The Fatadder

Much as I would like to go and measure the prototype, given it is now a privet house I'd feel a bit awarkward sneeking into their garden with a tape measure! The station building its self is an industrial building now so If i need measurements I am less concerned. I've redrawn the windows now to be taller and to have a narrower spacing between between them. Now I think they are probably too tall requiring another iteration. I really need to get to grips with GIMP I think, and edit that photo to be end on. That may help with a more accurate size for the windows. I have also re drawn the doors on the yard side to increace their width. I will be returning to Bristol tomorrow evening, so can finish scanning the photos form the book into GIMP. That will let me finish off that side of the drawing. I will stock up on meterials at scaleforum, hopefully allowing a first attempt at building next month. (I suspect that as with most of my projects I will end up building a second attempt before the layout is remotely finished!)

Progress at last, Having been suitably inspired visiting Clutton last night, I have spent an hour this morning at the airport awaiting a flight up to Broughton on CAD working on a set of drawings of Cheddar's goods shed. So far this is only based on photos from one book, (given that was the only one I had scanned photos of) As such there are a couple of areas that require further attention. the village side has two arches based on the end arches as the only photo I have of this side is in the other book, I will rectify this at the weekend. The railway side is wrong, I just cant get the spacing right. This leads me to believe that I have got the window size wrong. What I really need is a photo showing the railway side of the goods shed square on that I can scale off. Length and width were taken from a Planning Portal map and double checked against dimensions from Google Earth and Bing maps. Now I have the basic plan (subject to the aforementioned changes to the windows etc) I now need to start planning how I am going to build it. I want to have a fully detailed inside with both end doors open, along with at least one open loading door. my thinking is to go with a wood core clad on both sides with an appropriate embossed plasticard. the roof would also be thin wood clad in laser cut tiles (i suspect that I will need to draw them up given the fancy design). The complicated rodding under the roof will be soldered up from brass rod (and should prove good practice for the station roof. All of this would be new practice for me and a departure from my usual style of an 80thou plastic core, Its my hope that it should make for a strong structure that will not warp without the requirement for lots of cross bracing inside. Another thing I am debating is getting the wood core laser cut to ensure accuracy, just need to look into the costs.

Looking forward to catching up at scaleforum Will definitely end up trying that technique for the ground works on cheddar, looks a massive improvement on plasrwe

Its only minor distortion, no worse than it would have been working direct from the source material. Its just a flaw with any publisher deciding that they should put a drawing across a page joint... Hopefully the first donor railcar will be waiting for me once I get back to Bristol on Thursday, will then be able to ensure that my CAD drawings do actually match the model dimensions... Just need to keep looking out for cheap railcars now, fingers crossed scaleforum will come good!

Rather than doing any productive work on Cheddar, now that the Templot drawings are pretty much finalised I feel that I should be cracking on with 'useful work' on the layout (namely drawing up the 4 main buildings). I now have good photos of the station and goods shed, along with their external dimensions (taken from an online plans website and backed up with a calculation from an aerial photo). Decent images of the signal box are also sorted, although scaling this is proving more difficult. I just cant find the focus to sit down and do the drawings. Hopefully the train back to Bristol on Thursday will be quiet so that I can concentrate, at least this time I am travelling via Birmingham so a Voyager or Pendolino (and a smooth ride) rather than via Newport and getting a 175 that chucks you around all over the place making CAD work a pain in the backside! Instead to keep things moving on I have been putting a lot more time into sourcing stock. So far having purchased another airfix B Set, and the first donor for my twin railcar, with a Collett goods, pannier body, angled tank 45xx, straight tank 45xx kit, along with a siphon and a collett break all due for Scaleforum The only thing now is working out what needs to be done to them, then getting everything up to scratch. At the moment my plan is to keep this B set in 'standard' condition and just drop in some P4 wheels, then once the set that is currently being worked on is finished it will enter the works. I'm currently planning to get a set of Gibsons for the Bachmann 45xx so at least I can get something running. Given something of a backlog has now built up, it means I am now at the point that I really need to stop looking at Ebay, so for now other than looking out for cheap railcars or k's B Sets. The intention is to get cracking on the improvements, I finally finish my placement in Hawker up in Broughton next week and return to Airbus proper back in Filton so at least I will be home with my tools etc.

