Gwiwer

Hobbies are taking second place at the moment during the heavy workload caused by our floods crisis. But in the few times I have managed to get outside and restore my sanity I have made good progress with a number of tasks.

The unglamorous parts of the job include painting the entire fiddle yard black between the tracks in order to reduce the visual intrusion of bare boards; the illusion will be helped in due course by the addition of "coal" ballast laid thinly between the rails. The more obvious and visible signs of progress are the continued painting of the backscene (all 30 metres of it, of which 25 are in place though not fully decorated) and the infilling of numerous gaps caused by the intrusion of objects in the outdoor environment. At one location the line has to curve round a real tree. This has now been waterproofed and a curved MDF panel fitted around the trunk. Ironically the scene painted onto it is of smaller trees as it forms a part of the arboretum - pine forest scene. As the tree moves in the wind the scenery around it also has to "give" by a few millimetres instead of being firmly fixed in position which presented another challenge. The decoration here is not quite complete but gives an idea of the progress made.

In the reverse angle shot the substantial post which supports the roof and which intruded into the moorland scene has now been incorporated into it. A small area of land has been constructed (shown as a dark green patch in the image below but since fully decorated) while the angle between the backscene and the post has been painted to represent a distant tor.

Compare these images with posts 132 and 147.

Off to the beach in soon have a bit of a swim to cool down.

Also done here. And not without due consideration of the potential for a Frankston Pier Railway. Might be using imported 1938 tube stock or might be "only" G-scale ride-on but the thought is there!

More superb shots Peter. I bet it's hot at Llanbourne today B) with queues for the open-top buses!

Left hand side - yes. You'll have to excuse me, I'm upside down in Australia!

Kernow's stock system is live and linked to the shop till as well. That means if it says "In stock" it is in stock unlike some other retailers. What Kernow's system doesn't show (which is available on one or two other shop sites) is how many of an item might be in stock.

On my several visits the place has been stacked floor to (almost) ceiling with stock and I am sure the back rooms not open to the public are equally well stocked with more items to replace those on the shelves as soon as they are sold. If you need something special or a sizeable quantity of anything try calling them first to make sure they have what you require.

They are also justifiably well-known for their outstanding customer service as well.

I don't think a visit will disappoint. They haven't got to the position they hold (arguably among the top 3 of UK retailers) by poorly managing an empty shop!

Bodmin to Camborne is about 45 minutes by car. It's about the same by train as well but first you would need to get to Bodmin Parkway station. By road it is 35 miles around half of it on near-motorway standard trunk road and most of the rest on good single-lane A-road

From Bodmin head towards the A30 Bodmin by-pass (join at either Innis Downs via Lockengate or at Carminnow Cross south of Bodmin General station) and follow the A30 west to the "Camborne East / Tuckingmill / Tolvaddon" exit. Follow signs into Camborne by turning right at Tuckingmill and as you approach it might be easiest to park in Tesco's car park. Kernow MRC is in Trelowarren Street which is the main shopping street but is one-way against you and tricky to navigate into. Cross over to enter Trelowarren Street almost opposite Tesco's car park and the shop is a few yards down on the left hand side.

Is it worth it?

Since you are asking in a model railway forum : most definitely.

I am an infrequent contributor to this topic (though a regular reader) as my workmanship doesn't approach some shown here but following the vogue for monochrome images I though I'd add one of my own .....

The 3-arm semaphores - of which there are three on the layout - are very old Crescent items dating from around 1950-55 and were obtained at different times from eBay sellers. All have been restored with Humbrol paints and - where necessary - Ratio signal ladders.

The one shown above with the dmu passing it really needs a shunt disc beneath the right hand bracket to permit a move across the double-slip from up to down main as far as the Limit of Shunt board. The three arms are for the No.1 and No.2 up sidings (driver to inspect the points or follow shunters instructions until I can source a suitable route indicator!), Up Main and diagonally over the slip to the Ponsangwyn Wharf branch. The two arms at the up end of the down platforms (by the 08) are for moves from those platforms to the Ponsangwyn branch and both still require discs to be fitted for shunt moves back along the main line.

Would be good to see both of you here Peter. I can easily set up the "yellow van man" scene again as the skid marks are a permanent feature at the bottom of that hill now - black acrylic on a mix of black / white / grey / brown used for the bitumen. Any time in April is good - I just need enough notice to dust off the cobwebs (the joys of working outside!) and stand the little people up!

I was photographing some newly-acquired (pre-run) rolling stock, something I always do for record-keeping and insurance purposes, and among a number of pretty average images which will stay in the files I though this one may be of interest .....

Vegemite ..... gin

Who knows what's in the shed? That's our secret and not to be shared with the unbelievers. B)

After all if we were to mention that we had "A pair of dodgy choppers but all three tractors are good to go" we might get some odd looks

"Yellow Van Man" (no relation to the member of this forum going by the same name) has had a small run-in with the Law after failing to drive with due care and attention. This is a wider view of the scene currently displayed in the gallery.

