Tricky

Hi Rich, and thanks for your encouragement. Pressing on with the Goods Office, hopefully post an update later...

I realised as I was sizing up the small office that it wouldn't fit against the brick wall as it isn't high enough...! So....it's now against the back wall, it makes for an interesting roof line and a nice tall chimney stack and pot. This first shot is of the mock-up before committing... Second shot of glueing up and third shot all glued up and drying before covering the 3mm mdf with Das.

What about this? (0nly the little office bit) built as a lean-to.

Cheers Brian, I will take a look...!Richard

Some progress on the goods yard today, the substantial post at the entrance is temporarily positioned, to be fitted once I have fitted the lamp on top. Two layers of mount board cover the area, just leaving the section at the entrance to cobble with carved Das. A start has also been made to infill between the rails with mountboard and polyfilla. The farthest edge where the sleepers still show will be built up with more mount board flush with top of rail and then when the office is built and in place the whole area covered in polyfilla. I built the buffer stop from a photo and was the simplest and most compact design I could find. Maybe not a common Midland design but a prototype exists so I'm happy!

So, thoughts on the area fondly referred to as the goods yard. It measures 22" from the short brick wall up to the end of the wooden fence by 8" at the left hand end. I'm thinking of a very small lean-to office against the brick wall, possibly a lean-to covered shelter against some of the stone wall (if I can source a rough prototype) with barrels, crates etc stacked here and there. Photos I peruse mostly in my supply of Midland Records show quite a bit of straw and other yard litter around and about. I will shy away from cobbling the whole area, probably just the entrance and in between the track. I will hopefully have room for one dray and a rail-built stop. I would also fit a large entrance post with lamp on top and a couple of yard lamps. Your comments are most welcome...

Here's a photo of the sector plate (not traverser, sorry), and mirror...! Slightly more effective in real life than in a photo. Honest.

Thanks Alex, I think I had seen that thread before when I was a 'lurker'! I think it refers to the levers themselves rather than the woodwork. I shall remain in blissful ignorance until further info appears...!

Cheers Craig. Not sure why I left it so long...!!

Thanks Alex. Good to meet another Midlander! The profile pic at some stage might change to Beatrice, the most beautiful locomotive ever built IMHO!Might you be able to offer any advice on my ground frame colour question? The only down side in my mind to the aesthetic perfection of the Edwardian Midland Railway was the livery of signals and boxes - that's why my bracket signal is filthy to cover it up!!

There is indeed a short traverser under the rail bridge which holds a loco and two wagons just about, which makes shunting interesting. The road bridge at right angles to it has a mirror in it to give the illusion of depth that actually isn't there. The traverser at the right hand end is the 2'6" one and serves all three roads. The short siding off to the right of the cross-over just about holds two brake vans. Theoretically a train could arrive on the far line, be shunted and re-made up to depart on the same line, but I haven't got enough stock to try it out yet!

Thanks Brian, pleased you like it too.

Cheers Paul, glad you like it.

Thanks tbg for the vote. For grotty read atmospheric I hope!!

Yes, you're right. Maybe I was a bit hasty with the thread title!

Here's a question for any Midland experts: have I got the colours right on the ground frame, or should it be banana yellow like a box? And should it have a name board? Thanks, Richard

Thanks Northroader, was googling to see if any of London looks like Birmingham, but strangely to no avail which I think I knew anyway! Have even considered cladding the low wall at the back with brick and doing something similar with the big bridge. What is the general consensus?? Or am I panicking??!!

Thanks Marinbromoz! I wouldn't say it's finished though...

That is a fair point and is one that has crossed my mind more than once, since the bridge is based on a Birmingham prototype! I'll have to uproot the milepost again and start another thread, or pretend there's a tiny village in the Midlands called London...

Hi all, thanks for your interest and replies. Attached some more photos, the first hopefully giving a good overall impression. As I said, it's not big! I had originally intended to locate it somewhere in Birmingham but then changed my mind to London, since that is where I grew up so gave me more of a connection to it. It did mean however that I had to uproot the milepost next to the ground frame and repaint 137 miles to 14! The next area to concentrate on is what might grandly be referred to as the goods yard- in reality an area about 18" x 6"...! This is the beauty of cameo modelling, the imagination works wonders with what happens off-stage! The last photo is a bit arty but I like it...! The eagle-eyed will have noticed Albert is back where he belongs and the PW department have made good around the ground frame.

That's very helpful, thank you. For info I started a thread yesterday over in the 7mm forum entitled 'Midland in London', more overall pics to follow today, it's not as advanced as Sherton Abbas!! Cheers, Richard

Alfred taking a break from shunting duties... Can't work out how to rotate pictures!

Thanks for my first reply Randall!! Not hiding intentionally, just tends to be a lonely hobby sometimes...

That's a rubbish photo of the ground frame, I've finished the polyfilla around the base since that photo was taken!