Interesting option, and one that would be very tempting, assuming a full kit Will drop them an email and get an idea on the eta. Another option might be grafting Lima cabs onto the kit, (given getting the curves right on the roof ends would be very difficult out of sheet metal!)

One of they most important items of stock for Cheddar will be the twin GW railcar no35/36 Working from drawings in MRJ no5, and with a method based on that used by the late Monty Wells (MRJ no6) the aim is to chop 3 Lima models into the twin set (then to build a Comet coach kit for the centre coach). The first step is the drawings, unfortunatly for some reason MRJ decided to put the drawings for no35/37 and 36/38 across a page joint (no33 and the roofs however were on a single page). This results in some distortion to the published drawings. As such I have spent the train journey from Chester towards Bristol preparing my own set of drawings in CAD based on the GA. I have also drawn an outline drawing of the single railcar for which I intend to add the windows/doors from the Lima model to aid with my cutting plan. At the moment I have two potential approaches, Option 1) cut the sides/roof from the 'spare' railcar to length and glue together. finish my drawing off as an etch and use a set of etched sides on the model. Potentially the roof and sides could be extended with plasticard removing the need for a third base model (and hence mitigating the additional expense of the etches). Holes would be cut in the sides (as per the usual method with brass coach sides) making flush glazing easier. The main prep work would be in adapting the area between cab and end to ensure it accurately matches the Lima model, it would also need adapting to adjust for the body profile, potentially needing a couple of iterations of etches to get this profile correct (with the associated expense) Option 2 is to follow an adapted version of Monty's method, I would cut the sides from the roof/cab on all 3 models, prepare a new roof section from the third model to extend to the new length (rather than Monty's multiple roof sections I would prefer a single joint). The sides would then be chopped to get the windows and doors in the new location, and glued to the roof/cab/plasticard end as a single unit. To ensure rigidity the roof and sides would both be strengthened with metal strip. The first task would be to update the drawings to ensure dimensions for length/window&door dimensions to ensure the cutting plan will match up. The cutting for no36 would be pretty complicated, with no35 not that much better (Monty had it easy here by modelling 33!) I was originally planning to use my first unit as the single car No28, but given it will need a respray to re brand out of shirt button into the later GW livery I dont fancy the respray (and relining). Instead for No28 I think I will go for a Hornby model on which I should be able to remove the shirt button logos using the good old Microsol method. (and keep Hornby's paintwork)

Thanks for all the advice, going to take Helen to do a few test drives on Saturday and take it from there. The important thing is that it appears there are not that many major issues with any of the cars we are looking at, but will take note of the potential transmission issues with a focus. Tbh, I think my preference is definitely tending towards the ford, given that its much nicer inside than the french cars. But I think Helen seems to have already decided she prefers the 307 or megane Space wise, in the long term it shouldnt be too much of an issue, the 159 I want to buy next year should handle the big stuff when necessary.

I did think Octavia, but it seems they have held their value too well. Not too keen on streching the budget too much as I am going to need to be changing my car once I get back from Toulouse next year (going to be selling it prior to going out there). Have my eye on an Alfa 159 estate, and that is going to seriously stretch my budget (so any spare funds from this car can go on the Alfa!)

I'm currently in the process of looking for a car for the other half, and given that alfas are out I'm finding it tough to make my mind up between the options, We have about 4k to spend, for which we need a focus sized estate Currently we are looking at the Astra, Focus and Megan on about a 56 plate. We need to be able to fit the new puppy (a lab) in the boot once she has fully grown, and going to have to use it to drive down to Toulouse in the new year with all our stuff + cats & dog when I head out for a 6 month placement. Would welcome any feedback from owners, in particular on reliability and engine performance. Thanks

Will have a look, sounds promising. Is this still in Bill's range or in the stuff thats passed to Eileens? Again definitely sounds like something I need to see!

