Leaderboard

In 2013 I wrote an article for LMS Review on the then new Bachmann 4F. One of the two I purchased was 43875 which visited the Bristol shed. My intention was to convert it to P4 for the layout and a couple of years ago I purchased an Easi-Chassis kit from Brassmasters and started the conversion. This ground to a halt early in 2017 pending a decision on which method of pick-ups to use. Over the past week I have completed the project - not the easiest conversion to attempt - and this afternoon the 4F was tested on a freight on the layout. Here is a video of the test freight train. Especially for you John:-) Thanks to Morgan for the loan of the stock.

Given that the 47xx body is now complete (with the exception of the top feed pipes which I keep forgetting to add!) My original thought was towards making a start on the cylinders assembly in order that I could finish off the chassis. However given that it will require shortening the lead crankpin, a task I do not want to do until I have soldered the washers into place to hold on the con rods) the cylinders will have to wait until I paint the chassis. Which reminds me I must go to Halfords and buy etch primer today!) Instead I made a start on building the tender. So far I have soldered up the main parts of the chassis, it’s a little disappointing not to have rivet detail on the valances or any detail on the draw beam. I also couldn’t understand why the valances, buffer beam and draw beam do not have the same tab and slot construction as the main sides. Still, it was all soldered together square before trying to clean up the excess solder. This was followed by adding the tank support brackets, after fettling to achieve a good fit between frame and valance. Finally on the chassis I soldered the draw bar mount into position, along with a shortened 10ba bolt. The next task was the one I was most dreading, adding the etched side to the top of the tender. The instructions stated to use 4mm diameter bar to form the curves, as well as mentioning a tab for alignment on the rear of the baseplate. Unfortunately this tab was over etched which made the alignment a little trickier. I used my own approach for forming curved sections in brass, after aligning the valance centrally on the baseplate I tack soldered the rear face into position (using a thick band of solder next to each corner). Once happy that it was square, I rolled the first side against the wooden desk, pressing it against the baseplate former. This was then tacked in position ensuing it was square, before completing the soldered joint along the whole edge. This was then repeated for the other side of the tender. With the valance in place, the next job was to add the front and rear bulkheads, fire iron tunnel and bunker front, before test fitting on the frame assembly. Tonight I am aiming to finish off the soldering on the front of the tender and get the 4 sub-assemblies joined together. Hopefully along with priming the loco body and chassis.

Over the past few weeks it's been hard to motivate myself to do anything, aside from drawing stuff on the computer, which is always satisfying. So this weekend I decided to just do something, anything just to get myself going. So I built a workbench for model making so that I don't monopolise the dining table any more. The work surface is 18mm ply with a frame of 50*50 PSE bracing for strength and to straighten out the ply, which was a bit warped. Sides and shelf are 12mm birch ply. The legs are a bodge up so that I could get the job finished before work on Monday - 50*50 PSE braced by 12mm birch ply. Time will tell if they need more bracing... Ply surface and frame being glued up in my shed. The finished article (apologies for bad photo - not enough light).

