Jwnewall

Yep! I've been studying the railways for 5 years now, and starting to acquire items, such as a timetable for Easton, Portland and Rodwell from 1938! (if i'm correct). It will bug me that the stone wagons wont be correct however it would just help as I don't want to completely scratch build everything (new gauge etc) It seems like this time I made an error though, but I hope when it goes to exhibitions it will be appreciated for what it is Where on the Island do you live? Weston is really not a hotspot but I ain't far from the railways!

@John New Thanks for the info. I'm new to think that Excelsior didn't haul the stone trains, but to think of it, it could only carry the rubble. Well, although it might not be exact, I will still have Excelsior on the layout. The part of the layout which double tracks and goes into the quarry could give it the excuse, but I can't really model moving horses. In the book 'Rail and Road Transport on The Isle of Portland' it mentions that Excelsior tipped wagons of waste over the cliff near west cliff, this is the opposite end of tout quarry from Priory Corner. So even though its not on the right track, I can possibly get away with it! The stone sleepers were often submerged into the ground, with chips of stone covering the floor and chalk molded into the ground. However, I will make sure to show some signs of the stone sleepers with the 009 track as the sleepers are the same width as the narrow gauge track.

Right, the information about what i'm going to model: Priory corner is a spot where the stone was transferred from the wagons onto traction engines. This is also great as the long Chesil Beach can be seen in the backscene, along with Fourtuneswell and Wyke Regis. I will be modelling the site with all the features from 1892 to 1902, to include the most track and the train, traction engines etc. On the map, you can see two run around loops where the stone transfers from wagons to traction engines. There is a double mine leading into the quarry and two drop off points when redundant stone is thrown over the cliff edge. The road curves from the top right hand corner to the middle of the right section to the front right end of the board. Here is my test track so far. I have been using my N gauge track however im changing the points over to Peco 009 track so there are no dead spots. Another board will be added to give it a raised profile due to cliffs being at the back of the board, this is only the base layer. Key features of the layout will include: Priory Corner cottage - This was owned by the Pearce family, and stood on the edge of the corner of Priory Corner. The cottage is made out of Portland Stone, so will have to be scratchbuilt. The extension to the house seems to be brick built but also derelict, perfect! A crane was situated in the transfer yards from 1902. This changed from a small mechanical crane to a larger model which a replica now stands near to where the original was today. I will be modelling the newer version. There was only ever one narrow gauge steam locomotive, Excelsior, a 0-4-2 wing tank locomotive. Minitrains sell an 0-4-0 version of this, so I will make-do with it until im confident to modify it for an 0-4-2 version. I will also have to modify the wagons due to the wheels being on the outside of the chassis, a possible item I can modify from is seen below. I think OO gauge whels could be good but would have to make them fit the 009 gauge I would love to motorise a traction engine due to only one train working on the railway. Ive seen many people use coke-can car motors for trains and cars however it will be quite compact in a traction engine. From that a weak magnet on the front and a wire in the road would work like the faller system, but so much cheaper. The wheels will have to be made grimey however due to the amount of wet chalk will be dried on them. I will update this page when I remember too, but I hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for more! Thoughts and feedback will be great as i'm not the proper expert!

Hi! I'm James Newall aged 16. I'm not new to the hobby, having 11 years of collecting, but have almost complete my first layout Kingbarrow Railway Centre (Also here on RMweb). Last Christmas I was given an average amount of N gauge items from another persons collection for free. However, I didn't want to model standard gauge again but in a smaller scale. So i've decided to sell most of the stuff to start my new 009 layout, The Merchants Railway. Brief History: The Merchants railway opened in 1826 on the Isle of Portland, the earliest in Dorset. This railway carried stone from the quarries on Tophill down to Castletown where they were sent off from ships to create major buildings. The railway later expanded in 1866 and by then this railway had covered the island. I'm not kidding, but there were hundreds of railways on Portland for each quarry. In 1865 the standard gauge railway reached Portland, closing in 1965. The Merchants railway however ceased during WW1 and started afterwards untill 1939 where all operations ceased. To this day, hundreds of stone sleepers remain on the popular walkways of the island and hundreds of rails scattered everywhere, in stones, used as fence posts, and some still remaining intact, surfacing during wet weather. Locomotives: The railway only ever had one narrow gauge steam locomotive, Excelsior, an converted 0-4-2 wing tank built by Bagnall in 1888 and came from Wales to the Island in 1898. All other haulage was from horses, which became less and less prominent in the 20th century due to it being considered cruel. Traction Engines carried the larger stones that the wagons couldn't cope with. Wagons: The only wagons used were 4 wheeled flatbeds that had the wheels on the outside of the chassis. Buffers were wooden stubs, and often broke due to poor maintenance. A lot of the wheels broken can be seen in a few photographs below. My Model Project: I will be modelling Priory Corner. This is a spot where the stone was transferred from the wagons onto traction engines. This is also great as the long Chesil Beach can be seen in the backscene, along with Fourtuneswell and Wyke Regis.

Backboards are cut and now up! Nuts and Bolts are used but they are free standing for the time being. A new table is present, as with the last one the layout was overhanging! Its just a simple but long fold up table Also, the first part of ballasting has laid!

Right, a full report for April, May and the beginning of June on the Kingbarrow Heritage Centre layout! *Layout had a new table to sit on, as was getting damaged under the bed * Signs added to station, museum *Station ramp/stairs in place, station fencing and hillside *Portacabin for workmen *Luggage coach added as a restraunt *Engine shed brought and roof painted from light grey to dark grey *New Heljan 1366 class '1369' with modified siderods *Point motors added and partly wired. *Cameo items brought (telephone box, bins, oil barrels, pallats, engine parts and trees)

Yes still attending. Been doing it for 2 years and the manager always leaves space for me, layout number 2 of 30! Thanks for the comments

Same with my layout, I haven't progressed in about a month due to the exams, only 2 weeks left though!

