West Kirby Town: narrow gauge is coming to town.

[pwr]

Rod

 

I am keen to try an Easybuild kit and may be lucky enough to persuade the wife that she ought to get me one for my forthcoming birthday. However I quite fancy the Class 129 done as Hydra which is an option. I already have some Westdale Mk1kits, some RJH/Cavelier versions and one that was a joint venture and the name now escapes me. I reckon the best of the bunch though are Dave Parkins MMP versions but as you say it's all time and sometimes compromise is necessary to get things done. I reckon it would me 2 years of modelling time to do an MMP but maybe 4 months for an Easybuild.

 

Heljan coaches seem to suffer the same way as some of the diesels - the exquisite detail is easily broken. I broke a set of brake gear on my Western just putting it back in the box. Howes were very good on spares though but try as I might I can't find replacements for a couple of missing eyes that are used to lift off the roof hatches. Such fine detail that I doubt you would even run to on a kit.

 

I reckon the Heljan GUV's are going to be hard to beat

 

Paul

[ianwales]

I reckon the Heljan GUV's are going to be hard to beat

 

Paul

 

Hi

 

I have just sent for the Westdale kit of the GUV, at £95 its nearer my budget than the £200+ fot the Heljan one when it appears.

 

Ian

[two tone green]

Spares for the Heljan Mk1's can be bout from Howes. I have bought  quite a lot of the sets as they have many useful small parts on them and the prices is low which makes them even better.

 

The little eyelets are very useful that hold the water pipes and conduits.

 

As fro getting the roofs off and refixing the windows, its a bit fiddly but by pushing the windows back into place and then using canopy glue the end results are very good. Also whilst the roof is off its a good opportunity to reinforce the ones that have not fallen out by running a bead of canopy glue around the edges of the windows. Capillary action sucks the glue into the joints and sets clear so you cannot see anything of the glue.

 

I have been lucky so far, fixed windows in three coaches and not broken any pipe fixings yet.

 

One thing, make sure you align the no smoking triangles in the corridor and compartment and to make sure you don't puts a corridor window in a compartment as the corridor window has a hand rail across them.

[HSB]

I reckon the Heljan GUV's are going to be hard to beat

 

Paul

They have made the roof on the GUV a different shape to the other coaches but while it is a bit nearer to prototype it is still not right! Surely with all the information available on MK 1s there is no excuse for producing an inaccurate model. If it had been half the price I might have considered buying one and modifying it but not at £250 each.

Edited March 23, 2014 by HSB

[Kev_Lewis]

They have made the roof on the GUV a different shape to the other coaches but while it is a bit nearer to prototype it is still not right! Surely with all the information available on MK 1s there is no excuse for producing an inaccurate model.

 

I do believe that they haven't corrected the body shape for the GUV and BG so that they match the earlier MK1's.

[HSB]

They appear to have made the BG match their earlier productions but GUVs have flat sides and they have used a completely different roof shape on these although the prototype actually appears to have the same roof shape as the passenger coaches!

[pwr]

Hi

 

I have just sent for the Westdale kit of the GUV, at £95 its nearer my budget than the £200+ fot the Heljan one when it appears.

 

Ian

I didn't know you could get a Westdale GUV - I'd go for a couple of those!

 

Paul R

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

Just a quick comment on Paul R's last post.  I have a feeling the Westdale GUVs have a resin body.  I've not made or owned one, but I do seem to remember seeing one when they were introduced.

 

Back to my 31.  I said in a previous post that it was finished.  Well, it wasn't - quite!!  I'd forgotten I'd lost one of the "glass" fronts to the headcode box, so this weekend, when I had time, I made another out of plastic, using the remaining one as a template.  Plus I found some thicker paper with dots on so fitted those, too.  I also cut out the 3 plastic bars in the headcode box which tended to show up when the light was lit.  The "glass" was fixed in place with Micro Kristal Klear and the result is now a better look and less light coming through.

