Medway East - 1990s Kent coast mainline in EM

[Timara]

I felt it was high time I started on a topic about this layout on here, so here goes....

Twenty years ago, I bought a particular issue of Model Rail magazine, where the "layout that sometimes leave home" was South Sheppey.  Not long afterwards, I went to a show and met Malcolm Pocknell  (the original builder) for the first time.  Fast forward to 2020 and a chance browse of the then EMGS newsletter which came through the letterbox, a week after Lockdown 1.0, where it was in the classifieds section.  Long story short, I took it on and it was delivered after restrictions started to be eased in early July 2020.  Since then, I've been bringing it forward in period from early 80s to the late 90s, which is when I started getting really interested in the then rail scene.  I'd gained a little bit of free time once I was in the 6th form at school and started venturing into London with my camera.

 

So, some photos of what it looked like with my then new stock on it, all dated July 2020.  Due to file limits, I'll have to put another post up with subsequent images showing progress over the past 18 months.

 

One of the signature trains; the Sheerness to Willesden/Mossend "Enterprise".  A fully repainted Hornby 56 as 56053 in "big T" livery.

 

 

 

An overview, looking from where the station building is.

 

 

 

One of my favourite liveries; Mainline Freight aircraft blue.  This loco is due to become 58023 "Peterborough Depot", which I photographed on 6M87.

 

 

 

It's no secret I'm a bit of a "fishkind" fan, so this layout has given me an excuse to make use of my rake of Sea Urchins, most of them built some 16 years ago.  A modified current spec Heljan 33 as 33051 heads the consist.  Much more recent photos will show how it's been further worked on to become the then-newly repainted retro blue loco, before it was withdrawn the following year.

 

 

 

More photos to come as and when, including when I get round to doing the full rewire to DCC.

 

Cheers,

Edited September 9, 2022 by Tim

[Timara]

Just a quick pair of images, showing some subtle changes from last year, which involved a bit of red paint on the lamps, amongst other things.  Compare 33051 with how it was a year earlier.  I need to find the right size of oversized numbers....  The other is of 33202, bought as an eBay "wreck" and a fairly ropey weathering job...  Superstrip solved that issue and then it had an appointment with the airbrush for some yellow and grey paint!

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Tim

[CovDriver]

I remember the original article in Model Rail all those years ago I may have that magazine somewhere. 

It was a great inspirational layout back then and looking at this post it's still very much so. 

I'm glad it's now on here and it's great to see it after all these years. 

I'll be following with great interest. 

 

Cheers 

 

Colin 

[Bogie]

Those last 2 photos sitting outdoors in the sun look very impressive.

[Clive martin]

Its great to see this layout again alive and well,i have the modelrail pages in my southern electric classic layout ring binder ,its a real credit to its builder your later era detailed stock looks well at home ,i look forward to more updates!

[lezz01]

Very nice stock detailing. I like to support fellow EM modellers so I will be following this with interest.

Regards Lez.

[Oldddudders]

I think Malcolm worked for CM&EE SR at Southern House, Croydon, possibly in Maintrol. I think he and another senior engineer were members of the Crawley MR club. 

[simon b]

Great to see this layout again, I still have the Model rail feature on it somewhere. The aircraft blue of Mainline freight has to be one of the best looking liveries around at that time.   

[Timara]

4 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

I think Malcolm worked for CM&EE SR at Southern House, Croydon, possibly in Maintrol. I think he and another senior engineer were members of the Crawley MR club. 

 Indeed he did!  From what I remember, he was responsible for the maintenance schedule of the engines in the DEMUs, amongst other things.  Reminds me, I must drop him a line sometime.....

[Timara]

17 minutes ago, simon b said:

Great to see this layout again, I still have the Model rail feature on it somewhere. The aircraft blue of Mainline freight has to be one of the best looking liveries around at that time.   

 

I absolutely agree with you!  As a teenager growing up in the 90s, when the three freight companies unveiled their liveries, it was a hugely exciting and refreshing change.  Transrail, even though it was bland by comparison to the other two, was still nice to see, but the blue was where it was at (yes, I'm a LoadHaul fan as well!)

 

My plan is to replicate 58023 like this, captured on camera by me in May 1997 at Denmark Hill.....

