Watergate Halt and 37035 on video

I started this week with high hopes of finishing off two or three models currently in the paint shop. As ever work pressure piled up and very little was achieved in actual modelling terms. One thing I did do was spend about my only free hour running trains on Amberleigh in some sort of sequence. This is nothing to do with me wanting to run trains to a timetable. It is due to some limited capacity in the fiddle yards, with fiddle yards of only 4ft and two sidings. I realised that if I run one 2 car DMU, one 3 coach locomotive hauled train, one 1 car DMU, and one small freight, I can keep things moving, with relatively little handling in the fiddle yard, except uncoupling the locomotive on the three coach train. This all works reasonably well and provides a relatively interesting sequence. An iddling class 33 in the siding would be just perfect, but at the moment there is no spare cash for a sound chip, or a class 33/0!!!


The limited fiddle yards for the Amberleigh test track

On other projects the painting of the mk2 BFK is nearly finished, so I will post this later this week. My son asked for a parkside cct for his birthday, so with this delivered I hope that we might have some modelling evenings this week. The problem is living next door to such a beautiful beach, with the gorgeous weather it seems such a shame to stay in in the evenings!! The POA scrap wagaon and CCT should also be painted before too long.


View from the fiddle yard out onto the test track 'Amberleigh'

Other than this I have spent 'free-time' musing about Watergate Halt. I have developed a list of requirements for the layout. Firstly, all points on the scenic section must be motor operated. All the points are to be large turnouts. Also the fiddle yards must be over 5ft, so 4 coach trains can be run, with 4 sidings per fiddle yard. And lastly all the lights on the layout have to be controlled by switches.

The other project that I want to get finished this week is the fitting of some express models lighting units to mk1 stock. I want to run the layout with a couple of rakes of coaches all with fitted lights. I purchased a new solder iron today with a much finer tip to start soldering these up in the evenings. The whale is still part constructed, with no sign of the buffers turning up from MG sharp models, so this project is also on hold. I am hoping that I can post some finished projects later this week. My son is also now nearly more technically competent than myself and he is keen to make some videos of the layout. Below is a little test. Again I hope to get some more posts up later this week.


Class 37 pulling a 3 coach train into Amverleigh