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  • SouthernRegionSteam

    Coastguard Creek - 15 months of planning!

    By SouthernRegionSteam

    Hold on to your socks - this is going to be a lengthy one! (In fact it's so long, I've now split it into 2 separate posts - the next will be up soon...)   I think it's fair to say that you are all long overdue an update on Coastguard Creek. Due to other commitments, no real progress has been made since the last post way back in March 2021; almost 15 months ago! If anything, things went backwards for quite a while, as I kept finding more and more inspiring locations that I really wanted
    • 8 comments
    • 2,811 views
Rospeath Lane - BR(WR) Engine Shed

Pushing it to the limits

My intended period for the model will eventually be March to July 1959.This will allow the majority of locomotives seen on shed to be steam but also allow me to run a few of the early Diesel shunters and Hydraulics.   This made me wonder about how they would have refuelled the diesels. Penzance didn't receive its first allocation of diesels until Sept 1958 when they allocated three Class 08s for training. In November of the same year, they reallocated two of the three, leaving one (D35
Yan

Yan in Planning

0
Liddy's Blog

Getting distracted by DCC sound

It's too easy, isn't it? Still, I find it fascinating; a smooth, quiet running Dapol Class 50 was a pre-owned bargain and another piece of luck enabled a body-swap to pre-TOPS Blue, just like I remember tearing past the swings and slides at our Rec'. I'm now in the habit of using Digitrains sound files, but they didn't have a Zimo Next18 small enough at the time. I nearly went with Legomanbiffo as his projects are sublime, but didn't want to confuse myself with ESU and Zimo protocols! Luckily Yo
Liddy

Liddy in Lack

1
MikeOxon's Broad Gauge Blog

Pearson 4-2-4T – Part Three

By the end of Part Two , I had modelled all the most visible parts of the engine and felt tempted to stop there but many of the peculiarities of these engines were below the platform, so I had to keep going ‘down there’.   Photo by Snell of B&ER 4-2-4T No.42   Although I have collected quite a number of drawings and photos, there are still some difficulties in determining the layout of all the parts, especially since some drawings omit features and others show some
MikeOxon

MikeOxon in General

1
pheaton's Blog

Keeping 26043 alive.....fiddly bits...

Dave the welder has run out of big bits to weld.....   We are now at the stage of where we now have lots and lots and lots of fiddly small parts that need to be sorted out, and if you watch something like car SOS this is where the time gets eaten up.....     The drivers side window getting much attention after more rot was found in the corner, the lower window frame and shelf have been replaced with metal.       Another view of the shelf, some q
richierich's Blog / D&E WIP Workbench . . .

Sunday 31st March 2024 - York Model Railway Show

It’s that time of year for the annual visit to the York Model Railway Show, which is the local show to visit. The show was ok, but personally disappointing at the lack of BR sector period layout representation.  The most interesting layout was O gauge set in the BR blue period.    However there was two key forthcoming products of interest in the Bachmann Class 31 and Realtrack Class 142.  Bachmann Class 31    Bachmann had their stand and I was particularly interested to
western viscount's Blog

Ratio Toad kit

Before moving northward I picked up a bargain couple of kits from John Dutfield in Chelmsford. The subject of this blog is the Ratio toad kit bought for £3.    It is showing its age and 'requires' some uplifting procedures. I was inspired by Geoff Kent's upgrade of this kit in his 3rd book on the 4mm wagon.  The kit has a nice shape to it but the handrails along the body side aare moulded and are fairly thick. Again, this is a matter for taste and their is little value in cr
Playing with 1/50 scale

The 1/50 project, making tracks.

I decided to have a think about making track. I have a number of reference photos, including the excellent one of Corsican track kindly uploaded by  5&9 models earlier in the blog. So, timber sleepers, medium weight flat bottom rail held down with track screws.   Firstly sleepers. These are cut from some old mahogany, pretty hard but it saws well.  A scale 2.1 m long which seems like a reasonable average from the info I can find.     Track screws next. Sometime
MikeOxon's Broad Gauge Blog

Pearson 4-2-4T – Part Two

In Part One , I wrote that “this engine had several very unusual features” and, in regard to building a model, “I had to start somewhere and, with so many peculiarities, it was hard to choose. As a ‘gentle introduction’, I decided to start with the two bogies.”   I intend to continue, as far as possible, to follow a line of ‘least resistance’ but before going any further, I collected as much potentially useful information , photos, and drawings as I could.   In his book
MikeOxon

MikeOxon in General

14
46444's Blog

Dapol/Airfix BR Prestwin Wagon Build. The Raunds Apprection Society....

