Buffer stops

Last night I spent a most enjoyable evening with one of the local areas Scalefour guys (Clive) discussing a buffer stop for Tredethy Wharf. Up until a few days a go I was going to use an old Mikes Models LSWR kit for a buffer stop. That was until I discovered, in my collection of photographs, a three quarter side view of the buffer stop at Dunmere Wharf. I remembered Clive offering me some jigs he'd made for building buffer stops on his layout so I'd asked to borrow them. But it's never that easy, on close inspection of the photo, we discovered the Dunmere stop has some seemingly unique features. More research is needed and Clive has asked for a scale drawing as a new jig might be needed..... Hmmmm.....but hopefully, with his help, I'll be able to build a reasonable representation for Tredethy Wharf.

I am quite excited by this little project..... more updates to follow...............

New 1961 NCR timetable!!

I've recently started to make use of some of my lunch breaks to put some thought into the hub of my Grogley Junction project. The whole project evolves around the creation of a junction station at Grogley and how its creation would effect rail operations. My thoughts have wandered towards its track plan and also my interpretation of Boscarne Junction. I'm currently not sure that my first attempts at track plans for these two junctions will fit the bill. I want to check whether my they would be adequate for traffic running though both the junctions and the only way I could see to do this was to create the timetables.

The aim is to dovetail my fictitious timetable into a 1961/2 timetable with as little alteration as possible from the actual workings of the North Cornwall Railway. It will also need to fit into the historical timetables of the Western Region for Bodmin General and the Newquay branch. As the project has altered slightly to my previous attempt, I've spent time creating these new timetables for the North Cornwall Line as shown below:

References used have been a SR British Railways' timetable for 1961; timetables published in "An Illustrated History of the North Cornwall Railway" (Irwell Press); engine diagrams and timetables in "The Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway" (CFD Whetmath, Forge Books).

I am also hoping that the timetables will help to curtail random purchases, and enable me to work towards a stock list that is relevant for the whole project. Since creating the images for posting I've discovered photographs showing a couple of different train make-ups that will alter the entries slightly within the above timetable headings. These are still a work in progress...........

Timetables for all the local workings between Padstow, Bodmin, Wenford plus the fictitious workings to Mawgan Porth and Par are also being worked on. This is being a more difficult task than the above and will take a number of lunch breaks over the next couple of months before it's in a readable state. Once done I'll be able to work on and justify track plans for any proposed station/junction in my alternative universe.

RCH 7 Plank wagon (Part 5)

It's been a while ...... and track laying on Tredethy Wharf is progressing slowly. I'm beginning to realise what I've started by using individual LSWR chairs........... and this is just a small/test plank layout!

As a slight distraction and with the encouragement of a recent article in the MRJ 200, I've picked up the RCH PO wagon again. A few months ago I'd put this wagon to one side after becoming dissatisfied with my attempt at painting the internal planking. It has been a long time since I've used enamels as all my wargaming painting has been with acrylics. The other barrier has been a mental one about painting a weathered wood effect. In my OO/EM days I'd made a few attempts at this and tried to represent replaced planks, and I never really captured the effect I was after.

Mulling things over I'd started to consider using acrylics when MRJ 200 arrived with the excellent article by Craig Welsh. This lead to a quick purchase of paints followed a couple of hours work, and I'm starting to feel I'm getting somewhere.

It's early days yet........ the planking needs toning down a little with grey washes; the metal work needs rust applying; the whole wagon needs weathering; need to apply running numbers...... but over all I am now feeling more confident about painting wooden wagons. Thanks Craig.

Photographs by Ian Dinmore

I have come across a small selection of interesting colour photographs taken by Ian Dinmore. All are on the Railscot site. Three show weathered clay wagons and one is of the water trough at Pencarrow Woods with no train obscuring the view.

Boscarne Junction with a view of a short clay train from the guards van taken in 1982 here which also shows excellent detail/condition of the inside of a empty clay wagon.

Bodmin General with empty clayhoods here

Pencarrow Woods water trough here This is the first photo I've seen without a train in shot. Must have been taken from a Guards van.