The following are my notes on GWR stable blocks – a subject that does not seem to have received much attention. I am about to build one for Farthing, and have noticed various style differences that may be of interest to others. Chipping Norton stables in 1983. Built 1904. Rebuilt with end doors to serve as a garage, but otherwise it features the main elements of the "archetype" standard design, ie "hit and miss" vents in windows and above doors, and those characteristic boxy roof vents. Image copyright and courtesy Alan Lewis. I first became interested in GWR stables some years ago, and received some very helpful advice and material from several RMwebbers on here. Many thanks gents! However, I wanted to obtain an overview of the designs of stables built by the GWR, and this proved tricky. While there are a number of drawings and photos in various books and line histories, I couldn’t find an actual overview anywhere (or have I missed it?). Janet Russell's wonderful "Great Western Horse Power" comes closest with a handful of selected GWR plans and descriptions, but no attempt to provide an overview of the different styles. Vaughan’s "Great Western Architecture" and Stephen Williams’ "GWR Branchline Modelling vol 2" have a few pictures and drawings each. The stable block at Uxbridge Vine Street, illustrating how stables were sometimes located well away from the center of stations, although usually they would be found near the yard entry/exit. Source: Britain from above. Embedding permitted. So I have tried to make my own overview. Please note that this isn't based on extensive archival research or a systematic review of the various line histories. I have used a few key books and what others have shared. I first divided the stable blocks into three overall types: * The standard design, with 3 major permutations * The small "ad hoc" designs, sometimes inherited * The very large designs for major goods depots In the following I focus especially on the standard designs. The standard designs Various books refer to the emergence of a "standard" design of stable blocks around the turn of the century. However, looking at drawings and photos I realized that there were detail differences in this design, which could be divided into 3 main “styles”. Two immediate caveats: Most of what I have found seems to have been built from approximately the 1890s to grouping. I have not found evidence of standard designs before this time, but that may just be my lack of information. Little seems to have been built after grouping as horses were disappearing, but many stables remained in use for other purposes long after that. Although I identify 3 main styles, there also seem to have been hybrids and possibly also “retro-fitting”. So rather than seeing the three styles as entirely different designs, it is probably better to see them as different expressions of a standard design that evolved over time. The standard designs were single-story and followed classic GWR style features, i.e. red brick structures with blue engineering bricks around doors and at corners. The main style differences were in the ventilation, windows and doors. Sizes differed widely across the same style, from a few stalls to 20+. The footprint was simply stretched in length to accommodate the necessary no. of stalls (thanks for pointing that out, Ian). They were mostly rectangular, although there are one or two examples with a V or U shaped footprint to fit in the surroundings. In the following I have used sketches of quite large stable blocks to illustrate the styles, as they are of particular interest to me at the moment - but the same styles could be found across different sizes. STYLE A “Simple” Plain stable doors and sash windows with 3x4 panes. Limited ventilation. No roof-mounted louvred vents, no vents in doors and windows. Examples: Uxbridge Vine Street, Castle Cary. I’m having trouble dating this style, but my theory is that it is the earliest expression of the standard designs, because it pays so little attention to ventilation. My reproduction of the GWR drawing of Uxbridge Vine Street, illustrating Style A. An attractive option for the modeller who doesn't want to model the complicated ventilation seen on other types. Based on the original GWR drawing in Russel's "GWR Horse Power", which also has a drawing of the smaller stable block at Castle Cary to the same design. STYLE B “Archetype” Classic boxy louvred roof vents. Stable doors have “hit and miss” vents above, while windows have the same vents below a 3x3 glazing pattern. Examples: Abingdon, Chipping Norton (see header photo), Westbury, Hayes (original), Hayle, Park Royal, Thame, Little Somerford. Again there are dating difficulties. Chipping Norton’s stable was built in 1904. Westbury was totally rebuilt in 1901, so maybe the stable is from that date? Park Royal doesn’t seem to have been developed until the late 1900s. Park Royal, illustrating the archetypical features of Type B. STYLE C “Later” Stable doors have 2 rows of small windows/lights above doors, main windows are 4x5 panes. No vents in doors and windows, but large roof vents that are flatter and longer than the classic style. Examples: Weston-Super-Mare, extension block at Hayes, and the unidentified large new stable block in Russel's Great Western Horsepower p. 209-210. I’m calling this the “later” style because (i) the roof vent design seems more modern and functional and (ii) the original block at Hayes was style B design, but when it was extended (no date) the new blocks were to style C. Weston-Super-Mare, illustrating what I call Type C. Twenty stalls is a lot, there weren't many stables this big. A much smaller version of Type C. This 5-stall block was erected to extend the existing Type B block at Hayes & Harlington. A comparison with Weston-Super-Mare shows that the style is the same, and was simply shortened or stretched according to need. HYBRIDS/REBUILDS One or two stables I have seen could be hybrids between the main permutations. However, this is confused by the fact that (i) stables may have been retrofitted with new ventilation by the GWR, and (ii) stables were often rebuilt when no longer used for horses, and so latter day photos may confuse. For example, the latter day photos of Witney (built 1905) show windows like a Style A, but with the boxy roof vents of a Style B. However, the stable block was rebuilt to house motor lorries, and a closer look at the photos suggests to me that the windows and doors did originally have vents, but were replaced/modified (ie it is a rebuilt style B). The stable block at Minehead is more tricky, as described in the caption below. The preserved stable block at Minehead. As seen here it would seem like a Style A, but an earlier hand-drawing (not GWR) shows it with hit-and-miss vents in the windows, suggesting a Style B - except that the drawing does not show vents above the door or on the roof. Were they removed before the drawing was made (when the end doors were installed, for example), or was Minehead a hybrid? Shared under Creative Commons license. Attribution: Chris Osment/West Somerset Railway. Non-standard designs This included "all the rest", worthy of a whole study in themselves, but broadly speaking: Ad Hoc small designs A number of usually small, non-standard ad hoc stables, typically built during the early years, and often by independent companies. In some locations, the GWR simply hired space in a building for the local shunting horse with private individuals. Examples: Henley-in Arden, Princetown (built ca 1910), or how about Camborne! Very large and unique designs Very large stables for the major goods depots, including (i) single-story designs such as Hockley, (ii) two-story designs, rare but see Handsworth & Smethwick (and Paddington originally) and (iii) in a league of its own, Paddington Mint. The stables at Paddington Mint. Copyright Getty Images, embedding permitted. So those are my notes for now. Many thanks to all who have provided info and allowed use of photos so far. I am hoping that this will also bring new insights to light from others, as I have probably only scratched the surface. Edit: For further notes, see this blog entry.

