checkrail

I indicated in a previous post that my usual ‘shortcuts for the unskilled’ approach to modelling had one exception – the track. We all have different interests and priorities. Most of us have to make some compromises in pursuit of our optimum layout and we all have our sticking points. Mine was the track. To me trains are just trains but the track is the railway.* I am happy to live with all sorts of anomalies and inaccuracies: top feeds on pre-war pannier tanks, B-set coaches with one guard’s window too many, the odd PO wagon on an unlikely 10ft steel underframe and even – for now – a Centenary rake comprised of only two types of vehicle, but I absolutely had to have fully chaired bullhead pointwork or I wasn’t going to build a model railway. So it was C & L flexi-track for me, along with pointwork from C & L rail and chairs welded to ply sleepers with Butanone. It was far less difficult than I’d feared, and very rewarding. But even here Mr Shortcut had his way, in that the adoption of 00-SF standards enabled me to use C & L’s pre-fabricated crossing assemblies, saving much time and trouble (and ensuring that there was one less thing to go wrong). Like most of my modellling it’s the impression, the flavour that I’m after, rather than a totally accurate scale replica. No doubt close examination will reveal my sketchy knowledge of the prototype (I never got round to reading that book about GWR switch and crossing practice!), but on the whole I’m pleased with the results. * But here are some trains anyway!

You've gone all pre-war with those lovely Castle pics! John C. My layout: STOKE COURTENAY, 1930s GWR junction station. See layout topic.

PS. I should have realised - of course the seam will go right through. The post will be made of two parts glued or fused together, with the fibre optic for the light inside. John C. My layout: STOKE COURTENAY, 1930s GWR junction station. See layout topic.

Thanks all. Some good points here, all of which I was aware of. On opening my first Dapol signal I was surprised to find the operating wire connected to the backlight blinder. But of course that was far from being the only bizarre thing about these models. But we bodgers b***** on in traditional railway modelling fashion trying to improve what the trade gives us according to our skills and time. I'm very aware that whatever one did to Dapol signals they could never match the exquisite scale models crafted by Stephen and others. But they serve my purpose. Gordon - yes, the mould line is annoying in the larger-than-life photos but totally invisible in situ on the layout. I tried and tried to file it away but couldn't get rid of it - it seemed to be almost some stratum within the plastic and I had visions of ending up with a 2mm square post with the seam still there. So I stopped. Stephen - I'm not convinced that the bits I carved off were meant to represent the down rod guides. They were big projecting ledges round all four sides of the square post. It'll be interesting to see if the supposedly forthcoming bracket signals use these as locators. But if you're right it's just another bit of Dapol design eccentricity. Don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth but these signals could have been so much better. John C.

Hi Jon Great photos, great layout, great modelling! I came across the earliest iteration of M & B from 2010 when I was first planning my own layout in 2011/12, and found it of interest, but it's obviously undergone a complete metamorphosis since then and I've a lot to catch up on (and a lot to learn from it). That will be a pleasure over the next few days in between sporadic bits of modelling. BTW, thanks v much for kind words about Stoke Courtenay. It would appear that the results we're both pursuing aren't a million miles apart! Best wishes, John C. My layout: STOKE COURTENAY, 1930s GWR junction station. See layout topic.

Yep, nice signals. The width of the stripe on the Dapol ones is indeed the most noticeable of their shortcomings, but there's quite a bit more one can do to improve them. I've just posted some notes and pics on this very topic ('Improving Dapol GWR signals') on the signalling, track & infrastructure section of RMweb if it's of any interest. John C.

Dapol’s ready to plant motorised signals with lights were the answer to a prayer for those like me who were daunted by signal kits and their automation. However, in the looks department they leave something to be desired – or at least the GWR ones do – and can benefit from some cosmetic improvement. Below is a selection of signals on Stoke Courtenay, which have undergone alteration as follows: 1. First of all I temporarily wired them up to make sure they worked before I invalidated the warranty by carving them about. 2. I carved off the three raised bands or ledges which go round the post and made good with needle files. (I think these were probably to help the Chinese assemblers locate the ladder supports and/or provide location for the long-awaited bracket signals.) 3. Then the strange ear-like excrescence on the backlight blinder was clipped off and filed smooth. (Perhaps this too is there to help in factory assembly?). I used a Xuron track cutter, but learned the hard way not to use a blunt one – I disassembled my first signal that way! 4. The arm seems to be neither a 4 foot nor a 5 foot arm but somewhere in between, so I shortened it by 1mm. I made a little jig to do this, scoring the cut then finally cutting through with a razor saw. 5. Dummy balance weights were added at foot of post. I used Alan Gibson parts. 6. The safety basket was fabricated from handrail wire (tricky bit of soldering for me) and attached to ladder-top platform with superglue. 7. The signal arms (and finial balls) were repainted with Precision signal red. I used self adhesive ‘Solartrim’, a model aircraft product, for the black and white bands on the signal arm. This was cut with a double-bladed knife I made by glueing two Stanley knife blades either side of a strip of Plastikard to give a scale 8” width. I made another simple template for positioning them. 8. The rest of the signal was then repainted. I used matt white mixed with a good dollop of grey, and Lifecolor dirty back. I also painted the edges of the signal arm with a dirty black-brown mixture to disguise their thickness. 9. Extras such as track circuit diamonds, sighting boards etc. can now be added as desired. 10. Final step was to plant the signal, disguise the base with appropriate ground cover, wire up, and hope that it all still worked. It did. Not quite the same as a custom-made signal but, I feel, a bit of an improvement while retaining that all-important (for me) “plug ‘n’ play” facility. Now what's happened to those long-awaited bracket signals? Every year at Warley I'm told, 'Early next year'. ​John C. My layout: STOKE COURTENAY, 1930s GWR junction station. See layout topic.​

