Penhayle Bay

[Gwiwer]

Some unusually good light over Ponsangwyn shed and yard this morning gave to opportunity for a few shots of this area which is often hard to do justice to owing to poor lighting most of the time.  

 

An overview of the shed area and a quite busy yard with a class 158 passing below Wheal Julia mine on the main lines.

 

 

An up HST passes a down local formed of a class 153 "scud" coupled to a 150/2 sprinter set.  The Hornby 153 and Bachmann 150 units don't run happy together owing to very different gearing so I have my two sprinter units formed as a power twin and a trailer twin with the 153 coupled to the trailer twin.   The power twin is used on the steep St. Agnes branch line while the Hornby motor copes easily with two unpowered vehicles on the main line.

 

 

The Speedlink has one "tractor" in charge wheel two others rest on shed between duties.  The CDA, black TTA and Van C all wear my own weathering as do the locos; the cement wagons and Seacow / Sealion rakes are factory weathered as are the dirty milk tanks while the brake was bought second hand with weathering already applied.  The Speedlink vans carry my own weathering but with factory-applied graffiti.

 

Edited November 5, 2013 by Gwiwer

[Ralph]

smashing photo's , a great layout  

[brushman47544]

From this pristine piece of plastic: 

 

 

To this:

 

 

The loco which arrived as 37506 complete with a Thornaby depot kingfisher logo has had that identity removed and with a little help from Fox Transfers and AIM powders is now St. Blazey depot stalwart 37674 and suitably work-stained.

 

 

On the Speedlink freight passing Wheal Garden

 

 

And emerging from Penhayle Tunnel

 

 

Some more excellent photos Gwiwer. But I'm afraid you've slipped up by converting 37506 to 37674.... 674 was second series and should have plated over four character headcode panels as seen here at St Blazey http://www.flickr.com/photos/55812536@N04/8419981398/in/photolist-dQ3B85-cCVR6o-cefRxU-eec3TQ-fYg83L-bs9PJG-ed1geY-dsSvLy-7Hods6-9d717b-9Royp3-efcR19-efcS1o-bDTMx9-dvnMgZ-e5mzE6-a7RPKT-dmzXbd-9Con4F-cR92Rf-cArwWm-aDMeLr-9gQEQg-9b5TuB-daS752-fnPBsH-9uWKis-9GTzKh-9uWumC-cMcjrq-btz3jN-ehpNjC-ed3z3o-ecWVdc-fLsn5V-cTBxVd-9uWHAj-dDGWTF-cMcjuE-9uWGdG-9LW8WF-btz3dq-9LYVcN-9LYTrG-9LYTtE-9LW6Jp-dFKShT-frNNFb-guXxxM-fxJFX2-fxYVbm

 

...although of course it's your model railway.

Edited November 13, 2013 by brushman47544

[westerner]

Particularly liked photos 2 & 3. A nicely weathered 37

[Temeraire]

 

674 was second series and should have plated over four character headcode panels

 

 

I had noticed that as soon as it was posted as well but I chose not to mention it. Didn't want to come over all rivet counter!

Edited November 13, 2013 by Temeraire

[Gwiwer]

And I noticed it before I even embarked upon the renumbering

 

Yes I'm well aware 506 is the wrong body style for 674 but thanks for the comments.  As so often happens we either have to accept a degree of compromise, build things ourselves or engage in delicate conversion work which I don't feel up to.  506 was a bargain purchase which otherwise wouldn't have been made at all.  Maybe one day I'll feel able to convert the front ends.  For the moment I have a St. Blazey numbered loco in red stripe as opposed to a Thornaby kingfisher badged one.

 

Rule 1 applies

[Gwiwer]

Videos - click on the still image for the moving version

Nocturnal movements at Treisaacs Farm; I wonder what's squealing past in the dark?



Penhayle Bay also witnesses the passage of a slightly mysterious dark train of parcel vans.  



Finally a clip of Treheligan which wasn't at all easy to set up whilst also operating the camera.  The down TPO (travelling post office) runs through and overtakes a freight just visible in the loop platform while both up main and branch trains arrive side by side for a connection at the station stopping in different positions at their respective platforms.

[Sasquatch]

Great videos Rick. The last one was timed really well! It made me feel like I should start running or end up waiting an hour for the next one.

[Ralph]

great atmosphere, last one you did a good job with both hands full.

[Gwiwer]

A few stills taken under varying levels of lighting tonight.  

A "Warship" double-header runs in with platform and internal station lights on.  The overhead strip almost above the station was turned off for all of tonights shots but the "daylight" bulb above the workbench which is behind my photo vantage point was on.  



Across the bows of the leading loco showing the station lights in use; these cannot be seen in anything resembling daylight making good views of the lighting hard to capture.



A maroon Western arrives at the down platform taken using the camera's night portrait setting which requires use of the flash.  To avoid bleaching I have fired the flash through a white handkerchief to diffuse it and lessen its intensity.



