Burngullow Lane. - On the main line through Legend Land.

[TrevorP1]

Some grubby panniers for a Friday afternoon. 7446 has just come off the Drinnick Mill branch while 9755 waits for the line to clear. 9755 was a recent used purchase from Hattons. I've been on the lookout for an 8750 and this one came up at the right price complete with a nice weathering job. It arrived as 9759 and for the first time I used Railtec 3d plates to change the identity. Suffice to say it was the easiest renumbering job I've ever done and I won't be looking anywhere else in future! As always it was tricky to match someone else's weathering on the plates but I think I just about got away with it. Fire irons, slacking hose, lamp and crew to finish. (I appreciate the footplate handrail, sanding gear and lamp irons are missing but it will do for now). @Chamby might recognise the fireman who is leaning into the cab shutting off the steam supply to the left hand injector.

 

 

9755 has Zen Black chip. I tried a cheaper variety but in spite careful pick-up adjustment, cleaning of wheels and polishing the track to within an inch of it's life the loco still managed to stall where all others didn't. Zen chip slotted in, problems gone. 9755 will now crawl anywhere at notch 2 on the Pro cab, - It might even do notch 1 but I get bored watching!

 

The shrubbery around the china clay company's cottages is gradually 'growing' - with the aid of genuine Cornish soil. I've promised myself I'll instal the backscenes before Christmas  and Carol (who is far better than I at such things) has promised to help mount them on foam board ready to slot behind the layout. That's one of her trees next to my attempt at copying a growth of Hydrangea and Montbretia I spotted on holiday. I think the tree looks far more like the intended silver birch than my shrubbery does to it's prototype....

 

 

In other news, these arrived this week. Diner lamps and curtain time looms... 

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by TrevorP1

[gwrrob]

Happy days.

[Neal Ball]

Evening Trevor, 

I've just been catching up with Burngullow, its been a while since I was here last!

 

I particularly like the Centenaries, I must re-start my project, which has been on the back burner for more years than I care to remember.

 

The clay dries are also looking very good, as does that (new to you) Pannier.

 

Look forward to the next update.

 

[TrevorP1]

Another coach left the carriage works this week, the H76 open restaurant 3rd/2nd. My library was well thumbed trying to work out a colour for the curtains and I came to the conclusion that a faded beige (Tamiya Deck Tan in fact) was as good a colour as any. Whilst looking at the photos I realised that by 'my' period it seems table lamps weren't used. Oh well, more items for the spares box... The tables do look a bit bare though...

 

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by TrevorP1

[TrevorP1]

Bashing on with trying to get those carriage projects finished. Only the end handrails left to do on the H57 now. As far as I could find out table lamps were not used on normal service stock by about the late 1950s. As mentioned in the last post I found this out after I had bought a supply... However, it seems that the head waiter on the crew of this coach has decided to give his  first class diners a touch of the old life.

 

 

 

The maroon paint used is Halfords Ford Burgundy with their semi matt lacquer. Transfers are from Fox, Modelmaster and Railtec (numbers). Irritatingly I discovered that Fox transfers object to the Halfords lacquer and have wrinkled in places. No way are these coaches being stripped to put it right but that's one to remember for the future.

 

On the table lamps I was concerned that glueing them ran a high risk of damage to paint on the lamps themselves and the tables and hit on the idea of using double sided tape  I ended up sitting them on a piece of tape to paint and when ready cut round the base, peeled off the backing and put them on the table. It worked a treat and it just remains to see if it's durable but access is  easy in order to rectify if need be.

 

I'm a complete novice at carriage building but I've found these projects very satisfying. I need to pay the layout itself - and the clay dry! -more attention but I hope to build a couple of passenger brake vans for my version of the  07:58 Plymouth - Penzance Parcels. If I can do these over the winter they will be ready for spraying outdoors in the spring.