Many thanks number6. I put a more detailed post on the 'Handbuilt track & Templot' section yesterday (under 'Why would you choose 00-sf ...'), setting out my reasons for choosing these standards. Experience tells me I made a good choice, so rest assured there'll be no updates saying what a nightmare it was. Closer to a dream. I think 00-SF modellers try not to be too evangelistic about it; it's one possible choice among many in the broad church that is railway modelling. But as you suggest there are some who consider us heretics! But enough of gauge wars. I'll say a bit more about the track itself in due course. Meanwhile here are a few more pics. The guys chatting on the path seem oblivious to the approaching Hall on a westbound train ....and to the Castle heading an eastbound express. Meanwhile 5555 fills up at the water tower (another Bachmann special edition for Kernow Models based on the St Ives tower). John C.

. I meant 'tortuous' of course (but it felt like 'tortured' sometimes)

Not looked at the handbuilt track or 00-SF threads on RMweb much since I completed my own trackwork some time ago, but just noted this thread as I was setting out some of my own thoughts on the matter on my layout thread Stoke Courtenay. So here, 10 months later, is one man’s answer to the OP’s straightforward question. (If it sounds familiar to anyone I contributed some similar thoughts to the 00-SF Yahoo group a year or so ago.) Returning to model railways in 2011/12 after many years I was amazed and delighted by new developments, especially the range and high level of detail of recent RTR models. But I was also baffled by the total lack of corresponding development in ready-to-lay track to run them on. Steam era trains in particular cried out to have fully chaired bullhead rail under their wheels. Railway modeling is a broad church, and we all have our own priorities, emphases, ‘must-haves’ and ‘no-nos’, But for me the appearance of the track was at least as important as the appearance of the trains, so this issue was a red line. I am happy - for now at least - to live with all sorts of rolling stock inaccuracies, but I absolutely had to have fully chaired bullhead pointwork. I have to admit that if, say, Peco had produced track and points to their current standards, range and geometry, but with chaired bullhead rail and roughly British sleeper dimensions & spacing I would probably have just gone out and bought a load. But they didn’t, so I gritted my teeth in preparation for lots of tricky (and ham-fisted) soldering and looked at the track components market. (I was determined to have fully chaired pointwork, so didn’t want to go down the copper-clad route.) Then I came across C & L, and the revelation that plastic chairs could be successfully welded to ply sleepers was a eureka moment for me. And the availability (at a price) of pre-fabricated crossing assemblies and point blades would save loads of work and time. EM then crossed my mind, only to be dismissed at the thought of re-wheeling all RTR stock. Once I start fiddling with a loco chassis disaster usually ensues. And I guess even wagons aren’t always straightforward, especially good ones with the brake shoes in line with the wheel treads. Then a setback when I realised that the pre-fabricated C & L crossings were for use with EM, or fine scale 00 standards with 14.8mm b-to-b - so same problem as above. The whole matter was resolved by coming across all the discussions about 00-SF (which up to then I’d never heard of) on the handbuilt track section of RMweb. In places the discussions I followed were tortured and heated, and made the theological controversies of 5th century Constantinople look tame. But I ploughed on and the penny soon dropped, that not only did these standards look good, and carry all current RTR and aftermarket wheelsets smoothly through crossings with full support, but - with 00-SF being in effect ‘EM minus 2’ - the aforesaid C & L components would lend themselves admirably to this approach. A second eureka moment! Here are the results. Not perfect by any means, but I’m pleased by both its appearance and performance. Thanks to all the pioneers of 00-SF/4-SF for their inspiration. John C. :​(My layout: STOKE COURTENAY, 4mm scale 1930s GWR junction station. See layout topic.)

