Dbr1295

Hi All, Been a while since I've posted anything on here, and actually nothing has been done on or towards the layout (now known as Wydgate) in that time. A couple of weeks away on holiday and the past few weeks I've been focused on knocking together a station shelter & storeroom in S scale. However, I have played trains occasionally, so here's a few pics from today. 7754 slows into Wydgate with a passenger train. Pulls up to a halt at the buffers. Behind is the shell of the station building which is based on the plans of West Bay published in RM a good few years back. Construction is 2mm mdf which was used for packaging of a white board. The plan is (for the moment) to cover in Das and scribe the stonework. Running around the coaches. Topping up the water tanks. Coupled up to the train waiting for departure. Cheers, Les

Hi Gary, Nice to see some NZR on the site. Good luck with the build, looking good so far. Cheers, Les

Hi David, Brilliant. Just love the subtlety of the colours and modelling. Everything just blends in together to create a realistic whole. Cheers, Les

Hi George, Thanks for the feedback, appreciate it. Cheers, Les

Hi Andy, Good to hear from you. Sounds as if the cruise ship work is keeping you busy and you're doing a fair few miles. I agree about the weathering of the Dukedog, I don't want to do it either, but I think the black one would actually look quite good weathered, so maybe one day I'll risk it. We'll be over your way, Waihi Beach, for the next couple of weeks, PM me if you want to catch up (if you have time that is). Cheers, Les

Thanks Chris, Yes, I'm keeping an eye out for the release of the 14xx. I do have an old second hand Airfix one stashed away, maybe I need to get it out and tidy it up a bit. Cheers, Les

Today I thought I would share the locos I have available for use on the branch. Firstly the latest addition, a Duke dog. Apart form the crew, as out of the box A 22xx of about 2001 vintage. Has been close coupled, crew added and the backhead details picked out with paint. Small Prairie. Purchased mid 2000's in weathered condition. Only crew added so far. A 1994 vintage Bachmann 57xx pannier. Crew added and weathered. Need to replace broken handles on tank fillers. Another '94 57xx pannier. Apart from painting the motion as out of the box still. Another recent purchase, class 64xx pannier. As new still. Mainline 43xx. Close coupled, weathered and crew added. Brought second hand about '95. Nice loco but runs rubbish until warmed up, unfortunately doesn't have enough of a run to get warmed up. 1994 Bachmann 93xx. Wheels and motion painted and close coupled, otherwise as out of the box. Nice model, but now shows its age alongside newer ones. The one that started it all. A chance purchase of the Manor back in 1993 got me back into railway modelling and the Western Region. Only been close coupled. Doesn't get used on the branch except on the odd occasion I get the urge to run it. Finally an Ivatt 2MT. Must have brought this 11995 or 1996. It was pretty neat when I got it but doesn't get used much now. I really need to repaint the wheels and motion. Probably too many tender locos for a branch like this, but the there seems to be a dearth of small ex GWR tanks in RTR. At the moment I'm not really interested in building a kit, as I would rather put the effort into my NZR stuff which has to be kit or scratch built. As time permits I will detail and personalize these a little. I do have a few diesels as well, but apart from a Hymek they aren't really suited for a western region branch. That may have to be another project! Cheers, Les

Well I think I've finally got a name for the layout. It's been brewing in my head for the past few days, and it is kind of growing on me. And it is...."Wydgate". I'm fairly sure there isn't already a place out there called Wydgate, plus it does have reasonably rustic sound. It could be part of a wider area such as the River Wyd, Wydbridge, Wydford, Wyd Junction. It's out there now so will be interested on feedback. Anyhow, here's a pic taken this afternoon. The fireman of 4573 takes a look back to make sure everything's OK before the afternoon goods leaves back up the branch. Cheers, Les

Hi Mike, Some great photos. This is a really neat layout that really catches the atmosphere of urban grot. With the light in the pictures it gives an impression of a miserable winters day and I think that is what makes it stand out from other similar layouts, plus of course some great modelling. Looks good in both colour and B&W.The second photo is brilliant, it certainly made me look twice. Cheers, Les

A little scene at the back of the goods yard done. Boundary wall and a grounded van body for use as a store. The wall is from 2 halves of the Wills walling set with the capping made from 1/2 round Evergreen strip with a cut made every 5mm with a razor saw. Painted with Humbrol washes and dry-brushed with Tamiya acrylics. The van body is a very old Ratio kit of an Iron Mink I've had lying around for a while. The W-irons were removed and it was mounded on some strips of wood after painting & weathering. The decals were slightly yellowed with age but remained intact when applied. It was painted with Tamiya aerosols and Floqual paints. Weathering was done with powders and the rust effect was done using artists oils applied with one of those eye make-up sponge thingies, a method a saw in Model Railroader a while back. Small spots of rust were done using a toothpick with which I had cut the point off about 1mm up. All in all, reasonably pleased with the way its turn out. Still to add items of freight awaiting loading (or just unloaded) and there is a yard crane to be completed and installed. Cheers, Les

