Signal box diagram
7mm Pencarrow - Cornish BR(S)
- Thread starter Pencarrow
- Start date
Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
As some may know, before I started the 7mm Pencarrow project, all my previous work was in 4mm scale. A layout I was co-builder of and took to around nearly 40 shows was Treneglos. This was a late BR steam period, end-to-end layout based on a typical passing station on the North Cornwall Railway. It's appeared previously in Hornby Mag and the Railway Modeller. We sold the layout in January, but before it disappeared in the back of a van it was photographed for BRM as a farewell. It's now out in the April BRM.
Trust me, there's a layout photo behind all the other junk on the cover...
Trust me, there's a layout photo behind all the other junk on the cover...
Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
Whilst I'm mentioning previous layouts I worked on, here's a shot taken by Mr York early this decade for an article in RMweb's 'Modelling Inspiration' magazine. The layout also appeared in Model Rail at some point - iirc I had fun working Beatles song titles into the article section headings (or was that a different layout article?)...
The subject is New Haden Colliery, an EM gauge layout a group of us from Stafford Railway Circle built on club nights over what must have been 20 years. That progress makes Pencarrow look absolutely franetic!
This was the first project I worked on that was heavily based on a real subject. Loved doing the research, something that's stuck with me ever since. The green and black stuff was mostly my work (my one turnout having been binned). Sure I did a building, don't recall which though. The smoke was real from a cigarette...
The subject is New Haden Colliery, an EM gauge layout a group of us from Stafford Railway Circle built on club nights over what must have been 20 years. That progress makes Pencarrow look absolutely franetic!
This was the first project I worked on that was heavily based on a real subject. Loved doing the research, something that's stuck with me ever since. The green and black stuff was mostly my work (my one turnout having been binned). Sure I did a building, don't recall which though. The smoke was real from a cigarette...
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Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
Just found the Modelling Inspiration article here: https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&s...FjAAegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw2HBOFcOgevVxBPmf6olZ0i
2018 Taunton SWAG outing
Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
A bit last minute.com but I took 1 of the Pencarrow boards and a few bits and bobs down to Taunton on Sunday for the RMweb SWAG members day.
Chatted with loads of folk I know, a number of whom are also on here, and had a great time stuffing my face with pasties, pie and cake.
Bulleid and Betjeman don't look too impressed with the Railbus though...
Chatted with loads of folk I know, a number of whom are also on here, and had a great time stuffing my face with pasties, pie and cake.
Bulleid and Betjeman don't look too impressed with the Railbus though...
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Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
Great to meet you Chris, I didn't realise we had Oliver and John in the room too
Simon
Good to meet you as well, sorry you couldn't part me with any more book cash!
Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
Bit of a pause going on with Pencarrow at the moment. I've succumbed to addressing the domestic decorating backlog. The whole house was looking a bit tatty and a couple of the out of the way areas still had bare plaster from when the extension was built in 2011. I may be some time...
Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
Sad to report no modelling has occurred since the end of April. The end board with the grain store on is still where I placed it temporarily on returning from the Taunton event.
To be fair I have set foot in the train room a few times and used a fair few tools but this was for tasks such as repairing a house alarm sensor, modifying a curtain pole and cutting metal tile trim to length.
Available free time has also suffered as I started a new job in June and took on an existing project that has "issues". On the plus side I managed to get away in July on holiday:
It was tough going but somebody had to do it...
Anyway, back in blighty now and back at work. Being a converted roof space the train room is somewhat warm and little breeze gets in despite there being two large velux windows. If the heat wave does drop off this week as predicted I'm going to try and have a poke around on the layout.
One relief though is that this heat has not affected the track in any visible way. So unlike the real railway I can't blame lack of activity on buckled rails!
One thing I have decided though during this downtime and negligible posting is that I'm going to continue with a significantly reduced presence on forums. Do I really need a thread on both here and RMweb? Current thoughts are to just put occasional updates on here. It's not a case of leaving RMweb in a strop, more just not posting modelling updates and not getting involved in the frivolous banter posts. The PM facility will still be used to keep in touch with folk who aren't on here.
