AlexRaybould

Received my deltic on Saturday after the absolutely rapid dispatch to door. Detail is absolutely exquisite and the sound complements the model fantastically. The RSG railtour condition is perfectly done with the silver tanks really showing off the various detail around the solebar. Really impressed by the packaging, especially with the iPhone effect sliding box to add to the excitement. Big fan of the sound fade function, especially so that I don’t annoy the neighbours too much! Thanks to those in the office for allowing me to pick up a spare version of RSG despite being listed as sold out. Congratulations to all at Accurascale for making such a phenomenal first mainline locomotive in OO.

Hi Stu, Thanks for the compliment! You’re right, it was an enamel varnish rather than acrylic so guess there’s been some sort of reaction there.

Hi Neil, Thanks for picking up the error I made on 1664, I have varnished it now so will leave as is! Struggled to find a photo of that side in blue so made an incorrect guess! The white spirit and cotton bud method has worked successfully on both Bachmann and Heljan locos. Once soaked, abrasion with a finger nail normally sees the decals disappear.

Hi Everyone, Hope you've all had a great Christmas! Been wanting to start a workbench topic for a while so here we go! During 2015 I debuted my my first exhibition layout, Westbridge (link is in my signature) on the local circuit to Cheltenham attending six shows in the space of a couple of years. Since then I lost my modelling mojo and was distracted working on 1:1 scale diesels at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire. A mixture of the first lockdown and three months of furlough rekindled my interest and spending a fair amount of time trawling through photo sites of what would have been the local depot to me, Gloucester Horton Road. The above of 6995 and D846 on shed from Derek Jones' excellent collection has been my main inspiration and I've wanted to replicate this with locos from my collection. I had not previously modified any locos that I had owned and had run my locos in factory condition, so I decided to finally take the plunge and throw myself in the deep end. I'm using the word 'replicate' loosely and appreciate that not every detail might be completely prototypical to the exact loco but I'm going for enough to be happy with. Through future posts in this topic, I am going to aim to show the loco in their 'factory' condition, the mods that I have carried out step by step and the end result. Below is the work I have done so far since March and aim to get these up to before weathering stage before starting any more! D846 'Steadfast' The warship started out as Bachmann's D836 so I've renumbered using white spirit to remove the old decals and used Railtec numbers alongside double arrows, data panels and shed codes to match the locos condition as seen at Horton Road. This also includes route availability dots from Fox and nameplates/worksplates from Extreme Etchings. All detail was fitted including the roof vents, lifting rings, bufferbeam valances and detail going for the all out appearance with no need to use the tension locks. With all the bodywork mods complete, I sprayed the model with a coat of matt varnish which was my first ever use of an airbrush. I then made the error of using Humbrol weathering washes, As can be seen on the bodyside grilles, as an experiment but this started to eat away at the varnish coat. I managed to rescue this with white spirit and sprayed with a second protective coat of matt varnish. I have also changed the headcode blinds with Precision Labels to something more typical of the early 70s. All the glazing currently has a coat of Humbrol Maskol with the windscreens having 'wiper marks' ready for a light weathering which again will be my first attempt on a loco of mine. Additional pick ups have also been added to improve running. 6995 The 37 started out as Bachmann's half yellow panel D6984 so to start with the noses were removed from the body with a fair bit more force than I thought they would need! (Note the nose is loose on the body for photo purposes!) I treated these noses as my first proper repaint so dipped these in Phoenix Superstrip to get them back to the bare moulding. I then added the distinctive western L shaped lamp irons using a pin vice to create the holes and supergluing these in place. I then primed and top coated these with the airbrush and will potentially varnish before adding the warning flash and multi working symbols. The loco was factory weathered so I have gone over this with white spirit to get a bit of sheen back whilst removing the numbers in the process. Headcode blinds have also been modified with 0D03 displaying, although i've noticed this is the 'wrong' end from my photo! I guess this is part of the beauty of recording what you do to spot mistakes like this. I have also got myself a photo box for showing the locos which is a useful tool for being cruel on the eye and making features that don't look quite right much more noticeable. Next steps will be to add plenty of detail including the frost grilles and try to replicate the 'freshly' painted sections of the roof as per my reference photo which I'll aim to achieve through weathering rather than repainting. Also got the buffers to pick out in black and reattach a horn that had snapped off. Sound is also planned for this one with me likely to place an EM1 in the tanks with another speaker in series in side the body. 1664 - 'George Jackson Churchward' The 47 started out as Heljan’s 1932 and had been fairly heavily weathered by its previous owner, especially on the roof. After a fair bit of rectifying and removal with white spirit, I have been able to get it to a condition I am happy with. I have since added numbers, double arrows, data panels, depot stickers, worksplates and nameplates. Precision labels headcodes have also been applied as well as full bufferbeam detailing from a Bachmann loco. Bogie frames and tanks still need a bit of work having sprayed these with a rattle can a bit too heavily, so will strip back and repaint with the airbrush. Aiming for lighter weathering on this one as per the photo which I’ll attempt in due course. D8148 https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p321813950/h3434a685#h3434a685 I have taken inspiration from the above link showing D8148 on shed at Horton Road. The 20 started out as Bachmann’s 20 141 which is a heavily factory weathered model. I have since removed as much of this as I could with white spirit which has given it a much cleaner appearance. I have since fitted Accurascale screw link couplings and 51L vacuum hoses. Door and ‘wardrobe’ handles as well as buffer shanks have also been picked out with Humbrol chrome paint whilst headcodes have been replaced. The body for this has been placed on an older chassis I’ve had for a while, hence the white pipework which I will paint out to match the bogies. Numbers, warning flashes, data panels and multiple working symbols still to add. Can anyone recommend convincing multiple working cables and air pipes? Hope you enjoyed my first post in the topic!

