PayntersDocks

Standard 5 73082 ‘Camelot’ at rest in road 2 at Tinley Rose Sidings. Q1 33001 is sat on road 1 with the local goods train marshalled in road 3 furthest from the camera

A long way from their original stomping ground, Ex L&Y ‘Pug’ 51212 and crew visit Tinley Rose Sidings before the long and slow trip back up to Bristol Barrow Road Shed

The lads from the goods yard race into town to pick up some sticky buns for lunch! The farmer chugs away on the Fergie having fixed his fences as Daisy, Buttercup and friends chew the cud

A Bridge too Far? Finally got round to adding the floating half bridge! hopefully you all can see what I’m aiming for! A busy afternoon with the Goods train departing while the Auto train waits in road 1 and the Railcar ticks over in road 2 Meanwhile the farmer has finished fixing the fence so his cows can’t escape! And a couple of the chaps from the goods yard are driving into town to pick up a sweet treat from the bakers!

Backscenes and Such As the nights grow darker some time was spent adding a frame and a backscene. Progressing slowly on! Need to start detailing and weathering locos, ‘151 is looking a bit too clean for a hardworking mixed traffic loco! The loading dock is nearly done, just need to paint it and weather the crane.

The mixed goods awaiting pick up in the main road at Tinley Rose Sidings The brake van is ready, just waiting for the guard

Barely have time for the real layout! and thats barely 5' x 2'!

Now there's an idea for a thread! 1 mile long London Victoria To Brighton Mainline in about 1950 anyone?

Signalling Situation cont. My thoughts are as follows. Is a ground signal and a "route indicator" sufficient at a to cover the entirety of the yard? I volunteer at the Bluebell Railway and this appears to be their arrangement for the carriage shed and engine shed at Sheffield Park either side of the running line. This then means that signals at b and c are not required. Manouvering past d towards the rest of the world requires reversal onto the main line against the usual flow of traffic, what sort of signalling was required for the entry / exit of goods yards and sidings in the 60's. I have read that ground signals can be used, would there be a pair, one for entry and one for exit and is d a good location for them, or would a stop semaphore for exit and an off scene branch and main semaphore have been more likely?

Signalling Situation Here is a diagram of the layout with a few points where I would like to add appropriate signals, as to what would have been common practice in the early 60s and operated from a ground frame / off scene signal box where required. GF is a 4 lever ground frame Road 1 is the main road which runs next to the island platform. Road 2 is the road with the loading dock and goods crane Road 3 is a road which is just a siding Track with a red line through is not on the layout, just added for ease of explanation. a,b,c,d are locations where I think a signal of some form should go but I am not sure what. Here is my thinking so far a should indicate which way its point is set, either into road 1 or towards roads 2 and 3 maybe a ground signal and an indicator as to which road? b should indicate which way the point is set either into road 2 or 3 c may be required to indicate that the point is set into road 3 if an indicator is in place at a then would this and a ground signal be all that is required? d is a signal for movements off scene towards the rest of the world.

Goods and Ephemera Some more updates including a loading platform with goods crane and an extended barrow crossing. Weathering of rolling stock Addition of common trackside detritus as seen at my local heritage line.

Wiring and Rolling Apologies for the lack of updates due to 1:1 life. Finally had some spare time over the Easter weekend and added a number of power droppers to increase reliability of running (old set track problems). Rolling Stock continues to increase in number and variety thanks to various bargains off the Bay and second hand shopping. Have started to add in more railway infrastructure, this ground frame and relay box came from a job lot from a friend. The platform needs more work still but it’s nice to be able to run trains without needing to ‘hand of god’ every few minutes.

Blackmoor Vale simmering in the morning sun, realistic if you squint! And ignore the edge of the baseboard...

Much happening in the 1:1 world so apologies for the absence! A few progress pictures. Sanded the DAS prior to painting. Painted the platform an appropriate shade of greyish, fitted metcalfe paving slabs as platform edge. Blackmoor Vale simmering in the morning sun, need to find some ground covering for around the track, thinking a light sprinkle of static grass, and a bit of railway debris. New gate and extended fencing for the cows field. An overhead view of the layout as it is currently.

Now filled in the platform with a skin of DAS, will probably paint the platform sides with acrylic paint and the top of the platform will use metcalfe paving slabs as platform edging

Brief update: I was unhappy with the platform, the card structure was too flimsy so instead I created an infill with strips of softwood and have begun covering them with layers of DAS clay. I will use the paving stone edging as I think it looks ok but am in two minds about either painting the das or using the brick paper. I also need to work on the half footbridge once the platform is finished

FIDDLEYARD THOUGHTS Now that the scenery is coming together, thoughts now move to a fiddle yard so I can actually run some trains through the scenery! Will be a separate board for ease of storage and transport but I'm torn between: A single line fiddle stick c 2ft long A full fiddle yard basically mirroring the layout Other (answers on a postcard) I'm thinking a full fiddle yard would be the most useful for exhibitions or multi engine running if I want to represent a full days running.

Some slow progress pictures... The BR standard 5 with a short rake of Mk1s including a GUV, all need weathering and detailing. A few drunk trees have sprouted on the bank at the back of the layout, need to add some more. The platform is also slowly coming together. It’s short length is highlighted here, however, as it is a halt and only used by short stopping local services such as the Autotrain and ex GWR railcars it’s large enough.

Here is my offering, needs work!

More work on the backscene, may well add a light grey wash to suggest haze or depth? The platform sides have been glued and pinned onto the platform piers, and I have started to blend in the buffer stops. I have also added scatter on the field to make it less uniform and am thinking some trees and telegraph poles on the bank at the back will help too. Need to decide on what couplings to get, the tension locks just really are off putting! I’m thinking Kadees for the remote uncoupling etc. I also need to order a nameplate for the new engine but it’s getting there!

BACKSCENE AND BUFFERS Painted up a backscene in sky blue, more detailing, clouds and hills to add! Will work out a better way to fix it onto the lay out, probably push pins or brass tacks with painted heads. The buffer stops have been planted in a bed of DAS, which will be blended in when dry. A new loco has arrived, will be detailed and weathered soon! About to do some work on the platform sides with a cup of tea!

Indeed, both were built as ambulance coaches, however, by using a pullman as my launching point, both the roof profile and the doors at the brake end are already correct. I also fancy a bit of a challenge and an interesting piece of rolling stock that I have ridden in feels like a good prototype. MUCH PLANNING STILL TO DO

I am still thinking that making one myself will be a fun challenge, the Southern Rail Email Group is a bit of a treasure trove that I have found this morning, lots of photos of both the prototype and model forms, so I think some measuring and rivet counting may well be in order! https://sremg.org.uk/coach/coupe/coupe_se14.pdf

Thank you! I'm coming back into the hobby after a long break, and when I was a kid I was happy with my triang relics and a tender drive A4! Rule 1 very much applied! So am a bit out the loop on catalogue numbers and the like to say the least! Will have a look around for those Jason

I have a few of them now! They look fantastic, and as my planned layout is a posh seaside resort, something like a shortened Ilfracombe portion of the Devon Belle, a 6 coach + observation car would be nice, but not for almost as much as I've spent on the rest of my stock!