I have been thinking about an idea for a "flexible" layout. This is still very much developing, and what you see here is not an actual trackplan, but an illustration of the concept. The basic idea is a layout where selected drop-in modules can be removed and replaced with other modules. So a particular cameo, building or siding can be exchanged with another cameo, building or siding – thereby changing the look of the layout. This in turn allows for variation in rolling stock and operation. Ultimately, such a concept gives endless possibilities of varying a layout from one operating session to another. In my case, though, the aim would be to have a layout that can capture a little of the way in which a railway scene changes over time. In real life, sidings also frequently changed their length and purpose over the years, as stations were rebuilt, trackplans changed etc I also like the idea of having the layout change over the course of a single day. Exchanging one lineside diorama for another could be used to indicate that we have now passed from morning to afternoon. Buildings and their immediate environments could also be prepared as individual dioramas and then used on the layout as appropriate. It would be interesting to buy a couple of ready-to-plonk buildings and then have one in pristine state while distressing the other one, in order to show the passage of time. The layout could be designed to be viewed from all sides. That would add to the feel of an "interactive" scenery. Anyway, it would be interesting to hear if people think it is actually feasible? Joins will clearly be the big issue. But I'm sure something similar has been tried before, so if there are any thoughts or experiences out there I'd be happy to hear them.

Our story begins inside a parcels van on the Westbury to Farthing stopping train. The parcel in the middle is of particular interest to us. It is addressed to a Mr Ahern at No. 7, Memory Lane, Farthing. Safely arrived in the bay at Farthing, the parcels are handled by Porter P.W. Saunders. The one for Mr Ahern is under his hand. The flat package in front contains a scientific manuscript, in which a certain A. Einstein proposes that space and time are not constant. The parcels van is to Diagram W1 and was kit-bashed from Ratio sides (described here). On his way to the parcels office, porter P.W. Saunders passes the train's engine and is intercepted by a customer who enquires about departure times, apparently oblivious of the timetable behind him. The steam effect is out-of-focus cotton wool, a trick stolen directly from the cover of the latest MRJ (no other comparison intended!). The MRJ cover can be seen in this RMweb thread - but better still, buy it! After sorting in the parcels office, our package continues its journey. It is now carried by porter C. Walker on a kit-built barrow from P&D Marsh. Walker himself consists of one part worker and two parts signal man from the Monty's range. His once youngish face has been heavily re-sculpted, and the cap filed down to represent a GWR type. Despite all this, Walker sleeps well at night, and is seen here having a brief exchange with shunter George Mullins. Meanwhile one of the old pre-diagram brake vans of the 1882 design awaits its turn on the evening "mixed" to Overbourne. The van was scratch-built by Chris Edge many moons ago, and is next on my list of restoration jobs. The parcel for Mr Ahern awaits loading in front of the horse drawn delivery van. One of the other packages contains a painting by a young Spanish artist by the name of Picasso. It is not clear why the painting is headed for Farthing, and to this day it remains hidden and unknown in an attic in Wiltshire! The lettering on the van was based on photos from the period (including the use of different fonts), and drawn up in MS Word with a brown background to match the van colour. It was then printed on thin paper and stuck to the van side. This shot is ruthless but from a normal viewing distance it looks OK. The poster is an original GWR example from 1907, reduced to scale size and printed. The parcel has been delivered at No 7 Memory Lane, and the contents have been presented by Mr Ahern to his son John. Postscript: The boy is of course John Ahern, who was four years old at this time (1907), and who went on to pioneer the scenic aspect of railway modeling. This included building the revolutionary Madder Valley Railway, now at Pendon. I am aware that at this point in time the tin-plate loco would most likely have been from Maerklin or similar, but I couldn't resist the temptation to use a photo of my own Meccano/Hornby M2 for the scene. My grandfather gave it to my father, who passed it on to me. Merry Christmas everyone!

