4mm Whatborough Camp

Roger Pound

Western Thunderer
Due to circumstances beyond the remit of a hobbyists forum the cancellation of a proposed house move has meant my railway modelling has been resumed but in 4mm! The layout is a new project entirely as I have recently sold off all my continental stock - which has been my pleasure to model for over forty years - having decided that my final efforts whilst I am still able will be to follow the British prototype. A n 8'x6' heated shed with power supply has been adapted and so far boards have been fitted for an 'L' shaped layout. The layout is envisaged as a small loco depot and a yard shared by LMS and LNER locos circa 1944-ish with a narrow gauge feeder from local iron ore workings. Track plans are still in the design stage

Keep safe and well everyone and happy modelling to you all.

Roger
(You are never too old to start over!)
 
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Stuart D

Active Member
Good to see you're making some progress with the re-modelling of East Leicestershire!
Given that you have the baseboards in situ and the track to hand, it makes sense to do the track planning directly rather than bothering with pencil and paper (or whatever).
Mind you, it will be interesting to see how the final track plan differs from your intial thoughts......
 

Roger Pound

Western Thunderer
There has been a considerable delay in progress of late due to a combination of factors , principally the extremely wet weather, aided and abettted by a minor seasonal cold (No - not the dreaded virus, thank you for asking!!). However, rather pursuant to Stuarts observations, the original rough panning has been scrapped and the half of the baseboard that featured was lifted and replaced with something just a little wider - about 3 " (75mm if you prefer). It may not seem a lot, but in the confined area that I have at my disposal, it is a considerable help. Re-design is still in progress, but weather and health permitting (we shielded wrinklies must take care you know - HMG says so! :rolleyes:) a revised track design should provide a photo feature in the not to distant future.
For the present, may i wish those who follow my adventures through model railway land as Merry a Christmas as you can possibly have and the hope of a much improved New Year for us all!

Roger
 

Roger Pound

Western Thunderer
It's been some time since I was able to make any progress - a leaky garage roof necessitating removal of a lot of 7mm equipment for the new Whatborough layout in to the shed thus effectively blocking the working space for getting on with Norton Harborough. However, repairs have been effected and we just have the inclement weather to cope with now. When I last visited the site, it was to mock-up a track plan as detailed above. Over the time away from the mock-up, I decided that the loco-shed was inappropriate and it has disappeared from the scene. Instead, open sidings are the rule of the day - this small yard is envisaged as being busy with the war effort in the 1944-5 period and locos will deposit trains and then disappear 'off-stage' as they say for servicing and turning as required. Having finalised the design I have at last got the station and yard laid and the next move will be the wiring. Two photos attached show the slightly revised 'mock-up' now as a fixed prototype. Based on long experience I am sure that operating it will reveal what I consider shortcomings - hopefully there won't be any but never count your chickens, etc,

The first picture (apologies for the poor quality) Shows what will be the scenic boundary and exit from the station and yard. The main entry/exit line is on the far right with a lead off to the sidings, the military sidings being the ones here. The short road next to the main line (with the buffer stops) is the standby road fr the station pilot. There is a dearth of buffer stops at present - rectification of this is in hand. The Metcalfe walls have to be completed by tinting the raw edges whee folds are part of the construction but I just placed them t get a feel of the possible overall picture so they can be easily removed and dealt with once scenic works starts in earnest. Doing this also revealed I need another kit to have enough sections to do the job!

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All points are hand operated - I'm very old school and hate wiring ,,,,,,,,,,,:(! You do get a nice 'hands on' feeling though.:D
So there you have it for the present. Work will continue and the purchasing department has invested a few bob in various things including the odd loco or two, so I am reasonable anxious to get something up and running before too long. Trouble is, as time goes one I find these ten minute jobs tend to stretch in to hours now........!

Keep well, everyone,

Roger.
 

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jonte

Western Thunderer
Interesting intermediate project, Roger.

How do your locos perform across the dead frogs of the double slip?

