dougidle

It put a smile on my face James - thanks for sharing. I love pictures of your railway and often come back to the thread for inspiration. My own garden railway has ground to a halt for now but yours reminds me of what it could be in time. Thanks for sharing again and stay safe, Doug

Day 2 The model looks broadly the same as it did yesterday but I have actually done quite a bit. The obvious difference is that the outside frames for the read wheels are now fitted. I've also constructed the front and and rear horn block assemblies. I wasn't able to fit the 2 main pairs as I've got no oil to prevent the bearing getting gummed up when I solder them in place. I've ordered some so fingers crossed I'll be able to carry on next weekend. I also laminated the coupling rods and bore out the holes to fit the crank pins. Next weekend I hope to get the horn blocks fitted if my oil arrives and then make a start on the inside motion and detailing. Cheers, Doug

Day 1 Today I decided that I've put off starting the chassis for long enough and made a start. The instructions are nice and clear and it was actually quite straightforward to put together - so far at least. I was worried about assembling the springs as I've struggled before to laminate brass but this went together well. The rest was simple enough with care and patience. The mid-spacer gave me a bit of grief getting it straight across all three planes (and I'm still not sure it's 100% accurate). Although - now that I see the photo the soldering looks a bit messy. Less solder in the future I think! Cheers, Doug

Thanks so much Chris. I'll look to use the platforms myself. Cheers, Doug

Hi Chris, I've been following your build for a few weeks now and was curious where the platform kit has come from? Apologies if it's an obvious major brand, I'm a fairly new returnee to the hobby. Many Thanks and love the layout, Doug

Thanks Lez, thanks for the kind comment. Yes, once I’ve got them all done I’m planning on trying out some weathering on them.

I completed 3 wagons yesterday evening - a Mink C, Mink A and Open. I've another pair of the Opens to do and once they're all done I'll add some loads. I struggled to get the sprung buffers to work and in the end just glued them in place. The transfers I had were a bit big for the Mink C so I had to improvise a bit too. In hindsight, I rushed building them all and they're all flawed so the learning is to slow down next time and be patient. Next up are the other pair of Opens, a Starfish and another Mink A. I've also got my 48xx chassis kit to make a start on. Cheers, Doug

After about a year of thinking and pondering I have taken the plunge and decided to build a model of West Bay at the end of the Bridport line in EM. I've already built some baseboards, reheeled some RTR wagons, built some wagon kits and made some flexi track. What I need now is a loco. I decided on a 48xx and got myself an old Hornby body from eBay (minus a chimney). After looking at a couple of chassis kits I decided on the High Level kit with Alan Gibson wheels and pickups. All the parts are now ready to go (crank pins not shown as I forgot to order them and received them later on). Once the chassis is completed I plan to use the 14xx detailing kit and repaint the loco as 4803 with "GREAT WESTERN" lettering rather than "GWR". She was a regular on the nearby Abbotsbury branch and was recorded at Bridport in 1936 (The Bridport Railway p151) most likely on a Sunday. She was a Weymouth engine and was there for quite a while I believe. I've made a few O gauge wagons out of brass (and have one of the new Dapol 48xx models numbered as 4803) but this will be my first chassis kit. I thought it might be interesting to record how I go so maybe others won't make the same mistakes. Cheers, Doug

A quick update - I've done a bit of work on the sector plate and got it working. It's a bit stiff at the moment so I'll give it a sanding down when I get a chance and add some latches to make it easier to line up. I'll have enough space to add a third line on the other side of the central one but that's it. I also got some wagons painted up and managed to get a 6 wheel brake van from eBay. There was one allocated to the branch because of the steep gradients from Maiden Newton down to Bridport. I'll be renumbering it at some point in the future as well as reallocating the 4 wheeler to Weymouth.

Thanks Tim. I managed to get a copy of the February '96 issue of Railway Modeller which has a nice scale drawing of the station building at West Bay as well as long article detailing construction of a model in 7mm scale. I'm a long way off building a station at the moment!

From what I’ve worked out, traffic on the branch would have been. Cords and nets manufactured in Bridport Oil for the Anglo-American depot in Bridport Cattle Meat Coal Some seasonal watercress traffic Some of this would have been specific to Bridport and traffics from West Bay itself would have been mostly shingle from the beaches and cattle. Cheers, Doug

I’m looking forward to making a start on it. I’ve done a lot of O gauge brass wagons so while this is a step up I think I can manage it. Yes, you’re right. A lot of the photos show lots of open wagons.... I juts got a bit carried away with buying wagon kits on eBay! As much as I love GWR wagons you can rest assured that other companies wagons will be making an appearance once I’ve settled down. Today I printed off the slightly compressed layout and laid it out on the boards.... I think I’m happy with it now. excuse the rather dodgy panoramic shot! Here’s another, viewed from the sector plate. Cheers, Doug

Just over a month later and I've made some progress. I've compressed the track plan slightly to get it to fit in the shed and today I had the day off work and spent it making baseboards. The scenic area of the layout will be 8 feet with a 3 foot sector plate. I need to get another piece of plywood to finish off the top. I've built up a few more wagons - a Mink C, Mink A and Open A (I think). And got all the parts I need to make a running chassis for the 48xx body I bought last month (crankpins aren't shown - I forgot them and had to do a second order). The goals for the rest of March are: Add the 3rd baseboard top and lay enough track that I can move wagons from one traverser track to another Complete the 3 wagons Have a running (unpainted) chassis for 4803

Hi! I found your layout through the links on the EM gauge society which I've just joined. One of the best things about returning to this hobby is being able to watch beautiful layouts like yours take shape without having to watch in real time. I've read through the whole thread in my lunch hour and am ready to go home and start modelling. Your model is exceptional, especially the back scene. Cheers, Doug