Here's a first attempt to visualize "The depot", drawn with the Sketchup programme. As mentioned earlier, it will be constructed within an Ikea "Snackbox". The scenic part will be raised to allow ample room for electrics etc in the space underneath. I've used the same principle as on "The bay", where the viewing side is opposite of what you'd normally do. The idea is to increase the sense of being "inside" the scene, rather than viewing it from a distance. So we're standing inside the shed and looking at the last couple of platforms ("decks"), with an opening to the cartage platform and yard in the background. Hopefully the wagons moving back and forth on the reception siding in the yard will help add to the sense of depth. Sadly there won't be any horseboxes on the real thing - these are just to give an impression as I couldn't find any vans and wagons. Thanks to ngauge kid and wild goose for posting some GWR stock on the Sketchup site. It will be important to ensure that plenty of light enters the depot, or it may appear a bit dark and dull. These skylights are just an example, I'll want to look closer at prototype examples. If things work out I'm hoping for some interesting play of light, with light coming in from above but also from the opening to the yard. The windows in the side are wishful thinking at this point, but I might cut a hole in the side of the Snackbox to allow light to enter this way also. A view of the small section of the yard at the back, with reception siding and horse drawn carriages etc. This could become cramped if I don't take care - but a light ground cover and the "less is more" approach can hopefully help avoid that. A view from the yard side with the backscene removed. The backscene can easily be dismantled, so I'm considering making the layout viewable from this side also on occasion. That would require an alternative backscene which shows the rest of the depot behind the viewable platforms. Perhaps a photo of a depot scene, or even the old mirror trick (although how to do away with the duplication when shunting stock?).

I've been working on the trackplan for the next Farthing layout, which will show part of a large GWR goods depot. In order to improve the operating interest, I've decided to incorporate a shunting puzzle in the track plan. For anyone interested in shunting puzzles, I can recommend the excellent Model Railway Shunting Puzzles site, plus of course Carl Arendt's site. The simple plan above (not to scale) is an initial design, and may be revised. Any ideas for improvement would be very much appreciated. I'll explain the visual side of things in a separate blog entry. The trackplan is similar to the famous "Inglenook" design, but the objective of operation is different: In the Inglenook concept, the aim is to assemble a goods train for departure. Here the aim is to distribute wagons from a reception siding by moving them into the goods depot in a particular order, while at the same time removing empty stock from within the depot. This was inspired by the practice at larger goods depots on the GWR (and I expect elsewhere), where incoming vans and wagons were met by a superintendent in the reception roads outside the depot, who then assigned them to particular sections of platforms (or "decks" as they were called) inside the depot. The diagram above shows an example of the challenge. This is the basic procedure: Prepare the puzzle by arranging the wagons as illustrated, ie with five inbound wagons in the reception road, and five outbound (ie empty) wagons in random locations inside the depot. Allocate each of the inbound wagons to a particular location on the two tracks within the goods depot. This is done by eg drawing the wagon numbers out of a hat. Shunt the incoming wagons to their respective destinations within the depot, while also removing empty wagons from the shed. The reception siding may be used to set down wagons temporarily during the shunting. The challenge is completed when all the incoming wagons are in their predefined location, and the outgoing/empty wagons are in the headshunt (any order). The puzzle has two difficulty levels: In Simple mode, any maneuver is allowed. In Advanced mode, two rules apply: The loco is not allowed to enter the depot (as was often the case in reality due to the fire hazard). A wagon that is destined for the far end of a platform inside the depot must therefore be propelled using other intermediate wagons. Wagons must not be left temporarily inside the depot during shunting operations, only outside.

"The bay" was the first of the Farthing layouts. The layout portrays the bay platform for the GWR Overbourne line at Farthing. It is inspired by the bay platforms at Newbury and Didcot, and combines selected features from these. The trackplan is very simple, but allows reasonable scope for operation. The bay platform and its canopy is positioned at the very front of the layout, in order to provide a viewblock which forces the onlooker to look beneath the canopy, thereby also avoiding the "birds eye view". The photos seen here are rather out of date by now. "The bay" is nearing completion, with just a few details remaining. I'll begin taking photos of the finished layout shortly, once we get a clear day. Meanwhile, there's a more detailed account of how "The bay" was built here, although this has not been updated for quite some time.

Once a week, a meeting takes place at Farthing Station where staff and regular passengers engage in learned discussion about some of the great questions of our time... Link to Far Twittering & Oysterperch Link to the Wallace and Gromit layout

Farthing, June 27, 1914. Europe is on the brink of war, but noone knows. The staff go about their morning routines, and No. 835 sleepily shunts a horsebox. Station Master A. Woodcourt examines the scene. He likes the order and calm of the bay area. He is feeling his age and hopes it will be a quiet day. But it is not to be. As he propels the horsebox into the sidings, driver T.F. Oberon notices a problem. Throughout his life with the railways, he has been able to smell a hot axlebox. And he can smell one now. As the "hot box" is confirmed, Woodcourt realizes he has a problem on his hands. There is a major event at the Farthing Race Course today, and there are no spare horseboxes to deploy. To make matters worse, the owner of the horse turns out to be the rather brusque and imposing Mr Bull. As Bull launches into yet another of his long-winded complaints about the state of the country's railways, Woodcourt realizes it is going to be one of those days... *** Credits: Horsebox built by Pete Morris. *** Will Woodcourt solve the problem? Will the horse make it in time for the races? What else is in store for the good people of Farthing? Find the answers in the next instalment of "All in a day's work"... Go to part 2