Jonte
 

Roger Pound

Western Thunderer
Hello Jonte,

Sorry - cannot give you a definitive answer yet as the layout has yet to be powered up. The single slip had been in previous use on an H0 layout upon which I used Roco, Piko , Jouef and Fleischmann locos of both steam and diesel outline. All of these had no problems negotiating the unit without any hesitation or stalling problems. Now that I have returned to 4mm, I have a small stud of Hornby and Bachmann steam outline locos ranging from 0-6-0 tender locos tthrough 0-8-0, 0-6-2T and 2-8-0. All are of relatively modern design so I have every hope they will cope with the single slip. Wiring and test running are the next items on the agenda and I will advise on the reaction of the various locos as and when.
Thanks for your interest.

Roger
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
No probs, Roger, I fully understand, but thank you anyway for the courtesy of a reply :)

I’ll keep popping in to see how your ‘oo’ Gauge locos fare - I’ve been harbouring thoughts of using one eventually - hence my (vested) interest :thumbs:

Will of course stop by in any case to enjoy your progress.

Best wishes,

Jonte
 
Norton Harborough

Roger Pound

Western Thunderer
A further preparatory step has been taken, the basic completion of the wiring being achieved yesterday. The track is now powered up! Test running with various locomotives has taken place and just a few further minor jobs need doing, like tidying cables and replacing a point lever which has decided to collapse - it wasn't me Guv - never touched it, honest! I must admit that whilst I really like Caboose Hobbies point levers, they do, very, very, very occasionally literally come apart, apparently from the pressure of the spring loading in the lever. It has happened to me only three times in over ten years of using them so not a complaint, just an observation. However, I digress. Satisfactory operation has been achieved - the track is all Peco code 00 and the points are dead-frog. No problems with running have been encountered with any loco in my stud. The Motive Power Engineer has been showing a strong leaning towards the LNER of late and recent purchases of locos and rolling stock reflect this - watch out for photos in the not too distant future. Much to my personal pleasure, scenic work is next on the cards with a bit of Metcalfe kit bashing planned too. Watch this space and thank you for your interest.

Roger
 

Roger Pound

Western Thunderer
My apologies to all for the lack of progress reports on this layout. As I have published elsewhere I have not been modelling for some time due to other personal matters. As a result Norton Harborough has been scrapped. I have now resumed hobby activities , albeit that my work rate is rather like the speed of a constipated snail! A new 00 layout is slowly appearing under the name of my former 0 gauge layout and will be known as 'Whatborough Branch'. It will be built on much the same premise with joint LNER/LMS workings in the 1940's, to a period not extending beyond 1946. The real-life hamlet is, as I have said elsewhere in East Leicestershire a short distance from Marefield where at that time the LNW/GN Joint Newark-Northampton line and the GN Leicester branch joined. The Whatborough Branch will be a further junction , albeit fictional, from this point to service a military supply depot.
Hopefully some pictures soon under the title 'Whatborough Branch.'

Roger.
 

Roger Pound

Western Thunderer
Thanks to everyone for their support following a presonal period of trial and tribulation. Photographs are in hand (honestly) of the revised 4mm project now called Whatborough Yard. I thought at this stage a revised 'history' might be in order so here goes:-

It is sometime between 1944 and 1948. In the earlier part of this period the former hamlet of Whatborough had completely disappeared under the activities of the Military with a number of training areas and airfields nearby. The original steeply graded mineral branch from Marefield junction had been upgraded although it remained single tracked which allowed the use of large powerful locos such as the LNER's new rebuilds by Thompson of the Robinson 2-8-0's into class 01 and more commonly the LMS 0-8-0 G2A 'wheezers' from Market Harborough shed. The branch was not designed for passenger work but since militarisation a basic platform has been installed for the occasional passenger working delivering and removing training groups. This service works on an as required basis and can provide anything from an LMS compound to an LNER 'Pom-pom'.
As the timescale moves on in to the peacetime era, workings are reduced but the line at the Whatborough Yard becomes operated by WD locos as opposed to the former years when a Midland 1F 0-6-0T was out-stationed from Market Harborough to do the yard work. A regular workman's passenger service operates following the re-opening of ironstone workings in the area which may well lead to an extension of the line to reflect early BR days............

