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Following my recent post about research into the ‘Fire Fly’ class engines, @Mikkel remarked “I was wondering when and why Gooch abandoned the Haycock firebox for his own round topped version, e.g. on the Pyracmon class.” my model of ‘Tantalus’ It reminded me that, when I was preparing my model of ‘Tantalus’, one of Gooch’s ‘Standard Goods’ engines, I had collected together a number of drawings by G F Bird of various engines from this class and its immediate predecessors. Taken together, they serve to illustrate the line of development from the very first engine to emerge from the new Swindon Works in February 1846. The boiler of this 0-6-0 engine ‘Premier’ was supplied from outside, so it was not entirely ‘home grown’ – that honour went to the remarkable ‘Great Western’ 2-2-2, completed in April of the same year. Premier was the first of a batch of 12 similar engines built throughout the following year and, as with most ‘hand built’ products of the period, there were differences in detail between the various individuals. These engines all retained the early features of wooden strips lagging the boilers and the ‘haycock’ style cover over the inner-firebox, to provide a steam collecting space. The driving wheels were 5’ 0” diameter, which was to remain the same throughout GWR history, although thicker tyres were used much later. The average weight of this lot was 26¾ tons. Premier (built Feb. 1846) The next batch of six engines, headed by ‘Pyracmon’ in November 1847 (the name means ‘fire anvil’ and comes from Virgil’s Aeneid) started what was to become a steady process of enlargement and, most significantly, saw the abandonment of the ‘haycock’ firebox, substituting the ‘round topped’ firebox that characterised all Gooch’s later designs and was to re-appear, in Dean’s time, in the famous 4-2-2 ‘Singles’. The weight was now 28 tons 3 cwt. Pyracmon (built Nov.1847) The enlargement continued in the eight engines of the ‘Caesar' group, beginning in June 1851. The weight of these engines was now 32 tons 9½ cwt. These engines were generally very similar to the later engines that became known as the ‘Standard Goods’. The cylinder stroke was lengthened by 1” to 17 inches. The wooden boiler cladding was now replaced (or supplemented) by a painted iron cladding. In the book ‘Railway Machinery’ by D.K. Clark (published in 1855), there are the following notes on Cleading [sic]: "The boiler should be completely enveloped, at all approachable points, in a non-conducting garment, consisting of several plies of felt, covered with ¾ inch pine battens grooved and tongued, and finished with sheet iron, No. 17 wire gauge, strapped well down.” Hero (built Dec.1851) Someone once remarked that the nice thing about ‘standards’ is that there are so many to choose from. This was true of the various batches of ‘standard’ goods, which continued to follow a pattern of ‘continuous improvement. The need for more goods engines was clearly expanding rapidly, as 102 of these engines were built in seven lots, the first batch being known formally as the 4th lot goods (following the ‘Caesar’ group, which were the 3rd lot). The first of these engines was completed in May 1852 and subsequent lots were produced until March 1863, so they covered the whole of the remaining ‘Gooch’ period of the GWR. Cato (built Mar.1853) Successive lots still showed detail improvements, such as re-arrangement of the equalising beams between the springs of the suspension, as shown in the following drawing, which is based on one of the illustrations in Gooch’s notebook. By the time of the 7th lot, welded plate frames had been introduced. 7th lot Goods (from Aug.1857) Of all these engines, only ‘Europa’ (5th lot) was rebuilt*, in 1869, and survived until the end of the Broad Gauge, when it had the distinction of being the last Broad Gauge engine to leave Plymouth for Swindon on 31st May 1892. The overall layout continued with little change in the later series of ‘Standard Goods’ produced by Joseph Armstrong as the ‘388’ class. By now (1866) the Gifford injector had replaced mechanical pumps for the water feed to the boiler and modern innovations such as cabs and domed boilers were being applied. Although these engines were built for the standard gauge, 20 were converted to Broad Gauge in 1884-1888, to head goods traffic between Plymouth and London during the final years of the Broad Gauge, as shown below: These illustrations show that there was a continuous line of development of GWR 0-6-0 engines, from ‘Premier’ of 1846 through to the Armstrong and Dean versions and, with a few more ‘modern’ innovations, to the Collett Goods of the 1930s. * @Annie has posted a good photo of the rebuilt 'Europa', showing the sloping front to the smokebox. Mike

(With the usual apologies to those that have seen this on my external modelmaking blog) A few weeks ago, I decided to take a break from work-related projects, and dedicate some time to Coastguard Creek. Rather than work on a mock-up (as the studio is still in disarray), what actually ended up happening was that I spent a few days producing an information panel showing off inspirational locations across the New Forest coast! In all honesty, I'm not quite sure why I've drawn this, but if nothing else it's both a nice reminder of what I want to get out of the project, as well as being something that would look nice hung up on a wall or next to the layout at a show: Whilst not everything shown will be modelled (if only; but I'd need a huge barn for that), I did want to remind myself of the areas along the New Forest coast that really inspired me. It makes sense to follow the numbering on my drawing, so first up... Hurst Spit is a shingle spit jutting out 1 mile into the Solent. Its strategic location gave it significant importance throughout history as a military outpost. The castle appeared in 1541-44 by Henry VIII to protect against a French and Spanish invasion. It initially comprised of the tall cylindrical tower in the centre, with it's separate gatehouse and two smaller flanking towers. In the 1860s it was expanded to form the sprawling structure we see today; with both a new west and east wing. There have been lighthouses built on this spit before; both in 1786 and 1812, but the current "high" lighthouse was built between 1865-67. There are still two other lighthouses "low lights" in existence; both perched on the castle wall. The round stone tower was built in the 1860s, but was superceded by the iron lighthouse in 1911. There is actually a railway connection; the two large wings of the castle housed huge guns, and a narrow gauge (man-powered) railway was built