The Model Railways of Chris Nevard's Blog

Today's load of old drivel

2012-03-14T07:40:00.050Z

120312_polbrock_DSC_2368, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Being serious for moment, which I do find that hard at times to be honest - you may notice that Polbrock is a little more complete than in previous photos with the addition of rickety fencing and more sun-burnt late-summer tall grass.

I needed to get a move on, because 'Part 1' on 'how it was dun' will be appearing in Model Rail very shortly. It will be a 4 part 'Workbench' feature covering the construction aspects in detail. In another feature I'll also touch on the home brew backscene seen here which anyone with a camera and computer can create, and you don't even need a printer or to mess about with wallpaper paste getting into a right wrinkly old mess.

And now, because I hate serious, here is the obligatory load of old tosh aimed at my favourite non-modelling fraternity we all see at shows. Yes, I know I milk the squeaky voiced brigade far too much and should really be looking at other aspects to make the proverbial pee out of, so will be looking at other aspects I promise. 'Railway Club' monogrammed kebab and dribble (mainly caused by internet forum froth) stained green polo and sweatshirts probably deserve some mileage maybe? I digress, here is the tosh for today anyway touching familiar old ground.....

4571 trundles past the Pedant & Armchair pub at Polbrock. As we all know by now, this pub was reputedly popular with nit-pickers, 'expert' armchair modellers and society misfits. You might not know that It was closed down shortly after this photo was taken and the customers mostly locked up in Bodmin Gaol or forced out into the real world to communicate with the general public in a civilized manner. The pub then burnt down mysteriously, the cause thought to have been a burning coal from a passing train.

The loco crew didn't want to be associated with it, so cannot be seen in the shot. The owner of the abandoned car is hiding off scene to the left, not wanting to be stopped outside the pub for any length of time. Shortly after the photo was taken, its owner ran back to the car and headed off over the crossing without delay to avoid the most irritating adenoidals coming out of the pub with copies of the highway code telling the owner that he or she was at the wrong distance from the crossing and that the car tyre pressures where 4psi low and that the recent repaint was the wrong shade of midnight blue.

Trainee nit-pickers will of course notice the BR orange curtains in the pub windows, we don't want to dwell too much on the activities that went on behind them, but the chances are it was something to do with trains entering tunnels and soiled pages ripped out of old Ian Allan ABC books - horrible!

In recent years commercial paranormal groups have held vigils on the site of this pub to try to communicate with the horrors that frequented this place. Exorcism has so far failed to expel the dark spirit/spotters that allegedly haunt this spot.

*With apologies to those with adenoidal issues – do see a doctor, it can treated with minor surgery called an Adenoidectomy – read all about it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenoidectomy

Raising the Standard

2012-03-13T09:35:00.002Z

nevard_120312_signal_BQ_DSC_2419, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

I've had this loco since around 2004 when it first appeared much celebrated from the Bachmann stable. One of the first things I did was to renumber it as Templecombe's (71H) Standard 4 2-6-4 tank No. 80043 and give it a quick blast with the airbrush to tone it down.

This loco is one of those great ones for an all weekender exhibition, it just runs on and on with no hassle and without the wheels treads building up with gunk even at the sweatiest and smelliest of toy chuffer shows. This is much like the real thing I imagine, back when steam was just hanging in there on Britain's worn out post-war railways.

Last weekend, I pulled the loco out of its box and came to the conclusion that the weathering has fallen behind my more recent projects that have moved beyond a simple blast with a mucky matt varnish concoction. Luckily this engine, which saw out its days on the Somerset & Dorset Line and withdrawn on 7 March 1966 was well photographed, so there is plenty of material to use as reference along with other members of the same class.

Something I did notice, and as a change from my other weathering jobs is the large amount of orange (rust?) which appeared around the front end and cylinders. The upper surfaces tended to get covered in quite a bit of ash, which I imagine looked worse if it hadn't rained for a bit. The rest of the loco would have that smeared oily 'Christmas Pudding' covering which can be easily replicated by dry-brushing on black metal-cote from Humbrol. A build-up of brake block dust from use on stopping services would tend to add a dusting of orange too along with corrosion.

We often despair at the state grubby state of engines in their latter years, but I have a hunch that the congealed oily coating protected the metal work from further corrosion, this allowing scrapped engines, many of which breathed salty air at Barry Scrapyard to survive just long enough to be spotted for preservation and then stored for even longer, almost forgotten at the end of sidings on heritage railways.

Rolleicords and mouldy rolls

2012-03-07T04:48:00.002Z

8506_botley_33014_p_c-nevard, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Due to the Southampton Tunnel blockade, 33014 powers a diverted Portsmouth Harbour to Bristol train through Botley on a glorious Summer's day in June 1985. Bigger version here.

