BernardTPM

According to the Armstrong Whitworth book (by Brian Webb, RCTS) it had a Laurence, Scott & Electromotors LS1 traction motor mounted transversely above the jackshaft drive, with the gearbox between. The arrangement is shown in the drawing of the similar, but larger shunter built for Ceylon. AW were firm believers in Electric tansmission, even down to quite small machines, like the 3 foot gauge 60hp loco they built for the quarry at Penmaenmawr, though that used a longitudinal motor with shaft drive..

I suppose technically you've got the electric motor at the wrong end, but it's a fine looking model.

It's a Mk.2 Cavalier, though I have done a Carlton too, the original Vauxhall/Wayne Cherry smooth nosed type, just about as modern as you can get for 1978! The Sierra is a modified Wiking XR4i, but, in my opinion, much more useful in normal 5 -door form, though I did paint up the straight XR4i model too. The Marina van would be a useful thing to do as a TPM kit maybe.

Some more of the road vehicles built for Brigenshaw and Brigenshaw II the two LH examples being too modern for 1978, but perfectly suited to 1991.

I agree with you there, Pugsley, but I have to say that neither of the first two looked cold enough to be Silver Grey to me anyway. Yes, the lining was lower of Provincial/Regional liveries, largely because they didn't have air-con coaches so it was appropriate to match the window height rather than have the white cutting through the lower edges as it did with InterCity on Mk.1s and early Mk.2s.

The original Provincial scheme was a modification of the ScotRail scheme which was, in turn, a modified version of InterCity livery, so the same light beige InterCity colour. Regional Railways used a light grey colour, giving a noticeably 'colder' but arguably 'crisper' look. I'm not 100% sure, but I thought it was the same Silver Grey that NSE used on the Wessex and Class 321 fleets.

I found two reasonable pictures, one from fairly early in my involvement (May 1982) the other towards the layout's retirement (late 1980s). An overall view of the layout, looking towards the 'country' end. This is the later view. In the distance the LH abutments for the lattice footbridge are visible but the RH support is not in place, just the gap (with white showing) where it fitted in. I'm not sure what the large light grey object in the goods yard is, though it might be the basic mesh I used for the factory fencing, perhaps, being measured and trimmed (as it had some contours to follow). The later 'bus shelter' is in place on the near platform. Originally there was one of the Farish wooden waiting shelters there. Most of the small details are removed though at least two of the hand-built colour light signals are in place. These I fitted up with little clip-on power connections made from Vero board and the contact strips that go with them so they could be removed for track cleaning. This is the earlier photo, but small details are in place including a 'mobile' feature (i.e. not plugged in or stuck down) the National coach. I made a number of appropriate period vehicles for the layout, most converted from either Wiking or Fleischmann models. The Plaxton started out as the yellow Mercedes coach Wiking used to make. The most important part of the conversion was to enlarge the windows. Since the Elite features near-flush glazing I cut out all the pillars, enlarged the opening, then cut the glazing into pieces and mounted it in the shell. Trim was added from 10 thou." plastic rod and the window pillars were painted on, the edges being scored with a sharp knife to stop the paint from straying. It worked quite well, but I should have put an interior in it. I have made one now, but I had to break the roof off to fit it and it's still not fixed... There's the double version of the lamp post too, though that needs resoldering. The buildings are a mix of Builder Plus, Bilteezi and scratchbuilt, most of the latter using Builder Plus brick paper. As you can see from the later picture, trees were added after this photo was taken.

I've got a few I took myself over the years, though they're not brilliant. I'll pick a few and scan them. The best ones were done by Len Weal for the PMR article, so they're not my copyright.

