The Fatadder

The templot plan shown in post 39 has been fitted onto baseboards in CAD with a max length of 4710mm and a max width of 2440mm. The length is slightly more of an issue than the width (where there is an extra inch or two to play with), but the length is about 150mm longer than the support structure (which was based around a theoretical clearance for the garage door. The centre of the Exeter end curve is removable, and the worst case scenario is that it has to be put away when I finish operating. but my hope is that I can squeeze in the extra 150mm without obstructing the door mechanism. Either way, this is a real limitation on the scenic potential past the bridge at the Exeter end, and most of the trackwork past this point is more intended to provide operational interest than to be correctly modelled. Likewise while it will be ballasted and have as much of the retaining walls / banks as I can fit, this is more to provide a good back drop to photos taken towards the bridge.

The past few days I have been busy drawing up the goods shed for Brent. Above all other buildings this is the only one which has a material impact upon the track plan, given the need to ensure sufficient clearance between the run-around loop and the shed loop. Once I am able to spread out the templot file I will know for certain... The drawing has been created from a couple of sources, the start point was Google Street View which very helpfully has driven right down the side of the shed. From this it was possible to work out the key dimensions by scaling bricks, with a measurement from Google Earth as a sanity check (it came within a few inches!) However the roof, ends, side door and office have all significantly changed. So for these it was a combination of some quite grainy photos and photos of the rather excellent buildings by "Gravy Train" for Brent Plus. So 2 evenings work has got to the attached, there is one major issue outstanding. I cant work out how the side door originally looked, I think that the arch is original (though I cant understand why the engineers blue bricks continue 4 courses above the arch.) I can see where the beams supporting the canopy were chopped off. but I have no idea what the 3 large stone blocks were for, nor how the doors attached. (extract from Google Street View used under their fair use policy) The below PDF are all extracted from AutoCAD, and should be true to 4mm scale if you print 100% full size no scaling. More than happy to share the source DXF files with anyone interested. I would like to hear any issues so that I can resolve before I start building! goods shed-1mk2.pdf Exeter End goods shed 4 mk2.pdf Plymouth End goods shed5.pdf Yard side / Office sides goods shed3.pdf Floor plan goods shed2.pdf Station side

Seen any photos of a one off auto working to kingsbridge.... Model certainly does look very nice

Rob, are you planning a goods shed upgrade at some point? You are welcome to a copy of my efforts at a drawing if it's any use. Will try and post it up here tonight for feedback.

My preference is for old stock romfords as they are easier to use due to the large size and come ready made. The problem is that new production (last 10 years at least) are a lot less flexible and in my mind don't work as well.

How are you planning to build the footbridge? Maybe in 4 or 5 years I will have built my own! Must say I am dreading the footbridge even more than the east bridge

Perfect thanks, Now to get it built!

Having been inspired by your baseboard construction technique, I have a quick question. How are you fixing the battons supporting the plywood to the baseboard structure? I have an order of plywood for the boards along with the fixit blocks coming on Thursday, and want to check what else I will need Thanks Rich

Today's job is to get the plywood for the baseboard top ordered, ready to make a start on fitting it when I get back from Madrid on Thursday. In the mean time I have been reworking the track plan. On the Plymouth end tightening the radius of the curved point and reducing the double slip to1:6 has flattened the station entrance (and in the process added 3inches to the platform length.) The London end has again been flattened out by pushing the radius slightly, something like 25inch at the tightest in the switch), the net result of these two changes is straightening the goods shed loop and the runaround loop. In turn this means that the goods shed can be located in the right place (shown in red) The curve still means stretching the approach pointwork, which in turn throws out the location of the bridges. On the London end it wasnt possible to add the loop, so as a compromise I have added the pointwork connecting the branch to the loop (but instead connecting to the main) and this will take place offscene (the extents of which are shown by the black lines) At the Exeter end the bridge over the Avon has also had to be moved to the left (green), in order that it aligns with the bridge and the low level baseboard section. The plan still needs the Plymouth double slip converting from the base diamond, likewise the single slip on the down mainline at the Exeter end. I am giving serious though towards commissioning the construction of these having never built a slip before (and more than enough standard points to build as it is). The plan is also still short of catch points, although given that they are integrated into the points I am thinking about just making non working representations in order to derisk any potential running problems from the additional complexity Looking forward to getting the boards finished, laying the mainline and finally being able to run a train. Im assuming after looking at the C&L site that OO track bases are only available with BR chairs. Its a shame they haven't released the Exactoscale sleeper bases for separate chairs in OO