Happy new year all, Here are a few photo's taken the other day while I was having a play. Firstly, 2260 arriving with a train of empties, which it will run around and head back down to a quarry branch for loading with stone. 4573 arriving with a passenger. 7754 waiting on shed. Finally our latest new toy, a Bachmann Duke Dog, working a goods. The detail on this thing is unbelievable. As well as playing trains I've been doing a few other little projects, assembling some lineside fencing, making a small wall for the edge on the goods yard and finishing a grounded wagon body ( which can be seen in some earlier pictures in a primed state. I'll post some pictures later. Cheers, Les

Waiting for the road.

Hi all, A little bit quite on the somewhere out western front over Christmas. Did spend some time painting loco crew from Monty's Models. Also painted a guard to sit in a van with the appearance of leaning on the side, however, he turned out a bit tall and my attempts to bend him to fit resulted in him loosing his head! I did managed to glue it back on, but now he just stands there, arms folded, staring out. I guess it's a long recovery back when one looses their head... I also spent some time working on a 3/16" scale NZR Dsa class shunter, however when I came to fit the sand boxes I found that there was really poor misalignment in the castings and I am yet to decided whether to try and boogie up the originals or make new ones from styrene. Finally a picture of a 57xx and van with the fireman gazing into the ballast and the guard looking traumatised (though little scaring is to be seen from his recent misadventure). Cheers, Les

Hi, Glad you enjoyed your holiday over here. Nice pictures. Sad to see the condition of the "Flyer". Was down there way back in 2002 when it was running, and it looked spectacular with the mountain backdrops. Cheers, Les

A victory for the people. Area management have gone back on their original decision and the 2 coach set will be reinstated for "peak" time traffic in the morning and evening, with the auto train running off peak. So this is not the end... Cheers, Les

Hi John, No worries, your comments are taken in the spirit they were given. It is only a single autocoach though. However, it seems that popular support may cause management to undertake the unusual act of reversing their original decision… So scenes as these may not be history just yet. Cheers, Les

Hi John, we appreciate your concern. I’m afraid it is in the hands of the local populace now. If patronage was to increase the decision could be over turned. I believe local MP, the Hon. Stanmore Crapton, has made rumblings in Parliament about this. Also I understand that the larger capacity may be required on market days and holidays, so this may not be the complete end yet.

Due to falling passenger numbers on the branch, the decision was made to replace the usual 2 coach set with a single coach auto-train. The challenge for the local residents now is to ensure patronage doesn’t fall further so that services are cut back even more! We were on hand to capture on film the last time the 2 coach set ran on this service. 4573 was the motive power on this occasion. While waiting, a snap was taken of 7754 as it carried out shunting duties. Finally, on the first service of the afternoon, a first look at the replacement auto-train as it arrived. Cheer, Les

Hi Andy, keep at it. I'm sure it will be worth it in the long run.

Hi Adrian, Love your work. These last pictures are outstanding. The scene is so incredibly natural and simple. Cheers, Les

Hi John, Thanks for the positive comments. I definitely think with a smaller layout you need to give the impression of more space, especially with rural stations. I have to admit I like small trains, and as you say, they add to the illusion. I designed the layout for a maximum train length of 6 wagons plus loco and van. Even at this length there is still space on the run around. Also I made the platform long enough for 3 coaches and a loco but run a two coach max passenger. Though saying that, a recent arrival of the new Bachmann auto coach means that the 2 coach set will probably be made redundant. Unfortunately this is a branch that is in decline. Cheers, Les

Hi Bogie, thanks for your interest. Simple answer, the bronze coloured hinges really annoy me! Cheers, Les

Hi all, Here's a few more pictures taken from yesterdays session. I really need to paint that corrugated hut... Cheers, Les

Thanks Mikkel. Yes the distance between the two wagons on the siding in the second photo is only 700mm. I think the low camera angle also helps the illusion. Cheers, Les

Hi all, Todays project was to put some scenics down between the paved area and the warehouse. First I painted the ground brown then added shifted dirt and ash where appropriate. I then planted some patches of longer grass using Woodland Scenics strands and then put on a static grass blend using a puffer bottle. A few flowers were planted and then a couple of small Woodland Scenics trees. The shrub like plant up against the corner of the building is from teased out scrubber pad sprayed with varnish and green tea leaves sprinkled on (don't tell the wife I raided her green tea!). Compare this to post 150. Cheers, Les