Edited April 4, 2022 by TrevorP1

[TrevorP1]

This week has been 'dirty wagon week' among them these two which arrived from Wessex Wagons a few days ago. Readers of ANTB might recognise them. They are a bit of a flight of fancy but with the local names I couldn't resist them. The Goonvean wagon with it's load of coal for the dry will spend it's time attached to the rake of china clay empties whilst Parkyn and Peters will normally be static in the siding. I'd hoped to remove the NEM pocket from this wagon but the tiny screws are incredibly tight and wouldn't budge. I could have chopped the pocket off but I didn't want to burn my bridges. (I still mainly use short tension locks on wagons). The other sides of these two are as they came out of the box.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by TrevorP1

[TrevorP1]

The postman brought a delivery from L Cut this week. Hopefully I can turn these parts into a weighbridge building.
 

[TrevorP1]

It's been one of those weeks where every single job tacked, domestic, railway or otherwise has been accompanied by some kind of minor disaster or em***gerance factor! So much that when the postie handed me the package containing 18000 I was almost scared to open it... However, I couldn't resist and took the plunge. 

 

Well worth the wait I'd say and well done to Rails. Typical Hejan smooth running and robust feel. It's an odd looking beast but we knew that! As I mentioned on St E's thread it's very black and will benefit greatly from some subtle weathering. Not by me I hasten to add, in due course that will be a job for Grimey Times. I've put the buffer beam detail on but will leave the brake rods and cab steps until it's run in properly and I've stopped handling it so much.

 

Two points to watch out for. The decoder blank is very tight - I took extreme care bearing in mind how this week has gone! Also the whistle - surely that ought to be brass - is quite vulnerable so take care when handling. A result I'd say and it will make 18100 hard to resist... As can be seen Mr Wolsely has nipped over from Porthmellyn Road with his 21st century drone to capture the beast on it's test train.

 

 

[TrevorP1]

We had an excellent day yesterday at the Ffestiniog Railway 'Bygones' event, made even better by meeting up with old friends from my days at the Mid Hants. I think one of the great things about an interest in railways is that it can bring friends together from all points of the compass and when you meet it's like you only saw them yesterday, not many, many months ago. Anyway...

 

18000. I though a couple more photos might be appropriate.

 

 

This clearly shows the amount of dust that has accumulated on the Warship. I need to get busy with the make up brush! On 18000 a couple of Modelu lamps fit easily to supplement the headlights which are much more realistic than the normal RTR fare but possibly still too bright. I find them a good compromise though. In due course the whistle will get a touch of metallic paint when I'm satisfied that BR actually didn't paint it black. My only niggle would be the 'halo' effect round the glazing but I know nothing of injection moulding so any criticism from me might be unjust. When I fitted the chip it looked like the cab might be accessed by undoing screws but didn't investigate further. Before it's weathered I think it cries out for some detail painting of the cab interior plus a crew, inspector, Brown Boveri representative, travelling fitter...

 

 

The paperwork supplied mentions engine room and cab lights. I could not get these to work but frankly I see such things as gimmicks and I'm not bothered at all. Front and rear lights work and that's enough for me.  The bogies have an interesting 'double pivot' arrangement whereby the side frames can move separately from the part bearing the wheels. Others have commented that the loco will not negotiate 'number X' radius curves but it will happily go round the 30" radius in my fiddle yard plus a couple of odd spots - which I don't talk about  -  tighter than that. I was wondering if the 'cycling lion' was too big but on reference to photos it was indeed like that.

 

 

So, perhaps not so long before we can replicate this...

 

 

 

[TrevorP1]

A few days ago I showed some laser cut parts which I was intending to turn into a weighbridge building. Unfortunately our house was full of demons last week in that everything either of us tried to do had a problem... In the case of the weighbridge my lack of experience/hamfistedness managed to ruin it at the painting stage. Basically I couldn't get the right amount of primer on to 'seal' the mortar courses and further attempts just made an awful mess. No complaints with the parts, just me!

 

I the end I decided to use a material I'm happier with and went for a plasticard building. It's based much more closely on the Burngullow one but using the door and windows from the kit plus some modified odds from Walthers items I have. I've tried to create the impression (which i think is what happened to the real one) that it was built to the Avery/Pooley spec but over the years has had various new windows of different sizes etc. I'm going to use Modelu guttering which is on (back) order at the moment. I've also taken the opportunity to order some of their workmen. A photo of progress, with the windows just slotted in for the pic.

