Tim Hale

Kuehn N045 or 045. Both very small fully programmable decoders which will fit anywhere. Top quality, these will cope with up to 1A and I have one in my Hornby N15 which will only acceptable a small decoder. Typical European decoder, streets ahead of US sourced decoders in specification and performance.. Google DM- Toys, Daniel offers very good service and will take PayPal. My only connection is a very content customer.

If, the prototype is long gone and images are difficult to obtain, then sometimes it is only a model that can inspire. For me, it was Hursley which made me reconsider my direction but I wish that I could find out more about Chandlers Ford* DesA *Hursley's inspiration

Beach hut bashing: The Southern Railway and its predecessor, the London & South Western Railway had a 'thing' for timber buildings for use a railway buildings - all across the system, wooden structures served the railway company as shelter for the traveller. Some stations had nought but wooden buildings with nothing more substantial than the brick chimney or splash course, Beaminster is such a collection of tatty beach huts and tin sheds, only the railway employees received better accommodation. The basis for Beaminster Junction is the Wills SS67 Station Building, it bears more a passing resemblance to Chandlers Ford except the lack of canopy and the fact that it is, essentially, a single building. But a bit of kit bashing may be the answer? Watch this space for further developments...........B)

Many thanks, an informative and interesting update. Much appreciated. DesA

Hi Handscombmp, Are you aware of the 'other' station on the thread is a model of Daggons Road? I have my late father's collection of photos of the S&DJR gathered during the 40-50's featuring Downton together with other stations along the line. During 2009, I provided Nigel Bray with some information about the line, featured in his book, you should have a copy. DesA

I thought that it might be worth sharing the other bits of flotsam and jetsam that lurk in the darker corners of the workshop, this is the Push+Pull set No31 from Blacksmith Models - I believe it was Dave Smith of the much missed Cove Models who was responsible. Thanks to Roger Slater, they have finally seen use on the layout and very handsome they are, especially as Roger applied some serious weathering which really brings the set to life.

Warts n' all - was it worth the wait? OK , nil points for originality but I had to buy one and I have no regrets because it captures the look to a Tee. A few jobs to be done in accordance with Larry G's instructions but it will result in a very nice model that was well worth the wait. Thanks Alan for the comment, our previous successful layout was built on a continuous curve and I regret not placing the station closer to the ends rather than in the centre, the decision has restricted our usable space and the goods yard is cramped - too late now to rebuild. The other 'odd' decision was to downsize everything to its minimum - single station building, no goods shed and a level crossing rather than an overbridge which would have dominated the station scene. Does it work - I am not sure but it is worth challenging conventions if only to make mistakes. DesA

Not much more to do, just the chimney from the stove (is it a stovepipe?) and fit out the interior with the kit from Wills, it should compliment the 'Mundane Cottage' in both colouring and style. Again, Slater's brick over a card construction, the balustrade is wood section and less chunky than the Scenecraft version - A set of MSE rodding and pulleys are ready for installation, hopefully the operating semaphores will be the next instalment if there is any interest? The balustrade on the signal box was also researched by Bill Jones, rather than copying that on the resin model (which is incorrect for the layout) Note should be taken of the separate door furniture and rainwater guttering.

A great loss to the modelling community, Keith will be missed by all.

Hi, We are not sure if we should continue with this occasional update of progress on the layout. The subject is somewhat narrow, it appeals to a generation before modern traction, when steam was normal fare and being a locospotter was considered normal. After this weekend's activity in the workshop, the crossing keeper's cottage is almost complete and a start has been made on the exLSWR brick built type 4 signal box which will replace the Scenecraft example, the next instalment would have been the trio of rail-built SR signals with their remote drive using actuator motors together with the completed signal box. In the meantime, this is the model of the 'mundane cottage' featured a few posts ago. The construction is Slater's brick over mounting board, all the other pieces are scratchbuilt. The rendering at the rear of the cottage has been ignored as it ruins the appearance of the cottage and we are not actually modelling Wyke crossing, it is ironic that this will replace the Skaledale Stationmaster's house and yet it is in harmony with the other structures on the layout.

LSWR Type4 Signal Box Much as we like the Scenecraft signal box, it really is unique to Wadebridge, not West Dorset, however its standard LSWR design can be used for inspiration for Beaminster Junction. The walls are overlaid with Slaters brick sheet- I prefer to see texture therefore brick paper is not an option, the remaining structure is all scratchbuilt. Updates will be published as we progress.

Hi, The buildings themselves are only temporary and will be replaced with our interpretations of local buildings such as the crossing keeper's cottage at Wyke (a few posts ago) All the dimensions were researched by Bill Jones with some confirmations from a decorator friend of Bill who has worked inside a similar property. The model, if measured, is scaled at 4mm to 12" to give the correct sized internal rooms to within +/- 5% in full size, with full allowance for the correct width of the external walls and cavities, and the depth of the double faced chimney breasts built in the original. The chimney is placed in the correct position with double pots as per original, totally different to the model on Catcott Burtle, as are the window frames and sliding sashes.

