Easter Reflections

Six Easter's ago I started creation what should have been my next layout, an O9 version of the Julian Andrews brickworks plan, later known as 'Avalon Brickworks' in the stewardship of Howard Martin. We were in lockdown and the weekend saw rapid progress on the layout during the day and depletion of a small keg of Hobgoblin (Ruby) in the evenings, and maybe afternoons... All the details

This project became bogged down in difficulties about what it should represent and what should run on it, I could have persevered but it was later all lifted due to the following reasons:

• The curve at the top-right hand corner was never smooth enough and really needed completely relaying.
• The angle and curve in the middle siding could never be decided on (in many ways due to me persisting trying to use MicroTrains couplers) - now actually I think it looks right as first laid!
• The fiddle yard siding was later extended and curved and always seemed to get in the way.
• I should have raised the track bed up from the board surface as I did on 'Shifting Sands', it always looked too 'sunken' around the edges.

As it was, the track was recovered, the curved rail mostly got used up on 'Odsock Corner' and the points and board await re-use, hence why most recent planning uses a 'Y' and Right-hand point. That current layout planning presents some dilemmas, there are several competing ideas that come up against practicality and reality. 

You may have seen the ideas on these pages in the last few weeks, centred around the Scale Model Scenery board for a Really Useful 'wrapping paper' Box . The most recent, posted on April 1st, was not really trying to fool anyone other than myself! That scheme needed a substantial run-off board to work effectively and there are space considerations as to where it could actually be operated - it would inevitably end up only being able to be set up in the workshop and having to have rolling stock transported out to meet up for a running session. I think at the moment I really want something that can live and be operated in the house...

The inglenook variations on that board hold a little more possibility for this by using them as a desk-sitter, but the board length will only just fit across the desk and with a solid wall either side I foresee issues getting it into place reliably. The original 'Upcycle' scheme that was abandoned well before Easter 2020 was a little shorter in length and perhaps better for it, although it could have benefitted from a little more depth. Height-wise it was designed to fit into a space and was going to present a challenge with fairly low-key scenery up to hedge/fence height.

However, at the moment, the idea of a single board that is shorter than the 30" of the Scale Model Scenery board, desk-sits easily and has low height scenery to store away with ease, is quite appealing. If it could offer a continuous run and some shunting possibilities, have a fairly generic setting and use the stock built recently with Greenwich couplers, it might tick a lot of boxes. If it looks like what was laid six years ago, that will be entirely a coincidence...

Food for thought...

Colin 

Getting Something Moving - Or Not

As I'm having a bit of a sort out and re-ordering of projects, one of the many issues was ‘Getting Something Moving’ and somehow making it work for me. 

Well the title of the project is now somewhat ironic because nothing is moving. It has been in existence now for three years, I suppose that when I started building in that lockdown Easter it was what I wanted to do but now looking at it with hindsight I'm not so sure... I've tinkered with it a few times since then but it still doesn’t gel. As seen recently I've spent some time playing with different track plans that will fit on the board and spent some time trying to work out if the current track plan could actually be made to work for me without having to do anything too destructive, but the more I looked at it the more the amount of work it needed to achieve what would work felt a little bit overwhelming due to time constraints.  

Well I say current, however despite surviving three Easters since construction started, just one Coronation later...

I had always said that I'll keep the track down on the board until I'd definitely made my mind up whether to retain the track plan, it looks like now I'm at that point! Everything has been recovered from the board and we shall see what develops next. I freely admit I struggle to work with 09 concepts that aren't 15 inch gauge railways as I know them which are as generally speaking passenger carrying pleasure railways. Anything slightly industrial or agricultural to me doesn't sit right. Others (Bill Flude and Graham Watling in particular) manage it far more eloquently than I do.

Colin

The March of Time

Time has flown by in the first quarter of 2023, and from a modelling perspective there has been little to report. I spent some time trying to build a photographic diorama that could fit in my square-foot lightbox but that went through several iterations without success. However it has led to a long-overdue refresh of another project, more to be revealed soon... 