 

As it has so many windows there will br something of an interior in the building. For the rail weighbridge itself I'll try a 'fudge' and see what it looks like as I don't really want to lift the track. If that's not successful I'll have to bite the bullet.

 

 

Going off topic I've been a bit of a Mark Knopfler fan over the years. I found myself looking at his website the other day where I discovered that sound tracks of his various concerts are available to download. Back in 2010 I went to the one at the Bournemouth International Centre (the BIC if you're local) and duly splashed out a tenner today. It's bit weird listening to the audience cheering, clapping etc knowing that among them somewhere is you...

 

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by TrevorP1

[TrevorP1]

A tiny bit more progress on the hut but not as much as I wanted because I managed to tweak my back earlier this week - not the slightest idea how! - and that makes sitting at the desk for any length of time a bit painful.
 

Anyhow, the roof has been made and this will eventually be covered in York Modelmaking slates. Modelu came up trumps with guttering and the inside boasts a weighing machine. The railings are spare from the Wills cattle creep. Roof and floor are removeable at the moment. 
 

Amazing how much time a little thing like this soaks up.

 

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by TrevorP1

[TrevorP1]

A bit more progress on the weighbridge building. The weighing machine is from odds and ends - I think it's turned out a bit big but it stays now! I couldn't be bothered to make a chimney that would hardly be seen, so the place has a stove from a barrel and a piece of brass rod. There will be a pipe on the roof. The door is from the bits box and guttering is Modelu. The T piece moved while the glue was setting so I'll have to make some leak marks down the wall and perhaps some vegetation in the gutter. I don't imagine there were British Railways poster boards on the back wall but it looked a bit bare and they won't be read from viewing distance. A table and chair would be in order as well I guess.

 

I'm not entirely happy with the brick work but it's 5,000% better than last weeks disaster. The mortar courses need another wash of greyish cream I think. I got the method from the Intentio  website but I didn't paint the individual bricks - there lies madness for mere mortals like me!

 

I was convinced that the building was the responsibility of the clay company but on peering at the famous 'bus photograph' there seems to be the last vestiges of GWR dark stone on the barge boards. I'm pretty sure it's not faded chocolate brown. The photo was taken in 1961 so I can only guess this was one of the last buildings left in GW colours - I know there were a few. Whatever, an order went in today for the appropriate Pheonix colours.

 

Its amazing the amount of time swallowed up by the smallest things!

 

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by TrevorP1

[The Fatadder]

On 26/09/2021 at 11:26, TrevorP1 said:

Irritatingly I discovered that Fox transfers object to the Halfords lacquer and have wrinkled in places. No way are these coaches being stripped to put it right but that's one to remember for the future.

I have found the same with some Railtec transfers, the cure was pretty easy.  I try to always apply water slide transfers onto a surface prepared with a coat of Klear to minimise the carrier film showing. Applying a second coat Klear before varnishing gives adequate protection and no more wrinkling.  The same works well with Cambridge Custom transfers range (I’m fairly sure they were the ones who recommended the approach to me.) 

 

Centenaries are looking very nice, you remind me that I still need to add the curtains to mine…

[TrevorP1]

27 minutes ago, The Fatadder said:

I have found the same with some Railtec transfers, the cure was pretty easy.  I try to always apply water slide transfers onto a surface prepared with a coat of Klear to minimise the carrier film showing. Applying a second coat Klear before varnishing gives adequate protection and no more wrinkling.  The same works well with Cambridge Custom transfers range (I’m fairly sure they were the ones who recommended the approach to me.) 

 

Centenaries are looking very nice, you remind me that I still need to add the curtains to mine…

Thanks, that’s useful to know. I’ll remember that. Hopefully I’ll be building some more coaches over the winter.

[TrevorP1]

Still ploughing on with the weighbridge building. Just a bit of weathering left to do. The roof is all but finished as well and I'm also working on the sub base which will be permanently fixed to the layout. The hut, as with all buildings will obviously be removeable. 

