Stodden Hundred Light Railway

[AJon30]

Hello. Well Saturday rapidly approaches and still loads to do.

 

Having run the Pertenhall section, that has now been crated up.

 

 

On kimbolton, finished off the ballasting, laid the platform and loading dock and built up the scenery.

 

 

The platform has an old van body as somewhere for the (few!) passengers to shelter. Like Winteringham on the North Lindsey Light Railway, the station building is assumed to be at ground level and thus "off stage"

 

 

 

The loading dock will have a cattle dock and crane. The little shed is covering one of the point motors.

 

 

Started to lay the cobbled area around the brewery. The walls on the gas works have had pegs fitted so they located into the baseboard but will need covering in brick paper before final fixing

 

 

 

[AJon30]

Well we had our away day yesterday at the local church hall. A good day, enjoyed by all, 4 layouts operating and great food - thanks Mick!

 

The layout went together quite easily - i hour to erect. A couple of minor gremlins, a bit of wiring to look at, and some fine tuning on point action, otherwise quite pleased how it all worked.

 

 

 

 

Now its full steam ahead with buildings and finishing off the scenery.

 

Also need to have a good look at the stock as it has, in many cases, been bought and never run - it was a problem at time deciding if it was the layout or the stock that was at fault if it derailed.  Will use the Ixion and the Dapol wagons as "test" stock and if they run OK it must be the individual wagon or loco.

[Donw]

A very good guide to the cause of a problem;

 

Several vehicles derail in the same place check the track there.

 

The same vehicle derails in several places check the vehicle

 

Once you have a good selection of vehicle which will go all over the track you take these to an exhibition. The odd vehicle which derails on the same point now and then you leave at home. Exhibitions are not the place to resolve problems.

 

Nice looking layout have fun.

Don

[AJon30]

Thanks Don. Yes, that's why we booked to hall to enable us to trouble-shoot problems without the paying public looking on.

[AJon30]

Thanks to Colin, one of our members who is becoming a dab hand at video's, here is a short Youtube presentation of the layout operating on Saturday.

 

[AJon30]

Hello, here's the latest happendings.on the SHLR.

 

After the trial exhibition, I have re-erected the middle sections at home and found the electrical problem was down to one dry joint, so soon fixed.

 

Working on buildings and scenery this week. Here's the other removeable bridge at Pertenhall & Swineshead, with the ground built up with Sculptamold.

 

 

 

This is the base of the cattle dock, which has to be removeable to get at 2 of the point motors

 

 

This is the tar tank and loading dock at the gas works. Waiting for a Duncan Models crane for offloading supplies etc, the dock is used for loading of small drums etc.

 

 

 

Pertenhall & Swineshead Station building, which is very loosely based on Mid-Suffolk Light Railway buildings. Following from GeorgeT's workshop, built around 2mm ply, which is easy to work with. The basic structure will be covered with my home-made corrugated metal sheeting. The open waiting area is built around a frame with metal covering, so you need metal sheeting with corrugations both sides (which plastic sheet is not very good at). Will look suitable run-down when fully painted.

 

 

 

 

 

Only 3 weeks to go!!

 

[AJon30]

Hi, well just over a week to go and panic is setting in! Being away on buisness for 4 days (nice though Malta was) has not helped.

 

Taking advice from other club members I am not going to rush to finish and spoil things, so there may be the odd sign saying work in progress and some of the mock-ups will be pressed into service.

 

That said, Pertenhall & Swineshead station is nearly complete, the station building is all done, the lock-up is nearly complete, the cattle dock is finished, will need bedding down into the scenery, the pie factory buildings and the bridge have been weathered.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The water crane is an ex GER one from Duncan models.

 

[AJon30]

Hello. The static grass applicator has been in full flow and the station building at Pertenhall & Swineshead has now been properly planted.

 

 

 

 

[AJon30]

Here's some more pictures, the Ceynix trees are great, the grass is looking good, although it is a little too "lawny" at the moment,

 

 

 

I've also finished the wall around the gas works, which is hopefully the last of the hard scenery completed. Just loads of buildings to be done.

 

 

[AJon30]

Well D-Day is here, the layout is all packed in the car ready to go.

 

Let's hope we have a good day and if you coming stop by and say Hi.

 

I've decided to keep posting progress as there is still a bit to do!

 

However it's back to QUESTA next week as that is appearing at the ALSRM show at Reading on 11th May so need to brush the dust off!

 

The SHLR is appearing at Northampton on 20th of July (Don't worry Les, it will be ready!!)

 

Andrew Jones

[AJon30]

Well the Dunstable show is over and done with. We think it was a good show, but the attendence was not as good as we had hoped, which is a problem when holding a show in a town where there has not been one in the recent past. Did you come - what did you think?

 

The layout performed well, just some more tweaks to some of the points and the buildings to be finished

 

 

Thanks to the Gauge O Guild for their sponsorship, and for the traders who supported the show.

