Card Kit of the Week

 A different model displayed here every week.

17th Century Public House (Click for details)

A Model Railway Revisited #17

Some say a model railway is never finished - there is always room for extra detail. In my case I have completed layouts to my satisfaction in the past but this one could be developed further. For now though I am satisfied with the level of detail added that brings the scene to life.

The three people, well four including tiny baby in arms, are left overs from an Airfix kit dating from the 1960s. These are the best from my stash where many others just fell apart due to aging plastic.

I am still amazed at their detailed features that stand up well against modern 3D printed types. How did the manufacturer achieve this so long ago before modern technology?

Telegraph pole is also Airfix now under the Dapol badge. Platform seats are ancient by Merit (I believe) that have also become fragile (now marketed by Peco).

Station sign is 3D printed by myself with printed paper overlay. The station name is taken from the signal box which carries the name Hewish Gates. This box recovered from a scrapped layout.

The typical L&SWR barley twist station lamp is a hotchpotch of parts that I am quite proud of putting together. The plinth is from an Airfix set. The lamp could have come from the same but I ran out, having built a batch of these lights some time ago. Instead I replicated the design and 3D printed it (in fact the whole thing could have been 3D printed but, I like a challenge). The barley twist pole is half millimetre garden galvanised wire with beaded ends to the ladder rest. The swan neck mount is fabricated from sprue and the swan neck solid electrical wire. Three of these lamps adorn the platform.

On the loading dock is a trolley with boxed load (Airfix) and two cable drums (Dapol).

Just a few vehicles in this quiet branch line station car park. Lambretta scooter (Airfix). Hillman Imp (Base Toys) and AEC Reliance bus with Burlingham bodywork, registration 200APB. This is a resin kit of a real Somerset bus from Tiny Bus and Coach Kits. (Bought in 2009. Don't know if it is still available).

This yard lamp is based on one that existed at Barnstaple. The model has a balsa wood post and soldered wire ladder. The lamp is from an Airfix station lamp.

All five turnouts have dummy ground signals installed, made from matchstick, plastic half disk and wire lever.

When I installed the dummy turnout rodding and signal pulleys it struck me how busy the scene can be alongside railway tracks.

Many layouts, especially non-finescale, do not go to this extent. Even though mine is not fine-scale I felt it would be a sin not to include such a significant piece of railway paraphernalia. 

It was extremely time consuming and fiddly to make and install. I know the rod connections to cranks is not prototypical and the parts need to be weathered. The latter will be done.

Cranks and stools are from brass fret kits (Colin Waite and Brass Masters. It is possible to buy ready made stools from others). Half millimetre garden galvanised wire used for rods.

The signal pulleys are 3D printed by myself and are possibly a bit oversize. I have never seen dummy signal control wires installed where the builder has gone to the trouble of including the pulleys but, here they are on my model. They are very fine copper wire strand taken from multi-strand wire. Delicate, difficult to tension and only visible with perfect eyesight. I can see why others leave them off.

Level crossing sign installed made from wire and printed paper (sign symbol and words somewhat out of focus in photo.)

One of the two fields is populated with horses. Model brand unknown but made in Hong Kong. These were all repainted. The Palomino in front is my favourite horse colouring.

THE END

To Part 1.

A Model Railway Revisited #16

It is nearly seven years since I built this layout. 

There is no room anywhere here (house or garage) to set it up permanently, being set up and operated only on warm summers day in the garden. For most of the year the two scenic baseboards are stored on a shelf system and supported by two brackets each (in the railway room, aka garage) - and therein lies a problem.

When I set it up this summer I discovered that both boards had warped a bit (sunk between shelf brackets) requiring the far ends to be raised up to ensure some semblance of a flat surface for operations. 

The baseboards are foam insulation board with 5mm thick hardboard panels glued to the sides for rigidity. The odd thing is these had not come adrift nor cracked.

What I did to correct the warp was to rest each baseboard on a flat floor with heavy weights laid on top at the ends and left them for a month. This did a fair job of correcting the warp. I then bought some aluminium angle bracket and screwed it to the sides with a view to combating any future warp. I have also added  shelves to the brackets on which the baseboards are stored.

These photographs show that the layout has been temporarily brought inside the house and set up on my desk, although there is no room to include the separate fiddle yard.

The reason for this is that there are murmurings of an exhibition invitation for next year for which the layout is presently missing scenic details (as alluded to in Part 15). So, time for me to get modelling again.

To Part 17.

To Part 1.