mallaig1983

I didn’t think I’d had one either but I checked Junk and it was in there rather bizzarly. Have a look there.

Also in the parcel from SMS was this post and wire fence kit. The posts have been creosoted with the brown wash but I’m not looking forward to threading that wire! Big train fix was had this weekend as we took the two oldest grandkids on the Welsh Highland Heritage Rly to see Santa. Great fun and the little ones enjoyed the Narrow gauge, miniature Rly and of course the big man himself. in between the modelling work today I ran some trains. Here’s 37027 awaiting departure while the Pike sits in the siding.

Once the O gauge Turbot had been returned the suppler gave me a refund. They obviously didn’t have the correct one in stock. I was going to try and source another one but Ian @03060 gave a heads up on the Meanach thread that Rails were knocking out some SPAs so I had a look. I saw they had the ZAA version and as this sits in my time window (just) I couldn’t resist and got one on order. This will be a mini project and will have spoil added and I expect it will eventually sit in the yard siding at Glenfinnan to add interest to that area. For now it can sit in a siding at Mallaig to be admired. Obviously it’s had a spin on the main line along with the OAAs just to enjoy some wagon activity for a change. I keep progressing the area around and including the signalman’s cottage. The cottage still requires gutters, chimney pots and paint snagging but is almost there. ‘Steam to Mallaig’ dvd has been very helpful for seeing how the land around it looked. The water gulley that runs under the bridge and into the sea had a stone wall on its northern edge so this was shaped from Slaters embossed sheet, stones picked out in Lifecolor ‘stone’ pigments and once dry first a brown wash and then a black were applied. The wall section has been glued in place and the area between it and the cottage was backfilled with plaster of Paris yesterday morning. This afternoon the cottage was temporarily put back in place and Sculpamold used to refine the topography. Knowing sculptamold it will probably dry and hard by about Easter so to encourage it to go off I’m leaving the heater on up there to get the process moving and trying to avoid looking at the meter and it’s pretty red colouring. As mentioned previously I had made the shed that sat between the box and the cottage but felt it was to small. Well it wasn’t really wide enough so I decided to have another go. As it was built from old sleepers I decided that the best way to go would be to use Scale Model Scenery’s wooden sleepers. I think I have the dimensions much closer this time and once the sleepers were painted, brown wash for the colour, black wash for the grime and a little white dry brushed to add some age and weathering I’m pretty pleased with it. The holes in the roof are roughly the right size and position and I have included the rafters visible through the gaps. It’s only a shed but I like it.

Probably worth you checking the WHL4 thread on here then.

Blue, oval buffers, no cowels, RSH cantrail grills. Nice eighties non celebrity workhorses ………Please

Thanks for the update Dave. Plenty going on by the looks of it. Lovely work.

There has been some good progress of late by steeling an hour here and there and usually a few on a Saturday and Sunday. The last two Saturdays I have worked though but overtime = modelling tokens and we can never have enough of those! It’s all about the signalman’s cottage and a couple of sheds of late. When I got my hands on the container for the yard the other week I realised that the shed I had built to go between it and the grounded van body was to large. I’d built it to the dimensions of a long garage but looking at a photo and comparing the two structures together I realised that the proportions were way out. So I built another one. It’s been primed and is awaiting paint, as is the container. I’d built the shed that sat between the signalman’s cottage and the box but this was to small. So again, I’ve built a replacement. The two first attempts have found new homes though as the real Mallaig was not short of sheds. One family on the estate can’t believe their luck as they woke up one morning to find they now have a garage! Meanwhile I also like to have a play with my toy trains at some point on a Sunday so to accompany this post here are a few pics of 37012 removing the tanks from the rear of the ‘mixed’ and shunting them into the oil dock. More progress on the oil dock is also on that to do list….

I have a few Dapol kits of the older version but they are HO scale so have not yet been built. I may or may not get round to them one day. My ‘To Do’ list seems to grow all the time. One job done, two more get added.