from the dock into the castle in the 1880s to aid with the delivery of stores and ammunition. This can still be seen today. Speaking of railway connections, the Lymington Branch is of course a famous (and thankfully, still existant) line; terminating at Lymington Pier. This has provided a handy link with ferries to the I.o.W. since 1884. Sadly the station is now nothing more than a few bus shelters, but in the past it featured a run-around loop, various platform canopies, and a signal box. The loop was removed in 1967 after rationalisation. By the early 1980s, the 1884-built ornate platform canopy, together with the later 1938 SR additions, were all but gone. As such, the sketch above shows the end of the line before rationalisation; with a ground frame for the points visible to the left. Note the coils of rope on the end of the wooden platform. Whilst the original platform canopy was rather lovely, it's the SR built extensions that really captured my interest; you may remember my initial ideas for Coastguard Creek featured it; although obviously the idea of a proper platform got shelved when I realised freight would be the mainstay of the (fictional) line. It may not look like it from the sketch above, but the rather picturesque Buckler's Hard is a historic shipbuilding port on the Beaulieu River. Whilst it's no longer used as such (being very much a tourist destination), the buildings have all been nicely preserved; you can almost imagine the frantic shipbuilding in the 1700-1800s when you walk around. The street pictured comprises of two adjacent rows of houses stepping down to the waters edge, but there is no road; only grass and a gravel path down the middle. It feels very "old-worldy"! Buckler's Hard was a very important port and later a shipbuilding site for centuries, and indeed many Royal Navy ships were built here from the thousands of old oak trees that the New Forest could offer. Like many places in this list, it was used extensively during D-Day; the Beaulieu River lined with hundreds of ships. Nowadays, you can take a relaxing stroll down the hill and visit the shipbuilding museum. Following on from Buckler's Hard, Exbury is just along the Beaulieu River. Now famed for it's house, gardens and narrow gauge tourist railway (a fine railway, by the way!), the village itself used to be closer to shore, but was moved inland as a way of more easily serving as a residency for the workers of the Exbury Estate. The original settlement can be dated as far back as prehistoric times! I chose a lane going from the river to the estate itself as the sketch for this location; it is absolutely typical of many locations found all across the New Forest; white 5 bar gates, a canopy of trees, and a narrow road meandering through it. As mentioned numerous times, Lepe is the single biggest inspiration for this project. Aside from the lack of any railway (although one was planned), it has everything I love about the New Forest coast; a beach, trees, being steeped in history, quaint buildings, an exposed location, a lighthouse, and a stream draining off the heathlands. It also has a reminder of the strategic importance of this section of coast; notably the remains of the D-Day preparations and bright yellow warning signs that denote pipelines that deliver oil under the Solent to the I.o.W. Remains of the huge and secret manufacturing facility at nearby Stone Point that constructed large concrete caissons can still be seen. These caissons were floated across the channel to form part of the temporary Mulberry harbours used for D-Day. Interestingly, whilst details are a little lost in the ravages of time, I've just learnt that Lepe also once had a shipbuilding site, and even a port; you wouldn't believe it when you look at the place now! It is believed the original harbour silted up by 1825. The aforementioned stream is called "Dark Water" (due to the minerals washed down from the nearby heath), and originally entered the Solent further east. It is believed that the Great Storm of 1703 breached the original banks and may have even destroyed the mill that once sat there (a 1640 map shows it in place); taking with it the mill pond. The coastguard cottages and watch house (the white seaward structure above) were built in 1828 to combat smuggling along the western Solent. Calshot should need no introduction for those of you that know me and my past layouts! Like Hurst Castle, Calshot Castle was ordered to be built by Henry VIII in 1539; indeed, the central circular tower is very much of a likeness. Things were more or less uninhabited on the spit until 1913 when the Royal Flying Corps established Calshot Naval Air Station as a seaplane testing base. 5 years later, it became RAF Calshot, and a surge of hangars, workshops, and other ancillary buildings popped up; almost completely covering the spit. Like previous locations, Calshot had a hand in the D-Day preparations, including sending over 5 seaplane tenders to Dunkirk; successfully evacuating hundreds of soldiers. Of course, the narrow gauge railway at Calshot was just as important; and was built initially to aid construction of the base by bringing supplies from Eaglehurst. The accomodation blocks were built at the end of the line at Eaglehurst, and included a locomotive shed and stores building. The line was used to transport RAF personnel to the head of the spit right until the end of WWII, when the rolling stock was found to be unsafe, and the line abandoned and eventually lifted. Three of the large hangars remain to this day, and are all used as part of Calshot Activities Centre. The castle is now an attraction (having also been used both by the RAF and the coastguard during its life). A coastguard tower (not shown in the sketch) was also built after the base closed, with an adjoining lifeguard boatshed. Those of you who saw my ill-fated layout based on the Fawley Oil Refinery will have also seen the above scene in its entirety (well, I hadn't built the mill, but the shell of the pub was built, along with the quayside and muddy estuary). Either way, the tidal mill is a prominent feature of this little settlement, and was built in 1816; replacing an earlier mill. It now plays host to the local sailing club, and is shown in the sketch above with its original landward extension (now reduced in size/rebuilt). The landing stage was primarily used to help with offloading of materials from barges for use during the construction of the Fawley Refinery (behind the trees in the background). The refinery's narrow gauge railway even ran to this landing stage, splitting into a pair of sidings. A small 5 ton travelling steam crane was used to load up the flat wagons. Whilst