The above might be the result of a loss of modelling drive and generally feeling a bit down. It could be a passing phase, who knows, but I just don't feel like posting much at the moment. There's an element of Black Dog but also a questioning about the whole social media thing.
Anyway I did plan today to continue to replace all the failed mortar joints in the patio but (hopefully) it looks like we might get some rain. Plan B?
Hopefully the next post will be more positive.
To be fair I have set foot in the train room a few times and used a fair few tools but this was for tasks such as repairing a house alarm sensor, modifying a curtain pole and cutting metal tile trim to length.
Available free time has also suffered as I started a new job in June and took on an existing project that has "issues". On the plus side I managed to get away in July on holiday:
It was tough going but somebody had to do it...
Anyway, back in blighty now and back at work. Being a converted roof space the train room is somewhat warm and little breeze gets in despite there being two large velux windows. If the heat wave does drop off this week as predicted I'm going to try and have a poke around on the layout.
One relief though is that this heat has not affected the track in any visible way. So unlike the real railway I can't blame lack of activity on buckled rails!
One thing I have decided though during this downtime and negligible posting is that I'm going to continue with a significantly reduced presence on forums. Do I really need a thread on both here and RMweb? Current thoughts are to just put occasional updates on here. It's not a case of leaving RMweb in a strop, more just not posting modelling updates and not getting involved in the frivolous banter posts. The PM facility will still be used to keep in touch with folk who aren't on here.
The above might be the result of a loss of modelling drive and generally feeling a bit down. It could be a passing phase, who knows, but I just don't feel like posting much at the moment. There's an element of Black Dog but also a questioning about the whole social media thing.
Anyway I did plan today to continue to replace all the failed mortar joints in the patio but (hopefully) it looks like we might get some rain. Plan B?
Hopefully the next post will be more positive.
Peter Cross
Western Thunderer
Looks like you had a good holiday. I'm sure the mojo for modelling will be back in full fettle once you get in the swing of things.
As for Rmweb, there seems to be a lack of new model making threads. I don't think I've added anything to the watch list in probably 6 months. It seems to be lots of questions on how to do something, or which RTR is the best one to buy.
I am still posting builds but not as regular as before. As you I've lost a little interest in whole thing. I do keep thinking I should post a little more on here then I find I'm half way through something so promise myself to start at the beginning on the next build.
Here at least a lot of what is posted is about builds an people getting their hands dirty.
As for Rmweb, there seems to be a lack of new model making threads. I don't think I've added anything to the watch list in probably 6 months. It seems to be lots of questions on how to do something, or which RTR is the best one to buy.
I am still posting builds but not as regular as before. As you I've lost a little interest in whole thing. I do keep thinking I should post a little more on here then I find I'm half way through something so promise myself to start at the beginning on the next build.
Here at least a lot of what is posted is about builds an people getting their hands dirty.
AJC
Western Thunderer
Hello Chris,
Hope you enjoyed your holiday and that work isn't getting you down. I've been there, relatively recently, and modelling output noticeably fell off as did much else. With hindsight, none of that matters; I make things because I find it enjoyable and while public appreciation is nice it isn't a particular motivation though it can be a complicating factor.
Ultimately, anything any of us choose to put on social media should be down to us as individuals to decide on but there are multiple pressures we place on ourselves ('I must show this...', 'I've not showed anything since...') as well as the demands of spectators. I'm sure we all feel it, from time to time and I've found that quite offputting in some ways and even that's from the perspective of an RMweb thread which is mostly about building wagon kits in a way that pleases me with - so far as I can tell - an audience of a reasonable size but relatively little engagement (which suits me absolutely fine). Your, excellent, threads do something rather different and perhaps that, as well as the fact that through being involved in several high-quality exhibition layouts goes some way to explaining their different receptions; more people think they know who you are, whether they've met you in person or not.