'Hello. Welcome and Good Evening' as a well known TV presenter who once lived in Raunds, Northamptonshire might have said.   Sat on my workbench for a number of years have been two partially completed Dapol/Airfix Prestwin wagon kits.   These kits stem from Airfix, being released in 1964. However, Rosebud/Kitmaster originating from Raunds had been taken over by Airfix in the early 1960's.   From memory the current incarnation of this kit from Dapol has soft recycled
46444

46444 in 46444 Blog

18
What happened next? A blog by Keith Addenbrooke

Episode 7: Loose Ends, Last Orders and a Fresh Challenge

Our planned house move is now likely to happen in the Summer.  With more time to get ready, an Easter update makes sense.  There's a new challenge to report on, as well as some modelling progress.  I'll start with loose ends being tidied up:   Loose Ends:   Left over from my American HO project last year was my incomplete Walthers' Grain Elevator Kit.  I've been keen to build this for a good while, so even though my plans have changed it was nice to get it finished.  
A Breath of Sea Air

3. More Station Progress

Just a few more photos of progress on the station buildings.   The roof will have to be removable to allow for track cleaning and dealing with derailments etc. Amongst other things I have added 10mm wide horizontal beams for the roof to sit on - not prototypical but necessary, I think, for the rigidity of the model.   There's a bit of a gap to fill in yet between the roof and the underlying superstructure.     I have tried to make the facilities at the st
Curlew

Curlew in Progress

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MikeOxon's Broad Gauge Blog

Pearson’s 4-2-4T – Part One

In a comment on my previous post @Mikkel wrote “I never know what's next on your blog Mike”. Actually, I feel much the same – I never know where a whim will take me next!   A week ago, the thought of a Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) engine was nowhere in my mind and then @Annie posted some splendid photos of Pearson’s magnificent 4-2-4 Broad Gauge tank engines.   B&ER No.42 4-2-4T designed by James Pearson   It wouldn’t be true to say these engines hav
MikeOxon

MikeOxon in General

11
Kit-built stock for Henley-on-Thames

County loco build 4-4-2T

This is the new page for my County loco build.   This blog will describe the build of a Great Western County 4-4-2 tank loco. The chassis is by SE Finecast which will sit under a body from a Dean Sidings / Phoenix kit - the latter being a Resin based model. The instructions suggest you use the chassis from a Hornby 4-4-0 County loco, but by going for the SE Finecast option, I am hoping for a better loco.   As an aside the Hornby County 4-4-0 loco is going for something like £
A Breath of Sea Air

2. Another Peek

I have laid out a full size plot of the station area.       The plain lines to the right of the sleepered track represent the alignment of the sea wall.   I have also started work on a station building based on heavily butchered Peco parts. This will largely sit under the overall roof.     The roof for the single storey bit will actually be flat. The peaked roof is for use elsewhere and is just holding the station walls together for the p
Curlew

Curlew in Progress

2
eldavo's workbench Blog

Steaming

Some while back as part of the work on the Winchester Railway Modellers Redbridge Wharf layout we decided to add smoke and steam effects to a model of a TID tug.  After a bit of research we harked upon cheapo piezo electric mister units as used in humidifiers.  These can be obtained in various sizes and with various control boards from all the normal sources.   The unit we settled on was a 16mm disc connected to a control board that takes a 5v input.     This was r
A Breath of Sea Air

1. Introduction

I have long been fascinated by colonial and other offshore railways like the Jersey Eastern and British-run companies in Latin America. This will be a small, experimental project, a bit of fun, to model something of the happy-go-lucky style of the more eccentric type, free from the attentions of the British Board of Trade and its successors.   You have to imagine a pier with trains and trams. The train part will be loosely based on the trackplan of Shrewsbury Abbey station, formerly pa
Curlew

Curlew in Intro

0
MikeOxon's Broad Gauge Blog

West Drayton Coke Ovens 1839

Background   Almost 10 years ago, I made a model of a lime kiln as a ‘scenic accessory’ on my North Leigh layout. For some reason, I never wrote a blog post about its construction but did write a short article for ‘Railway Modeller’, published in November 2015.   I have, however, described how my model was based on the kiln at Fawler that originally had a siding from the Oxford Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway. Fawler is close to the real North Leigh, on which my pre-gro
MikeOxon

MikeOxon in General

3
Engine Wood

A new-old pannier for Bethesda Sidings

Some folk may be aware that I recently bought two whitemetal kit panniers from @Tony Wright, which he was selling on behalf of the builder and previous owner, Peter Lawson. I understand that the ex-GW locos listed on Tony's thread are only a small selection from a much larger collection, most of which (if not all?) I gather are to be sold, due to the unfortunate ill health of the owner.   Anyway, the two panniers arrived here at Kernow Towers a few weeks ago and were posed on the layou
Slow Progress Workbench