Well, that's the fiction. The sliding time scale allows me to indulge in buying models to suit the changing times. I have described elsewhere at length that Whatborough is a parish name in East Leicestershire. It is close to Marefield where the LNW&GN joint line from Newark to Northampton was joined by the GN Leicester spur. Market Harborough was where the LNW&GN joint crossed the Midland main line and had it's own shed until the early sixties and was at the time period I have adopted a sub-shed of Rugby (2A) sharing that code. However, a branch to Whatborough is pure fiction on my part, combined with imaginative application of some facts and circumstances which pertained in that general area and neighboring Rutland. (Some may say over-imaginative - I say Rule 1 applies) As the old disclaimer used to say - any relation to places or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
I just hope that the above gives you a guide as to my general intentions - it's all a fancy way of saying how I play trains, really!

Roger.
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
I look forward to seeing the photos of your revised model, Roger. The plot all sounds feasible to me, although I’m easily convinced!

Glad that your mojo has returned too; I’m sure it will serve as some sort of distraction from the woes of life.

Best,

Jonte
 

Roger Pound

Western Thunderer
A couple of pictures ( at last! - I hear the cry.) which show some constructional work and placement of a structure in the revised setting that is being created. Please remember that this is very much work in progress and future illustrations will show the final revision of the layout to cope with the re-panned workings. Please don't expect Pendon, but I'm doing my best.

SAM_2106.JPG

A G2A doing a test run under the new road bridge recently installed by the Royal Engineers to replace the weak original so military traffic can be readily coped with. The facts are that the bridge is an experiment being manufactured (?) from the remainders of card from a Metcalfe kit following the construction of the designed model. It has been temporarily put in position to check clearances and will be removed for painting and finishing.
SAM_2107.JPG

This is a standard Metcalfe goods shed , shown in its location on the layout. The story is that this building existed for the original mineral line before the intervention of the war and military take-over. The railway is still a common carrier amd thus still provides delivery of civil items as required, hence the building remains operative.

The you have it - more fact and fiction about Whatborough Yard.

Roger.
 

Roger Pound

Western Thunderer
Further to my saga - despite my work rate being slowed down, not least because of a relatively minor visual ailment, which I am informed is readily curable and should soon be rectified, the bridge is undergoing painting. The thing I find hardest to execute at the moment if fine soldering, such as wiring multi-pin plugs which I have to do on my other layout Cropshaw, but that is another matter. In view of the time period, some form of camouflaging will (I hope) will be added . The yet again modified track arrangement, influenced by another of CJF's well publicised designs which was based on St Ives. It is not an exact copy or even that close, but the influence is obvious in many respects. So, the track is laid, point levers installed - my preference as I like hand operated points for reasons of reliability not to mention the feeling of direct involvement in operations. Final wiring of sections - just five switches are to be installed on the panel - is slated for completion this week and then the time can be devoted to developing the scenic side and constructing more buildings. I will hopefully have more photographs when the work (and the workplace!) are fit to be seen in public. Until then, watch this space...;)!

Roger.
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
Further to my saga - despite my work rate being slowed down, not least because of a relatively minor visual ailment, which I am informed is readily curable and should soon be rectified, the bridge is undergoing painting. The thing I find hardest to execute at the moment if fine soldering, such as wiring multi-pin plugs which I have to do on my other layout Cropshaw, but that is another matter. In view of the time period, some form of camouflaging will (I hope) will be added . The yet again modified track arrangement, influenced by another of CJF's well publicised designs which was based on St Ives. It is not an exact copy or even that close, but the influence is obvious in many respects. So, the track is laid, point levers installed - my preference as I like hand operated points for reasons of reliability not to mention the feeling of direct involvement in operations. Final wiring of sections - just five switches are to be installed on the panel - is slated for completion this week and then the time can be devoted to developing the scenic side and constructing more buildings. I will hopefully have more photographs when the work (and the workplace!) are fit to be seen in public. Until then, watch this space...;)!