I've cut similar holes in DRS loco ends for recessed multiple working sockets, by drilling holes in the 4 corners cutting it out and then fitting a square of plasticard behind it. My thought is that I am planning to have at least 2 E140s and at least 1 E145, and the thought of doing that sort of work on 6 coaches is not a nice thought. Really I think I need to see a completed one first and decide if its worth it.

Yesterday saw a start at last to the modelling of the first B set for Cheddar, Working with an Airfix b set and the notes on Tim Venton's website http://www.tventon.freeserve.co.uk/bset2.htm I am working on the following improvements: Removing the fictional inner end detail Replacing outer end detail with separate fittings Adding missing handrails Filling in extra guard window Chassis improvements new headstocks, laserglaze (if it becomes available) I am still unsure as to whether or not I will attempt to correct the door handles, the fact that I know it is wrong bugs me, but I am not sure it bugs me enough to fix it. So far: I have removed the glazing, cutting the body retention clips off the glazing and gluing them into position. the guards window was then removed and glued in place prior to covering with filler. All detail was removed from both ends, on the inner end to remove fittings that are not present on the prototype and on the outer ends to fit separate fittings in an attempt to ensure a consistency of detailing with future kit built coaches. The curved headstocks were chopped off the chassis, a replacement made from 3 sections of evergreen strip and a reinforcing lump of 80thou were glued in position. Now trying to find a close up photo of the E140 type b set to identify if there is any additional bufferbeam detailing that needs to be added (along with the couplings and buffers that I have yet to buy.) Chassis wise so far I have only worked on preparations, removing the incorrect battery box and the lumps representing the vac bits and replacing the length of truss that was lost with the battery box. Not sure if its needed or not (not knowing the prototype well enough) but I added cross pieces on the centre of the truss.

Ended up buying one of these today, Visited the South Devon Railway and saw one of these in the model shop (and couldn't resist my first purchase for the new layout despite not having any photos justifying one!) P4'd it this evening with a set of Gibson wheels, Hornby break shoes had to be removed in order to fit the new wheels in but thankfully Hornby have at least got space for a set of Gibsons/Maygibs between the wirons Ended up chopping the NEM pockets off while I was at it (sadly the huge box is part of the chassis rather than a screw fitting so it was out with the xurons) Need to add some new break gear now, (not sure what to use...) And from reading this topic, I assume I should also be spraying the ends black?

That looks rather nice Now to try and work out if I can justify one...

Will make sure I ware my tweed & allow you to complete your mocking. Tim, the BR period certainly does sound interesting, though there seem to be just as many things appealing me to go GW. Sometime I will actually make a decision, but thankfully I can put that decision off for another day. Now really looking at what I need to buy prior to ordering my first High Level chassis.......

