Engineer’s yard

I have now finished the last area on the layout which was previously bare. This is the engineer’s yard at the left hand end of the scene.

The signal box is now out of use and is used by the Signal and Telegraph team with offices on the upper floor and storage beneath where the locking frame would have been . To the right is the Wickam trolley used by the plate laying gang and behind the signal box are various storage sheds.

The church is a much altered Bilteezi card kit. The windows have been replaced and now contain stained glass from a sheet I obtained many years ago from Langley models.

Old signal box now used by S&T department with evidence of old equipment lying around.

Another view of the yard and church beyond

The scene is set!

The latest edition to the layout is a painted backscene. Having had a great response to the backscene I painted for the Clay Moor Railway-see the other blog ,North Devon Clay- i have now painted one for Tinworthy.

This is based on pictures I had taken at Tavistock as well as some aerial images I found on the web. It is again painted on wall lining paper using Guache watercolours

This has been pasted to sky paper on the wall behind the layout.

Sorry for all the detritus on my workbench under the layout!!

Here are some closer pictures to show the details of the scene. It has been purposefully left fairly naive so it acts as an eye stopper without being too ‘photo like’

I hope you like it.

Now for something completely different!

My workbench has been looking a bit different recently

Some non-railway projects

The ‘Mini’ traction engine in the middle is a project I started over 20 years ago and is still waiting to be finished!

The Mamod steam tractor has been passed to me. It hadn’t steamed for at least 30 years. I dismantled it and gave it a good clean.

A service kit was bought from EBay with new O rings and washers and hey presto, it was steaming..

The other project has been a 1/5th scale model of a Chevrolet Corvette. I was asked by my daughter’s partner to convert the car from the 1978 version which the kit he had acquired depicted, to the earlier 1977 version. This involved replacing the large rear window with a smaller one consistent with the 1977 model. Some of the body had to be cut away and a new rear end built. I used plasticard and plenty of resin putty to achieve this.

The kit had been started by the previous owner but had a lot of loose, broken and missing bits. A new door mirror was fashioned from resin putty and a general tidying up of the body and chassis. Finally it was finished in bright red with a red interior..

This was really quite fun to do and quite a departure from railway modelling!!!

Livestock Market

As well as working on the club layout-see North Devon Clay blog- I’ve been continuing to work on my own layout.

The front piece is the livestock market. Originally I planned for this to be in full swing but as it only occurred once a week and would involve loads of people, sheep and cattle I decided on a ‘non market day’!

The plan of the market was based on old photographs of Tavistock market and other ones found on the internet. The model is built on a lift off scenery base which gives access to point motors and servo boards.

There still remains work to do on the back scene and the area to the left hand side.

The sheep pens are made up from a mixture of Scalescenes N gauge fencing and plastic N gauge fencing.

The auction shed is made from card and based on measurements of a barn in the farmyard next to where I live!

I am happy that this gives a good representation of a livestock market in the quiet period between market days.

Iain Rice

It is with great sadness that I heard that Iain has passed a way after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease.

He was, among many other things, President of my local model railway club-The Launceston and District MRC. He was instrumental in the development of our previous layout, Lakebank, and also recently was the inspiration about our new layout based on the North Devon Clay company line from Marland to Great Torrington.

His encyclopaedic knowledge of all things railway was phenomenal as was his musings in all the various books and articles he has written.

I am sure there will be plenty written about him and I leave it to more eminent modellers.

A new blog following the development of the North Devon Clay layout can be found at http://www.northdevonclaymodelrailway.wordpress.com

Timber Yard

I have now moved further along the layout to continue developing the scenery. The next part includes a timber yard.

The inspiration for this model comes from Mike Corp’s wonderful layout Porthdinllaen which featured in the May 2022 Railway Modeller. Talking to Mike he has adapted the 4mm scale carriage shed kit from Ratio. I have found that the kit provided what I need for the main sheds of the timber yard and left plenty over to use for another project later.

I also used plans produced by Alan Downes and published as Downesplans by Peco in 1977

The two small buildings either side of the main sheds are part of Eggesford station left over when I dismantled that old layout. Nothing like recycling!

There still needs some work to the ground to the back of the yard and the siding to the coal drops which can just be seen behind the yard.

Tinworthy progress report

It seems a long time since I reported any progress but I am still here!

Firstly I have been working on the small buildings at the back of the yard and the surrounding ground works. These buildings hide point motors.

The green storage sheds are based on one of the photos I have of Tavistock and are constructed of scribed card. The roof is corrugated iron using sheets of rolled foil from Eastwell Iron Works. The stables are based on the ones at Minehead and the brickwork is embossed card sheet from Howards Scenics. The other storage shed is one I inherited from the old Eggesford layout.

This is a motor shed built again in card with a similar corrugated iron roof. This is based on a drawing in Adrian Vaughan’s Great Western Architecture.

There is still a lot of detailing to be done to the ground work as well as trees and a painted backscene.

Secondly I have been working on the end of the Down platform where I have built the signal box and installed a water crane. This an old 3mm scale Mikes Models casting.

That’s all for now folks!

Milk Train

I have been working on the branch milk train as part of the sequence for Tinworthy.

The make up is based on a picture of the branch milk train from Launceston to Plymouth where the milk tanks would have been added to others from various places along the line from Penzance to make up the long milk train for London.

Here are the vehicles;

An LMS built milk tank allocated to the Western Region. This is an old cast whitemetal kit, probable originally made by BEC.

A Great Western dia O38 milk tank. This is built from a 3mm Society etched kit designed by Andrew Thomas.

A Great Western Hawksworth designed Full Brake. This is a Brynkits etched brass kit produced by Brian Golding. It is missing the various handrails which are still to be fitted.

Great Western dia DD4 Cordon multi gas tank wagon. This is built from a very old Jidenco kit reduced from 4mm to 3mm with a lot of extra details added.

The complete train hauled by a 45xx Prairie tank.

Scenery update

It seems a while since I posted about Tinworthy despite all the time I’ve had on my hands during lockdown.

I have been starting to develop the scenery around the station and have been initially concentrating on the goods yard, entrance roadway and the loading bank mainly used for loading pit props into wagons.

I have included some half relief cottages, a copse of trees and the start of a painted backscene. This end of the layout doesn’t follow the prototype Tavistock out of necessity to have a raised portion of scenery to disguise the point motors therein. Hence the thatched cottage which is now on its third layout!!

Another load of pit props arrives for transshipment.

My plan is to gradually move along the layout with the scenery. This means having to build the signal box, motor shed and stables.

Lakebank video

Lakebank, the ex Furness Railway branch line built by the Launceston & District MRC has now been sold and has moved to a new home in North Wales. It is hoped that when things return to some normality it will exhibited in the North West including the Lake District.

Before it departed we made a video showing the history of the layout and a flavour of the operating. This can now be viewed on Utube either by searching ‘Lakebank’ or using the following link

Have a look and enjoy