 

 

[Melangoose]

Remember seeing this layout at the Carshalton and Sutton Club’s Leatherhead model railway exhibition.  A fantastic layout with lovely appropriate stock.

Glad to see the layout is still in operation and appreciated.

[Timara]

Amongst the various items of stock I'm building for the layout is a Class 465/2 Networker.  I remember these from new and vastly preferred them to the EPBs they replaced (apologies to EPB fans here!).  My starting point is indeed the Hornby model, which I've done the beginnings of with the first three cars; I'm awaiting another unit coming from a friend to give me the full 4 cars!

 

 

 

The driving cars are easy, though I have the CET hatch to fill in at the leading end of the underframe.  The centre cars require a careful cut and shut.  I do plan to repaint the blue on the entire unit and some of the red....

 

 

 

Power will be as per the method I chose for an AC version recently, which is the driveline from a Bachmann 158/170.  Plenty of grunt for a 465, for sure.....

 

More units to come, including two 4CEP and a couple of service EMUs, both based on the Bachmann EPB model.

 

Cheers,

 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Tim

[simon b]

The center car on that Networker looks great, I always wanted to that but was scared I wouldn't be able to make it look good.

[Timara]

52 minutes ago, simon b said:

The center car on that Networker looks great, I always wanted to that but was scared I wouldn't be able to make it look good.

 

Thanks Simon!  It's not that hard to do, to be honest.  Piercing saw, masking tape (for alignment) and time are the key to it.  The inner ends of the underframes for the TSO and TSOL need work to make them match the rest, but that's the least of my worries; plasticard/filler will do that that!

[dasatcopthorne]

On 05/02/2022 at 23:37, Melangoose said:

Remember seeing this layout at the Carshalton and Sutton Club’s Leatherhead model railway exhibition.  A fantastic layout with lovely appropriate stock.

Glad to see the layout is still in operation and appreciated.

 

I remember you seeing it as well!! 

 

Such a good layout I couldn't resist inviting it.

 

Dave.

[Timara]

The latest arrival, which arrived in the post this morning, from that well-known auction site.  New wheels and couplings beckon, though I've already made a start by adding the ploughs; 33s always look good with them!

 

 

 

Nice to have one of these in something other than Dutch too.....of the final 8 in service by the time I started photography on the SE in 1997, only two weren't!  The mass cull in the February took out some nice livery variety.

 

Cheers,

Edited March 31, 2022 by Tim

[Rich Papper]

I too remember the MR article on this, good to see it still exists and in safe hands.

Good luck with it.

Rich

[Timara]

A bit of progress made on one of my two service EMUs, 930203.  Fitting the blanking plate across the two compartments on one side of 977864 had been bugging me for some time, until a friend suggested cutting out the glazing into separate panes and glueing them dead flesh with the bodyside before putting the plasticard over the top of that.  Pleased to say that it worked and if won't be long (finally!) before I can get both bodyshells primed and then painted.

 

First off is 977864, showing the plating.

 

 

 

Next is 977865, showing the inner end and indeed the gangway fitted to both cars (BS gangways, as fitted to 1st generation DMUs).

 

 

 

Lastly, it's probably worth my showing the unpowered DMB, which has had all the boxes etc removed from another chassis, which is now under one of my 303s for my erstwhile Scottish layout.

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Edited March 31, 2022 by Tim

[Timara]

Further progress on the sandite/de-icer.  It's finally been painted in the appropriate livery for my period, which I know won't be to everyone's taste, but I don't mind it as a livery goes.

 

First up is 977864.  Maybe worth mentioning that this vehicle, prior to conversion, was part of the rear unit involved in the Cannon Street accident.

 

 

 

Now for 977865.  Fairly straightforward by comparison to its adopted twin, though the roof guttering is gapped differently and it lost its periscopes.  One window was filled in as well.

 

 

 

Transfers are my next task, along with painting the former luggage compartment handrails black.

 

Cheers,

[Timara]

It's been (quite) a while since I updated things, not least because of work and my musical activities monopolising my time.  To be honest, having any free time to do anything for myself is a bonus these days!!

 

I've managed to make further progress on the 465/2, now I have a full 4-car unit; there will eventually be a second unit (see end of this post), which will be mechanically the same as this one when I get round to it.