Nothing reported here over a few months doesn't mean nothing has been done, honest! Besides a month-long trip to visit family in New Zealand and Australia (from which it took a while to recover!) before Christmas, I've got a fair bit done on Tillingham, and it now resembles a model railway - in my opinion at least - rather than a random collection of stuff on a board. Talking of opinions, I had hoped that transferring the latest progress to a thread in Layout Topics might elicit a bit more comment and spur me on a bit more, but although it's been viewed a few times, not a sausage as regards any kind of comment, encouraging or otherwise! It may be totally mediocre or boring, I have no idea (hope not) so thought I'd bang a couple of recent pics on here, and link it, and see what happens. I'd assumed it was more likely to attract a bit of attention in the open forums...maybe not! Here's the link: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/130692-tillingham/ or just search Tillingham in Layout topics. I'd really like to hear a few thoughts on how it's been going as I've hopefully learned a lot going along, and have particularly enjoyed getting to grips with landscaping, buildings and a bit of detailing, as well as putting in a couple more electrical feeds to iron out some faltering in the goods yard. It's been nice to have a bit of a play with locos and a wagon or two in the scenic section before I reunite the board with it's "fiddle yard" partner and crack on with the rest of the smaller stuff and do some serious running while doing so. More photos in the layout forum post.

I have flat surfaces that need some character and I’m using 50mm thick polystyrene off cuts of flooring insulation that are glued down with exterior PVA to create it. The outline of the access path to Platform one and road to the terrace railway cottages were drawn in with a permanent marker pen after studying many photos and determining a plan view. Then using a small flexible handsaw and a Surform rasp these are then carved out and shaped to simulate the embankments and general sloping terrain towards the A684 road below at the Garsdale Station South end approach. Modelling has taken a little time and care (about three days so far) to ensure the cottages and bridge blend into the terrain before applying the road and access path surfaces and of course grass. I am preparing module one for further detailing such as out buildings and dry stone walls so to get a handle on how the rest of the diorama will work with the next baseboard that will have the station waiting rooms and signal box.

It's been several months since my last bit of bloggery, so here goes. Tillingham is now coming along nicely, and starting to look more like a layout rather than some track on a baseboard. The enhanced progress follows a few weeks where I'd had to dismantle the two baseboards and their trestles to make way for extra accommodation with both our girls on a visit, and took the opportunity to bring the scenic half of the layout down to our home workshop (former kitchen) where a 4x2 sits nicely on a worktop handy for all services and at a good height to work on. Consequently, I've painted a base coat of burnt umber on the "hilly bits" and other areas, and done some more ballasting and yard surfacing, though my next layout will definitely not have what is allegedly 00 scale ballast, as it's much too lumpy, but I'm not raking it all up now to start again! In addition, I've built a Ratio coal office and staithes on a separate plasticard base, which I'll reveal another time, a sleeper buffer stop (Wordsworth download) and a flight of steps which will connect the as yet to be built town to the station. These I did from scratch in Depron foam sheet and balsa wood, both in my model aeroplane stock, with some DeLuxe plastic filler here and there, and which I reckon will look reasonable when painted and weathered as a Southern style concrete construction. Painting and fitting the tiny Ratio railings kit I bought is going to be a bit of a caper though, I suspect I also did some work on the access road ramp, which is also in balsa, with a covering in brick paper and three buttresses, which would probably on reflection have been better as arched recesses, but I was on a roll! Finally, I did the tunnel mouth, another Worsdworth download but modified, which necessitated hacking out some of the raised ground I'd laid, and concentrating on that corner of the layout, had my first go at static grass laying with one of the very nicely priced MR Models tea-strainer based devices that seems to have worked pretty well with a mix of 2mm and 4mm "grasses" for the slightly overgrown area. We'll see how well my diluted PVA sticking and consequent fixing spray worked when I take the board back upstairs! Oh, and the shed road buffer stop is in, with some filling and weathering to do. Working in one specific area to get it looking more like something real I have found very encouraging, so will probably carry on that way - it's only 4' x 2' on the scenic side after all, with the townscape to be built on a higher level above part of the fiddle yard side at a later date - bearing in mind the need to try and match certain things colour and finish-wise as I go, which may be easier said than done. There's the matter of a small river to think about at the diagonally opposite corner from the current section too... onwards and upwards Paul Yard and tunnel area with various bits of ground cover going on. Flight of steps in foam and balsa won't add much weight to the board! Station access ramp, weathering of the main part yet to be done, road slab edge and fencing sorted out. My first attempt at static grass application, and the tunnel mouth installed. Starting to look a bit more like a railway I hope! Oh, one last thing - I may transfer the rest of the layout build over to the general Layouts part of the forum, rather than in a blog, hopefully to widen the viewing and get more feedback. What do others who have done all this before think? Comment or PM me, ta