Following on from this thread, I have now started work on the research Background: This project is still in the very early stages of research, having decided that I really like both the track plan, the architecture and most importantly the stock seen through the station I have decided that I will base my new project on this line. While at the moment I am planning to model Cheddar, if research on the line turns up a more suitable/interesting station or I find that Cheddar is too large to do justice in the available space I will adjust my plans to another station on the branch (or a work of fiction also based on the branch using elements of other locations.) This a very new experience for me, my last attempts at layout planning have consisted of the following for research Google Earth - to get outlines of buildings, general arrangement etc/ Planning Portal, for trackplan and more accurate building footprints Fotopic, for hundreds of photos taken in the area. All three of these methods are of minimal use here. First off I have identified 3 books to purchase, I have ordered Steaming through the Cheddar Valley, and Branchline to Cheddar. The East Somerset and Cheddar Valley Railways will be ordered once Amazon get it back into stock (unless I find a cheap copy in the mean time) I have seen mention that these include building drawings, and would assume a decent track plan as well. Next up was www.old-maps.co.uk, from which I sourced copies of the 1930 and 1960 OS maps, their copyright rules appear to allow use for non profit publication so I have included a copy from the 1930 map below. I am now debating purchasing the full map, however ideally I would like something a little more detailed so will keep looking for now. Next up is photo research, Google Images somewhat let me down so far, however Ebay has come up with some great photos. For the time being unless something particularly interesting comes up, I have been making do with saving copies (I want to be able to share any photos I buy, so not really interested in buying images with no copyright.) So far I have found a couple of good photos showing the back wall of the station, and one showing the inside of the shed. Going to keep looking out for more, particularly of the goods shed and of stock. Finally I get onto stock, all will be P4 and DCC. I am planning on fitting a DCC operated Dingham couplings to the locos where possible intending to have hands free DCC coupling. The rest will be prototypical. This is going to be an area for further development later on once I have a clearer idea as to what shunting etc will be required (as well as stock levels) At the moment my initial plans are for the following: 14xx - this will be a detailed Airfix/Hornby body utlizing the mainly trains kit, on a High Level chassis 57xx - Bachmann body on High Level chassis, still need to research what body detailing will be required Collett Goods - Mainline/Bachmann on High Level, again still need to research what detailing 45xx (angled tanks) - Bachmann, depending on running performance I will rechassis with the comet parts. AEC railcar, probably will do a single and a twin, on the look out for cheap lima models and a Westward conversion kit. As for coaches and wagons I haven't a clue yet...... The next step: Hopefully the books will arrive on Monday, at which point I can get a track plan scanned with a better scale and start working on the Templot file That should give the final proving as to whether or not the plan as is can work. After that I still have some P4tc bits left over from Blackcombe that should be useful, but the biggest task is the stock sale to fund the new locos and track prior to RailWells...

Finally got back home to Bristol for the weekend, and for a change actually managed to find some modelling time. I ended up working on 3 main projects, 73129 I have finally got on and rebuilt the chassis, I have so far only used the Lima components, wire, plastic rod and lots of plasticard. though 3 air tanks still need to be added for which I haven't decided on a source yet. I have also fitted the new Gibson 13mm wheels which have also made a large impact. Buffer beams have also seen work, with a set of sprung Vi Trains 47 buffers fitted at one end, and a damaged set of Vi buffers glued in place in the retracted position at the other end (that is modelled with the buckeye up.) In order to fit the new buffers I did have to slightly modify the rubbing plate? to increase the clearance. I also had a quick bash at the cab, cutting away the windows and door in the wall behind the seats and adding a bulkhead behind the cab doors. While its not 100% accurate, its going to be a much better job than anything in my Bachmann or Heljan fleets... Next job is going to be soldering up some new pickups for the non powered end, along with test running to ensure that it runs reliably, along with fitting some new bogie steps to the no1 end. Theres a long way to go on this project, as in a few areas there are holdups due to non available detail parts (such as the chequer plate below the doors) I have also made a start on the new chassis for 73109, which is now at the end of the chopping bits off stage. Having looked again at my class 73 fleet, I have a Hornby Fraggonset loco which is going to lose its chassis for my Dutch body (once that has been painted), the Pullman unit for which I have an AWD chassis that I left at Dagworth's many years back and am planning to pick up at Stormex (no doubt giving my increased demands for detail over that time this chassis will want reworking before its good to go). 33116 I have finally sprayed the solebar BR Blue and reassembled, however the fit isnt great so it still needs a bit of tweaking. It also needs the transfers redoing for the incorrect side. I wasnt happy with the job I had done (using coach numbers) the font and size didnt look right. Going to have to talk to one of the custom transfers people at some point I think. The biggest change was fitting the new Extreme Etchings roof grill, only got the base and mesh on as a lack of superglue resulted in being unable to glue the top in place. it makes a huge difference compared to the crude Heljan plastic one (or the old shawplan etch on my other 33s) The hard thing will be painting it! Once the roof grill is painted, and transfers sorted it will be complete. Finally my TPO project I am massive fan of modelling parcels stock, and have planed for a long while to model the Plymouth TPO. I have two DC Kits, one for an NTA and one for a NUA. While the DC Kit has lots of good parts, it also suffers from some of the common issues of the range, namely a bent floor and a bent roof. I have a number of surplus Bachmann Mk1s, and a quick look through the scrap box has resulted in one of them getting chopped up to accept the DC Kits sides & detail The first job was glueing together the whole side as one unit, before working on the ends to modify them to fit the Bachmann coach. On my first attempt I just chopped off a mm or so from each end and added a layer of filler over the Bachmann end too get the profile to match. Next time I think I will try filing the back of the sides to fit ala Bachmann mk1. Once the sides fitted I added a strip of evergreen strip to the top that increased the sides hight to match the Bachmann model and also added a larger base on which the roof will sit (more on that later.) It was then glued into place, adding 40thou plasticard pieces behind the sides to support and fix in position ensuring as I glued along the side everything stayed in position. All roof and end detail was removed, with DC Kits roof vents & end detail fitted along with the DC Kits underframe bits (although I have yet to find the castings for the latter or any air break gear.) The roof no longer clips on (I suppose if I could have been bothered I could have reused the Bachmann clips, but I decided to chop them off to make things easier.) The roof is a tight fit, so I plan to use a bit of double sided tape on the tops of the sides to attach it. The evergreen strip attached to the top of the sides gives sufficient space to stick to. Bachmann B4s were reused, avoiding the DC product that whilst looking ok at a glance wont fit P4 wheels. Next up will be the NUA once I dig out another doaner coach (I have a worrying feeling I may have now used up all my Bachmann mk1s, so may have to start looking out for more cheap coaches to chop up.) First of all I have to find a couple of missing side components from the kit. The end result is looking pretty promising, so I suspect I will at some future point end up buying at least two more coaches (one of which must have the large doors to add some variety!) I am currently thinking about having a formation based on the Dover one to run with my 73s, however at present even that will be too big for the fiddleyard... If anyone can identify the coach types in that link I would be grateful. Thats it for now, not much modelling time next weekend as I am off to Devon, but I do plan on spraying the GWT 47's yellow ends if I have the paint / weather... Excuse the poor photos, Camera battery is flat and Helen appears to have lost the charger. As such the iPhone had to step in.

