Broadoak

Thank you Rod, It makes a pleasant change from switching the yard at Benson. Regards Peter M

I think you are right it is a Walther's kit. Mine is shorter and may have come with the Mutual service Elevator kit. The smaller building next to the shed is definitely scratch built by me many moons ago. Regards Peter M

Hi Dan, I have a feeling it is a kit but I don't know who made it, I have looked at it all over and there is no name on it. I would guess it is Walther's, all I know is it is quite old. Peter M

Midas Cement Silos and the shed where the cement is put into bags for smaller builders or stores for retailing on. Loading platform for outgoing palletised bagged loads. Useful for stores in as well. Team tracks and pulpwood loading area. More or less anything can be either loaded or unloaded from trucks here. Mutual Service Elevator. Walther's kit set in card to represent concrete yard area. Farmer's Co-op elevator, feed and seed both in and out. Peter M

Some Britain's bales of hay which will be delivered to the extensive pig sties by the Davenport, on the Nocton estate a two foot gauge track ran down the centre of the pig sties. This modified Bachmann On30 loco although it only has four wheels runs superbly over the dead frog points. Birds eye view of layout. A view taken standing under the bridge as a Simplex rumbles towards the camera as it sets off for another day in the fields. Peter M

Thanks Mal, I think adding all the little odds and ends helps to individualise a model. Like all model railways it is never finished, there's always more you can do. Regards Peter M

Grade crossing to the left entrance to Trisco Flour Mill with signing on office. Trisco Flour Mill Walther's Kit with additions on roof plus annex to left of main building. Untidy are to right of Flour mill, grounded reefer used as store and oil tank. Grade crossing to right to give access to Arkansas Feed. Midas Cement unloading facility, Walther's kit plus other small buildings for loading bagged cement. The layout width reduces from 24 inches to 18 inches just past the main structure. Peter M

Thanks Dan. Two huts the one on the left is scratch built based on an Illinois Central Prototype. The one on the Right is the Atlas kit. Part of the minimal engine servicing facilities at Benson west yard. Sand drying hut, sand tower and fuel tank. Service station that is a John Deere dealership. Service station and general store next to grade crossing to the right. Peter M

Another Davenport as modified by my fellow operator Andy Knott. She is seen hard at work in the yard. Peter M

Continental Grain Arkansas Feed Co. East yard yardmaster's grounded caboose and store. West yard yardmaster's grounded caboose. Peter M

Well now you have made a good start Rob you have really got to carry on. I like the L&B inspiration. It is a lovely size to work in, I'm pretty sure you will enjoy it once you get going. I like the figure, you will be able to really go to town painting him. Regards Peter M

Thank you Steve, a decent camera makes a big difference. Is this the sort of thing you had in mind Dan? The structures on the long siding at the back of Benson west yard coming from left to right. This siding also acts as a head shunt for the large Continental Grain silos and Arkansas Feeds. Peter M

A view looking down the yard towards the engine shed. IMG_1359 by The Opel receiving some attention in the engine shed while the GMC truck starts up in readiness for a days work. The Simplex towing a small Sidelines four wheeled wagon. This model is not dissimilar to some of the wagons used on the Nocton estate railway. On the Nocton Estate for instance on its 7800 acres there was almost 23 miles of single track. There was also track used for a large number of sidings and temporary track that brought the total to around 35 miles. Peter M

Hi Rob, These are both 1/32 scale Universal Hobbies models that have just been made to look as if they work for a living. The Fordson Major is on the left and the Massey Ferguson 35x on the right. The building the tractors are in is the Britain's Barn kit, suitably modified and painted. Peter M

Hi Rod, I have Two Universal Hobbies models in this scale and they are excellent and a reasonable price. They are the lighter blue Fordson Major E1A and the Fergie 35, both date from the early fifties and can still be seen working. The Britains's barn is made of a plastic that can be glued using a liquid glue. I use Humbrol Liquid Poly. You can also use self tapping screws that come in the kit, they even provide a screw driver. The barn is very much like the Atcost asbestos buildings. We have some on a farm near to where I live. Peter M

Thanks Mal, I have only recently got myself a decent camera. So I'm a bit like a kid with a new scooter. Actually taking pictures has added a new dimension to the model. Regards Peter M

I don't think you are googling in the wrong places Rob, not many people seem to model in this scale. That said there are some superb modellers who work in this scale but take it very seriously. The thing is I don't, and rubber gauge a little between 1/32 and 1/35 after all it is supposed to be fun. With figures of course you can get away with it as we are all different sizes. The average viewer at a show doesn't notice the slight variations in scale, or if they do no one has ever said anything to me. I like 1/32ish scale because the narrow gauge locomotives seem to have a bit more presence if that is the right term. Gn 15 models always look to my eye as if they might topple over. This does not apply to miniature railways like RHDR, they look fine. Also there are far more prototypes of around two foot to give you some ideas. Tractors of course while desirable are not essential. Peter M

