Johndc120

Now the layout is nearly finished, We needed to sort out the transportation. This is the first time trying to rack a layout with curved corners to the back scene, this presents a problem when racking the boards together into a box. The solution was to off set the boards 2 inches lengthways and 1 inch sideways. this gave sufficient room for the corner but also didn't make the complete racked layout overly big. the packing piece fitted to the end of one board and the first cross members being attached to separate the boards at the right distance this picture shows the gap created for the backscene curve the completed racking boards with carry handles and end plates

Hi Dave, all of the figures are 3D printed by modelu, then painted by a wonderful artist, I’m rubbish at painting figures and she’s brilliant at it, so well worth the money, her name is Claudia Everett

I would guess eventually they will do a conversion pack for the Class 22, like everything with ultrascale they will take their time getting there though. I gather a lot of the ime the conversion packs come from people forking out to get ultrascale to do conversions done for them. The Class 14 conversion has been really successful, I've since fitted it with with replacement coupling rods from brassmasters which make a big improvement as well

Thank you very much The OO gauge wheels on the Class 22 can just be opened out to EM gauge, some people say they need to be turned down to reduce the flange thickness but I find it goes through my point work okay

it's the one thing that makes this move totally unrealistic, we need a mass of middle aged gentlemen in tweed jackets getting everywhere they shouldn't!

An SLS visit to Shwt. Pulled into the old station, the Jinty the uncouples, pulls up to the old signal box and runs round the train ready for the return trip

The footbridge on the layout started life as a Bachmann scenecraft bridge of Sheffield park on the bluebell line. It was the wrong hand, the steps were one solid piece of plastic and the stations weren't to my liking. but I really liked the etch sides, something I'd been looking for ages for. so stripped it down to just the flat etches. Cut out one centre section of the etch. Soldered brass angle to the top edges of the etch to make a hand rail. Soldered on girder work to the bottom of the etch Added new posts and cross pieces which protruded out for the supports Added T section brass supports for the bridge sides Added some Smoke deflectors to the underneath directly over the centres of the tracks It was then painted and the deck was added some of the step boards have been removed and used to block the entrance to either side of the bridge (I found a great example of this in a photo) plastic card pieces were put in on the platforms for the stonework The finished bridge, more hours work than I really want to know but hopefully will be a nice feature of the layout and worth the effort. A real labour of love

By far the biggest building on Shwt is/was the engine shed. Taken out of use when LNWR absorbed the line just after the turn of the century. having lost it's roof the building has rapidly deteriorated and nature is slowly taking it back. loosely based on the shed at Abbotsbury (although the brick chimney omitted) this structure was scratch build using foam board covered in Das modelling clay. Once dry the stonework was then carved into it, before each individual stone painted. The base had a layer of static grass applied before mininatur foliage was applied to make the ivy and bushes inside

Thank you very much Matt, I haven’t put anything about it yet, I’ll post one in a bit for you Thanks

The coaching stock for my SLS special has arrived, I've added some appropriate coach boards, E wheels and kadee couplings. Just a bit of weathering required and I'll have another passenger train for a freight only line

on the yard end the only thin left to add is the provender stores, they have been made from the ratio kits although with several alterations. they have now had the base colours done and just need a bit of weathering to finish

Thank you so much for your kind words, the layout has been a long time in the making and everyones comments on here make it all worthwhile this particular view will be much better now it’s got a backscene behind it, it’s just a difficult angle to get to at the moment, I look forward to setting it up somewhere and trying to recreate it Many Thanks John

Thank you very much, I get my synthetic hair from green scenes, it’s a small bag but a little goes a long way

Still work in progress but one of the last items left to finish on shwt is the crane, this is a Ruston bucyrus 22-RB which is a white metal kit by langley models. It’s certainly not for the faint hearted and this kit has taken almost as long as the layout to build

Thank you, yes they are modelu figures, there’s a few other people now trying to do similar but Alan’s printers are far superior so you get a better figure out of it the coal sacks are actually cast plaster ones by ten commandments, they look okay once painted up I think

Last night we finished the Coal yard, I’m sure there’s lots of details we missed but it looks busy enough for me. This also includes the 3 3D printed items, glad to have them on as you just can’t get them anywhere else. We’ve got a nice little scene where the coal merchant is having a natter with his staff, the old hand sitting down for a rest and the young male having a brew

The now finished Jinty sits by the old signal box waiting to run round it’s train

Further progress on the Jinty, all that’s left to do is add some crew and some coal

A special loco going through the works tonight. This will join a pair of Hornby stanier coaches to form a short special for occasional use at exhibitions It’s had the brassmasters detailing kit added, fitted with ultrascale EM wheels, has been repainted, renumbered, datails picked out and dry brushed, now for the airbush weathering for a overall dirt

More 3D Design and printing, this time it's bits for the coal yard. After doing lots of research we've found a few items in photos which nobody sells. This gave us the challenge of printing them ourselves. The first item is a coal scales, fairly typical of lots found in yards up and down the country. these were used in 2 ways either to be filled and then tipped into a sack or lay the sack in the tub and shovel into the sack. Second is a step ladder used to access the vehicle, usually with a coal sack on your back lastly is a coal conveyor, these are a later addition used to get the filled sacks onto the lorry. The ones we've found have been electric driven, this would have been a touch late for us so we've fitted it with a lister petrol engine still a the moment mostly unpainted

The photos taken during the recent construction of our F/Y cassettes. The basic design is 9mm Ply with 1 inch x 1 inch aluminium angle bolted onto it. We used M3 bolt contersunk in from underneath and nylock nuts on top to secure them. We have got 3 milled aluminium spacer blocks which are correct for EM gauge. These help to hold the gauge while drilling into the wood for the bolt holes. once complete, we designed and 3D printed end pieces which hinge up to allow the train through. They have been designed with a slot in the end which the kadee's fit into so the buffer contact the end piece. this prevents damaging the coupling

Hi, Hey I don't mind criticism at all, I feel it's the only way we improve. No that is a slight problem with the plan on the layout. when we originally can up with the back story and it we were under the impression LNWR got a lot closer to Tewksbury than it actually did, which I believe was Hereford. By the time we realised our mistake I had already built the disused LNWR signals. so we've sort of stuck with it, the name 'Shwt' is also far too welsh for tewksbury being the wrong side (or right side) of the border, but it has a family connection and is close to Shut which is why we liked it

Haha, Yes I confess I work on the S&T for NR in Cardiff, so I know my way round western region locs pretty well. So I also know what 5BarVT stands for having stripped a few down in my years. I'm really chuffed someone has recognised the individual bits inside. It's made it worth doing

If anyone's interested in view the construction of the layout, we created a facebook page for the layout shortly after we started construction. so all of our photos from building the baseboards, making the track and applying scenic touches are on there. https://www.facebook.com/Shwt-Model-Railway-836046339817669/

thank you very much absolutely I have! I have 4 different designs of cases done, 3 different point machines and doing a few other signalling bits. at the moment however I haven't got the spare time or the space to produce enough to sell commercially. I'm moving house shortly which should allow me to get a couple of printers going