Focalplane

Truth is my wife decided to invest her pension in a small holiday cottage in BYG after I introduced her to the place, having spent the best moments of my childhood there all those years ago. We spent over a year renovating the place which explains my connection with Huws Gray and the way they store their timber which is 90 degrees from the French way. We spent yesterday tackling the brambles so today I too had a kip after lunch. This time next week we will be heading south and back to some serious modelling! Paul

Here in Borth y Gest the sun is shing again and the sounds of summer include stone wall building, helicopters, seagulls, pigeons, Arriva Trains running on the other side of the estuary heading toward Harlech, a small boat’s outboard motor but nothing from the Ffestiniog Railway. Wind must from the south! I got my timber from Huws Gray this morning, they picked out the best pieces when I said they were destined for France! National pride still works in civilized parts of Britain. Paul

Andy Great video, lovely weather, gauge O, DCC Sound. Those RTR locos are the business! Best wishes, Paul

Simon We arrived Tuesday afternoon and while driving onto the Cob Snowdon was there in all its glory, not a cloud in sight. Yesterday started warm and sunny but gradually clouded over. We got a lot of garden work done though which was unexpected! So this morning it is off to the recycling centre at Garn and then a visit to Huws Gray. They say the good weather should continue but Porthmadog has its own microclimate and never seems to deliver what the meteorologists predict. Paul

When Coachmann decided to move back to 4mm scale and Carrog Road, I had the opportunity to acquire his Minerva 8750 class pannier tank with DCC sound. This has proved to be a win win situation for us and I am waiting to return to France to run the new loco and test its capabilities. Today I will be visiting Huws Gray in Porthmadog to pick up more of their excellent 50x50 mm timber for the rest of the legs at Penmaenpool. I have not found a decent equivalent in France and will find space in the 2008 for 20 meter long lengths*. There will be cork sheet as well, together with the other purchases. Next time I come over I must bring something to work on, perhaps a weathering kit. Buying materials is all very well, but real progress is not happening at the moment. The pannier is already numbered 4617 with shed code 84J so will be at home at Penmaenpool. It’s a great advertisement for the new RTR locos that have raised the bar fir 7mm scale modelling. Paul *twenty lengths each one meter long! Edited to acknowledge the confusion!

Unbelievable. The American short lines don't come close! Whoever sold the pack to you shouldn’t be in business. Paul

Although in South Warwickshire, Shipston on Stour is very close to the Cotswolds. The animal traffic included both cattle and sheep. In fact “Shipston” was originally “Sheeps Town”. In this respect the cattle dock now waiting to be placed at Carrog Arms would be appropriate with cattle from the Dee Valley and sheep from the nearby hills. And the horses might be associated with either the wealthier farmers or land owners. Paul

Now that Larry has ‘spoken’, let me add that several years ago I decided to build a 4mm scale model of Shipston. Steve Naylor, a native of Shipston, contacted me and said that his buildings needed a home. So I drove down to Dorset and collected them and started to build an accurate model that would do justice to his excellent models. Alas my aching fingers let me down and I switched to 7mm scale and have benefitted from the switch in scale. But the buildings remained in my care until I realized that they were not going to be seen by anyone. Steve, Larry and I cooked up this idea to let Larry do his thing at Carrog because I can think of no better way to help both to realize their dreams. Steve builds excellent models with painstaking accuracy. His Shipston prototype is now a housing estate and his models were carefully scaled from the actual buildings before they were demolished. The goods shed is as good as it gets. My modelling efforts are chronicled in a blog on RMWeb, just search for Shipston. The baseboards went to the tip last week but the soldered track remains in storage. I am now 100% committed to 7mm scale and my Penmaenpool layout but like many others I watch Larry’s efforts with admiration for his dedication, speed and inspiration to others. I don’t know if Steve is interested in commissions but his work is highly recommended! Paul

Ruabon perhaps? Paul

The station was one of the earliest built, being a branch of the Stratford Moreton Tramway. The part from Moreton to Shipston was upgraded by the GWR to a light railway. Like most rural branchlines it never made any money. Several books have been published on the line. Paul