the mill would no doubt make for a nice feature, it is just too large to fit on Coastguard Creek, and so I will instead model only the pub "The Jolly Sailor" to its left. It's a typical style of New Forest architecture, so will fit in perfectly with the other planned buildings. Whilst there are other very interesting locations along the 40 mile New Forest Coastline, I'm going to end with the quintessentially British pier railway over in Hythe, on Southampton Water. Dating back to 1909 and replaced with an electrified railway on the opposite side of the pier in 1922, it is officially the oldest continuously operating public pier railway in the world, whilst the pier itself is itself the 7th longest in the British Isles! It is powered by 250V DC using a third rail on the seaward side; there is no run-around loop, so the engine is on the landward end of the train, with a driving trailer on the seaward end. There are always two locomotives to guarantee a service, with the second loco stored on an unpowered track that leads to the workshop (the only point on the entire line). Interestingly, there is also a four wheeled tank wagon (shown above) which once a week provides fuel for the associated Hythe ferry. Perhaps the thing I love most about the line is the pier station (at least when it's been freshly painted unlike a lot of the times I've seen it!). The ornate woodwork and metal brackets really give it a unique style; especially when complete with the overall roof. All in all, this drawing exercise has also helped me focus on the general atmosphere that I wish to portray. Equally, it has also opened my eyes to interesting local features; like the D-day remains at Stone Point (Lepe). It would certainly be nice to have a nod to that if I can find the room without overcrowding the layout. The New Forest coast has held a pivotal role in the country's history, not least in WWII; Marchwood Military Port, RAF Calshot, Lepe and many other sites were an integral part of events like D-day. I think it's important to remember and celebrate that; so I'll be looking to incorporate something to that effect, even if it's just producing a nice panel for display during exhibitions. I have started to draw a similar version of this information panel for non-New Forest inspirational locations, but so far there are only two sketches. If I find the time to complete it, I will of course do a similar blog entry. Until then, stay safe, and happy modelling!

I've happily spent some of lockdown converting part of our garage into a studio so that I have more space both for modelmaking and music production. Now that most of the hard work has been done and I've been working in the studio for a couple of weeks, I'm working out exactly what I need with regards to storage/shelving, and how to make the most of the space. Railway modelling is a hobby that seems to bring with it a lot of stuff. Too much stuff, in fact (hence the need for a dedicated room)! Something that always annoyed me about my "workflow", if you can call it that, is that I've never had a proper storage rack for paints. Now that I had a studio, and have already put up some shelving, I had a spare nook to fill; a perfect time to make that paint rack at last. Above: Unlike seemingly every other design I come up with, this one was not done on the computer. Shocking, I know! In fact, all I did was measure the nook, and come up with a design based on the paints I commonly used. Originally, I wanted a rack with a right angled triangle so that everything was accessible from one side, but I soon realised that it makes much more sense to have a more symmetrical design to keep the weight in the centre whilst moving it around. The basic design is a central drawer with room for a bunch of tinlets of enamel paint (the drawer means not only do I make better use of the space needed for tiered paint racks, but it is also a practical storage area; especially for the tinlets which are small and something I rarely use). Looking at the top photo, 1 & 2 were originally going to be softwood battens with holes to hold Vallejo Acrylics. 3 is the upper storage area for tester pots of emulsion. Note that the design became more symmetrical in the lower photo, with the two softwood battens on either side. Having it like this also provides more strength for the whole assembly. Above: With the design ammended, and the sizes and clearances tested, it's down to my Dad to cut out the components from 5mm ply scraps. All the ply for this project came from the control box from what was Old AGWI Rd. - that's another design/size restriction I had to work to. Anyway, the right-hand photo shows Dad using a spade bit in the pillar drill to drill the holes in the softwood for the Vallejo paints. Above: I cut out the slot in the end pieces of the rack using a bandsaw (well, technically a scroll saw) - as this has a much finer blade than a jigsaw, it's both easier to maneouvre into tight turns, and it also reduces the amount of splinters. Speaking of which, it's a good idea to sand down any edges before we start assembling the unit. Above: I was going to use a bit of large section dowel for a handle, but I then remembered we had an actual wooden handle from an old magazine rack that we had dissassembled. Cut to length, I then sanded it back to remove the paint splatters and varnish using a mouse sander. Above: We can see almost all of the components cut out here. The drawer is on the left - this is formed from a base of 5mm ply, ends of 18mm ply, and sides of PSE softwood stripwood. Not shown are the two small lengths of dowel which I'll use as knobs. At the top of the photo, there's a bit of 5mm ply and more stripwood for the paint rails; this will be the drawer cover - where more paint will be stored on top of the drawer. I later realised the rails would need to be suspended in the air due to the taller paints here, so this stripwood was later replaced with single lengths of square section PSE - rather than the two shorter lengths of stripwood for each side, as shown here. Underneath this are the two softwood lengths, each with 12 holes drilled for the Vallejo paints. More 5mm ply sits betweeen these, which will be the uprights that hold up the drawer cover; these will be screwed to the sides of the softwood lengths. Finally, on the right we have the base and two ends (more 5mm ply), plus of course the pine handle. Above: As with any project, it's a good idea to do a dry run before assembly to check that everything fits as it should. This should also help give you all an idea of what the finished rack will look like. Above: Assembly should be pretty straightforward, in fact, I'm not even using any wood glue! All