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cornish trains jez

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Blog Entries posted by cornish trains jez

  1. cornish trains jez
    Good evening all,
     
    A couple of blogs ago I mentioned that I would dedicate a blog to my Dapol class 56. There are very few photos of the loco in Cornwall but thankfully the legendary John Vaughan has several photos published in one or two of his books which were used as reference material. There is also a nice colour one taken by Craig in the Cornish Railways section of this site which will come in handy to get the weathering accurate at the time of the visit. I also have found some rare footage on one of my DVD's which has also come in handy.
     
    To represent the model accurately, I purchased some Toton etched depot plaques and BR arrows from Shawplan and some loco oval brass buffers from N Brass. I will also be detailing one of the buffer beams.
     
    First off I removed the round buffers from one end of the loco as this class 56 had round buffers to one end and oval buffers to the other when it visited Cornwall. Rather unusual, not sure if this was modified specifically for the Cornish China Clay trials. Next I fixed the depot plaques and arrows to the cab ends using photos of the prototype. These were fixed in place using Klear. The brass buffers were then added once the holes in the buffer beam had been enlarged to accommodate them. These were super glued in place once I was happy with the positioning.
     
    Next job is to prime the buffers and fix in the jumper cables and dummy screw link coupling to the buffer beam. Some light weathering will also be added and I'll cover the finished item in part 2 of this entry hopefully by the weekend. (He says!!! )
     
    Anyway here are some progress shots and as always, all comments and tips are most welcome.
     
     
    The 56 straight out of the box
     

     
     
    Depot plaques and arrows added
     

     
     
    Original round buffers to one end with Toton depot plaque added
     

     
     
    Round buffers removed and brass oval buffers added
     

     

     

     
     
    Best regards,
     
    Jeremy
  2. cornish trains jez
    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
  3. cornish trains jez
    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
  4. cornish trains jez
    Good afternoon,
     
    This will be the second blog for me in a week!! Not bad going !!
     
    Just thought I would update on the progress of the station building. I have now strengthened the structure with some extra card along the centre of the building which has now made it a little more sturdy.
     
    I have also made the doors from artists paper. As these doors are panelled, I first cut out the panelled areas and then glued a second sheet of artists paper behind to represent this, and they have now been positioned into place. I have studied numerous photos online and come to the conclusion that the doors were painted red towards the end of the 80's so this is my chosen colour. Although I may need to tone it down a bit as it has dried a little like "post office red"!!
     
    The windows have all been fitted made from a sheet of transparent plastic, scribed using a template for each window drawn onto a sheet of A4, and white paint added to the grooves to represent the frames.
     
    The station roof still needs redoing as it is too small.
     
    Here are a few progress pics. Hopefully, it is looking a bit more like Par and not some derelict structure as per the photos in my last entry!!
     

     

     

     
    Station building with FGW liveried class 57 passing through.
     

     
    View from the bridge with a selection of appropriate stock from the 80's era.
     

     
    View towards the bridge with class 108 just leaving and BR blue liveried class 47 passing through with mail vans.
     

     
     
    As always, any comments are welcome.
     
    Best regards,
     
    Jeremy
  5. cornish trains jez
    Good afternoon all,
     
    Not much progress has taken place over the last few weeks but I have managed to get the stone papers cut out and attached to the cardboard base structure. Thank you Pete and Tom for your tips on how to produce the stonework in my last entry, I used a good photo of the station itself and then cut part of the stonework from the photo, and copied and pasted it several times to get a strip of stone work. Then this was printed onto good quality paper and I carefully measured and cut out the door and window apertures before attaching each section to the card structure using PVA glue.
    I feel the end result has given a fair representation of the stonework.
     
    It all looks a bit bare at present and there is still plenty to do on the model and hopefully I can spend a few evenings this week getting the doors and windows sorted ready to be glued into position.
     
    Anyway, here are a few progress shots of the building with a temporary roof, which I will have to redo as it is slightly too wide. D'oh!!
     

     

     

     

     

     
     
    Any comments very welcome.
     
    Best regards,
     
    Jeremy
  6. cornish trains jez
    Good afternoon,
     
    Having had the day off work today, I have managed to finish the basic construction of the station building for Par.
     
    When I was down in Cornwall last week, I dragged my fiancee down to Par to measure the station building so as to make the most accurate model possible. I checked permission with the station staff first.
    So permission granted, and a half hour later (with a very embarrassed wife to be!!) I had my measurements.
     
    The main structure is made of 1mm thick card which I collected in my previous job and has been sitting in a box for the last 8 years. I knew it would come in handy one day!
     
    I'm still not sure how I am going to represent the stone work as I am struggling to find stone/brick papers with this colour stone printed on. Any ideas would be most welcome.
     
    There is still plenty of work to do but here are a few pictures of the progress made over the last week and today. I've also included a few prototype shots.
     
    As always, any comments and tips for the rest of the model greatly appreciated.
     
    Rear view.
     

     

     
    Prototype rear view.
     

     

     
    Side view.
     

     
    Prototype side view.
     

     
    Front view.
     

     
    Prototype front view.
     