It's scary for me this think that this photo was taken over 25 years ago, because it does feel just like last summer. Looking ahead 25 years from now, and if I'm still alive I'll probably be in a bath chair or be one of those doddery rude old gits seen at railway shows that crash into you and push past your well behaved children. Failing that, I'll be that very slow driver in front of you and the 25 other cars on that windy route that you stand no chance of being able to overtake me on. Then later in the evening, my eyesight will be so bad I'll try to eat the floral pattern off the dinner plate, and I'll be always grumbling about the youth of today - actually I do that already! The youth bit, not the dinners plate. Yet.

I remember the day well, it was a comfortable 25 celcius or so, and I'd cycled the 8 or so miles from my parent's house in Hamble. At the time I was a photography student at Salisbury College of Art, and it was around the end of term so I'd probably gone home for the weekend. In those pre-internet days I'm not sure how I knew that the trains were being diverted away the more usual Netley route because of engineering work on the tunnel at Southampton, but there were a few railwaymen at the Southampton Model Railway Society I belonged to at the time who may have given me the nod. More likely though it was simply because I travelled by train quite a bit had seen the notices! It does make me think just how much we rely on the web these days for almost everything!

One thing that sticks on my mind from that sunny day, was the petrol station next to Botley railway station where I bought a cheese filled roll and a can of fizzy pop. When I chomped into it, the flavour was a bit like compost (not that I eat compost rgularly) and upon further investigation found the roll full of mould! I couldn't be bothered to go back to the garage, but I do recall the chap at the till saying that the fridge was up the spout. These days I'd not take such a risk and would certainly not put up with rotten food by taking it straight back.

The camera I used much time was a late 1950's Rolleicord Va, a trusty German built camera that shoots 12 x 6x6cm exposures on a roll of 120 film. The lens had a maximum aperture of only f3.5, so to be able to shoot at the 1/500 sec shutter speed to stop and fast moving train you needed sunlight for the 100 iso Fujichrome the above photo was taken on - this shot probably being 1/500 at f5.6. On overcast days whilst I could have chosen a fast transparency which generally was indifferent in quality and very grainy, so we tended to shoot black and white. For younger readers, black and white must seem odd, but in those days B&W was the norm for publication and home processing. Nearly all magazines and books apart from the posher ones and National Geographic were mostly B&W apart from the cover and maybe a centre spread.

The cameras and trains may have changed, and I'm certainly no longer that mug who bought rotten filled rolls, but interestingly enough this location looks quite similar which is still a stone off loading terminal for trains from the Mendips. Even the signalbox is still there, albeit semi-derelict and looking like it's not been painted since this photo was taken.

Here is the location on Google Maps, and the bridge I stood on - though I have not any idea how I found the footpath to it http://g.co/maps/pv6uq

Just when you thought the snow had gone...

2012-03-05T23:52:00.001Z

nevard_111101_snow_DSC_4427_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

After some of the warmest late winter days recently with temperatures hitting the upper teens, some parts of this wet island we live on have since had more snow just we thought that winter was all but over for this side of 2012. This strange weather is probably the bi-product of some grubby far east factory producing cheap highly detailed model locos and trains. That’s another story though, well for another day anyway.

I was going to keep this shot for much later in the year, but for want of something to write about which isn’t about toy train forum and magazine buy-outs, those are being discussed to death on forums by people who think the world has ended. So, concentrating on the hobby rather that toy chuff chuff politics, let’s talk about toy snow.

Some of you may have seen this photo in the January 2012 Model Rail mag where it was used to illustrate various products to recreate the effect of snow.

I tried a few of them out, but found the one which stuck to everything like snow in a blizzard wasn't a model snow product at all, but decorator's plaster applied with the kitchen sieve! Whilst it looks great in a model photo like this, I'd not recommend it for anything other than photography because it gets everywhere. In the end I had to take the locos and diorama outside to blast the stuff off.

The rear loco has a very flat finish, and despite a good dusting off after the studio session, it still has the white powder engrained into the paint. Still, it gives a good effect to an engine which spends much of its time shunting at a miniature cement works! If I’d used plaster on a working railway the powder would almost certainly mess up the delicate works. For a working model railway it is better to stick to the bespoke model snow products because they won't damage your trains.
The rather good snow plough is the recent release from Flangeway, and with that nice sharp front end could almost certainly be used on a large model railway to remove pets and children’s toys which may have somehow ended up where they shouldn’t have.