holes are pre-drilled and countersunk so that the screws sit flush, and we reduce the chances of wood splitting. Stupidly, I screwed the softwood to the base first. This meant the ply sides attached to those softwood lengths that hold up the drawer cover were now hard to access for screwing, so a 90 degree angled screwdriver bit had to be used here. Above: Everything else was pretty simple to assemble, including the drawer, which doesn't even use drawer runners. Allowing one or two millimetres extra for the cover surrounding the drawer should enable enough lateral movement to slide the drawer in and out easily. Here we see the hole being drilled for the dowel knob, the dowel being cut to length, and then inserted into the end plate hole. Note that the fit was tight enough that no wood glue was needed here, either. Above: The drawer ends could then be drilled and screwed onto the 5mm ply base. We're not expecting much weight on this tray (just a few tinlets of paint), so 5mm is plenty. Once again, note that every hole is pre-drilled and countersunk for reasons mentioned earlier. Above: I don't have any photos of the drawer side assembly, but the drawer cover seen here was secured to its ply sides in exactly the same way. Both the ply and stripwood are pretty thin, and whilst I could've used wood glue, I didn't want to have to wait for it to dry; instead, some panel pins were used to hold it together. However, once again we want to avoid the thin materials splitting, and hammering nails in is a sure way to have that happen! To avoid this, the head of one of the panel pins was chopped off, and inserted into a Dremel. This is then used as a drill, and is bored into the wood to a depth of about half the length of the normal pin length. This gives enough of a pre-drilled hole to avoid splitting, whilst still being shallow enough to allow the pin to be hammered deeper into the wood for a solid joint. Above: With the softwood battens now screwed to the 5mm ply base, the ply ends can also be screwed on. Nothing new here; countersinking, pre-drilling pilot holes into the softwood, and then simply screwing it into place. Whilst here, I also did the same with the pine handle (right photo). Above: That just left the square section softwood rails to be screwed into position. This is the replacement for the stripwood seen on the shot of the components earlier that was too short for the job. Their purpose is to help prevent paints from falling off the shelf on top of the drawer. Once again, it's a simple case of drilling pilot holes, countersinking the ply, and screwing it on. Above: I was going to leave it there, but I realised that it might be a little awkward moving the unit in/out of its storage nook. Luckily, I had two small fixed castor wheels. Cutting some short softwood blocks with a 45 deg angle on one end allows me to mount the castor wheels to one end of the unit; the idea being that the castors only touch the ground when the other end of the unit is lifted up. Once again, holes are marked and pre-drilled to avoid splitting the softwood. Above: It's a similar story to screw the blocks themselves to the unit. I'll be screwing these on from the ply side (it's makes more sense that way!). Hole locations are marked, pre-drilled and countersunk, before being screwed on. Above: All that's left to do is paint the unit - I'm just using basic quick-dry white emulsion. I spent a couple of hours putting on two coats, although a third probably wouldn't go amiss. Above and below: And here's the finished paint rack. Note the drawer filled not only with tinlets, but also with other less-often used items like powders and watercolours. The Vallejo acrylics at the front fit snugly into their holes, with a whole range of emulsion tester pots on the top shelf; as well as my (filthy!) paint palette. As you can see, it's all a perfect fit, although I need 12 more Vallejo acrylics to fill the holes on the other side now! The photo below shows the rack in its nook - it's a pretty tight fit, but the rear wheels make it easy to slide in. It's definitely not a fine piece of woodwork; especially with the scraps of old, rough plywood and my dodgy woodworking skills, however, it IS a practical storage unit. Let's face it, being practical is far more important than looking good (not that you can convince the fashion/cosmetics industries that!). Ultimately, you don't have to be very good at woodwork to build something useful, and since my studio has been built, I've learnt that the key to making good and fast progress is not necessarily skill, but organisation! So round up those scraps of wood from abandoned layouts and build yourself something useful to help make you more productive; wherever it is you carry out the hobby. Now I just need something for my brushes, adhesives, and spray paints. A tray of similar dimensions and style should suffice, with just a narrow shelf mid-way up for the brushes to stand in... oh, and I have the perfect spot for it, too. Time to get planning! If you have any questions or comments, please do leave them down below and I'll get back to you ASAP. I'd also love to see your designs/builds, and especially creative storage ideas. In the meantime, happy modelling! Jam

One of a pair of small 0-4-4T constructed under Dean, its believed for branch lines with heavy curvature. They were superficially similar in concept to the ill-starred 3521 class, but considerably smaller, and like the 3521s went through a good number of changes in their early years. They started life in 1890 as 0-4-2 saddle tanks, with the same layout of much shorter spacing between the driving wheels than between the trailing drivers and the trailing wheels. In 1895 they were altered to the form shown, with a water tank in the bunker as well as the short side tanks. In this form they served for a few more years. The second, no 35, was condemned in 1906, whilst No 34, which had acquired a fully enclosed cab along the way, was sold to the army in 1908 and spent the next few years at the Longmoor Military Railway until condemned in 1921. This second sketch is based on the only photo I've found showing the full cab, taken on the St Ives branch. Sadly the junction of the bunker and the cab is entirely speculative as the photograph has someone leaning on the relevant area. Its based on the treatment of that area on the 36xx, 2-4-2Ts, but they don't have the deep Dean style cab cut out, so I'm not altogether convinced. Strictly speaking I ought to have drawn lining, but its a great deal of trouble, and gives very problematic reproduction if drawn to scale. At the scale I produce these sketches a 1/8in line is about a quarter of a pixel wide...

