NXEA!

GE 50ft corridors please, someone, anyone! I don't care who makes them!

Will be following this with interest, anything East Anglian gets my vote. 

That'll be Maude then... 

I wonder if Oxford will produce some GE stock to suit?

 

Roger

Thank you gents for replying to my question, it looks like I have the answers I need. I'd seen references that J11's could be seen in East Anglia but didn't believe it myself until I saw that photo of one at South Lynn. Photo is here: http://www.kingslynn-forums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=273&start=15

If they were shedded at Lincoln I presume they would've worked down the GN&GE?

Perhaps my next question is misguided as I'm used to the modern railway's way of working, but for a J11 to get to South Lynn for example, that would mean that a driver and fireman from say March would have to be familiar with J11's. Or did crews not have specific traction knowledge back then, and it was a case of familiarising themselves with a specific class when they were asked to work them? Genuine question.

Me personally, I can understand why there may be a little bemusement that there was no big launch at Warley and that it was a bit of a damp squib, but there's no use fretting. Lets face it, when they announce the range on the 8th January with a few big ticket items which we know will be stunners, we'll all be frothing (me included!) and forget about all of this! 

I think they're fine personally but the Heljan 33's were widely criticised when they were released, and a manufacturer did propose to make a new one recently IIRC. If you're ever thinking of something AC, a retooled 86 would go down well I think.

A little bit of progress to report...

I took the latter half of last week off, and whilst I spent most of my time with my other half and my son, as you should, I did get a little bit of modelling time.

I've ran in all my locos which all run like Swiss watches fortunately for me, and begun fitting DCC chips to them. My first time taking apart a model, and whilst it might be small beer to some it was rather daunting for a first timer! Luckily both DCC chips worked and the locos went back together great. One J15 and one D16 done, five more locos to do, and thanks to DCC Concepts who talked me through rewriting the CV for the D16 over the phone as it was a jerky runner. No progress on the PD Grain Van at the moment.

The biggest change is putting up the backscene. It looks much more like a layout now rather than a plank with some track on it, and I'm happy with it. It's just plain mounting board from Hobbycraft.

It is rather tall but the height effect will be reduced once I put the 'lid' on and a front piece of wood so I can angle the layout lighting. That's the next job to do, along with fiddle yard construction.

Away from the layout, I got a bonus from work which has facilitated a few purchases - a Bachmann J11 on eBay for only £50, and a couple of Gresley Teak Suburbans. Unfortunately, the wall behind my garden fence has collapsed today... No one was hurt luckily. Whether I have to pay for that either myself or as a joint thing with the neighbours I don't know as its affected more than one of us. I have a feeling that the council might pick up the tab however, in which case my bonus is spared for more goodies!

Anyway, photos:

Backscene

D16 62530 in the siding after arriving from Wells with a single CCT for the branch.

And finally a black and white arty-farty shot.

That's all for now, stay tuned.

Hi all, 

Just a question on the above. Having 'accidentally' copped a Bachmann BR J11 on eBay for £50 earlier, I'm wondering if anyone can provide pointers on whether they were regular visitors to East Anglia, as my layout is set in Norfolk and I desperately need to justify this impulse purchase to 'er indoors...  

I'm aware that some were allocated to the M&GN in the 30's, however having had a trawl through BR Loco Database none were East Anglian machines in BR days. However, there is a photograph of one at South Lynn on an eastbound freight in 1953, so they *did* venture here. The question is how often? Were they extremely rare visitors, or semi-regular? I note that several examples were shedded as far east as Retford. What freight traffic would they have found themselves on to get all the way over to Kings Lynn? 

Grateful for any info on this. 

Thanks. 

Other than the BVR shop as mentioned by Pete, has there been any news on Black Friday deals from any other retailers? Seems very quiet this year. 

It's a picture of Bristol St Phillips. Midland Terminus.

Rob.

Evening all, not much to report but a few bits rumbling on in the background. I've duly digested my copy of cameo layouts, some interesting information in there and some really inspirational modelling, particularly Llanastr. The PD LNER Grain van has been put together, but I need time to fit all the brake gear and other parts.  

