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Mid-Cornwall Lines - 1950s Western Region in 00


St Enodoc
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9 hours ago, aardvark said:

 

On 03/09/2021 at 11:50, St Enodoc said:

I laid 709 points

 

:O I knew your layout was big, but I didn't know it was that big.

 

Not just laid, but built…

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On 28/08/2021 at 08:55, St Enodoc said:

1740876704_20210828004Barryslip.JPG.3fbadce9bfa5df6d50ee7693803b1602.JPG

Here's the whole formation in context. I ran the long china-clay train in and out a couple of times without problems, so tomorrow I plan to carry on with 707 and 708 points and 7 and 8 roads.

That is starting to look super impressive. I suspect its the foreshortening effect of the lens you've used but the LH curve away from the nearest triangle point looks a tad severe. I trust your workmanship that its not, so blame the camera-not-lying principle.

Seeing you beavering away with track-laying makes me thirst for getting the first track laid on my rebuild.

What foam trackbed do you use? Previously I laid track direct on the 9mm ply boards and did not notice any problems with noise, so just wondering what's the plus and minus deal with soft trackbed. I apologise for raising again a subject that John Ahern and Cyril Freezer discussed 80 years ago but its still a subject that I haven't fully settled in my own head either way.

 

Edited by Martin S-C
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5 hours ago, Martin S-C said:

I suspect its the foreshortening effect of the lens you've used but the LH curve away from the nearest triangle point looks a tad severe.

Martin, it will be 30", the same as the rest of the Branch. I suspect that the effect you can see is because the ends of the rails, beyond the furthermost timbers, are not curved yet. When I lay the track on the left, Tracksettas will get everything in the right place.

 

5 hours ago, Martin S-C said:

What foam trackbed do you use?

DCC Concepts. Nothing to do with noise, just to get the track raised above the surrounding formation for visual reasons. In yards and under complex pointwork I use 3mm cork (or 2mm with  Peco track in the storage areas, as mentioned previously) but the DCC Concepts foam, being cut to width and already chamfered, is quicker and easier for plain track.

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Delightful. Just one of those shots would have been satisfying, this is a sweet shop. The Cornish Riveriera looks good, but the goods trains steal the show. 

 

Interesting to compare the two China clay workings. Shows what loco weathering can do.

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1 hour ago, Mikkel said:

Delightful. Just one of those shots would have been satisfying, this is a sweet shop. The Cornish Riveriera looks good, but the goods trains steal the show. 

 

Interesting to compare the two China clay workings. Shows what loco weathering can do.

Thanks Mikkel. 1664 was weathered by the late Paul Fletcher, almost exactly 40 years ago at the 1981 Leeds show. 4206 isn't weathered at all - yet! The china-clay wagons were weathered, also many years ago, by @Barry O of this parish.

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59 minutes ago, Stubby47 said:

Just how long have you been planning this layout ?

50 years, I suppose. The first layout that was inspired by Newquay was the last we had in London before we moved to Edinburgh. The baseboards were funded by a smallish pools win that Dad had in early 1971.

 

The first Pentowan layout was started in about 1972, after the move.

 

It's been a more-or-less continuous development since then.

 

There's no rush...

Edited by St Enodoc
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26 minutes ago, Michael Edge said:

That must have been more of a win than my Dad's biggest - he did the pools all his life  and his best win was 10/6 (shillings and pence for younger readers).

It was a few hundred quid as I recall - which was good money in those days. As well as the baseboards, it paid for gas central heating too.

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3 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

If anybody ever asks for a definition of 'a model railway'  this comes at the top of my British outline list for one very simple reason.  Trains come from somewhere and go to somewhere else and, very importantly, that includes logically spaced intermediate locations all within the one railway room.  In other words it is a model of a railway which works like a real railway rather than a model of a place (of which a number of superb examples can be seen on RMweb).  

 

It is I suppose in some respects a translation of the US idea of a railway connecting different visible places into a carefully crafted idea for a British setting.   Brilliant idea cleverly executed.