New (old) beginnings

I think I may have started one of these before, but I can't find the original entry.  I've got a very healthy (or unhealthy depending on your viewpoint) pile of part made and unmade kits and projects which have been sitting around for the best part of a decade. A visit to the Festival of railway modelling at Doncaster last month provided a much needed boots to the modelling motivation, so in recent weeks have cracked on with a couple of projects.   Firstly go round to painting the
Stuart A

Stuart A in Rfd Wagons

3
DBC90024's Blog

loco update - 90035 - 14th March 2024

Loco update - March 2024   Latest DB90 to join Johnson Street IEMD   90035 was one of DB's active 90s during their tenure of the contract to provide traction for MALCOLM Group. 90035 was, during this time, repainted from tired EWS livery with faded decals into new DB red but unlike matching classmates 90019 and 90028 wasn't named.    One of my first DB90s to join my fleet was 90028, named Sir William McAlpine, nicknamed "Bill", named at York's National Railway Museu
Kelvinbank, a Caledonian Railway project.

An early CR horsebox, part 2

The 1870 horsebox is now painted and in service.  Once primed I liked the overall level of detail, the top hinges and the dog box end show a slight bowing out but not severe enough  to merit a substantial alteration.  I think it would be in plain coach brown by the 1900s, compartment interior off white and a simple bench seat added. Lettering is from the HMRS sheet.  Some light weathering to bring out the details.   A couple of posed pictures.        
Dave John

Dave John in General

4
Atherington Victoria & East Yard.

59. Wagon purists look away now! or, how to make a Bachmann BDA look like a XVA Trestle wagon.

Despite Mr David Larkin confirming for me the floor of a XVA wagon is an open frame-work, compared to the BDA steel bolster wagon's wooden platform, I am determined to have a means of conveying over-size steel from the manufacturers up north to a small ship-yard south of Atherington East Yard, at Tilling Docks.  The wagon would be conveyed at the head of the goods train 'passing through' my goods yard, so I need not consider load handling in my little general sidings.   What decided me
D1001's BRDatabase Blog

BRDatabase availability

Once again, my website is unavailable, but this time it is thanks to facebook. I don't fully understand this but facebook is indexing my website over and over again (it's a known thing) and has consumed all of my bandwidth for March (and it's only the 13th!) The hosting company wants me to go to a dedicated server which is like using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut. The cost of running it would triple from $18 to $48 per month (and that's just the starter offer). I can't afford that and I can't

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  • Blog Comments

    • LMSfan72
      Class 73/9 - development of a body shell or kit......

      By LMSfan72 · Posted

    • Keith Addenbrooke
      Episode 8: Am I 'brave' enough?

      By Keith Addenbrooke · Posted

      For anyone interested in seeing how the Ontario layout in the Pilentum video linked into the blog post was built, there's a thread here on a Benelux modelling Forum (in Dutch).  Build photos reveal how the layout goes together, as @AndyB highlights.  Very informative.   I have no connection with the builder, or with Beneluxspoor.net - everything I've linked to is in the public domain, Keith.  
    • Erudhalion
      GRC&W 10T End Door Wagons - A Typology

      By Erudhalion · Posted

      Unfortunately I don't have my copies of the S&W books by Ian Pope et al. at hand, only the scans I made of the wagon photos, mainly from vol.1 and 2. Luckily, many are dated GRC&W works pics, most from about 1890 to the mid 1910s, so presumably the 10t and 12t wagons were the newer kind being produced. There must have been many older, smaller wagons in use at the time, as the photos of Lydney yard in (I think) 1908 at the beginning of vol. 5 show what appear to me mostly 8t mineral wagon
    • MikeOxon
      GRC&W 10T End Door Wagons - A Typology

      By MikeOxon · Posted

      Noting that you "have been building stock appropriate for the Forest of Dean in the early '20s.", I am interest to see that the use of larger wagons persisted in the area from much earlier Broad Gauge (BG) Days.    In my own blog,  I have written about BG wagons built for carrying both coal and pig iron down through the Haie Tunnel to the dock at Bullo Pill.  Ian Pope et al quote an incident from 1863, when a train of 70 wagons broke free and led to a ‘pile up’, said to be 15 wagons hi
    • Keith Addenbrooke
      Episode 8: Am I 'brave' enough?

      By Keith Addenbrooke · Posted

      Thanks Andy, some good pointers as always.  I think the picture in my blog post of the abbreviated mainline DB train illustrates your point about train length very well.  Fortunately I also have a couple of railcars:   Epoche I:       and Epoche III / IV:     As for goods or freight trains, this is only 20" long in OO and could be used to generate ideas too:       I do need to give some further thought

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