Mystery Semaphore Signal

2012-03-03T06:48:00.001Z

nevard_120301_signal_BQ_DSC_1989, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Going through some old railway bits the other day I came across a couple of these semaphores. They are mostly metal but set into a bakelite base which houses what appears to be an electro-magnet for operation. At the top of the signal is a small bulb which sits behind the coloured optics.

I have a hunch these are of Americal origin because the signal arm is the other way around to what we'd expect in the UK. If any readers know add your thoughts below.

In its current form it's rather toy like with the heavy base, but could find some use on an industrial location like with Brewhouse Quay if the post was set into the ground so the black base is below baseboard height. Even set into the base board the signal arm is high enough to clear any rolling stock, and because industrial locations often used non-standard gear the signal arm being the reverse of the norm could be feasable.

This signal could work on Brewhouse Quay just where the line exits the layout, why a signal? Well of course there is a passing loop or busy road just off-set of course! Or simply for the fiddle yard operator to indicate that the fiddle yard is ready.

Guilding a Granny, aka updating the Dapol Grain Wagon

2012-02-24T23:56:00.005Z

nevard_120224_grain_IMG_2695, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

We all start projects and then lose interest or simply get side-tracked with other projects; and some of you may remember back to September one of my many projects was to upgrade the Dapol 20 ton grain wagon? A good thing about running a blog is that it forces one ever so often to look back at ongoing or stagnant projects because somebody will always remind or ask you how it's going - there is no escape, which is probably a good thing!

This elderly ready-to-run offering dates back to Horny Dublo days, probably when the real railways still relied on steam for day to day power. It was later res erected by Wrenn and later Dapol who I believe still have this in their current catalogue, do correct me if I'm wrong though!

Out of the box, it's a nice moulding.

At a first glance it does look like what it's supposed to, a grain wagon with the distinctive hopper design and vertical strapping along the sides. This spontaneous purchase was the need for some grain wagons for Brewhouse Quay. I thought all I'd need to do would be repaint and weather the wagon, then after looking at Paul Bartlett's excellent wagon site found out just how wrong the model is, well below the waist anyway! People who know me, know that I don't get too worried if things aren't quite right, my ethos being more about atmosphere and capturing the character of a working railway. However it's good not to be too predictable, so thought I'd have a play to see if I can improve on the model little, and anyway a job like this makes a change from snapping layouts or wielding a Grasmastmer!

As already mentioned, lifting the skirt reveals the greatest area where improvements could be made, so back in autumn at Scaleforum I picked up some white metal brake gear castings. I won't go into too much detail because filing and cutting up bits of metal is hardly exciting, but the job mainly involved chopping off the Dapol brake gear and fitting on some of the bits. I didn't have a long enough brake handle, so offcuts of grass (brass) were used to fabricate new ones along with some steps.

The new base of the hopper was carved up from some laminated 3mm plastic card, 4 layers in total to get the depth more of less right.

The circular 'tap' handle or whatever it's called is from an industrial piping kit and not quite right, but can easily be replaced at a later stage with something better. The wagon is 4mm too short, but to graft in extra length would make this project to one stage beyond sanity, and after all I only bought this as a quickie!

Next will be to number and weather it up, they got into quite a state as Paul Bartlett's photos demonstrate, that bit I'll enjoy the most. I'll try to do this over the weekend.

Later.....

Beware the Low Emisson Zone!

2012-02-14T21:43:00.005Z

Something we need to be aware of should we have to use a van, minibus, lorry or large older vehicle to take our layouts to shows within the Greater London Low Emission Zone.

This letter came via the Model Rail editorial office (name and address supplied, but removed for this post).

'Our club was invited to attend the recent Erith Model Railway Exhibition in January. It was an excellent exhibition and we enjoyed ourselves displaying and operating our 00 layout.

However, on our return we received a warning letter from Transport For London informing us that the van we had used to transport the layout was no longer compliant with the Greater London Low Emission Zone (LEZ), and that next time it entered the LEZ we would have to pay £50 per day or face a £1000 fine. Converting the vehicle, a 10+ year old VW Transporter, could cost up to £1500, a price the owner is not prepared to pay for occasional London use.

The warning therefore to all attendees at London exhibitions is make sure your transport is LEZ compliant beforehand, or alternatively factor in the £50 per day in your expenses. If you have to cross London to get to the venue, stick to the M25.

To Greater London exhibition managers, please indicate whether or not your venue is inside the LEZ when you invite organisations to your show, and whether or not you regard the £50 per day as a legitimate expense.

This will not stop us attending a London show if asked, but we would have to hire a different vehicle, probably at greater cost.'

To find out if the above could effect you, follow this link.