I'm still not 100% certain whether tatty GW colours are correct but it's my railway and all that...

 

 

 

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by TrevorP1

[Stoker]

Still blown away by how well the cement render came out on the row of houses Trevor. I'm glad to see you're still chipping away at this project and having fun with it.

[TrevorP1]

19 hours ago, Stoker said:

Still blown away by how well the cement render came out on the row of houses Trevor. I'm glad to see you're still chipping away at this project and having fun with it.

 

I'm pretty sure it was you who suggested using pieces of sponge, it was the first time I tried that and I must say I'm really pleased with the way it's turned out. I've used the method in other odd places. As the mood takes me I do small jobs on the KMRC cottages (or Trerice Terrace as I call them) to make them less 'out of the box'. Recently I repainted their extension roofs and weathered them in the same way. It's quite subtle but very effective.

 

The job on the clay company terrace I'm not looking forward to is weathering the roof. Eventually I'm also going to have a lot of roof to weather on the clay dry. I will be making up some test pieces to try various methods, no way will I risk messing it up!

[Captain_Mumbles]

What a beautiful layout.

[St Enodoc]

30 minutes ago, Captain_Mumbles said:

What a beautiful layout.

That looks a very nice model of one of the Port of Par Bagnalls in your profile photo. Can you tell us more about it please?

[Captain_Mumbles]

1 hour ago, St Enodoc said:

That looks a very nice model of one of the Port of Par Bagnalls in your profile photo. Can you tell us more about it please?

Gday! Its a modified Bachmann Bill. I built a new more correct shape cab. Shortened the boiler by cut and shut. Did a small amount of detail work like hand rails and coal. Removed the mechanism for the moving eyes and made a new smoke box door. It is still a tiny bit too big. From memory I think they were close to the height of a 7 plank wagon but these would be still a bit more than that.

It still isn't finished as my new layout has taken precedence. I would love to have the pair make a cameo on my layout double headed on a rake of plank wagons or even just as shunters.

Apologies for the Hijack but I hope you like it!

 

[TrevorP1]

With the invaluable and essential help of the lady of the house I've finally got round to (plucked up the courage in other words) the overdue job of installing the backdrop. An ID Backscenes version was chosen as being the nearest I could find to resemble the real location - although Burngullow Lane is of course is 'the spirit of'.

 

We're ⅔ of the way round now, with the boards held in position with blu-tack for the moment. So, this is the model...

 

 

... and this photo is the real place. A lot of blending in with vegetation etc needs doing, especially near the bridges etc. Also I will have to figure out a way of representing some 'Cornish Alps'.

 

 

However, I have a question. I'm not going to do anything hasty but my initial thoughts were that the backdrop needs lowering by about 1". In order to do this I will need to cut this amount from the bottom - not a disaster if I decide that wasn't the thing to do but awkward in places. But on coming back indoors I looked at the real place on Google and I'm now changing my mind...

 

As I said, I'm doing nothing in a hurry, especially as we will be near the real Burngullow for Christmas so I can have a look at the actual place. In the meantime though, what do others think? I realise it's all a question of point of view and perspective (In all senses) but I'd like to do the best I can.

[5BarVT]

Hi Trevor,

I think it’s good enough as it is. (And I mean that in a positive way, not a “not really good enough but you’ll get away with it” way.)

Paul.

[TrevorP1]

27 minutes ago, 5BarVT said:

Hi Trevor,

I think it’s good enough as it is. (And I mean that in a positive way, not a “not really good enough but you’ll get away with it” way.)

Paul.

 

Thanks Paul.

 

The more I look at the RMweb page with the photos one above the other I think you're right.

[Graham T]

I'd also keep it as is.  Looks good to me!

[Chamby]

Looking good, Trevor!  

 

Re: dropping the backscene an inch, I’m probably with you on this.  Alternatively, you could perhaps achieve the same result if you increase the height of the hedgerow to the left of the cottages, so that it blends into the tree line on the backscene behind it.  There’s a thin sliver of light green fields running across the view, that stands out to my eye... hiding this behind the hedge would get rid.