Tales from The Room of Doom. Dipping a toe in various bucolic backwaters.

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NHY 581

NHY 581

Western Thunderer
Richard said:
You are a very Baaad boy.

Have you considered some of the long and lonely lines that crossed the upper parts of England.

I, too, have a growing interest in the Midland lines, and getting the two books off you earlier in the year didn't help this growing itch.

I have no doubt that if I were 10 years younger, something base around Hay on Wye on the route from Hereford to Three Cocks Junction, would be a strong contender from my usual fare of Welsh BR(W).
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Glad they were/are of interest. Hay is quite delightful. I do have a soft spot for Ivatt moguls and their standard 2mt successors. I have a good stable of Midland locos but aside from a S&D environment, I could see them in an ostensibly Bristol setting. Small, fictional urban terminus etc, etc.

Rob.
 
James Spooner

James Spooner

Western Thunderer
NHY 581 said:
Glad they were/are of interest. Hay is quite delightful. I do have a soft spot for Ivatt moguls and their standard 2mt successors. I have a good stable of Midland locos but aside from a S&D environment, I could see them in an ostensibly Bristol setting. Small, fictional urban terminus etc, etc.

Rob.
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Yes, they are rather lovely. Cambridge and Colchester, between them, had a handful mostly for the Stour Valley lines, so I couldn’t resist… It is Bachmann, but with a Comet Darlington chimney, renumbered and regauged to EM then dirtied up a bit…

Nigel

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T

Tim Birch

Western Thunderer
NHY 581 said:
Hi Tim,

The DVLR is fab but Neil hereon is tinkering with that particular nugget......No, the Easingwold looks fun but I really like the rather basic look of the North Sunderland.

And I seem to have enough stock..er....in stock, to make a decent go of running a looky-likey North Sunderland service. Y7, six wheel coaches ( though 4 wheel coaches were used ) Y1/ Y3 Sentinels and assorted wagonage.

Could happen.......

Rob
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Of course, you could be sensible and model something from the north-west. The Garstang and Knott End in any of its guises? Two good books - a recent one from the Cumbrian Railways Association, and an oop one from the Oakwood Press, both of which include useful drawings.

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NHY 581

NHY 581

Western Thunderer
Tim Birch said:
Of course, you could be sensible and model something from the north-west. The Garstang and Knott End in any of its guises? Two good books - a recent one from the Cumbrian Railways an oop one from the Oakwood Press, both of which include useful drawings.

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Morning Tim,

Indeed. There are lots of such lines out there but I really don't need any more rabbit holes........or books !



The reason I've been reading up on North Eastern based light railways is simply the acquisition of a couple of the Rapido Y7s. I've come to realise that I prefer running locos in appropriate surroundings and the Y7s are definitely out of my comfort zone.

To explain further, perhaps an overview of layouts I've built since my return to proper railway modelling in 2015 might help. ( I hope the following is not taken as a "look how many trains I've got" thing. It isn't meant as. )

Sheep Lane ( now sold ) was always a S&DJR layout for the Jinty, 3F and 4F locos.

Mutton ( now sold ) was seen as being on an Ex- L&SWR branch for the Adams Radial.

Bleat Wharf ( now sold ) was another S&DJR based layout.

Sheep Dip was an industrial layout for the Pecketts to play on as they looked wrong on the other layouts. It also sees other industrial types as well as BR green shunters of various types ( mainly 08 )

Ewe was built for the J70s and a couple of diesels ( 03s/04s , the occasional 08 and a class 10 as and when it happens )

Blackwater will have the ability to swap guises, but its fundamentally light railway setting will allow it to flt from coastal GER to coastal SE&CR to highly unlikely Kentish light railway It will accomodate pre-grouping GER, pre WW1 SE&CR ( Terrier, P class occasional O1 ) , as well as late 1920's East Anglian L&NER ( J15 and J67 ) and finally a touch of the light railway ( waiting on the Manning Wardle L class from Rapido ). Talk about getting your money's worth out of a layout !

Flaxfield will most certainly be 1950s Mid Suffolk light railway based and populated almost exclusively by various J15s though J67/68/69s will feature.

So, that leaves somewhere for the Y7s. Therefore, a very small, very simple BLT inspired by, but certainly not a copy of, Seahouses could happen. Services are handled by the Y7 and as an alternative, a Y1/Y3 Sentinel and a J72.

What the above list doesn't take into account are the large number of East Anglian based diesels and DMUs in stock, along with the other larger, Wainwright liveried SE&CR locos, the Ex-Midland, BR locos and stock ( primarily S&D based ) and the selection of small Southern based tank engines. The most likely of these to result in a layout anytime soon are the green diesels and the S&D locos. Therefore, there may be some movement of items to clear the decks but not yet. That will take time to adjust to !

If anything, the above waffle should illustrate how a lack of modelling focus and 'purchase management ' can develop........

