Project 17 - Support Frame

Not quite what I had in mind. I wanted a lightweight folding frame that is open beneath the scenic module with lightweight boards at each end to support storage cassette fiddle yards. What I ended up with is essentially a fully blown baseboard upon which a full length model railway could be built! Whilst it could be supported on legs or trestles, I intend to simply lay it across a table for running sessions.

To save on expenditure I was determined to use up some of my spare stock of wood. The softwood frame is as planned, hinged with two butt hinges so it can be folded for storage. The two end boards are quarter inch plywood and therein lies the problem. They are too heavy causing the frame to bend at the hinges when placed on a short table. To spread the load I also boarded the middle open frame. It now bends less but needs long, loose beams under the length to keep it flat.

The scenic module is a slice of railway line not a dead end and therefore requires fiddle yards at each end. Each end board is long enough to hold a train of two MK1 passenger coaches with tender locomotive, ample for the two coach push pull train with M7 tank locomotive common at Swanage in the early 1960s. It turns this 00 gauge micro layout into a model railway nearly 3 metres long, which kind of defeats the object of a compact model railway!

To Part 24.

To Part 1.  

Project 17 - Rodding Completed

The finishing touch was to paint the rods and cranks with Humbrol metallic aluminium (56) followed by dry brushing a rust colour here and there. The tops of the stools were painted satin black as were the cranks to represent greasing for free movement of the parts.

A sprinkling of static grass in the narrow strip at the front of the layout completes all the scenic items.

Now attention turns to fiddle yard construction. I am thinking of a folding frame work as a removable base to hold the the scenic module and two fiddle yards level. The fiddle yards themselves  being a cassette storage system.

To Part 23.

To Part 1. 

Bodmin & Wenford (and Wadebridge)

Whilst on holiday in North Cornwall a visit to Bodmin General Station (GWR) was scheduled.

On duty was GWR '8750' Class 0-6-0PT no. 4612. I am not particularly interested in GWR, being a LSWR/Southern fan, but any excuse to see a steam locomotive is taken with pleasure.

In this part of Cornwall the LSWR had a strong foothold with its own station in Bodmin connected to Wadebridge. The GWR had permission to run trains from Bodmin General to Wadebridge over the LSWR line but I believe LSWR trains did not run into Bodmin General (no reason to do so as they had their own station,  Bodmin North). But, look what I found to my surprise lurking in the shed at Bodmin General.

LSWR T9 class 30120 on loan from the National Railway Museum. It is here having been restored and returned to running order in 2010 by the Bodmin and Wenford Railway Trust.

By the way, the railway shop had a small selection of Bachmann locomotives and rolling stock for sale, some at discounted prices but no more favourable than you would find at other discounters.

Talking of Wadebridge I stumbled upon the LSWR station building, marooned in a plantation of new housing. It is now a community centre that serves Cappuccino for £1 - a bargain. There is also a small, permanent exhibition of Sir John Betjeman (Poet Laureate) memorabilia inside. He was also a notable railway enthusiast.

Wadebridge was quite a large station complex in its heyday but it is impossible to visualise its railway environs today. Here is the Goods Shed, modified and now occupied by a mental health charity amongst others. The cars sit on what was once the station platform and railway line.