And with double the thickness of material in front of the flash



A similar view but with the platform lights now turned off though the station still lit up.

 

[Ralph]

another set of super photo's, love the Warship & Western close up's, 

[Gwiwer]

Here's some more moving trains here - this time in daylight.  Click on the image to activate the video.

Clays over the cliffs



Passing at Penhayle Bay - with a Thompson coach on the front of the passenger working suggesting it's the down Cornishman from Yorkshire



And some movement at the dries - with apologies for the canine contribution from next door's dog who always barks at the sound of the trains.

[Ralph]

great video's,

 

have you got a 'drivers eye view' of the complete layout run ? 

[Gwiwer]

That question has been asked a number of times.  Currently I don't have a "driver's eye view" but there is clearly some interest in seeing one.  I'm looking into how I can do this without the cost of a micro-camera for possibly just one minute's use.

[Gwiwer]

A series of images appears in my weathering topic regarding the class 108 but one photo has already attracted some quite significant attention elsewhere so is cross-posted here for those who may not follow other topics.  This unit has recently been both weathered and populated with driver and passengers.

 

[Gwiwer]

An increasing number of derailments has been occurring at the point where the line goes around the real tree and through the modelled forest.  I traced this to a bump in the track where it also enters a curve and caused by slight dampness in the baseboard causing the cork underlay above it to bulge up by about 1mm.  That was enough to tip a few wheel rims off balance as they entered the curve.  The area was stripped back to the board and dried out before a new length of rail was fitted.  The affected length with the old track removed, the underlay and ballast stripped back to the slightly damaged baseboard and a new length of rail dropped in.



The track here is canted to help rolling stock through the curve and over the change of gradient which levels out at the top of the replaced length.  The cant or superelevation is achieved by shimming pieces of card beneath the sleeper ends as required and counter-balanced by pinning the track to the "downhill" side of centre.



At the point of maximum cant mid-curve there is space to shim in a small piece of scrap plastic.



The canted length of track around the curve with the superelevation quite clearly visible.  At this stage the pins are not fully driven home and those sleepers which are pinned are still depressed slightly where the pin has gone through.  Both receive final adjustments when I'm happy all is well.



With a few test runs completed to my satisfaction the track is pinned to its final position, depressed sleeper centres eased up slightly and the job is ballasted.



The train visibly leans to the curve just as it would on a real railway but without appearing to be tilted to a ridiculous angle.



The immediate effect has been to remove the problem which was causing derailments and has meant that some rather fussy parcel vans which preferred to come off rather than stay on are now happily performing laps of the track without losing their balance at all.  The removal of cork underlay from part of the affected length has allowed a more gentle change of gradient to be formed and has also had the effect of creating two tracks at slightly different heights as can be seen when the old is carefully compared against the new beside it.  That is also perfectly prototypical.

Now about that dip in the track over the bridge at Penhayle Bay .....  

Edited November 25, 2013 by Gwiwer

[Ralph]

nice track repair, love the Western leaning in to the curve.

[Gwiwer]

The summer season officially starts this weekend and is, as usual, marked by the annual Penhayle Bay Bus Rally.  A car park packed with beach-goers also offers a line-up of old buses from (right to left) Brighton, Gosport & Fareham, London, Portsmouth and Southdown who ran largely in Sussex.

 

 

 

This also marks the start of the open-top bus service which will now run every Saturday and Sunday and Public Holiday until Easter, daily except Christmas Day during the school summer holidays and ceases for the year after service on Easter Monday.

 

 

 

 

From tomorrow, 1st December, the Penhayle lifeboat will also resume station moored at the jetty for the summer season and marking the voluntary serve (and lives) given by RNLI crews and other emergency services everywhere.

 

 

 

 

The London bus in this line up, 461CLT or fleet number RMC1461, began life as a Green Line coach, was relegated to "country" bus services after a couple of years and eventually reached the central area red bus fleet as a driver trainer.  It was in that guise that it became the only Routemaster I have ever actually driven.  It is shown here in its current condition in active heritage use on route 15 despite the Green Line livery.  It is currently owned and operated by Stagecoach London who run the 15 with mostly modern buses but still including 4 Routemasters daily of which RMC1461 is occasionally one.

 

 

To cater for enthusiasts travelling to and from the event a steam-hauled charter was laid on

 

 

 

 

The snack bar is a new arrival for this season and seems to be doing some useful trade

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile out in the countryside reality kicks in with a modern Sprinter unit on the regular passenger service but a pair of older buses offering tours of the area; a tiny GS-class Guy Vixen (Guy Special as they were known to London Transport) is followed by an RC-class AEC Reliance Green Line coach.

 

 

[Ralph]

great set of photo's like the bus rally & burger van, looks like one customer eats there a lot 

[Gwiwer]

Taking advantage of good warm (but not too hot) weather with long summer evenings a fair amount of maintenance work has been carried out including the partial renovation of the bay and beach scene.