Catching out the nit-pickers

2012-02-12T14:20:00.058Z

nevard_120211_combwich_IMG_2594, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

I haven't had a jab at model railway enthusiasts for some time, and I know that quite a few of you, the loyal readers, enjoy my pokes at some of the odder people that make this hobby so special, so here goes and I don't even mention armchairs for a change .....

Anyone who takes their trainset out on the road will no doubt get these solitary types that hang around their pride and joy peering over their glasses just a little longer than most. They're easily spotted because they'll tend to dwell on one particular area longer than anyone else, concentrating on something or other which isn't immediately obvious. After 10 minutes or so they'll try to capture your attention, you of course know this and will almost by instinct pretend they're not there by conveniently finding a member of the audience to chat to, or simply disappear off to the fiddle yard murmering something about swapping some trains around.

Like flies to a smelly horse, they don't normally give up and will almost certainly fail to notice the layout owner's body language which says 'go away', 'bog off', or maybe something far too colourful to type here. When they do finally strike like an oversized hungry mosquito on a mission, this will always be when you briefly let the guard down as you nip around the front of the layout to re-attach the drape or deal with a tricky 3 link coupling. Damn and blast!

These are of course the nit-pickers, they're those who have probably never built anything, but purely go to shows to find to their eyes what are errors and failings, then take a great delight in correcting the builder. When they're not at shows they'll be hanging around on internet forums giving 'helpful advice' when they could be doing something more useful like hoovering the carpet or sorting out 'mother's meals on wheels' or counting the sprocket holes on a roll of 35mm film.

My most recent one was at the Guildford show, this one was standard-issue complete with gabardine raincoat and one of those shopping bag/basket things with wheels and a handle, you know the model, the one with go-slower tartan pattern to go with the matching thermos. The subject of his observation was the Simonds Beer hoarding on Combwich, and off he went with the usual nasal diatribe; "Young man, do you know where Simonds Brewery was? It wasn't in the West Country but Reading! This is completely wrong!"

Flies and mosquitoes can be swatted, but slapping a member of the public is likely to involve a night down the local nick, so one has to retaliate verbally with a well rehearsed explanation; "it's based on such an advert that greeted motorists on the A38 as they drove through Bridgwater and underneath the Edington Junction to Bridgwater branch of the old SDJR in the early 1950's". This is of course quite true and for those that have Mac Hawkins' 'Somerset & Dorset Then and Now' book, have a look at page 212 there is the proof. The nit-picker was wrong for a change and hence the reason for this post.

Simonds Brewery, whilst indeed it was in Reading, the period advert proclaimed 'Brewed in the West Country', which with today's heavy advertising regulation would be hard to justify, but I presume in 1950's Britain, things were a little more relaxed, and of course Reading is west of Heathrow which might have been enough for the brewery to get away with such a claim!

So, all you know-alls out there, not everything in this world makes complete sense, you're not an authority on everything, and not everything must be taken too literally. But most importantly, there can be a prototype for almost anything if you look hard enough - which is great for us who actually do some model making. Of course Daily Mail readers/Jeremy Whine viewers will say that I should have an information board on the layout explaining this, but it's far more fun to catch the nit-pickers out this way to their face, even if just to treasure albeit too briefly the disappointment on their faces as they wander off to irritate somebody else.

Extending Combwich

2012-02-04T08:34:00.052Z

Back of an envelope sketch of possible extension

Since the last show, and whilst the layout has been set up at home I've been pondering on extending Combwich by around 4 feet.

The idea is to extend the little 15 inch board which has the level crossing, pub and crossing keeper's cottage on to around 4 feet. The little board was originally built to allow Combwich to become a long wall hugging layout from its original 'L' shape to suit the then domestic environment of 10 years ago after the layout was res-erected from 15 years storage.

Currently the fiddle yard is where the new scenic extension will be. The current angled entrance to the fiddle yard has never been ideal, this will allow access to the new fiddle yard at a better angle. I want to replace the fiddle yard with a 360 degree rotating one as with Catcott - but somewhat longer to accommodate 4 coach trains with a loco. This will speed up operation and reduce loco handling.

The existing scenics will be kept, but the backscene will be removed which is currently to the left of the crossing keeper's cottage. Thoughts for the next section are a dairy, this would be typical of such an area and maybe a works halt a little like Polbrock, but more SR in style with a concrete edged platform. Extending the current Rhyne to run along the front could give it a Bason Bridge feel with the dairy and railway next to the river Brue. 'Exit left' will be under a bridge - and will utilize the other half of the portal used for Polbrock.

The whole of Combwich as it currently is - 13'6" including staging/fiddle yard

The Grotty 1960's

2012-02-03T12:05:00.002Z

D6333 rumbles through Dawlish Warren with an inspection saloon,
22 July 1966. This loco survived to be one of the last 4 in service,
it being withdrawn in 1972 and in due course was repainted in
BR (Rail) Blue. Photo: Richard Lewis, posted here with permission.

