kes

The body was reduced in height to 5 planks with a razor saw. It is now awaiting brakes on one side only. also needed another brake van, and quite like the short AA7 vans, so built one out of a shortened van chassis and scribed plasticard body.

I finally did a bit more modelling yesterday, whilst it was wet, rather than playing trains. In my vast collection of bits and pieces I found 2 wooden wagon bodies, some w irons, wheels, buffer shanks, rocket sticks and lolly sticks, so I created a GWR 5 plank open, and I am working on a GWR 4 plank open.

Sorry that progress is slow with this layout, it is a long term project and progresses when I get the urge. The big problem is I find myself going in the shed and shunting a few trains and wagons for an hour or two!

Hi Howard, what an excellent issue, nicely balanced mix of layouts and articles. I must say a big Thank You to Tony Wright for his superb photos of my layout Sandy Bay. Looking forward to the next issue, Kevin Smith.

Final view.

Another view.

Fire devil now made out of bits and pieces.

The water tower has now been primed and given the base coats of light and dark stone. I am making a fire devil out of a piece of 15mm copper tube, a plastic rod and some tooth picks. Pictures to follow. The chains have been blackened with a chemical agent.

Size is 78" x 27" the size of a standard UK flush panelled door.

Thanks for the kind comments Richard.Your idea for a NE U S A layout sounds interesting, I will look out for that. Sandy Bay is in the July 2020 BRM with photos by Tony Wright.

Yesterday I made a few of the details to affix to the water tower. It now has the rising main (aluminium wire), ladder, brass, and the operating rods and chains attached. The banding around the tank is plasticard strip, and the water bag is a length of sheathing from CAT5 computer cable. It still needs rivets adding, the stay to hold the chain from the spout and a drain making up.

Hi Ray, above should be a link to the garden railway. Best Wishes, Kevin.

Hi Ray, the garden railway loop is on RM web in 7mm scale, as The Garden Railway. I don't know how to link it from this post! It is a very slow build as I get distracted by other layouts, but it does work and gives me a 3/4 scale mile continuous run to allow the engines to stretch their legs a bit.

I have started work on a water tower, made in the best Allan Downes style, from an aerosol lid, some wooden dowel, brass rod, and a few washers.

The layout finally has a name - Badger's Bottom. It was suggested by Maggie after we had a badger in the garden!

The platforms have now had a couple of coats of thinned emulsion paints applied. This soaks into the card and allows the texture to be seen.

The heat is drying it all out nicely.

Having in filled the top of the platform with hardboard, glued in with pva and weighted down with anything to hand I now have a flat surface to work with. So out with the cereal packets, slicing them into 14mm wide strips, and scribing them to represent stone flags. They are glued down with more pva, and are awaiting painting with acrylics.

Progress has been slow as I have been doing more repairs to my motor home during this stunning weather. The platform has now appeared, made of two layers of polystyrene glued together with PVA and weighted down for a few days. The platform sides are plaster casts made from a silicone mould which I took from a plasticard master. I have used ordinary household finishing plaster because the sides are quite thick. I found that by supporting the mould at each end on some thin ply, I could cast sections which went gently around a curve! They are left to set for a few hours then carefully released from the mould, and left to harden in the sunlight in the conservatory. The sides are glued to the polystyrene using "no more nails" type adhesive. I filled the joints, excluding those where the board joints are (!), and still have a few pin holes to fill before I start colouring the finish. One thing to remember is to try your biggest/longest item of stock for clearance before gluing the sides on. I got out my auto coach and found I needed to slice an edge off the polystyrene to allow more clearance due to my tight curves.

There is just enough rock in the centre hinged axle to allow all the wheels to stay in contact with all my track and for it to go around my tight hand made points.

I also found some old coach sides in my scrap box, some etched ends, wheels and axle boxes, so I am creating something of a hybrid. One axle is fixed, the other end rocks and the centre one dangles on a hinge.

The Collett coach hiding in the background has now been painted and glazed, and only needs a few foot steps and transfers adding.

The 48xx is nearly finished - just needs coal, lamps and a coat of weathering. I am very pleased with how this has turned out considering it was a 40/50 year old CCW white metal kit. It has similar track-ironing tendencies to the J50 due to the weight.

Hi Hal - it's an Ian Kirk plastic kit - D98 non corridor brake 3rd. He sells the kit complete with bogies for £44. He also does the matching E131 non corridor compo for the same price. The stock numbers are 7905 7906. They require wheels buffers couplings and door handles, but can be made into nice models.