The last week or so has been one of reflection, having realised I've been modelling in O9 now for 20 years! A lot has changed in that time, from there being very few products aimed at representing 15" gauge prototypes accurately to there now being a wider choice in many mediums. I like to think I've had a small part to play in that via a range of bogie coaches for the Avalon Line range. 

Sadly the news came last week that we had lost Avalon's Howard Martin. I think the first time that I met him, at a 7mm NGA Burton show, I introduced myself as "his worst customer" on the basis that I was an O9 modeller who didn't buy his products! Despite this he was always very keen to see my work in O9 and encouraged me to create masters for Steve Bennett to cast bogie coaches based on those running on 'Shifting Sands'.

Although built by Julian Andrews, Howard was of course the person I associate with the 'Avalon Brickworks' layout having seen it many times on his stand at exhibitions. This has made me take another look at my baseboard and track over the past weekend to see it that plan could perhaps be revived in some way rather than replaced. We shall see...

I'll leave you with this shot of the original layout, with Avalon Line loco and coach built to O-16.5.

Colin

Revisiting the Corkboard

It's been a quiet month since I last posted and actual model-making has been in abeyance for one reason or another. That hasn't stopped the thought processes though...

Since seeing James Hilton's work at Doncaster I have been playing with a few ideas to revive the small corkboard layout I started a few years ago. I think I have now finally reached the conclusion that the "Avalon Brickworks" plan isn't going to achieve what I want to do and needs a rethink. As a reminder, after a year or so of inactivity it presently looks something like this:

So why doesn't it work? There are a few things, some practical and some just "me". One of my bugbears with it (of my own making) is that the track sits in a tray formed by the outer framing of the board. On 'Shifting Sands' I raised the track on thin balsa to overcome this and I regret not doing the same here in "lockdown" conditions. The other practical issue is that the facing point arrangement makes positioning MicroTrains magnets tricky, leaving a magnet on the main line behind the right-hand point in an awkward position, OK for swapping sets of wagons but less so to actually "shunt" individual wagons. The curve in the inner siding pushed the magnet back there leaving little room for manoeuvre. 

The offset circuit of James' 'Canal Street Wharf' inspired plan 1 with a siding added within the circuit. The idea is that it would be fully scenic all around, rather like my 009 layout 'The Old Quarry Line'. At one point I sketched in a loco spur top right outside the circuit but I felt that it made things look unbalanced so it was lost from the final version of the plan.

I then wondered how it would look with the offset of the circuit the other way around, i.e. with the point on the side further away from the baseboard edge. I redrew this as plan 2 which actually confirmed what I thought, that it looked more spacious the other way around with the siding closer to the centre of the board. On both versions there is plenty of space for uncoupling magnets on the straight lines from both arms of the turnout.

These ideas need a complete lift of the existing trackwork, but that is not a bad thing as it will deal with the bugbear of the sunken track. My thinking is either to add another layer to the board top to raise the trackbed, or the more extreme idea to flip the board over and add a new trackbed layer on what is presently the underside of the framing. This would allow some dramatic scenery below track level such as a bridge over a stream. 

However, plan 2 did lead to another train of thought, completely different to the original concept, plan 3...

This is something of a cross between 'Shifting Sands' and an Inglenook! The sidings at the front are a 3,2,4 capacity layout, which isn't bad for the space. All have nice straight runs off the points so uncoupling/coupling should not be an issue. The sidings at the back are intended to be hidden and can hold a loco and 3 wagons.

So back to that "me" issue... I had struggled to find a suitable theme and setting for the original plan. Whilst many feel comfortable with O9 in an industrial setting it isn't something I can relate to, certainly not with my current rolling stock. Steering clear of this theme, I would be looking at depicting a modern-day estate railway of some sort, concentrating on stock used for maintenance of the railway itself and the land, e.g. loads of ballast, sleepers, fencing material, cut trees etc, maybe animal feed. 