Roger.

Sorry to read that some of your skills are hindered at present, but pleased that this is only temporary, Roger. I envy the apparent ease and pace of build you are enjoying with this project; I look forward to seeing some pics of your point actuating levers too.

Perhaps I’m getting mixed up but wasn’t St. Ives originally built in a cupboard under the stairs and on a curve like the prototype, which extended into the hallway? Looks like a resurgence of his iconic ideas on here recently ;)

Keep us posted.

Jonte
 

Roger Pound

Western Thunderer
Sorry to read that some of your skills are hindered at present, but pleased that this is only temporary, Roger. I envy the apparent ease and pace of build you are enjoying with this project; I look forward to seeing some pics of your point actuating levers too.

Perhaps I’m getting mixed up but wasn’t St. Ives originally built in a cupboard under the stairs and on a curve like the prototype, which extended into the hallway? Looks like a resurgence of his iconic ideas on here recently ;)

Keep us posted.

Jonte
Jonte,
I am not working that fast actually - I had a good head start as the layout is a modification, although fairly major, of the now abandoned Norton Harborough design so a fair bit of work was already in either well in hand or completed.
You ae quite right about CJF building his St Ives in a cupboard -- I actually used part of his design to maximise my 'Yard' capacity in the 8ft x 6ft shed which is home for this project. Photos are in hand, and perhaps will make things clearer. Unfortunately I have not yet mastered 'drawing ' track plans on my computer, but at my age learning that sort of skill tends to take time........:rolleyes:!

Cheers,
Roger.
 

jonte

Western Thunderer
Jonte,
I am not working that fast actually - I had a good head start as the layout is a modification, although fairly major, of the now abandoned Norton Harborough design so a fair bit of work was already in either well in hand or completed.
You ae quite right about CJF building his St Ives in a cupboard -- I actually used part of his design to maximise my 'Yard' capacity in the 8ft x 6ft shed which is home for this project. Photos are in hand, and perhaps will make things clearer. Unfortunately I have not yet mastered 'drawing ' track plans on my computer, but at my age learning that sort of skill tends to take time........:rolleyes:!

Cheers,
Roger.

I can empathise!

Jonte
 

Roger Pound

Western Thunderer
At last after tidying up following the completion of track relaying and basic power being applied, a few pictures of the 'completed ' section of Whatborough Yard with some scenic effects temporarily in place pending track ballasting.

The bridge has been undercoated but the final work on it is yet to be done. This view looks across the yard sidings where the military goods are dealt with.
SAM_2108.JPG

This is a view from the road level at the end of the yard - it will be the scenic boundary, shoing the siding area and the approch 'throat to Whatborough terminal where the very basic platform for the loading and unloading of personnel takes place.
SAM_2110.JPG

A vi
A view from the buffer stops . The aforementioned platform will be sited on the right-hand side of the picture, together with a militaruy RTO's Office and small administrative centre.
SAM_2111.JPG

An aerial view of the 'original ' goods shed (see the text on the 'back story') ahowing the curved approach and departure from the terminal end of the Yard. It is this portion that borrowed heavily from CJF's "St. Ives" plan.
SAM_2112.JPG
As is patent, much has yet to be done, not least in the unseen area where a sector plate has yet to be constructed and installed to form a fiddle-cum-storage section. Then of course, the matter of a back-scene to represent the gentle hills of High Leicestershire - yes, I am a fan - after all I am a Leicester lad! (Who said "Lad! that's a joke!"?) Seriously, however, I do consider that a good back-scene is essential - I have seen a lot of layouts in my time where the effect of some fine modelling has been badly let down by a very poor back-scene, so it is my intent not to let myself down in the same way.
Well, that's it for this time - onwards and upwards and see you again soon.

Roger
 
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