andy stroud

I have recently introduced a new brake van to the layout. This is my seventh. Guess you could say I quite like brake vans. For this one, I tried something slightly different by attempting to depict an open door on the veranda. This was quite common and often stands out in old photographs as the inside of the door was generally painted a light grey colour which was noticable when the door was wide open. To be honest, this job turned out to be slightly more complicated than I first thought. The main problem was that the roof was moulded as part of the body itself and therefore was not easily removeable. In order to access the inside of the van I had to cut a large hole in the roof in order to remove the existing window/door bulkhead. I decided to build a new bulkhead and door from very thin brass sheet. This is seen in the picture below. The glazing bars are 0.3 brass rod. Another recent job was to replace the ladders on my Presflow wagons with fine etched ones and add some handrails made from high E electric guitar string. Below is a picture of the original plastic ladders.

Hi Neil. Thankyou for your kind comments. For the weathering I simply copied some of the wagons on Paul Bartlett's site. I just brushed the colours on by hand in patches over a base of Precesion Paints Bauxite. Patches of Light Rust, a darker rust (light rust with a tiny dab of black), and then some Humbrol no64 grey drybrushed on for streaks of stone dust and to pick out underframe details and roller bearings. I think what really helps is afterwards a spray over with matt varnish that has had a very small dab of white added. This seems to tone everything down and make the colours blend together nicely.

Hi Kevin. I remember pairs of class 37s on the stone trains from Tytherington in the early 1980s. Talking of mechanical grabs to unload the wagons, I often wondered if the comparatively lightweight empty wagons were ever knocked off the track by over zealous grab operators.

My Mendip stone train now consists of 28 wagons which is the total I had in mind when I started making them just over a year ago. The picture above shows the newly completed train passing over the viaduct. The wagons are vacuum braked 27 ton ex iron ore tipplers with 10ft wheelbase. Tops code MSV. The Farish ones depict 9ft wheelbase wagons with incorrect brakegear for these particular trains. Most of the wagons were built from plasticard sheet and 0.5 square section microstrip. The first couple were built in brass but after Eileens closed down I couldn't find any more square section for the stanchions. The underframes are etches from the 2mm Association. These trains were often hauled by Westerns or Peaks from the Foster Yeoman and ARC quarries in the Mendips. The transfers which include the 'Stone' logo are from Railtec. The wagons have roller bearings. The picture below shows some of the wagon bodies in the early stage of construction from sheet plasticard.

I wonder how it compares in skill level to driving a long and heavy unfitted goods train along a route involving severe uphill and downhill gradients. Try 'just' making that stop and thats long before the days of simulators or sensors in the track which can override.

I took these two pictures at Whatley on 2nd July 1988, in pouring rain. The railtour was called the Somerset Secret with 47 478. I seem to remember at the time it was advertised as the first public use of standard coaching stock into the quarry. Something a bit different.

I really like chickens. Just off junction 26 of the M5, south of Taunton is a garden centre called Willowbrook. They have a cafe with an outside seating area which has lots of chickens freely wondering about and taking titbits of food. Im actually surprised that its allowed in these days of strict hygiene rules and regulations but I think its very pleasant and long may it continue. The food there isn't bad also. A much nicer place than Taunton Dean services.

I havent done any modelling over the last couple of months but the layout is set up and has been running quite regularly. Here are a few pictures that I had on my phone of recent running sessions, which, to the best of my knowledge, have not been previously uploaded. Green class 47, above seen passing the signal box. One of the reasons I built the layout was to be able to run nice long trains, however I do quite like short trains as well! The picture above shows an engine and brake van entering the tunnel. Above, A short parcels train is seen passing the signal box whilst a class 37 hauled clay train waits in the northbound goods loop. Above, the unusual sight of four class 37s together. All have had their body/bogie gap reduced. Above. Fairly new to the layout is this blue class 31, although I do already have a green one with full yellow ends. I would like to reduce the oversized gap between the body and the bogies on this loco. Finally, a class 50 hauled passenger train seen crossing the viaduct. The coaching stock is close coupled and fitted with corridor connections made from folded black paper.

Hi Carl. You may or may not be aware that during the 1970s and up the early 80s, all through passenger trains used the main platforms 1 and 2. What is now plafform 4 was a parcels loading platform and unaccesable to the public. There was no passenger footbridge at the time. On approach to Gloucester, northbound passenger trains from the Cardiff direction must have crossed over tracks somewhere outside of the station area.

Hi Phil. Thats a very impressive set up there! I can quite easily recognise the individual locations( Norton Junction, Abbotswood,etc) and how they fit in with each other. Its ironic that far more infrastructure is required off scene but there is really no other way to enable a nice continual sequence of trains to pass by.

Last week I had a look around Bridge of Orchy station on the West Highland Line, just out of curiosity. The former signalbox on the platform seemed to be in a very good state of repair although it was not possible to see through the windows. I was very surprised that I was able to push the door open and find the lever frame still inside, although the floor was rotten away. I reckon this box would have closed due to RETB about 1986.

Hi Phil. I bet that looks impressive. Block trains do have a certain presence about them.

I have been working on a rake of MSV wagons that were used in block trains for aggregate traffic on the Western Region during the 1970s and early 1980s. Trains from Merehead were often hauled by Westerns and Peaks, whilst trains from Tytherington tended to be hauled by pairs of class 37s. I am aiming for a rake of about 28 wagons. So far I have eleven completed. The transfers including the 'Stone' logo and pool number are from Railtec. Most of the bodies are built from plasticard and 0.5 microstrip. I had intended to use brass contruction but after completing just two wagons, I couldn't find anymore 0.6mm square section for the stantions, after Eileens had closed. The chassis are 10 ft wheelbase, 8 shoe underframes from the 2mm Association together with roller bearings, self contained buffers. The Farish chassis are incorrect for these wagons in WR aggregate traffic. Brass and plastic bodies together. Once painted, hard to tell apart.

I am attempting a rake of these. Based on the 2-357 chassis with stratchbuilt bodies of both brass and plasticard although as Eileens has gone I not sure where to get the square stantion rod from now so rest will all be plastic bodies. I am aiming for a rake of 30 for my WR 70s layout but so far have finished 11 wagons.

Hi, glad you enjoyed seeing the layout but sorry that you didn't get to see that clay train on the move. It did indeed stretch its legs but I have to admit it did spend a lot of time stabled in the loop. Sometimes there was a ballast train in the loop. There was also a long train of clay wagons running in the other direction.