It's been a long time since I posted anything on here. Time doesn't seem to be what it was and a painfully slow divorce coupled with Covid restrictions has hampered modelling progress. But in a rare alignment of planets, stars, work and other more domestic arrangements I've actually had a couple of days at the modelling bench. Must be a holiday or something... I've been building a little Covid layout using the EMGS track and turnouts, details of which will follow I'm sure at some point. The layout is a small inglenook style affair and goes by the name of Stonehouse St James. It is set in the err, Stonehouse area of Plymouth some time in the 1920's and is of PDSWJR origin but having been taken over by the LSWR and now SR. The GWR has running rights so a variety of rolling stock will be seen. The primary role is goods for the navy's victualling Royal William Yard but an occasional passenger service will operate. There's still plenty to do but at only 4ft 6in long, it doesn't tale up too much space. I've converted a Dapol B4 'Guernsey' to EM by skimming down the wheels and the next engine I wanted to tackle was a GWR 1361 saddle tank What started out as an optimistic attempt at converting a DJM/Kernow 1361 GWR saddle tank has turned into a full kit build. The DJM tank is impossible to convert to EM. It's hard enough to get apart. No fault of the model, but the way it's been designed means a replacement chassis cannot be done. So having optimistically opened the CSP models chassis kit, I've actually taken it further and started building the kit which I had anyway. It's always been a favourite loco, ever since I saw Bob Haskins's one on his Cornwallis Yard layout. It'll look nice with a shunter's truck when it's done. The origins of the body kit certainly are Peter K and I think the chassis is a shot down 7mm etch from Pete Stamper of Agenoria vintage. I've built one of these chassis before in P4 for a 1366 tank and they're really quite straightforward. The chassis has been built with full springing via CSB's so an additional secti0n was cut out from the frames for the rear axle horn block. I decided to use EM frame spacers instead of those in the kit as they were too narrow. Hornblocks are High Level and wheels Alan Gibson. The gearbox comes with the kit and is a High Level Road Runner driving the rear axle. I had a bit of a disaster when one of the rods sheared at the half depth layer when I was enlarging the holes but thankful I had a universal rod set in the spares box from Alan Gibson so a new rod was made up without bother. Quartering was by eye viewing through the spoles and all is rolling well so far. I forgot to take a piccie of the chassis with the rods on but you'll just have to trust me on that one. The slide bars and cylinders bolt to the front of the chassis and can be removable. The brake shoes and rods are removable using a spigot for the top hanger and pivoting about the rear shaft. Something I've copied from High Level kits. The footplate is made up of a basis carcass with overlays for footplate top, buffer beams and valences. With just the coupling rods to fettle and connecting rods to add, I'm not far off a working chassis. Hopefully the body won't be too complicated but that's for another day.

I'm building an N version of my old 4mm Paynestown layout, in anticipation of the Sonic Models 56xx tanks. The new layout will be about half the size of the old and uses Code 40 Finetrax components for the points and plain track. With the fourth point to be constructed, I wanted to add a bit of a curve to help with an overall bend in the platform road, partly to get away from everything being too linear, and also to make the best use of available layout width. Running track through a scene at a diagonal, and/or with a curve in it, gives you more length compared to the linear dimensions of the module. Obvious really but it's surprising how often exhibition layouts are built with all the track dead parallel to the baseboard edges. I wouldn't have attempted this on my first go at building these kits, but with the fourth one enough confidence was creeping in that I felt I could experiment a bit. I began with the basic Finetrax turnout base and then used a rotary cutting disk in my mini-drill to introduce slits between the sleepers at about every fourth sleeper or so, going about three quarters of the way across the turnout, creatint a sort of comb that could be gently bent. I did this after I'd added the stock and check rails because I felt they'd add a bit strength when the base was at its flimsiest. Once I was happy with the general shape of the turnout I glued it to a sub-base of foam core for the rest of the assembly. Everything else went smoothly and I then dropped the turnout and sub-base back into the main module. Test running hasn't yet thrown up any problems: the sharper route through the turnout is indeed very sharp but as this is the entry to a siding, I don't think it'll throw up any difficulties as only short-wheel base stock will be propelled through it. One thing I've leaned with these kits so far is that it's critical to get a smooth transition between the cast frog and the four rails that approach it. I was finding that the frogs had a tendency to sit slightly too high, at least the way I was building them. Although the difference might just be a few fractions of a mm, and would barely register in 4mm, I found that it was discernible in N and even if it didn't affect the running, there was a bit of a lumpy look when stock was running through. To get around this, I've taken to easing the frog down into the base with a slight touch from the soldering iron, just until it sits absolutely flush. Where I'd already fixed the frog in place and soldered the approach rails, I used a grinding wheel and files just to skim a bit off the top of the frog. Again, we're only talking tiny measures here. Oddly enough I didn't have any worries with the first point, so perhaps I just took more care over that one! But with the others, I've been keeping a careful eye on the frogs. I've now started building the crossover for the engine release, which will be the last set of points needed.