Indeed Ian, let us hope. I would have thought it would be an easy one to tool having done the OAA but they may be cautious with Bachmann having already released it. That said that was some time ago now. A run of VDAs would be rather nice too. The Hornby TTA has caught me by surprise as I knew nothing of it until this week. I have 5 of the Bachmann versions in the fleet but more would be nice as 3 of those are earmarked for the weed killer train. A Dapol Turbot in Dutch was ordered but was delivered as an EWS example. I’ve sent that back as not only was it the wrong livery but my infrastructure and loading gauge could not accommodate an O gauge wagon! Whilst at Warley I spoke to Accurascale about the rather large gap in OO gauge for Catfish and Dogfish ballast wagons and the Richard that I spoke to very very receptive to the idea as he had been giving the idea some thought so hopefully they will proceed with them at some point. I’m sure it would be a winner as any layout set from the mid 50s to the early 90s would find a use for these. If their modern nuclear flasks had a second run then surely these ballast wagons could have several. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Opportunities to operate freight traffic on the Mallaig extension are limited but I couldn’t resist a couple of Rapido OAAs. Even just sitting in a siding with occasional moves adds to my West Highland experience. The BDA has been in stock for a number of years and with a price tag on the box of only £12 it was a bargain even back then. I intend to build up more wagon stock over the years, not necessarily for use on Mallaig but if it’s relevant to the WHL it will probably see use in the future at some point. Hopefully Rapido will no go on and expand their air braked range. Meanwhile work continues on the work bench with various sheds and buildings in different stages of construction. Hopefully I’ll be able to update on this soon.

Looking at those images neither am I!🤭 Thats wonderful stuff. It wasn’t clear to me in the photo posted by @BlueGreyAnnorak, I thought the coupling shaft was one piece. Thanks for correcting me @RapidoCorbs Let’s hope these wagons are a success for you and you go on to produce the OBA, OCA, VDA………… etc Looking forward to a knock on the door by the courier over the next couple of days.

I hadn’t considered this until seeing your view from below but those tension lock couplings don’t appear to be in a standard type NEM socket. Admittedly it looks much tidier in that area for it but for those of us that like a simple swap to a Kadee #18, 19 or 20 this is a no go and will require the use of a more ‘traditional’ Kadee.

Perhaps it was a LM region thing. I always assumed they replaced the buffet car trailers with these. I am talking very late in their lives though. I think the only ones I saw on the North Wales Coast and Cambrian lines in the early 80s all had a class 101 centre car.

I’ve had an email this afternoon telling me my order has been processed so sounds like they are imminent.

Ah but will they do them with the 101 centre car though? 🤔

I would hazard a guess that the medium ones fit the unmodified windows and the large ones are to fit the Shawplan frames? I’m sure Brian would confirm. If emailing him please note the change of address at the top of the web page rather than the email link further down. I had to get in touch with him last week.

With my own colour blindness and complete lack of experience in repainting models (I’ve stalled whilst trying to strip EWS livery on one of my own) I don’t feel in a position to offer council on this but I must comment on that photo of the prototype. What a wonderful example and with that terrier in its alternative position and the cowels still in place I can see why you’ve elected to go with this example. Im looking forward to seeing her when finished and plying her trade on WHL4.