As to what will get built, we shall see...

Colin

 

The best laid plans... can be changed

The appearance of 'Brooking Vale Brewery' in the latest 'Modeller has prompted some further thought about my stalled O9 micro layout project. Although the builder of that layout did not reference it, I was reminded of my source material, Julian Andrew's United Brick (Avalon Brickworks). I revisited this to see what it was that didn't quite gel for me, aside from issues about a credible scenario... I realised part of the issue might be that I had watered down one of the elements of the original (and many of it's imitators) by moving the inner siding towards the running line rather than it going towards, or even through a building in front of the backscene. Indeed I had physically moved it forward twice since the track was first laid.

I pondered what could be done if I swung the siding into a 6" radius curve and to move the Petite Properties structure to this location. So I drew out a 6" curve on good old cereal packet and also created a new mock-up of the structure as I realised it would look better reversed. By moving the bigger tree forward from the backscene it potentially hides the line running through the backscene a little better.

I have used part of the older mock-up to disguise the right-hand-side curve. I think I would actually go for a slightly taller, maybe wider, but definitely more bland structure here, possibly in corrugated material. The key to this structure appears to be that is should be seen but not to draw the eye to it, and the more I think about it the more the Petite Properties kit would not meet that criteria!

I still think I am some way off (re)starting this build. Whilst it remains an aspiration to complete it, having worked on the Christmas pizza and taking great delight in the simplicity of it, part of me yearns to do something quite simple and accessible for my next project, but I am not sure what...

Colin

Imposters - Spot the Difference

The two 'imposter' wagons seen in the last post are now completed and painted in grey primer. Since the last pictures I have added some simple hinge details, securing pins for the drop-doors and dummy link-and-pin coupler pockets.

Despite being to practically the same design, there are many differences in dimensions and details, in fact I'm not sure anything is actually the same!

When time permits and the mood takes me they will be painted up and finished off, but that really needs to wait until work on their potential home is underway...

Colin

 

Imposters on the Bench

Unfortunately I haven't done much modelling of late, lots of reasons, but the result was that I did find myself analysing my current project (the O9 micro roundy-roundy) and whether I had the time to continue with it, do something different or... who knows...?!

The last few weeks have seen a glimmer of hope and a couple of weekends ago I found I had time to sit at the workbench and actually build something. I opted to build another 3-plank wagon based on the one I had completed in January, a nominal 5ft (scale) long wagon with Grandt Line hinges on 3-plank sides. Of course I then decided one wasn't enough so started a second, and to give some variety this is a little bit longer. Detailing is still in progress with the end stanchions yet to be cut back and shaped.

One of the things that test running the new project had revealed was that trains formed of multiple Black Dog Mining based wagons tended to wobble a bit, especially if propelled. Some might say this is ultra realistic but to me it is a bit distracting (remembering that I abandoned using KB scale Hudson chassis for a similar reason). With that in mind for the first wagon I cut up a Peco N gauge 10ft chassis to a 14mm wheelbase and disguised it with Black Dog-style axleboxes, modifying the set I had made last year to try and add to a damaged Hudson frame. Hence this is the first imposter! The second wagon retains the 20mm wheelbase and has steel channel solebars, where there was space to add genuine Black Dog axlebox castings recovered from a broken chassis. An imposter in the sense they are not functioning... Both have weight added in the void between Peco chassis and floor.

The eagle-eyed might spot that there are no cut-outs for MicroTrains couplings on these builds. This is again in reaction to test running, as in order to avoid any accidental uncoupling events, I have opted to use MT couplers at the outer ends of rakes only, within rakes simple loop and pin couplers will suffice. Both new wagons will therefore be loop and pin only.