Books are good, but there are some things you only notice in real railway environments. Here's a selection of detail shots from my recent quick visit to Didcot. I know that preservation isn't the same as the actual railways, but there are still things to learn from and be inspired by, I think. Lubricated points... I don't recall seeing that modelled, but maybe I haven't looked hard enough. It would be easy to replicate, but would it look odd in model form? Track keys. First time I've had a chance to study them in close-up since I began dabbling in hand-built track. Before that I was happily indifferent to this sort of thing! I wonder just how perfectionist gangers were back in the day. Was a rotting key like this commonplace, or would it have been replaced before it got to this condition? The key on the right is centered, thus breaking the right/left pattern. Maybe to make up for rail creep? A ballast wagon to dia P15 of 1936. I see Cambrian have a kit for it. A couple of these would make a nice little project in case I decide to do a 1940s shunting layout at some point. Peeling paint, but of a very subtle kind. How to model that? Slice up the paintwork with a scalpel, maybe? Then again, that sounds like something that could go awfully wrong! Can of worms! Two P15s in different liveries. My knowledge of GWR PW stock liveries is very sketchy. As far as I remember, there is a debate about black vs dark grey, but the details evade me. I remember reading a piece about this on-line recently, but can't for the life of me find it now. Can anyone help? We never get to model wagons that are actually braked. Would be nice to do one in model form. A small removable diorama at the end of a siding with a wagon being unloaded. And the brakes on! Close up of the DC3 (I think?) hand brake. Jim Champ has done a nice intro on GWR brake types Loco Coal to dia N34 of 1946. Another interesting wagon to model, I think. Either scratchbuilt or a modified version of the (incorrect) Dapol Loco Coal. Note the cobweb here on the N34. Now that would be a modelling challenge :-) Strings of glue maybe? Problem is, once you go down that route, everything about the wagon has to be the same level of detail! Morton handbrake lever on the N34. Note weathering on the brake lever. My first "live" Iron Mink. I do like them. I have one of the old ABS kits in the pipeline for The Depot (1900s). Very nice attention to detail here. These little things are what makes a preservation scene come alive. I assume the lighter colour on the Iron Mink doors is a temporary measure, but the question arises: Did this sort of thing also happen on the real GWR at times? Or was the painting process too standardised/systematic for that to happen? Looks familiar, doesn't it? Anyone who ever had trouble with transfers will recognize this. I don't recall seeing this kind of thing in prototype photos though. Were transfers ever used for numbering GWR wagons? The little imperfections that make it real: A bent step. Don't get me wrong: I find the standard of maintenance very high at Didcot. The question is, could we model this sort of thing and get away with it? Again: The everyday wear and tear of things. Ideally it would be an interesting challenge to replicate in model form. But the irony is that it would probably just look like sloppy modelling! Foot crossing with more room on inside of rail, to allow for wheel flanges I assume. Point levers with newly replaced boards. A nice little bit of detail to model. More replacement wood, this time inside the loco shed. Wish I'd done something like this inside "The depot". Maybe next time. Lovely copper cap, eh? :-)

So, things have been moving along, although not at a particularly fast pace. First, the loco coal wagon from the last post. It is not done yet, I've added a bit of rust and wear. The excellent pictures from Mikkel's blog (https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/11531-detail-hunting-at-didcot/) were invaluable for reference. It is all still a bit raw, it needs a wash of general grime to tone things down a bit. I'm reasonably happy with how it is coming on, but I'm not 100% satisfied with the overall look. Maybe once it is all toned down I'll be happier. I'm not entirely sure what causes the lighter discoloured patches in the paint, but I tried to replicate the look with some thinned light gray (Vallejo glaze medium and water). I've also used some soot from my parent's chimney to detail the interior, I've got a large jar full of the stuff I meant to use to make pigments for violin varnish, but it seems to work pretty well as a substitute for real coal dust. Unfortunately the glue, water and a drop of washing up liquid has left a mess on the floor of the wagon. I'm hoping a bit of matt varnish and a black wash will make it look better. The next batch of models has also been primed. As I don't have access to spraying gear where I am, I decided to use a brush. Although it doesn't look great, it think it will work out all right. Pictured are a small office building (free with an issue of Railway Modeller from a couple of years back), and three Cambrian Model Rail wagons: a shunter's truck to dia. M4, a 12T end door 7-plank and a 10T fixed end 7-plank, both Gloucester designs. I plan to use the shunter's truck as a conversion wagon between tension-lock and S&W couplings. I assumed there weren't any in the Forest of Dean, but while leafing through The Severn & Wye Railway Vol. 5, I came across a picture of a 16xx heading to Lydney docks from the yard with a shunter's truck (looks like an M3, judging from the upper handrail), so it seems like at least one was allocated to the Forest area. I'll have to see if I can find out what the lettering on the toolbox sides was. Failing that, I can make something up. The kit has a lot of good detail, especially the various shafts and brackets associated with the DC brake gear. I haven't fitted any couplings yet, so I might have to remove some of these bits to make room, but I will try and keep it to a minimum. I've also base coated the two wagons: the 12T in black, and the 10T in red. The idea here is to do a bit of miniature signwriting: the black one will be a Cannop colliery wagon, while I plan to finish the red one as one of Pates', a coal merchant from Cheltenham who bought coal from Foxes Bridge colliery. There are photos of both in the S&W railway books. I have no idea if I will actually manage this. The Cannop livery is as simple as it gets: CANNOP in large, sans-serif unshaded white letters exactly four planks high and the wagon number in the lower left corner. I have a couple of sheets of HMRS PO wagon transfers for the smaller script stuff. The Pates livery, on the other hand is more elaborate: for a start the letters are shaded black, there is also more writing in general on the wagon, some of which I might be able to do with transfers, but I'll have to see. Another issue is that the transfers are an off-white creamy colour rather than white, but maybe once the whole wagon is weathered it won't be as obvious, I'll have to see about that. Anyway, I hope it is feasible.