Compared to the present day, Britain's railways were a mucky place 45 years ago, the rest of country wasn't much different then either. Whilst it's easy to mock the grotty 1960's developments, it's easy to see why people were keen to get rid of a scruffy run down past and replace it with a shiny looking space-age landscape.

The state of D6333 in this shot rather reflects the state of grottyness which was frequently the norm. It's not easy to imagine that when the photo was taken the loco was well under 10 years old. At the time, it wiould be comparable in age to a Freightliner Class 66 now. Scary.

D6313 after an initial weathering, captured here running
around its train on the author's Combwich layout.

When I started to weather mine the other day, there was some quite valid suggestion that maybe I went too far, but after looking at a few examples in Richard Lewis' wonderful archive since, I'm beginning to think that mine isn't tatty enough. However my scenario depicts the railway as it was a few years prior, so I may well tidy mine up a little and work a little of the grime off around the cabsides to give a used sheen and to reduce the overly dusty look.

Looking at Richard's photo, flaking paint appears to be a feature of the time and probably the result of cellulose paint being rubbed off with a carriage washing plant. Modern paints are alot better in this respect and anyone who remembers polishing a cellulose finished car will know just how much paint used to end up on the polishing cloth!

It's quite trendy these days to create marks on the windscreen showing where the wipers have kept the glass clean. I had a go using a little cloth to selectively remove the weathering pigment, but after further looking at Class 22 prototype photos, this feature is rarely ever seen, and whilst the engines were often in a right old state, the glazing was generally spotless and probably wiped clean daily. I would appear that I have fallen into the easy trap of modelling a model!

Weathering, stage one.....

2012-01-31T21:32:00.003Z

nevard_120131_class22_IMG_2328, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

D6313 plods in to Combwich with a goods from Bridgwater, August 1964.

Nearly all the photos of this class of loco show them in a right old state, even though they were fairly new. My depiction here, shortly after its initial weathering shows faded paintwork and a liberal coating of brake block dust. This is only the first stage, weathering for me taking 2 or 3 sessions, adding and removing the effect until I'm happy with the result, though probably more removal in this case. There is much standing back and appraising what's going on, the camera being a very useful tool in the process and far better at picking faults than the naked eye.

It's not April the 1st, but...

2012-01-30T12:32:00.009Z

nevard_120130_combwich_IMG_2324, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Photo: 30587 departs Combwich with the 2pm service to Stogursey.

...but in the ethos of populist journalism for the masses, today I'm not going to let historical accuracy get in the way of a good yarn!

Until 1955, a light railway served the small town of Stogursey up in the Quantocks. This railway was part of a grand scheme to link the port town of Combwich with Watchet, but sadly the railway company owned by Sir Henry Nythe of Nether Stowey ran out of money only halfway into the line's construction in 1901.

The lightly built railway, whist it never got to the GWR at Watchet, served numerous stone quarries on route and supported the local agricultural industry to a lessor degree. Passenger traffic, as with most of these railways was very light, with the sharp curves necessitating the use of short wheel base locomotives and rolling stock. The ex-GWR coach here being the last outpost of this 4 wheeled design. The Beattie Well Tank, whilst mainly known for their use on the Wenford Bridge line in Cornwall, were also used on the Stogursey line from 1952 to 1955, making this little known railway a popular destination for railway enthusiasts.

For those readers living in the real Combwich and who keep emailing wanting more information about the railway, or to those living there who think that they know where the station used to be - the above is complete twaddle of course!

For those who'd like to see a bigger version of the above photo, click HERE!

Playing Trains

2012-01-28T21:09:00.004Z

nevard_120128_combwich_DSC_1272, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Looking across a typical Somerset Levels rhyne, 43216 trundles in to Combwich with an afternoon goods from Evercreech Junction. August 1959.

I enjoyed operating Combwich so much at last weekend's local show that I've set it all up in the guestroom for a week or so to simply play trains. OK, setting the layout up is nothing new, but I don't normally add the fiddle yard due to space, however the temporary repositioning of the spare bed within the room has allowed me to set up the layout in its full operational entirety at home for the first time in several years.

So now the fiddle yard is full of stock allowing me to play trains in a proper fashion just like those rare occasions when the layout is on the road. Unlike at an exhibition, the control panel is now on the front of the layout which allows me to enjoys the punters' view.

Above is not an angle I've tried before, but I think it works, hopefully capturing the feel of a summer's days looking across the North Somerset bog half a century or so ago.

