.

 

Thanks M.I.B. for kind comments.  Siphons are so quintessentially Great Western, and came in so many variants - they're fascinating items of rolling stock, adaptable to all sorts of model railway layouts and operations as you suggest.  Mine are still at 'job lots / out-of-the-box / bought via eBay' stage , but will eventually get some sort of treatment. 

 

Look forward to pics of your siphons. 

 

John C.

[The Fatadder]

John

I agree with your previous comment about the SIPHON C - great to have in RTR - I will battle on with my plastic one and my cast one.

 

I also "rescued" a poorly finished SIPHON F last week - I will post photos soon.  Shame so few were made as this is a good looking qsmall bogie van to have either as tail traffic, or in a mixed rake of brown stock.  Sadly unless you model Calne in the mid 50s, you can only get away with one of these on a layout.

I keep looking for a siphon F, early years spent living close to the site of Calne station has left me with something of a fondness of the branches operation. I rather fancy a Siphon C and a Siphon F branded to Harris' to work between Calne and Plymouth, although I haven't ever seen any evidence of a working between Calne and the south west....

Incidentally i am sure there are photos of GW post war Siphon F with Harris branding in the wild swan book on the Calne branch

[M.I.B]

I too lived in Calne in the 80s when the pie factory was still in operation.

 

Harris were allocated two SIPHON Fs in the early 50s if memory serves me right, branded to work to Newcastle, not the SW.

Edited November 26, 2016 by M.I.B

[westerner]

Just come across this layout, will be a regular watcher from now on.

[M.I.B]

 

 

Look forward to pics of your siphons. 

John,

 

If the bad guys leave us in peace tonight, I will definitely post up my pics for my Lima SIPHON G work tonight, over on my North Cranford page (link is below)

 

Time allowing I will also did out a finished shot of the SIPHON F and write a line on what I did to it.

 

 

EDIT - posts #231 and #232 on the link in my sig block below.

Edited November 26, 2016 by M.I.B

[Neal Ball]

Lovely looking layout John.

 

Welcome back to the hobby and in particular, welcome to RMWeb.

[checkrail]

Just come across this layout, will be a regular watcher from now on.

 

Thanks Westerner.  Just wanted to say that I'm an admirer of Wencombe.  ​  ​ ​I also drew idea and inspiration from your recent RM article (and notes on this forum) on the H33 upgrade.

 

John C.

[checkrail]

Here are a couple of pics of a 4575 at Stoke Courtenay awaiting the rightaway with the Earlsbridge branch train.  Unfortunately it'll wait a long time, as these starting signals are non-working models cobbled up from Ratio kits, and shortened for platform mounting.  But ....

 

 

 

... at Warley this weekend on the Dapol stand I saw a pre-production sample of the long awaited GWR bracket signal and had a chat with one half of Dapol's two man design team. What I saw looks very promising, and it's obvious that lessons have been learned from the earlier single post signals.  The three strange ledges round all four sides of the post have gone, the painting looks better, inc. the width of the white band on the arm, and I'm told that the footprint of the two mechanisms is no greater than that of the single motor of the originals.  Furthermore the fervent criticism, on this forum and elsewhere, of the push-button operating arrangement has gone home, and these will be capable of operation by switches showing the way the signal is set.  Not an aspect (no pun intended) that bothers me but essential for large layouts where signals might be out of sight.

 

I look forward to doing some enjoyable butchery on these along the lines of my earlier thread 'Improving Dapol GWR signals').

 

I understand they're going to retail at about 50 quid.  Glad I'll only need two.

 

John C. 

[checkrail]

... and a couple more. 

 

 

[sp1]

Haven't commented before, but superb!

 

I am really surprised (actually, not really....) that non of the usual 00-SF detractors have commented about how the track is wrong....

 

This must surely be one of the best adverts possible for 00-SF (a huge number of comments about how good it looks) ........

[Brian D]

Hi John,

As you can see from all of my various "Likes" etc, I have only just discovered your layout thread.  What can I say that others haven't.  This is a truly fabulous layout - you must be very proud of it, I'm sure I would be if it were mine!  Have you thought of having the layout published in one of the mags?  They would surely be interested in bringing to the wider world such exemplary modelling.

Now following.

Regards,

Brian.

[checkrail]

I am really surprised (actually, not really....) that non of the usual 00-SF detractors have commented about how the track is wrong....

 

 

You're right - 'gauge wars' haven't spilled over onto this thread, thank goodness.  But my message to 00-SF's detractors would simply be - Hey, it works for me, and it looks good too.  And it's not compulsory.

 

​John C.

[checkrail]

Have you thought of having the layout published in one of the mags? 

 

Yes, Andy York hoping to do a photo shoot for BRM sometime next year, at which prospect I am honoured and delighted, as you might guess!

 

John C.

[Bogie]

I just wish I could sit down next to the chap with the hat and soak up the atmosphere.

Edited November 29, 2016 by Bogie

[grob1234]

This continues to excel.

 

Thank you for the updates.

[81C]

 Seasonal Greetings

                                 Congratulations John I see your truly inspirational layout has make it onto the GWR org website well done.

Bob          

[sn]

Top-Notch layout. Great work!

[sdh-stbriavels]

Hi John

 

Like a number of others above I have just come across your wonderful layout. In some ways it is similar to the style layout I have started to build, including the Timber Tracks station and island platform buildings and the same footbridge kit. However, I fear yours is leaving mine in the shade; nevertheless a great inspiration