Hi, I did a quick search on this topic but stopped going through the results after 2 pages so apologies if this has been asked before. Has anyone converted the Kernow 1361 to EM and would be prepared to share the experience? I’m looking to make my first foray into the gauge and looking for a GWR tank loco to convert. I really like the look of this loco and it would be fun to run on a small shunting layout while I build something bigger. Thanks, Doug

Hi all, I’m looking for one of these in as close to new condition as I can get. Please let me know if you have one that you’re willing to part with. Many Thanks, Doug

Thanks Maico - I hadn’t seen those before. I did toy with the idea of modelling Toller or Powerstock to save a bit of space but I’d have ended up with using the same amount in the end with a second fiddle yard. Cheers, Doug

Thanks Scott - by a strange coincidence, I've just spent the last hour reading all 19 pages of your Castle Down thread. That's a great looking layout you've got. Yes, that page is where I started after my google of "GWR Dorset branch line" and pretty soon after I got Gerry Beales "The Bridport Branch", Jackson and Tattershalls book of the same name and (for good measure) Brian Jacksons "Abbotsbury Branch" so there's quite a lot of decent photos of the station. The fact that it's still there helps too!

So... this is the first post in what I hope will be in a series documenting my proposed EM gauge model of West Bay. When I returned to modeling about 18 months ago I wanted to model a Dorset GWR line and discovered West Bay where may years ago I'd been on a camp with the cubs. Unfortunately I quickly realised that an O Gauge model of the station would be far too big for me to construct so instead I built an oval in the garden. Just before Christmas I thought about West Bay again and after paying a visit while staying with my parents over Christmas I decided to build a model in one of the smaller scales. I discounted N Gauge and settled on EM as I preferred the look of the track to OO. Here's my proposed track plan. I plan to build it across 3 4x2 boards with a 4th 4x2 which will house either a sector plate or a traverser. I drew up some track plans that squashed it into a smaller space but didn't really capture the spaciousness of the real place. I'm probably going to model the station as if it had stayed open until after WW2 which should allow me to run both of my favourite tank engines - 57xx and all 48xx locos although I wouldn't be surprised if other types make the odd appearance too. So far, the model is at a very early stage.... I've got 3.5 wagons, half a loco and 1.5 meters of track! Here's a quick photo of the 3 completed wagons. From left to right they're a Ratio Macaw, Bachmann 5-plank and Oxford Toad. All of the wagons have Alan Gibson wheels and bearings. After building O Gauge brass kits for the last year I was disappointed with the quality of the Ratio wagon but after some fiddling it's come up nicely. I plan to renumber the Toad as a Weymouth van and am on the look out for a 6 wheel version that I can renumber as the Bridport van. I know Oxford do the later style already lettered for Bridport but I like the earlier style better. The remaining half a wagon is a Cooper Craft Mink A that is awaiting wheels, transfers and buffers. The half a loco is a Hornby 14xx body (without chimney) to which I plan to add a High Level chassis and Markits wheels. Once I have a running loco I'll think about building some baseboards and putting some track down. Before I get to that stage I'm sure I'll end up with some more wagons to share though! Comments, constructive criticism and encouragement are very much appreciated. Cheers, Doug

Thanks both for your responses. I hadn’t seen the motors page on the High Level site (or realised that they sold them too!) so I will contact Chris and see what he says. Thanks for helping me out with the wheels too. I couldn’t actually find 4844 plain in Alans catalogue but I will contact him and see if he can help me out. Thanks again, Doug

Hi All, After a break for a while I've been experimenting with a bit of EM gauge and built a couple of wagons which I'm about to rewheel. It would be nice to have a loco to pull them and I thought I'd get an old 14xx body and build one of the high level kits chassis to go with it. I've built a few 7mm wagons and I'm fairly happy with the soldering. I do have some questions though that I was hoping someone could answer. The kit instructions say to use Mashima 10/12 or 1424. Is anyone able to explain what the difference is with these please? Is it size or will one give better/smoother running than the others? A quick google suggests that Mashima motors are hard to get hold of now - are there any alternatives please? Secondly, the instructions suggest Alan Gibson wheels and pickups. I can find the driving wheels (4862E) in his catalogue but not the trailing wheels (G4844). It looks like there are several versions of this code available. Which is the correct one please? I've got a tired old body from ebay which I plan to detail and then attach to the chassis. Thanks for your help, Doug

I bought a copy of this on Amazon a couple of weeks ago and it’s excellent. It’s full of pictures, advice on planting, plants and photos.

I took advantage of the nice weather today to run some trains. Here’s the full train so far: I’ve got a Connoisseur Loriot and Parkside fruit van under construction. The Loriot is paused while I acquire a temperature controlled soldering iron and the fruit van is waiting on a compensation unit.

Hi All, I recently got back into model railways and decided that after trying N and OO I’d give O a try. My first thought was that being a Dorset lad I’d build a model of West Bay on the Bridport branch but after my track diagram exceeded 24 feet I had a bit of a rethink and convinced my wife to let me build something in the garden. To that end, I’ve started a loop of track - just about 30 feet at the moment. My plan is to leave this L shape over the winter to see how it ages and then complete the loop in the spring. This then gives me the rest of 2019 to tidy up the garden. The short video shows what I have so far. Next up is my first etched brass kit and hopefully a couple more over the cold months. This is my first attempt at any kind of outside layout and my concreting skills leave a bit to be desired. Getting the stuff to lie flat is a real pain! If anyone has any advice on that or ballasting it would be much appreciated. Cheers, Doug