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I've had an itch for a long time. An itch to model a canal interchange shed; I'd initially looked at the still intact Chillington Wharf on the west side of the Stour Valley route from Wolverhampton High level. Photo by D.J.Norton I came across this picture in the steel terminal's office whilst I was given a tour of Chillington Wharf by staff showing pre-nationalisation activity with bolsters and opens with the sort of loads which would come from a rolling mill. This would have required a board depth greater than the space I wish to now place the scene in. Moving onwards; not a million miles away from the spot though was a similar interchange shed, built by the Midland Railway off the Wolverhampton to Walsall line tucked away behind the British Steel site which sits beneath the level of the junction just SE of Wolverhampton High level station. The shed disappeared in the 1950s when the land was acquired by the steelworks but it's not a ridiculous premise to see that shed last a few decades more in the shadow of an expanding works. The shed and basin are long gone now but the site can still be seen from the access road to the works here. Details are scant as it wasn't of conventional photographer's interest really, a couple of line drawings on a local history site including side elevations plus an end photo from Bob Yate's book shown in the introductory blog entry. The scene will not be a true recreation due to some compression needed, realignment to fit a workable space and the wish to give something with a little more operational interest.

On with part 2. With first floor inner walls in place (and dry), they were trimmed to height. End wall veneers were added next. Test fit of tank. Adding the exterior detail.. And finally for this part, fitting the tank (roof will be fitted at a later stage). Till next time.. TBG

Railway modelling has been quite an emotional rollercoaster over the past couple of years. So many projects come up then quickly get scrapped. Th problem is that I push myself to build a layout that I have in my head but then I find myself not enjoying it or face an obstacle and that'll be that. I've built some layouts that I am so proud of, Chalk Lane being my first and Leahurst Green being the largest so far, but I feel as though I can't get the motivation to build one from start to finish. The enthusiasm quickly dies off and any project that gets started gets scrapped very quickly. This is the case for a layout that I've been trying to build over the past few months using bits recovered from Leahurst Green and it's been getting nowhere. So the decision has come to take a long break from the hobby, put everything into storage and come back to it when the time is right. A lot of factors have come into this decision: Time, money and motivation - all limited at the moment. Work has taken up a lot of my free time and has done for the past 5 years. Money is limited due to multiple house moves and a wedding to pay off. Motivation is just non-existent, the job has made me tired all the time and I rather focus on other things. Space - or the lack of it! The new house is substantially smaller than the last place, we relocated quickly, perhaps too quickly! This is only a temporary place until we can find a more suitable place, hopefully with a good spare room for a decent sized layout. My mental health - I was diagnosed with depression after losing my job as a trainee signaller, it was quite a big hit and still is after just over a year and my current job as a bus driver doesn't help it either. This plays a big part in why I don't have the get up and go with the hobby and why I get quite irate when things go wrong. In short, I can't keep forcing myself to engage in the hobby as it makes me not enjoy it, The main part of the hobby is enjoyment and if there is none then what is it? I think a break will do me a world of good and I can come back to it with a much better outlook and with some proper motivation! In the meantime, I will enjoy looking at other people's layouts and projects on here and on Twitter, there's no end of fantastic projects that you people have done.

A major milestone has been the starting of buildings for my layout. The first major structure is obviously the platform which has the station building and the signalbox sitting on (or more accurately in) it. The prototype platform has had a lot of work on it since closure and there is quite a lot of subsidence along the length now. Over the length of the platform the brickwork is no longer consistent in terms of the construction, I'm working on what I think is a logical design - hopefully it is close to what was originally there. So, the main platform wall is clearly Flemish English bond, above that is a course of headers which is slightly proud of the lower courses, then a row of stretchers directly below the final large bricks which form the platform edge. To represent this I've cut the base layer and the rows immediately below the top surface separately, by inserting a slip of card behind the top courses I get the ~.5mm of relief I wanted. From left to right we have:- The slip of card which provides the relief. The top rows of bricks which will be slightly proud of the base. The structural base for the wall. The base bottom layer of Flemish bond brickwork. Sticking them together and we get the front face of a platform. The top surface of the platform was also cut in 1mm MDF and included the brickwork for the edge and holes for the buildings. Once put together the finished platform looks quite satisfying. (Currently the side and top aren't stuck together) Just to get some idea of how things will look I put in place my previously model of a GER 1865 'small' station building (based on Takeley but painted in the style of Clare) and also my shortened GER style signalbox (which is the wrong orientation for Clare). Yes, I know this is a pointless exercise but it was fun! You'll notice the hole in the platform wall in front of the signalbox which allows the point rodding and signal wires out of the box. The platform surface has the hole cut for the size of the new signalbox including a hole for the stairs down from platform level to the locking room. I never properly completed the single storey part of the station building and the roof needs a bit of a dust but even so the effect isn't too bad. All of this is rather good for the motivation as it gives a sense of progress. David

Some people keep their diplomas, certificates and Oscars in the smallest room; I just make do with a small ever-revolving library. I'm sure I can't be the only one can I? Anyway, a shot of three books coming out of the reading room neatly summarise what this project will be about.

As I was feeling Loco'd out, a client brought me something else to build - a Timber Tracks GWR Coaling Stage. Initial impressions, it's a big kit - in fact Mum when she saw the box assumed it was 3 kits! First up the instructions guide you in easily, with the relatively simple task of building the tank - in fact this shows the way the whole construction of the kit will go (layers).. Next up is starting to build up the main part of the building... First up the carcass: Next up, the inner ground wall veneers (the vee block was made by me, nearly 30 years ago). Then it's the first floor. Next it's the inner first floor veneers (pegs and clamps come in handy here). Outer walls next - these align quite easily. Due to not being a "Gold" Member I've reach my 10 MB limit for this part - part 2 will follow shortly. TBG