When the mainstream met modelling miniature railways

I received a couple of messages last Friday night to the effect that the new edition of ModelRail magazine (no. 236) contained an article by Paul Lunn suggesting the modelling of 15" (or thereabouts) railways.

 

Having purchased a copy the article within has ideas based on Dungeness, Cleethorpes (Lakeside) and a room-filling Fairbourne. As is usual with Paul's plans, the presentation of them is well thought through with an equal dose of compromise and practicality. 

Looking closely at the plans there are a few pieces of artistic license, but that is typical of many plans published in the mainstream press, with track spacing, turnout length and curve radii the usual suspects.

Naturally I am quite taken with the Cleethorpes plan, despite it being a solid 8' x 3' lump. It could certainly be made to work, I recall making a plan for this part of the railway (in terminus form) myself in a length only slightly shorter.

One of my contacts did make the comment that no attempt is made to identify what locomotives or rolling stock could be used, maybe in part 2 we shall get some suggestions, though based on previous content in the magazine I suspect we may see a Farish diesel with a hole cut in the roof at some point.

I was only observing to someone at the Hull Summer Show last weekend that it was probably easier now to recreate a miniature railway in O9 now than ever before. Take your pick of quality N gauge steam loco, open up a driver's seat in the tender and build up some of Roger Chiver's plastic coach kits...

Colin 

Ravenglass Visitors

Just a few pictures of 'Shifting Sands' from the Hull club's Summer Show in their HQ building. We were lined up with the two other narrow gauge layouts, 'Moorton Bottom Yard' and 'Mill Lane', giving the public a taste of O9, 009 and O-16.5.

We entertained a couple of visiting locomotives from Peter Leadley of the Clee Valley Railway. Here the N-Drive 'Katie' gives a demonstration of Estate railway motive power past and future with my own 'St Edwin':

The eagle eyed will see that 'Katie' is posed with something suitably Ratty....one of Roger Chivers' Theakston wagons:

 

'Bonnie Dundee' had a good run around the layout too, but due to coupling compatibility issues couldn't actually pull anything.

The opportunity was taken to recreate an image that I took of the real 'Bonnie Dundee' and 'Flower of the Forest' at Cleethorpes last year:

The club sales stand wielded a couple of 50p bargains that may find their way onto future projects and I picked up a scenic detail for the "other scale" from the trader present, Caistor Loco.

My thanks to the Hull club for the invite, I understand it is the first time they have invited a layout from outside the club to the Summer Show, we're honoured!

Colin

The Road to Hull (alternative title: Keep You Motor Runnin')

With less than a week to go until Shifting Sands appears at the Hull club's Summer Show, I thought it worth showing off a few new details that I have added to the layout for this appearance.

The first is a Harley Davidson 'Heritage Softail' motor cycle. This is from a range being sold at shows by A1 Models, moulded in plastic and if I recall correctly are left-overs from a promotional collection. With a little work to lessen the appearance of mould lines on the chrome parts, some touching-in of paint, a coat of matt varnish and a gentle touch of dry-brushing it is ready to go on the layout:

I have added the pins underneath to enable it to locate on the layout, you may also just see that I have flattened off the base of the tyres so that it sits more easily on the ground. On the rear I have added a licence plate from Tower Models 4mm scale bus decals, with a little tinkering a 1970s mark becomes something that the DVLA has made a little money from:

This isn't the only scenic addition. I have also added and moved around some of the items in the shed area, a bit like real life really! In the workshop can be glimpsed some new items in the form of the wheelsets and pillar drill I made last year, plus a coat hung from the shelf bracket that dates from the same time (the drill sits on wooden blocks awaiting further use, they aren't using it on the floor!):

Another item created last year was a locomotive cab, which has been added to the area of junk near the front of the caravan, along with one of the containers displaced by the new items in the shed:

I look forward to meeting O9 Modeller readers at the show on Saturday 3rd June.

Colin