This leaves a few modifications to do to existing vehicles. I might have over-thought this, but in order to maintain consistency between vehicle ends I wanted couplers that bore a passing resemblance to the MicroTrains box at the other end, which luckily, if you squint, do look a bit like link and pin coupler blocks on real 15" gauge wagons. So out came the styrene and I had a play, having no 5mm x 3mm section wasn't as big an issue as I thought as I fudged up my own from 5mm x 5mm that had already been cut in half lengthwise... More imposters were born!

From left to right:

• Initial experiments based on MicroTrains 1015 (L) and 1023 (R) coupler boxes. These were actually OK, but the 1015 style one then went on for a bit of further development.
• Refined 1015 and 1023 boxes. The 1015 (L) now has some 3.2mm channel as the coupler face and whilst maybe not as close as the initial version, I concluded that this could be replicated on the new-build wagons easily. The 1023 (R) has some additional section down either side to reflect the additions I had already made to disguise the actual coupler boxes on some stock.
• A stand-alone coupler for new-build stock fashioned from 3.2mm channel, one of 5 made for the new wagons. Externally this and the 1015 substitute will look consistent. 

After that burst of activity there will probably be a bit of a lull until I get any more work done, but we shall see... 

Colin

Getting on the Right Track

I've spent some time over the last few weeks making little tweaks to the Julian Andrews inspired micro layout as and when I've had time. Inspired by a discussion on the NGRM Online forum about how track looked (as a reaction to a piece by Iain Rice in Model Railway Journal), I revisited the sleeper spacing on the 'main line' around the curve. In order to lose the regularity (if you can call it that) of the Peco track I removed about 5-6 sleepers and respaced the remainder. The sidings had already been through a similar process when laid but I chose to lose a couple more sleepers there, and also to realign the inner siding to make a bit more room for the trees behind.

On one of my lunchtime walks, where I'll freely admit I ruminate about model railway projects, I realised that although I wouldn't have time to do much to this project over the summer, there would be a distinct advantage to getting the track painted during "better" weather. So last weekend I made preparations and sprayed away...

My method was to use Halfords matt dark brown sprayed at the rail sides, then to stand the board on end and a (lighter) Humbrol matt bown sprayed over the sleepers, with a smattering of grey primer too, after the Humbrol can splattered, failed and made a bit of a mess.

It did all look a bit of an unhappy mess for a while, but it was only ever intended as a base. A couple of evenings tinkering with acrylics added some slightly rustier tones to rail sides and dry-brushing the sleepers with some woody tones. A recent article in the NGIRM Review on track is also worth reading with regard to how nature interacts with the permanent way so there will no doubt be further adjustments once ballasting and scenic treatments begin, whenever that might be... 

Colin

Reet Petite

I've been playing again with mock-ups for the Julian Andrews-inspired O9 scheme. The building represents Petite Properties 'Harpers Yard' with a little extra depth added. I've liked the look of this range of structures for some time and in particular I was impressed with the effects that Michael Campbell had achieved with them in 4mm scale on Loctern Quay.

The manufacturers website says this structure is 17.5cm wide and 20.8cm tall but I could not help feel those dimensions were transposed as it scales out the other way from the photos, and the dimensions of the 4mm version are shown wider than it is tall. Through a request on the 7mm NGA Facebook group Ian Leese kindly confirmed the dimensions as 18.5 cm wide and 15 cm tall, so I could dimension the image of the front accordingly. I must also thank Simon Andrews as he confirmed the doorway height at 49mm so there may need to be an adjustment to get some items on O9 stock through.

I think the next adjustment might be to the inner siding, bringing it closer to the inside of the curve to give more space for the tree... we shall see!

Colin

Moving on from Paper and Pencil?

It's four months (yes really) since I last posted my thoughts on the scenic treatment for my O9 interpretation of the Julian Andrews brickworks plan. Since then there has been little creative thought about the project until this week. In fact there has been more thought on alternative schemes but they have all drawn a blank...