 

Around five metres of plain double track has been reballasted in part (mostly in the "six foot") and about twice that length has been weathered to give a consistent appearance.  The height of both station footbridges has been reduced so that they more closely resemble prototypes.  The views bellow can be compared with many farther back in the thread.

 

Treheligan footbridge 

 

 

And Penhayle Bay

 

 

As part of the general tidy-up of the Bay area the festoon lights were replaced as the originals had failed.  This was traced to broken wiring though some of the LEDs had not been working for a while.  In fairness these items are not designed to be used outdoors but have done well.  The new ones are wired differently.  There is a new low wall alongside the path behind the beach which leads to the station steps and which contains the hidden wiring.  There is also the added benefit of making it harder for little plastic people to fall over the edge onto the beach!

 

 

The stone wall is Vollmer card with a new layer stuck directly over the old backing the beach.  The old was starting to fade and no longer matched the much higher stone wall behind it.  The cap stones are formed from plastic fillets which came with a Wills platform kit but which were not required as my platforms are solid wood beneath the surfaces.  Shown here unpainted they have since been painted a blend of grey, yellow and black resembling weathered stone.

 

 

A new light was added at the top of the station steps with wiring hidden in the sand and behind the new line of weeds down the steps themselves.  This is fed from the lighting bus which powers the festoons.  The lighting in this area can be switched to have platform and street lights only or "all" which includes the festoons and this new light.

 

 

The top layer of "water" was scraped back and renewed.  This is Woodland Scenics "Water Effects" which is applied over a base of Magic Water.  The base layer is untouched but as the top had started to turn black in places it was time to fix that.  The elderly couple who used to stroll in the shallows have also been replaced by a couple of much more athletic young girls!

 

 

The finished effect isn't too shabby!  I've even re-used a small piece of hand-rail clipped from the footbridge when it was lowered to give a little support on the beach steps.  It won't stay green for much longer though.

 

 

The Penhayle lifeboat is on station for the summer months and settles in for what will hopefully be a quiet evening.  On Thursday I shall turn out the lights for an hour in a mark of respect for those lost in the

which included people I knew from the next village to us.

 

[St Enodoc]

NIce work Rick. How do you get on with card in your environment? A lot of people round here (Sydney) suffer from silverfish attacks on card and brickpaper, so I have pretty well decided to avoid these on the new layout.

[Gwiwer]

NIce work Rick. How do you get on with card in your environment? A lot of people round here (Sydney) suffer from silverfish attacks on card and brickpaper, so I have pretty well decided to avoid these on the new layout.

 

I find it depends on the card.

 

The Vollmer card I use for all the stone walls around the layout has never given me any problems and seems resistant to slug and snail attack.  One or two areas have faded slightly but over seven years and sometimes in bright sunlight that's a pretty good run.

 

I used Metcalfe card for a number of scenes for a while including the platforms at Treheligan station, road surfaces and some scenic detail.  This was thoroughly enjoyed by the local slug population who I am told are partial to starch.  I suspect that the print and finish Metcalfe use contains starch while that used by Vollmer does not.

 

I have also tried Scalescenes downloads but find the ink runs badly into the paper once outside and the fading also makes any use of their products a waste of time.  By contrast I have paper products in use from Tiny Signs and Stationsigns which have survived perfectly well for years.

 

Our weather can be very wet at times but is, on the whole, fairly dry with low humidity.  Farther north (including Sydney) the humidity is regularly much higher and this will have an impact on the durability of card structures.  

 

My use of card has been very much trial and error.  It's a real trial to see your hard work devastated by slug attacks and know there's no alternative but to completely re-do it.  It's not an error so much but a learning curve in making use of card or any other product.  I accepted from the start that almost all the products I use are intended for indoor use and have been more than impressed by the way most have withstood the fairly harsh Australian outdoors including temperatures well into the 50s Celsius on the layout.

Edited December 15, 2013 by Gwiwer

[P.C.M]

Hi Rick,

Some nice pics, I do like that Lifeboat its a superb model. 

I noticed some SR green coaches in post 718 are these Bachmann ones, I was thinking of getting a few of these but would like to know is the green a good colour match?

 

Cheers Peter.

[Gwiwer]

Thanks Peter

 

The green stock in post 718 is a Bachmann Mk1 rake with my weathering in evidence on the leading vehicle.  This is one of the more recent releases in a rather dark green and with bold golden yellow stock numbers.  

 

To my mind these are too dark for SR coaching stock green of the period though perhaps not by much.  They are far closer than the very pale batch they put out before and look rather mismatched when run with those.  I tried weathering the new ones with light grey, ochre and rust rather than the brown and black I more often use on coaching stock which seems to have helped with the colour.

[P.C.M]

Thanks Rick, 

The earlier green did look to light to me and I was thinking these might be a tad dark but certainly better than the light green.

 

Cheers Peter.