Combe Martin

Oh, as easy as that. Presumably there's no chance of something snapping then. Many thanks.

Its probably on here somewhere, but I cant find it. I need to remove the bogies from a couple of Hornby Maunsell coaches to sort out a coupling mechanism that's jamming. How do I do it ?

I've finally got my 3F out from its packing and storage, it had'nt run since 2016 at the latest but I oiled it 'just in case', then ran it in for an hour both ways (I'm not sure if I did this properly when I bought it, it was a long while ago) and now on the new layout it runs beautifully with the Bachmann decoder and the settings I've quoted above. Thinking about it now, I rang up Bachmann about those decoder CVs because I couldn't get it to run well enough (compared to a ZTC258 or Lenz Standard ), I felt a Bachmann decoder in a Bachmann loco should work well, and these were what they gave me. (it must have been about this because it's the only Bachmann decoder I've got). You could try ringing Bachmann as yours is a different decoder to mine, after all, their decoder in their loco !

Yes, what I really need are some goods yard pictures from the early 60s, but I havnt found any in all the dozens and dozens (and its a lot) of picture books that I've got. The best I find is a view of the station from the up line side of the bridge with the goods yard in the background and obscured by the vans in the siding behind the down platform. All the S&Ds Colletts were based at Templecombe, and apart from one or two exceptions most only lasted about a year to 1.5 years before withdrawl, some less, so they were knackered before they arrived !! Some of the the 32xx locos lasted the longest, 3210 4 years, 3215 2.5 years, and 3216 3 years, and they started there in April 1960

Another great picture that I've not seen before and expanding on details that arn't usually visible. Eg the dirt ? bank on the right and the barrow crossing. Not sure about what looks like a hedge (trimmed ?) on the left, would that have been there in 1961 ?

Hello again, sorry for the late reply, but no, I havnt built up any brass tender kit, in fact I havnt built a brass kit of anything except a Roxey Mouldings basic bogie frame onto which I had to glue white metal sides. I've been tempted (but only tempted) to buy a 2nd hand Hornby Dublo/Wren ex-Dorchester type Rebodied tender top (a bit ironic because they wern't fitted to Dorchester) so that I could make 34046 Braunton which was on the S&D a lot. But as part of that I'd have to respray the whole loco to match the new tender because it (the tender) would need extra detailing and painting and I dont fancy doing that. I was hoping that Hornby would 'tool up' the rebodied tender so that they could do it and a few other WCs but as they've now produced un-rebuilt Braunton I think its unlikely that they'll do a rebuilt one. Still. I've got enough on my plate building the new layout without doing that. 'Bailey Gate' in the Somerset & Dorset section if anyone's interested. Peter.

The book 'Sabotaged & Defeated .. A Final Glimpse .. Part 2' by Jeffery Grayer, has on page 109 two pictures containing the chimneys ... one in 1969 showing 2 chimneys and the other in 1970 showing just one, so, assuming the dates are correct (and the caption said the track was removed from BG by July 1970 but its still present in the 1970 picture), then its safe to assume the picture without the second chimney was dated before July 1970, so the chimney disappeared sometime between 1969 and mid 1970 ...If that makes sense ?

The map is completely inadequate. it dosnt show at all where the bus stop is, and there isnt anywhere marked as Great Stoke !

Mmmm ... that's an idea, I'll just need some tapered bits of rail.

Yes, I see what you mean, but my problem is I've already laid and wired the track and fitted point motors, I've used the 'new' Peco Bullhead and Peco don't make trap points which means I'd have to make my own, which I've never done before (I didnt want to start learning how to make my own points, I've already got enough to do) or I could buy another point and cut it in half maybe ? but then I'd still have to find room for another point motor and I've had a lot of problem siting these because it seems that (sods law) virtually everywhere a point is located has a piece of baseboard framing right underneath it so I've had to put loads of point motors on top of the baseboard. I've used loads of the (fairly) new Peco slimline 'low level' motors (they work very well and are much quieter than a PL10) and had to devise my own method of attaching them to the points tie bar and laid them away from the point where I can hide them under a building or piece of scenery, and as this is down the far end of the yard just before the curves round to the fiddle yard (the scenic break is going to be about 12 inches further on) I decided I could ignore it.

Yes, it looks like there's something there, but what ?, I think I'm going to have to ignore it as I cant tell what there was there and I hav'nt laid any other trap points. My confusion comes from the article published in Nov 2020 Railway Modeller about The Bailey Gate project of the Blandford Club (which I cut out and saved) that has a picture of the track they'd already laid and which seems to show a point in this position. Mind, they have made another track layout error so this may be one too. This project has gone very quiet for some while, their website shows nothing about BG now (I'm sure there were pictures a while back), but loads of pictures of Spetisbury.

Its amazing how a picture of an obscure detail is of real use to someone ie me ! I assume the first 2 photos were taken on the same day, the 2nd of them has some porters trolleys in it so I'm guessing its before closure, but do you have a date ?, there's plenty of undergrowth on the siding but the grass adjacent to the platform tarmac is short. But, great pictures of the buffer stop, if we can call it so. The 3rd photo, the one of the buffer stop at the end of the long siding is good enough to see its a rail built one, probably just like the 2 at the end of the 2 goods yard sidings. The 4th photo, the colour one of the creamery shows lots of lovely detail, but what's the date ? From all that short green grass it looks before closure but there's no tankers or goods vans !, and I've just noticed ... the chimney that was nearest to the goods yard entrance has disappeared !, there were 2 now there's only 1, so is it post closure ? The last photo showing the Creamery loop/loading bank siding, well it looks like there's maybe a point at the far end leading to a 'catch siding, if I can call it that, or is there just a catch point leading to some sort of buffing 'lump'. I never realised this existed as its out of range in all the published pictures I've seen, and the loop siding isnt on any of the maps either, its too new and they're all too old. As you say, it dosn't look like a buffer stop ! Your drawings are most helpful as just working from photos is much more difficult. Any more that you can finish/do will be much appreciated.

Hello again Phil, many thanks for the offer, but I've got some spare ZTC255 hardwire decoders already. I find them excellent (sockets too that I've never used). I've wired plenty of non DCC locos in the past, just not in the last few years. Yes, the scrolls, I've only moved them once before (on Combe Martin) but I can remember how I did it, I think. Cabside numbers, I've done about 20 in the past but not for a few years, still, I can remember how to do them. Interesting that you've needed to add lead weight to a WC. My Combe Martin has no problem with 8 Mk1s (which was the S&Ds maximum over the Mendips without double heading, I havnt tried it on the new layout with more yet, but there isn't really room in the fiddle yard for a much longer train when I'm running a timetable, but, and as an experiment, rebuild Ottery St Mary belts around with 13 on. Peter.

Hello yes, and based on that Flickr picture I've ordered and received red ones from Fox. All I've got to do now is fit them, move the scrolls up the sides, and renumber it with cabside number transfers and fit the smokebox number plate ! Oh, and hard wire a decoder in (Weymouth is a Wilton era loco, no socket).

I'm not so concerned about how the Creamery siding terminates in that 'cavern' at the far end of the dairy because I have not got space to model all that, I've had to shorten that end of the siding considerably. I'm going to do a facade (is that the right word for it) of that end with the line disappearing into the 'black hole'.