Upbech St Mary, Upbech Drove and Pott Row a journey through 00 and then into EM and 009.

[NHY 581]

1969, so all over by then.

 

Shouldn't we have grown up to model blue diesels?

I quite agree. However my ideal is to model something pre 1914. The dear old S&D or a sleepy L&SWR branch line terminus in that last summer before the Great War.

 

I would consider Southern Railway in 1940. The addition of some military bits and bobs would be nice.

 

For now I will make do with 1950's British Railways, but one day........

 

Rob

[mullie]

I like blue diesels though spent more time travelling on electrics between Brentwood/Shenfield and Liverpool Street. Three years at University between 82 and 85 opened up a whole new experience of three rail and electro diesels at London Bridge, Waterloo and Charing Cross.

 

However, ex Great Eastern steam and the M& GN, no contest really but then there is Ricket Street set in West London and currently dismantled due to decorating. This layout is currently green diesel though I am increasingly interested in the very end of steam in South London around 1967.

[hayfield]

Decided to push the boundaries of my abilities again. I have two J70 tram bodies made by Silver Fox and have recently bought Bullant bogies to go under them. 

 

When I was 13 I bought a K's J70 for around £5 at an exhibition and eventually got round to building it around six years ago, the shear weight of the body semi tamed a Tenshodo spud when tied to a DCC concepts decoder. Recently I decided to strip the poor paint finish, leave it in very hot water so it fell apart, clean up the castings and then have a go at low melt soldering with a temperature controlled iron I recently picked up cheap. This is the result, there is a small gap along the side but otherwise it is square and the fit is good::

 

DSC_0009.JPG

 

I have a tram bogie to try under this one or I will order another Bullant.

 

I've also ordered the Lochgorm beginner fret so I can have a go at an etched wagon body. I'm used to working with MJT W irons and MT brake gear so I am looking forward to the challenge. I hope to have a go at a loco chassis by the end of the year.

 

To be honest I've considered the needs of this layout and with steam locos now in excess of £130 and little suitable coaching stock I would rather build it if possible as I can also spread the cost. The new Hornby B12 is unlikely to have made it to Pott Row during my time frame so I'm not really tempted at least not at the moment.

 

Obviously if it all goes disastrously wrong I will have to seriously back track.

 

 

Love the K's tram loco, mine runs OK to a fashon with the K's motor bogie

 

I am in agreement with you regarding kit building and the cost of new RTR locos, having recently bought a poorly made Southeastern Finecast 02, missing a few parts which Dave Ellis from Southeastern Finecast was able to sell me, plus I need a decent gearbox (it has Romford wheels and a DS10 motor) It cost me £28 inc postage and  under a fiver for the missing parts (I bought some extra bits for a second old Wills 02 I have. Another good buy was £15 for an old Keyser 14xx having the early style  pre-quartered wheels and mk2 motor, just needs a few handrails replacing and a repaint(as it was I wanted one of the newer chassis so I could change the wheels to EM and alter the chassis, I should have another upstairs to convert).

 

Buying second hand kit locos can be quite inexpensive and give hours of enjoyment

[mullie]

Love the K's tram loco, mine runs OK to a fashon with the K's motor bogie

 

I am in agreement with you regarding kit building and the cost of new RTR locos, having recently bought a poorly made Southeastern Finecast 02, missing a few parts which Dave Ellis from Southeastern Finecast was able to sell me, plus I need a decent gearbox (it has Romford wheels and a DS10 motor) It cost me £28 inc postage and  under a fiver for the missing parts (I bought some extra bits for a second old Wills 02 I have. Another good buy was £15 for an old Keyser 14xx having the early style  pre-quartered wheels and mk2 motor, just needs a few handrails replacing and a repaint(as it was I wanted one of the newer chassis so I could change the wheels to EM and alter the chassis, I should have another upstairs to convert).

 

Buying second hand kit locos can be quite inexpensive and give hours of enjoyment

The quality of rtr is now superb but will not meet the needs of this type of layout so kit building is a necessity. I have a Hornby Claud, J15 and Bachmann 4mt, 4f, J39 and Derby Lightweight most of which have been modified/weathered in some way.  Even kits are not available for most ex GE coaching stock so I will be bashing things and eventually may begin scratch building but that is years down the line. I have a very full on work life and am some years from retirement so everything is a compromise. I would describe myself as a 'broad brush' modeller trying to create a look or atmosphere rather than worrying about being absolutely precise about detail much of which can't be seen at normal viewing distances. Perhaps my approach come from over 30 years involvement in music and the arts as an educator and practitioner. I have no background in engineering etc and am completely self taught and work very much solo.

 

Like you I do look at the second hand kit market but have not taken the plunge yet.

 

Thanks for your interest. 