Thanks for all your kind words about Stoke Courtenay. This being my first layout for 50 years – except for a brief early 1990s dabble with diesels (Hornby & Lima) on code 100 track for my then pre-teenage son – I feel a bit overwhelmed - but also a bit of a fraud. I’m not an ace scratchbuilder or highly skilled modeller. I am ham fisted, impatient and a bit of a bodger. For example, I’m rubbish at soldering (and as for superglue – what’s super about it? It’s great for sticking components to your fingers, and to your tweezers. It’s even better at sticking your fingers to your tweezers). And why are my fingers far too big for what I need them to do? Over four years I’ve left a trail of mangled models and broken bits, while the number of small parts that have fallen from the workbench only to disappear for ever, or catapulted themselves across the loft to vanish without trace, are beyond number - and the bad language beyond all reason or reckoning. In fact I’m probably temperamentally unsuited to a hobby like this, but I love it so! I have no technical or mechanical nous (I see railways through an aesthetic prism rather than an engineering one), and my knowledge of the prototype is pretty superficial. My modelling is therefore necessarily impressionistic rather than scrupulously accurate. In any case, I knew that if I was to complete Stoke Courtenay to the standard to which I aspired in any reasonable time scale my approach would have to be broad brush, using everything the trade could offer. Fortunately followers of the GWR in 4mm scale are very well catered for in this respect. Had I been modelling – say – the Glasgow & South Western Railway I’d have had no chance. What I wanted to prove – to myself, that is - was that one could achieve a ‘finescale’ look (overworked word I know) and a recognisably GW atmosphere - albeit in a rather generic way – in a shortish timeframe, using commercial items and every short cut possible. Your comments suggest that I’ve been more successful than I hoped or expected, and if that encouraged other modellers who are as daunted as I was by the things achieved by the experts I’d be very pleased. My bibles throughout have been Iain Rice’s ‘Railway modelling the realistic way’ (2007) and any albums of pre-war photos of the GWR I could get my hands on (plus the wealth of knowledge and expertise shared here on RMweb of course!). The only exception to this lazy ‘off the peg’ approach has been the track, and I’ll leave that to another post. You’ve read enough quasi-philosophical ramblings for one day. In the meantime here are a couple of shots of a rather too clean 28xx on returning coal empties. John C.

These are great! Almost feel I'm there. John C. ​(My layout: STOKE COURTENAY, 1930s GWR junction station. See layout topic.)

A bit of small prairie action this morning. They've long been my favourite locos (since a 1960 holiday family holiday in Totnes, during which my 13 year old self sneaked off to the station every night with 5 Senior Service and my ABC). So first thoughts in 2012 were to build a BLT to practise on ..... but then again, my second favourite locos are the castles...... Here's 4555 (at the moment) coming into Stoke Courtenay off the Earlsbridge branch: And here are a couple of 5555 (at the moment) setting back a pick-up goods into the yard from the down main line: John C.

Thanks Andy. The majority of the figures are Monty's Models, from Dart Castings. As you say, they have nice natural poses, usually in repose. (Nowt worse than a guard waving a flag at a train that isn't there!). One can't help but noticing the number of working types in the range with hands in their pockets, or otherwise idle. Here's a couple more, with stationmaster anxiously looking at his pocket watch: But another, newer, good source is Modelu, whose 3-D printed models are also great. My only acquisition so far is the shunter shewn below: I thought all these figures would be tedious and fiddly to paint. Well, they were a bit fiddly, but it was actually very enjoyable and relaxing, even to an impatient git like me. You also asked about trees. On my return to modelling in 2012 I vaguely remembered that back in the 60s and 70s we all used lichen and flock, so I got some. However, my wife said my first tree looked like a floret of broccoli so it was back to the drawing board. Then I discovered Woodland Scenics tree armatures, Hob-e-Tack adhesive and their wonderful (if expensive) 'fine leaf foliage'. Dead easy. John C.

Having never done it before I didn't realise what fun it was taking pics of model railways. Here are a few more of Stoke Courtenay. A King heads west with the CRE, but looks like the crew jumped ship! Here are some of Stoke Courtenay's population: Early evening, and a young man picks his new lady friend up from the London train. His 10 year old Austin 7 could do with a wash. Man having quick pint on way home from work. My wife knows little about the GWR but does have an eye for detail. She asked me if a pint in 1930s Devon would have such a nice creamy head on it. I had to admit, probably not (and probably not in 2016 either.) Finally, local garage and mechanic. (I can see he needs another touch of matt varnish on his overalls.) I remember my dad's first car, bought second hand in the 1950s, was a 1938 Standard 12 like this. John C.

