Captain Kernow

A very nice selection of views, many thanks for posting these. I walked some of this line a few years ago, albeit on a bitterly cold but clear winters day, and yes, the former trackbed is still very clearly delineated. It would be good to put a link to this thread in the Disused Railways group as well, perhaps.

Well said, Mike. Something else to consider - Dapol said right from the beginning that the Class 22 would be a good runner, a new 'Super Creep' mechanism was mentioned... well, if the Sentinel is anything to go by, that's another promise that Dapol are going to come good on.

You are one clever hombre, that's for sure... I dunno, the youth of today, eh? I my day I'd have had to be happy with a bit of balsa wood turned up in my Black & Decker, all held together with Cow Gum!

Neat bit of engineering, matey, another good use for a lathe as well!

Good point Michael, in fact shunting is normally done much faster than that, need to get the job done and back to the messroom to finish the game of cards, have another brew, book off etc. etc. However, what's important IMO is smooth running, rather than just slow running, and the slow and consistent crawl of this mechanism shows that it has very good controllability. One thing I've noticed is that I need to find out how to get the top off, as there are some electrical resistor-type gubbins (that's a technical term, by the way) visible inside through one of the glazed parts of the body. Should be easy enough to disguise.

They're keeping me far too busy at the other end of the patch these days. However, a recent visit to the far west did not provide an opportunity to stop at Camborne, so I was very pleased indeed to pick my GW version up from Taz this afternoon (thanks again, Brian!). It is truely superb in appearance and running. I've had it running dead slow and it will happily take over 5 mins to cover just one yard of track. The running is every bit as good as the sample loco that Chris Nevard brought to Railex recently, and which he kindly allowed me to try on Engine Wood. There is room for P4 conversions, and I was thinking of tackling that over the weekend using some Lowmac wheels I've got. Unfortunately the Lowmac wheels are 11mm diameter, and the loco wheels are clearly 10mm, so I'm not prepared to add an extra 1mm to wheel diameter. I'll sort out the turning down of either the Dapol wheels to P4 profile, or turn the Lowmac wheels down to 10mm. I think someone said that the number plate ('13') comes off the GW version, having had a gentle prod with a finger nail, I think this is right, but I would appreciate some confirmation from anyone who has actually done it. The green is quite dark, satisfyingly so, because I shall be running mine as an industrial example.

You are a clever old clogs, Brian - I do like that! You are now inspiring me to spend a fortune on some more point motors and cut them up to operate level crossing gates!

Truely the end of an era, very sad indeed, but thank you for posting this. Still, the various model aircraft flying clubs in the East of England can look on the bright side - the MoD will probably be asking them to form the first line of air defence for the country before too long...

And how about some uninspiring quotes: Mine is the first generation able to contemplate the possibility that we may live our entire lives without going to war or sending our children to war. Tony Blair The threat from Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction - chemical, biological, potentially nuclear weapons capability - that threat is real. Tony Blair

Simply the customer (for the moment) is using road transport, which is his choice. I would agree re the 66 being the last loco down the branch. With any luck, one of them will be the first back down there, if traffic were to resume.

I saw this in the paper this morning - priceless! My sympathies are (out of character for those who know me) with the Stepmother!

Official status of that branch is that it is mothballed, pending any possible freight useage requests in the future. Of course, the track only extends as far as the scrap loading area adjacent to the boat yard, the track beyond there to the former bitumen depot was removed shortly after it ceased to be used.

As a dyed-in-the-wood S&D enthusiast, my interest in the Forest of Dean railways was initially slight, even though I’d made a number of visits to the Dean Forest Railway over the years, including one visit to Parkend in the very early days, when even the Marsh branch was still in use by BR. Having always been an admirer of the work of Ben Ashworth, however, I had previously acquired copies of his books ‘The Last Days of Steam in Gloucestershire’ and its sequel, both of which feature some great views in the Forest of Dean. It was the release of his ‘BR Steam in Dean’ a few years ago, however, that really got me hooked. There is something about pannier tanks working hard and trains of mineral wagons that ‘ticks a lot of boxes’ for me… After that, I got hold of copies of the Wild Swan books on the Severn & Wye section (although I’m still looking for a copy of Volume 3!), and the two ‘Forest of Dean’ volumes by the same publisher. And in the Severn & Wye series, Volume 4 is all about the Mineral Loop – a whole book on the Mineral Loop! How brilliant is that?! There are other books that I would recommend as well, such as the Silverlink ‘Then and Now’ series and one on footplate memories (who’s author escapes me for the moment). What inspired your interest in the railways of the Forest?

Hmm, been thinking about that, wondering if some 5 thou could pass muster. It's not actually too late.... I've now put a lino floor in it, made from 5 thou plasticard epoxied to the original Ratio planked floor (Mek would have likely distorted the 5 thou). I'll trim the edges tomorrow and re-fit the interior to the box.

Hmm, been thinking about that, wondering if some 5 thou could pass muster. It's not actually too late....

I've gradually been painting the interior detail items for the signalbox over the last few days, here are some photos taken this afternoon, in all the cruel detail that only a digital enlargement can offer... Most of the furniture still isn't secured, and the floor is yet to be painted. I should finish painting the interior walls first, before much else is done... The fact that the floor isn't painted is very clear in this view, as are the brush marks on the lever frame, although that just won't be apparent when the windows are in. Also, painting of the floor will cover the untidy black around the grate area... Finally, details of the block shelf. I could add a few plungers along the front face of the block shelf, but these won't really be visible from normal viewing angles, so not sure at the moment... There is still some detail to be added, including a signalman, Train Register Book, a couple of 'box-to-box' phones on the wall above the bigger cupboard, a noticeboard and probably a couple of newspapers on the side...

Quality, careful workmanship here, the signalbox is exquisite.

And it will still be the only R-T-R Class 22 available, so I think it will sell by the shedload in any case... The mechanism of the Sentinel is sublime, so yes, I am also optimistic.