Of course, building a layout involves modelling things other than railway rolling stock. In fact one of the earliest items I made for the layout after it was decided to go 'Modern Image' was lamp posts. These were bent up from 4mm scale handrail wire with insulation off thin electrical cable. The lamp head was the same as that brass used in the wagons above (before they were built, of course), a U channel section which was soldered onto the bent-over wire using enough solder to fill the channel so it could be painted as the head. The BR sign was similar, but with a rectangle of 40 thou." plasticard, painted Rail red with a large 4mm scale double arrow transfer (Methfix) applied. Later I did smaller lampposts for the station platforms, though these only used the insulation at the bottom. For the island platform I made the BR 'lantern' heads from transluscent plasticard, filed to shape with the top painted grey. In keeping with the late '70s period the standard black on white Rail Alphabet sign was placed part way up the post, rather than the earlier style where the name was applied to the lantern. These were quite cheap to make, very fine looking and stronger than cast ones. The bus stop sign I drew (like the station names) with a fine Rotring pen and is mounted on a pin, painted grey. The finger sign and platform number are the Tiny Signs items.

The last pair I'm posting today are almost pure scratchbuilds, though they run on Roco Y25 bogies (technically underscale). The chassis for these two were largely soldered from brass sections while the bodywork is plasticard. Note how different the trussing is between the two designs even though (IIRC) the length is the same. In both cases the trussing was thin T section, but I filed one 'leg' off the T for the Bogie Bolster D. Both were sprayed in Ford Carnival red, a pretty good match for Rail red. The BDA uses the much-missed Woodhead transfers.

Lima did some pretty reasonable models too, sometimes, though on the face of it the lime green 'East Anglian Meat' van wasn't*. However, if you have more than one, then there are things you can do: Based on photos on Modern Railways I extended some by cutting and splicing. The LH version with two sliding doors is the easier as the outer panels need little modification other than adding door runners to the left-hand ones. The RH one involves a little more work as the diagonal struts are removed both from the part in the middle and each of the end extensions. The chassis are extended Peco 15ft type, probably left-overs from those plate wagons mentioned earlier! In the middle is a BR Ferry van of the early 1960s in the late '70s Railfreight red and grey. This is based on a Roco chassis (a steel carrier flate with drop sides and bolsters originally) with a body scratchbuilt from plasticard. * Its a pretty standard old UIC van and was available in all kinds of colours, some them even correct!

Minitrix did a few nice British wagons, but their 'star' has to be the Merry-Go-Round HAA. I bought 20 of these straight off when they first came out. They were all weathered and given the distinctive scrape marks down the side. On the prototype this was the effect caused by rubber-tyred wagon moving equipment and was always at the same height so I made a jig to mount a fibre-glass brush which I then pulled the wagon by to give consistent height markings. Another good one from their range was the BR brake van which is dimensionally more accurate than the Peco, though the unpainted plastic finish used to let it down. As well as painting I added the concrete blocks from plasticard, wire handrails on the ends and modified rain strips. Most of mine are different as they can slope either direction or even be flat. The Minitrix ones are the curved pattern, largely extinct by the late '70s. The tippler is another scratchbuilt chassis on a modfied Peco chassis, this time a later one with the lower body and 10' w.b.

OK, a few more digs through the model archive. These are mainly Civil Engineers' wagons, typical of the 'inherited' stock often used for ballast spoil or just carrying things about. The brakevan is the standard short Peco one which makes a passable ex-LNER 'Toad E' and a nice contrast to the normal revenue brake vans with their exposed flat ends. The medfits are varied. The LH one is a slightly shortened Poole Farish dropside mounted on a Peco underframe. This model disappeared from the range some time back and all the bodies I collected were the very early (1970-72) unpainted type. The alteration is fairly simple; slicing off the outer end strapping with a sharp knife (for re-use later), cutting the ends off and remounting them within the sides, then sticking the strapping back on which hides the join. Tie-bars are 20 thou." plastic strips. The middle one is an almost straight Westwater and Kirk kit on their own chassis, even with their couplings, buffers and spoked wheels! Unfortunately it does sit just a little high but I did cut the webbing out from behind the brake V and lever to give more see-through. The RH is the as yet unpainted Parkwood steel medfit but mounted on an improved W&K chassis. This time I sanded about 1/2mm off the top before mounting the body which brings it down to the correct height. The full W&K kit could be improved this way, but I'd probably destroy it trying to separate the body from the chassis as it was acquired secondhand and is very firmly glued. I suspect I might replace it with another Farish conversion, but on the W&K chassis which represents the LMS fully fitted type with J hanger springs and the short, central brake levers. The Peco chassis better represents those wagons built unfitted, most of which had brakes fitted as part of the 1955 Modernisation Plan. The van is an odd one out and is a cut-down Peco Palvan, to dia. 221. Being Derby built it had the LMS fitted underframe so, again, the W&K underfame was used, but extended slightly both in the middle and at each end.

