The corner that never gets photographed!!

Last night finally got some free time to do a bit of modelling, not much, but some time. Work pressure is fierce at the moment and with family commitments coming in left, right and centre, it feels I am getting no time to play trains!! Anyway got the air brush going last and managed to progress with the BFK MK2. I am confident of finally finishing it tonight. However, time is extremely limited at the moment to do anything other than work. So time for modelling looks non-existant for at least another month.


BR blue class 47 heading towards the platelayers hut on Amberleigh

As well as progressing my BFK MK2 last night I also had a little running session of the test track. I realised that only one part of the micro-layout that ever got photographed was the halt. So last night as I was running 47035 on a passenger service I took a couple of pictures of the other end, with the platelayers hut before the fiddle yard. The light in my modelling room is really poor, hence some not quite brilliant photographs. I am going to get the layout into the living room before long for a proper photography session, when I finally get round to finishing off some of these projects. Hopefully that will not be too far off..


47035 stopped at Amberleigh halt

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

Passenger service at Amberleigh

Another week flies by and yet another week of no modelling. Went to a family wedding in London which was excellent, but other than that I have not managed to go near any projects I have on the go. I have been doing a little bit of web based reading to look up which dcc control unit to use on my next layout. Bachmann dyamis seems reasonable, although from what I have read you cannot set cv values, and the infra red is a bit temperamental. Other than this, it has been a really unproductive month of model making, but the weather has been stunning!! So instead of showing some non existent progress thought I would post one of several little videos I have made of Amberleigh recently. The video shows Amberleigh with a class 108 running into the little halt. This 108 is a detailed bachman model, but this is about to go back onto my bench for further work. Primarily, there is light bleeding through the plastic, were there are light colours such as white and yellow. The other point is the body requires some subtle weathering, such as door frames and a driver needs to be sat down!! The other train is 33/1 hauled mk1 stock. The lack of carriage lighting is glaring and this is another key project to be started asap.

Whale, CCT, Class 121 DMU and a POA wagon

Well the heading pretty much describes my current projects, as far as I have got with them. Various interruptions meant that I did not achieve as much modelling as I wanted to at the weekend, but projects certainly moved forward.


New rolling stock for Amberleigh in the shape of a class 121 dmu

I purchased a class 121 dmu for a regular passenger service on Amberleigh. I have got some Express Models interior lights, some Blackcat Technologies head/tail lights and a Craftsman detailing kit to add onto it. It is a slightly daunting project, but one I am looking forward to getting stuck into over the next two weeks. The biggest issue I have is very average soldering skills, so I think a new and better soldering iron is in order. This project got underway at the weekend, with the couplings being cut off and the body dismantled. Test running on Amberleigh with a Bachmann back emf decoder resulted in a very noisy engine and not brilliant performance. I wonder if anyone out there has a recommended decoder for the hornby model??


Parkside southern CCT, ready for painting

The Parkside CCT is done. This is going to the Amberleigh engineering department in olive green. One thing I noticed is that engineering vans tend to have LPG cylinders slung underneath - I presume for a stove (but I have no idea really!!). I had an old one lying around from an unfinished Southern Pride kit and stuck this on the underframe. The kit is all washed now ready for painting...but alas I failed to get the air brush started this weekend.


Dismantled SSA wagon

The other little project I am dabbling with is converting a couple of Bachmann SSA wagons to POA wagons. This is literally just the removal of the factory finished enamel and replacement with Modelmaster Decals. The first wagon has also been converted for use with 3 link couplings. As with normal Bachmann wagons this was a little bit of a fight, with three pretty substantial mounting blocks for the tension lock coupler. Anyway, one down and one to go!! The next POA is going to have very battered sides, I am looking forward to hacking it up!!


POA wagon with offending transfers removed and 3 link couplings added in a slightly unorthodox way, utilising a fair amount of araldite!

Another project that received some attention was the construction of my whale wagon. I am still waiting on my buffers from MG sharp models, but have started fitting the body together. The chute was added last night and it is really starting to shape up. I am looking forward to finishing the build on this over the next week or so. I have another one of these to build, which I think I might start almost straight away....and I might have to have one more bash at a walrus!!! The kit for the whale is similar to the walrus. Normally when I am putting a kit together I have an idea if it is going to look good when finished, but I am unsure with this first whale, I guess time will tell.


Progression of the whale wagon

Other projects I have kicking about is adding some lights into some mk1 and mk2 lighting stock. Not all my coaches, just a handful for night running. I am also going to have a bash at updating a bachmann class 47 and 37 and I have another heljan 33 (a 33/2 this time) to weather. I still have a lighting kit and decoder waiting to be installed in a bachmann 08. Lots to do and absolutely no time to do it in!! Maybe, just maybe I should get the CCT painted this week...

Watergate Halt

I have spent the best part of two weeks up the East Midlands recently, hence my lack of blogging and complete lack of progress with many of my modelling projects. I do like the East Midlands, mainly due to some research I conducted on the Trent some years ago now. Being stuck away from home has been frustrating at times, not allowing me to progress with projects I want to get on with. The work I am managing in the East Midlands is a borehole survey and as a result there is a lot of downtime. This has led to me thinking about my next layout project and sketching designs in my work notepad. The other outcome has been spending money on the internet in the evenings buying some new rolling stock.


