Waddlemarsh - somewhere southwest of London sometime before today

[lmsforever]

A merry xmas to you thanks for bringing this layout for us to watch.

[Gwiwer]

Waddlemarsh features as the “Layout of the Week” in Kernow MRC’s newsletter. Not for the first time. 
 

Regular followers of my work may know that I choose to support this business when ever possible. This has no bearing whatsoever on selection for the feature. 
 

https://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/pg/94/Customer-Layouts

[Gwiwer]

The weekend before Christmas sees far more mail traffic than usual although none appears to be handled at Waddlemarsh. 
 

A borrowed 4-Cep unit offers better-than-normal passenger accommodation and is led by a Motor Luggage Van borrowed from South Eastern Division boat train duties. 
 

 

 

[Gwiwer]

All is fairly quiet at Waddlemarsh as the year approaches the buffer-stops. Baby Warship D6331 has dumped some condemned stock but that’s about it. 
 

 

[Gwiwer]

I should have kniwn better!  Quiet day indeed!!!  
 

Actually it has stayed very quiet but with a brief moment of excited surprise. The Brighton Belle, not being required for its normal duties today, came through on a very rare chartered special. 
 

Due to collect the winers and diners along the line and get them into town in good time for the night’s festivities. 
 

And it’s coming back at around 02.30 no doubt filled with partied-out punters who will need waking at their home stations!  
 

Happy New Year from Waddlemarsh. 
 

 

 

 

[St Enodoc]

4 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

And it’s coming back at around 02.30 no doubt filled with partied-out punters who will need waking at their home stations!

We once found a completely conked-out passenger in a train at Lovers' Walk who, after we managed to wake him up, asked if he was at Hastings yet.

 

It turned out that he'd got on the train at Victoria much earlier in the previous evening, been to Hastings, back to Victoria and down to Brighton, finishing up in the depot in the small hours. He was obviously genuine, so someone took him home in the depot van.

 

Not so the chancers who tried to save half-a-mile's walk by staying on the train at Brighton after it terminated, hoping to get off and walk home from the depot. We just took them back to the station.

[Gwiwer]

Easter Sunday. An hourly service using a single 2-EPB unit is more than adequate. 
 

[Gwiwer]

Meanwhile on the Down side …. with newly-weathered and placed waiting benches one of which has a waiting passenger seated. 
 

 

 

[Gwiwer]

The BTH class 15 arrives from Temple Mills with vans for Feltham. On the Merchant’s Siding the industrial 4-wheeler shunts coal wagons.  We have a rare glimpse of the street scene which faces away from the viewer. And a peek at the staff allotments 
 

 

 

[saxokid]

8 minutes ago, Gwiwer said:

The BTH class 15 arrives from Temple Mills with vans for Feltham. On the Merchant’s Siding the industrial 4-wheeler shunts coal wagons.  We have a rare glimpse of the street scene which faces away from the viewer. And a peek at the staff allotments 
 

 

 

Very well detailing here👌

[Gwiwer]

Transfer freight.
 

D602 “Bulldog” arrives with empty fuel tankers.
 

An hour later D6530 has coupled to the other end and leads them away towards Fawley. 
 

D602 has shunted onto the milk empties and will take them back to the Western Region later on. 
 

There seems to be plenty of waddling going on in Waddlemarsh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Gwiwer

[Gwiwer]

Weekend at Waddlemarsh. 
 

A “Baby Warship” shunts in front of Railway Terrace. The passenger service is maintained by a 2-Bil (although it is usually a 2-EPB at weekends), a Crompton departs on the Fawley tanks. And something brand new is recessed for checks on its way to Eastleigh Works. The Waddle Marsh is always a popular spot for picnics too. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gwiwer]

A few details which cannot be photographed easily as part of a scene include road gratings and covers and birds perched here and there. The yellow fire hydrant does show up in the first picture of the previous post. 
 

 

[Gwiwer]

A brand-new 4TC unit appeared on test.  Not so new actually but seldom used and purposely not weathered. 
 

 

And some well-used old cattle wagons have been left on the siding. These are all professionally weathered rather than my own work. Never a common sight on the SR 
 

 

In something of a time-warp another “new” unit has also been tested. The green class 117 DMU which is now a few years old but has not turned a wheel under power before was run in prior to it being used on the in-build Porthgarrow layout. 
 

 

[Gwiwer]

Bank Holiday working. A 4-Cep is rather unusual at Waddlemarsh. It’s certainly more space than the level of traffic warrants.  Some subtle weathering effects on show. 
 

 

 

 

 

[Gwiwer]

Almost two months since I added to this topic! 

 

Nothing much has happened to Waddlemarsh in that time other than a few shunt moves and the testing of newly-arrived stock now and again.  Six Accurascale Siphon G's now live in the collection among recent acquisitions.  My modelling time has been occupied with a fast-track build of the Porthgarrow project which has its first booked event in just a few weeks and is still a long way from being show-ready.  

