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.

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

Tinworthy- April progress report

I haven’t posted much recently but that doesn’t mean I’ve not been active.

Firstly I have built the footbridge which spans the two platforms between the end of the station and the goods shed.

It is constructed from Plastikard and is interesting in that the supports on the up platform end span the stone wall which goes along the back of the platform. The wall is still to be painted and weathered as well as the platform surfaces.

Secondly I have finished an LSWR A12 Jubilee from a 3mm Jidenco etched brass kit. This forms a Southern branch train diverted through Tinworthy due to problems on the Southern Railway line.

The loco is finished as one of the last of the class which survived just into nationalisation. It was allocated a new number but never carried it, being withdrawn for scrapping in December 1948.

Finally, I have converted a 57XX built for 12mm gauge to 14.2. The chassis was one built by the late Rodney Pearce and has a Portescap motor whilst the body is a GEM whitemetal converted to the later Collett style. I acquired this many years ago and have no idea who originally built it!

The model is finished as 3686 which was one of the panniers shedded at Laira shed in Plymouth. It is seen on a short pick up goods. The loco is awaiting some weathering.

Tinworthy progress-a bit of fun!

Following on from my last post here are a couple of ‘posed’ photos with their prototype inspirations. Enjoy…….

45xx Prairie on a through train takes water at Tinworthy

Tinworthy-more lockdown progress

Having finished the main station building my thoughts have now turned to the main goods shed. As with the station a reduction in space has of necessity meant a proportional reduction in the size of the goods shed while at the same time trying to preserve the feeling of the original. Tavistock had quite a sizeable goods shed with two tracks running through it. It was of a timber construction with a brick built office at one end and a wooden lean to office at the other end.

I used a plan of Chipping Campden shed from Ian Allan’s book on Great Western Branch Stations to get general dimensions and pictures of the original Tavistock structure to get a suitable representation. The model is constructed from card. Unfortunately the card I used for the main roof is a bit thin which resulted in some bowing which I managed to reduce to a degree by using internal bracing. Hopefully it doesn’t show too much.

The shed has now been installed and the water tower and Down starting signal as well. The water tower is a cut down version of a typical GWR conical tower. This was originally a 3mm Society kit and is recycled from an old layout of many years ago!

The final part of this end of the station will be a covered footbridge which sits between the station and the goods shed and connects the two platforms. This is the next project…..

Tinworthy-Station Building

The original Tavistock GWR station had an overall roof. My interpretation of the station for necessity of space involves a shortened building. There are no plans of the original station but looking at pictures in a very good article published in the Great Western Journal I could see comparisons with the buildings of Henley-on-Thames. They are in brick whereas Tavistock is in stone but the window and door sizes appear quite comparable. There are very good drawings of Henley in Paul Karau’s book on the subject.

The building Is constructed from card to which I stuck a brown manilla envelope turned inside out onto which I scribed the stone courses. This is a method I learnt from the late Peter Gentle-a superb building modeller. The brown paper gives a very good texture and takes watercolour very well. The stones are painted on using various shades of grey and brown

Here shows the effect before and after painting

The outer wall of the train shed is constructed from a sandwich of Wills sheets and planked plasticard with the windows made up from thin card and set into openings cut in the sheets.

The overall roof is made from mounting board with plastruct girders and trusses soldered up from 0.7mm brass rod on a marked out jig. The outer surface is covered with corrugated plasticard. The whole roof is detachable to allow access to the inside of the shed.

I think it portrays an atmosphere of the original building.

The roadside entrance to the station.

An aerial view of the completed train shed.

Pannier tank 6414 waits in the UP platform with an auto train bound for Plymouth. Compare this to the picture below!