cornish trains jez

Hi, I hadn't thought of that, I'll have to check out those fence kits as with a bit a bit of cutting down it could work nicely. I guess I'll just have to buy several different wire mesh kits and see which looks the best. Best regards, Jeremy

Nice work Pete. I like the idea of the brass strips on the cassettes. Best regards, Jeremy

Hi, Thank you for your kind comments and useful tips. I hadn't thought of N Brass even though I have recently bought some etched brass buffers from them for my class 56 and 37. I'll check out scalelink. Failing that, there is always the Warley exhibition next month, there is bound to be something there that will do the job. Best regards, Jeremy

I'm not sure yet. I have trawled the internet and some military modelling shops for a small sheet of wire mesh but with no success. Any suggestions would be most welcome.

Good evening all, While the station canopy dries from being painted I have decided to move onto my second structural project, the footbridge. This is definitely my biggest challenge to date and my first scratch built structure that is to be entirely in plastic. Last time I was in Par, I decided to take numerous shots of the footbridge in order to make as near to accurate model as possible. Ok, so some L-shaped plastic strips in 2 different sizes, 0.5mm and 0.25mm thick plasticard and a Ratio GWR covered footbridge kit were already purchased in preparation for this project. The reason for the Ratio GWR footbridge was so I could use the steps (really didn't fancy scratchbuilding these! ) and get a general idea as to how I am to build this. So here are some photos of the prototype and a couple of progress shots. So far, one side of the footbridge steps have been built with a couple more details to add before embarking on the other side. The base was made from the 0.5mm plasticard, the supports from the larger of the 2 L-shaped section and the crossbars from the smaller of the 2 L-shaped section. The steps being taken from the Ratio kit. The L-shaped sections are slightly oversized but anything smaller would get terrible fiddly! As always, any comments and tips welcome. Prototype photo's The model so far.... Best regards, Jeremy

Hi Andrew, Photos look fine to me, and I agree with Graham, those Tullis Russells do look fantastic. Best regards, Jeremy

Superb work! That card mock up is pretty impressive too!

Hi Graham, That's looking nice already. Great trackplan which certainly allows for a variety of china clay stock. The mainline liveried 37 adds some variety too! Looking forward to seeing more. Best regards, Jeremy

Thank you! Not sure if it will be finished before the new born arrives but I hope to get the majority done. Maybe I'll start some late night modelling just to get myself used to getting up in the middle of the night!!! Best regards, Jeremy

Hi Pete, Looking good mate! Those buffers are nice. I think the Dapol 33 will be worth the wait judging by the quality of their 56. However, that Farish one isn't a bad model considering. Best regards, Jeremy

Thanks! It has been eventful. Once the station building is finished I'll move onto the footbridge which I have already got some parts for. Watch this space!!

Thanks mate! The baby will definitely slow down the progress of the model, need to get as much modelling time in between now and end of April as possible!! In terms of the exposed card on the corners, I will probably paint those in when I paint the roof tiles. It may need several different shades of grey to get it looking right. Best regards, Jeremy

Thanks Tony. The station building has been a long process so far but it seems to be coming together now. I must say though, the lower grey section of the two tone grey on the bodyside of the 56 does look like it has a slightly green tint!

Thanks Mark. I'm not sure if the class 56 made it down to Moorswater, I'll have to look into this a bit further. I think however it did make it down to Fowey harbour. Best regards, Jeremy

Thanks Pete! It certainly has been a busy time lately. I seem to have done more modelling since I've been married than before! The strips on the station roof were a nightmare and a painfully long process but hopefully they look the part. In terms of the 56, I'm pleased so far, and yes, it can definitely make a cameo on Moorswater Viaduct!

Hi Tom, Those lights look amazing mate! Especially in this small scale! Will you be doing some night time shots of the layout?? Best regards, Jeremy

Good afternoon, It's been a while since I wrote my last blog and since then I have got married, found out my wife is now pregnant with our first child, and I've also changed jobs. And all that in the last 6 weeks!!! Since the wedding and honeymoon, I have been making some good progress with the layout and in particular the station building for Par. Since my last entry I have completed the windows, attached the roof and layered strips of thick paper to represent the tiles, made the chimney stacks (as they were in the late 80's) from cut down Ratio chimney stacks. The front and rear canopies have also been made using a sheet of 0.75mm plasticard cut to size to make the main structure and then ratio canopy edging (taken from kits) to finish off. The wooden fence panels around the entrance to the toilets has also been made, again using parts from the ratio GWR station building kit, but this needs to be adjusted as it seems to have dried slight "skew wiff"! A few jobs remain, painting and weathering of the roof tiles, canopy and loo entrance fence. Fitting of drainpipes and gutters. I have also started to make the changes to my Dapol class 56 to represent it's condition as it was when it visited Cornwall for the day in 1990, using the superb references and photos in John Vaughan's excellent books "Cornish Mainline" and "An illustrated History of China Clay". To do this some depot plaques and etched arrows were ordered from Shawplan and some brass oval buffers were ordered from N-Brass as it appears that one end of the loco had oval buffers and the other end had large round buffers. Rather unusual I would say but the pictures clearly show this, especially Winterbourne's brilliant photo of 56013 at Burngullow, posted in the Cornish Railways pages of this website. I still need to attach the oval buffers, buffer beam detailing and weather this loco before it is finished, and the next blog will be dedicated to this loco. Anyway, here are some progress shots. As always, all comments and any tips are most welcome. Roof tiles going on. Rear canopy before it was attached in place. Various shots from different angles of the more or less finished building. Pictures of the station building in position on the layout. Class 56013 straight out of the box...... ......and with etched depot plaques and arrows added. And heading through Par station with CDA china clay wagons in tow!! Best regards, Jeremy

Hi Pete, The framing looks good and I like your clever idea for the lighting. Looking forward to seeing more as it progresses! Best regards, Jeremy

Hi Pete, The huts look fine to me. Love that gate too and with a motor to remotely open and close it, it will definitely add some extra interest. I really like those FGW liveried DMU's and I am surprised that Farish haven't released the 150 in this livery yet as this would be a popular model. Best regards, Jeremy

Sounds good...although if starting in 2mmFS, diesels are easier to convert...how about a portion of St Blazey instead?...37's, 47's and 50's on shed... Now there's an idea!!!!

Got my 56013. Looks great and ready for some china clay action! Have just ordered depot plaques and arrows from Shawplan today to finish her off as she was when she visited Cornwall. Also need to change the buffers to oval ones as these had been fitted at this point as per the photo's in John Vaughan's book, "An illustrated history of the Cornish Main Line". A fine model though, well done Dapol! Not sure if I'll bother changing the bodyside grill though...

If I do it, it will have to be an adventure into 2mmFS. I tempted by the Farish A1, maybe a portion of Grantham shed or something...

Looking great already mate! I'm really tempted to do a "on the side" box file layout alongside Par. Again, I'm being inspired. Looking forward to seeing Paddock Wood Bay in the flesh! Now, an NSE liveried 4-CEP would look pretty good too!! Best regards, Jeremy

Nice work Pete! Sleepers looking great already! 3rd rail looks the right height to me, it seems like the pick up shoe on the farish model isn't low enough. Looking forward to seeing your model progress. By the way, got those VDA vans out of my "bits and bobs" box. They are just awaiting painting and weathering now and will appear shortly in my next blog! If you need any photos of 3rd rail, drop me a PM and I will go and take some for you of whatever you need. Best regards, Jeremy