Malmsmead

[JZ]

Always had a fascination for the Lynton & Barnstaple. Perhaps it was fired by holidays in N Devon as a child and my Father telling about it from a holiday  of his when he was 8, though he never travelled on it. In my early teens, my Father and I took a trip along the line, well as closely as we could by road. Once I started modelling railways, it was always going to be narrow gauge, apart from a very brief fling with N when I started working. But somehow, the L&B loco's didn't look right with inside frame N chassis. The first NG layout I built was called Morrington Tavy, set somewhere in N Dartmoor, but still the Arnold and Farish chassis didn't really do it. I drifted into standard gauge once I had my own house, but that too had a narrow gauge element. A house move saw then end of that enterprise and a new layout was started. An exhibition layout was built, Cherrapunji Junction. Indian themed, though you must have guessed by the title. A couple of cheap Bachmann 4-8-4 US locos were picked up  and bodies were built somewhat resembling the Kalka-Simla loco's. But, alas, divorce soon followed and the loft layout was broken up and half of Cherrapunji Jct was converted into an rural British NG layout, but soon sold on and most of my NG stuff sold off. Once I had a house of my own again and a bit of financial security, I was into British OO and for the best part of twenty years, that was what I did. Come 2018 and the announcement of British RTR OO9, I started having thoughts of OO9 again. What if I got rid of my S&D layout and put OO9 in the shed? You could get a lot of scenery in a 20'x10' shed, maybe 4 stations with loads of running in between. It would have featured continuous running as I love watching the trains go by. But rumours of poor running with the first batch of Heljan loco's put me off a bit. However, I still wanted to change my direction. A visit to an exhibition in Liverpool, NSW saw me looking at some superb Australian layouts and I was mighty tempted, but the prices were mighty as well. I had visited Durango, CO in 2016 and went to the museum, though didn't get to see ant trains, as I had three non-railway people in tow. But while planning a visit there I 2019, I saw a link to Blackstone Models and I was hooked on HOn3. But the few bit and bobs I had of OO9 still needed a home and this is where we are at today. 

 

That went on a bit, so I'll save some for the next instalment.

[JZ]

Picked this up a few years back.

It shows the planned route would have been along the escarpment and wouldn't have gone through anywhere between Lynmouth and Porlock. It would have given stunning views across the Bristol Channel though. Some of the climbs would have been ferocious, in railway terms, rising to over 1000ft, it would have crossed what is now the car park at County Gate at 1059' My plan is that when this was rejected, an alternative route would have gone along the Oare and East Lyn Valleys. Look at the County Gate layout , I think this is also their premise. It would have served the villages of Malmsmead and Brendon and the tiny hamlet of Oare. Maps below is from the OS Seventh series of 1 inch. My planned route in black and the original surveyed route in green.

I have changed the working title from County Gate as I cannot hope to get anywhere near the standard or scale of the superb model referenced above.

 

More later.

[JZ]

So, why Malmsmead? I just like it there. In an earlier chapter of my life, my then wife and I would often chuck the tent in the car on a Friday night and drive down and stay in the campsite where the Oare Water and Badgeworthy Water became the East Lyn River, it's a beautiful spot. Usually drive up to Lynton for fish & chips, then to the Blue Ball Inn for a pint and finish off with a bottle of wine at the tent that we had tethered in the river to chill it. The roads in the valleys are narrow, with few passing places. I can't begin to imagine what they are like now with more traffic. So if there was a railway along the valley, it could have supplied coal and goods to the villages along it.

[JZ]

I suppose the next thing is why am I doing this. Well, the HOn3 is in a shed out in the garden and with it being 20'x10', it takes a bit of warming up in the winter. Fine if I'm going to be out there all day, but work dictates I can't always do that and sometimes I can't be arsed when it's A, cold. B, wet, C, cold and wet. So I wanted something that can stay indoors and maybe exhibited at some point. I have been promised a Grange & Hodder 1200x400mm baseboard that was surplus to a friends requirements. To add to this I have ordered a couple of 900x400mm boards to act as fiddle yards and am thinking of adding one of their 60° boards. As for track plan. I was thinking about something similar to Woody Bay, with maybe an extra siding for a small coal yard, or Bratton Flemming, with the siding cutting through the platform. Whatever, it will be kept simple. As for rolling stock, I have a couple of ex L&B coaches (Peco), a part built VoR kit (Dundas) and also some Nine Lines and Colin Ashby kits that were left over from previous layouts. I have a Heljan 'Lew' in plain black and picking up a Bachmann Baldwin tomorrow, again plain black.