Photographically, it was just taken with a 10 second exposure under the single domestic ceiling light, the single point light source not doing a bad job at replicating midday sun. The top of the hand-painted backscene finishes just above the trees on the left and the signal to the right, so a little Photoshop was used to fill in the sky above and the cover up the magnolia painted bedroom walls.

BIGGER VIEW http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/6776855695/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Fresh in from Kernow

2012-01-25T06:07:00.006Z

nevard_120125_class22_IMG_2312, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Yesterday morning I opened the door to the porch to find this rather well packed parcel from Kernow Model Rail Centre sitting there in the form of the much awaited Dapol Class 22 - a very useful small loco, especially for those that model railways half a century ago anywhere west of Heathrow.

I have yet to look at it properly, but was able to find a few moments to grab this snap of the compact little beast. Obviously the detail pack needs to be added along with separate panels that clip in below the body.

I may well renumber this loco, though I know that there were many variations so I could be heading straight for a huge web of nit-pickers - even more than usual if I get that wrong with the number-obsessives. I did try collecting trains numbers once, it lasted for 1 about hour at Eastleigh station in the spring of 1981 before I got totally bored of what to me is a pointless activity - still, each to their own I guess! I have some good friends that collect loco numbers, so at least I now know that not everyone who does this is a nutter, but 30 mins at Tamworth Upper Level Station is enough to realise these good gentlemen are a rarity, but on the other hand, odd is interesting and cool - so, so what!

The Class 22, or North British Type 2 Bo-Bo were mixed traffic locos, but lack of reliability meant that they tended to find work on less important services and were frequently seen on demolition trains on closed railways, where if they failed apart from the crew becoming marooned, were unlikely to mess up any schedule resulting in irate passengers! These locos in real life were pretty unreliable and generally unloved, so they mostly appear in photos looking more than a little worse for wear frequently with tatty worn paint - a weatherer's dream to recreate! For me it's a great choice, being ideal for the sort of backwaters I enjoy making, its compact size not over-powering the the small layouts.

Whilst they only ever appeared on the SDJR after closure on demolition trains, one did briefly make an appearance at Glastonbury in 1964 on an inspection train - see this link. Something like that would make an interesting short train in miniature. Personally I can also see this loco being used on Cement Quay on the odd occasion I decide to back date the operation and of course it will fit in perfectly on Polbrock. All in all, a good buy! Well done Kernow and Dapol!

Looking back at the weekend show

2012-01-24T02:29:00.035Z

nevard_120123_45xx_DSC_1208, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

As mentioned in previous blog posts, the Astolat Model Railway Circle 2012 Expo in Guildford was to be Combwich's last outing for a while pending a total re-wire to take some of the lottery as to whether the layout will perform or not. Luckily, and much to my surprise the old girl, which has now turned 30, presented very few problems other than a dickie frog polarity switch under one of the run around crossover points. On the odd occasion it played up, a little kerfingerkerpoken under the baseboard adressed the issue with most viewers probably not noticing the workaround.

Curiously, Combwich's baseboard alignment was the best it's been since the early 1980's, ever since then, despite the layout living in dry domestic atmosphere, the baseboard join which splits station area in half always leaves the most distant siding behind the goods shed with anything up to a 1mm drop at rail height when all other roads are in perfect alignment. This isn't really a problem, because it's more of less hidden from view and very few trains ever venture that far down the siding. My theory is that the environment at the Guildford show must similar to when the layout was orginally built; I always remember my parent's house being rather hot - actually it still is, and will no doubt get hotter as they get older which will be in harmony with the television getting louder!

The photo above is of the latest newcomer, in the form of an ex-GWR 45xx. I've already blogged about this loco which will in due course be renumbered, but this photo shows the sort of landscape that suits it best. The Bridgwater service provided good reason for its inclusion on Saturday, with it really looking at home trundling in and out of Combwich with a B-Set or pick-up goods. The photo was taken with north facing natural window light, its low angle highlighting many the textures in the scene and soft warm colouring that I like to get into my model making.

Update: Combwich.mov shot by Fungus McBogle at the Astolat Show last weekend: http://youtu.be/cmxLY_ZSv7Q via @youtube

For photos of Combwich at the exhibition - click here.
For a bigger version of the above photo - click here.

Guilty Pleasure - Dabbing with the GWR!

2012-01-20T22:36:00.005Z

nevard_120121_45xx_DSC_1094, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

A Bachmann ex-GWR 45xx after an initial weathering captured pottering about on Cement Quay Old Quarry Wharf. In due course it will be renumbered with etched plates once I have finally decided on a suitable number, which will probably a loco from Taunton Shed(?). I'll be honest to knowing very little about the GWR other than it was the arch enemy of the S&DJR and Southern Railway, but their hansom locos do have a certain charm even if is potentially dabbing with the dark side.

