Carterton

[Chris Chewter]

One thing I have noticed is just how vulnerable layouts are when they are moved. You can see how close the chair is to the layout, and I really don’t want to damage the work done to date.

 

As a result, I’ve been keen to get some end boards on the layout to protect it in storage and when it’s in transit. So a bank holiday trip to B&Q was scheduled to pick up some hardboard. 
 

 

The text was then laser cut to make things look a bit neater than my usual handwritten scribble. Hopefully that’ll keep the layout nicely protected whilst it awaits its next outing.

Edited May 2, 2022 by Chris Chewter

[MrWolf]

That's a neat solution. I made some temporary "goalposts" as it were to fit on the ends of the scenic sections of Aston so that they could be carried, manouevered out of the house and stacked rigidly together in the van. I'll be keeping them stashed under the layout, just in case.

I wonder how many of us who build a layout for home use rather than exhibitions make it in such a way that moving house isn't the end of it?

[Chris Chewter]

I’ve just realise I haven’t posted an update for a while. After finding photos of the Fairford toad, I was wondering how to make the decals. This is an attempt using water slide inkjet paper.

 

 

The paper is a little thick to my eye, but I think it’s the best I’m going to get, and I certainly don’t want to be spending loads of cash on bespoke transfers.

 

[Chris Chewter]

Things have been a bit quiet on Carterton, with the boards all packed away into storage.  That makes taking photos to be impossible.  However it does have an outing booked to the Oxford Bus Museum in October. Lets hope everything still works!

 

Well I'm currently nursing a bout of COVID, so I'm sat at home waiting for things to clear up a bit.  That's given me time to think about the car park at Carterton.  (An odd thing this COVID!)

 

I've always stopped at putting anything in the car park, because in the photos, the scene is fairly empty.  For a while, there was a mysterious caravan, which isn't very exciting and looks very odd!

 

 

However, Martin Loader has put up some new photos onto the Fairford Branch website, and I found this image.  The full picture can be seen on the website, but I've cropped the interesting bit. What's that car?

 

 

Any guesses?  If I can find a model of it, looks like Carterton could get a new car!

 

If you haven't visited www.fairfordbranch.co.uk, its worth a look!

[Chris Chewter]

Well it’s not 100% correct but I think this Vauxhall 10/4 is the closest I’m going to find.

 

 

I would replicate the two tone paintwork but when your faced with 50 shades of grey, I can’t work out if it’s black and maroon or some other colour combination.
 

I now need to find a replacement for Tetbury where I nicked the Vauxhall from!

Edited August 7, 2022 by Chris Chewter

[MrWolf]

24 minutes ago, Chris Chewter said:

Well it’s not 100% correct but I think this Vauxhall 10/4 is the closest I’m going to find.

 

 

I would replicate the two tone paintwork but when your faced with 50 shades of grey, I can’t work out if it’s black and maroon or some other colour combination.
 

I now need to find a replacement for Tetbury where I nicked the Vauxhall from!

 

The base model Vauxhall H type was painted in a solid colour with black wings prior to WW2. The deluxe models were all one colour including some early "metallichrome" colours. What you have there is the upgraded model produced for 1947/48 that has the spare wheel moved to the outside of the boot lid.

I've been trying to find out what the car in the picture actually is, but I no longer have the range of books I once had. It may be a special body of around 1936/37, I initially thought Riley 16, but that has a fully "Airline" rear end. I'll keep looking though, it's just the kind of thing that piques my OCD! 😆

 

 

[Chris Chewter]

After much googling, and concerned questions from the family asking whether I'm looking at buying a classic car, I think I've found a close contender.  I think its a Wolsley 14/56

 

 

I did think it was a Rover 12 at one point, but the rear windows looked too small.

 

The closest model I can find is the Oxford Diecast Wolsley 18, but it doesn't have the tyre on the rear.  Perhaps I'm taking this too far but at least its kept me out of trouble for a Sunday afternoon! 🤣

[MrWolf]

Have a look at; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124352286167?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=sliaTqQySGC&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=3qkTzGg7QRS&var=425823191928&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[Chris Chewter]

I've just realised I'm five pages in and I haven't posted this!

 

Some great archive footage of Carterton and the surrounding line!

 

 

[Chris Chewter]

Just to let people know, if you’re local to Oxford, the Oxford Bus Museum is holding a model bus and train day on the 25th September. Carterton has been invited to attend.

 

More details can be found at https://www.oxfordbusmuseum.org/heritage-bus-rides

 

At the moment, the layout is being moved for testing and cleaning before the actual event. Board 1 is at a club members house, and board 2 is still in storage. Hopefully everything works when it’s connected together for its dress rehearsal!

[Chris Chewter]

Sometimes it’s the small victories! Some simple end panels for the fiddle yards probably doesn’t seem much. After all, it’s a sheet of plywood and 8 holes, but it’ll hopefully stop the track ends from getting bent in transit!

 

 

[Chris Chewter]

Well Carterton has survived it’s first outing at the Oxford Bus Museum.