There are a few items that I wish to use on the project and in some ways these are either driving or stopping my thoughts on how the scene should look. One of these is a photograpic backscene, and I was having a few thoughts that this could be overpowering to the scene, especially compared to my usual "restrained" style. To test how it would look I downloaded the images of it from the internet and resized them to full size and then printed in draft, temporarily mounting them on a spare piece of ply. With the addition of new dummy foreground trees, better representing the two Skale Scenics examples I wish to use on the project, this doesn't look too bad. 

My attention then turned to the grouping of buildings on the right hiding the return curve. As mocked up this is the building shown last time (based on one I built a few years ago) with a modified Airfix/Dapol water tank behind. This didn't look quite right, to me it looks too obvious that the line can curve through the structure. But what if the building moved back and the track entered a lean-to at the side? There would be enough of the main building wall visible to trick the eye, as in the first sketch.

Wishing to incorporate the water tank and break the roof line up a little I created the second sketch, turning the main building roof through 90 degrees. The lean-to would have a more varied roofline where it leant on the water tank supports (brick piers would replace the kit pillars). This would have to be one carefully planned, removable structure but I think it is a much better trick on the eye to hide the return curve.

I even have a potential prototype for part of the structure, this field shelter at Hall Farm Park in Lincolnshire. I would envisage it repurposed as a small workshop, perhaps with a Land Rover parked half in/out. 

There is something to be said for keeping the structures simple, I am yet again reminded of Neil Rushby's 'Isle of Avalon Tramway' (seen here with a later owner) - the simplicity of the structures hiding the sector plate on the left is very deceiving, there is little actual detail but interest is created by shape and colour. 

Thinking cap firmly on...

Colin

Skale Tree Surgery

In my last posting I mentioned my disappointment with the current generation of Hornby 'Skale Scenics' trees compared with the older, now obsolete range. I had asked for a couple of these as a birthday present last year, largely on the basis that the buyer could get them directly to me via a well known internet platform. Both are the larger ones in the range to be more suited to 7mm scale. On the face of it, as advertised by Hornby they look pretty good (left), but what actually arrived was less satisfactory (right), squashed into the packaging and with over-zealous application of very clumpy foliage.

Having unpacked the tree (a R7221 Lime) my impressions were still not good, the old Skale Scenics trees were either a wire armature or stamped metal armature depending on whether 'Pro' or 'Eco' ranges. These trees have a plastic armature, but on the plus side it is quite detailed, as we will see... The leaf foliage itself isn't too bad, and I suspect this is actually a rebranded or sub-contracted Noch product. 

Deciding to try and make the most of what was in front of me I decided to strip back the foliage and see what I could do. I found that rubbing the leaves made them fall off, so as many as possible were collected in a tub for potential re-use. Underneath the heavy leaf cover was a sort of polyfibre material, which could be pulled away from the armature. Some wouldn't budge so I soaked what was left in warm water and this loosened off the remaining material, leaving the bare armature.

The armature is painted brown, far too brown for realism and needed to be repainted. I opted to prime the armature with grey primer as I wasn't convinced acrylic paint would stick without it. I then used a matt brown spray to get the basis of a tree colour. I did then paint the trunk and branch areas with my own blend of colours to get the effect I wanted.

New foliage was added using Woodland Scenics medium green foliage fibre added to the branches using PVA. My supply ran out before I was finished so another packet was quickly sourced via eBay. The new packet completed the job and allowed some patching up where I had been a bit stingy stretching out the old pack! Once all was in place and dry I sprayed the foliage fibre with ultra hold hairspray and then sprinkled on the original leaf foliage material via a tea strainer. Just as I finished the hairspray ran out...

Finally I gave the trunk and branches a coat of Humbrol aerosol matt varnish, to overcome the gleam created by the hairspray on the painted surfaces. Guess what? I now need a new can of that too...!

Overall, I am pleased with how this has turned out, this will certainly find a place on the new layout once it gets underway. The another tree received at the same time awaits similar treatment, and I am weighing up the options for a couple more trees for the project.