[hayfield]

Just as an aside Wills did a bodyline kit for a J39 Southeastern Finecast still do it and have a nice etched chassis. Now the Wills kits are very common and normally are cheap as chips. They are based on the Jinty chassis, if you are lucky you can find one with Romford wheels. Un stick it using paint stripper/hot water /caustic soda/ oven cleaner and rebuild it, or just as a first excersize rebuild it as is for a cheap intro to kit building

 

The Southeastern Finecast kit is now a revised kit, so you can buy the extra parts to detail it and has a new chassis, that is if you want to go that far. Its a great kit to cut your teeth on

[mullie]

Smartened up the presentation of the layout although very few people ever see it in the flesh.Used a combination of acrylic and aerosol paints, the idea is to make the layout look better and easier to keep clean.The tissue across the track is soaked with IPA alcohol during running sessions to help keep wheels and track clean. Being in a garage shared with the car has its challenges.

 

This is the right hand end of the layout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The left hand fiddle yard

 

 

This is how the layout looks in context.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Edwardian]

Smartened up the presentation of the layout although very few people ever see it in the flesh.Used a combination of acrylic and aerosol paints, the idea is to make the layout look better and easier to keep clean.The tissue across the track is soaked with IPA alcohol during running sessions to help keep wheels and track clean. Being in a garage shared with the car has its challenges.

 

This is the right hand end of the layout.

 

rh fiddle yard.jpg

 

rh fiddle 1.jpg

 

rh fiddle yard 2.jpg

 

rh fiddle yard3.jpg

 

rh yard loco trav.jpg

 

The left hand fiddle yard

 

lh fiddle yard.jpg

 

This is how the layout looks in context.

 

layout view lh.jpg

 

layout view mid.jpg

 

layout view rh.jpg

 

Great way to present a layout.

 

A minor point, but I like the fact that you have sprayed the off-stage areas grey.  What with bare boards and solder blobs, these areas can look quite untidy.  Being neat and monotone makes them less visually distracting.

[john flann]

Not been on here recently Martyn-plagued with a crashed again, new computer!- but I like the start you've made with tidying up. it's encouraging to the spirit.

 

And Toby's are such entertaining little beasts. 

[mullie]

Second J70 is now up and running which will make running the branch much easier. Both J70s run on Bullant bogies, the one with the BR crest has the latest TCS decoder with keep alive and the other one has an older DCC Concepts with Stay Alive. Will be interesting to see how they compare. The locos are heavily weighted with lead as suggested in the Bullant manual and it is also necessary to make sure the chassis are balanced.

 

 

 

[J C Fenton]

Agree with the other comments - really great sense of atmosphere

[mullie]

Nothing exiting today, just the menial jobs that keep things running. Today I have cleaned various bits of track, sorted out some bumps over baseboard joints and adjusted some track where the gauge had tightened slightly whilst I was working on it.

 

Played around with some CV settings on the V3 as it hasn't run for ages. The J70s, despite their keep alive showed up some dirty track which is not surprising given that the layout has been out of commission for much of the last year. I always find it takes a few cleans to get things right and the joy of this layout is that it can easily be broken down into sections to work on. In general it is running well and derailments are relatively rare.

 

Have some Seep point motors that are not consistently throwing or changing polarity but in my garage/salty  environment I find they only last around 3-5 years before they stop throwing properly and I might well try another way of changing the points in future. 

 

There is new stock in development and I really need to service the rolling stock as coupling heights need checking and some stock has lost  the magnetic staples I use on the S&W couplings.

[mullie]

This CCT is an original Wrenn model, must be close on 40 years old and as one of the first pieces of stock I bought holds a special place in my collection. It has spent much of the last 30 years in maroon until I stripped all the paint back to green and weathered it with inks and artists chalk pastels. Fitted with S&W couplings and scale wheels it is a useful piece of stock. One day I may rebuild the underframe as it is rather crude.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2016 by mullie

[Edwardian]

This CCT is an original Wrenn model, must be close on 40 years old and as one of the first pieces of stock I bought holds a special place in my collection. It has spent much of the last 30 years in maroon until I stripped all the paint back to green and weathered it with inks and artists chalk pastels. Fitted with S&W couplings and scale wheels it is a useful piece of stock. One day I may rebuild the underframe as it is rather crude.

 

thumb_DSC_0023_1024.jpg

 

thumb_DSC_0021_1024.jpg

 

Once again, painted and weathered to perfection.  Very compelling modelling.  Makes you believe you are seeing the 1950s railway scene.  

[john flann]

Martyn, when I went American in 1990 I got rid of my OO stock I had brought over from the UK; I wonder now what they were and if I could find a place for any on Hintock as you are happily doing here. I do nonetheless have some locos from those early days-sentimental value only and not runners.

 

You've caught the SR green-as I recall it-very well.

 

A question: what do you use to remove the paint?