     
    Best regards,
     
    Jeremy
  7. cornish trains jez
    Good afternoon all,
     
    It's been a while since i've been able to post a bit more progress on my layout. Work commitments still getting in the way of the project, but i've managed to make a little bit more progress over the last few days.
     
    I've laid some of the very realistic ratio concrete trunking which i was initially going to build from thick pieces of card, but having sampled the ratio product, I decided to use it instead. I still need to paint it and add some weathering though.
     
    Progress on the platforms has taken place and, thankfully to the abundance of photos of this station on this website and various other websites, I've managed to start to make some accurate representations. I've used ratio platform edging (which still needs some more painting and weathering added) and thick pieces of card to make the platforms themselves. I've scribed the card to represent the paved areas and this will need painting in due course which hopefully will happen over the next few days. Watch this space!
     
    The relay boxes are modified ratio products with a thin sheet of pasticard added to the backs as the ones at Par seem to be slightly deeper than the ratio products themselves. These have beed primed and are now ready for the top coat of grey. The scratch built signal is still work in progress.
     
    The overbridge, which is still coming along slowly, requires some pointing (in model form of course!) before being painted with a mixture of colours using acrylic paints and photos which I took a couple of years ago. The stone faces are from the Faller range which I discovered when building my previous swiss railway layout. The embankments will be built from polystyrene but I haven't got round to this bit yet as I wanted to concentrate on getting the overbridge right first.
     
    Anyway, here is a selection of photos showing the progress. As always, all comments welcome.
     
    Best regards,
     
    Jeremy
     
    A view from the Newquay side of the station.

     

     

     
    37206 heads into the station with a short speedlink working.

     

     
    My scribed card on the platform to represent the paved area. Still quite a bit to go.

  8. cornish trains jez
    Good afternoon everyone,
     
    Just thought I would update on the progress of this model I have now primed and painted the etched brass buffers, snowploughs and added the buffer beam detailing. I have also added the number transfers and just need to add the Johnsons Klear which, hopefully, will hide the decal slide film. Having not used this product before, I am a bit green on this one. Is it best to leave the transfers 24 hours before applying the Klear with a paint brush? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
     
    Here are a selection of photos of the model before i start attacking it with the dirty paint brush!!!
     

     

     

     
    All comments greatly appreciated.
     
    Best regards,
     
    Jeremy
  9. cornish trains jez
    Good evening all,
     
    I haven't updated my blog on this layout for a while due to my busy work commitments but I have made a little bit of progress in that time. I have dismantled the layout into the three boards and have decided to work solely on the eastern end (London end) of the layout.
     
    I have painted the rails and intend to do my usual watered down sleeper grime wash over the top to take the sheen off of the sleepers. I will then ballast and dry brush over the rails.
     
    The platform edges have been stuck down in place and I have started painting them. Lots of weathering is needed once the ballasting is done.
     
    I have started to build one of the signals which is made from a piece of plastic rod with added details from a ratio kit and etched brass ladder. This is still work in progress as i have only painted it so far. I'll write a seperate blog on this another time. Incidently, I have decided not to have operational signals but to include as much detail as possible so they look great and as close to the prototype as possible as motorising these in N will be tricky. Actually, just looking at the pictures, I will need to shorten the signal post as it is a little too high!
     
    I have also built the foundations of the road overbridge and I am particularly proud of it. It was first drawn onto a piece of card and after several attempts, I managed to get the arch right. It was then cut from 3mm ply using the card template. Full credit to my dad for his neat electric jigsaw cutting work!
     
    A little bit of progress but not as much as I would have liked but hopefully I can get a bit more done over the coming weeks.
     
    Any way, here are a few pictures taken this evening. Any advice and comments are always greatly appreciated.
     

     

     

     
    That's all for now.
     
    Best regards,
     
    Jeremy
  10. cornish trains jez
    Good afternoon,
     
    Just thought I would add an entry as I haven't updated for a few weeks. Progress on Par is slow but I hope to add an entry by Sunday evening with progress on the layout.
     
    This entry is to talk about my latest loco, class 37 37206.
     
    Having looked through John Vaughan's excellent book "Diesels in the Duchy", I noticed that this loco is photographed on more than one occasion in the Par/St.Blazey area so naturally I wanted to have this loco on my layout.
     
    The donor was the re-tooled Farish class 37238. I have removed the plastic round buffers (donated to 37207 "William Cookworthy") and added some N-brass oval etched brass buffers. I have also added the snowploughs from the same company and will be adding further buffer beam detail over the next few days.
    I also decided to close the gap between the bogies and the body. On William Cookworthy I used the "lowering the body" technique, but on this loco, I have decided to have a bash at the Ian Mercig technique by raising the bogies.
    I feel it has worked well and just like my other 37, gives a more prototypical look.
     
    Anyway, here are some photos prior to the etched parts being painted, bogies repainted, and the loco being renumbered. I may even have a bash at weathering it!!!
    As always, any comments are most welcome.
     
