Bournemouth Central Model Railway Group

[souwest]

Although I am not entirely sure to what you exactly refer, the viaducts were (from a photographic point of view) bedevilled by a line of telegraph poles in the 1950s.  See the picture of the Bournemouth Belle in my own Southern Region portfolio.  Link in signature!

 

Great photos - yes that is it exactly.  I was confused as the remaining wood looks to be square (presumably to fit to the viaduct easier) and telegraph poles being round it befuddled me.

 

Many thanks for clearing this up.

[Froxfield2012]

Great photos - yes that is it exactly.  I was confused as the remaining wood looks to be square (presumably to fit to the viaduct easier) and telegraph poles being round it befuddled me.

 

Many thanks for clearing this up.

You are more than welcome.  It's good to be of some use/help.  Thanks for the appreciation of the photos!

[Ramrig]

Hi Frank

Any updates on this project. Last posting was at the start of the year.

[Joseph_Pestell]

Nearly confused with Bournemouth West. Yes would be good to see update on the Central layout.

Edited August 4, 2016 by Joseph_Pestell

[Ceptic]

Nearly confused with Bournemouth West. Yes would be good to see update on the Central layout.

 

Hi Frank

Any updates on this project. Last posting was at the start of the year.

 

Hi Joseph and Ramrig.  Glad to hear from you.

 

I'm reluctant to say that there hasn't been any recent up-dates. The most recent being the December 2015 photo views of the realistic lighting set-up, modelled on, and around Cemetery Junction.

 

The last contact that I had from the BCMRG was back on the 31st. May, enquiring about the SR's / BR(S)'s enamel signs adorning the Entrances to, and Canopy Valances of the Bournemouth Central Goods Depot.

 

I sent them what I had. I'm still waiting to hear back.

 

Regards and all the best,

Frank.

Edited August 4, 2016 by Ceptic

[Ceptic]

 A mock tudor pillbox?  Only in Bournemouth.

 

Aaannd,  I must add,   paint applied mock windows along with mock roof plus slates.  All costed for within wartime provisions. Probably ?, and I think to hate not, an idea by O.V.S. Bulleid ?

[Jack P]

Any updates to this brilliant topic?

[Dunsignalling]

 A mock tudor pillbox?  Only in Bournemouth.

Great camouflage, though.

 

John

[Dunsignalling]

Any updates to this brilliant topic?

I'm hoping to take some more pictures showing progress in the next few weeks, which will then go to Frank for captioning.

 

John

[Dunsignalling]

Hi Joseph and Ramrig.  Glad to hear from you.

 

I'm reluctant to say that there hasn't been any recent up-dates. The most recent being the December 2015 photo views of the realistic lighting set-up, modelled on, and around Cemetery Junction.

 

The last contact that I had from the BCMRG was back on the 31st. May, enquiring about the SR's / BR(S)'s enamel signs adorning the Entrances to, and Canopy Valances of the Bournemouth Central Goods Depot.

 

I sent them what I had. I'm still waiting to hear back.

 

Regards and all the best,

Frank.

PM sent.

 

John

[xkopite]

This ia a really eye catching scene, so much going on.

I am into urban scenes with vehicles etc, keep the good work up.

[Aidan Strand]

Level of detail looks phenomenal. Never really been into the model scene as I only had a Hornby starter set when I was younger but I've been really interested in Bournemouth Central as the area is fairly local to me. Has there been any recent developments anyone knows about/the creators allow to make public?

[Dunsignalling]

The layout has been undergoing substantial scenic work over the past couple of years, and has consequently not been operated as often as we would like.

 

Infrequent use has led to various electrical problems which have been gradually dealt with since this spring. We have also modernised the control system, using Blue Railways wireless analogue controllers in place of the old and unresponsive American radio throttles that had been in use since the layout was begun.

 

None of this has happened quickly as we are only a small group, but things have now got to a stage where we are able to run regularly once more. 

 

I'm hoping to get the chance over the next month or so to do a photo survey of the "new works".

 

Regards to Ceptic and all others who have taken an interest in the layout.

 

John

 

 

Edited October 19, 2019 by Dunsignalling

[Evertonian]

As a member of the operating team on "Bournemouth West" it's good to hear that our 'neighbours' efforts are progressing well, and

I look forward to reading further updates and seeing photos of the changes. All the best

 

Chris Knight

[Combe Martin]

Has/is Bournemouth Central been/being built to be an (occasional) exhibition layout, or will it only ever be permanently residing in its clubrooms ?.  