The group dynamic (for want of a better phrase) of RMweb has clearly changed over the last decade and that's just a thing that is: model-making as opposed to consumption has probably always been less of a force in 'The Hobby' than most of us would like to admit and the sheer quality and quantity of new RTR must have an effect. RMweb is big, popular, and probably reflects that because that's where the model train market is, to a degree: two parallel hobbies where making is increasingly distinct from acquiring and modifying. This may be why photographs of complete models on my RMweb threads get far more 'likes' than the works in progress, but I don't honestly know.
Anyhow, good luck and go well.
Adam
Hope you enjoyed your holiday and that work isn't getting you down. I've been there, relatively recently, and modelling output noticeably fell off as did much else. With hindsight, none of that matters; I make things because I find it enjoyable and while public appreciation is nice it isn't a particular motivation though it can be a complicating factor.
Ultimately, anything any of us choose to put on social media should be down to us as individuals to decide on but there are multiple pressures we place on ourselves ('I must show this...', 'I've not showed anything since...') as well as the demands of spectators. I'm sure we all feel it, from time to time and I've found that quite offputting in some ways and even that's from the perspective of an RMweb thread which is mostly about building wagon kits in a way that pleases me with - so far as I can tell - an audience of a reasonable size but relatively little engagement (which suits me absolutely fine). Your, excellent, threads do something rather different and perhaps that, as well as the fact that through being involved in several high-quality exhibition layouts goes some way to explaining their different receptions; more people think they know who you are, whether they've met you in person or not.
The group dynamic (for want of a better phrase) of RMweb has clearly changed over the last decade and that's just a thing that is: model-making as opposed to consumption has probably always been less of a force in 'The Hobby' than most of us would like to admit and the sheer quality and quantity of new RTR must have an effect. RMweb is big, popular, and probably reflects that because that's where the model train market is, to a degree: two parallel hobbies where making is increasingly distinct from acquiring and modifying. This may be why photographs of complete models on my RMweb threads get far more 'likes' than the works in progress, but I don't honestly know.
Anyhow, good luck and go well.
Adam
Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
Peter and Adam, thanks for your thoughts, much appreciated.
Adam, it is very interesting and somewhat scary at times to go to an event or show and to have people you've not knowingly met in person before come up and talk to you as though they've known you for years!
At a recent show a chap got cross when I didn't realise who he was when he started talking in detail to me about a matter. And then there's the folk that ask questions or demand answers and then don't even have the courtesy to say thank you for the detailed response or then go on to ignore what you've said.
It's bizarre as well that IMO there's a trend towards folk posting something and then expecting a set/humourous response - is this a way for them to feel included in a group? It's almost like a self-repeating, never ending script that some threads appear to feel obliged to follow.
It may be all in my head and actually just folk having a bit of fun but for me it's now quite jarring. Do I detect though, in what a few others have said, a start of a groundswell against some aspects of social media?
I think I'm probably reaching the conclusion that I'll be happier heavily reducing my web presence and concentrating posts more on the modelling. I think I need to find what aspects I get most joy from and concentrate on those.
Well with heavy rain outside stopping what I had planned to do and the temperature in the train room now being comfortable, I think it's time to evict the spiders from Pencarrow...
Adam, it is very interesting and somewhat scary at times to go to an event or show and to have people you've not knowingly met in person before come up and talk to you as though they've known you for years!
At a recent show a chap got cross when I didn't realise who he was when he started talking in detail to me about a matter. And then there's the folk that ask questions or demand answers and then don't even have the courtesy to say thank you for the detailed response or then go on to ignore what you've said.
It's bizarre as well that IMO there's a trend towards folk posting something and then expecting a set/humourous response - is this a way for them to feel included in a group? It's almost like a self-repeating, never ending script that some threads appear to feel obliged to follow.
It may be all in my head and actually just folk having a bit of fun but for me it's now quite jarring. Do I detect though, in what a few others have said, a start of a groundswell against some aspects of social media?
I think I'm probably reaching the conclusion that I'll be happier heavily reducing my web presence and concentrating posts more on the modelling. I think I need to find what aspects I get most joy from and concentrate on those.
Well with heavy rain outside stopping what I had planned to do and the temperature in the train room now being comfortable, I think it's time to evict the spiders from Pencarrow...
AJC
Western Thunderer
Hi Chris,
There's a lot in that - I see some of it in my work (I'm an academic historian) and with Twitter in particular there are groups/themes which all have self-policing/reinforcing group think, with 'jokes', 'correct' forms of expression and behaviour. All that and 240 characters leaves little space for nuance and this is how arguments start... Most of my friends (as opposed to contacts/colleagues) in sector get that and shape their engagement according to what they're after; it's a professional tool as much as anything else ehich isn't generally the case in model railways. The in jokes, knee jerk positions, etc. occur there too and they're every bit as (un)funny those contexts, even if you agree with the sentiment.
I've also heard of experiences similar to your exhibition encounters and that's unpleasant - as well as being straightforwardly rude - the false familiarity social media can engender is something we all need to be careful about. Good luck with the spiders, if that's what you fancy doing.
Adam
There's a lot in that - I see some of it in my work (I'm an academic historian) and with Twitter in particular there are groups/themes which all have self-policing/reinforcing group think, with 'jokes', 'correct' forms of expression and behaviour. All that and 240 characters leaves little space for nuance and this is how arguments start... Most of my friends (as opposed to contacts/colleagues) in sector get that and shape their engagement according to what they're after; it's a professional tool as much as anything else ehich isn't generally the case in model railways. The in jokes, knee jerk positions, etc. occur there too and they're every bit as (un)funny those contexts, even if you agree with the sentiment.
I've also heard of experiences similar to your exhibition encounters and that's unpleasant - as well as being straightforwardly rude - the false familiarity social media can engender is something we all need to be careful about. Good luck with the spiders, if that's what you fancy doing.
Adam
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Wharf building plans and photos
Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
Pencarrow is based on a much compressed and rearranged version of Bodmin North. A few bits are fairly accurate but much of it falls more into the 'inspired by' category.
The lack of a 30m long space to do the job properly to scale does mean I've made some serious compromises along the way. Tony Wright wouldn't be impressed with the amount of compression used (or the fact I've not built a BR(E) mainline ;-p. )
As a result of my crimes against prototype fidelity there are a few areas I've struggled with getting to look right. One if these is the rear left corner of the layout where a lack of board width means that the bank, wall, road and buildings behind the yard can't be fitted in and there's a length of the layout between the grain store and the provender stores that ends too abruptly for my liking.
I've been mulling this over for a while, and perhaps for a bit too stuck on trying to make prototype features fit. Reality check, I'm building an 'inspired by'! With that in mind I've been looking for something to better finish the rear of the layout.
Flicking through books I looked again at the old Bodmin Wharf, the old B&W goods only terminus before it was rebuilt as a passenger station by the LSWR. The buildings below were a key part of the wharf but we're demolished by the LSWR prior to the new station layout opening on 1/11/1895.
These same few images are in just about every book and website covering the B&W.
So I decided to draw them up using a range of things to scale them such as the wagon wheelbase and height plus a guess at the height of the people in the photos. The full run of buildings is a good 40% too long so some amalgamation of the key features into a shorter set was undertaken.
Still some tweaking on the height of the ground the buildings sit on (a tad higher) and their orientation but I quite like them. The back story is that they, like the grain store, we're originally rail served prior to the site being remodeled by the LSWR who lowered the track levels - hence the buildings need to be a little higher.
There will be a path leading down to the station yard which runs between the grain store and the wharf buildings. Hints of a road will be visible behind the buildings.
One interesting element will be trying to guess how the buildings would have looked in the late 50s / early 60s period I'm modelling. That's c65 years after they were demolished. I doubt the bay windows and nice glazing would have survived...
I'll leave the drawing in place a few days to see how it sits with me.
The lack of a 30m long space to do the job properly to scale does mean I've made some serious compromises along the way. Tony Wright wouldn't be impressed with the amount of compression used (or the fact I've not built a BR(E) mainline ;-p. )
As a result of my crimes against prototype fidelity there are a few areas I've struggled with getting to look right. One if these is the rear left corner of the layout where a lack of board width means that the bank, wall, road and buildings behind the yard can't be fitted in and there's a length of the layout between the grain store and the provender stores that ends too abruptly for my liking.
I've been mulling this over for a while, and perhaps for a bit too stuck on trying to make prototype features fit. Reality check, I'm building an 'inspired by'! With that in mind I've been looking for something to better finish the rear of the layout.
Flicking through books I looked again at the old Bodmin Wharf, the old B&W goods only terminus before it was rebuilt as a passenger station by the LSWR. The buildings below were a key part of the wharf but we're demolished by the LSWR prior to the new station layout opening on 1/11/1895.
These same few images are in just about every book and website covering the B&W.
So I decided to draw them up using a range of things to scale them such as the wagon wheelbase and height plus a guess at the height of the people in the photos. The full run of buildings is a good 40% too long so some amalgamation of the key features into a shorter set was undertaken.
Still some tweaking on the height of the ground the buildings sit on (a tad higher) and their orientation but I quite like them. The back story is that they, like the grain store, we're originally rail served prior to the site being remodeled by the LSWR who lowered the track levels - hence the buildings need to be a little higher.
There will be a path leading down to the station yard which runs between the grain store and the wharf buildings. Hints of a road will be visible behind the buildings.
One interesting element will be trying to guess how the buildings would have looked in the late 50s / early 60s period I'm modelling. That's c65 years after they were demolished. I doubt the bay windows and nice glazing would have survived...
I'll leave the drawing in place a few days to see how it sits with me.
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Peter Cross
Western Thunderer
Looks good Chris. Nice way to fill the gap.
In the third prototype photo. It looks like the right hand pair of rails go right up to where the sleeper built infill on the grain store.
In the third prototype photo. It looks like the right hand pair of rails go right up to where the sleeper built infill on the grain store.
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
Looks good.
For the 1950-60s you could always board up the bay windows and doors and have the buildings in a dilapidated state.
I'd be inclined to have all three buildings as shown in the photograph complete with the small yard between the 'mirrored' houses. Remove the farthest tree from provender store (to create the space) and have a steep narrow set of steps between the grain store and the left hand of the trio of buildings. This may appear cluttered for the layout but the third old photo in the sequence shows it to be so.
For added effect you could then include parts of and expose some the buried rails which would have originally served these buildings which would not have to be on the same alignment as the rest of the layout.
For the 1950-60s you could always board up the bay windows and doors and have the buildings in a dilapidated state.
I'd be inclined to have all three buildings as shown in the photograph complete with the small yard between the 'mirrored' houses. Remove the farthest tree from provender store (to create the space) and have a steep narrow set of steps between the grain store and the left hand of the trio of buildings. This may appear cluttered for the layout but the third old photo in the sequence shows it to be so.
For added effect you could then include parts of and expose some the buried rails which would have originally served these buildings which would not have to be on the same alignment as the rest of the layout.
Pencarrow
Western Thunderer
Yes, originally the track did go into the grain store. The LSWR lowered the track by about 4'when remodelling the site.
Yorkshire Dave
Western Thunderer
Ah.
You could always have a half width lean-to building and set it set back a cm or two so as not to mirror the right hand side in the same frontage plane. Then take the outer wall out towards the rear at the same angle as the grain store and create a ginnel (alley). It would be an odd shaped building but they do exist...