Evans - still far too shouty, voiceover still very flat Star in a rally cross car, the replacement of the interview is awful, I disliked the old segment but this is a hundred times worse (plus since when has it been the bbc's job to promote a show on Sky...) Jenson Button was very good in the mclaren section, given it looks like he won't have a drive next year maybe he could replace Evans.... Eddie Jordan manages to almost do the impossible and make Evans almost watchable, cringingly bad! I did like the idea of the South Africa tour, and it would have worked very well with the old 3. But with these 3 (and the pointless addition of 'celebrities') it just didn't quite cut it. Really like the look of the Jag, I started wanting to hate it and ended thinking that it's found its way onto the shortlist for our next car.

That makes more sense, certainly sounds a great way to travel to me! As for this afternoons construction session, the support structure is now complete for the two sides along with the basics finished for the far end. This structure was inspired by "St Endoc"'s Mid Cornwall Lines, U shaped frames shown earlier contain the inner side along with the top and bottom. A length of 4 by 1 softwood with 2 by 1 sections cut out at the spacing for the legs was screwed to the stud work around the walls. The c assamballays were then slotted into position, glued and screwed the the floor. A second beam was added on the outside edge and screwed to the legs. The 12mm ply deck will be supported by 2by 1 slats and fixit blocks, hopefully that will be next weeks job. Once the fiddleyard and main station baseboard top is fitted it will be a simple job to work out the height needed for the far end to give the embankment, river and bridge (with a ply deck for the track and expanded foam everywhere else. The final section will be the enterance, for which I still haven't quite decided. I am torn between making a completely removeable section, or a lifting bridge. Given I still need to be able to get bikes and skis in an out of the garage (eventually will also need to be able to get the the exhibition layouts out of storage in the back). At the moment I am tending towards the first option given it will give a bigger enterance, but I haven't quite worked out how I will pull it off. Photos will follow once I get started baseboard top, for the moment it's a real mess in there as I haven't found space to put away theology layouts yet...

That is perfect thanks , now if you can just delete the post so no one else can see it..... not sure how it never came up on any of my kingsbridge alerts!

I think I am right in saying that it is only from the east (right hand side of the layout) which has services that enter the station, the track plan revisions did connect the east loop with the branch providing a better entrance to the station. There is one operation that I am more unsure as to how it works in practice, where a coach from the Exeter direction is detached at Brent (and after a trip to Kingsbridge is then attached to an afternoon train back to Exeter). Does the branch loco run wrong road to get to the loop and then shunt back the coach full of passengers onto the back of the waiting train from Plymouth? Sounds a lot more of a faff than just having the passengers change trains. Likewise there is a similar working with the movement of vans from the branch to the mainline. Certainly once the layout starts getting some track down, I have a lot to learn about how to operate it prototypically!

To be honest I think I am now just about there on the bridge, all be it with some compromise with some solid truss replacing open ones for strength. Now it's all about trying to confirm when some of the other structural changes happened (signal box and strengthening of the west bridge for a start), along with confirming locos. I'd like to know the typical motive power of the branch goods services. Will keep an eye on eBay and Amazon, up to about 10-12 £ I'm happy, but not more for mostly BR photos. (Wild Swan please please please release the Dave Geen book!)

