treggyman

Last three The day went well...... My son & 17 year old grandson were there to help..... I didn't get a look in at operating the yard.....Which is absolutely fine as it was great to see them having fun operating....... We had a good audience who seemed to like the scene. The usual questions about the auto couplings.... One youngish HGV driver actually recognised the scrap lorry operator/lorry even though the unit was a different make to the one I saw at Par & it was partially obscured by the the bridge abutments..... SWMBO came along for the afternoon to help pack up & put in the truck...... Anyway a very enjoyable show....

Hi Some pics...... Not brilliant.....I've had this camera for years but I still can't get the best results from it...... My excuse is that I try to model railways...Not to be an ace Snapper...... There are a couple more but this post won't let me add to them so I'll post again in a minute in another post Cheers Bill

Well all done & dusted...Exhibition finished at 4pm & all unloaded & put away before 5pm....It helps that I only live 10 mins away.......It would actually have been quicker to walk if it wasn't for the layout transport!!!!!! A big thankyou the the Cornwall O Gauge group for their invite & hospitality..... The show seemed well patronised & there were some good layouts & a nice selection of traders. Set up last night.......One point refused to work at all...... After much searching I found that there was no power getting to the point motor.... Following the wiring I traced the fault to a loose wire in the cross board power connectors..... Previously this point had made a clicking noise when switched sometimes one way sometimes both & occasionally it did not click..... I had changed the motor & this seemed to cure the problem.....But ....I suspect the problem was actually an intermittent poor connection causing the point to switch itself on & off & the last time I disconnected the 'D ' connectors a proper break formed...... Easily remedied once the fault located...... Below a pic of the erected layout... Note the new Hendra sign that I am quite pleased with....Done by a local sign producer..... The other signs were bought off that wonderful auction site.... I'll post some pics in the next post. Cheers Bill

Hi Stu 'Twas good to see you again today & have good a chat...... Certainly a n interesting setup the Modulus layout you were exhibiting......But not for me though I can see the draw...... Cheers Bill

Hi Well after an age I've got Hendra down from it's shelves ,dusted it down & checked it all works....... It does now after one minor repair.......The point into the Linhay .... Not one but both blades had come adrift from the tiebar.....Now safely soldered back together..... A good trackclean & all seems fine..... The reason for all this activity is that the layout is appearing at the Cornwall O Gauge Group's exhibition at Carn Brea leisure centre Redruth this Sunday 30th October........ Having taken a good look at it I decided that it needed more grass/bushes/trees so this evening was spent adding groundcover which I think improves the look no end though more could be done, Previous evenings have been spent repairing the Linhay roof which had started to delaminate & wheel cleaning & adding couplings to a couple of the loco's. The Dapol 122 has now stopped driving on both axles so a new drive shaft will have to be made.....As I did for my Grandsons & his now works fine...... I doubt if I'll get that done in time but he's bringing his so there's no panic.... Anyway if you're at the show be sure to say hello to either me my son or grandson....Or indeed all three..... Hopefully I'll get some pics..... Cheers Bill

Hi I'll do them over the weekend hopefully.... Cheers Bill

Hi britishcolumbian, A couple of books spring to mind both by Derek Phillips. Working Yeovil to Taunton Steam has a nice picture of the 'box/tower at the back as well as a track plan near the front.... Yeovil to Taunton (footplate memories & personal reminiscences ) has a couple of pictures looking East that show the goods shed in the background.......Enough to give an idea of how it looked.... If I can get our printer to work I can try to scan them & pm them to you if you like...... Cheers Bill

Hi Peter It certainly is possible as the original idea was for the coupling to be coupled up to standard ( then the huge tension lock couplings ). All you need to do is increase the gap between the end of the hook & the 'delayed action 'bar.....You will probably need to slightly change the angle of the hook ( decrease ) & slightly increase the length of the delayed action bar ( & or change the angle ( increase ) ) so that the tension lock ' hook ' will pass between. Look forward to hearing how you get on. Cheers Bill

Hi Peter I'd be interested in how you get on so let us know how it works out for you.... Cheers Bill

Hi Peter, Pictures restored.... Hopefully you can see them....I can.... If not shout & I'll try again...... Cheers Bill

Hi Peter, I've got them stored somewhere.... I'll dig them out & repost hopefully in the next day or two when I've a moment to find them.... Cheers Bill