 

I'm trying to strip some American stock but the paint seems most resistant to oven cleaner (terrible stuff to use and has to be done in the open air) and Pinesol-a kitchen and bathroom cleaner and disinfectant.

[mullie]

Martyn, when I went American in 1990 I got rid of my OO stock I had brought over from the UK; I wonder now what they were and if I could find a place for any on Hintock as you are happily doing here. I do nonetheless have some locos from those early days-sentimental value only and not runners.

 

You've caught the SR green-as I recall it-very well.

 

A question: what do you use to remove the paint?

 

I'm trying to strip some American stock but the paint seems most resistant to oven cleaner (terrible stuff to use and has to be done in the open air) and Pinesol-a kitchen and bathroom cleaner and disinfectant.

 

The green is the original Wrenn plastic, even the lettering is still legible close up. I use a water based paint stripper by Expo tools. It often needs a second coat but is really easy to work with as you only leave it for an hour and doesn't produce horrible fumes which I can't tolerate. I don't know if Expo tools stuff is available in the US or failing that it is available from Amazon?

[mullie]

Currently modifying a pair of Hornby clerestory coaches as I feel the current branch stock is too modern for this type of line. I had these coaches anyway and thought I could learn some new skills. The under frame is very basic so I knocked this up using scraps of rail and brass so I could practice my soldering skills. Although a short term fix for the layout it is likely these will be used for at least a few years until I can build something more authentic.

 

 

Being soldered up this was a new challenge for me.

 

 

[mullie]

Bert and Fred back on duty. Tried them in a few different places lately but because space is quite tight they kept getting hit by passing locos!

 

[mullie]

More work on the clerestory coachers last night, roof details added

 

 

Interior detail started. This is removable for painting.

 

 

Interior will need to be finished on both carriages and then painted.

 

 

[Boco_D1]

The clestory coach is starting to look good. For a Tri-ang mould they can look quite good when tarted up, I've done a couple of GWR ones and have a pile of LNER ones to work on, I found adding some microstrip to make footboards along the bogies and chassis really improves the look, as well as replacing the glazing (slaters I think) and changing the wheels.

[mullie]

The clestory coach is starting to look good. For a Tri-ang mould they can look quite good when tarted up, I've done a couple of GWR ones and have a pile of LNER ones to work on, I found adding some microstrip to make footboards along the bogies and chassis really improves the look, as well as replacing the glazing (slaters I think) and changing the wheels.

 

Tonight, I've built an interior for each coach using Ratio seats and plasticard, this will be primed along with the roofs and some passengers over the weekend if possible. Footboards on the bogies will come next week.Wheels will be changed and I have some SE Finecast flush glazing to fit.

[Boco_D1]

That was it, SE Finecast was what I was thinking of. Look forward to seeing your results.

[J C Fenton]

Tonight, I've built an interior for each coach using Ratio seats and plasticard, this will be primed along with the roofs and some passengers over the weekend if possible. Footboards on the bogies will come next week.Wheels will be changed and I have some SE Finecast flush glazing to fit.

 

Look forward to seeing how the clerestories are turning out.

[mullie]

Under frame and roofs are primed and I plan to give the body a coat of LNER brown using a Tamiya rattle can which seems a close match tonight. Photos in a few days.

[mullie]

A brief discussion on the Castle Aching thread tonight made me think that I really should change the name of this thread as it no longer reflects the context of the layout. The original layout set in the steam/diesel transition period with generic buildings was very different to the 1948-55 layout I am now developing. Increasingly I find myself drawn to the Stoke Ferry and Wisbech and Upwell branches with Fen style settings but Pott Row is a real place not in a fenland setting at all.

 

I have decided to resurrect the Upbech St Mary name as I built what I felt was a successful micro layout that was featured in the Railway Modeller and a layout I do sometimes regret breaking up. This name puts the layout in a triangle bordered by Wisbech, King Lynn and Holbeach perhaps better representing the scenic treatment the layout now has. No real changes are necessary as sugar beet traffic can still feature and the potential for autumn fruit traffic is worth investigating, inland fenland harbours also offer possibilities for a virtual extension in the style of John Flann's extension of Hintock with his Port Bredy layout. Some through coaches can still arrive but not powered by a Battle of Britain class, this loco could become part of a change of time frame on Rickett Street.

 

Thank you Edwardian for spurring me into action, this is probably something I should have done some time ago and I'm now off to investigate my books on railways in this area.

[Edwardian]

Crikey.

 

I am not sure that you ever said this was a Fenland setting, but it has always struck me as capturing perfectly the atmosphere of that area.  Certainly, having waited for trains on the platform at Whittlesea, I can imagine what it must be like waiting for trains at Pott Row, sorry, Upbech St Mary!

 

I did enjoy looking at the pictures of the old Upbech St Mary, another very successful evocation of the Fens.