In my imaginary world, Combwich also had a service to Bridgwater, not to connect with the S&DJR at Bridgwater North, but with the GWR. For this service ex-Great Western motive power and trains were used, most usually a Pannier Tank or a 2-6-2 tank like this one on a B-Set.

As a guilty pleasure earlier this evening I started weathering up this delightful Bachmann offering for the weekend show, and whilst it won't have the etched number plates in time, it now blends in a little better with the rest of the trains. It's also a really steady runner, something that is always a bonus on a shunting plank.

BIGGER VIEW http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/6732602539/sizes/l/in/photostream/

All up and running

2012-01-19T21:13:00.003Z

nevard_120119_combwich_DSC_1024, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

43216 arrives at at Combwich with the 2.15pm service from Evercreech Junction, August 1961

This afternoon, Combwich was assembled for an up and under prior to this weekend's show in Guildford. Much to my surprise, it ran pretty well first off, apart from a slight problem with a Peco polarity switch being a tad lazy - next job will be to dismantle the layout and ship it down to the show which is just a couple of miles away. Fingers crossed it will behave itself upon reassembly. We shall see!

The layout has for the last few months been stored vertically with the boards facing each other. I thought I'd stopped the cats getting in, but one of them has obviously managed to get inside, and in trying to escape pulled some of the Silfor grass matting adrift, a little PVA sorted that out. Luckily none of the buildings were damaged by the little darlings.

Here is a bigger version of the above photo.

Combwich - on the road again, just one more time.

2012-01-15T10:42:00.004Z

nevard_101106_wycrail_IMG_8340_web, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.
Wycrail, 6 November 2010. Note the cast of 'Last of the Summer Wine' in the foreground.

Combwich hits the road again on Saturday 21 January at the Astolat Model Railway Circle annual show in Guildford.

Combwich is 30 years old now, and whilst the layout has been contantly updated to give the impression of being far more youthful than it appears, the wiring dates right back to the early 1980's and is very overdue for a full replacement. For this reason, the show will most likely be the layout's last outing for the time being until that gastly job takes place.

Fingers crossed everything will hold out for this one day show, it's rather like running an old English sports car with Lucas electrics, TLC being the best tool in the bag. However, if you see a lack of activity and hear rude language from under the baseboard, that will be me cursing some failed solder joint or wire!

More about the Astolat Show here.
More about Combwich here.

Then and Now

2012-01-07T20:36:00.002Z

8702_hurstbourne-via_50042_p, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

25 years on from this photo taken of 50042 running high across water meadows at Hurstbourne on lovely sunny day in February 1987, we can still enjoy a similar view without having to get up from our armchairs. Googe Street View is a great tool, but it's often not possible to capture an almost identical angle.

'The and now', apart from the train, the only other significant change is that the elegant tall tree has now fallen, and I suppose could have been a casualty of the 'Great Storm of 1987' which changed much of the UK landscape literally overnight - this photo being grabbed prior to that of course.

Still comparing 'then and now', the water course looks more of less the same, albeit with less in the way of random old wooden posts. The pasture above would appear to have been nibbled, the same view now having alot more grass. This is probably just field rotation, suggesting that maybe the 1986/87 season it was used for animal grazing.

A bigger version of the above snap here.
The same view now.

The 50's in the 80's

2012-01-06T03:30:00.006Z

8405_barford_50020_p, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

50020 powers through Barford St Martin a few miles west of Salisbury with a Waterloo bound service during a rather splendid April day in 1984.

It's incredible just how the railways have changed over just a couple of decades, for back in the 1980's the majority of long distance trains were loco-hauled. As a photography student in Salisbury during the mid-1980's, this meant that I was perfectly positioned to capture English Electric Class 50's on the Waterloo to Exeter service weather permitting.

Luckily though, it is still possible to travel behind one of these powerful locos from time to time on the main line, albeit as stuffed tigers, but they do occasionally get hired out to TOCs for use on normal service trains from time to time.

For a whole load more Class 50 photos like the above follow this link...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/sets/72157628706915311/

And if you'd like to see some Class 33's follow this link
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/sets/72157628677193769/

Something for Crompton Nuts

2012-01-02T10:05:00.003Z

8504_salisbury-mpd_33103_p, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Pictures say far more than words here; just a quick note to say that I've just uploaded my Class 33 shots taken between 1981 and 88 to th URL below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/sets/72157628677193769/

All muckied up and ready to roll

2011-12-28T15:24:00.003Z

nevard111228_bachmann3F_DSC_0671b_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

The new Bachmann 3F you may recall from before Christmas, has now received its final session of weathering after a renumbering to Templecombe's 43216. I tend to weather engines in stages, breaking for a day to two to appraise the effect under the layout's lighting and how it looks in relation to the layout and other stock. I like to get a uniform but not necessarily totally even look between engines and other items of rolling stock so nothing stands out too much.