 

And finally, because pictures make a post more interesting (or so I think!) here are 3 of the said loco:

 

 

In the first the loco has just arrived light engine and buffered up to the coaches: the red marker lights are still on.  The Kristal Klear hasn't dried properly yet - that's the white border round the box.  It will be invisible when it has dried.

 

 

Here, the loco has taken the stock out onto the main line and propelled it back into platform 1 and now has the road for departure.

 

 

Finally, a view of the same situation from above the signal box.  The front marker lights are switched on, but don't show well in the daylight (honest!!).  The body and the roof are too clean as I've mentioned before so I'll find out about getting it reweathered.

 

Next jobs will be the platform and building the kettle kit (sorry, the LNWR Coal Tank - I am a diesel man, after all!!)

 

More soon.

 

Rod

Edited March 24, 2014 by Dmudriver

[Dmudriver]

Ironic, isn't it?  Having said, in my last post that I'd cut the bars out of the headcode box because you don't see them, I find this:

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=BR+Class+31+photos&rlz=1C2GGGE_enGB433GB482&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=fGMxU-zIHKWf7Ab65YH4BA&ved=0CCsQsAQ&biw=1600&bih=715#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=uRQad_xDl-LJwM%253A%3BtVWr-UDENAxrZM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.rmweb.co.uk%252Fcommunity%252Fuploads%252F1289748660%252Fmed_gallery_6993_573_43497.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.rmweb.co.uk%252Fcommunity%252Findex.php%253F%252Fgallery%25

 

I was looking for a picture to base the weathering on!!

 

Rod

[pwr]

Rod

 

Your photos really take me back to the 1970's. Keep up the good work

 

And in other news I am going to be receiving the Easybuild Hydra research vehicle kit for my birthday in May. I am going for an immediate start on this kit.

 

Not sure how I am going to explain it way on the Braintree branch but hey!

 

Paul R

[Dmudriver]

"Not sure how I am going to explain it way on the Braintree branch but hey!"

 

If I can justify a Thumper on Merseyside, together with a 50 regularly at a seaside resort near Liverpool, anything's possible,Paul!!!  Just let your imagination take over - with a little bit of reality thrown in!!!!

 

 

Rod

[pwr]

Well there's no going back now - I've ordered it!

 

Paul

[leopardml2341]

 

 

P1030270 - Copy.JPG

 

 

 

Not very often you see 'Yellow Discs' on model layouts - I like it

[bobster]

Nice pics of the 31 Rod - Keep em coming.

 

Cheers.

Bob.

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

Just a quick note.  With the help of Andy Y, I've split the posts about the Coal Tank build into a separate thread: the link is here:  http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/84410-building-a-coal-tank-for-west-kirby-town/

 

This means I will keep this thread for the layout only.

 

More soon.

 

Rod

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

I've made a bit more progress on the platform today - I've finished off the paving.  Here's the first pic - an overall view:

 

 

And, trying to get a different angle, here's a view from under the signal gantry:

 

 

A couple of comments:  1)  there's a bit of a blemish in the surface on the right hand side, about a quarter of the way down.  For some reason I can't fathom, the paving won't stay flat at a short section on a joint.  I've since filled it with Polyfilla (see below) and it's nowhere near as noticeable now.   2)  the patch on the left is merely overspray from the track painting and is no problem.  3)  in the second pic. the platform seems to be lifting up at the top of the ramp: that's a trick of the light.  In fact, it's quite flat (you can't see anything amiss in the first pic) and the transition from flat platform to ramp is along a paving joint.

 

After I'd taken those 2 pics, I used the Polyfilla to fill in cracks and also at the bottom of the ramp.  It's difficult to see in an overall view, but the next close up shows where I've filled in gaps.  The 4th pic shows what it was like before they were filled.

 

 

 

More soon.