So now we need a backstory for the rolling stock. Well, the promoters of the line chose the cheapest contractor, who went bust during the building, sound familiar? The original contract for loco's was then cancelled and cheaper options sought. Within 25 years, these loco's were knackered and a couple of ex WD Baldwins were purchased. Coaches were originally 4-wheel bug box type (Colin Ashby) but later supplemented with some bogie coaches, similar to the VoR ones. When the L&B closed, a couple of the carriages were purchased, but Lew was missed out on. However, when the finance failed to materialise, they got her as the second highest bidder.

I am also looking at possibly a Minitrains Baldwin, the difference in size could be explained away with the different wheel arrangement. Another loco I am looking at is Minitrain's Schneider diesel loco.

[JZ]

Finally for tonight. DCC or DC? Well, no contest really. Once you've driven an automatic, you'll never go back to a manual. But I won't bother with sound on this one. And period? I have loads of cars from Oxford and Pocketbond, so it will be late 1950s, early 1960s. Home tourism is still strong and the early shoots of preservation are showing. Besides, it is just within my living memory.

[JZ]

The full fleet.

Bargain, unused, from eBay.

Picked up this morning from a work colleague and part owner of East Somerset Models.

Minitrains Schneider diesel. Just loved the look of this.

Another Minitrains diesel. This is/was my son's. Number needs painting out.

 

The diesels will handle what little freight there is and the Manning Wardle and Baldwin the passenger.

[Keith Addenbrooke]

Exmoor is a lovely part of the country - we holidayed a few miles East (in Watchet) on a couple of occasions when I was growing up, and I enjoyed exploring the area, although I didn’t know about the proposed NG railway before: I think your route would have mades more economic sense.  Looks like a nice project.

 

BTW, the second diesel looks to me more like the small Roco locomotive rather than Minitrains.  I could be wrong of course, but it just might affect DCC fitting if it’s arranged differently internally - there isn’t the large Minitrains flywheel in the cab?

[PaulRhB]

On 17/01/2022 at 21:23, JZ said:

am also looking at possibly a Minitrains Baldwin, the difference in size could be explained away with the different wheel arrangement

 

 

Like the little (Roco) 6007 diesel it’s a bit smaller but only really noticeable directly side by side  

 

[JZ]

1 hour ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Exmoor is a lovely part of the country - we holidayed a few miles East (in Watchet) on a couple of occasions when I was growing up, and I enjoyed exploring the area, although I didn’t know about the proposed NG railway before: I think your route would have mades more economic sense.  Looks like a nice project.

 

BTW, the second diesel looks to me more like the small Roco locomotive rather than Minitrains.  I could be wrong of course, but it just might affect DCC fitting if it’s arranged differently internally - there isn’t the large Minitrains flywheel in the cab?

The Schneider loco does have a fly wheel in the cab. I am hoping to be able to squeeze in an ESU LokPilot 5 Micro. I'll get one to fit in the 6007 loco first and see if there is room. Otherwise I might re-cab it to 'scale it up'.

[PaulRhB]

5 minutes ago, JZ said:

The Schneider loco does have a fly wheel in the cab.

 

 

Keith was referring to the “second diesel” below as Roco, not the Schneider  

[JZ]

6 minutes ago, PaulRhB said:

Keith was referring to the “second diesel” below as Roco, not the Schneider  

Doh.

Yes it is Roco. I already have one of these, bought around 1978, along with their steam loco. Looking at fitting the decoder in the cab roof

[PaulRhB]

4 minutes ago, JZ said:

Doh.

Yes it is Roco. I already have one of these, bought around 1978, along with their steam loco. Looking at fitting the decoder in the cab roof

Look at the Zimo max 616 or 617 as they are tiny. I got a 616 alongside the motor in a Minitrains Stainz. 
 

I also used them in the Nm RhB shunters. 

Edited January 19, 2022 by PaulRhB

[CotBob]

Hi JZ, I very much like the sound of this and will be following your progress with interest.

[fezza]

I've been collecting L and B stock too in order to model this unbuilt route. The original plan book is truly inspiring - I would love to model a halt going through a place called Desolate!

 

One of the reasons I didn't really like the County Gate model was that it didn't look anything like the real County Gate, which is a really remote spot with few trees. If you can reproduce something of the real Malmsmead it will be amazing.

[JZ]

17 hours ago, fezza said:

One of the reasons I didn't really like the County Gate model was that it didn't look anything like the real County Gate, which is a really remote spot with few trees. If you can reproduce something of the real Malmsmead it will be amazing.