 

 

A slight panic to start with. Despite clipping back all loose wires, one had worked loose. I had forgotten my soldering iron, so one was borrowed and the offending wire put back on. However things still weren’t working. It turned out that despite the dress rehearsal, one of the link cables were playing up. That was bodged to allow the layout to work for the day, although a proper fix is still required.

Another club member, Rob, was press-ganged into operating the layout with me during the day, and a rotation of three trains were run through the day.

 

 

The Oxford Bus Museum provided a steady supply of tea to keep us going thoroughly the day, and at some point a slice of delicious cake turned up.

 

One of the great things of modelling a real location is hearing people’s stories of the line and their memories. Although keeping a schedule running whilst listening to peoples recollections can take a bit of multitasking.  Its fascinating hearing about the stations history, and sharing some of this history to people who don’t know about the branch.

 

 

I had planned for some loco issues. A few ran fast, and the drawbar on one of the Collett goods tenders had dropped off, however we had enough panniers to keep us going. The locos need a go through to check they are all programmed to run smoothly and not take off like a rocket!

All too soon, the layout had to be disassembled and put into the van for transport. It’s protective panels reaffixed for its return journey back into storage.

 

 

So what did I learn?

 

Always take a second operator.

Carry a soldering iron.

A craft knife is always useful, but it’s not useful if it’s sat on your workbench at home!

So what’s next. Well the cable needs looking at, and the locos need reprogramming, but to keep a mixture of trains rolling through the landscape, a few more wagons wouldn’t go amiss.

 

Would I do it again? Without a doubt yes. Despite the issues, once running, it all ran ok and it was a very enjoyable time. 

[Chris Chewter]

One of the things I noticed after the last exhibition is that a bit of variety keeps the operators sane. When it’s the same pannier and Mk1 coach formation all day, it gets a bit boring. So I’ve been building up my wagon selection. However getting BR wagons for a good price is a bit of a challenge.

 

Looking through the various books I’ve got on the Fairford branch, I noted there were a lot of examples of planked open wagons. I managed to find some Oxford Rail private owners wagons at the Great Electric Train Show for about a tenner each. I snapped them up and set about respraying them.

 

Firstly the old advertisement text had to go, so they were rubbed down with a glass fibre brush.  The important bits masked and the wagons sprayed in BR grey and departmental black.

 

 

I had a set of number decals from an old Parkside wagon kit which’ll do for the grey wagons, and some Modelmaster departmental yellow decals for the departmental wagon.

 

 

To make sure they’ve cured, I’m going to let them dry overnight before weathering them tomorrow.

[Chris Chewter]

I’ve just realised that I haven’t put an update here following the wagons being completed, although it was a little naughty of me posting progress here as well as the Tetbury thread.

 

Ive now assembled quite a rake of planked wagons ready to run when Carterton next goes out on the road. That’ll improve the variety a bit!

 

 

I’ve also assembled a good rake of Collett suburbans. With the coaches on special offer at Rails, it was rude to say no!

 

[Chris Chewter]

Well the rake of planked wagons increases ready for use on Carterton. I really should stop but I do enjoy a wagon respray. They’re nice and easy and give you a bespoke wagon once done!

 

 

I’ve also been waiting for a few supplies to turn up for a streamlined railcar. The Modelu figures and decoder were held up in the postal strikes. They finally arrived last week. With the Christmas annual leave now upon us, it gave me the time to paint up the figures and fit the chip.

 

I was thinking the railcar was too good to weather, but it just looked too shiny! I’ve weathered it the same as the coaches. I started with an all over flory wash, but the roof still looked too clean!

 

 

The roof was treated with weathering powder. I haven’t put powder over the bogie sides as I don’t want anything in the mechanism. 
 

 

That looks a bit more layout ready.

 

Whist Carterton sits in storage, it’s given a run on Tetbury to check it looks right and running well.

Edited December 20, 2022 by Chris Chewter
Typo corrections

[Chris Chewter]

In case you are interested in seeing the layout, and live within Oxfordshire, its being shown at Carterton Library on the 18th February 2023.  Its a free to attend event and those who are young, and not so young, can also operate trains on the Oxford and District Model Railway Clubs Oldstead Gate layout.  More details can be found on the UK Modelshop entry at https://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/event/24565-OxfordDistrictModelRailwayClub_Exhibition

 

 

https://www.oxfordmrc.org.uk/events/model-railways-at-carterton-library

 

 

[Chris Chewter]

With Cartertons next outing coming up, the boards have been taken out of storage to give it a check over. Nothing much to report and we could get track power across the boards. However anything can happen in an outing so no doubt I’ll have to bring the soldering iron just in case!

 

I also managed to do a few jobs such as planting out the allotments.

 

 

Also, as the dogs came as a pair, the man on the bridge now has a companion as he makes his way to Black Bourton.

 

[Chris Chewter]

With the Carterton library mini-exhibition tomorrow, I thought I’d check all the locos are running smoothly. The locos tend to sit in a storage box and only come out for exhibitions, so each is getting a quick 15mins on the rolling road tonight.