Seasonal holidays have allowed good progress to be made with the back scenes as show by a Hymek leading a maroon rake out of Nansglaw Tunnel .....

..... and the pine forest scene next to the garden fence, which was saturated in a recent rainstorm, has been restored with new land formed and the trees also extended onto the back scene. This panel has a waterproof membrane fixed behind it to prevent further rainwater getting in.

I have used Rails intermittently over the past 6 or 7 years both for new and eBay-listed pre-run items. Each time I swear will be the last but after a lengthy interval I have so far returned on infrequent occasions.

My issues are not that there is anything wrong with their service but simply I can get better, and at slightly better prices, from other shops notably in Liverpool and Camborne. Rails stock system does seem to be a little wayward in terms of suggesting what is "In Stock" some of the time. To me "In Stock" means it is physically on the shelf and available for sale. Rails seems to have a more liberal interpretation and sometimes lists items which are yet to be released as "In Stock". Occasionally this can result in unexplained and extended delays in the receipt of something which might have been expected quite quickly.

Again I have no issue with Rails packing and shipping arrangements which have always been adequate though they choose to use signed-for international mail which protects their interests but inconveniences me quite significantly if I am not home when delivery is attempted; it can take an hour or more in the car on a day off to retrieve the item depending upon who has attempted to deliver it and where it has then gone.

It remains my personal preference therefore to use retailers whose stock system is truly live and which will show immediately if the last item I want has just been sold (someone has pressed "OK" seconds before me ) or if I am ordering more of an item than are in stock right now. In most cases these items will also arrive without requiring a signature and at a slightly lower cost to myself. On the other hand Rails has possibly the largest selection of pre-run items anywhere, usually only through their eBay store, and can be a valuable source of otherwise hard-to-find items such as that one coach needed to complete a rake.

Usual disclaimer - no commercial connection to any of the businesses discussed.

Twas the night before Christmas

And down at Penhayle

Not a creature was moving –

Not even a snail

The slugs and the spiders

Were all soundly sleeping

But through small plastic eyes

Tiny children were peeping

Out into the darkness

To check on the flight

Of a certain fat gent in

Red due here tonight.

The young and the old

All in anticipation

Had gathered to wait at

Their own little station

Peering through darkness and

Straining their eyes

To the distant horizon

And dark starry skies

When all of a sudden

Went up a great cheer:

“I can hear something coming –

I’m sure Santa’s here!â€

But instead of a sleigh

Pulled by Rudolph and crew

From inside the tunnel

A steam whistle blew.

Then from out of the gloom

And wreathed in white smoke

Came an unusual train

And a fat jolly bloke

Bringing gifts and good cheer

And best wishes to all;

He was driving a Castle

That looked like a Hall.

And along with the crowd

Gathered at Penhayle Bay

He wishes you all

A superb Christmas Day.

Now that's what I call a useful post. Basically every one of the class accounted for one way or another which will help all of us who run / will run these locos no end. Drinks and respect are due .....

D6333 ended its days in blue as shown; that's not green as it has a TOPS data panel and does not have a green era logo. How many green locos wore the barbed wire? A few 22's which were repainted very late had the later numeral font without the D. Earlier ones - in common with other classes - retained the D and used the same font as per maroon and green livery styles.

Looking at summer Saturdays in the 50s - 60's brings in another factor. Loadings.

While the weekday base timetable might be compiled around the crack expresses loading to 10 or 11 bogies - sometimes a few less to permit really fast point to point times and headline average speeds - the loads on summer Saturdays to holiday destinations could reach the maximum permitted 16. With up to 50% more trailing load on the hook compared with a weekday train a single engine would require a lot more time to complete the same journey, with slower acceleration and longer braking distances. Uphill the work would become pedestrian which also places a limit on line capacity while the weight of the train coming down with gravity assistance might require careful handling and skilled braking.

In steam days many such trains would have been double-headed and / or banked but this practice slowly died out through the diesel era. In Devon the heavier trains were 2xD800 (or 800+1000) but still crept over Dainton at nothing more than a brisk trot. West of Plymouth with the catering portion left behind the difference between 7 and 10 coaches was less significant but more time was still required compared with weekdays. An up Saturday morning train required to stop at Hayle for example might work very hard up the bank to Gwinear Road and drop time to Camborne; if it dropped too much it would lose its path across the bridge at Saltash and in more recent years through the Largin and Probus single line sections as well.

Long trains also had to "draw up", that is make two stops within certain stations to ensure all parts of the train had platform access; they were not always allowed time to do so which also played havoc with schedules at times. When steam (and early diesel) locos required to take on water the loco had to stop at the water crane no matter how much of the train was left off the back of the platform; in many cases a long train at a shorter platform would then draw up to permit passengers in the rear coaches to alight.

