Gwiwer

And an amply-proportioned balding gent to represent Doc Martin if you go with Port Wenn - sorry - Port Isaac

The new Bachmann "Warship"s have arrived down under. Lovely locos with some improvements over the previous iterations of the type. Sure they can be faulted but I got the pair for under £75 (cheaper than one Bachmann loco in many cases) so I'm certainly not complaining! They also look perfectly fine alongside or coupled in pairs with the older versions in the fleet which date back to Mainline days.

Wot they sed! Thanks for a most enjoyable session and it was great to finally see Llanbourne in the flesh. Photos on a screen simply don't do the detail justice. Cabling, single bricks lying where they fell, point rodding and a veritable forest of semaphores. And things seemed to work when on display in a break from tradition - more than can be said for 66511 at Penhayle Bay when the Blackburn mob dropped in briefly on the way home!

I haven't had to alter the wagons. They made slight contact with the platform copings at a couple of spots and the coping has been trimmed back by a single millimetre. This also allows the Bachmann 08 shunters to pass the same spot without the con-rods striking at the same places, and permits the various Turbostar units to run through the platfrrms without the doorstep scraping along the platform edge. Despite the acknowledged matter of the Dapol ladders it could be argued that it was actually my platforms which were out of gauge

Not picky at all Dave and both accurate and fair comment. When the couple (background, to the left of the sail) have finished what ever it is they're up to I'm sure one of them will have it back out on the water. B)

Again many thanks for your generous feedback. The sea itself - and the river flowing into it - are at this stage simply painted straight onto the baseboard. I used a mix of proprietary emulsion test pots from the local hardware warehouse which gave me a selection of blues, greens and browns. The paints were applied individually and roughly brushed together while wet to achieve the blend you see in the pictures. Holding the brush vertically and twirling it in the wet paint created some of the swirly effects. The "surf" is done using white paint I used Humbrol white matt straight from the tin and on a fairly large stipple brush. Drawing the brush in a straight line along the sand gives a straight line effect so to avoid that I used something between feathering and stippling as a technique to get a line uneven in width and density. The rocks around the base of the cliff and the river mouth are chippings I found at a bonsai plant shop and are glued using a fast-grab clear craft glue. The blue of the sea was intentionally taken just onto the line of glue and the very lowest edge of the rocks and when dry the white Humbrol simply stippled onto each rock in turn to give the irregular look. The sand is a very fine beach sand found locally, mixed to a very stiff paste with 50:50 PVA and water before application and sculpting on the layout. Once I was satisfied with the effect I then used a fine sieve (an old kitchen strainer) to sprinkle dry sand on top of the damp tacky mix. This leaves the surface looking like dry sand and with a very light brush with a soft 1" paintbrush (and I mean very light) it is again possible to create an unevenness within it. Remember there are no straight lines on a beach. Not a ruler in sight - this was all done "in the rough" as it were with no intent to create a precise scene. Rather it has given the overall impression of a typical Cornish surf beach as found at places such as Hayle, Sennen, Newquay and others. I'll attach some more images of the coastline which might help to illustrate the techniques I have described.

I believe it is Kernow's normal policy to mail orders in date order starting with the first received. That seems fair enough. They are always as quick as possible so won't take very long getting these out. It's a downside to the business with any retailer (perhaps with the exception of the Liverpool one who clearly indicate that they have dedicated picking and packing staff) that a busy day in the shop can mean more money in the till but potentially less time to mail out orders. Kernow might be regarded as one of the top players these days but they don't have anywhere near the staff resources of Hattons, for example. Just a small point - are the add-on pipes also weathered on the Kernow ones? If not they will look out of place until "done". It's perfectly possible to fit the pipes to these wagons while retaining full use of the supplied couplers which is a nice touch. A real feather in Dapol's cap with these wagons. Dave was in here saying they wanted them to represent a "step change" in their OO product quality; they have achieved that and more. I've had to shave up to 1mm off a couple of platform edges to accommodate the ladders but you wouldn't know the difference. One spot was also "banned" to Bachmann 08's as well because the rods fouled the coping so that restriction can also be lifted now. I'll have to be very selective with the more recent wagons when they come out. I like the look of them but might simply not have space for them all. I'm supposed to be running "hoods" after all and the Kernow "flat tarps" are not far away. There's 15 (5 packs) of those on order as well!

It might be a typo but the abbreviated term is "pans". I'm reminded of certain dress styles once seen (and not uncommonly in the heyday of Woodhead) where trousers with very high waistbands were worn with braces. A style sometimes referred to as "Harry high-pants" where I live. I would agree with the reasoning behind having overhead wiring at the maximum height through stations, yards and depots in steam days. It would indeed be to ensure the safety of staff. At the time Woodhead was electrified the majority of all traction was steam and various staff members were required to clamber about loco and tender in the course of their duties and normal train working. The same may be seen in images of SR classes (the locos sometimes referred to as class 70 and the later class 71) on the overhead. Images of Hither Green yard show the electrified sidings to have the wiring at the maximum and pans raised accordingly. There is also a published image of an SR electric, which were of not dissimilar design and vintage to the 76's and 77's, in the one-time siding at Balcombe with the contact wire similarly high.