Hi Chris Well, I learn something new everyday. As a railway enthusiast for over 60 years I'd never heard the term 'running in board', and had to google it! But I know it now and will use it. Mine are from the Scale Link kits, although I couldn't get on with their lovely etched letters. Part of it was my lack of skill in getting them straight, but I also found that being restricted to their 2mm and 4mm fonts I would end up with a sign longer than I wanted, rather dominating the relatively short platforms. So I sacrificed the relief effect and printed mine out from the PC. If you subscribe to the GWR elist (just google it) you can download the authentic GWR font to your PC for free. (You'll also subsequently get loads of emails discussing all sorts of GWR arcana.) Thanks for kind words, Glad you like the layout and the running in boards. There - I've used it! John C.

It's this sort of movement that makes Brent and similar junctions so fascinating to operate. A small prairie at one end, a castle at t'other - what could be more satisfying? John C. ​(My layout: STOKE COURTENAY, 1930s GWR junction station. See layout topic.)

Thanks for kind words Spannerman. Bulleid's output might be a bit late for my period, but it did cross my mind that a Hornby S15 and some of those lovely Maunsell coaches might be a future acquisition for the occasional route familiarity turn. Turning to a different railway today's pics have an LNER flavour to show my new toys - Oxford Rail cattle wagon and 6 plank open. Nice models, though the former might be a bit orangey? (Especially when compared to the Bachmann van next to it.) But great to see accurate RTR wagons suitable for the pre-war scene. John C.

Just got mine, and cattle wagon, yesterday from Walton's Models. I particularly like the representation of unpainted wood on the inside of the open wagon. Here they are on Stoke Courtenay I've put another pic and a note on the cattle wagon thread. John C. ​ ​(My layout: STOKE COURTENAY, 1930s GWR junction station. See layout topic.)

Just got mine yesterday from Waltons in Altrincham, along with the 6 plank wagon. Here they are on Stoke Courtenay. How nice to see some accurate RTR pre-war wagons on the market. (Well, I'm assuming they're accurate - I'm no LNER expert!) But isn't the LNER bauxite a bit on the orangey side, especially when compared with the adjacent Bachmann van? Perhaps it could have faded to this colour? I've put another photo in the 6 plank thread. John C. ​(My layout: STOKE COURTENAY, 1930's GWR junction station. See layout topic.)

Just read through these 10 pages. Think this is set to be an awesome layout of a fascinating prototype location. 45xx lovers' paradise! Look forward to eventual updates. John C. :​(My layout: STOKE COURTENAY. See layout threads.)

Just spent a pleasant hour reading through this thread. Great stuff! Seeing a new (to me) layout like this from inception to completion in one browsing session is like speeding up time. I particularly like your placement of figures and some of the lovely detailed photos of them. Ted the porter, asleep on the bench, is a great one. And I love the close up of the 45xx tank (even if it is black!). (Funnily enough I nearly called my own layout 'Stoke Pomeroy' before settling on Stoke Courtenay. It was one of several semi-fictitious contenders mulled over in my mind.). Keep up the good work. John C. ​(My layout: STOKE COURTENAY. See layout threads.)

It consists of four loops in each direction (there's never room for enough, is there?), plus two long sidings for the branch with run-round and uncoupling facilities. Here are a few pics, minus trains for clarity: Track is Peco code 75, laid on 4mm EVA medium density foam (whatever that is), obtained online from a medical products supplier. I chose the royal blue to make it startlingly clear to non-modelling types that this was definitely 'offstage', 'behind the scenes', and not part of the layout proper. as the photos show, points are operated by wire & tube from the front of the baseboard with SPDT slider switches from Maplins providing both the mechanical throw and the electrical frog polarity change. The last two pics show the slide-out hatch for access. It's only a few weeks since I moved the inner circuit pointwork onto the hatch, increasing capacity on that side to match that of the outer circuit. Can now manage a couple of 7 coach through trains in each direction (the station platforms will take 6). I thought I was tempting fate having 12 separate rails crossing one end of the hatch but - touch wood - everything's been fine so far, even in this mini-heatwave. The hatch simply slides out from inside the layout, with backstops to position it. Power goes to it via a simple two point plug 'n' socket carrying a spur from the layout power bus. The bearers on which it slides are greased with candle-wax a couple of times a year, and have brass woodscrews inserted fore and aft to provide any necessary vertical adjustment by a part-turn of a Phillips screwdriver. But I've not had to do this since the early days in 2012/13. John C.

Look forward to that.

It's a Kernow special commission from Bachmann Scenecraft, based on the type 7 box at Truro. It came in 1970s condition with a sort of dull white paint finish, so needed repainting in GWR colours. It was originally going to appear with 1971 opaque dirty windows too. So glad it didn't - wasn't looking forward to having to replace them all. It's probably a bit big for a Brent-style setting - I believe the Truro box had 70 odd levers. But scratchbuild-avoiding beggars can't be choosers. BTW Robin, love your very accurate Brent box.