 

In other news Waddlemarsh will require a new home in the near future.  The good folk of Hayle Railway Modellers in Cornwall have tentatively offered accommodation subject to a few (hopefully minor) matters to be discussed over a beer or two.  

 

We are on the move again.  After six years Upon the Hill of Strawberries two things have happened at much the same time which will bring change.  

 

I have just passed my "natural" retirement age and wasn't planning on going just yet but we had a magnificent two week holiday in Cornwall and ended up buying a souvenir.  It's a small cottage in St. Just, somewhat west of Penzance.  Whilst the deal is still subject to final contractual details at this stage unless something seriously upsets the boat we now plan to move down during the autumn which will almost certainly lead to my retirement from the railway.  

 

The day after this rather surprising development occurred we received notice that the block in Strawberry Hill where we have lived for the past six years is being sold for renovation and, under s.21 legislation, we are all required to move on.  So as one door closes another opens at precisely the right time and in exactly the right place for us.  But there is no place for Waddlemarsh.  The planning authorities have decided that the arrangement I have currently is not suitable for the cottage so an alternative has to be found.  And hopefully has been.  

 

As a result I do not expect to do any more work to the layout whilst here.  It will need to be carefully cut into sections, which almost align nicely with the four boards it is built on, for removal and it could then be reconfigured as a straight end-to-end eliminating the nasty right-angle curve.  Or at the least easing it into something more manageable.  

 

Watch this space.  This one's not dead in the water nor do I plan to dismantle it just yet.  

[brushman47544]

Good luck with the move, Rick. I've enjoyed following Waddlemarsh and Penhayle Bay before that, so will look forward to seeing what comes next? Perhaps another hydraulic era layout since you will be way out west?

 

Is your wife retiring too - it's an awfully long commute to Kew :-)

[Gwiwer]

8 hours ago, brushman47544 said:

Good luck with the move, Rick. I've enjoyed following Waddlemarsh and Penhayle Bay before that, so will look forward to seeing what comes next? Perhaps another hydraulic era layout since you will be way out west?

 

Is your wife retiring too - it's an awfully long commute to Kew :-)

Thank you Andrew.  

 

Our ducks are aligning one at a time - today's included a clear mining survey and sound structural report.  No Dr. SWMBO will not be retiring as she is ten years my junior.  The current plan is for her to work from home (in the west) on Mondays and Fridays, travel up on Monday evening and back on Thursday evening lodging or renting a studio flat which she can use mid-week nearer to Kew.  Until something a bit closer turns up which I am sure it will. 

 

Currently no plans for another layout as the two I have are ongoing projects but who knows what the future holds?  I always said when I dismantled Penhayle Bay that it could return in another form at some future time.  I still have most of the significant buildings and almost all of the rolling stock which ran there.  Plus a certain amount which was ordered for use there but wasn't produced in time such as the Bachmann 117s and Kernow D6xx Warships.  None of those has run more than a few metres since they were unboxed at Waddlemarsh.  

[St Enodoc]

6 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

today's included a clear mining survey and sound structural report.

Do you have to get a radon survey too?

[Gwiwer]

5 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Do you have to get a radon survey too?

Not mandatory.  I understand that the risk is considered to be lower than was once thought. After all people have been living in the area for many thousands of years without coming to harm. 

[PeterBB]

Hope all continues to go well.

 

[lmsforever]

Lucky you moving to the far west hope you both enjoy living there, your railway modelling will I hope continue and I look forward to seeing your continued progress with your lovely layouts .Bet you wont to come back towards London ever again once your settled  I hope your wife is okay with her working pattern at least she will have a good period in the new home every week ,so good luck.  Chris

[Gwiwer]

Waddlemarsh is being cleaned and dusted down for a few more moves before it is dismantled for removal to Cornwall. 
 

It was built on two older boards with a new fiddle yard and a new link section. Therefore most track joints are already aligned with board joins. Scenery can be restored though there will be some cuts needed through the backscene.

 

The intention is to reconfigure it to be a movable exhibit. The harder part now is to label every wire as it is disconnected. All are fed through a series of choc-blocks deliberately fitted at the construction stage to make a removal easier so little or no actual cutting is required. 
 

The opportunity will also be taken to fit more IRJs allowing better control of the layout. 
 

In the meantime two heavyweights were sighted making parallel moves in the yard. 
 

Class 40 D338 arrives from the Eastern Region as ex-works clean class 45 “Peak” D57 takes the departure road with a freight for the London Midland Region via Cricklewood.  
 

 

[Gwiwer]

Hymek D7021 drags the long-time withdrawn Mk1 from the back siding towards its fate with a South Wales scrapyard. 
 

 

[PeterBB]

Hope the dismantling goes smoothly and the whole move does not have 'hiccups'.