I feel the County Gate model was actually set in the valley and Malmsmead is the nearest place. As for reproducing the real Malmsmead, I'll see what I can do in 400mm width.

[fezza]

30 minutes ago, JZ said:

I feel the County Gate model was actually set in the valley and Malmsmead is the nearest place. As for reproducing the real Malmsmead, I'll see what I can do in 400mm width.

You are probably right mate - I've walked every inch of the area over the last forty years so I suppose I'm a bit over critical.

 

Maybe just try to model one of the distinctive Malmsmead  cottages to give it a sense of place? 

 

As you know the real railway would have passed very close to the County gatepost and the cottages on the hill. I've wanted to model this for years and took photos and measurements of the cottages. The problem is trying to capture the wild windswept moorland in a small space. The valley has a more 'intimate' feel so your idea might work better. Looking forward to following progress.

 

[JZ]

Screenshot of Google Maps from my phone. I have done the railway in green to show better.

I have removed a farm, because it gets in the way of my alternative reality. The Oare Water would be at the front of the baseboard, with the rising hill behind. While most roads are bordered with hedges, there are a few dry stone walls, which is handy as I have a boxful left over from Gurney Slade.

[JZ]

I'll keep up to progress reports with any rolling stock builds, but until I get the baseboards from Grange & Hodder, there is not much I can do track wise.. The baseboard from my mate is in Manchester will be collected on the way back from my trip to the Isle of Man in February.

[JZ]

The scope of the layout will be between the black lines. With the road to the station over a bridge to act as a scenic break at one end and on occupation bridge at the other. I've taken the liberty of shifting the stream by a few metres. The trackbed will be about 50mm above water level.

The station building is Bachmann's Woody Bay resin model. and continues the old railway theme of "why did they build it there, when they could have easily built it closer to the village next to an existing road."

[JZ]

On to the subject of rolling stock.

We'll do the passenger first.

 I have  3 Ashby and a Dundas freelance 'bug boxish' style coaches, a Meridian Penrhyn workman's and a Dundas Ffestiniog semi open that may form a 'heritage' train. A couple of Egger Bahn tram carriages ( would it be heresy to remove crest/logo on the side?), two L&B Peco carriages, one a brake and two Dundas VoR coaches and a brake.

 

Goods/freight stock.

I have 10 Ashby 4-wheel opens, these will be my 'standard' coal wagon. 3 Nine Lines L&B bogie vans, a L&B bogie brake (from the same maker?) a couple a 4-wheel vans and some various Egger opens and vans, that may(or may not) have been Anglicised to a degree. Also have a former tri-ang TT bogie bolster and maybe, or maybe not, a bogie tank wagon, or two, that I was going to convert to to HOn3.

 

British narrow gauge railways were quite individual in their rolling stock. One of the things that drew me into it in the first place.

On 20/01/2022 at 17:00, fezza said:

Maybe just try to model one of the distinctive Malmsmead  cottages to give it a sense of place? 

I was hoping to avoid any buildings, other than those necessary for the railway, ie, the station building itself. But, you never know.

[BernardTPM]

On 21/01/2022 at 19:58, JZ said:

A couple of Egger Bahn tram carriages ( would it be heresy to remove crest/logo on the side?)

I don't think so. Must have been '000s of them, so:

 

 

Though I did buy it as a glazed body only: no roof, no underframe. Etches for the panels were an experiment. I actually did three different patterns.

Edited March 31, 2022 by BernardTPM

[JZ]

Looking around for a brake van and found this 3D printed one on eBay.

Need some brake gear added and still needs a bit of tidying up, but I like it.

And pictured here with the Baldwin and a Colin Ashby open wagon. A bargain at £8.30 including postage.

[JZ]

The bridges that will form the scenic breaks. This one is based on Mill Lane bridge.

This will be at the Lynmouth end. The access to the station will be over this. I got a bit heavy handed with the spray when adding soot and had to repaint above the arch.

This to go at the Porlock end. Based on Church lane, Parracombe.

Both of these are resin from eBay. Photo's of originals from geograph.co.uk.

 

Edited January 27, 2022 by JZ

[JZ]

Now looking around for a suitable backscene. I want something set in a valley, but no visible buildings.

[JZ]

Baseboards from Grainge & Hodder arrive today, almost three weeks ahead of schedule. I can get these together shortly.

 

So between shifts, I'll start getting these together and be ready for when I pick up the other from my mate in Manchester when I come back from the IoM.

Edited January 30, 2022 by JZ