Colin

More in Paper, Pencil and Cardboard

After planning a scenic treatment for the Julian Andrews brickworks plan that didn't incorporate a running line hidden in a building, I decided to try a version that was closer to the original in that respect. This plan also moved the trees towards the background and potentially does away with the backscene on the left hand side of the board.

The building as sketched is a close copy of the one completed Misterton Fen Tramway structure, the workshop. I sold this on, due to storage space constraints, so it would be good to recreate it in some way.

Mocking this up in finest cereal packet card created a better effect than I had anticipated, The grouping on either side of the trees/smaller huts and the tree/tank/workshop seems to work well. The idea is that this layout will be my first use of a photographic backscene so there won't be quite such an apparent gap in the scene. The Port Wynnstay hut features again whilst the adjacent engine shed could equally be a concrete sectional structure rather like the old Skegness miniature railway example that I built extra wide and in low relief a few years ago.

There may be a few more ideas to consider, but I might have to eat some more cornflakes!

Colin

Planning in Paper, Pencil and Cardboard

Drawing inspiration from the old 'Misterton Fen Tramway' sketches and the more recent pizza exercises I have now sketched a few ideas for my project based on the plan of Julian Andrews brickworks layout. These initial ideas have dropped the line running through a building approach of the original.

The first sketch uses a round tank on stilts very much like the one in the old sketches. The arrangement on he left hand side incorporates a workshop containing some machine tools that I have in my possession. The building would be based architecturally on the one part of the MFT that got completed - the workshop. I sold this on, due to space constraints, so it would be good to recreate it in some way.

I came up with an alternative for the right hand side that used the Port Wynnstay hut and a modified Airfix/Dapol tank (on brick piers). However, my mind must be in 009 mode still, when I attempted a 3D mock-up it wouldn't quite fit as sketched and I had to adapt the idea a little.

This was certainly a starting point, I had a few concerns about being able to see both lines curving away and how that might look, especially as I envisaged backscene boards both sides of the scene. Also the two trees I had in mind to use in the scene have turned out to be better background trees than foreground examples.

More soon...

Colin

The Trouble With Cloning

Following on from the theme of my previous post 'My Oh-Nine', another iteration of that thinking was seen late in 2020. I've always liked the outline of SMR no.3, a 4w diesel that has had many rebuilds over the years (seen here midway through the last one), but a loco that has a little too much overhang on the curves on the proposed layout. There is about 5mm of length beyond the ends of the Kato chassis at each end.

Frustrated by the Alan Keef project, I deduced that I needed a shorter version, and rebuilding to shorten it perhaps wasn't an option. So one Sunday back in November I started work on a new locomotive...

This draws influence from no.3 but with a few changes to make it a little different. There is perhaps also a little influence from the MG Models 'Classic' locomotive, but as they both perhaps have similar DNA that isn't a surprise.

Whilst it has got a little further since the last photo, progress stalled in December and it hasn't troubled the workbench since...

Colin

A Cacophony of Wagons

O9 wagons have been something of a theme during January. As hinted previously, there were already a couple of wagons in the paint shop before the latest builds were completed, a flat and a 'Tops' wagon.

The 5ft flat is (I think) one of my earliest Black Dog Mining chassis, having been the flat with two oil drums in a previous life, then an open and now a simple flat using a Black Dog body - but not a flat, it is a much cut down open wagon - don't ask! It is finished in a well-worn wooden state.

The open 'Tops' wagon body is the scratchbuilt one that had been transferred to the ex-Shifting Sands generator wagon in that exchange that we don't mention any more... Reunited with it's original Black Dog 6ft chassis, which has been stripped and repainted to match the body.  Internally a repainted floor was required after work to remove the glue marks left by the last load. Finished in worn grey with a weathered wood interior.

On to the new-builds, the single-plank wagon, technically a refresh of the ex-Shifting Sands generator carrier, has emerged in pretty much the original colours of grey body and black solebars, with a weathered wood interior (and rather a lot of sand dust!)