 

Rod

Edited April 8, 2014 by Dmudriver

[two tone green]

Good tip using polly filler.

 

Got one platform done with paving stone, two to do. One being eleven foot long.

 

It's O, it's big but it's nice

[bobster]

Looking good Rod, I like the track colours.

 

Cheers, Bob.

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

I've made a bit of progress on the platform - to quote Paul Daniels "not a lot!!" - but I thought I'd put a pic on here just to show that I am still working on it.

 

I've primed the platform.  Pic here:

 

 

Although they don't show above, the primer has revealed a few gaps between the plasticard and the platform edges which I'd missed, so filling those is the next job.  I took the opportunity to have an operating session a play(!!) running all the DMUs from storage into the platforms, out to the fiddle yard and back again.  Wonderful!!  And this after I'd been at Melksham at the weekend operating on Dave Hampson's "Oldham King Street Parcels"!!  Yes, I do enjoy operating!!

 

While I was at Melksham, I couldn't resist getting this done on a stand that was close to us:

 

 

So good it looks authentic!!   It'll go on the shed wall above the station somewhere.

 

More soon.

 

Rod

[two tone green]

Hi Rod.

 

Looking good.

 

Who does the the station signs. Could do with one for St. Davids.

 

Thanks

[Dmudriver]

Hi Rod.

 

Looking good.

 

Who does the the station signs. Could do with one for St. Davids.

 

Thanks

Hi Two Tone.

 

It's a business called "Totem Signs" - a one-man band, by the looks of it.   Unfortunately, I don't have any paperwork:  I bought the sign on the Sunday and his credit card machine wasn't working, so I paid the trader next door to him with my card, who then paid him cash.  Obviously, then, the receipt is in the other trader's name.

 

I've looked, briefly, for him on a couple of threads relating to the show (Bentley Model Railway Group) and, although I've found him listed, there's no contact details.  I'd suggest an email to the show organiser to get more information.

 

HTH.

 

Rod

 

Edit:  This is the link to the Show thread:  http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/70830-trainwest-2014-12-13-april/

Edited April 16, 2014 by Dmudriver

[two tone green]

Great, thanks Rod. Will chase things up when home, in York at the moment.

[Dmudriver]

Hi all.

 

Progress is still being made, but there's no photos this post - white Polyfilla filling gaps on a grey platform isn't that photogenic!!  There's now the primer to respray, then the stone colour on the surface and red on the brick sidewalls.

 

Where I have made more progress, though, is in the operation of the layout and the preparation of a timetable (well, "sequence" is probably a better word).  I've had a couple of operating sessions in the decent weather recently and clarifying in my head how to use the layout.  Basically, the sequence starts with a morning peak - all DMUs, doing (roughly) 4 arrivals/departures on the Birkenhead service, 2 arrivals/ departures on the Chester and 1 arr/dep on the Wrexham.  Then there's a couple of parcels workings and the Mark 1s for the Birmingham service, all of which have to be pulled out of the platform by the 03 and the loco released before coming on to the front again.  This shunting is interspersed with the off-peak DMU services, which makes it fascinating to work, particularly getting the signalling operating correctly, too.  I reckon I could easily keep 3 operators busy - 1 x signaller and 2 x drivers.  Even 4 possibly, with one on the fiddle yard.

 

The fiddle yard, having only 4 roads, is a bit restricting but that just adds to the mental challenge! - particularly in the early part of the sequence where a parcels rake and the Mark 1s, both with locos, take up 2 of the 4 roads.  But I can double up the 2- and 3-car DMUs in the platforms and fiddle yard roads and I've had a train waiting at the Down Inner Home for an empty platform, and the departing train going into the one empty fiddle yard road just vacated by that train.  It's fascinating!!  To fit the steam special into the sequence either the Mark 1s or the parcels train is going to have to make way, so I can envisage 2 timetables at least - weekdays (no steam) and weekends (with steam).  Probably the parcels will go - I'll assume the factory/ mail order company only work a 5-day week. ..... Until Christmas, of course, but by then I suppose the steam will have ceased to operate!!  As it's New Brighton to West Kirby it would probably only run in the summer - just like the real "Welsh Dragon"!