Temporary placement Getting the feel of a 'factional' location is never an easy process, we all (hopefully) have perceptions of how the end result should look but more often than not the process derails and we are disappointed by the outcome. We have a solution- we try placing the various buildings in odd combinations as we think they should look and leave them for a couple of sessions to get 'used' to them before rearranging the mix. This arrangement follows the 'huddled together' look that seems to be favoured in the West Country - is it a self-protection thing? The pub in the background is definitely not in the goods yard but it will be part of the station group on the far side of the tracks beside Wayford Hill Lane - a suitable name is being considered as is the correct brewery for West Dorset- the much lamented Eldridge Pope is favoured. DesA

At last, some progress on the fiddle yard. Not large by normal standards but enough for eleven trains which should be adequate to represent the daytime traffic on a typical weekday in late spring on the old SW Mainline. However the balance of goods to passenger trains is incorrect as only one or two goods trains would pass during daylight hours and we are running four goods trains.

Layout design philosophy The trackplan reflects, not so much the 'typical' Southern wayside station but the reasoning behind the layout. We have just 16'x10' in old money in which to create a plausible through station and this really precludes any attempt to replicate a scale location, therefore we designed the layout on a constant compound curve 16'R to 6'R and 4'R at the extreme ends into the storage sidings. The rationale behind the entrance to the sidings is access to a passenger bay, therefore a locked facing turnout is permissible and from the outset we decided to keep the remainder of the layout as simple (and low key) as possible. In addition, all buildings are as small or unobtrusive as possible as their role is a backdrop, this suits our interests of stock building rather than operation, the layout is merely a scenic test track. Hopefully, as the layout progresses, more can be revealed.

The Meldon As the location is on the old SW Mainline, it would have been host to stone traffic to and from Meldon Quarry. Luckily, suitable wagons for the traffic seem to be in plentiful supply from a variety of sources albeit some are now obsolete. As proponent of 'near enough' I can overlook the incorrect bogies on the venerable Lima Walrus and I am happy enough with the other wagons that make up 'The Meldon' however I still have no definitive answer as to what motive power was used on the stone traffic in the 50's between Exeter-Salisbury and beyond moreover much of the non-passenger traffic ran in darkness during the busy summer months and not many photographs were taken of these trains* *Of the few photos from the 50's, most show N's, S15's and Bulleid Light Pacifics but did other sheds provide other motive power for the returning empties?

This really is the most monstrous carbuncle of a structure but therein is its attraction - welcome to MoS Wayford Buffer Store*. Even the acquisition of the building was a nightmare, it originated in the Nederlands, was purchased from Elburn, Illinois and finally sent from Wisconsin to Dorset. The kit was best described as challenging, none of the major components were straight and some serious modification was needed to create something acceptable. The roof panels were replaced with 1mm plywood and the centre roof seam is a strip of PCB sleeper, I still need to fit a roof access ladder and some suitable Ministry of Supply notices but otherwise I am pleased. It will be raised on a platform edged by Ratio concrete sections and other suitably governmental (ugly) structures will be its companions- a collection of carbuncles? *Built during WW2 in strategic locations, often rail-connected, the MoS buffer store often housed essential foodstuffs. A few still exist, there were examples in the South at Pinhoe, Burgate, Bentley and Wells.

The construction of some buildings has produced a few more structures for the layout. Rather than scratchbuild, all are standard kits from Scenecraft, Peco, Wills and Knightwing. To replicate that 'washed-out' colour of the Southern, I have toned down the colour scheme and use Humbrol Acrylic 78 'Interior Cockpit Green' and Citadel Colours 61-17 'Bleached Bone' The combination has the effect of diluting the colours as if looking from scale distances rather than at close quarters. This is the station master's house, a repainted Skaledale Station Building, I think it is supposed to be a Scottish Region building. However its stone construction and front porch is more than similar to many in West Dorset/South Somerset, it will match the only other major building on the layout- a Scenecraft exLSWR signal box. As is common at smaller stations in the West Country, there was no provision for the passengers, their needs will be satisfied by a collection of wooden buildings

This is the crossing keeper's cottage at Wyke, between Sherborne and Yeovil Junction. It is typical of many such structures built by the LSWR for railway employees and it is the basis of both single and double designs that could be found from Surrey to Cornwall. Only two external doors at either end of the building, a very narrow building only one room deep, it must have been very cramped quarters. Note the rendered west and south faces as protection against the prevailing rain from the southwest. Thanks to Chris Nevard, we have the plans to create a similar structure to his lovely cottage on Catcott Burtle. More generosity shown to the group by a local picture framer has resulted in enough mounting card for our needs - watch this space.

Top Left - Looking towards Chard - this would have been the site* of the station Top Right - Looking south towards Beaminster - a seriously hilly route This was the route of the 'ACE', less than fifty years ago it was a busy double track mainline to the West Country. This is the actual location of the proposed station for Beaminster Junction, mentioned in Railways of Dorset by J.H. Lucking, it is on the Wayford Hill between Wayford and Clapton on the B3165 . The railway cuts into side of the hill and follows the Axe valley towards Axminster in Devon, if the station had been built it would have been severely restricted by the natural landscape and the branchline to Beaminster would have crossed the valley before rising over the hills.