Their N gauge version is a lot more accurate!

I notice the step/kickplates are now correctly offset from the door - nice. Still wondering why there are so many lines on the centre roof panels, though. There are only nine removable panels, of varying sizes on the real locos. Are these some kind of CAD guide?

A few of the Class 26s do seem to have received Class 27 rubber beaded style windscreens in later years, but the majority kept their plainer style windows to the end. The typical Cl.26 front end windscreens looked like this The chances are that some were only partially converted, perhaps one end only after accident damage, so yet another minefield to walk through!

Lastly for today, some smaller wagons. The fitted Sand wagon was one of a series of 16t mineral derived designs I built for a PMR article. It has a 10 ft w.b. so the excess length was removed from beyond the axleguards. The brakegear was altered to represent the late BR type. The Lowfit was a scratchbuilt body, using 5 thou." for the thin angle on a basic Peco chassis with added tiebars. The tiny one in the middle is an unfitted Single Bolster. These are only 15ft 6in over headstocks on an 8ft wheelbase, again a simple plastic scratchbuild but the Peco 10ft w.b. had a chunk removed both between the axleguards. Luckily they are moulded in a plastic that is easily glued with solvent. To the right are a Twin Bolster pair, representing the last of the line of development. Each body is the same length as the Single, but the wheelbase is 10 ft. This meant removing virtually all the solebar between the axleguards and the bufferbeams, giving them a very 'Issigonis' look! They are close coupled with the centre buffers correctly removed, the stumps of the Peco Elsies having a pin and hole much like the Cl.101s above. All the bolster pins are cut from a cheap plastic hairbrush so are moulded in a black, unbreakable nylon-like material.

More samey wagons and all from the same base kit to boot! The Peco plate scales out pretty well given it was simply made to fit their standard 15 ft w.b. 45t tank chassis, but said chassis doesn't look at all right under it! In its place I used their brake van chassis, shorn of the footsteps and with the springs shortened after which I added the brakegear. Whilst not perfect, it does give a more 1940s/50s design look than the obviously '60s one supplied and it meant that I could fit whatever type of brakegear I fancied. Some are done unfitted (LH) while some have LNER style (centre) and others BR style (RH) fitted brake levers. The displaced underframes didn't go to waste, of course, but were used for other projects. While the above are pretty uniform in shape and size, these next three are more varied, though all are LNER derived. The Trestle makes an 'interesting' looking wagon while the two dropsides are Tube and Pipe respectively. Parkside have done a Tube for their 12ft w.b. chassis since, but theirs is the LMS derived version so the strapping is different. These are on extended Peco 10 ft w.b. steel chassis. The Trestle was, I think, sold by The Engine Shed when it should have been kept for me to collect. I doubt I'll ever see it again.

OK, after boring 101 DMUs some boring wagons: plain old highfits. Actually each one is slightly different. The left hand pair are old W&K bodies on Peco underframes, the left hand one altered to represent LNER fitted brake gear with their distinctive offset brake levers while the RH one has the later sides with the the floor plank ends exposed for easy replacement. The two to the right are my own bodies, cast from Plastic Padding for the BR 5-plank with corrugated ends, the LH one with a working tarpaulin bar. I made one master side and end and a simple open backed rubber mould. To create planks on the inside I scribed some clear plastic sheet (polycarbonate, I believe) which didn't stick to the Plastic Padding. The middle one is a converted Farish 5-plank. As this comes it has a very wide door, but by shortening it down by 2mm the body length comes out correct for a shock open. It already had angled plates, but I converted the ends to corrugations. I regret this now as, if I'd left the planks on the ends, it would have been an accurate model of a Southern Railway (design, most were BR(SR) built) shock open which were just a little higher than the BR/LMS 5 planks.