 

What I do want, though, is to capture on video two trains passing on the crossovers at the end of the platform - my heart was in my mouth the first time I did it, but it all passed off perfectly well: it does look good - it's just a question of finding the right angles for the video.  Watch this space!!

 

I also looked back a few days ago and realised that I started this thread just over 2 years ago.  Doesn't time fly!!  But then I looked at what I've achieved and I'm really very pleased with my progress.  It does help, I admit, being retired!!  Where the layout is lacking, though, is the scenic side and I've resolved to tackle that this year.  I even bought a how-to book on scenery today at the Leigh Show - just for a change I was helping to operate a German Railways layout at the show!!

 

Anyway, enough rambling for now.  More soon.

 

Rod

[two tone green]

Suggestion for an angle for the video, do it as if you are in one of the cabs.

[bobster]

Hi all.

 

Progress is still being made, but there's no photos this post - white Polyfilla filling gaps on a grey platform isn't that photogenic!!  There's now the primer to respray, then the stone colour on the surface and red on the brick sidewalls.

 

Where I have made more progress, though, is in the operation of the layout and the preparation of a timetable (well, "sequence" is probably a better word).  I've had a couple of operating sessions in the decent weather recently and clarifying in my head how to use the layout.  Basically, the sequence starts with a morning peak - all DMUs, doing (roughly) 4 arrivals/departures on the Birkenhead service, 2 arrivals/ departures on the Chester and 1 arr/dep on the Wrexham.  Then there's a couple of parcels workings and the Mark 1s for the Birmingham service, all of which have to be pulled out of the platform by the 03 and the loco released before coming on to the front again.  This shunting is interspersed with the off-peak DMU services, which makes it fascinating to work, particularly getting the signalling operating correctly, too.  I reckon I could easily keep 3 operators busy - 1 x signaller and 2 x drivers.  Even 4 possibly, with one on the fiddle yard.

 

The fiddle yard, having only 4 roads, is a bit restricting but that just adds to the mental challenge! - particularly in the early part of the sequence where a parcels rake and the Mark 1s, both with locos, take up 2 of the 4 roads.  But I can double up the 2- and 3-car DMUs in the platforms and fiddle yard roads and I've had a train waiting at the Down Inner Home for an empty platform, and the departing train going into the one empty fiddle yard road just vacated by that train.  It's fascinating!!  To fit the steam special into the sequence either the Mark 1s or the parcels train is going to have to make way, so I can envisage 2 timetables at least - weekdays (no steam) and weekends (with steam).  Probably the parcels will go - I'll assume the factory/ mail order company only work a 5-day week. ..... Until Christmas, of course, but by then I suppose the steam will have ceased to operate!!  As it's New Brighton to West Kirby it would probably only run in the summer - just like the real "Welsh Dragon"!

 

What I do want, though, is to capture on video two trains passing on the crossovers at the end of the platform - my heart was in my mouth the first time I did it, but it all passed off perfectly well: it does look good - it's just a question of finding the right angles for the video.  Watch this space!!

 

I also looked back a few days ago and realised that I started this thread just over 2 years ago.  Doesn't time fly!!  But then I looked at what I've achieved and I'm really very pleased with my progress.  It does help, I admit, being retired!!  Where the layout is lacking, though, is the scenic side and I've resolved to tackle that this year.  I even bought a how-to book on scenery today at the Leigh Show - just for a change I was helping to operate a German Railways layout at the show!!

 

Anyway, enough rambling for now.  More soon.

 

Rod

 

Good update Rod, look forward to seeing a video -  that's the trouble with being retired, it makes you wonder how you had time to go to work

 

Cheers, Bob.