@Nick, I did happen to mention these to Brian (along with the other 73 bits), to me its pretty clear that there is a market for these parts. I guess the problem is that there are just so many detail bits for Brian to turn his attention to (particularly with the success of the lazer glazing) @Jon, Thats pretty much what I've been thinking, lots of time spent trawling through RMweb archive this week looking for photos of peoples Class 73 projects to gather ideas from. Currently I am one half of the Hawker finance team based down in the far end of the site, so sadly no view of Beluga taking off.you must be very lucky to keep turning up with sunny weather. Seems to more often than not be heavy rain and strong winds!

I am really starting to hate being away from home (I am currently half way through a six month placement with our corporate jet production business up in Broughton). Apart from being away from Helen & friends etc and the 3 and a half hour commute back to Bristol each weekend, it means I cant do any modelling when I want to! So to at least feel like I am making some progress on the project I have been researching underframes, and shopping for components I think I know know what I want for the underframe, the compressor looks to be the most difficult component to source, followed by the fuse box. May have to just bite the bullet and purchase the full Southern Pride EMU components and accept that most of the moneys worth is going straight into the scrap box. I've said it before and will say again, the Lima 73 really is crying out for a detail parts manufacturer to release a set of underframe castings. I'd take at least 4 sets for a start! Time spent looking at the bogies highlights another detail part that is needed, the flash guards. Fingers crossed Shawplan take a good look at these (and the rest of the grills) in the future! While looking at the bogies, I have started to think about modelling the 3rd rail shoes in the down position, not exactly sure how yet, but shouldnt be too difficult..... So far the only shopping list items have been a Bachmann 25 and an old Shawplan roof grill To which I have now added enough sets of Gibson 12.6mm wheels to complete the rake, along with a Shawplan order to give a Extreme Etchings Class 33 roof grill for 33116, paint to respray the grill on said 33, varnish to finish off my DRS 37/6 (so I can finally try and get it finished) and a lazer glaze pack for my GWT 47 (although that wont be finished until I go to Devon in mid July and can paint the yellow ends.) So I am now really geared up to make some serious progress on the 73 project, the only problem being that I am in Poole for a wedding this weekend, so cant do any more work until the following weekend.....