In 4 weeks time, Weston and Clevedon will again have a service provided by the Weston, Clevedon and Portishead Railway, albeit in 4mm scale (EM Gauge) at the Portishead WCPR group show. With the looming deadline, I've spent the day clearing a space in the garage so I could retrieve Weston from the dark recesses where it's been residing for the last 6 years since it was last out. After much effort ( I can see why I switched to lightweight foam baseboards ), I managed to remove the spiders, woodlice and other insects, put it up and assess the damage. The good news is that there's no major structural damage and that trains run from one end to the other. The bad news is none of the point motors work, which kind of suggests that there's a loose wire or a shorted connection on that circuit somewhere. Overall I'm not too disappointed as I was expecting to have to service the Tortoise point motors anyway as I was expecting an oxidisation of the contacts. So hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get it sorted. For those of you who can't remember what the layout looks like, here are a few photos with Weston on track testing duties.

Having not, for one reason and another, had much building time lately, it was good to get on a bit in the last couple of weeks. The basic "terraforming" is done, and needs painting with a base coat soon. I also did some more ballast laying, and trying out a bit of brown ground cover in the goods yard, which seems OK, though I may need to work on getting the PVA glue to the right consistency. A visit to a local model railway show provided an unfinished station building, which though to my eyes it looks a bit too GWR rather than Southern, with it's tall chimneys, it's the right size (I was originally going to scratch build a station house and platform building in one, but it was starting to look a bit crowded - the station master will have to have "digs" in the town!) and was only a couple of quid with scope for a few mods. I also did some track painting, but can't say I'm 100% satisfied with the colour on the rails (Humbrol 62) so would welcome any other suggestions. Starting to look a bit more like a layout at last!

Now that was easy. Having figured out how running on my layout might actually work, I'd though for a while that an extra siding in the behind-the-scenic-bit fiddle yard might be good. Started 4 pm yesterday, pulled up the old siding (on the left), installed a Peco turnout recently purchased secondhand along with some other odd bits of track, and stuck the new shorter one - just long enough for a single coach autotrain (appropriate rolling stock yet to come) alongside my "Thumper" DMU, job done by 5.15, and glue left to dry. All works well. Using DeLuxe Materials Speedbond for track laying actually works pretty well, because a little bit of it goes a long way; it grips well, but if you need to tear it up again, using a steel ruler under the sleepers pops it off with a twitch of the wrist, you can re-use the track, and it does indeed dry speedily. The siding in the foreground of the pic will also be coming up. This will be my "goods yard/quarry" further down the line from Tillingham, changed to a cassette system for turning round and changing stock and locos. Trying to get a workable layout into 4 x 4 feet is proving not only possible, but fun too. MDF and some light aluminium angle should fit the bill, at about 21" for each cassette. No 30/40 wagon freights on my line; that you can't do!