Given that I know a few people reading this thread have the book, can anyone advise what the Oakwood Press book on the Kingsbridge branch is like. Particularly how many (if any) photos there are in the 1940s, and whether there are any good views of the buildings / bridges at Brent? I was a little disappointing with my copy of the Middleton Press book, with the small size and lack of detail (in comparison to some of the very good books I have on the Cheddar branch for example). Thanks

The left hand side of the track plan is still giving me a certain amount of issues trying to fit in the double slip at a suitable angle given that I have to curve the approach point in order to get it to fit. This has been further compounded by continuing efforts to try and fit the goods shed in the right place, and hence really get the look of the prototype location nailed down (I have already removed one window section from the shed in order to compress its length and try and assist in fitting it in. I think a bit of full sized planning is going to be needed to see how a few ideas are working out in practice before starting the Templot plan for the scenic section from scratch working from the original map. I have also been trying to fit in the post war track layout changes, which was a simple enough job adding the Plymouth end's look, but a lot more difficult at the Exeter end. This time I will be keeping this in mind when I draw up the revised plan... Another week in Spain for work has given some productive work on the layouts fleet list, finding numbers for the majority of the planned fleet. (along with buying a WD Austerity for one of the freight services from eBay. Really need to find some more 1946/7 photos of Brent and the Kingsbridge branch to help with the final details. I am assuming a Newton Abbot allocated pannier would be the motive power for the branch freight (which I have yet to find a period photo of). The question is whether the Ken Williams book on the branch has more photos in the post war GW period than the Mitchell book (which I recall only had one suitable photo.) Of the planned 20 locos, 8 are ready for service pending decoder install, 5 are in various stages of detailing and the remaining 7 still need to be purchased. Though given not everything can fit in the fiddleyard at once, the focus now is on the key omissions (goods freight being the most needed along with a King). Of course what is needed most of all is something to run them on! Moving on to actual progress, I have just taken delivery of the woodwork for the baseboard support structure. Today's job is to get it all put up in the garage (along with sorting out all of the under layout storage). Unfortunately other than the 2 boards which are already built progress wont get much further than this as we are away for the weekend, but at least its progress.

Both ideas I have been considering, I do enjoy chopping up plastic. The Finney kit would be great, and may one day happen. But for a loco with that many curved corners and odd shapes I want a lot more practice working in brass first!

Very nice indeed, and very good timing as well as you have inspired me to have a go. Although I am thinking of substituting a high level 57xx chassis when I reporter it. Having just found a photo of 2785 at Newton Abbot in 1947 in what I believe to be GWR black (given it was rebuilt in the early 40s after after bomb damage), makes it even more tempting. Now to keep an eye on eBay for one of the inevitable ridiculously cheap bodies...

The RailUK list has 4703 allocated to Laira at the end of the GWR, which would look rather good on the end of a parcels working (or better still on Brian's passenger train)...

Going to prove fun on my own Brent inspired project, given I think that clashes with where I had to move the goods shed to. Will have to rebut a few bits to maintain the signalling I think. What time period have you chosen John, (and how is the layout coming on)? Brent is such a fascinating prototype!

You would think so, but I know I've seen at least one photo where that wasn't the case (of course I can't for the life of me find it....)

The black hall would of course look a lot better with no lining and G W R on the tender however... I'm sure the Capt. Won't notice when he gets it back...

Now that's a sight I look forward to modelling on my own layout once it's built. Currently posed on a shelf in the workshop...

I was just about to mention the cylinders.... Have you thought about adding some etched sides to your H33s? I think I'm right in saying that all the H33s had been rebuilt by the end of the war. I've done one conversion and it's a nice straight forward overlay job on the Hornby model. Thanks for the tip on the wartime brown paint, will be buying a can in the week to spray up a few coaches, at least a pair of comet / railroad Hornby d95, a sunshine third and a Hornby b set. Not sure how I haven't read this yet, nice to see more post war GWR