Three coach passenger service pulls into Amberleigh Halt

The picture posted above shows a 3 coach train on Amberleigh. It comes to a shade just over 4ft I think. One of my key objectives with Watergate is to run 'scale' length west country branchline trains. These will be normally around 3/4 coaches on the tarka trail plus an engine. In the mid eighties some of the trains during summer were around 5/6 coaches, and this on a branchline!!

Bearing in mind the wheel base of my van (in case I ever take a layout to exhibition) I am going to construct a running length of 8ft, with a 2ft depth. This will allow two single lines to run through a halt (shades of Crediton here) with a freight line and a passenger line. A siding will be put in for a timber yard and a level crossing to test my modelling skills!! The scenic section will be one 6ft board and one 2ft board leading to a fiddle yard. There will be a fiddle yard on the other end of the halt as well, to allow through running of trains. Amberleigh has been a great learning experience, but I am feeling the bug bite again to construct the next layout.

Regional Railways BSK, a whale ballast wagon and engineering CCT

Lightly weathered BSK mk1 in Regional Railways livery

Following some glorious days working in the lovely city of York, I am back home in Devon and having a bit of spare time to undertake some modelling. I got out the camera and took some photos of the regional railways mk1 BSK that I recently gave a very light weathering to. I am really pleased with the result. The underframe looks great with a very clean body. It makes a great comparison to the scruffy looking mk1 NEA intercity brake it is now coupled up with. This is a fixed short rake that is currently trundling up and down Amberleigh behind a class 37 in a dutch livery. Short trains like this were common on the tarka line in the mid to late 1980's, although only 2 coaches is probably pushing it a little. However, in my mind it makes a model of something that might of happened...


Some passengers on their way to Torrington

Incidentally, all the photographs taken on this post I set in a rather low light (ok lights dimmed, etc), trying to recreate a dusk-like atmosphere. I think it works pretty well, although I am sure there is much I could do to better my virtually non existent photography skills (I just point and shoot).


Class 37 heading the local passenger service. It must be a summer Sunday

On another point I have now got round to finishing quite a few coaches for Amberleigh and the next Watergate Halt layout. In got my mind round to thinking about whether to weather a batch of coaches at once. Having thought about it I am going to stick to doing it in ones and twos. I feel this will give greater variation to rakes, even it is subtle. Thus every coach will be a one off, which should create a variety of different weathering states, from near ex-works, through to neglected.


View of the local passenger service

Another point that has struck me twice recently, is internet shops claiming to have things in stock, only to find out when you order that it is not the case. I am putting together the first of two Cambrian whale wagons, and ordered some nice A1 brass buffers from MG Sharp. The website listed the parts as in stock. After my card was debited it is revealed that the product is actually out of stock. I also ordered a Hornby blue grey class 121 from Hereford Model Centre this week. This was to be a little DMU unit dedicated to the passenger service for the good people of Amberleigh. Again my order goes through, only to receive an e-mail later that the item is in fact out of stock. I am not someone who generally moans, but in both cases I feel a little hard done by, being misled by the information supplied. It is a little frustrating.


The main body of the whale wagon, plus the assembled hopper shute

However, to finish on a positive, the parkside CCT is just about finished (a few odds and ends to tidy up). A lovely simple little kit to build. I hope to get this painted and finished this weekend. I think that I should also be able to finish the whale this weekend, except for buffers. However, like always I have big plans but have the feeling I might not get as much modelling time as I would like.


Nearly finished Parkside CCT

More on Amberleigh Halt

This week has been mainly spent playing trains in the evening after work. Working for myself means I do not get as much evening time as I used to, and modelling output has certainly declined a bit. This has also coincided with my little test track of Amberleigh being fully operational. As this is my first layout I have spent a lot of time just running stock on it. I have been building wagons for the layout for about 11 years, so it is great to finally see the rolling stock trundling about.


Class 37/0 hauls a two coach passenger service into Amberleigh Halt.

Two projects that have finished are re-weathering my engineers grey class 37/0. This was my first proper locomotive weathering. Although at the time I was happy with it, more practice on the airbrush suggested I could do better. So I had another bash and am much happier with the result now. It is now a permanant feature on Amberleigh!!

Another project that also finished was the weathering of a Mk1 BSK in regional railways livery. This had a light weathering applied to contrast with a heavy weathering on a mk1 NEA in intercity livery. This forms a fixed rake for the Amberleigh micro-layout. Currently being dragged around by the 37/0 for a bit of fun!! I will take a photo or two of this next week.


Class 47 taking a fertiliser wagon down to Torrington

Two other projects that are progressing nicely are the build of the Whale ballast wagon and the cct. The cct is almost finished and the whale is progressing nicely. Both of these should be finished around next weekend. Both wagons will be finished in engineering olive.