I’ve slowly started work on the next layout in the Farthing series. “The sidings” are inspired by an interesting arrangement at the back of Gloucester Old Yard, where a headshunt served a series of kickback sidings that gave access to a variety of facilities: One siding served a private “biscuit” depot, another served the local waterworks, and finally there was a backroad to the loco depot’s ash sidings and coaling stage. Above left is the overall layout at Gloucester (see this post for details). The headshunt is in red. On the right is the rudely simplified and manipulated trackplan that I have extracted from this to suit my available space and personal tastes. Trackplan Here is the plan again, as it will appear on the layout. The scenic part of the layout will focus on the “neck” of the headshunt (what I think the GWR would have called a shunting spur), as well as the biscuit- and waterworks sidings - all turned through 180 degrees compared to Gloucester. Also featured on the layout is the lowermost siding of the main yard, where Loco Coal and ash wagons are stored, as per Gloucester. The "backroad" siding leading to the loco depot is mostly off-scene, but still plays an important part in operating the layout. The rest of the station is represented by a simple fiddle yard. The headshunt and sidings can accommodate a minimum of 3 “standard” four-wheel wagons and a tank loco. The very short shunting spur emulates that at Gloucester. Operation The table above shows the main "moves" I can make on the layout. An interesting operational feature at Gloucester was the exchange of Loco Coal and ash wagons: These were stored in the main yard, and when needed they were picked up by the yard shunter, moved to the headshunt and turned over to the shed pilot, which then propelled them to the loco depot. The yard shunter also worked wagons into the “biscuit siding” and the waterworks. These features are carried over to my layout - although I'm taking some liberties: In reality the biscuit siding was partly operated by gravity shunting, but I’m not doing that! As for the waterworks, I don’t know exactly what the traffic was, but a bit of research and photos suggests coal in for the pumping engines, and waste ash out. As salt was sometimes used for water softening I also saw an opportunity to also run a salt wagon or two, until someone corrects me! Buildings I want to use this layout as a way to improve my skills at constructing prototype buildings. So I've been looking around for various prototypes that were either standard GWR or that I found interesting. Some will be replicated directly, others will be adapted. Biscuit shed. The actual shed at Gloucester wasn’t very inspiring, so I will base mine on a downsized version of the rather nice "beer shed" at Stratford on Avon. This is open at the front and thereby gives a view across the loading dock into the shed, as indicated above. It is closed at the back and thereby hides the small radius point and entry to the fiddle yard behind it. Stable block. Can’t have a Farthing layout without horses! And I’ve always wanted a stable block. It will be fairly large with 8-9 stalls, reflecting that Farthing is a medium-sized mainline junction. Similar to the one at Witney. Mess room. This was inspired by the lovely GWR building in Truro yard that CK has kindly shared some photos of here. Water works. Not sure how I will do this yet, and I may chose only to have the works lightly indicated. In any case I'm thinking something low, like these at Low Bradfield - althought it would be nice if I could find a prototype in GWR territory. Replaceable cameo. I’m pondering whether I can try out the idea of replaceable cameos in the waterworks siding, similar to the idea sketched out previously in this post. Above is an updated attempt at showing the overall scheme of things at Farthing so far. I don’t intend to actually join up the layouts in practice, but it’s nice to have a general storyline behind it all. Sadly I haven’t given much serious thought to this as I went along, which means it’s now a bit of a challenge to make it all fit into an overall plan that makes reasonable sense. Anyway, essentially we’re talking about a medium-sized junction station in a cutting, with some creative earthworks to accommodate the growing town around it. Shades of Newbury, a touch of Kings Meadow, and delusions of Gloucester! That's about it for now. My original idea was to set the layout in the 1940s, but after mulling it over I’ve decided to stick with my normal Edwardian timeframe. That won’t stop me from doing the odd “out of period” running session though!

I've started so I'll finish. First some bad news. My trusty modelling chair and I have parted company. Literally. Unfortunately it gave way during a modelling session. Thankfully the replacement has been sourced. It swivels and tilts and everything. The only problem is the incessant bleeping every two minutes. Da da da daaaaa, da da. Now that my buttocks have returned to a comfortable place, the other bad news. The pva river didn't work. It dried clear but with lots of tiny bubbles. I wonder if this is a reaction to the paint. Thankfully I was able to remove it without doing much damage. On the good news front, the second idea which uses artists acrylic gel medium has been much more successful. Two coats have been applied and as it holds texture, it is going to give me the effect I was after. I wasn't trying to replicate dappled sunlight playing on the water but it's quite pleasing. Lower Queens Road is starting to take shape. I've made bases for both sides of the line. The one in the foreground will have a couple of the houses on the left hand side (on of which was owned by the railway). The one at the back has a representation of the planking that bridged the river and allowed access to the WC&PR station. The gate gave access to the GWR goods yard. I'll put a bit of track to represent the stub end of the siding and yes it will be P4 just because I can! The station building has had its initial paint coat and I'm pleased with the colour. It's the same as the tanks which now have tops, some lining out added and added detail for the water level indicator and other bits. edit : Forgot to add the photo of the classic entrance view...

Progress continues. Well it wouldn't be progress otherwise would it? I've been experimenting with weathering using baby powder mixed with Carrs powders. As you can see I couldn't resist putting a few models out to take a few photos. After trying a number of different colours and paints, I settled on a grey/brown mix sprinkled onto wet Humbrol acylic (roof grey). I've made three batches up varying the blend of Carrs to give a mottled effect. I'm quite pleased with it. More clay has been laid. I daresay that despite my best efforts I'll have to spend ages getting all the excess clay out from the rail webs before anything will move under its own power. The carriage shed now has a roof. This was achieved with lots of individually stuck on sheets of South East Finecast corrugated plastic. The tanks were cream so my sources tell me and the models were sprayed many times until I settled on the colour. There's still a lot of black outlining to add and a bit of detailing before it's complete, but it's getting there. I've made a start on the station building. This will eventually have a corrugated metal roof from Ambis sheet, as I did with Weston. I'm guessing the internal layout a little bit. I know where things were from external signage and photos, but I'm making the layout in the Gents up. The River Yeo has turned a hideous white colour. Obviously the PVA factory in Parnell Road has had a spillage. Let's hope it dries clear!