Dunmere level crossing here

I like the last two photographs as they do show the intimacy that this line had with its surroundings. I do hope I will be able to portray this intimacy on Tredethy Wharf.

A funny old few weeks

The last three weeks have been a funny mix.

• Holidaying in a leaking tent.
  
• Doing some more work on the garden project.
  
• Painting and basing new elements for my 15mm Napoleonic Austrian army which were used for an inaugural game in my regular opponents new gaming room.
  
• Track laying being started on Tredethy Wharf with the first point in position and the Tortoise point control mechanism in place under the baseboard (motor still to be installed).
  
• Legs being constructed for the two scenic boards for Tredethy Wharf and nearly completed.
  

But.....during all the above I sprained my right wrist. At first it was not too bad and me being me, not wanting to make a fuss, I thought it would get better on its own. I tried to work though the discomfort until eventually, after a day's decorating, I could not do anything with my right hand........It has been strapped up in a splint for the last week. With hopefully only another week to go with the splint on, I'm doing what I can but it's being a little restrictive.

So very steady progress is being made on the layout but, at the moment, not enough to really shout about.

An excellent Saturday

This is a bit of a late posting of an event that happened recently.

Last Saturday a group of us spent a most enjoyable day at a devout Great Central Railway modeller's house in Oughtibridge. After seeing Bridgehouses at Wakefield North show this year I was intrigued to go along and see his model of Brackley. On the other hand I was hesitant as Bridgehouses is far beyond anything I could expect to build myself and felt I would be way out of my depth in such company. Also being the new boy to P4, with little knowledge of things GC and being a BRWR devotee with SR leanings, I did wonder what my reception would be ....... but I needn't have worried as I was made to feel extremely welcome.

A few of the guys had taken locos to run around Brackley to run them in a little. One loco on test was a J63 which received a lot of praise. This is a loco that I was unfamiliar with but I do like the smaller 0-6-0 tanks, especially with outside cylinders. At the other end of the scale someone else also brought along a Robinson 04 which, when pulling a rake of coal wagons, looked the part and well at home running through Brackley. What I got out of the day more than anything is seeing and hearing how others tackle and solve problems. This was all helped by seeing someone else's layout in the flesh, part complete, in the nude if you like. I do find it difficult to engage exhibitors across a layout at an exhibition while they are busy operating, trying to entertain the punters, even at Scalefour Society exhibitions. I came away from the day wanting to crack into track laying on Tredethy. I was also encouraged by all the talk to start on one of my loco kits. Which one to get to grips with first is the question? The High Level 03 chassis is favourite, but I do fancy giving the Nu-Cast 16xx a go. The DJH 1366 will have to wait until I've built up some confidence and it is all to do with confidence........and after that Saturday I have a little bit more confidence to have a go.

Just about to leave for a few days up in the Lakes then back to a little more work on the Garden Project but I'm sure I will find a few hours to get to grips with some modelling, I can't wait.

I know this will not be read by the host or his wife but I'd like to publicly thank them both for the day and their hospitality. Many thanks.

A Garden Project

At this week's Scalefour Area Group meeting there was a little banter that I've not entered any postings since 16th June. Hmmmm.......well here come the excuses..........not much has happened on the layout as a major Garden Project has been given priority by the "power that needs to be obeyed". Got to blame someone :-)). We also have a visitor staying with us for a couple of weeks. I then have a holiday coming up which means not much else will happen for at least the next fortnight.

On the plus side.......I was able to complete all sleeper laying for the plain track before the layout boards were put into storage while the visitor is with us. I have also been able to test a couple of old AMR handheld controllers at this week's meeting. They worked but not as well as a Gaugemaster W handheld unit. So the two AMR controllers will do for now but I'll have to save a few pennies for a Gaugemaster controller in the future. I've also received a recent order from Squires for brass tubing and rod for point control, wire, switches, solder etc. for the layout. So when the layout does come out of storage I hope I can press on fairly quickly with track laying and wiring.