Gedward

Then there were three.

Then there were three.

Then there were three.

Well the roofers have been and gone. Still lots to add to this once it's installed.

Well the roofers have been and gone. Still lots to add to this once it's installed.

Well the roofers have been and gone. Still lots to add to this once it's installed.

Well the roofers have been and gone. Still lots to add to this once it's installed.

Sorry I didn't make the connection after seeing the name Ian. I guess not enough coffee in the system yet. Although Bovey Tor is a freelance branchline, I so want to make it as 'believable' as possible. I spent ages researching various station buildings in the GW area. I particularly wanted an interesting building without a huge canopy covering the most interesting parts. And Crowcombe was just perfect for my purposes. Just as the Williton box is also. I love how it sits on the slope at the end of the platform, which is quite unique to me. When I spotted your book for sale at Warley, I was so pleased as this saved me so much more research and brick counting too.

Ian, that's very kind. I am using detailed drawings from the book 'The Minehead Branch 1848-1971 by Ian Coleby. If you have any others that would be very useful thank you.

Good spot. All the main buildings /structures are based on the Minehead branch. So the signal box is indeed based on Williton.

Well it's already a month since my first post. Meanwhile working on the roof slates for the signal box.

Wow! So that would be 1971, when I left school and started working at 16 years young.

Just trying to get hold of some roofers before it starts raining. Oh, too late.

Just trying to get hold of some roofers before it starts raining.

Absolutely, as kids we used to play around the basin and the many bomb sites. We used the canal at Little Venice to visit the London Zoo. And when designing the layout for Bovey Tor, top of the list was that it must include water.

More progress on the signal box. Now trying to get hold of some roofers before it rains.

Having been born and raised in Paddington, I guess gives me a pretty good excuse and reason to pursue my trip down the Great Western memory lane with this layout. We lived close to Westbourne Park and Royal Oak stations, the very busy approach to Paddington. And where I cut my teeth trainspotting with my Ian Allan book. Although by then, it was mainly Warships and Westerners doing heavy lifting. I was 8 in 1963, so have some fond memories of the steam era. We spent all of our summer holidays in Devon, travelling down to Brixham in the late 50s. Sun, sea, sand and steam. What’s not to love?

Congrats Bob, 100 pages is a milestone indeed. A time to look back and remember how it all began. What plans you had then and how they've materialised over that time. Keep up the great work. I'm currently on page 2 and wondering what my layout will look like if it ever gets that far.

Many thanks Peter and Jamiel. Am planning on a few more buildings for this layout. All the usual suspects. Coal office with nameplate, goods lock up, a couple of corrugated lamp rooms, a line side hut, a tiny cafe/kiosk etc. But right now work is progressing on the signal box, based on the Williton one. After much thought I decided not to do an interior for a bunch of reasons. Might be something I'll re-visit one day though. George

Getting a Flying Scotsman train set for Christmas was the seed. But my first real interest in the hobby was in the early 70s when I started working. Although I never got any further than buying the Railway Modeller back then. That and Meccano magazine. Not having the space or the funds to get started on a layout. But for me, it's always been about the modelling, rather than the railway. Of course I can't wait to see trains running on Bovey Tor. But I'm sure that I will lose interest once the modelling is done. And probably end up selling Bovey Tor, as I did with my 'N' gauge layout in 1995. BTW, that derelict barn on Little Muddle is amazing, as is the rest of the layout. And is exactly the sort of thing I aspire to build here. Lots of greenery, scenery and lots of trees and bushery. Oh and of course being Dartmoor, lashings of dry stone walls and moorland shrubs. But most of all details, details and more details. Cos that's where the devil lies.

Many thanks Mr Wolf. Starting out, I did a number of tests using various styrene brick sheets which worked OK. But I was struggling to conceal the corners even though I'd mitred them all. And then I watched a couple of Pendon videos and decided to try that method instead.

Dedication plus a lot of blood, sweat and some tears. Reminds me of that song, Rip it up and start again. Been there done that.

More progress on the signal box brick courses. Glazing and doors to follow.

Many thanks. I probably spent about six weeks overall on this. As I didn't just want to set Bovey Tor in a particular era. But also paying attention to the season and weather too. So I first spent countless hours searching image banks. Looking for the right kind of stormy sky and the right kind of terrain, as I am modelling the Dartmoor area. I ended up purchasing two images, one for the sky and one for the terrain. I then knitted them together in Photoshop. And drew a grid over the entire image. Then with the image on my computer, used this as a reference to paint the scene. Grid by grid, hope this makes sense.

BTW, I've under exposed this image to show the scribed brick courses. It is actually white card.