Not all for sure - that might have been one of 3 or 4 which did. Indeed only one station at Glossop but I too recall seeing the "Central" destination. Back in the 70's when many places still had multiple stations or at least some sort of suffix it seemed perfectly normal .....

Might have to update that. There's been an uncommon amount of real water falling here in recent weeks but the railway was built to a fine tolerance and hasn't been affected other than by the damp air. The opening window clears the rails by 1mm and the beach scene (and several other spots) are clear of the normal rain drips by the same amount. That's called maximum use of available space! As a 1957 model I well remember hopping on the number 9 bus (as it then was, it's now the 6) at Newlyn Bridge and watching trains at Penzance until long after I should have been home. Most stock was maroon in the mid sixties with just a very occasional blue loco / blue-grey vehicle. Most locos were maroon or green or just plain dirty. I'm with you all the way on the manual operations as my own frame illustrates. 56 levers and not a push-button in sight!

Very pleased to see the layout on here Craig including a good selection of images from construction to present day. When running the BR "blue" era let's not forget that most items of rolling stock which wore that livery also wore at least one earlier and / or later livery meaning we can include mixed-livery formations quite legitimately. How many times have you seen a mixed-livery HST set? There have been many years of changeovers. So I don't think the blue era is at all flat. There is scope to mix b/g and all-blue vans with a maroon or green loco, or indeed with a sector-livery one. I will often pair my WR hydraulics with one blue and one maroon. You will know yourself of the colourful assortment of vans which used to trundle down through Cornwall around lunchtime until the mid 90's. A busy station deserves the busy look and that you have captured. I like the idea of "notebooks out" on shed as well. So very true of many of us in our younger days and some still at more advanced ages!

I suspect with the Kernow wagons they may be waiting for their customer to show them on the store website first, though as they are sold out on pre-orders that may not happen. Perhaps modesty is the better part of Dapol's discretion .

Ash permitting I must say I'm looking forward to these arriving particularly having seen Dapol's statement about "individual weathering". To have such models offered with quality weathering is an uncommon treat; to have them potentially not all looking identical as well is superb.

Cracking shots Peter! The top one nicely illustrates one of the rather curious Victorian signal aspects. Most "traffic lights" display two aspects and unless both are red they can be passed at the appropriate speed! Full details given here:- http://www.vicsig.net/index.php?page=infrastructure&section=signalling I have to admit after almost 13 years here I still find it odd that you can pass a red aspect. Dual gauge track on the right hand side of the second shot as well. It's not that uncommon here.

Yes Not one of the biggest issues I have had to deal with (and the Heljan Cargowaggons also fouled with their step amidships, as did the Turbostar doorsteps, all at different spots) but irritating. Some shaving is required to the platform edging; luckily this is only card and the only strike is on areas of overhang and not the vertical brick facing.

Hi Peter - if you are referring to the road bridge (seen in the last set with the "Merlin" HST beneath it) then that is an almost out-of-the-box Skaledale item. The only things I have done to it are to stick Metcalfe "Tarmacadam" sheet for the road surface, added a bit of Woodland Scenics for the vegetation and dropped a few sprinkles of the "Fine turf" onto lightly-PVA'd surfaces to represent a bit of moss growth on the vertical faces. You can just make out a small patch of dark green on the short upwards-facing part of the string course just below the arch coping stones. There's more growing along the top of the string course above the arch as well - it's easier to see it on the far side of the arch.

Handy diagrams which may prove useful to this numbskull in the electrickery department. If one of those points were to be used at the entrance to three shed / yard roads worked by "one engine in steam" then presumably no switching is necessary since all three roads would be dead-ends and only a single locomotive would be shunting there. Correct? I have one of the asymmetric points firmly in mind for my next project which will be much smaller than the current one!

The need to test the line in sun today also produced a crop of photos. Nothing special - just a few images of trains at work ..... 1. The up mails crosses the down sleeper near the stone circle 2. Tractor power! 37207 comes under Church Lane bridge with some sun glow behind. The other track has been referred to the PW gang 3. Down main passenger and down branch dmu head off side by side from Treheligan as the up local approaches formed of a class 101 triple 4. A grubby gronk with ballast hoppers in tow rumbles towards the tunnel which will take it into the fiddle yard and a 153 unit in black promotional livery emerges at just the right moment! The gorse is in full flower in the cutting. 5. General view up the road at Treheligan station. Typical of Cornwall this is a medium-sized junction station in the middle of not a lot! The local bus company have at least managed to maintain the connection with the train which they also operate though the cows seem untroubled by any of the activity.

And you won't get much better than the Hunter Valley for variety and traffic density in one place in Australia.

