SJS

Thanks for the reference Mike. I had forgotten about this part of your blog, I found it very useful. Numbering is certainly an issue....I have been looking at the RCTS book and at this stage I still think I have one or two options but now I need a photo!

Everyone seems to build a 517 so here is my attempt. Firstly, let me say this is my first ever attempt at this kind of thing so its been a steep learning curve. MikeOxon has already covered a great deal in the conversion of a 14xx to 517 in his blog - so I won't repeat much of what he has said. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1405/entry-13225-back-in-time-517-class/ However, I did choose a slightly different route. I wanted a model with the earlier bunker. When looking at this the small relative size of the 517 to the 14xx became apparent. So I choose to (a) use a shortened 14xx body and (a high-level chassis shortened to the correct length. For the body this meant a lot of cutting including shortening of the smokebox and making a bunker. The chassis needed chopping as well. In the end its slightly too long but is much closer to the 517 than the 14xx. So here it is in its present state. The body is of course not finished and some parts are simply placed. The chassis needs completion as well. Its just being fit tested to check there are no issues. All comments welcome - as I said its my first effort. I didn't think it too bad until I saw the picture!!!

Took a look at the PowSides website and they do have a Bradbury transfer. Its for an RCH wagon so I will need to try and find a picture of a non-RCH Bradbury vehicle. I did find that Bradbury and Son were a coal merchants in London and Southampton. In the Hampshire archives there is a copy of a contract for 200 tonnes of steam coal between Bradbuy's and a company in Alton. http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/rd/e8717058-923b-4779-84c0-86c5eec50b38 I also found that they were base at 7, Victoria Street in London and that they were looking into coaling stations for vehicles: http://archive.commercialmotor.com/article/18th-september-1913/10/coaling-stations-for-steam-wagons

Thanks John - will take a look. Mark

Hi John - that is a good idea with the 3-link and the use of a torch! I'll give that a try and report back. Thanks for the PowSides website - I had not heard of this company before. Mark

Thanks that is helpful - I don't have any private owner wagons at the moment, I will have to do some more research. I have a few weathered vehicles - I will try and post a few pictures over the weekend.

In my last post there was a comment on Private Owner wagons. So here is a picture of PO wagons at Brentford Dock. The caption says 1922 so a little late for me but I love the atmosphere. I don't suppose anyone knows who Bradbury were? The wagons certainly seem only lightly weathered. Also I think the bike up against the wagons is a great touch.

So over the past month I have been acquiring stock off of ebay - most has now arrived having taken weeks thanks to the postal systems of the UK and Sweden (pictures to follow). I managed to get a selection of built and unbuilt Coopercraft open wagons (3, 5 and 7 plank) as well as a few Minks and a provendar wagon (Q1). I have managed to fit a small selection with Alan Gibson wheels and everything seems to run smoothly although a few of the built ones will need some paint work and the decals could be improved. I have now, however, hit an impasse. The first is couplers - I have removed most except for a few which are fitted with Sprat and Winkle couplings. What to do? To be honest I have read lots but am none the wiser....... I quite like the idea of 3-link as they look good but...are they practical? The second is what state should these wagons be in? Should they be heavily weathered, lightly or what? Most of the books say that Edwardian locos were kept immaculately as were the passenger stock but I am sure that can't apply to the goods stock. Any advice?

So I finally managed to complete a section of track including a point. So here are a few pictures - sorry for the poor quality. As usual the pictures highlight area that still need work All comments and advice welcome.

Hi John - I am indeed an EM gauge society member. There manual has been most useful. Unfortunately living abroad means I won't be able to interact with other members much. I agree with you about EM versus other finer scales. I can understand why people want to use them but for me it adds complexity and doesn't buy me much in terms of looks. On the other hand the jump from OO to EM is certainly worth it and to be honest much easier than I had anticipated - perhaps check back with me in 6 months on that when I have altered all my stock! Best wishes, Mark

Thanks. It was actually easier than anticipated. I made a few errors trying to rush but with patience it turned out OK. I am have jut about completed a point plus some more trackwork using this method - I hope to post pictures next week!

So I finally built some track. I used the C&L plastic system with steel rail. For my first attempt I used a simple template and made no attempt to make it fit my period (i.e., sleeper spacing etc.) I built a small section of straight track on some thick card. Made a few errors but hey it worked! Here it is. You will see that I have tried some attempts at ballasting. I want something that fits a yard and not the mainline type of ballasting often seen in yards. I read Chris Nevard's blog on using modelling clay pushed down between the rails and then painted. You can see my attempts on the right and in the close up below. While this worked it took forever and this was only on straight track. I wouldn't contemplate trying to push the clay between point blades. I am sure Chris' modelling skills are better than mine but I wouldn't have the patience. So I then looked at Mikel's Farthing layout and the way he ballasted the yard - i.e., use filler before laying the rail. I obviously couldn't try it before I laid the rail so I just tried a little around the edges. However, unlike on Mikkel's layout I roughed up the filler with a paintbrush as Chris does on his yards with the modelling clay. I quite liked this so I decided to go ahead and try a section of "real" track and a point to see what happens......pictures soon I hope.