 

If the later, are there plans to allow (arranged in advance) visitors ?, obviously once 'things' get back to normal.   

[the pines]

Loveing this model 

I'm pretty local (boss Vegas I believe the call it) 

If there is any way I can get involved in any way at all please let me know 

Cheers 

Mark

[Dunsignalling]

Sorry about the lack of updates, guys, but we are doing rather than communicating lately.

 

Tom's been very busy on the scenic side and the area around and between the viaducts is nearing completion. William installed the street lamps in that area last week and will be wiring them up when he next visits. Note that the scenic treatment is mainly representational using proprietary buildings rather than as it all was in 1960, of which we'd not managed to obtain enough insight.

 

Ray and I are currently attacking the shed area, with the missing minor structures under way and Tom applying some suitably "shed area" foliage etc to the bank along the back. Much study going into how the backscene should look when we get to it. 

 

Main project for 2023 will be William and Ray tackling the elephant in the room, the big area where the station building should be!  

 

In the meantime, a couple of progress shots from earlier in the year. Photo details: Lumix G9 with 25mm Lumix and 15mm Leica lenses (in that order) focus-stacked in-camera.

 

Happy Christmas all.

 

John

Edited December 24, 2022 by Dunsignalling

[Dunsignalling]

Just a quickie today, to show an item I currently have under construction for the shed yard.

 

It's based on panel dimensions from the Southern Nouveau books and photos of the prototype in situ.

 

However, the photos have thrown up a query. Some show a fairly small roof-mounted water tank which tallies with drawings in the book. However, others show a much larger, separate tank evidently standing behind the concrete cabin. Few are dated, but other items "in shot" indicate the large tank to be later.

 

Question is, does anybody know when the change occurred?

 

John

 

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[albinopigeon]

The photos that I've seen of this layout look absolutely incredible, but alas a lot of the links from this thread's history have gone dead! Is there an album of photos of the whole layout that is available? I've worked on a virtual model of the Bournemouth Central area and I would be more than happy to share the models I have made as a reference if the team behind this layout would find it useful!

 

One question I have is how much of the layout is left to build before it's considered complete?

[Dunsignalling]

9 hours ago, albinopigeon said:

The photos that I've seen of this layout look absolutely incredible, but alas a lot of the links from this thread's history have gone dead! Is there an album of photos of the whole layout that is available? I've worked on a virtual model of the Bournemouth Central area and I would be more than happy to share the models I have made as a reference if the team behind this layout would find it useful!

 

One question I have is how much of the layout is left to build before it's considered complete?

Unfortunately, my posted photos from earlier stages were all lost a year or so ago when this site had to be reconstructed.

 

Back then we forwarded them to the late Frank Robertson (Ceptic) who originated this thread, and who used his wide local and historical knowledge to add captions and then post them on here. I haven't yet worked out how to tie the remaining info in his posts back to my files, which would enable me to repost them. I will try to sort out contemporaneous pics appropriate to the captions eventually, though they may not be the exact frames.

 

I should have more success reposting any missing from the point when I started to do it myself. It won't be anytime soon, however, as I have rather a lot of other stuff on my plate at present. 

 

As to "completion" there are relatively few "bits" left to do, but most of them are very big bits! Hopefully a couple more years, if we're all spared....

 

Regards

 

John

Edited April 17, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[Dunsignalling]

On 13/02/2023 at 10:40, Dunsignalling said:

 

 

 

Unfortunately I noticed a couple of weeks ago that I'd made the store-room bit at the left-hand end a panel short. I'd given it a first coat of paint by then, too!

 

Others suggested that nobody would notice, but knowing it was wrong would have driven me up the wall, so that end is being reconstructed.

 

I will hopefully have it back in one in one piece  at our next working session, but I'll be at SWAG next Sunday so it'll be the following week....

 

John

Edited April 17, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[albinopigeon]

Thank you for your reply John, sounds like fascinating work. By the emphasis on "very big" I would guess that Bournemouth Central station with its integrated signalbox, the locomotive shed and the goods shed across Holdenhurst Road are left to be built? Having constructed virtual models of each of these I can imagine that's incredibly daunting work! If your team doesn't have drawings for these buildings I would be more than happy to share measurements of these that I've calculated if it would help with scratchbuilding them.

