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  • SouthernRegionSteam

    Coastguard Creek - 15 months of planning!

    By SouthernRegionSteam

    Hold on to your socks - this is going to be a lengthy one! (In fact it's so long, I've now split it into 2 separate posts - the next will be up soon...)   I think it's fair to say that you are all long overdue an update on Coastguard Creek. Due to other commitments, no real progress has been made since the last post way back in March 2021; almost 15 months ago! If anything, things went backwards for quite a while, as I kept finding more and more inspiring locations that I really wanted
    • 8 comments
    • 3,360 views
Tales from Pagosa Junction

Episode 2: Return ticket to Schwarzburg

Episode 2: Return ticket to Schwarzburg   I exited Stage Left at the end of my previous blog post with a question: “Why do I want to build a layout?”  Or, in other words: “What do I want it for?”    What initially excited junior me about the hobby all those years ago was the drama, the theatre and the action of railroading in miniature.  The models before me were there to recreate the adventure of travel and the vibrancy and urgency of commerce, all being brought alive as I w
Keith Addenbrooke

Keith Addenbrooke in 2024

3
CJM - Rokeby Street and Central Road

New light bit for the shop

A couple of days spent fabricating the new lights for the shop front illuminated awnings of the 'Takeaway'. I managed to get some really nice mirrored styrene which I constructed into a small frame for the LED's. This will now be fitted above the take away interior in order to complete.   
CJM

CJM in Buildings

2
Go2

(9) Back on the Fiddle

Looking again at the new fiddle yard design, I quickly realised that I didn't really need five roads on the sector plate. On the first version of the layout I built, there were relatively few static sidings around the circumference of the sector plate, so incorporating five roads was pretty essential. On the current design, there are more and longer static sidings, so there is less need for five roads on the sector plate.   Redrawing things with a 3-road sector plate immediately showed
Burghmirer

Burghmirer in Progress

0
Go2

(8a) Back to the Fitting Room (Addendum)

Further thoughts on fiddle yard operation and design, late last night, improved things a little. I have drawn a cleaned up copy which will be easier to interpret. Two turntables have also been added.   Apart from the issue of transferring full and empty stock from one end of the layout to the other, this solves the issues I had with the earlier attempt.   It's still very small overall - just 7ft long by 4ft 6in wide, if you exclude the little projection at the bottom of the f
Burghmirer

Burghmirer in Progress

0
Fen End Pit's Blog

I got to drive a Simplex at last!

Over the weekend I finally got to arrange one of the Christmas presents my wife purchased last year, a diesel driving experience at the Apedale Valley Light Railway near Stoke-on-Trent. Saturday was a dry and sunny afternoon and I had four hours driving locomotives around the Apedale's field railway under the excellent tuition of Selwyn.   I arrived early and took the opportunity to travel up and down the mainline on a service train behind a rather wonderful steam locomotive, Orenstein
Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit in Visits

2
Go2

(8) Back to the Fitting Room

Having had enough of decorating for the day, I started fiddling with a fiddle yard design. This one is based on the original, but bigger to allow roads of 600mm in length. Potentially, I have to allow for a loco at each end of the train - the one bringing a train in and the one taking it back out again, so 600mm is not too generous.   The basic design is a 5 road sector plate connecting with up to 15 static sidings and 2 through roads. The extra lines in the sector plate area on the di
Burghmirer

Burghmirer in Progress

0
MikeOxon's Broad Gauge Blog

Corrugated Iron Roof for a Lime Truck

It’s several years since I made my 3D-printed model of a Broad Gauge 12t Coal Wagon.  In that post, I wrote “According to the [Broad Gauge Society journal] ‘Broadsheet’ No.9 … 'The main feature is a standard under-frame applied to many different types of wagon such as Van Trucks, Rail Trucks, Tilt Wagons and Box Wagons etc.'. This will encourage me to make other wagons that can make use of this common chassis!”   As it happens, @David Bigcheeseplant has beaten me to it in modelling thi
MikeOxon

MikeOxon in General

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drduncan's workbench

Weathered wagons

So I have been busy lettering, weathering and adding chalk marks to a number of 3d printed wagons that I have been building (incidentally you can see some of them at the forthcoming South Hants MRC show in Portsmouth, Admiral Lord Nelson's School, Saturday 16 Nov where I'll be demonstrating 3d printing)   First the 1 planks:     And some 2 and 3 planks     The left hand one (the 2 plank) is in full read, the 3 plank on the right is in @Mi
drduncan

drduncan in Update

7
Biged4412's Blog

North American Rails (Working Title Oak Creek TR)

