GWR Lower Slaughter, 5ft em gauge terminus (trees)

[34091 Weymouth]

Recently my eldest daughter who's 7 has started to show an interest in my model railways. Its actually funny because when she was younger she had a keen interest but as she's got older she's got a lot more girly & wasn't too keen on my trains anymore.
I don't know how long it will last but whilst she's keen I am not going to stop her from joining in on our wonderful hobby & maybe learning a thing or three along the way.
I would say my little girl is very artistic & so she's keen to do some of the scenic aspects of modelling although I've included her in everything so far.

This project is one of those to use up some bits I've collected & turnouts from a few projects that never got far enough to be laid.
I also happened to find an offcut of ply in the garage that was 5ft long by about 18inch wide. This was laid onto a piece of backing paper in the living room so we could play about with the points & see if we could come up with something.



After a bit of fiddling with came up with a basic terminus station that was inspired from a very old peco trackplan book for the late 50s.
The passing loop will fit my rake of 4 small gwr coaches or a b set in comfortably. I've a load of gwr bits including a lovely model of Aldstrop station & a pretty house both made from card.



I'm going add a small goods shed, crane & cattle dock plus a signal box or ground frame & maybe a pagoda too. Whilst the layout is compact & will be generic at best I do hope it's an enjoyable project for my daughter more than anything.

This afternoon we both went to the local timber merchant & built the frames under the baseboard top & got it ready for tomorrow. We are going to lay some cork in the morning & hopefully get all the track laid by the evening & glued down.



I must admit I do love this train of Buffalo & rake of early gwr coaches. It's a very edwardian looking train. I can see the B set being a little used train in favour of this sort of thing.
Not sure on a name for the layout at present, I was thinking of Lower Slaughter. One of the original ideas I had was to model the lovely water mill at Lower Slaughter in Gloucestershire but so far I've not worked out where it would fit on the layout. The name is certainly a work in progress so we shall see.

That's all for now, hope you like it.

Si & Arya.

Music from the workshop is this little number, absolute belter.

 

[jonte]

Good luck to you both in making your memories

Looks great already.

Jon

 

[34091 Weymouth]

Good luck to you both in making your memories

Looks great already.

Jon

Thanks Jon

 

[34091 Weymouth]

Well what started as a bit of timber & some odds & sods has turned into a really enjoyable project. Today I've been solo although my son has been watching & asking questions about the layout. My usual partner in crime has been laid up poorly in her dressing gown all day.

First thing this morning I headed off to the club to find our box of c&l track parts to get some plastic fishplates. Upon returning I made a start, I didn't think it would take me most of the day & evening to get the bit of track laid but it has & although it's taken all day it has been a very enjoyable session. I've not properly cut wood & stuck track down for a good few years so to be finally doing something felt good.

So as of about 10 minutes ago this is how it looked after I had packed away all the bits.




Before I put the layout away & packed all the bits up I did take this photo of what I am hoping to achieve. I must thank Russell Davies from the em gauge facebook group for helping me with a detailed wiring diagram. This has helped greatly. Not sure if he is a member.

Anyway I'll leave you with a bit of a teaser of things to come.



Cheers,

Si

Ps sorry about the mess in the background. I've been working in the children's playroom.

 

[34091 Weymouth]

This evening I've pulled out a wagon to make. I bought it before Christmas & this evening I've made a start. It's a Mica B from Parkside. It had some very chunky markits 00 wheels in the packet which I swapped for some really old Maj models wheels I've had sat in my spares box.

The fit of parts was really nice & it was a thoroughly enjoyable session. I shall finish it off one night this week when I get another spare hour or two.



I've decided to go with the name Lower Slaughter. It's something really different to most layout names you hear & it is the village I wanted to try to incorporate into my layout.

I'm going to keep any builds I do for the layout as well as layout progress to this post only, then its all kept in one place.

Si

Music tonight comes from this legendary band. It came on the radio in my wagon today & I was rocking away.

 

[Joe's Garage]

Very nice project Si, a good example of what can be done in 5'.
Looking forward to seeing more and I do like the music link!
Is there a 5.15 on the timetable....a mate had 2 tickets for the Charlton gig but decided to take his girlfriend, I was not amused and have always regretted not seeing them live!
Julian

 

[34091 Weymouth]

Very nice project Si, a good example of what can be done in 5'.
Looking forward to seeing more and I do like the music link!
Is there a 5.15 on the timetable....a mate had 2 tickets for the Charlton gig but decided to take his girlfriend, I was not amused and have always regretted not seeing them live!
Julian

I've never seen them live in the flesh but I've watched gigs they've done live on YouTube. They are fantastic, a true legendary band.

Well I've not done much on Slaughter this week, I've been holding off until the weekend when I can have a good run at things. I picked my son up from school this afternoon & we headed up to Frizinghall models in Baildon. I needed a few supplies so I can do some work on the layout this weekend & into next week.



My wife & my eldest daughter are going to make the pagoda & me & my son are going to make the barn. I've also got some wire & the final point lever.
Whilst the wife has a lay in tomorrow morning I'm going to get up early & get the feeds fitted for the power supply to the rails. I can't really do much with the point levers until I have a chat with a friend about laser cutting me the control panel.

I've also added a couple of items to the fleet this week. I managed to get my mitts on a Gibson County class tank kit which I thought would be a little bit of difference to a pannier. I also picked up this little beauty.


To say its nearly as old as me it runs quiet well & silently too. I've bought a few items from this collection all built in 1986 & all run reasonably well. At some point I'm going to probably re motor them with high level gearboxes but for now they are fine as they are. A simplified version of the paintwork but I still think it's a pretty model for an old Keyser kit.