Time is a precious commodity with a 9 month old - I work from home twice a week but any kind of down time is restricted to late evenings at the end of the week or during nap time on weekends, and that's if there is no house work to do! I grabbed some time this evening to cut the backscene to fit. It's plain hardboard from Hobbycraft in a very light sky blue colour as I'm after a neutral background rather than anything photographic. A couple of photos with the backscene leant against the wall with one of my J15's (which needs a logo change and renumbering eventually):  

Based on the first photo, does anyone think I've overdone the backscene? I've gone for an 18 inch height as I want to portray open skies and space on what is a 1 foot wide layout, and I'm also wary about the point made in Cameo Layouts about the average tree in OO gauge being around 12 inches tall. Is 18 inches too tall? I personally think it'll look ok once I've built a fascia and the layout is enclosed more, but I'd be grateful for any opinions.  

I was hoping to build the fascia and mount the back scenes this weekend but not sure if that's possible now. I still need to order the MDF (I don't drive and neither does my other half) and then I need to find time to put it together. This, and coming up with a fiddle yard solution are on my jobs to do, before I crack on with scenery in earnest.  

That's all for now. 

To be fair Temple Meads is by far the most attractive of Bristols still extant stations though Clifton Down is a stunner.

 

 

Regretably I didn't have time to linger.

 

 

Bristol, in parts is very attractive and I can see a layout similar to Trickys Midland cameo gracing Sheep Towers in the future.

 

We do like ee Midland in these ere parts my luvver....

 

 

 

Rob.

That's very atmospheric Rob, where is that? It doesn't look like Clifton Down? I'm hooked, need to see more!  

Mutton is coming along well, keep the updates coming. 

Must the bargain police chip in everytime we stray from the subject ever so slightly? Thread drift is part of life on a forum, and subsequent posts were related to the original bargain anyway. The original thread was locked down because of people highlighting the smallest deviations from the topic, and the new one is yet to take off in the same way, which is to everyone's loss.  

Back to the original subject, I see Rails have some DJM J94's for only £69.50, and Hornby J50's for £59.50. Good deals if you ask me. 

Nothing new to report. My copy of Cameo Layouts arrived yesterday, but other than a quick flick through I haven't had a chance to read it yet. However having seen some of the layouts in there, I'm already inspired! I'm hoping to knock up a fascia and backscene by next weekend, time will tell if I do though. Hopefully i'll have some time tomorrow to build the PD Grain Van kit...

There are couple of books.  Middleton Press do one 'King's Lynn to Hunstanton including the Heacham to Wells branch', or the one I prefer is the Oakwood Press 'Lynn and Hunstanton railway and the West Norfolk Branch'

 

My track is going to be somewhat different to yours, A family friend died earlier in the year, leaving a baseboard and a set of plans with most of the track.  His wife was not aware that he had been working on it in his shed.  I have laid out the track and wired is as per his plans.  We have no idea what he intended to do with it scenic wise.  I intend to do something like the local area but obviously the track layout shows no resemblance to real life.  Most of the railway buildings along this part of the line were designed by Henry Le Strange and were built from the local carrstone.  There are loads of buildings built of this stone in Heacham, Hunstanton, Snetisham area that I intend to photograph and use them as a 'brick paper' to cover kit bashed or scratch built buildings.  Likewise, it is very flat, open with lots of trees and just a few buildings.  Oh and a big platform because that is the only bit of scenic that Ken designed into his layout and I felt it had to stay.

 

regards,  Chris

Thanks Chris, the Oakwood Press book has duly been purchased. 

 Sorry to hear about your friend. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out, particularly the buildings! 

Does anyone know if money is being taken now for pre-orders, or will it be upon dispatch? 

Indeed, and any clarity on the model to be finished as E9621, or news on an N7/3?

Edit: It appears that OR76N7003 ie the model being released as E9621 has now changed to 69612 with early crest. Was this a round topped example?

Hi NXEA!

 

I will watch with interest. I live on the route of the West Norfolk Junction Railway. The old trackway is just outside my back gate at Heacham. I'll send you a photo or two when I get back home. Like you I work away a fair bit. I have started on an N gauge layout that I intend will have buildings in the style of the old buildings along this line.

 

regards,

 

Chris aka Dufus

Good to know that someone else is doing something based on the WNJR. I'll be interested to see what you come up re. the buildings - one of the reasons I went for a non-descript junction was to avoid having to model the buildings! Sources on the line are very scarce, I'm not even sure if there is a book on it? Having a junction layout also means I can move the layout around East Anglia if I wish to do so with nothing too specific to tie it down. The key thing for me is nailing the feeling of big open skies, space, and the presentation. I look forward to receiving the photos.

