Langford Lane & Marlingford - GWR 1940s Oxfordshire

[exet1095]

I really like your depiction of Kidlington station. Not much left now, but the track is still at the old broad gauge spacing  as the station house is still there too. Your lovely Banbury Road bridge was replaced a long time ago, but the next one north along the line (albeit now only with two tracks) is exactly that shape, and I’m about to go for a run which will involve crossing it...

 

Paul

Edited February 13, 2021 by exet1095

[checkrail]

Really good to see more pics of such a fine layout.  Keep 'em coming.  Good luck with track/fiddle yard mods. 

[The Great Bear]

1 hour ago, exet1095 said:

I really like your depiction of Kidlington station. Not much left now, but the track is still at the old broad gauge spacing  as the station house is still there too. Your lovely Banbury Road bridge was replaced a long time ago, but the next one north along the line (albeit now only with two tracks) is exactly that shape, and I’m about to go for a run which will involve crossing it...

 

Paul

 

Thank you. In the time period I'm modelling, the road bridge should be the more modern single span concrete one as I think is still there, but I found the original one more interesting to model. Plus, one day I might run trains in an earlier period too.

 

[exet1095]

1 minute ago, The Great Bear said:

 

Thank you. In the time period I'm modelling, the road bridge should be the more modern single span concrete one as I think is still there, but I found the original one more interesting to model. Plus, one day I might run trains in an earlier period too.

 

It’s a mile and a half away from here...

 

You really have captured the feel of the place; the Edwardian station was famous for its gardens and trellis. Such a pity that it was all swept away.

[Bulwell Hall]

As a one time resident of Kidlington I have been following this thread with interest. I lived there from 1980 to 84 and there was very little of the station left even then.  The goods shed was still standing though and I always meant to measure and photograph it but didn't get round to it and then one day it was gone....

 

Just across the road from my house was a row of cottages and one was occupied by an elderly couple.  It was only after the old chap had passed away that his wife told me that he had been a ganger on the Woodstock branch.

 

Gerry

[The Great Bear]

Here's a stopping train hauled by a large prairie.

 

 

 

 

This loco, one of the recent Hornby ones, has been nothing but trouble. I thought I'd cracked it, following the advice of John Dew fitting Zimo decoder and large stay alive and it was running pretty well. I took the body off to move an errant visible wire and having put it back on it's running worse; I did check I hadn't tightened fixing screw too much. I daren't take the body off again, the blasted sandboxes have already broken off several times. 

 

Wishing all followers of this topic a belated happy new year!

 

All the best

 

Jon

 

 

 

[Andy R]

I have just caught up with this layout topic( only years behind…..) and really enjoying the GWR atmosphere nicely captured in these photos. Thanks for sharing. 

If of interest check out my own attempt at capturing GWR on my Hawkinsfield Junction topic. 
 

Andy R

[checkrail]

11 hours ago, The Great Bear said:

Here's a stopping train hauled by a large prairie.

 

Nice to see you posting again Jon.  Great pics.  Hope we'll see more soon.

 

Sorry to hear re problems with Hornby large prairie.  I was thinking of getting one as Hornby offer a variant nearer to my intended prototype than any of the Dapol versions.

 

John C.

[The Great Bear]

And now a down goods train hauled by a 2884

 

Shows the complexity of the bacon factory roof off!

 

 

 

I ought to have another try at the Modelu lamps rather than the Springside ones used here. I find the Modelu ones fiddly, getting the lenses off the sticky sheet is a source of frustration and I end up losing many of them. Also the handles are pretty fragile. They do look good though. Maybe I just lack dexterity and patience or are there any tips?

 

My weathering is rather slapdash, dry brushing and a dark wash but I am pleasantly suprised by how it looks in this photo. I think I will get some models done professionally, though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[checkrail]

Lovely photos.  Greatly in favour of bacon, but even more of a GWR 2-8-0.   Last pic is particularly good.  Like your signal box too.  Scratch built?

 

Yes, know what you mean about modelu lamps.  I usually use up about three or four lenses to get one on the lamp with the aid of craft knife and cocktail stick, so I always order spare lenses with every order.  They sometimes need the slot opening out too.  Then of course you pick up the loco to have a look at something underneath and they fall onto the loft floor, rarely to be seen again.

 

John C.

[drduncan]

@Great Bear Just discovered this thread and worked my way through it. Excellent work and a delightful project. Anything new to show us all?

 

Duncan

[The Great Bear]

On 28/12/2023 at 11:02, drduncan said:

@Great Bear Just discovered this thread and worked my way through it. Excellent work and a delightful project. Anything new to show us all?

 

Duncan

Hi Duncan

 

Thanks for the compliments and the interest shown in the layout. Not much has happened since the last post. I've rediscovered the shed but as usual a massive tidy is required to get things in the railway room in shape.Getting a train running by the end of the holidays was my target, not sure I'll make it...

 

Having got the construction of the layout done a couple of years back now, getting trains running should be the priority but having got the layout building done I've lost impetus. (Do others have this, find the layout building more fun?) I think the lack of drive is also due to the realisation how much work is involved, that the layout is only 1/2 the work - obvious really! My aim was to more of less replicate services from a day in 1947 but there's a lot to that, it being a mainline. Not just acquiring stock, renaming and weathering  but also the armchair modelling of researching what locos might have pulled which train. I may have to settle for a selection.

 

There are a couple of projects on the go more on these soon, hopefully. I've also got a big stash of wagons, mostly from Rapido, many of which pre ordered a year if not more ago to get into service, weather and add loads. I've also got an Accurascale manor that will need renaming and weathering, but I'm too scared to get it out of the box and damage it!

 

All the best

 

Jon

 

 

[The Great Bear]

Some shots of a 43xx, this one being the most recent Dapol release, on a goods train.

 

 

 

 

Taking photos as often reveals niggles. I used tracklay foam under the tracks whch with the thin C+L sleepers made ballasting really easy and neat. I used the same foam for the areas between tracks and cess too. Gaps have opened up, I have since filled most of these using normal diluted pva glue method. I've also sprinkled some ballast, filled gaps around the signal bases.

 

 

Should have cleaned the dust off the van...

[Siberian Snooper]

WOT, no filth?

 

 

[checkrail]

Really enjoying seeing views of your layout again Jon  - it's always been a favourite of mine.  More please!  

 

Great looking track, regardless of your current ballast issues. And neat looking Mogul.

[The Great Bear]

On 26/03/2024 at 16:54, checkrail said:

Really enjoying seeing views of your layout again Jon  - it's always been a favourite of mine.  More please!  

 

Great looking track, regardless of your current ballast issues. And neat looking Mogul.

 

Thanks for the compliments and encouragement, John. The mogul is a good loco, and was in my opnion a great choice for Dapol to do, being so commonplace. I have another (of the first batch) in a box somewhere to relivery from BR black to GWR wartime black.

[The Great Bear]

Some photos taken a while back of my "Pseudo Saint", an Ebay purchase of a Hornby Bachmann-bash, here paired with a couple of my home brew coaches.

 

 

 

 

In the past month I've been playing around to upgrade this loco, putting a more accurate body onto it, details here.

 

[Mikkel]

Proper mixed-up stock and nicely subdued colours.  The "grimy" look can come across rather stark on layouts sometimes, but the brown shades used here are very effective, and suits the period well I think. The chocolate-box days are gone but this railway is not mismanaged, just coping with changed circumstances.