The new two-plank 'Tops' wagon has an overall weathered wood finish, in contrast the to weathered grey of the previous example. I've used different shading underneath colour washes to try and give the effect of different types of wood on the body planks and underframe areas.

The three-plank drop-side wagon is painted in Humbrol red/brown with a weathered wood interior and weathered black hinges/strapping. I painted a wagon converted from a Chivers O-16.5 kit in this colour a few years ago and rather liked it. The eagle-eyed will spot that I have used a brown MicroTrains coupler, which is a very similar shade.

Judging from the short testing session after taking the photos it may be necessary to have a coupler 'Grease-em' and adjustment session, but that can wait for another day!

Colin

Three Wagons Roll

The three new wagons seen in my last post have now received a coat of primer, doing it's usual wonder of making everything look a lot better. It also allows us to look at the wagons in more detail.

Firstly this is hopefully the final incarnation of the (ex) Shifting Sands 1-plank wagon. You may recall that this 6ft Black Dog Mining chassis gained a 2-plank 'Tops' body not many months ago with the original load transferred... we'll pretend that didn't happen... that body is heading back to it's original chassis and the load will go in another of the more miniature railway outline wagons in the fleet. The chassis was stripped of old paint and this new body uses one of the floors from the planned batch of wagons and one plank recovered from intended sides and ends.

Next is a fairly standard (for me) 'Tops' wagon on a 6ft Black Dog chassis. Another floor from the intended batch build and sides cut down to 2-plank (spare planks went to the body above). End handrails are recycled from the similar body that became the 009 Christmas present wagon, which was a shorter body intended for a 5ft chassis so I haven't gone totally mad! 

That 5ft body had been intended to go on the chassis of the last new wagon, a Sidelines Gnine chassis. This is the same length as a Black Dog 5ft chassis but with a longer wheelbase and taller from rail level. I had acquired this with a mine tub body as it was all Steve had at the time. I reduced the chassis height by about 1mm some time ago and had originally created a 'Tops' body for it. But it never looked balanced right in that form and the chassis seemed to look better with a flat or 3-plank body. As I have another 5ft flat in the works I opted to use a shortened set of 3-plank sides intended for the batch build, with a newly marked up floor. I used modified Grandt Line hinges again but only a pair each side rather than three, which looks a lot better balanced for a shorter wagon in my eyes.

 

They'll now join the queue for the paint shop (there are already be a couple of wagons in there to complete first).

Colin

My Oh-Nine

Last year I tentatively started work on a new O9 project, based on Julian Andrews brickworks plan. More information can be found under the 'Getting Something Moving' tag. I had an aim of using some of the commercial models that have become available since I built 'Shifting Sands'. To this end I completed the MG Models 'classic' diesel, started converting some KB Scale open wagons to O9, as well as reviving a Black Dog Mining wagon larger than my usual stock with an eye on perhaps representing an 18" gauge line. 

It all ground to a halt, it started with problems with the loco build not least painting it twice, followed by my less than successful attempts to re-gauge the KB Scale wagons resulting in wobbly wheels (some would say it was prototypical!). Disheartened I diverted my attention to other projects...

More recently I started scratchbuilding 3-plank drop-side bodies to fit Black Dog Mining chassis, putting together enough parts to build a batch of 2 or 3 identical vehicles beyond the initial prototypes. I eventually hit on the use of Grandt Line door hinges (on the left) rather than using Slaters embossed rivets.

But they still didn't hit the spot, perhaps looking too 'main line' for a 15" gauge line, as I now envisaged the project. The more I thought about it I realised that the issue was simply that I had my own style of O9 modelling that differed a little from the commercial offerings I had initially tried to use. I used to joke with Steve Bennett of Black Dog Mining that commercial O9 models were all made to be as big as possible for the gauge (the mythical scale 4ft wide), whilst Gn15 seemed to be about making things as small as possible for the scale! My O9, on the other hand, is rooted more in the average prototype 15" gauge outline and a width of approx 3ft 6ins.