A really successful outing with Westbridge at the Cheltenham Model Railway exhibition in its extended format for the first time ! The layout ran faultlessly during the weekend which was surprising considering the limited amount of testing carried out before the show! The extension has enabled much more operational interest whilst exhibiting and now has almost endless possibilities for shunting! Linking up the station and depot sections of the layout with the station run round loop has made the operation much more flexible allowing locos to run light off the depot and then run off scene after collecting some rolling stock. Having the bay platform now allows me to run mk1's as well as multiple units which I was unable to make use of previously. Here are a few pictures of the layout during the show. Thanks to Phil from Abbotswood Junction for letting me borrow his 1200 Falcon on the Sunday afternoon which he had only purchased and fitted sound to that day ! Was great to catch up with everyone and always nice to meet some other RMwebbers. The show made all of the effort I put in worthwhile and I will now look forward to developing the layout further. Will update the topic again soon! Thanks Alex

Thanks Rich, Good to see you again. Getting the layout running smoothly was the main priority and was definitely worthwhile as everything ran faultlessly over the weekend! Hopefully see you again soon! Alex

Thanks Andi! Enjoyed speaking to you over the weekend as ever. The layout was definitely more entertaining to operate this time around with the extension. Hopefully see you again soon. Alex

Thanks for all your help on Saturday Tom, really appreciate it. Your welcome to help out at any future exhibitions, will probably end up with an additional controller which should allow even more shunting! Thanks Alex

Thanks very much Rich, Really appreciate your compliments after admiring Oxford Road at past exhibitions before I had started building the layout. No need to apologise! Thanks Alex

Thanks very much Kevin, Enjoyed speaking to you and it always nice meet other RMwebbers! Thanks Alex

Firstly apologies for the lack of updates! Been extremely busy, however, the Westbridge extension is complete! Tomorrow the layout is attending the Cheltenham Model Railway exhibition in its extended format! If you want to find out more about the show, click the following link http://www.cheltmodrail.org.uk/preview.php?ExKey2=38 If you are in the area make sure you attend as it is always a great show and it is for a charitable cause called the Pied Piper Appeal which helps sick and disabled children in Gloucestershire. There will be plenty of future posts with the build of the extension including all of the photos taken. Thanks Alex

Hi Everyone, Apologies for a lack of updates since August!. Various things have been getting in the way such as A-levels and volunteering on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway but I have been able to get some smaller jobs started in that time. Since I last posted, Westbridge attended the Ross on Wye Model Railway Exhibition. This was a really nice show that I enjoyed and the layout performed faultlessly during both days despite not being operated for quite a while. Here are some photos that I took during the show. Thanks for the question Neil I managed to get hold of a Hornby Shark from Ebay and got a Bachmann pipe wagon, 12t vent van and sand wagon in departmental green for Christmas. I am hoping to use these as a Signal and Telegraph rake. At some point I might purchase a Bachmann sealion or a few Flangeway Mermaids to accompany the shark brake van. Another Christmas present I got was a Bachmann mk1 BCK. This will allow me to now run two rakes of mk1 passenger stock as well as my 101 DMU. I also managed to get an limited edition Invicta CCT which is a fantastic model and finishes off my collection of parcels stock. I also managed to pick up a Bachmann class 45 body shell for a bargain price of £8!!! This is currently on my Bachmann class 44 chassis. Thanks Sam. The track plan will be staying as it is as I have already started track laying for the new board. I have started by ripping up some track which will be relaid with copper clad sleepers over the baseboard join. I have also dismantled the platform as my coaching stock wouldn't fit around it. This will hopefully be rebuilt soon. I have also had a go at making a Ratio 460 GWR Home signal as signalling is one of those projects that needs to be done properly. I have made it so that it operates but I will have to find a way of making it move with a servo under the baseboard. Thanks and I hope you have enjoyed the update. Feel free to comment as I always find your opinions helpful to make improvements ! Alex

This weekend Westbridge is attending the Ross on Wye model railway exhibition at John Kyrle High School. If you are local to the area make sure you attend! The address of the school is John Kyrle High School, Ledbury Road, Ross On Wye, Herefordshire HR9 7ET

Hi all, Thanks for all of the replies on wagons for the PW yard! I am currently thinking of going with 2 dogfish (Cambrian), 2 Mermaid (Flangeway or Cambrian), 3 grampus (Parkside Dundas) and a shark brake van (Cambrian or Hornby repaint). Obviously the dogfish and mermaids will be used for ballast and I am thinking of using the Grampus for carrying materials such as sleepers, signalling and cable trunking as the PW yard has space for these. Thanks Alex

Hi all, Good News! I should have my baseboard for the extension sometime next week and I have bought all of the track I need. This means I have completed my track plan so that I'm sure of where everything is going on the extension. There may be some minor changes to the scenery on the plans below.This means there will be more regular updates with the progress on the extension with the free time I have in between revision for my exams. Final Track Plan Here is an image of the 7ft scenic section. I have simulated the stock I can fit on the layout but it would never be as busy as this on the layout! Here is an image of the 3ft extension board. At the top of the plan I have included a permanent way depot which includes space for new materials such as ballast, sleepers, signalling and cable trunking etc. Also included in the depot is a non working covered transfer crane so that sections of rail can be transported between road and rail (bolster wagons) and also be stored under the corrugated metal cover or shed. Including a permanent way depot means I might require additional stock which could include Dapol or Parkside Dundas Grampus, Cambrian Dogfish, Cambrian Starfish or Flangeway Mermaids. Any ideas or advice on wagons I could include in a permanent way depot would be appreciated! Thanks Alex