Certainly. I don't mind at all; it might even encourage me to build some more. I bought a Stove R chassis at TINGS - now what would look good behind a 40 in the late '70s (and only slightly fishy by then)? Thanks, Christian. The 150 was a bit of a tour de force as I wanted to win the N Soc. Multiple Unit trophy! Hmmm, might be nice to see an AC overhead unit win it some time... LBSCR, of course (over to you, Mr. Collier! )

Apart from those old Farish wheels!

Of course! But on theirs the white looked thin and you could see the upper join line to the inlaid section which I filled before painting on mine, the lower part of the window area is better hidden by the change from white to blue stripe.

The replacement layout, Brigenshaw II, would need more up-to-date stock; this was back in the late '80s so at the time it was simply current, May 1991 being the date eventually being chosen so I could run both a Speedlink train and a WYPTE Class 158. Since nothing new enough was in the offing at the time I needed to set about hacking. For a Class 150/2 the older Farish Mk.3 was chosen because it was a little on the narrow side. Because of that I was able to chop it down in length and then add new sides over the old ones that would give me the recessed sliding doors at the same time. I built the unpowered end first so I could work out the basic structural conversion before working out the drive. I wanted to keep as much of the interior open as possible so hid the drive partly below window level. Only the actual drive bogie and part of the very thin drive shaft sticks up above window level and then only at one end, the one with a toilet window which gave a little extra help in hiding it, while the motor itself hides under the raised vestibule floor. It does dismantle too for servicing, though I made the driveshaft a little too thin as it tends to buzz at speed. I suspect coating it in paint or glue might help by stiffening it and changing its natural frequency. Originally the bogies were modifed Mk.3 with overlaid drop centre frames and air bags, but now it runs on my own more accurate BREL Series 3 type. Note the extra pick-up on the front bogie, vital for good running (and also applied to the Cl.101s). I guess the Class 155 is the modern equivalent of the 110 in that it helps set the scene geographically. I was given a set of Kingdom Kit etches by Ray Evans of B.H.Enterprises "See what you can do with that, Bernie"! To be honest I used very little of it, just the upper sides, tinted glazing for the saloons and some of the underframe castings because I was in a hurry. It runs on one of my old 1610 MUMUs and my s.3 bogies (plugged in as intended into the older style Bachmann US diesel bogies). I scratchbuilt the ends, lower sides and cabs and made the roof made from one and a bit BHE plastic roof sections each. The lower fairings screw on and hold the floors (powered and unpowered) in place. It was sprayed in Triumph Pimento.

One unit I would have really liked was a Class 110 BRCW 'Calder Valley' unit. I made a start converting a Farish Met. Camm. using spare windows from very early Farish Mk.1s, which had moulded window frames, inserted in place of the normal window strip. The roof was also from a Mk.1 so it would make it quite distinct from the 101. The angle of the ends was also altered. However, this was one of those projects that never got finished. Well, not so far anyway! Since lost in the move, so it will never be finished.

Thanks Carl, but I'd use the computer these days. Wasn't an option back in '88 as I had a daisy wheel printer so one size and text style only - wrong and too big! Anyway, it leads me nicely to DMUs. I think Farish's early choices of 'modern image' models was very sound. Their first was the 08, followed by the 47, 37, HST and 101 DMU, all very common, widespread types covering a pretty good range of traffic. In it's day the Met. Camm. was a pretty good model, though the early motor bogies combined with inside bearing bogies (which were thankfully soon replaced) didn't give the greatest performance, especially in the 3-car option. Later they went over to a power chassis, but the motor bogie did have the advantage of giving a near full set of seating. I wanted a refurb. white/blue stripe 4-car set so I set about repainting a green set, filling in most of the slight gap round the glazing strip. I wasn't entriely happy with the result, so the refurb car tended to run as part of a blue/grey set in later years: One thing they did benefit from was close coupling which I achieved simply and cheaply by modifing the existing couplings and cutting back the buffers as shown: