Michael D
Western Thunderer
It’s been a while since I last posted anything, During a time of emptying out boxes settling into my new seaside divorced abode I discovered some bits and pieces in a box marked 2mm. that had been gathering dust for sometime . This is a scale I have wrestled with for twenty plus years always ending in frustration! The Fairburn tank in the pictures has been a love hate thing for at least 8 years! I gave it one last go, the valve gear is so small after all. I was amazed with the running qualities, what DCC and stay alives can do now is quite something. I was seeing what I had enjoyed with 7mm!
So after a test track had been made and more progress with some of the unfinished items in my box I heard on the grapevine Hallam Town needed a new home. This exceptional layout was well known in the model press and its initial construction well documented. Built by Alan Whitehouse I remember first seeing it at Ally Pally and it really caught my attention. Based on the Minories design and originally for blue diesels in a South Yorkshire setting of the 1970’s. All a perfect picture I don’t know if it was the stock or the layout but both caught my imagination and I always toyed with the idea of trying to make something like that after seeing it.
Thanks to Alan for entrusting me with its future, it deserves to be seen and given a new lease of life. I had always liked blue diesels they were what I grew up with but I didn’t want to have an imitation that wasn’t going to be as good as the original stock and my locos were growing a Jinty , J39 were coming along nicely. So what to do…
Hallam New Town
We have moved to the late 1950’s/60’s to the end steam with the sight of some new green diesels coming on shed. Somewhere in the Midlands where although the station is Midland region, Western region trains also run, local, suburban and some cross country with much parcels traffic provide traffic for the last hurrah of this little secondary town station. Alan was right saying this track plan is so versatile change the fitting and furniture and anything is possible.
I’ve made a few minor changes hopefully sympathetically, move a road bridge to open up the sweep of the station also allowing watering facilities to be added on the end of the platforms. Added some new colour light signals to complete what was there, the station had a new coat of paint and new station lamps, adapting a lot of the station furniture.
I’m still playing around with the other end of the layout and working out how to make the ground signals to work!
We have our first exhibition 24/25 September at the Spa Valley Railway Model Railway Weekend which I’m looking forward to a little nervously, and maybe an extension, more dedicated parcels platform?, carriage sidings? Loco servicing ? Who knows…..
Thanks for looking and happy modelling
Michael
So after a test track had been made and more progress with some of the unfinished items in my box I heard on the grapevine Hallam Town needed a new home. This exceptional layout was well known in the model press and its initial construction well documented. Built by Alan Whitehouse I remember first seeing it at Ally Pally and it really caught my attention. Based on the Minories design and originally for blue diesels in a South Yorkshire setting of the 1970’s. All a perfect picture I don’t know if it was the stock or the layout but both caught my imagination and I always toyed with the idea of trying to make something like that after seeing it.
Thanks to Alan for entrusting me with its future, it deserves to be seen and given a new lease of life. I had always liked blue diesels they were what I grew up with but I didn’t want to have an imitation that wasn’t going to be as good as the original stock and my locos were growing a Jinty , J39 were coming along nicely. So what to do…
Hallam New Town
We have moved to the late 1950’s/60’s to the end steam with the sight of some new green diesels coming on shed. Somewhere in the Midlands where although the station is Midland region, Western region trains also run, local, suburban and some cross country with much parcels traffic provide traffic for the last hurrah of this little secondary town station. Alan was right saying this track plan is so versatile change the fitting and furniture and anything is possible.
I’ve made a few minor changes hopefully sympathetically, move a road bridge to open up the sweep of the station also allowing watering facilities to be added on the end of the platforms. Added some new colour light signals to complete what was there, the station had a new coat of paint and new station lamps, adapting a lot of the station furniture.
I’m still playing around with the other end of the layout and working out how to make the ground signals to work!
We have our first exhibition 24/25 September at the Spa Valley Railway Model Railway Weekend which I’m looking forward to a little nervously, and maybe an extension, more dedicated parcels platform?, carriage sidings? Loco servicing ? Who knows…..
Thanks for looking and happy modelling
Michael