I've had the luxury of a week off work and plenty of modelling time. It's been spent mainly painting the sheds. Oh, and laying DAS air clay, Nevard style, in between sleepers to represent the ash and clinker ballast. I've given the area a coat of grey acrylic but it's dried much too dark and shiny for my liking. I think I'll need to get the airbrush out and give the whole thing a spray over. Still, you get the idea. I've also made the base for the coaling stage, which will eventually be covered with the worst, nastiest cheapest coal Colonel Stephens could find! I've also started on the River Yeo and the bridge, building the abutments from embossed styrene and painting the river bed all sorts of murky colours. The main bridge beams have been temporarily placed so I could work out all the respective dimensions. The cross beams have yet to be installed. Most of this will eventually be covered over anyway but I will know it is there!

Evening all Now I've stocked up on Evergreen I've been able to make some progress on Clevedon. The Engine Shed has gained a roof, made from a base layer of clear plasticard with car siding laminated to the insides and cartridge paper glued to the outside. The roof lights were then fitted with individually cut glazing bars from 0.5 mm square section. The roof lights were sealed in the later years with something and it's this laddered finish I'm trying to replicate (all except the front roof light which was not staggered). The photo explains all. Then I've cut louvres in the front elevation which I forgot to cut before. Doh! You can see the smoke trough (just) and some of the under-roof detail. The carriage sheds are another exercise in Evergreen car siding. Nothing's fixed down yet, hence the tape. The main reason for the trial assembly was to see if the coaches actually fitted into all of the roads without clashing with the structure. Eventually, the legs will fit into sockets of dowel glued into the baseboard but you get the idea for now. So far so good! I've also made some more progress on the water tanks, with legs and bases added. I've also found a suitable upvc pipe for the water softening plant (the cylinder inbetween the tanks) and I'm experimenting with layers of 5 thou which will take rivet details embossed with a ball point pen. All in all it's going well!

Couldn't resist taking a couple of photos!

Whilst the main engine and carriage sheds are in the paint shop, I've turned my attention to some of the ancillary sheds, of which there seem to be a great number. All use Evergreen sheet, either car siding or V groove. I've collected quite a few photos over the years and kindly been lent some others but it's amazing how long it takes to interpret the layouts from different shots taken from different angles. I think I've just about got it right. The slab and square block is actually the water tank slab and water softening plant tank base. The tanks are also in the paint shop but I need a few extra bits from Scaleforum next week to complete this. I've also made a start on the Great Western stable block (the GW station adjoined the WC&PR) using South East Finecast embossed brick sheet. It's been placed in the approximate position to give an indication, but there will be (surprise, surprise) a few more sheds required to complete the scene.

Have rediscovered the modelling mojo and engaged on Clevedon. Firstly, the water tank panels have been soldered together resulting in a pretty good representation of the WC&PR tanks. Does anybody know whether Braithwaite tanks were open topped or did they have a lid? My guess is the latter. Having spent a considerable time trying to work out how the various shed buildings and water tank interact, I came to the conclusion (surprisingly) that as the engine and original carriage shed were there first, that would be the logical sequence to constructing the model. So a drawing was sketched up and plastic (Evergreen Car siding) duly cut. The sides are two layers of 20thou, fixed with Limonene solvent with the planking facing outwards as both faces would be visible. Uprights, cross beams and diagonals from Evergreen strip. This shows the rough construction sequence. The rear wall has some added detail in the form of door through to the workshop. I presume the corrugated iron was a repair measure. Thankfully I have a couple of good photos taken inside the shed. I fixed the shed slab down to the baseboard with pva and constructed a rudimentary pit from 30thou. As far as I can see the pit walls are concrete, so all has been given a basecoat of Sandex exterior paint. This will be weathered after final assembly. I'm going to use air clay for the track infill to the original carriage shed. The sides for the engine shed have been placed together for the photo. Next step is to paint the shed sides before final assembly. I'm enjoying this!

Having decided to start on the structures for Clevedon, the question was which one? I finally decided on the water tower because it is pivotal for the engine shed complex. I'm modelling the second set of tanks. The first were an all timber affair, spanning the original engine shed road. The second was made from Braithwaite panels and was comprised of two tanks and incorporated a water softening plant. Having consulted many, many photographs, I came up with a drawing that looks a bit like this: The panels are available from Alan Gibson and to date I've spent an enjoyable few hours making up the tank sides, which are 2x2. The panels are edged with 1mm brass angle and have 1mm T section between. I'm tinning all parts pre-assembly, then using the Resistance Soldering Unit to join together. A lot easier than trying to solder conventionally. So here we have a panel under assembly. Angles and sections are mitred and filed to fit. Complete panel. Complete tank side components.