Another refurbishment I'm working on is this ex taff tank from a wills kit. This is sat on a very nicely made kemilway chassis with compensation. It was another item I picked up off ebay in some random fantasy livery. I'm going to re paint it at some point.



I'll update you all on progress once I've got the wiring done.

Music today comes from these legendary rockers who hail from my home town.

 

[Joe's Garage]

That's a very nice GW 440 loco, please do not repaint Si!

 

[34091 Weymouth]

That's a very nice GW 440 loco, please do not repaint Si!

Julian,

Don't you worry I am rather fond of it as it is. Anything I do re-paint will be in 1930s livery. I would really like a 517 if one crops up on ebay. Its my birthday soon so I've promised myself a couple of days off of work & a finney Stella as a birthday gift to myself & time to start it.

Si

 

[Wagonman]

Chapps Mill at Lower Slaughter/Slaughterford was operated as a paper mill by W J Dowding Ltd. Though the paper making machine was powered by water, they needed coal for boiling the rags that were the raw material for their paper. To this end they bought five 10-ton PO coal wagons from S J Claye in 1901-3. Alas no photos have been found of these wagons.

Source: PO Wagons of Wiltshire by Richard Kelham, Lightmoor Press 2021.

 

[34091 Weymouth]

Chapps Mill at Lower Slaughter/Slaughterford was operated as a paper mill by W J Dowding Ltd. Though the paper making machine was powered by water, they needed coal for boiling the rags that were the raw material for their paper. To this end they bought five 10-ton PO coal wagons from S J Claye in 1901-3. Alas no photos have been found of these wagons.

Source: PO Wagons of Wiltshire by Richard Kelham, Lightmoor Press 2021.

Thank you for the info. I have a friend who does one off transfers so I might ask him to knock me something up.

Thanks

Si

 

[34091 Weymouth]

Me & my son sat yesterday morning & built up a Wills barn kit. I wanted to include him with something that would be a quick build & simple. I got him filing off the pips from the moulds & gluing the parts whilst I held them together. I explained each of the step so he could learn.

Today I give it a coat of red, grey & black primers. I decided to use a technique Chris Nevard employs on his buildings & it works to very good effect. I'm very pleased with how the barns turned out.



It's been dry brushed with emulsion paint from tester pots & acrylic paints to create the colours of stone. The roof has been dry brushed with a thinned revell paint of Lufthansa blue to give it a more slate colour.
I'm going to get some farmyard junk & I'm thinking of maybe adding a balsa lean too on the side to fit a bit of hay in just to change how looks.

That's it for now.

Si

 

[Phil O]

I spent the summer of 94 driving an ex Hastings open top seafront bus from Bourton on the Water around the Slaughters, a very photogenic area, except when raining.

 

[34091 Weymouth]

I spent the summer of 94 driving an ex Hastings open top seafront bus from Bourton on the Water around the Slaughters, a very photogenic area, except when raining.

It's very much like that up here Phil. West yorkshire is beautiful in the sun but like anywhere spoilt by the rain. We just tend to get a fair amount up here.

I have to ask, what's an open top Hastings bus doing in the cotswolds ?

Si

 

[simond]

what's an open top Hastings bus doing in the cotswolds ?

Probably about 28mph & 11mpg…

 

[ChrisBr]

what's an open top Hastings bus doing in the cotswolds ?

It's on its Summer Holiday.....

 

[Wagonman]

Me & my son sat yesterday morning & built up a Wills barn kit. I wanted to include him with something that would be a quick build & simple. I got him filing off the pips from the moulds & gluing the parts whilst I held them together. I explained each of the step so he could learn.

Today I give it a coat of red, grey & black primers. I decided to use a technique Chris Nevard employs on his buildings & it works to very good effect. I'm very pleased with how the barns turned out.

View attachment 180275

It's been dry brushed with emulsion paint from tester pots & acrylic paints to create the colours of stone. The roof has been dry brushed with a thinned revell paint of Lufthansa blue to give it a more slate colour.
I'm going to get some farmyard junk & I'm thinking of maybe adding a balsa lean too on the side to fit a bit of hay in just to change how looks.

That's it for now.

Si

I suspect the roofing material is supposed to be stone slabs rather than slate...

 

[Phil O]

I have to ask, what's an open top Hastings bus doing in the cotswolds ?

Si

I was working for Guide Friday, who ran various open top tour buses around various historical towns and cities. The Headquarters was Stratford on Avon, from there they ran the Stratford and Bourton on the Water daily tours and the once a week Cotswold and Warwick Castle, tours.

Probably about 28mph & 11mpg…

There was a pair of them and flat out, most of the time, would do about 35mph, give or take. They have both gone faster than that, though. No Idea of the MPG.

 

[Jim Read]

Hello Si & Arya,

You've used that space very effectively and shows just how useful a three way point can be.
Great job of it as well I know they can be a pain and especially when getting the three crossing vee's in the right places.
Forgive me for the suggestion have you room for a reverse or 'kickback' private owner siding?

Cheers - J

 

[34091 Weymouth]

Hello Si & Arya,

You've used that space very effectively and shows just how useful a three way point can be.
Great job of it as well I know they can be a pain and especially when getting the three crossing vee's in the right places.
Forgive me for the suggestion have you room for a reverse or 'kickback' private owner siding?

Cheers - J

Morning Jim,

I'd thought about this initially but it looked too much when I laid it on the board. The private siding for the mill is off scene. At home this will give me chance to run a sentinel I built from a rt models kit.

Si