Afternoon Everyone   I am currently in the final stages of putting together my next project after a number of false starts and changes within scale.   The current project in the stage is a Short line/industrial layout based loosely in the  US north east mainly around Wisconsin  and Minnesota with potential Canadian influences, the layout will occupy a location of approximately 2330mm by 550mm  with a detachable fiddle yard and off scene storage. The plan is there to allow me
Go2

(7) Entr'acte

Taking pause from my layout planning to do a bit of gardening and house renovation work, I wasn't expecting anything eventful on the modelling front for a while.   Then, in the Oct-Nov 2024 2mm Magazine, the 2mm Scale Association announced it's 'Platinum Jubilee New Layouts Push'. This invites layout builders to submit layouts for the 2030 Platinum Jubilee of the Association.   There are 2 categories. The first is for layouts between 8 and 16 square feet (0.743 and 1486 sq. m
Netherport and Basuto Quay - GWR 1908 7mm

GWR covered goods wagon V12

My plans for Basuto Quay are still developing, and I am working on the track plan in Templot. In the meantime, I am also doing a bit of wagon construction - the latest being a diagram V12 covered goods wagon.   The starting point is the Peco (ex Webster) kit, which is for the V18 type. I have backdated it to the earlier diagram V12 as the V18 is too late for my period - and in any case I couldn't resist those end louvres. The conversion makes use of cast resin replacement ends by Inver
magmouse

magmouse in Wagons

20
Kelvinbank, a Caledonian Railway project.

A CR Dia 26 coach

I fancied a bit of brasswork. This is a diagram 26 45’ composite. These were a Drummond design but continued to be built in various lots into the 1900s. Very much the standard for suburban passenger services.   The basis for this is a Worsley works etch. Bogies are modified comet, other parts from 51L or the scrap etch pile.           Magnetic sides. I think this is now my preferred coach building method. Gas tanks are on a styrene base to be f
Dave John

Dave John in General

7
Fen End Pit's Blog

Eimco Rock Shovel

After spending much of my modelling time recently on J17s it has been fun to return to an old 16mm scale project, an Eimco Rock Shovel. I took a bunch of photos of the prototype at the Threlkeld quarry museum a few years back. There is some nice video of one in action on the Lea Bailey light rail.     I still have to model up all the controls and detail on the side but I wanted to test print one to see if I'd got the basic shape right.   The scoop doesn't hav
Go2

(6) Fiddleopolis

I don't remember exactly when, but many years ago I built a tiny fiddle yard. Possibly because it was so small, it remained hidden away from sight whilst more ambitious, but ultimately flawed successors came and went. It's had a few minor modifications over time, but the basic design remains.     As a temporary fiddle yard for the new layout, it's just fine. Gives me time to think about the best design for the long term. The yellow pins are an easy way of making removable 'b
Burghmirer

Burghmirer in Ancilliaries

0
MikeOxon's Broad Gauge Blog

10ft (3m) Driving Wheels

In my previous post about the tender I modelled for ‘Viper’, I ended with the comment that “The outside frames and, especially, those solid-plate wheels look far more like the wheels of the engine ‘Ajax’, built by Mather, Dixon & co. - but that leads to another story …”   Now I can take up this story by looking at the design of ‘Ajax’, sometimes referred to as a ‘super freak’ amongst the motley collection of locomotives that Brunel ordered for the nascent GWR. As originally deliver
MikeOxon

MikeOxon in General

6
Go2

(5) The Fitting Room

Final checks on the design included seeing how well everything fits together. I produced this overlay showing the track plan and the 1937 map of Wantage as it really was, complete with all the relevant buildings.     Given the exaggerated loop on my new design etc. everything fits surprisingly well. The platform line and train shed (marked with an asterisk) were always going to be straightened a bit to allow for an extended platform for longer trains and bigger locomotives.
Burghmirer

Burghmirer in Progress

0
Rospeath Lane - BR(WR) Engine Shed

Post Scaleforum 2024

I was very concerned about taking Rospeath Lane to a Scaleforum at such an early stage in its construction. I shouldn't have worried, it was a great experience. I suffer from what; I have discovered, is called an imposter syndrome, especially when attending Scalefour events, either as a paying customer or exhibitor. I still feel like a newcomer to the society, what I am producing being fairly basic to the standards other members are achieving. So it was comforting receiving positive comments and
Yan