Rob
 
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NHY 581

NHY 581

Western Thunderer
Oh, and there are also the Italian locos and the pre 1989 Czech locos and stock.......Of these, the Italian Steam selection will be moved on and the two diesels will stay.

The Kof ii and the Badoni are just too gorgeous to go anywhere.

There is a plan in hand for the Czech stuff.....as and when.

Rob
 
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AJC

AJC

Western Thunderer
James Spooner said:
Yes, they are rather lovely. Cambridge and Colchester, between them, had a handful mostly for the Stour Valley lines, so I couldn’t resist… It is Bachmann, but with a Comet Darlington chimney, renumbered and regauged to EM then dirtied up a bit…

Nigel

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A type the Southern didn’t have, which I’m always a little sorry about, they’re handsome beasts but I really can’t justify the effort/cost!

Adam
 
Phil O

Phil O

Western Thunderer
Tim Birch said:
Another one in LNER territory is the Derwent Valley Light railway running from a terminus in York. Characterful stations and a history of good support for the local farming and industrial communities. There is a history in an Outwood Press book, probably out of print, but available second hand.
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I had a ride on the line back in the mid 70s, when I had an enforced stay in York, very bucolic and rundown line, excellent.
 
NHY 581

NHY 581

Western Thunderer
Morning all.

Things are quietly getting back to normality after my weekend up at the NEC operating the most excellent Shwt, a lovely EM Gauge depiction of a station teetering on the brink of closure. Learnt lots in the process and came away with a few ideas to try on future projects.

The wiring, for example, was just fab..

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The layout also used Kadee couplings. They weren't infallible but illustrated how much fun hands free operation was. Easier to chat to the visitors as well when combined with a wireless control system which utilised a phone app for loco control. Pretty cool and worked perfectly all weekend.

More updates in a bit.

Rob
 
NHY 581

NHY 581

Western Thunderer
Staying with the NEC, I enjoyed it. Now whether this was because I was exhibiting and nipping off to look around in between stints, I don't know but I felt the content was good. Perhaps a lack of small traders but this was the first one under the Warners umbrella. It seemed busy, Saturday perhaps more than Sunday which appeared a constant flow rather than Saturday's peak between 11 and perhaps 2-3.

Perhaps the best barometer is that whereas I stopped going to the old Warley show some 20 years ago, I'd consider going next year as a punter. No chance of that under the old regime.

Downside was that the exhibitor support was poor. Yes, we had lunchtime food but frankly, it was dreadful. Saturday was a jacket spud with a limited ( very ) choice of toppings and Sunday was allegedly pulled pork in a brioche bun......only it wasn't. Certainly meat with stuffing and gravy but tasteless. But the food was available and it was free.

Access in and out was quick and efficient, allowing for the number of vehicles trying to gain access and on Sunday, vehicles could be brought into the void at the rear of the hall to load due to heavy rain.

So overall, a good exhibiting experience.

Rob
 
NHY 581

NHY 581

Western Thunderer
So with the exhibiting year done, I can now perhaps get going on my new projects.

Following Jonte's recommendations, yesterday I bought the required PECO Twistlock point motors to try out on Blackwater Pier, which I'm hoping to progress in the coming weeks.

After Christmas ( read immediately after ) I'll be ordering the boards from Grainge and Hodder for Flaxfield, hopefully for delivery around February.

Next year remains near enough devoid of show commitments and I intend to keep it that way with only a May trip to Stow on the Wold confirmed. Hopefully that leaves me with time to progress Flaxfield as I anticipate ( ) Blackwater Pier progresses ahead of it, allowing me to try out various new cool stuff in prep for the Flaxfield build.

Seemingly then, the game is ahoof...........

Rob
 
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Osgood

Osgood

Western Thunderer
NHY 581 said:
Y7s....Jinty....3F....4F.....Pecketts......other industrial types....BR green shunters.....J70s...03s....04s....08 .... class 10...Terrier...P....O1....J15....J67....Manning Wardle L class....J67/68/69s.....Y1/Y3 Sentinel....J72....East Anglian based diesels....DMUs....Wainwright liveried SE&CR locos...Ex-Midland...BR locos....small Southern based tank engines.....S&D locos....
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jonte

jonte

Western Thunderer
NHY 581 said:
So with the exhibiting year done, I can now perhaps get going on my new projects.

Following Jonte's recommendations, yesterday I bought the required PECO Twistlock point motors to try out on Blackwater Pier, which I'm hoping to progress in the coming weeks.

After Christmas ( read immediately after ) I'll be ordering the boards from Grainge and Hodder for Flaxfield, hopefully for delivery around February.

Next year remains near enough devoid of show commitments and I intend to keep it that way with only a May trip to Stow on the Wold confirmed. Hopefully that leaves me with time to progress Flaxfield as I anticipate ( ) Blackwater Pier progresses ahead of it, allowing me to try out various new cool stuff in prep for the Flaxfield build.

Seemingly then, the game is ahoof...........

Rob
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Here’s hoping I haven’t put you onto a bum steer …………

Seriously, good luck.

Jon
 
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