I also realised that I owned a fleet of O9 wagons that rarely saw the light of day on 'Shifting Sands' that with a couple of additions and changes I could create a fleet to suit a 15" gauge railway built to miniature railway proportions but with some sort of purpose. 

So I've started on a few additions (so much for identical!)...

Now I just need to find that purpose!

Colin

The State of Play

I've deliberately not dwelled too much here on what one railway modelling magazine has called the "current heath emergency". There have been no great proclamations of "lockdown projects" and if anything my output has slowed over the last few months rather than increased. There have been odd exceptions, Easter weekend laying track for a Julian Andrews inspired micro layout being the main one.

You may be wondering what has happened to that, ironically labelled as "getting something moving". Well a perfect storm of issues with finishing off the primary locomotive, then issues with some of the intended rolling stock and a heavy dose of despondency have kicked it into the sidelines for the time being. One day it will be completed, in some form or another, but whether it is the next bigger project to emerge is another question completely.

So I started on the Ashover coach on 009 as a distraction, I think issues with other projects going awry  led to me build it practically out of the box before eventually realising I wanted to make some changes. I finally plucked up the courage to make those changes step-by-step and it is now in the paintshop, but not before examining my acrylic paint collection and realising it was deficient in useable creams and light blues. A socially-distanced trip to Boyes saw me acquire a likely ivory shade and two different blues to try from Vallejo and Citadel. 

The present thinking is that there may well be a LCLR-themed micro-diorama for this coach to inhabit, using a Wills station halt kit to represent the wooden platform at South Sea Lane station. This might not seem very ambitious but it seems achievable. Perhaps the future is better represented by these focussed set-pieces rather than anything bigger and operational?

The other factor at play in the current climate is the need to use my workbench 5 days a week as my place of work. This looks set to continue for at least the rest of the year and maybe beyond. With some additional equipment now in place this does clog up the space a little, I've settled on a weekdays/weekend setup that does allow some modelling on weekday evenings. As an aide to this I've made myself a work tray from a piece of furniture board (actually a piece from an Ikea unit) and some of the last of the lovely veneered ply I have that came from an old wardrobe.  A lip of quarter round strip under the front edge locates the unit on the desktop, and I've cut down the chunk of wall-planner to fit on top!

I've included a couple of pockets at the back to hold bottles to but haven't gone overboard with paintbrush holders etc. A couple of coats of varnish have given the inside an attractive finish, whilst the outer edge is painted dark brown over the top of the veneered side of the ply, as the veneer has worn away in many places due to joining/sanding/drilling etc.

After the end of each session the work tray can be moved under the desk onto the top of some stacking crates, ready for use the next day. Whilst not an excuse to be untidy it means that work in progress can be left out to some degree.

You might just spy a Black Dog Mining mine wagon on a KB Scale chassis, a leftover from the failed wagons for the "getting something moving" project. This is due to feature in another micro-diorama piece, and it might be sooner rather than later...

Colin

Trigger's Broom

Yesterday I spent some time considering what the rolling stock requirements would be for the 'Getting Something Moving' project. Amongst other options I wondered how I could generate further Black Dog Mining chassis if I went wholly down that route (other options under consideration include KB Scale Hudson chassis).

I opted to free up a chassis from one of my recent 'tops' wagons by adding the 'tops' body to that Shifting Sands classic of the low sided wagon with generator load, seen here when first completed about 15 years ago. I had been considering adding a 'tops' body to this anyway so it isn't as huge a leap as it seems....

It's had a couple of rebuilds over the years, including a failed and subsequently reversed chassis swap. On this occasion I decided it was less destructive to do a chassis swap under the newer body and after drilling dummy bolt holes in the new floor to match those on the original wagon, switched the load and details over, aiming to get everything in the same places. Some grey paint has altered the colour of the new body from brown to weathered grey. Why swap the chassis you ask, well to me it is still the same wagon...

Where's Trigger when you need him?!

Colin