Captain Kernow

Oh arr, m'Luvver!

Callow Lane is my new P4 layout, which has been under construction for far too long now... It is set in North Bristol/South Gloucestershire, and represents a small suburban goods yard in the Westerleigh area. There used to be an old goods-only branch running north-westwards from the Midland Railway's Westerleigh Yard, to a location called New Engine Yard. From here, colliery spurs ran to the pits in the district, amongst them being Mayshill and Frog Lane collieries. Callow Lane is actually set in the location of New Engine Yard, but the line then continues on to join the GWR main line just to the west of Coalpit Heath station, a route which would have required some considerable earthworks and steep gradients. Callow Lane is where the Westerleigh Yard to Coalpit Heath line goes from double to single track (the double line is back towards Westerleigh Yard). There are two sidings on both up and down sides, one of which runs through to a chocolate factory. Tuesday 27/10/09 Got the day off today, so have re-erected Callow Lane and have made a start on the point rodding. Here is a batch of two-runner point rodding stools with brass wire glued into the bases (the epoxy is setting), to assist locating on the baseboard. I drill an oversize (ish) hole in the baseboard and mount the stools on small square sections of 30 or 40 thou plasticard (to represent the top of the concrete block that each stool is mounted on). The squares of plasticard also have oversize holes drilled in them, and the whole lot is epoxied to the baseboard. When it's set, I can begin the track weathering and ballasting, and will then put the actual rodding in after that. One of the compensators that I will also need to install along the rodding run (this one isn't quite finished - it needs a representation of 'pivots' glueing into the two holes in the middle): Sunday 01.11.09 Not much done over the last few days, other than prepare even more point rodding stools, drill their bases and glue bits of wire in. I've now got over 80 rodding stools ready to install on the layout, but I first need to prepar the plasticard bases for them to sit in... Saturday 21/11/09 The point rodding is on hold at the moment, although all components are now ready for installation. First, however, I need to complete the final section of retaining wall, that forms the cutting, in which the railway sits, so that I know for sure how much room I will have to fit the rodding. I may also build some or all of the three running signals and fit them for the same reason. Here's the final section of retaining wall as a card mock-up, to check the angles and levels etc.: Sunday 29/11/09 Today I finally completed the last (and fourth) section of the retaining walls that radiate out from the central road bridge. Photos to follow. The next job will be to start another row of four cottages, this time cottage backs with back yards and outside toilets, backing onto a narrow footpath that will run along the top of one of the retaining walls above the railway. Sunday 03/01/10 I've been making some decent progress with the latest row of half-relief cottages (cottage backs based on Howard Scenics kit) and have posted some photos up in the 'Scenery & Structures' part of the forum, but here is one of those photos for information: More progress has been made on the cottages, and I've put some photos up on my 'Cottage Industry' thread in the Scenery & Structures part of the forum, but here is another one to illustrate the current state of play: Sunday 04/7/10 Here are a couple of recent photos, showing the newly-installed point rodding stools and cranks: Work is currently progressing with track weathering and a bit of experimental ballasting has been done as well, photos to follow when there's a bit more to see.

I think I'm more interested in why you were after a loco from that era in the first place! Could this be the blossoming of some 'historical modelling' for the Fatadder?

I would agree that Colin's service is very good indeed!

Hmm, interested in one of those, then? Will we see a P4-ed Kestral winging it's way around TT2 sometime?

Roll on the red oxide!

Here's another one from a well-known photographer in the late 1950s:

Here's an image I posted on the original thread recently:

Well, here's the first entry on my new blog. It's the first time I've ever had anything to do with blogs, apart from reading those posted by other people. Like most other folk, I shall start posting workbench and layout progress here, as and when there is something significant to report. The current layout project on-going are the construction of 'Callow Lane', my first P4 layout, set in the North Bristol/South Gloucestershire area and based on Midland and GW practice. But in a surprise development yesterday, an opportunity arose (or perhaps, more accurately, a reason) to build my long-mooted OO gauge layout 'Burrowbridge'. This was always going to be a small layout, very easily transportable, and capable of either being exhibited/played with on it's own, or plugged onto one end of 'Bleakhouse Road'. Burrowbridge is one end of the South Polden Light Railway. On the workbench are various items associated with 'Callow Lane', including an unfinished chip shop, which is a modified Hornby 'Thomas' range bookshop, of all things! I am also building retaining walls and will then paint them and the central girder bridge over the layout engineers blue brick colour and weather it etc. I also need to re-start the point rodding for the layout soon, to enable me to then weather the track and ballast it, prior to making further serious progress with the scenery. There is also a S&D/L&SWR 'Road Van' on the workbench at the moment, which is a 30 year old TMD kit, in many ways an 'aid to scratchbuilding' rather than a kit. It is being painted at present, which will include (hopefully) faded brown paint coming away in places, revealing weathered wood underneath. The vehicle is now owned by the South Polden Light Railway, and hasn't had much TLC for quite a long time. My modified 'Knightwing' diesel shunter has now had a Black Beetle motor bogie fitted to it and run in, and is a lot smoother now. I am now contemplating using the original single-axle drive chassis I built for it on another variation on that kit, only with ALL the weight over the driven axle! The previous configuration would not pull the skin off a rice pudding.... Also contemplating some plastic wagon kit construction 'therapy' in the near future, there are several Chivers kits beckoning.... Friday 02/10/09 Well, I've done a little more work on my TMD Models L&SWR/S&DJR road van, namely painting patches of bare wood on it and applying small, random patches of Maskol, prior to spraying it with a dull-ish brown topcoat. Saturday 03/10/09 I've posted a few photos of 'Plantaganet' running in, on my circle of Lima track, taped to a clean tiled floor. I don't mind using my rolling road if I have to, but I prefer to set the circuit of track up for running in if I can, as I think it gives slightly better results. I also have a circuit of P4 'set track', which I made up myself from C&L flexitrack, for running in P4 locos. Wednesday 07/10/09 In a bit of blatant consumerism, I today took delivery (from the sorting office!) of a cheapo Bachmann class 47 in BR blue from Kernow Model Centre, only ??34, I think it was (as advertised in their newsletter last Saturday). It will be destined for a conversion to P4 and running on Callow Lane, in due course... Friday 09/10/09 When I opened the box, I realised that the loco had 'dominos' in the headcode boxes. Whilst I was happy to change the number to a pre-TOPS one, I can't be doing with messing around with headcodes, for what was meant to be a fairly quick conversion and weathering job, so I've decided to sell it to someone at work and look out for a proper pre-TOPS blue example. Saturday 10/10/09 Was supposed to have been going to the Taunton show with Re6/6 and a couple of other friends, but something dodgy has been playing around with my digestion, so discretion being the better part of valour, I felt it prudent to have a quiet day at home instead, if keeping an eye on a new and completely mad kitten can be called a 'quiet day'.... When t'Missus gets back later, I will put him in another part of the house and put 'Bleakhouse Road' up for testing (Cheltenham show in two weeks) and for a photo session tomorrow. Tuesday 20/10/09 Well, I did indeed erect BHR and photos were taken of it on the Sunday following my previous entry, but once the layout was safely stowed away again, the dodgy digestion problem re-emerged with a vengeance and laid me low for the best part of the following week, the end of which coincided with the forum being off-line. I've now re-started work on the S&DRJ road van in OO, and this is now half-way through being weathered. Whether I take it to Cheltenham this weekend or not will depend on having a chance to finish the job tomorrow night. I've also serviced a couple of locos that were showing signs of 'screeching motor' syndrome - my J72 now in NCB livery and my North British/Paxman 0-4-0 diesel - a little light lubrication sorted that out. Finally, I thought I'd lost the glazing for the chip shop on Callow Lane, but luckily found it again and that will soon be fitted, so that I can get on with another part of that layout project. Thursday 22/10/09 I managed to get more of the weathering done on the S&DJR road van last night, which is finished in a tired and flaking brown livery of the South Polden Light Railway. I painted some old/bare wood colour on some areas of the planking and applied Maskol when dry, a la Martyn Welch method. When the top coat had been sprayed on and dried, the Maskol was removed, leaving the old grey wood showing through, as if the top coat of paint had been flaking over the years. I also applied some small, discrete lettering by hand, using a sharpened fabric pencil, which although sold as 'silver', comes out as a nice faded grey on the model. Hopefully I shall be running the van at Cheltenham this weekend, in the company of 'Plantaganet' and other light railway items... Tuesday 27/10/09 Here are a couple of photos of the finished road van, taken on BHR at Cheltenham last weekend:

My thanks to Brian (Taz) for bringing his new City of Truro for me to have a look at the other day. I really do like this one, and my resistence to getting one is wearing extremely thin. I thought she would look good posing on Callow Lane, seeings as this is the only layout that is normally kept in a 'put up' state at home at the moment (for construction). But no, I didn't do a quick P4 conversion job - we simply balanced the loco on the P4 track, and mighty fine she looks too!