Now we seldom see anything longer than an HST or Pendolino and such is the nature of the modern railway that these can more or less be given the same timings between two points under any conditions. While that has increased line capacity it has removed a lot of the previous interest in matching locomotive power and driving skill to trains of very varied length and weight.

estimable ..... Penhayle Bay

Very generous Ian, thank you. Images linked from my sig. for anyone unfamiliar with the layout.

May I also add my best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to Llanbourne and "all who sail in her".

After extended poor health (which isn't behind me yet) I am really looking forward to another visit whenever possible to one of the star projects. By return you are equally welcome to drop into Penhayle Bay at some stage.

Similar to some of the images above but by way of showing the difference between batches of the Kernow slurry tanks and that ViTrains 37's aren't necessarily so bad here's a pic from today's operations.

Meanwhile around at Treheligan the back scene is located in its final position though requires final touches to the paint and detail.

Shame the loco is derailed

This is the "how realistic" thread Jim. Locos derail.

54 was one of the "Spare" headcodes kept aside by Central Division and South Western Division and usually only used on odd workings or specials (representing the full reporting number of 1Z54 in many cases). The meaning on the South Eastern Division is as posted above.

Thanks Mike.

I really haven't put a lot into the back scenes other than to stick with my overall philosophy of "Less being more - or as much as you need". The viaduct lies on a section of baseboard only 9" wide for the most part (though the viaduct scene itself is twice that width as it sits back into a doorway) yet within those 9" I have rolling hills, winding track and the start of the large cliff scene which then comes out onto a slightly wider section. That entire half of the layout is also just plain double-track with nothing more than a dummy emergency crossover and catch point for variety

It's easy IMO too try for too much without realising it.

Class 52 Western simmers in afternoon sun at Penhayle Bay.

In the last three days no less than six metres of back scene has been cut, painted, gone in, and had the ground cover matched up to it. Just for good measure most of these panels also have a waterproof membrane fitted to the back as they are fixed to the garden fence. This is a source of rain water ingress which has caused slight damage to parts of the layout in the recent very wet weather. Almost all of that water will now be fed harmlessly away down the back of the scenes to the ground.

A broad overview of one corner showing the new back scene panels in relation to the fence and surrounds.

A closer view of this corner showing the lane which leads from Ponsangwyn Yard beneath the main line then steeply uphill into the trees

Right away from Penhayle Bay as a Western catches some rays in front of the newly fitted back scene and completed vegetation around the signal box

And as the train runs through Penhayle Tunnel we catch a glimpse of the distant moors with another scene now completed.

Well Sir, where do I start?

High praise indeed for your modelling ability and the creation of some superb scenes along with the weathered rolling stock including buses.

Hornsey / AP / Northern Heights is an area I spent a good deal of time in during my university days and just after. As such I took a considerable interest in the history, development and undoing of the railways of the area. As a fictional location we have to make some assumptions and yours seem to blend comfortably with reality.

The Finsbury Park - Highgate link was used until around 1968 for the transfer of LT 1938 tube stock to and from the Moorgate (Northern City) line which were maintained at Highgate depot. Due to platform length restrictions on this GNR-built route only 6-car trains could be used where the main fleet was 7-car trains. The "surface" level station at Highgate (actually in a deep cutting) was fully equipped with LT roundel signage and was all set to open as a tube station but never did. To this day it is possible to make out the positions of those roundel signs on the brickwork. Trains would have run straight ahead through Highgate Tunnel to East Finchley. Instead the "tube" route was extended from Archway and emerges from twin tube bores one either side of the old alignment which is still clear. The final train through the tunnels and across the "flat" link was I believe a special to mark closure but that is the way the empties always ran.

Trains to Ally Pally would have turned right and taken the old course through Highgate Woods to Muswell Hill and Ally Pally as you have on your map but as noted above the gradient required from the deep bore at Archway prevented a direct link being made. Passengers would have interchanged at Highgate where the escalator shafts still exist but have never been used for that purpose.

In your 1970 timeframe you would require 1938 stock for the Northern Line; at the time all the 1959 stock was on the Piccadilly Line (along with 7 trains of 1938 stock to make up the full service requirement). It was not cascaded to the Northern until replaced by the 1973 tube stock.

A minor point also concerns one of your DMS buses which shows "10" in the rear number blind. The 10 does now serve that area but back in 1970 was a Victoria - Wanstead - Woodford Bridge route with peak extensions to Abridge. It ran nowhere near the Northern Heights. The 10 which now runs to Archway replaced the northern half of the 14 around 20 years ago when cross-London routes were being butchered in the run-up to privatisation of LBL. The DMS types appeared from Holloway garage on the 221 and 271 from around 1971 but the 14 remained RML-worked as was the replacement 10 until a few years ago.