 

 

 

Hopefully that’ll minimise the loco casualties tomorrow. Only time will tell.

Edited February 17, 2023 by Chris Chewter

[Chris Chewter]

Well that’s the Carterton Library exhibition done. We had around 300 people visit the library to look at the layouts.

 

 

The day started bright and early at 8am, with the first board delivered to the museum, a trip back home with another club member brought the two main scenic boards over.

 

 

We had the main clubs layout to assemble first, and then the attention was turned to Carterton. In about half an hour, the layout was assembled and wired.

 

 

For some reason, the locos at first didn’t run between boards 2 and 3, so the cable was switched out and a spare fitted, so we have a dodgy cable in the box. Good job I had a spare! We had everything up and running quickly and were soon running trains.

 

 

The library opened at 9:30, and by 10, the room was busy with people looking at both layouts. It was a fine line trying to listen to people’s tales and memories on the line, or just asking questions about the station and model railways in general, when you’re trying to run trains, but it worked.

 

 

Locos were still running strangely. Out of 8 panniers, some were a bit abrupt.  This is particularly odd as they all have the same cv settings, so some tailoring is required.

 

 

Also, the platform edge needs a slight trim as the Hawksworth coaches were snagging the ramp. A job to add to the to-do list.

 

When things had quietened down, we swapped operators around so that everyone had a go at giving the layout a run.

 

All was going fine until one of the tam valley frog juicers gave up. That’s disappointing as the layouts only had 10 hours worth of running. That was disconnected as we only had an hour of running to go, but the locos ran fine over the dead frog (which is odd). I’ll swap that out for some relay type frog juicers which I’ve got sat in a box.

 

Eventually the crowds dispersed, and by 3, we were packing up. My eldest had turned up and ably assisted in the layout disassembly.

 

Another successful outing, but now with some minor repairs to do to the layout before it’s next trip out.

Edited February 18, 2023 by Chris Chewter

[Danemouth]

2 hours ago, Chris Chewter said:

 

All was going fine until one of the tam valley frog juicers gave up. That’s disappointing as the layouts only had 10 hours worth of running. That was disconnected as we only had an hour of running to go,

 

 

I used those frog juicers on Danemouth and had two fail within days of each other. I then swapped to the switches in the Cobalt motors and even worked out how to wire polarity changing on a double slip 😀

 

Glad that things went reasonably well for you even if Murphy's Law did come into force once or twice.

 

Dave

[Chris Chewter]

A video from Saturdays exhibition. It’s a shame not all locos run as nicely as that Collett Goods drifting in from Brize Norton and Bampton, but I’ve found the culprits and in the process of swapping the DCC chips for one’s better able to deal with smooth running in the most troublesome locos!

 

(Please ignore the wrong loco lamp. When your down to four locos, any loco gets used!)

Edited February 21, 2023 by Chris Chewter

[Chris Chewter]

A bit of a double event coming up for Carterton at the end of the month.

 

The Model Railway Club is due to hold a free model railway even in Twyford, near Bicester, on the 25th March, followed by the Models at the Museum event at the Oxford Bus Museum on the 26th March.

 

I repaired the flaked out frog juicer.  Oddly, when I plugged it into Tetbury, the thing seemed to be changing polarity, so it appears to have resurrected itself. Its now been replaced and the dodgy board put in the spares box.

 

I'm thinking of fitting a switch between the DCC feed and the layout in case there's a spike when plugging in the controlled which might be cooking some of the boards.  Perhaps a job for this weekend.

 

If you are near Bicester and want to come along, feel free to do so.  Equally feel free to come to the bus museum event, although there is an entry fee for that one.

 

Edited March 21, 2023 by Chris Chewter

[Chris Chewter]

Well the exhibition at Twyford went well. 
 

The layout was packed into the van last night and the stock boxes put into the car.

 

We arrived about 8:30 to set up at Twyford URC.

 

Panel covers were unbolted and the layout was assembled.

 

 

A couple of wires had worked loose so the soldering iron was fired up and they were reattached.

 

The layout worked fine generally throughout the day, with a few club members having a go at operating the layout.

 

 

However my luck ran out when the CDU gave out. Given this has happened before, I think the power supply is wrong. That gives me a bit of a problem with the bus museum exhibition tomorrow.

 

1/ The replacement won’t  arrive ready for tomorrow.

2/ my spare CDU I don’t think has the capacity to throw three points.

2/ If I bypass the CDU and run the points off the 16v power directly, it wasn’t throwing all three points.

 

I’ll rob the CDU power supply from Tetbury, so fingers crossed that’ll work, otherwise the fiddle yard point will be operated by hand tomorrow!

[DaveSmith]

What times does the Long Hanborough exhibition open and close tomorrow? Not too far from Standlake, so would like to drop in.

[Chris Chewter]

The museum opens at 10:30am until 4pm. You have to pay an entry fee to get into the museum but there isn’t any extra charge for the layouts.