Oh no! That’s seriously bad luck Ian. I hope you’re not suffering to bad with it? Glad you’ve found some decent footage to entertain yourself with. I managed to ‘photo bomb’ the official video. I saw the maker/filmer(?) filming Ben Jones at Heljan and I just couldn’t help myself with the opportunity to become a background feature having a look at an O gauge 73. All very subtle. I know, I’m such a child 🤣 Does our modelling still count as modern image? I’ve been pondering this lately. You make a fair point if you’re referring to BR blue being something of a rarity at Warley but I find it can often be a bit top heavy with very recent image. I do remember a good few year ago now we had both Mostyn AND Dewsbury Midland at the Warley. South West Digital were demonstrating sound there too and I was blown away. The two days I was there really got me fired up to start collecting stock for a future layout. Two massive BR blue layouts and sound fitted locos on a stand to marvel at. Brilliant. South Pelaw was one of those surprise layouts for me. I was keen to have a look but became totally absorbed by it and lost myself in the moment. I really like it when a layout can do that to you. Over the years Mostyn, Dewsbury Midland (in BR mode), Wibdenshaw, Portcullin and Black Country Blues have all had the same effect but I expected that. It’s nice every now and again to get a surprise. To be fair there were a lot of good layouts there, even if the subject wasn’t my cup of tea worth spending time at to appreciate the modelling. Having done a few scratch builds now I often get an inferiority complex. I guess perfection takes many years. I’m content for now that my efforts do at least look (to me at least) like they are supposed to. That said I am pretty chuffed with my station building, my best effort so far. Sorry folks for the ramblings (Mallaig musings 🤔) I hope you’re feeling better soon Ian.

Netherwood! That’s the one. Thank you Gentlemen. Sometimes I question the integrity of my marbles. Maybe it’s time to start taking a notepad to exhibitions. Or at least when taking photographs of the layouts it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a photo of the name too.

I was told the Victorian and early preservation liveries were very soon and the others next year.

It’s the morning after the day before and the day before was Warley day. I was unsure if I would be able to attend at fairly short notice as the car had to have a visit to the garage and I didn’t know if I would get it back in time but a phone call from them on Saturday lunchtime just before they closed brought relief and excitement in equal measures, Game On. This time the journey ran smoother than last year despite standing on Telford station for half an hour on what was the coldest morning I’ve experienced yet this autumn. It had been an uneventful 2 hour drive from home to get there. First train of the day rolled in to both Telford and Birmingham International on time. I felt the show was quieter this year (I do Sundays) but this could have been because the ailes were much wider. Some very very nice layouts to enjoy. Nice to see Bron Hebog again and see my heritage Welsh Highland coaches in miniature. The name escapes me now but I enjoyed the O gauge BR blue yard and mainline layout with both Woodhead electrics and dirty blue diesels. Newhaven Harbour I’d seen previously but enjoyed again. My favourite of the show was South Palew which being not of my preferred period proved a real surprise so really enjoyed a couple of prolonged sessions soaking up the atmosphere of this layout. Full of admiration for its builders and a steady stream of interesting trains and shunt moves over the junction. Wonderful. Well that was my Warley, I hope those of you who also attended enjoyed yours too. There’s the inspiration for us all to ‘crack on’. Andy

That’s one thing I love about having the layout. I can go to Mallaig whenever I want. As you say it’s not the same these days but I love it there too.

Eastfield depot staff applied the miniature snowploughs to 37112 in early 1983 so I thought I had better get my version suitably adorned. A couple of brown washes painted over the new ploughs acquired from Bachmann spares recently and have been fitted. I thought it prudent to run a few test runs (excuse to play) just to check they didn’t fall off of course. I think they need mucky-ing up a smidge more so perhaps a coat of sleeper grime or track dirt to follow and a dabbing off with a cotton bud. During this ‘testing’ I thought it might be a good idea to return the TTG tanks so I enjoyed a spot of shunting. Also in the news is progress has been made with the signalman’s cottage. Not finished but certainly getting there. It was placed on the layout so I could sort out the lay of the land surrounding it. I had already cut back some of the hillside but the following photos do show it in it’s intended position. A few steps forward in the build. 37112 awaiting departure showing of her new accessories. Growling past the WIP signalman’s cottage. And heads past McLennan’s slip with the last train of the day to Fort William.

It is David but it’s of 1987 vintage not one of the heritage coaches. Plenty of rot was found once the panelling was removed. Strangely below the windows rather than the drop lights. Make sure you seal yours well when you get to that point.

And then a bit more timber to build the bodywork. I’m looking forward to following this build David.