    Best regards,
     
    Jeremy
     

     

     

     

  11. cornish trains jez
    Good evening,
     
    I thought i would post a few pictures of my re-numbered Farish class 37, 37207 "William Cookworthy"
     
    I have also lowered this loco closer to the bogies using the techniques in bcnpete's blog which gives a more prototypical appearance. The decals are from precision decals and the nameplates from Shawplan. I still have a bit of work to do as i need to add the numbers and spray on a coat of varnish to seal the decals.
     
    This is my first time re-numbering a loco and I feel it has gone faurly well and plan to do 37206 next with snow ploughs as this loco also worked in the Par area during the 1980's.
     
    Here are some photos.
     
    Class 37207 and HST
     

     
    Close up of the buffer details with Cornish Railways logo and flags
     

     
     
    Any comments welcome
     
    Best regards,
     
    Jeremy
  12. cornish trains jez
    Good evening everyone,
     
    Just thought I would add a short update as I have been testing some rolling stock on my layout of Par station over the last few nights and here are some pictures.
     
    Class 37672 "Freight Transport Association" with 24 CDA wagons

     
    HST

     
    Dapol "Bubble" heads up onto the Newquay branch.

     
    Class 37207 "William Cookworthy" with short freight train.

     
    Best regards,
     
    Jeremy
  13. cornish trains jez
    Good morning,
     
    I have been meaning to post something about my layout for quite sometime now.
     
    Just a bit of background, I have been modelling the swiss scene for many years and have decided to model china clay operations in Cornwall for my latest project. Par was chosen as a prototype as I have never modelled a prototype location before. A visit to Par was tied in with a holiday in Cornwall during July 2010 and many pictures were taken. The great thing with this particular station is that most of the buildings have not changed in years so making my life easier in building it.
     
    My initial plans were to model the station with a period spanning the late 90's to the present day. However after carrying out extensive research on the location, i have decided to model the 80's as this would provide the widest range of traction and rolling stock.
     
    Believe it or not, I started building this layout a year ago and have only built the baseboards and laid the track. A house move later and I have finally finished the wiring which makes the layout DCC ready as I have recently purchased the gaugemaster prodigy advance system.
     
    It is a continuous run layout with an 8 road storage yard to the rear spanned over three baseboards built from ply wood.
     
    The only alteration I have to make is to replace the concrete sleepered track with wooden sleepers as my chosen period for the model has changed in the last 6 months to the 1980's.
     
    I used google earth to make all the platform measurements (I actually measured the width of these whilst down at Par) and where to install the points. I'll also use this to get rough measurements for the buildings and where to position these.
     
    Here are a couple of photos with the layout's progress to date.
    Any comments kindly appreciated.
     

     

     
    Best regards,
     
    Jeremy
  14. cornish trains jez
    Good afternoon all,
     
    I have decided to try and get one cab end finished before moving on to spraying the rest of the locomotive just to get an idea of what the end result will be. I have resprayed one cab end in warning panel yellow from the Phoenix paints range, and started touching up the multiple train jumper sockets.
    I have also started to attach some of the pipework and although I still don't like the headlight, I feel it is looking more and more like a Hoover, and I can take the experience and try not to make so many mistakes on the next one.
    More updates as I progress.
     
    All comments welcome, progress pictures below.
     

     

     

     

     

  15. cornish trains jez
    Good afternoon everyone, this is my first blog so hope that i am doing this correctly. I am currently building an N gauge layout based on Par in Cornwall and no layout based in the 80's would be complete without a class 50 or 2!!
     
    I have decided to upgrade my Farish class 50 as i cannot afford one of the exquisite CJM ones and i have decided to post some of my progress pictures to get some feedback and any tips and hints on how to improve what i have done so far.
     
    I have purchased etched parts from B H enterprises and Shawplan and i hope to finish the loco in large logo blue and number 50010 "Monarch".
     
    I have also lowered the body on the chassis to try and get a more realistic appearance. I look forward to your comments.
     
     
     

     

     

     
     
    Hello all,
     
    Just a little update for today. I have just finished adding the handrails to one end of the 50. Starting to come together now. Still not happy with the headlight but that will be a lesson learnt for the next one!
     

     

  16. cornish trains jez
    Good afternoon,
     
    Just thought i would add an update for my ongoing project. Today i have been fitting the handrails to one end of my loco and it's starting to look much more like a 50! I'm still not happy with the headlight but that will be a lesson learnt for the next one!
    I have also decided to change the farish plastic buffers for some nice etched brass ones and this has made a difference.
    Any comments kindly appreciated.
     
    On this picture you can see the lowered body on the chassis.
     

     

     

     

  17. cornish trains jez
    Good evening,
     
    Some progress tonight. I have cut out the other side of the initial structure and measured and cut out the legs using 4mm square plastic strip. These parts have now been put together and the structure is already starting to take shape.
     
    Here are a selection of photos, please excuse the poor quality but I am lacking my usual lighting tonight.
     
    Looks like something out of star wars on the cutting mat!!!
     

     
     
    A couple of views with the legs in place which was a nightmare to get all 4 straight!
     

     

     
     
    And with the A4 to give an idea of scale, it looks quite high already and there is still almost half as much height again to go!
     

     

     
     
    As always, any comments are most welcome.
     
    Best regards,
     
    Jeremy
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