Hi Craig. Thanks for your comments. The sand is, oddly enough, sand B) It's a very fine, almost powdery, beach sand which is also sifted through an old tea-strainer to catch any larger grains and bits of shell. It is then mixed with diluted PVA (about 1:2 rather than 1:1 used for ballasting) and thoroughly mixed until it forms a very stiff paste. It is then applied a small patch at a time and lightly pressed into position on the plasterwork. I then used the strainer to shake a light coating of dry sand on to the flat beach so that it doesn't look like a glued mass. The features in the sand such as the "sand-slide" and one or two other shapes typically found in the towans are very simply moulded with fingers while the sand mix is still moist. Any lumps and blobs can be swept up and tossed where you want them to look like fallen sections of the cliff just as you would find anywhere around the Bluff.

I can't recall any incident where a fire occurred in or on a Mk3 coach in service other than cases where there has been a collision as well such as Ladbroke Grove. Perhaps not prototypical for Mk3 but it did very occasionally happen with Mk1 stock, sometimes the result of arson on football specials. It also occurred on rare occasions as a result of faults on earlier stock. I well remember a 2BIL unit (2050 or 2052 comes to mind?) freshly outshopped in BR blue and dumped in the siding at Ford following a fire though this may have been confined to the greasy bits; you mention your preference for an interior fire. I see no reason why you should not model a "might have been" since many of us do that all the time. If it was carefully done it could look rather dramatic and certainly effective.

Summer has passed into a wintery autumn here. It's a lot cooler and the evenings are dark. There is less time to enjoy the railway and work in daylight. But that doesn't stop trains running nor does it stop me getting on with small details. I am installing walkway and farm crossings using a mix of fine ballasts and check-railed with some Code 75 obtained for the purpose. I am also using dilute acrylic to add oil stains to the track at suitable locations. Oil-staining applied to the track through Penhayle Bay; slightly more on the down track where a dmu would stop and some in front of the loco on the up though there is more out of shot as the starting signal here is a couple of coach-lengths beyond the platform end And at Treheligan where almost everything will stop in front of the signals Finally one of the farm crossings now constructed is seen in poor light and with the silver bullet rake having just passed by.

I'm a fair way off in time and distance so the memory might be a little askew now. Wasn't it 1971 when the passenger service was withdrawn? Freight lasted several years longer which is why passenger diversions were possible for several years after cessation of the regular service. It was one of those which provided my unexpected final trip over the route. Although there was a lot of wagon load freight still on the railways and a respectable amount of coal shifted over Woodhead the days of the SWB wagon as a whole and rail-served collieries in the area more specifically were already numbered and the City of Steel was witnessing a contraction in its famed industry. I'm not sure how much the air-brake conversion of some of the 76's and some of the wagons was intended to keep them running for a long term future and how much it was just money blindly spent because there was a national program of conversion underway anyway. National politics of the mid-70's will not have helped with miners strikes, rail strikes, power workers out as well and the nation on a 3-day week. Traffic was lost to rail never to return. Coal mining has arguably never recovered; it took the railways a long time to shake off their tarnished image as well.

That sounds about right. Desolation, isolation and fogged windows ..... Given that of the four major trans-Pennine routes only two were at all duplicated (Woodhead and Hope Valley both gave direct Sheffield - Manchester links) then it was one of these which would have been the first candidate for closure back in the 70's when traffic was falling and investment money just wasn't there. There was little justification for retaining the Hadfield - Penistone section based on traffic generated when freight was already in what seemed then to be a terminal decline. The lightly-loaded passenger trains have already been referred to. Intermediate stations on the Hope Valley don't generate that much traffic but the route was thought to be a better option for the future with somewhat easier gradients. It also released the Sheffield Victoria site for development and removed the ongoing need to maintain a fleet of middle-aged locos and Reddish depot. These were all costs which were though of as superfluous at the time and expendable. The cost of building a new tunnel as recently as 1952 for barely 20 years use would have been seen as legitimate investment in those early BR days with then-new electrification and a "brave new World". We cannot predict what technological change might occur over 20 years nor what changes there might be to traffic patterns. Had the BR Board the benefit of 30 years-worth of foresight and the funds to support four money-losing T-P routes back in the day then Woodhead might still be with us and now taking its share of the task. It may yet return if rail's fortunes continue to grow and the other routes can no longer meet traffic requirements. But it would not do so on the basis of a viable business case just to serve local communities along the way. A major link has gone but few people have been left without a rail service of any sort in consequence; most of the intermediate stations had closed long before the route itself.

And we complain about the difference between HO, OO, P4 and such .......... Agreed - a good set of pics David and among them such contrasts as the the "bulldogs" in Goulburn, one a beauty and the other looking like a wreck. Also, for those who know the highest point on the British main line network, a remarkable contrast with the high point of the Sydney - Melbourne route in what seems to be rolling lowland countryside yet is almost at the same altitude as mountainous Druimuachdar. That also shows just how flat Australia isn't despite the oft-held vision of a vast flat land.