 

Next year (2014) is our normal Luton MRC show at Stopsley, so 2015 will probably be our next O gauge focused show - not sure yet where we will hold it

 

We went off to Stowmarket with Willowbrook Marsh on the Sunday and that was a very well attended show - packed to the doors on opening..

 

 

Edited April 29, 2013 by AJon30

[AJon30]

Slightly off track but have been working on Questa.

 

The oil depot buildings are the original card mock-ups, which have been in place since Oct 2011 but now is time for an update.

 

This is the old dock & building

 

 

 

Now removed

 

 

and the new dock in its place

 

[BurnleyModeller]

Nice layout got to say after all of the shows I have been to I have never seen anything as nice-can not wait to see it finished!

 

        Regards Alex

[AJon30]

Thanks for your kind words. Still lots to do but gradually coming together

[Donw]

It is nice to see there has been so much progress.

Don

[AJon30]

Donw. Thanks, last week was hectic getting as much finished as possible, including painting the other road bridge at 0030 on Saturday morning - luckily the paint dried quickly!

[AJon30]

Hello. Continuing the American Narrow Gauge theme for the moment, I have managed to get my MMI K27 459 running on QUESTA.

 

We had thought it was too big as it kept derailing, but detailed study showed that the coupling between loco and tender was too tight and the wires bunched up on the curves derailing the tender. I drilled and tapped a new pin and that has solved the problem, in fact it is a little too large a gap so a new drawbar needs to be fabricated.

 

Nice to get this expensive bit of kit working, now need to fork out for the Sound Decoder!

 

 

See you at the ALSRM show at Reading this weekend

[AJon30]

Good day at the ALSRM show at Reading on Saturday with QUESTA

 

The buildings for the oil depot got finished on Friday. Still needs more detail work in the area but looking better.

 

 

 

A wind powered pump was added next to the water tank (Bachmann kit)

 

 

The maintenance depot on the spur to the mine.

 

 

Next thing to look at is replacing the warehouse building at the back which is a bit underscale.

 

 

459 disgraced itsself but refusing to budge!. When I got it back home it worked perfectly on my test track so there may be an issue with DC supply thriugh the Bachmann controller. Probably easier just to put a sound chip in!

 

Hopefully got another couple of invites, so that's all good.

 

Back to the SHLR now, July the 20th is not that far away (where have I heard that said before!)

 

 

 

[AJon30]

Hello. Bit quiet on the modeeling scene at the moment - a bad dose of manflu & some real work is keeping me occupied.

 

However, here is a video of our club exhiition at Dunstable, including the SHLR

 

Enjoy

[AJon30]

Hello. Bit of a shock to realise it is a month since I last posted anything - where does the time go?

 

Have been quite busy with work, being a coductors on a bus at the Welland Valley Beer festival (the less said the better), helping out on G scale garden layouts etc etc.

 

Anyway, back to the SHLR.

 

There was a couple of area's of bad running at the Dunstable show. One of the three way points was a little under gauge so that was adjusted but the trackwork on the run-round at Kimbolton was not up to scratch (it looked like it needed a rack railway) so the whole section was ripped up and relaid. You cannot see much difference but the running is better (track laying I've decided is not my strong point!).

 

 

 

Now that has been done, I've started on some of the missing scenic items and here is current progress on the Kimbolton coal stage and water tank.

 

 

 

Water tank is next to do

Edited June 20, 2013 by AJon30

[AJon30]

Hello all. An update with the Northampton Show now looming (20th July)

 

The signal box at Kimbolton is well underway (it covers some point motors), in plasticard this time for a change

 

 

The tar tank is geeting the final pipework

 

 

The new gas works buildings are well underway

 

 

The coal stage and water tank are now basically complete, have been glued in place just need some bedding in.

 

 

 

 

A good load of coal, must have just been a delivery!

[AJon30]

Hello. As usual the last minute rush to get things done for the Northampton Show tomorrow.

 

The gas works is nearly there, just some final detailing required to make the place look less tidy!

 

 

 

 

 

The Signal box is complete outside but needs the interior finishing. The surrounding area needs to be completed (including the signal mans vegetable patch!) but the box needs to be removeable as it covers some point motors.

 

 

 

See you at Northampton

 

[AJon30]

Hi. Had a good day at Northampton, but forgot my camera!

 

If you saw the layout - what did you think?

[AJon30]

Busy time at the moment.

 

QUESTA is out at Northolt this weekend, then the short version of SHLR will be at Oxford on 21st Sept and at Loughboro on 28 / 29th September.

 

Hope to see you there.

 

Rgds Andrew Jones

Luton MRC

[AJon30]

I know its not really SHLR but here's some shots from QUESTA getting ready for tomorrow's show.

 

Newly finished big diesel, m9 (on the ATRR anything not a steam locomotive is a "motor") built from a Mount Blue laser cut plywood kit, on a sound equipped Bachmann S4 chassis

 

 

Here is is with its little mate!

 

 

The whole loco roster, now up to 10!

 

 

Rgds