Wadebridge 1860's

[phileakins]

As of 17th April I will be the custodian of this 7mm FS exhibition layout in its entirety (almost).  ;D

It was featured as part of an RM mini series a few months ago and I will post some more pictures when I get it home, and have negotiated the appropriate rights to erect it - in the dining room of course. I think it will fit .......

The layout will stay on the exhibition circuit and any exhibition managers interested should now contact me rather than Grenville Williams, the layout originator and founder of the 'Wadebridge Gang' who helped build and run the layout, by e-mail or PM.

Phil

 

[Jack]

Will you be building another loco for it??? I always thought the team were very brave building a layout for the exhibition circuit with only one loco ...

 

[phileakins]

Will you be building another loco for it??? I always thought the team were very brave building a layout for the exhibition circuit with only one loco ...

Ahh .. only one you see. 

There are actually two, but as the line is worked on the one engine in steam principle only one works the layout at any one time.  However, watch this space.

Incidentally, the Wadebridge/Bodmin  line started with just one loco 'Camel' (after the river) and then added another and called it 'Elephant'.  :

Phil

 

[Graham Powell]

Nice interesting little layout. Are the "team" planning on building anything else in a similar vein?.
rgds
Graham Powell

 

[Neil]

Will you be building another loco for it??? I always thought the team were very brave building a layout for the exhibition circuit with only one loco ...

Brave but I like the idea of building just enough stock. After much thought I came to the conclusion a couple of years ago that having too many locos worked against the realism we try to achive when constructing a layout. I'm sure that the best model railways come to life as much in our mind as they do in reality, in the same way that good books or films do; we know the story isn't real but it still sets off an emotional response similar to what we would expect in real life. Knowing that our branch line has a stud of twelve locos to draw upon, where in reality only one or two would be seen from year to year can't help but errode the sense of realism. This train of thought has influenced what I've built over the recent years. My Isle of Avalon Tramway only sports two locos, both have slightly 'flakey' mechanisms and I like the notion that one might choose an inaproproiate time to conk out.

Thank you for taking the trouble to wade through the debris that my mind concocts.

 

[phileakins]

No Graham - I've some ideas for Wadebridge and Dock Road will be taking up a lot of my time, so nothing brand new in the forecast.

Thanks for those thoughts Neil - I couldn't agree more.  However ..... a (prospective) layout builder will have to think long and hard about the potential or historic traffic before deciding enough stock has been provided and a suitable timetable evolved.  For example, freight traffic on Wadebridge is primarily concerned with the sand transported from the coast up the line, the potential for transporting sea coal up and quarry stone down has been not been developed.

Phil

 

[Jack]

Neil : Yes, but a real railway wouldn't be packed up, driven several hundred miles and then set out to entertain the paying public!!!  I agree with your sentiment regarding the number of locos 'on set', but think it is a very brave stance not have a backup.

Phil : What is the other loco, I only ever saw the one they detailed in RM (Bodmin i believe)?

 

[phileakins]

The second (reserve) loco is a much modified Roxey 4 wheel SER Crane tank named 'Deborah' Jack. Although 'Bodmin' is the one usually used, Deborah takes her turn.

As I said, the layout is operated on one engine in steam (so is a bit boring for the loco spotters) at the moment.

Luckily I am having both engines.

Phil

 

[Neil]

Neil : Yes, but a real railway wouldn't be packed up, driven several hundred miles and then set out to entertain the paying public!!!  I agree with your sentiment regarding the number of locos 'on set', but think it is a very brave stance not have a backup. ....

I'm not a brave chap, but I took the Isle of Avalon out to my local three day show the year before last with just the two locos, perhaps having more to do with fools rushing in than an overabundance of bottle. On the other hand what was the worst that could happen, and what ramifications would there be. Both locos die and I appear to be a bit of a t!t for sailing too close to the wind? Well one did break, and had to go into works for a quick repair. I still think the pay off is worth the risk though. When I used to take Shell Island out, I had a few removable coal loads for the 16T minerals. Though I could do nothing to represent fulls in, empties out for the van traffic, with the removable loads it was easy to show the cycle of coal deliveries and empty returns. It added hugely to my satisfaction, even though few probably noticed or worked out what was going on. Similarly going for a bit of a knicker gripper with just two engines (of questionable reliability) added to the experience for me.

Now I'd not advocate it as an approach for all to do, but perhaps it's worthy of consideration even if ultimately one decides it's not the strategy to persue. My as yet pipe dream 009 layout already has the two (and only) steam locos already built for it. I do have more 009 stock, but it's been built for interest rather than the layout and won't take to the road when the layout does.

Apologies for the tangent. Bad habit of mine.

 

[Simon]

I agree with you, the point you are making is a large part of the appeal (in my head anyway) of quite a lot of what Cyril Freezer wrote about modelling a branch line, the limited amount of stock that the would be modeller had actually added to the veracity of the whole idea.

When I took Pomparles Siding to Bristol I was in the same boat, if the 48DS had failed then the whole of the National Fruit and Cider works would have ground to a halt

I suspect that your thoughts on this have even wider implications than you suggest. I would contend that the current abundance of ready to run lomotivery in 4mm will result in a less rich and varied output of layouts than did the straitened circumstances of earlier years. Everything is too easy in 4mm land!!