Not much to report this week. Work and a 9 month old puts paid to that, but this was always going to be a slow burner. One of the main things I'm after is to develop my skills, particularly in kits, painting and weathering. This is a marriage of convenience with the tight budget i'm constrained with - any new purchase either has to be saved for or the money raised by whittling down my NSE stock, and you get more of a personal pride for things you make yourself anyway in my humble opinion. I currently have a good amount of modelling mojo on tap, so I spent yesterday evening in front of Match of the Day putting together a Parkside Dundas kit of a LNER 5 pack wagon which I really enjoyed. Excuse the cruel iPhone shot (with spare bits for a load).   

NEM boxes and a trip to the weathering shop in the future beckons.  I'm planning to practice weathering on this one, dry brushing and pastels perhaps. A PD LNER Grain Van is up next.  

Attention has turned to the presentation of the layout itself. With space at a premium like everyone else, I've had to settle for a small layout, and the width is only a foot unfortunately. I'd like it wider but as it lives on a set of draws it's not really possible, so I'm currently thinking about back scenes and presentation which is crucial to enhance the feeling of space, but how tall is tall? The hard-board I have is around 2ft high, but I'm worried that it'll look kind of ridiculous! So to get a good idea of what I want to do on back scene and lighting, I've ordered a copy of Cameo layouts. Watch this space... 

After many false starts, swearing, and gnashing of teeth with previous projects that have failed to get off the ground due to my sh*te wiring skills, disillusioned I took a small break from the hobby and stuck to looking at RMWeb and 'window shopping' online. However, an at the time impending house move from Tonbridge to Norwich together with cheap and exquisite Great Eastern region models in the form of J15's, D16's, B17's and the new B12, reignited my interest in East Anglian railways.

I'm a Great Eastern man at heart as my local shack growing up was Manor Park, and I have also lived in Southend, Halstead, Sudbury, and went to college in Colchester, so returning to my home region for my next project seemed a good choice. East Anglia, had a rich assortment of railways from the Mid-Suffolk, to coastal and rural branches and through routes, and a vast cross-country network in the M&GN, with elegant motive power and rolling stock available RTR. What more could you want? 

Dozens of books later, I've settled on a layout based on the West Norfolk Junction Railway (yes, a real railway). I'd had no idea this line had existed as photographs and mentions from other sources are very scarce. However it's an intriguing subject as it was a through route from Wells-next-the-Sea to Heacham which closed as early as 1952. D16's ruled supreme on short 2-coach passenger trains, with J15's and J17's providing power for freight traffic which was mainly grain, vegetables and sugar beet. The layout is set between 1948-1952. A couple of photo's to whet your appetite:  

In my scenario, there was a junction between Docking and Stanhoe on the WNJR with a light railway branch to Tatterford. It was built early in the 1900's on the cheap, and was intended for it to go all the way through to Fakenham to join up with the M&GN, however it never got beyond Tatterford. It soldiered on until WW2 when it became strategically important due to building of RAF Sculthorpe, but post-war it has declined and generates only two freight trains a day of sugar beet, grain, vegetables and domestic coal, however there is also an out and back train for serviceman at RAF Sculthorpe and occasional other traffic.  

As for the layout itself, it is small with a 4x1 scenic section, with a mantra of less is more enforced due to the lack of space in our house (luckily my other half is very supportive of my hobby!). There is no station, its purely a junction. The baseboard and electrics (DCC) were done by others as I was fed-up with the false starts and desperately wanted somewhere to run trains and crack on with scenery. The fiddle yards will be simple I know that much, but I'm not yet sure how (suggestions are welcome!). I'm aiming for something with broad skies and flat terrain, something like this (hopefully):  

And finally a couple of photos of where it is at the moment, with a small loop, two diverging routes at the end and a siding:  

For those of you that like wiring:  

And a taste of what's to come:  

Progress will be slow or in fits and starts as I commute from Norwich-London 3/4 days a week and juggle that with fatherhood. Stay tuned! 

Dubya, 

I'm currently working on a layout the same sort of size, so will follow this with interest. For what its worth I think a headshunt long enough to accommodate a T9 would work, you're not going to be able to fully run round your train in the scenic section anyway by what I can see of your plan, and the extra few cm's permits you to accommodate an elegant model of an elegant prototype. A winner in my book! 

I think it's going to have to be crimson for me after seeing those photos, exquisite. 

Crimson or Green? I can't decide. 

Top man Rob, thank you very much!