The Location Those who saw my previous entry know that I've been planning a new layout for a couple of months! I've finally settled on an idea that I think is very promising (and has already been approved by the "domestic authorities"!). And what better place to base it on than the New Forest, where I live. More specifically, on the coast (where I don't live, sadly!). The New Forest coast is very pretty, stretching from Ashlett Creek (Southampton Waterside), around Calshot Spit, to Lepe, Lymington, and finally Hurst Spit. Remarkably, Ashlett Creek remains relatively untouched, sandwiched between the monstrous Fawley Oil Refinery to the north, and the power station (now in the process of being dismantled) just to the south! The rest of the New Forest coastline also features some remarkable and historic locations; from the D-Day preparations just northeast of Lepe, to the RAF base at Calshot. Heading up the Beaulieu River a short distance we come to Exbury and of course the well known Buckler's Hard; a historic shipbuilding settlement remarkably still intact to this day. With so much history and beautiful coastline to choose from, I decided against my original idea of an alternate history of Lepe, instead choosing to build an entirely fictional location, albeit taking recognisable elements from all over the New Forest coast. I've also taken a few elements from places far and wide; including the crane from Queenborough, Kent, and the wooden halt from Medina Wharf, IoW. As to the name, well, I settled on Coastguard Creek as an amalgamation of the coastguard cottages at Lepe, and of course Ashlett Creek. I thought the alliteration was rather nice, in any case! A quick note before I get started properly; this plan is subject to change, especially during the mock-up stage. The track plan has also not yet been tested, although I'm hoping that short wheelbase stock will allow a bit more freedom to use tighter radii curves. I am in the process of modifying the fiddle yard design, and have already made other adjustments since these screenshots/renders were taken, and I expect many more changes will come. More on those later... Welcome to Coastguard Creek! Above: A front view shows how effective the large pub building and trees are at blocking the scenic exit; something I really struggled with on Sandy Shores due to its remote nature. Note how the rear coastguard cottages are each stepped up by 5mm to provide a bit of interest; this goes against the prototype, but you'll be amazed how much of a positive impact this subtle change has on the overall scene. Coastguard Creek can sort of be looked as the standard gauge version of Sandy Shores; indeed there are a number of similarities. They both have lighthouses, they both feature a flat crossing, they both feature a quay and slipway, a similar setting, and finally a few quirky elements (in this case, a standard gauge dockside crane inspired by Queenborough Ship Breaker's and Chatham Historic Dockyard!). That said, there's a lot here that varies, including the addition of a ship breaker's yard (it was going to be a shipbuilding yard as a nod to Buckler's Hard, but setting the layout in the 40s/50s/60s persuaded me that a breaker's yard may be more suitable), as well as, unusually for me, a more or less rectangular baseboard! Also somewhat surprisingly is that the layout (in its current guise at least) is pure OO gauge; no narrow gauge. As much as I'd love to include a siding or two, I think it's really asking too much of the space available. Let's take a look at the plan! Above: The track plan isn't too complex, and only features four points and a crossing, and I think allows for a lot of shunting possibilities, with some limitations on headshunt lengths that will provide additional challenge! The focus is obviously on freight, with only a tiny platform for the coastguard cottages. Note that although there is no run-around loop, there is half of one; the other half provided by the sector plate. 1400mm is perhaps a little long for a single board, but not totally unmanageable, although I'm not sure it'll fit in my car without going over the front passenger seat (testing required). Perhaps part of the shipbuilder's yard will be a separate small board so that I can keep it more compact. The 600mm width is ideal, although I have already made plans to angle the fiddle yard forward by 15 degrees (as well as other alterations). Above: The ship-breaker's yard on the left sits on it's own island, in effect creating a separate scene entirely; this is another way to help divert attention away from the scenic exit. I also plan to have a lot of scrap parts from boats lying around, and many other details in this area to keep the eyes busy! I'd also like to add a path on the river side of the pub so that patrons don't need to walk across the railway quayside. The pub itself is of course "The Jolly Sailor", to be found at Ashlett Creek. Above: The ship breaker's yard is a work in progress, but is inspired a clip I fondly remember of a steam loco exiting such a building at I think Chatham Historic Dockyard. Something tells me that wouldn't fly in today's world! Knowing nothing about ships, let alone ship breaker's yards, I'm very much open to suggestions for this area. Above: The gate to the ship breaker's is perhaps not in the most convenient place for locos using the quay siding, but either way I hope that it will be operable from the control panel via a servo. I've never had animations on any layout, so this will be new territory for me! Above: The halt is inspired by Medina Wharf Halt on the IoW. I've added a nameboard for two reasons; first, because I wanted one, and secondly, because much of the land along the New Forest coast is owned by wealthy landowners. I'd bet that even if they couldn't convince the railway to pay for a proper platform, they would at least demand on a smart nameboard! In any case, rule 1 of course applies... ...coaching stock will likely be a sole 4 wheeled brake coach (one of the gorgeous upcoming Hattons Genesis coaches!) that will form the leading portion of a mixed train. Above: A well-known structure I wanted to include was the Watch House at Lepe. As mentioned in the last post, this was originally used to check for smugglers going up the Beaulieu River. The coastguard cottages in the background and sloped concrete sea defences either side of the watch house are also from Lepe. As mentioned earlier, despite having so many inspired elements, in the end I chose not to call the layout Lepe; I learnt from building Calshot that giving a layout a real life name will immediately draw in unfair comparisons! I've gone through a number of names, including Coweshot (Cowes & Calshot), Calshot Creek, and Lepe Pier among others, before setting on Coastguard Creek. Above: A semi-overview shot shows another angle proving the effectiveness of the various view blockers. A lot of foliage will be needed to disguise the proximity to the backscene. I don't think I'll ever manage a working crane, but I'll still need to be wary that no structure gets in the way of its yaw! Above: A high view of most of the layout shows the curved nature of the track plan and various stepped levels to provide more visual interest. The seemingly random shapes to the left of the watch house (boathouse) will be rock armour. Obviously buffer stops will be needed on both sidings and the headshunt! Final thoughts and adjustments I've already mentioned how there are a few adjustments I'd like to make. The most drastic of which is a redesign of the fiddle yard. The screenshot below shows one idea... Above: The fiddle yard redesign from this morning. I can already foresee a few problems; notably that two of the three sector plate tracks (the front two) would ideally need to be kept clear of stock for smooth operation! The orange dictates that only cassettes aligned with the centre road and matching orange/green track will be aligned w/power. As you can see, I'm starting to lean heavily towards a cassette system; Graham Muz shared a photo of his wonderful layout Canute Road Quay on Twitter, and he seems to utilise a cassette system. I'll admit, it's something I never thought I would build, having many times spoken about how I don't trust myself handling stock! Suffering numerous problems with my turnplate on Sandy Shores means I may actually scrap the sector plate entirely and just build a bunch of cassettes; it would certainly make life a lot easier! Above: The current control panel looks like this, and will be recessed into the fiddle yard board (requiring flying leads to the layout). As you can see, I've tilted it back by a few degrees to give a slightly better line of sight. Note that I've included extra isolation sections on headshunts, and have also included two rotary switches; one to change the polarity of the flat crossing, and one to open/close the gate! Other potential adjustments include removing the rightmost curve in the baseboard, and bringing the backscene around that end at more of an angle so that it's not so obtrusive. And finally... Some may wonder why on earth I've put so much effort into doing an almost complete 3D model. Whilst for some people that may make the act of physically producing the layout pointless, for me, the focus is always on making sure I know the design works before I start wasting materials. I find a lot of fun in the design phase, but I get just as much fun during the construction of the layout. I do not lose any interest in building a project even if I plan almost everything beforehand as seen here. A large percentage of people will likely think the opposite, which is absolutely fine by me; each to their own! As mentioned, there are certainly aspects that could be improved upon, and the track plan will definitely need to be mocked up and tested to check it fits the space; but I feel I'm finally heading in the right direction! Time will tell... ...in any case, as always, I always appreciate thoughts and suggestions; so do pop some in the comments below! For additional screenshots/renders, including a bonus feature showing the designs that led up to this point; see the full entry on my external blog.

At last, we're onto the final stage; the assembly. First though, and before you start gluing things together, it's wise to do a dry-run; so that you can make final adjustments, and make sure everything fits as it should: Above: The dry run above is actually the point that I realised the underside of the work surface would definitely need bracing; hence why you see the crossbar in it's original position halfway up the legs! Now that I've made any necesarry adjustments, I could finally start gluing it together. I must admit that last week I forgot to mention about how I glued the rest of the supports onto the underside of the work surface... Above: In order to clamp the angled side support, lollipop sticks were used on the "downhill" end of the clamp, so that the pressure is exerted vertically. This keeps the clamps more secure than if they were at an angle. Above: The location of the crossbar could also be marked, and then glued and clamped into place. As always, this was left to cure overnight. Don't forget to ensure that the sides are perfectly vertical, or else it will rub on the legs. Above: Now we can turn our attention to the crossbar that will sit between the legs. The notched ends were glued (having been test-fitted beforehand in a dry-run), and inserted into one leg. Obvious things to point out here are that it's easier to glue this on the floor (make sure you put it on newspaper though, or you'll glue it to the floor!), and also that you will need to ensure you glue both legs the right way around! I actually didn't wait for one end to cure before putting the other end into the second leg. The reason for this is that I also glued the shelving into place as you will see; which helped ensure the whole thing was straight. Above: Thus, glue was applied on both ends of the shelving unit, including the rebates... Above: ...which could then be slid into place, using the rebates in the leg and the shelving end to guide it into place. Excess glue was wiped off with a paper towel... Above: ...and the sides clamped together. Above: Before I left it all to cure overnight, I actually bolted the work surface into place, and used it to double check it wasn't binding too much on the legs. I would recommend adding a washer between the legs and the work surface; as such, I have allowed an extra 4mm for this on the drawings now to be found on the first post. And that was left in place to cure overnight; meaning it was now complete! Before I end this one, I thought I ought to give my final thoughts, and offer some improvements to the design. Final Thoughts Overall, I'm very happy with how it turned out, my only regrets being not allowing for washers on the inside of the legs, and not cross-bracing the work surface sooner. That said, the design itself works as intended, and has produced a stable and useful work surface that can be folded out of the way when not needed. Above: Taking only a few seconds to put away, yet having all your basic tools and paints ready for use at a moments notice, makes for a very useful desk! As for future expansion, an additional bracket on one leg would be ideal for adding a clip-on, adjustable light; perhaps even integrating a cable run (which could just be a series of hooks fastened onto the rear panel) to tidy up any dangling cables. Another idea I had is that if you had a dedicated modelling room (or an awkward space such as a chimney alcove), what I would actually suggest is integrating the desk into a storage wall, as shown below: Above: A storage wall could be easily made from 18mm ply; using the same rebate technique as used on the desk. By putting a monitor/TV on the wall, you could even use it to work on "normal" day-to-day work things (or even just using the monitor for reference photos to work from whilst modelmaking). And to finish off, whilst I accept that the style itself may not be to everyone’s tastes, the basic concept could easily be adapted to suit your chosen aesthetic and choice of materials. All things considered though, the desk has fulfilled the brief; a small, cheaply-built, collapsible workstation, with convenient access to frequently used paints and tools. I really hope you've enjoyed following the design and construction of this folding modelmaking desk/bench, and perhaps it has even inspired you to build something similar! Either way, I'd really appreciate likes, votes, and comments; be it positive or constructive. Next time, we'll be looking at what to do when you need to take a basic set-up on your travels... Jam/Jamie Warne