 

It's well known that the original mechanism is absolutely gutless, so I'll be using the complete drivetrain from an old Bachmann 158, though with the cardan shafts shortened.  I've already done this on an AC Networker of mine, which runs like a dream and has more than enough grunt to shift its three cars (and more) around.  Here are some in-progress photos showing how I go about building bogie supports and fitting them to the underframe.

 

 

I start with four blanks of 80 thou plasticard, which then have the upper two corners cut off and fitted lower down and another little bit chopped off the bottom to allow a piece of 40 thou adding, so that it fits onto the underframe; all paint in the areas is removed, so that when the epoxy goes on, it's fixing to the bare metal instead of paint.

 

 

 

 

I'll be doing some milling away of the ends to allow a Kadee #143 to sit in a small recess, given the bogies preclude them being mounted on top.  I'm still working out what to do for the gap between the middle two cars, as I've merely chopped the dummy buffers off and filed back the necessary metal to let the body sit on properly.  I'll rebuild the fairing to match the other end in due course.  Once this is all done, I'll then fit the bogie brackets in place and add the mounts for the gear towers, again from 80 thou.

 

Re-wheeling to EM is a fairly straightforward affair, using DCC Concepts 10.5mm wheels, with the axle ends filed flush to the wheel faces.  I carefully blacken the rims, so that the eye "sees" a disc brake surface on the otherwise bright nickel-silver wheel face.  I've had to offset the wheels in the bogies, so that a complete unit can use one of the carriage sidings, as the curvature is sharp enough to cause the walkway to interface with the underframe fairings; I've already taken a file to the corners of them as it is, so it won't now catch!

 

 

 

As mentioned above, there will be a second unit to join this one, allowing me to run 8 car trains.  Back when I took the layout on, there had been a desire to run more than just 4 car trains; I can get 5 in at the most.  It's just as well I hadn't started on the new curve at the station end, as I will now be rebuilding the trackwork on the board the station building currently sits on, to allow me to have platforms long enough for two full units.  I've already purchased some Airfix canopies, so that I can extend the existing ones in the same style that Malcolm originally built the current ones.  The layout will also acquire a new name, seeing as I've decided to move it to the Kent coast mainline, somewhere between Rochester and Sittingbourne, as it allows me to retain all the freight traffic to Sheerness etc.  There will be more on this as and when, especially once I decide upon the new name....

 

[Mike Storey]

5 hours ago, Tim said:

It's been (quite) a while since I updated things, not least because of work and my musical activities monopolising my time.  To be honest, having any free time to do anything for myself is a bonus these days!!

 

I've managed to make further progress on the 465/2, now I have a full 4-car unit; there will eventually be a second unit (see end of this post), which will be mechanically the same as this one when I get round to it.

 

It's well known that the original mechanism is absolutely gutless, so I'll be using the complete drivetrain from an old Bachmann 158, though with the cardan shafts shortened.  I've already done this on an AC Networker of mine, which runs like a dream and has more than enough grunt to shift its three cars (and more) around.  Here are some in-progress photos showing how I go about building bogie supports and fitting them to the underframe.

 

 

I start with four blanks of 80 thou plasticard, which then have the upper two corners cut off and fitted lower down and another little bit chopped off the bottom to allow a piece of 40 thou adding, so that it fits onto the underframe; all paint in the areas is removed, so that when the epoxy goes on, it's fixing to the bare metal instead of paint.

 

 

 

 

I'll be doing some milling away of the ends to allow a Kadee #143 to sit in a small recess, given the bogies preclude them being mounted on top.  I'm still working out what to do for the gap between the middle two cars, as I've merely chopped the dummy buffers off and filed back the necessary metal to let the body sit on properly.  I'll rebuild the fairing to match the other end in due course.  Once this is all done, I'll then fit the bogie brackets in place and add the mounts for the gear towers, again from 80 thou.

 

Re-wheeling to EM is a fairly straightforward affair, using DCC Concepts 10.5mm wheels, with the axle ends filed flush to the wheel faces.  I carefully blacken the rims, so that the eye "sees" a disc brake surface on the otherwise bright nickel-silver wheel face.  I've had to offset the wheels in the bogies, so that a complete unit can use one of the carriage sidings, as the curvature is sharp enough to cause the walkway to interface with the underframe fairings; I've already taken a file to the corners of them as it is, so it won't now catch!