Yan in Exhibitions

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Go2

(4) Evolution

Version one of the layout wasn't the answer, as described in previous entries. What to do?    Wantage is a good prototype to base my imaginary world on; a perfect stage for an eclectic range of locos and other stock. A few tweaks might be all that was needed. No longer being tied by the rules of the 2mm Scale Association's Diamond Jubilee Layout Competition was another thing to consider. I didn't want a layout any larger than it had to be, but a slight increase in dimensions might have
Burghmirer

Burghmirer in Progress

0
Netherport and Basuto Quay - GWR 1908 7mm

Netherport and Basuto Quay Chronology

I have started thinking about trackwork for Basuto Quay (getting ahead of myself, as I haven't stated the baseboards yet, but there are reasons...). This has led me to think about how old the track would be at my 1908 modelled date, since it makes a difference to some construction details. That led me to think about the chronology of Netherport and Basuto Quay's development, and I thought I would share it here to see what people think.   The notes below are in three themes, colour code
magmouse

magmouse in Basuto Quay

6
Atherington Victoria & East Yard.

61. Dr Beeching calls; Rail-replacement 'bus while more work is done.

Monday, 23d September.   Following two years' procrastination after 'points failures' in the goods yard, I am restless to get on with the task of tearing up and relaying a fan of sidings.  The passenger station also needs finishing.   The first step, of course, is to make a list...       The first item took a day, just clearing and boxing the layout's scenery and stock.  I tried to capture the resulting atmosphere of a post-Beeching railway, but the
Random jottings on my modelling.

Unexpected freebies from today’s shopping run.

A bonus from the weekly shop today.   By random chance there were two boxes of polystyrene sheet bits going for scrap as they were unpacking new stuff for stacking the shelves with Halloween items. Liberated for future scenic work.   Also liberated were three matching cardboard fruit trays - the original Plum Hollow/Reindeer Landing projects failed as the bases were badly stored, something fell on them and they twisted. These trays may well end up as a replacement.  
Awreville O Gauge Diesel Depot

Extension Wiring

I use automation for the layout using the iTrain software, this allows me to run the layout manually or if I want automatically. I have added a touchscreen which allows you to set points, routes or switch lighting by just pressing on the screen which allows for very easy use of the layout and acts as a switchboard. The downside is the amount of wiring, each section of track has presence detection, each point also has presence detection, each point has switch feedback, there are servos to switch
Tommyp81

Tommyp81 in Build

0

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    • Keith Addenbrooke
      Episode 2: Return ticket to Schwarzburg

      By Keith Addenbrooke · Posted

      Thanks Andy - I’ve had a look at the pictures on your French thread and see what you mean about the shunters being quite hidden.  Just to reassure, no move away from 009 (and equivalents), just that I’d like to tell some Standard Gauge railway stories as well, Keith.
    • CJM
      New light bit for the shop

      By CJM · Posted

      No problem :) there's a place in Doncaster (DN9 3GN) that give out samples and it cuts exactly as Plastikard although I would use EMA plastic weld and a little bit of plastic styrene strip to make sure it sticks solid on the joints which it did thankfully! The illuminosity of my proposed signage will be much improved by this basic addition :)
    • AndyB
      Episode 2: Return ticket to Schwarzburg

      By AndyB · Posted

      Hi Keith. Thanks for the name check!  A couple of things leap put of the page for me.   If I've understood correctly you may be moving away from OO9? That'd be a shame as I felt you'd have been able to create something reasonable relatively quickly.  And be able to sit back and drive at your creation.   Of course I'm bound to advocate for N gauge as this is my preferred scale!    Understanding completely that some of it can be fiddly. My approach is to either a
    • Welchester
      BILSTON STEEL WORKS

      By Welchester · Posted

      You mean to say that not everyone from Bilston speaks like its most famous son?   Henry Newbolt - Bilston boy.
    • AY Mod
      BILSTON STEEL WORKS

      By AY Mod · Posted

      Not sure if you would have seen this in the digital edition @Mikkel but Mike kindly send me some video clips of the scene in action so I though I'd weave a bit of social history into it - as long as yow cun understand Black Country spake.    

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