Thanks Mike, I appreciate that very much. Yes, it is intended to be a "system layout" as found widely in the USA but also here in Australia, for example Marcus Ammann's NSWGR Main North layout:

 

http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/nswmn/

 

and the NYC in 0 gauge, which has developed considerably since these photos were taken:

 

https://www.nmra.org.au/Layout_Tours/Howarth NYC/index.html

 

There are others, of course, and one such here on RMweb that I think will be one of the best is @LNER4479 Graham's "Hills of the North":

 

 

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Having something of an interest in the NSWGR (and spending a little while working for one of its successors) thanks for the link to the Main North layout a very interesting area although I only saw it in its early 21st century state (but have plenty of videos of the steam age, helped by a brief personal acquaintance while I was in Aus, below).   Now back to Cornish WR

 

2083407261_204_DS1copy.jpg.24bfdd340c4a754dbf826474ce98c91c.jpg

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31 minutes ago, The Stationmaster said:

Having something of an interest in the NSWGR (and spending a little while working for one of its successors) thanks for the link to the Main North layout a very interesting area although I only saw it in its early 21st century state (but have plenty of videos of the steam age, helped by a brief personal acquaintance while I was in Aus, below).   Now back to Cornish WR

 

2083407261_204_DS1copy.jpg.24bfdd340c4a754dbf826474ce98c91c.jpg

I'm sure I have commented elsewhere that the loco most reminds me of a New Haven I5, one of my favourite US streamlined steam locos. Not quite sure about the colour but the shape is very pleasing. 

 

 

 

Edited by Oldddudders
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4 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

I'm sure I have commented elsewhere that the loco most reminds me of a New Haven I5, one of my favourite US streamlined steam locos. Not quite sure about the colour but the shape is very pleasing. 

 

 

 

3801 has carried a few liveries over the years, including the original plain grey nicknamed Grey Nurse after a breed of shark. Following its recent restoration it has been painted in what I think is a slightly deeper and richer green than before.

 

https://www.thnsw.com.au/3801

 

http://www.australiansteam.com/3801.htm

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8 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

I much prefer the current darker green - but then many Southern Railway enthusiasts prefer olive to malachite, so I would! 

I like it too. It's much closer to what might be described as a deep chrome, or Brunswick, green...

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18 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

To finish his day out, and his roll of film, WC drove back to Porthmellyn Road where 6800 Arlington Grange was waiting in platform 2 with the 1540 Penzance - Paddington parcels.

 

1292752023_20210910006ex-GWRM15newspapervan.JPG.e9204a0d607c22586c400dc95cd6c2df.JPG

He also took a photo of the leading van, an ancient 12-wheeled M15 newspaper van, which probably hasn't much longer to go before withdrawal.

 

 

A magnificent looking vehicle and a nice sequence of photos!

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On 05/09/2021 at 11:26, The Stationmaster said:

If anybody ever asks for a definition of 'a model railway'  this comes at the top of my British outline list for one very simple reason.  Trains come from somewhere and go to somewhere else and, very importantly, that includes logically spaced intermediate locations all within the one railway room.  In other words it is a model of a railway which works like a real railway rather than a model of a place (of which a number of superb examples can be seen on RMweb).  

 

It is I suppose in some respects a translation of the US idea of a railway connecting different visible places into a carefully crafted idea for a British setting.   Brilliant idea cleverly executed.

 

Well said that man! This would be my sort of dream layout although I don't have the drive, ambition, space or resources to ever create anything like it. In some respects, it is rather like Buckingham on a rather grander scale, with more places for trains to come from and go to.

 

The are many things that "make" a good layout. Different people have different priorities. To me, the notion of whether I would enjoy operating it for long periods without getting bored is pretty high up the list and the Mid Cornwall lines certainly ticks that box.

 

My only problem with it is that it is on the other side of the planet, otherwise my pestering to be allowed to come and "play trains" would be never ending!

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