 

The tussle of "will anyone notice if it's wrong" and "I'll know it's wrong so it will bug me anyway" is one that most modellers are all too familiar with! I've put far too much effort into some buildings in some spots nobody will see because I know if I leave it wrong it will stay in the back of my mind until I fix it.

 

It's a shame that the site reconstruction broke most of the photographs uploaded, but nonetheless I look forward very much to seeing future progress on this layout. The few photos I have seen show off truly outstanding work.

 

Regards,

 

Joseph

[Dunsignalling]

4 hours ago, albinopigeon said:

Thank you for your reply John, sounds like fascinating work. By the emphasis on "very big" I would guess that Bournemouth Central station with its integrated signalbox, the locomotive shed and the goods shed across Holdenhurst Road are left to be built? Having constructed virtual models of each of these I can imagine that's incredibly daunting work! If your team doesn't have drawings for these buildings I would be more than happy to share measurements of these that I've calculated if it would help with scratchbuilding them.

 

The tussle of "will anyone notice if it's wrong" and "I'll know it's wrong so it will bug me anyway" is one that most modellers are all too familiar with! I've put far too much effort into some buildings in some spots nobody will see because I know if I leave it wrong it will stay in the back of my mind until I fix it.

 

It's a shame that the site reconstruction broke most of the photographs uploaded, but nonetheless I look forward very much to seeing future progress on this layout. The few photos I have seen show off truly outstanding work.

 

Regards,

 

Joseph

The signal box, goods depot, Engine shed are complete. Work on the shed yard is ongoing but hasn't an awful long way to go.

 

The big stuff left to do is the main station buildings and roof, the GPO building, and the bit of Kennedy's builders merchants that impinges onto the modelled area.   

 

The Bournemouth West Group has, I understand passed that layout on to new owners this past weekend, and are working on an exhibition layout of Central which is to be scale length but won't include as much "real estate" either side of the line or outside station limits as ours (which is most certainly not portable) does.

 

We are hoping to have a meet up soon to pick one another's brains as each group will inevitably have access to information the others don't. 

 

Not entirely my department, and I wasn't involved at the time the layout was initially planned, but I think we have all the major stuff we need to know, mainly obtained from Waterloo Plan Arch some years ago, but thanks for your offer of assistance if needed.

 

John

Edited April 17, 2023 by Dunsignalling

[albinopigeon]

Doesn't sound like there is a lot left on your layout other than the large buildings; it sounds very exciting!

 

I did not know that the Bournemouth West group had sold their magnificent layout on, but certainly exciting news that they plan to make a model of Central to go with it; I wonder if they plan to connect them and run them in tandem at exhibitions?

[Dunsignalling]

12 hours ago, albinopigeon said:

Doesn't sound like there is a lot left on your layout other than the large buildings; it sounds very exciting!

 

I did not know that the Bournemouth West group had sold their magnificent layout on, but certainly exciting news that they plan to make a model of Central to go with it; I wonder if they plan to connect them and run them in tandem at exhibitions?

We're a small group and, unlike the West group, aren't working towards a goal of exhibiting. The layout has been in progress for almost a quarter century (hence the Peco track, whereas that on BW group's version is all being hand-built). I've only been involved for around ten years. The major buildings are the work of one person, though the layout's owner has recently discovered/admitted, and then demonstrated that he's more than capable of producing smaller ones to a high standard.  I'll post photos when painted etc.  

 

When we had Frank to do our captions/posting I was using a 12mp DX format Nikon with a general-purpose (but very good) Sigma zoom lens. I now use a Lumix G9, initially with a Leica zoom but now prefer prime lenses for model photos (as in my earlier post). This camera allows focus-stacking "on-board" which has produced (at least in my eyes) a step change in quality, so reposting my older material hasn't been a priority.

 

Here's a taster from last year of an area that's complete but for a few details like catch pits and lineside phones.  Leica 12-60 lens on the G9, f/3.3 with focus-stacking, plus a bit of tweaking to brightness and contrast afterwards. From the state of her steps, it looks like 'Woolacombe', waiting to go on-shed, has been turned at Salisbury a few times! 

 

John

Edited April 18, 2023 by Dunsignalling