I don't know if other people have trouble with dust. I am lucky in that the switching layout is in a spare bedroom and is only visited by me or friends on odd occasions for running sessions. So every now and then I have a session with a soft brush and Henry with his flexible tube. A few pictures of the All Day and Night CF7 in the east yard at Benson. I know these locomotives are not popular with everyone but I rather like them myself. They are purposeful and functional looking to my eyes. Peter M

An assortment of pictures of the Fordson railtruck working in the yard on different occasions. With its three forward speeds and one reverse gear it would be of limited use really. In our model world though we don't have to worry about practicalities like that. The driver is an ex German tank crew member who is relaxing and caught playing cards. I have modified the pose slightly. Peter M

I have over the years when I build a model especially if it is a fictitious scenario I have found it helpful to invent a back story. I don't give names to the characters seen on the model or anything like that but have a general idea of the atmosphere and setting I'm trying to portray. I reproduce the wording seen on the end of the layout. The layout depicts a fictitious two foot narrow gauge light railway serving a large agricultural estate in the Lincolnshire fens in the late 1950's. It is very loosely based on a similar railway that actually existed from the 1920's until the late 1960's and was some 22 miles long in total with about 10 miles of sidings as well. It was originally powered by horses but in later years steam, petrol and diesel locomotives were employed. The light railway was used to transport the crops (mainly potatoes, both early and main crop) but also wheat and sugar beet from the fields to either a standard gauge railhead interchange or to be loaded onto lorries for transport to market. The model features the small terminus at Two Sister's Farm, the largest of several farms that make up the estate. There is a small engine shed with minimal facilities for coaling watering and servicing the small but varied fleet of locomotives and rail trucks. There is also a workshop where tractors and implements are serviced and repaired. The main crop grown on the estate is potatoes but the need for crop rotation and the varying soils mean that a variety of other crops are also grown. In addition to arable farming cattle, sheep and pigs are also reared to give diversity. There is a small area of woodland which provides the estate with all its timber needs and allows the breeding game birds for the occasional shooting party. To the rear of the woodland is a quarry which provides road stone for both the estate and the local council. Wagons are pushed in to the yard from the out-laying fields and trains are then made up for sending to the standard gauge connection nearby. Rail trucks are used to deliver fuel, seeds and fertiliser to the fields. Peter M

Thanks chaps, the Ruston is a bodge that has turned out OK. I can't remember where I saw it, but it was a drawing showing the engine, gearbox and final drive, but no body work. I used photographs for reference and made the body out of plasticard, if I'm honest the fuel tank could be a bit fatter. Despite the body being filled with lead it doesn't run brilliantly, it is OK but needs care over dead frog points. I keep thinking the motor is about to expire, it is from an HO scale GE 44ton bo-bo switcher that has two motors. I found they work best in short bursts as they tend to overheat. When it does finally stop working I will fit a Tenshodo under the body. The driver is due for renewal as well as he is Siku tractor driver and I thing a bit too big really. This is the thing about freelancing it is a bodgers charter really, because you can always say, “Ah yes we modified that in our own workshops” and who can argue with that. Regards Peter M

A further selection of photos taken while checking the layout over prior to an exhibition. They were taken in our conservatory which is ideal as it gives a bright all round light. With a small layout like this now that I have a decent camera taking pictures adds another dimension to modelling. Whilst checking the layout over I was ably assisted by one of the two sisters the layout is named after. This is Amy who quickly got bored and went to sleep on the black bin liner that covers the fiddle yard and under the layout cover itself. Peter M

Hi Rob, Yes it is an Opel Blitz fitted with a gas converter, the black vertical cylinder behind the cab. Coal or wood chips were heated to produce a gas which was fed through a radiator at the front of the truck to cool it then into a storage tank and finally into the engine via the carb. It only produced about 40% of the power petrol would. It was introduced by the German Army at the end of the war due to a shortage of petrol. Peter M

I did the Hemel Hempsted club show at Leverstock green recently and thoroughly enjoyed it, the weather was good with a steady flow of visitors all day. There was a selection of different layouts in various scales so there was something for everyone to enjoy. I didn't take my camera but I took a few pictures of the layout on the Friday before the show while checking it all worked, before loading it in the car. Peter M

Eric, with regard to couplings I fitted KD's because I had a few no 5's in stock. I use them on my American switching layout Benson. Really though the wagons are too light to use them as intended with the delay facility. I uncouple using a very sophisticated tool, a long brush handle with a straight piece of wire araldited into the ferule. The link is merely a piece of U shaped paper clip, with this you pull kd fitted stock. Pushing the wire rests against the closed KD inside the jaws, avoid sharp curves when pushing if you can. Alternatively you can use an L shaped wire with a couple of links of heavy chain. It is probably best to experiment with a central buffer with a hole for the pin, mine are all rather crude. Photos lost when PC crashed. I hope the rather poor photographs illustrate what I mean with the coupling using a link and KD for pulling, pushing is easy. Note in the photo the pin could stand being a bit longer. You can push a large link of chain in one of the slots and hold it with the pin. The centre buffer/coupler is several layers of plasticard. If you are only running trains from home go with what you find easiest, you can always experiment with more realistic looking couplings later. The important thing is to get something running as soon as you can it will give impetus to the project. Peter M