Hi The barn & how you blended it in is excellently done..... As regards photo's as backscene I always use photo's on plain photocopy paper.... I feel the result is nicely matt & tends to be slightly 'paler' so blends in better to give more of a sense of depth.....Also as the paper is thin it's easier to hide the edges.....especially if you use several individual pictures added together to form a backscene......Just be careful of the glue you use unless you seal the pictures..... Enjoying your progress.... Cheers Bill

Hi Graham Again it's only my opinion..... Currently I live in Cornwall & Buddleia is widespread on wasteland & on some verges......But is being/has been overtaken by Japanese Knotweed.... But I don't remember Budleia being as widespread then as it is now........ In my youth I remember Rosebay Willowherb being the plant that was everywhere followed to a degree by Buddleia but now surpassed by Japanese Knotweed.... I've only once been to the Wye valley,in 1973, & I can distinctly remember the closed railway having been overtaken by Willowherb.....Not your era I know but an indication of the plants that grew in abundance when given the opportunity before the more recent interloper..... Cheers Bill Cheers Bill

Hi As regards the Buddleia I would suggest it's not right where it is...... I am only going from earliest personal memory of the very late 'fifties & 'sixties & my memory of the plant is of it growing IN walls rather than on the ground apart from waste ground. So if you are modelling an era prior to this when standards were better I would suggest it's even less likely Buddleia would be allowed to establish itself there.... I lived next door to an ex GWR station & there was no Buddleia to be seen anywhere on railway property but it could be seen growing in cracks/ledges of buildings in the High Street on buildings that were not well kept......Loads of Rose Bay Willowherb in the surrounding railway 'verge' (& also lots of reeds) which might be more suitable to model in an area that would not necessarily be subject to the the local Pway man's scythe..... I lived in Somerset on the edge of Sedgemoor (Langport) then so things might have been different in your chosen area.... Really enjoying your journey & learning lots by following your thread.... Keep up the good work... Cheers Bill

Hi I've been following your layout since you started your thread on it.......Though I don't think I've posted on it...... It's certainly a nice layout with lot's of atmosphere..... Keep up the good work..... Cheers Bill

Hi Andy Any response from 'our man' regarding the poor running issue on feedback? I assume you're back from holiday by now..... Cheers Bill

Hi Got Haydon Gurney down from it's shelf late last month....... Following Creedyford's outing in November I had enjoyed running a roundy roundy so much I thought I'd seen how Haydon Gurney would run...... Not only is it a roundy roundy but there's lot's of shunting potential....Much more so than Creedyford. I also thought What If....... The S & D hadn't closed in March '66 but had stayed open....... The collieries had shut but a good source of stone had been found to exploit...... For some reason it had become useful alternative/diversionary route so other freight & passenger operators also use the line..... This being the case the current operator would have been GWR with the stone being hauled....in my scenario....by Freightliner.....( I already had 2 Freightliner 66's )... Any way I set it up & after a good clean had a Play....... One or two minor tweaks & the mainline ran fine as did running into & out of the yard...... But....... Like with other layouts I built it on trestles & had assumed the floor was level when I built it.....I now know it isn't an now build on two lengths of straight 50x100 timber set on trestles & levelled.... The problem was that I had ended up with ski jumps over the baseboards...... This didn't cause derailments but bogie wagons uncoupled themselves as they went over the baseboard joins......The short wheelbase wagons I'd been using before had been fine but the extra length of the bogie wagons caused the issue.... Also the 66's derailed going into the sidings (but rerailed coming out) So major digging up of track occurred & touch wood all is now fine...... I shan't reballast until I'm happy all is hunky dory though...... You can see the large gap in the track joins caused by the layout baseboards now being level...... The other area that needs major attention is the spinney at the layout front....... There's obviously been a major storm.... The other issue is that as I had anticipated building end to end layouts I have put a row of kitchen unit bases against the wall for storage & it is on these that I have started to build Condurrow (at present progress stalled for various reasons) Operationally it doesn't matter as the layout is operated from inside but it will limit photo opportunities I think. Anyway.....Hopefully I can have some fun operating/upgrading it & hopefully making it dual era...... I had considered Westernising it & turning it into a China Clay layout but as stations are being done up these days they are sometimes repainted into their original colour schemes ( Crediton ) for example I thought that it might work here..... Well thats all for now but I shall update as & when progress is made.... Thanks for looking in.... Cheers Bill

Hi I couldn't agree more. SWMBO also likes horse riding but can't anymore....Driving is fine.... I could never see the point in just riding a horse & the only time I ever rode was rounding up sheep & cattle for a farmer friend on the wilds Bodmin Moor in all weathers..... The only trouble was that I couldn't walk for days after as I didn't ride regularly.... Cheers Bill