 

 

 

As mentioned above, there will be a second unit to join this one, allowing me to run 8 car trains.  Back when I took the layout on, there had been a desire to run more than just 4 car trains; I can get 5 in at the most.  It's just as well I hadn't started on the new curve at the station end, as I will now be rebuilding the trackwork on the board the station building currently sits on, to allow me to have platforms long enough for two full units.  I've already purchased some Airfix canopies, so that I can extend the existing ones in the same style that Malcolm originally built the current ones.  The layout will also acquire a new name, seeing as I've decided to move it to the Kent coast mainline, somewhere between Rochester and Sittingbourne, as it allows me to retain all the freight traffic to Sheerness etc.  There will be more on this as and when, especially once I decide upon the new name....

 

 

Good decision on the re-naming, as I could never quite work out the reason for  "South Sheppey" (Harty Bridge!!)  The station design is much more like Gillingham, although with a bay rather than a true third road. Some of the other aspects, such as the gasometer and the steel shed are more at home on Sheppey. A new name will be a difficult choice, but may I suggest "Medway East", or similar? (You need it be west/north of Sittingbourne/Shepway, because virtually none of the Queenborough/Sheerness traffic went near it.)

 

 

 

[Timara]

Just now, Mike Storey said:

 

Good decision on the re-naming, as I could never quite work out the reason for  "South Sheppey" (Harty Bridge!!)  The station design is much more like Gillingham, although with a bay rather than a true third road. Some of the other aspects, such as the gasometer and the steel shed are more at home on Sheppey. A new name will be a difficult choice, but may I suggest "Medway East", or similar? (You need it be west/north of Sittingbourne/Shepway, because virtually none of the Queenborough/Sheerness traffic went near it.)

 

 

 

 

Thanks Mike!  Funnily enough, the current bay will become a third road, in the up direction.  I've already worked out the trackwork on the new boards, but it's whether I make it look even more like Gillingham and have it going into a cutting and indeed tunnel....  I wouldn't need to have a pair of 4' x 2' (2400mm x 1200mm really) boards if I did that!  I won't be changing a single thing on the other three boards, save for new fully working signals, all 3-aspect.  The public viewing side would be from the north.  I do like that name suggestion, however....  I almost thought of calling it "Luton", given there's a village just to the west of Gillingham sharing the name of the town just north of where I live..... 😂

[Andy Hayter]

Not sure Luton is a good name given there is one as part of Medway and from what I remember, village would not be an accurate description.

 

There area number of local names that you might steal - Iwade (actually just South of Sheppey),   Rushenden (part of Queensborough) or why not something based on "Swale" - Swaledale, Swaleton, Swaleborough etc..

[dasatcopthorne]

1 hour ago, Tim said:

 

Thanks Mike!  Funnily enough, the current bay will become a third road, in the up direction.  I've already worked out the trackwork on the new boards, but it's whether I make it look even more like Gillingham and have it going into a cutting and indeed tunnel....  I wouldn't need to have a pair of 4' x 2' (2400mm x 1200mm really) boards if I did that!  I won't be changing a single thing on the other three boards, save for new fully working signals, all 3-aspect.  The public viewing side would be from the north.  I do like that name suggestion, however....  I almost thought of calling it "Luton", given there's a village just to the west of Gillingham sharing the name of the town just north of where I live..... 😂

 

Oooo no! Not Luton.

 

Imagine what punters will think when they see that name in the list of layouts for a Show they are thinking of visiting!

 

Dave.

 

ps. mind you, Elbow Lane is not much better.

 

[Timara]

7 minutes ago, dasatcopthorne said:

 

Oooo no! Not Luton.

 

Imagine what punters will think when they see that name in the list of layouts for a Show they are thinking of visiting!

 

Dave.

 

ps. mind you, Elbow Lane is not much better.

 

 

Hence why I decided against it!  Even if I put (Kent) next to it, it still wouldn't work.....  Have to say I'm warming to Mike's suggestion above of "Medway East"....  Still plenty of thought to be had!