Further details of the cattle dock at Shipston can be found on the Warwickshire Railways site. http://warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/shipstononstour.htm The unpenned area next to the ramp was for loading horses. Note also the setts under the rails for good drainage when hosing down the cattle pens! http://warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrss538.htm The collection of photos show some details which could apply to any small goods yard. Paul

Ten of the class ran with tenders with rear steps. See post 19. Paul

Yes, I used to stand near that box when waiting for the “slow” train to London - usually an HST. Now retired I don’t go there much. Paul

I un-subscribed over a year ago!

My DPD delivery the other day (also from Tower Models) arrived exactly at 12:02. I thought the driver was early but he wasn't, he had been running early and waited outside until the time window arrived. Compare that to Amazon who tell you that the parcel will arrive between 6:00 and 22:00! I think Tower Models use DPD Local which is run as a different company from DPD (at the moment, anyway). But I had a Post Office special delivery this morning at 7:30 - beat that! Paul

Larry Your Dean Goods looks superb with all those refinements. When I stopped doing OO gauge due to ham-fisted fingers it was fitting the lamp irons onto an old Hornby Dean Goods that was the last straw. But I did hack the tender into a better shape and completed the two Comet chassis. Perhaps one day I will complete the job - your inspiration to the fore again! Paul

I went AWOL for three hours and what's all the activity on Pen Y Bont about! Gauge changes? Paul

That's the tidiest DCC sound installation I have seen! Paul

Received the order from Tower Models today - well packed as usual and DPD come when they say they will. But a warning about the mineral wagons. When unpacking I found two of the three link couplings out side the Dapol boxes among the bubble wrap. It would have been easy to throw them away.

I had a problem when building C&L turnouts that the rails became loose in the chairs so once I had completed the build I added CA adhesive to those chairs that were really sloppy. A much better and stronger turnout resulted. Paul

Andy, very nice RTR. I have shelved my 64XX kit (MOK) for the time being having bought it at Telford last year. It's a lovely kit to build but right now I have so much else going on I probably should have waited for the RTR. I expect I will also install an SWD sound system. The one in my 14XX (again by MOK) is excellent. Spent the day at the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley, had a lot of fun and re-lived a lot of the nostalgia with the various very knowledgeable staff there. Paul

It looks like we are taking two of the grandchildren to the Black Country Living Museum tomorrow. So Pops and Nan may have some reminiscing to do there!

With no woodwork to do while in England I spent some time last evening going through the last few pages of Wright Writes. I used to follow it religiously but found that I could make more things for Penmaenpool if I stayed away. Besides, Tony's many friends do have a bias toward the East Coast!. There has been an interesting debate on whether or not locos should have crews in the cabs. Tony's Little Bytham is one layout where there is no debate - all trains are moving when on the scenic section so all should have crews. But what about a loco shed layout? Someone pointed out that when we sneaked around sheds the one thing we hoped not to see were crews in the loco cabs who might run us off the premises! Penmaenpool falls into the former category with all the locos running through the station needing crews. But should they stay in their cabs when staying overnight at the engine shed? The good news is that all available photos show the locos on shed facing smokebox to the front with the cabs inside the stygian gloom of the engine shed. So the crews would be invisible. Paul

Simon If you go to the old Comet Models web site there is a download on Coronation class tender types and allocations. cometmodels.co.uk Go to Downloads and it's half way down the list. The rebuild is looking good - but I will probably buy the Finney 7 kit one of these days (when I have built all the other unopened kit boxes!) Paul

We had a coal bin out back behind the above ground air raid shelter and I used to be sent out there on dark rainy nights to fill up the scuttle. It was so dark I dreamed up all sorts of ghoulish creatures that were going to steal me away. The other chore was being sent down to the village shop to fill the gallon container with paraffin. Again no street lights and on the way back the can was a bit heavy for a 7 year old. Do young kids these days even know what we are writing about? Paul