Hi Penhallick Junction was also bus free...,. But you've got to have something on a bridge..... SWMBO's hobby is Driving a horse & cart so I 'adapted 'some figures scratchbuilt the cart & customised the horse.... Cheers Bill

Hi I appreciate that your excellent layout is inspired by & not an actual model of the location I would emphasise that my personal feeling was it didn't quite look right for the area but looks very good as a backscene..... When modelling Penhallick Junction I took initial inspiration from pictures taken from the window of an HST passing at speed...... I did a 'site' visit but couldn't find a good site to get a panoramic view that suite me. I did a 'survey' of Parkandillack/Treviscoe/StDennis as well which also gave me inspiration..... The problem is with these sites is that they are either closed/mothballed or on reduced production....... As for colour pictures I don't know of a source as most although probably taken in colour have been printed in black & white. However it might be possible if you can get some good pictures when you're down they could be manipulated to get the impression you're after. The problem also is I'm modelling what I saw.....I wasn't here in your era so I am only basing my impression of what I've seen in the last 20 years........ If you would like the pics I took PM me & I can put them on a memory stick & send to you..... Cheers Bill

Hi Although the backscene looks fine, to my eye it's not 'lumpy' enough to represent the Clay Country area. If you look at the excellent backscene (I've used them myself) it's a smooth ,almost level skyline. Even though your real picture is only a short width it has far more lumps & bumps (stacks trees background hills etc). This is mainly due (in my opinion) to the immediate background being more dominant/closer than the distant horizon which almost can't be seen,& where it is it's not smooth. I would almost be inclined to RAISE the backscene & glue pictures of trees/stacks/clay spoil dumps etc in front to give a feeling of more depth. To try to get a feel of Clay Country in my layout Penhallick Junction I made a collage of pictures taken from varying distances away from St Dennis to form my backscene. I have an advantage.....I don't live far away so it wasn't difficult for me but the best bit was that at exhibitions the locals recognised the area even pointing out specific features even though they were confused by some being mirror image when I'd flipped them to form a join. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that your proposed backscene doesn't shout to me CLAY COUNTRY.......it looks fine although I think it still needs to be higher to be more dominant but as it stands is too distant without something in front to give it depth.... Hopefully this makes sense & I'm not being negative but it's how I look at your excellent layout. I'm really enjoying following your progress & keep up the good work..... Cheers Bill

Hi I build my own points from copperclad strip & code 75 rail. I have a lot of Hornby CDA's. I have found that when building points the best wagon to use to test them is a CDA. The reason I do this is because the flange seems to me to be quite sharp/pointed compared to others & if there's a slight gap between the point blade & stock rail or the blade hasn't been quite filed enough or set right it will find the defect & derail. Also I've found them to be a slightly different gauge to Bachmann/Romford wheels. For proprietary track it's not a problem so for your layout no problem...... I post the above comment as an observation aimed at those who plan to make their own pointwork & are like me not the most 'accurate' modeller when constructing things.... Really enjoying your thread.....A wonderful mix of excellent modelling great ideas & light hearted banter.... Cheers Bill

Hi Good to see you yesterday & today & have the opportunity for a good chat. Glad the layout ran well...... & your bespoke buildings looked really good as well.... Hopefully that takes off....Should do with that quality of build...... That chocolate cake was certainly rather good as well.... Cheers Bill

Hi Tony Certainly busy round your way.... Thanks for the above comment & when Creedyford is out & about again I shall let you know..... The show went well & seemed to be well attended....... Plenty of space between layouts with plenty to see. The layout performed well.......My son & grandson operated it virtually all day with me as a spectator....Which suited me fine as I had to go home a couple of times to care for SWMBO who did come to the show for the last couple of hours...... I did manage a few pics but they are rubbish....... If I can mess about with them & get something decent I will post later... Cheers Bill

Hi A long time since my last post but Creedyford is being allowed out to play next weekend...... It will be appearing at the Cornwall O gauge group's show next Sunday 31st at the Leisure Centre in Pool near Redruth......... I had hoped to get one or two jobs done on it but SWMBO has been poorly for a while & I just haven't had any time to spare so it's going to be a case of making sure all works & lots of wheel cleaning. Fortunately my son & grandson will be there to help operate & as I only live close by I can still look after SWMBO unless she feels well enough to attend...... If you're around look forward to seeing you..... Cheers Bill