With the available space I have (roughly 150cm x 60cm) I have come up with the following trackplan. I have tried to keep the plan simple and not too cluttered with tracks. There will be some sort of fiddle yard off to the RHS. There is no run-round loop (only a half one) - any run round move will need the fiddle yard. Its based on various parts of Brentford Dock and in particular 3 features. The first is the large covered transfer shed, the second the unusual shaped storage shed that protrudes over the water and finally a loading platform. The aim it to put the storage shed at the left hand end with the covered dock at the right hand end (a reverse of Brentford). The aim is to look into the covered dock as if you were on the other side of the waterway. So the building will be sectioned down the middle (ambitious I know!). Another problem is that the original Brunel wooden transfer shed burnt down in the 1920s and to date I have only one picture taken from a long distance! The storage shed can be seen in the distance. Loading dock - I like this picture although taken many years later than my period. I

I think that this is obviously not the correct picture for the caption! More than that I am at a loss. Does the men's clothing help? It looks like 50s?

I just looked back and the picture comes from http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/brentford_dock/index5.shtml and it is supposedly Brentford Dock, I remain unconvinced however. Mark

Hi Adrian, yes the first two are Brentford and as you say the third is Gloucester. I liked the horses on the dockside. Sets the period nicely. I checked my notes for the fourth andthey say Brentford but its definitely not. So I shall see if I can trace it. Wherever it is I like the loaded carts on the dockside. Thanks, Mark

Hi Don, there are various reports of a short lived station at the docks although I haven't found any pictures. Brentford station was of course a fair distance away. The date is really flexible I suspect much will depend on the stock I have! Mark

Here are some pictures I have culled from the internet that I am using as inspiration. They are from various locations on the GWR system and as you can see some are from the post-Edwardian period.

Hi everyone, just wanted to introduce myself and the layout I am working on – I had planned to do this earlier in 2015 but you know how things are. So in an effort to speed things along I though putting my thoughts on here might help me achieve something in 2016. Kind of a new year's resolution! Over the past years I have had a number of “models” from my first round-and-round OO GWR layout, a Swiss HO layout , through narrow gauge 009 and a large US N gauge layout. My most recent was a large HO layout based in Norway in winter time (think snow). The problem has been that it was too big and too time consuming and I ended up making lots of compromises in an attempt to achieve something. In the end it all become rather disappointing. The layout still exists and will be worked on when I have a place for it - maybe. A move to Arctic Sweden (yes you read that correctly – you think you have a long trip to the model shop!) has meant that I have less space for the next few years, so something new was needed that keeps me occupied on the cold dark nights (no daylight for a month and it was -37C today). After much thought I came up with a brief for the new layout: It has to have some new challenges – I didn't want to just “buy” things and run them around the track. GWR – I was brought up in Plymouth and spent many hours watching the WR diesel hydraulics. If I was to return to modelling a UK-based railway it had to be the GWR. EM scale – I wanted to build my own track and have something better looking than the standard track. I contemplated P4 but having read various blogs and other sources decided that EM will good for me and a sufficient challenge. Small – I wanted something small enough to complete in a reasonable timescale yet provide challenging operation combined with realism. Use as much as possible of the material I had to hand. I have built previous layouts using Aluminium framing and ply to produce a lightweight structure. So I would use the spares I had for the baseboard and reuse anything I had around. I had recently seen the great modelling by Mikkel on his Farthing Layouts and MikeOxon’s work. These inspired me to try something different particularly as I didn’t want this to be “yet another between wars GWR branch line terminus”. I had always had an interest in the Broad Gauge but though this was perhaps a bit too ambitious at this stage. But I love the old gleaming liveries. I therefore took the decision to set it in the Edwardian period (nominally 1910-1913 but “flexible”). I also much admired the way Mikkel has made his layouts “personal” – focusing on the people involved in running the railway. I doubt very much whether I could match Mikkel’s skills nor would I want to copy. I do, however, want to make the layout more about the people than just be an exercise in how good I could model the stock and buildings (which probably isn't that good!). I had come across Brentford Dock in the literature – a site which seemed non-typical GWR. As a number of others on rmweb have pointed out this would make a good scene in a reduced format. I therefore decided on a Dock scene based on Brentford as a concept but to remind me of my hometown in would be called Sutton Dock. More to follow!

Hi Kris - wanted to thank you for bringing back a childhood memory from the 19XXs (censored not an ST/PT). I grew up in Plymouth and used to ride the train into Cornwall as a kid sneaking away when my parents weren't watching. I used to stand by the Royal Albert Bridge and watch the trains cross into Cornwall and then over the viaduct in the distance. Keep up the excellent modelling... Best wishes, Mark

Hi Petri - fantastic modelling. Are you aware of the UK based Scandinavian Railways Society - they would have a number of modellers interested in your layout. I do have a vested interest as a member myself and also the webmaster. http://scanrailsoc.org.uk/ Oh and yes we know Finland isn't in Scandinavia but a society called the Scandinavian and Finnish...and Icelandic..and.....you get the picture. Best wishes, Mark

Hi Andy just passing through, love the layout and especially the school. Reminds me of one I went to especially with the girls and boys entrance. Although co-ed the doors led to the respective toilets. I won't tell you what happened if you went in the wrong one... Keep up the excellent modelling Mark

Hi Mike - just wanted to say what an inspiration your blog is. I have just gone back to modelling GW after many years doing something else and your work (and that of Mikkel) has inspired me to take on a pre-grouping model. Best wishes, Mark

I thought perhaps you could "colourize it"..... ;-) Your effort is appreciated!

I think we would all like to see this - I guess it would be too much if it was in colour.......