Sorry for the lack of updates! I'm currently in Year 11 and taking my GCSE's, also my room is being changed around, so the layout has had little change! A teaser photo for the time being!

A few photos from last night whilst finding spaces for items from the spares box! I made custom signs for the area too, much inspiration was from last weeks trip to the Swanage Railway! They came out pretty well and will go onto card.

Over the past few weeks I have been nibbling at a few things, but not worth an update, but today was a big change! First, The houses and goods shed was moved around. Now, a car park will occupy where the goods shed and the houses were. The goods shed has been moved to the front of the board, and the houses are gone, as they were falling to pieces. For the heritage attraction, an Oxford ice cream van has been acquired for the summer months! The station ramp that comes with the metcalfe kit has been modified to fit the edge of the platform, and will be cleaned up. A station has been purchased to replace the metcalfe one. Im not sure what name, but its a Hornby one from 2011. It was brought from ebay for £15! a small chip but it is hardly noticeable, and well worth a £40 discount! Other than that a lot of work has been put into the wiring. The sections of tracks now have isolators and a control panel will be added on the next update.

Yeah I got my first set in christmas 2006, the Hornby Thomas and Bill set from the Exeter Model Shop. Since then I have been collecting. Only last year did I buy my first Proper model, the Hornby Sentinel, which I got from selling a lot of items, a good lesson of selling! Next came along a Class 45xx, which is very West Somerset Railway inspired, but can work on a small line of the likes of the Dean Forest Railway. The third and model is the Huntley and Palmers Peckett, which I searched 2 months for and found it in deep Wales! My step-dad works at the recycling centre and all the Triang stuff comes from there.

I live near, should pop up sometime, Really cool to see things being changed around as the one from Exmouth never really developed.

So the whistle broke off :/ However I remembered I have 2 spare whistles from the Hornby Thomas, quite small, so what I did was put a track pin to widen the whole and placed the whistle in its place. Fits really well, and doesn't look out of place at all!

Work on the platforms has begun. The same height as the Hornby platforms, these are chipboard wood with a few pine pieces from the scrap box at school. Metcalfe platform tops are not needed but just easier to use, and the platform edges are from Peco, with parts cut off to fit the custom platforms. The card covers the holes on the sides.

Hello! I'm James Newall. I am turning 16 soon and i'm currently living on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. Kingbarrow Railway Centre is based in East Devon in the 2000+ Era. People usually model what their childhood was, for example a GWR terminus, mine was the West Somerset Railway. Holidays to Butlins in Minehead every year always involved a full day on the heritage line, so it is not a surprise that this was my childhood inspiration. Kingbarrow is the name of a quarry down the road from where I live. Modelling heritage railways is an odd one. People usually use it as an excuse to run anything, or their layout looks like the Hornby TrackMat. Now, I have nothing against this, but it does lower the fondness towards modelling heritage and preservation lines. Now, I am using the excuse to run anything, however I use the term 'not a Eurostar on a branch line' so I will keep the variety in range. My layout will be modeled as prototypical as possible to keep the general viewers satisfied that I am taking this seriously. Anyways, the baseboards are divided up into 3 sections, the fiddle yard, the junction and the run around loop. 2 boards are scenic. The track is a mix of Hornby and Peco, the buildings are Hornby and Metcalfe, but plan to be modified heavily. The power to the layout is from a Gaugemaster type D controller. The layout has 2 platforms, and a locomotive restoration shed. With the heritage feel various buildings, such as the goods shed which has been tuned into a railway museum, and rolling stock body's will be lying around but not just plonked on the baseboard. A small glimpse of a terrace street can be seen, but other than that the land is relatively flat. The railway itself takes inspiration from the likes of the Dean Forest Railway for the size that is is, and the locos and rolling stock it owns. I plan on changing the engine shed at a later date. The layout has been booked to feature at the Weymouth Model Railway Show in the 28th & 29th of October. Fell free to give advise and comment, perfectly ok with constructive criticism. I hope you like me taking an interest with heritage in retrospect. Please do mind the background, its my brothers bedroom I swear!

Yes I know Huntley and Palmers is a biscuit factory, but here's a few pictures down by the Weymouth Quay Tramway!

My Peckett arrived today, and boy was it a long week. It is heavier than I thought, compared to the Hornby Sentinel's weight its much better! One 'problem' is the whistle, just getting it out of the box and have bent it. Its not fully off, but at the stage of if I move it the plastic gets weaker. The Hornby pocket rockets have metal whistles and this doesn't?! Do hope there are replacement whistles somewhere *hint hint*.

Brockwell Lane stated that he uses white spirits, are these good? https://youtu.be/tmnrLkNwrXY?t=376

Not trying to control, but this is how I invision your layout from the way you designed it. I do like it!

I am loving the design, however is hard to pinpoint where the station is located due to the original station being close to the main road. Could you help a bit, just nagging at me to find out

Yeah Brasso wadding was what I meant by a dry rubber of sorts.

Yeah i'm not too bothered about the 'd', but im sure the lining wont be a problem. Will it leave anything behind? when i use enamel thinners the colour (white in this situation) goes into the thinner but stays on the loco and causes marks. Are the tamiya thinners almost non watery? Trying to think of possible dry rubbers to get it off, with a clean finish. Not too much work!

What's is best to use to take off the Huntley and Palmers decals? There have been a few methods mentioned in this forum so I'm looking for the perfect one. Being a young modeller I do not want to mess up as it was a lot of peckett money saving!

So with 2 months searching, I purchased mine at £79. Sometimes waiting comes off better than snatching the first one you see