After looking at several colour photographs of this particular engine on the former SDJR I noticed that the smokebox area was frequently rusty, probably due to excessive heat effecting the paint. Apart from that, they had a slightly oily sticky appearance which would have attracted soot and grime. "Imagine Christmas Pudding smeared all over the engine rather than Barry Scrapyard" I recall somebody many years ago saying down a railway club.

This is a good looking engine, especially now a bit of fake patina really highlights the fine detail. But one thing I hadn't really noticed until last night when weathering the tender frames, was the crazy positioning of the tender brake shoes, despite reading about them but obviously not taking on board the recent excellent Model Rail review on this very subject.

If you click on the link below to bring up a bigger photo, it's very obvious that the brake shoes are flush with the tender frame sides and nowhere near the wheels. They're so far out that I'm sure sure even if it was regauged to Irish broad gauge they wouldn't be anywhere near!

Bigger version http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/6588011739/sizes/l/in/set-72157625418433737/

As yet I haven't done anything about this, but now the weathering tends to highlight the flaw even more so, in due I'll be ordering some bits from one of the plethora of men-in-shed-suppliers to address what I'm hoping will just be a matter of cutting the shoes away and replacing with some brass or white metal bits.

Anyway, above we have the usual pretty photo, today's one being of the grubby little fella complete with my usual load of old bull;

'After working the empty return trip from Bath Green Park Goods down to the sidings at Brewhouse Quay, we see Templecombe's 43216 resting before the fully loaded return trip. This trip, the last of the day was always popular with certain crews if near the end of shift (Drivers mainly!) because it left at 7.15pm which allowed for a few pints in the nearby brewery tap bar; the fireman was then given the dubious honour of driving the loco back to Bath Goods!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T13:41:00.004Z

nevard_111225_BQ_DSC_0545_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

When I took this photo around 0600 this morning, I quickly came to the conclusion that if a Christmas Pudding or Plum Pudding was a loco it would be a Beattie Well Tank, compact, un-athletic, well rounded, rich and oozing in character.

I hope you'll agree with me that it looks perfectly at home tootling about the sidings on Brewhouse Quay, so much so that history has been re-written, well in Nevardland anyway!

Imagine if when the delightful locomotives left Wadebridge shed for the last time in the early 1960's, that one of them at least was whisked up to Bath to operate the tight curvy brewery sidings, an ideal task for a design which spent much of its life on the windy and curvy Wenford Bridge line. The loco would not only shunt the brewery rail-network, but would also perform the occasional trip working from the brewery to Bath Green Park goods.

Merry Christmas!

Secrets of Brewhouse Quay

2011-12-24T08:14:00.005Z

nevard111223_bachmann3F_DSC_0529_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Bachmann Midland 3F weathered and renumbered as Templecombe's 43216. This loco was the 3F allocated to the former Somerset & Dorset line and was withdrawn in 1962.

For photographers, this was taken on a mid-1960's Nikkor-S (Ai converted) 35mm f2.8 wide angle lens on a somewhat newer Nikon D700 digital body. 2 sec, f16, Adobe RAW/CS5 using the layout's own lighting. The only digital post production apart from basic level adjustment during the RAW conversion is the addition of fake smoke.

To find out a few secrets of Brewhouse Quay, click on the above photo to take you through to another photo, then float your cursor over the image for detail notes.

Bachmann Midland 3F

2011-12-20T22:08:00.002Z

The recently released Bachmann Midland 3F arrived yesterday, and I must say that first impressions are that it's rather splendid. I'm not going to dwell on accuracy and suchlike, that I'm sure will be debated for the next 25 years on model railway forums, and anyway for the real truth there's a cracking review in December 2011 Model Rail (163) by people who really know what they're writing about - so get that back-issue of you're not already a subscriber.

Instead my two pennies worth will be a few snaps to hopefully show the little beastie from from different angles to those already seen. Just click on the images below for a BIGGER view.

Looking down (the layout is Brewhouse Quay), and it's very apparent just how good the cab detail is. The coal load is cast and actually loose, so if you want to replace it with real coal and to keep the weight a strip of lead might need to go in its place, though actually if you're happy with a full load, a layer of coal sprinkled on to PVA should work.

Side view showing the compact nature which is rather like a 4F but squashed. The compact nature of this delightful loco makes it ideal for small layouts like this which normally only receive tank locos. It runs nicely too, and the wheel back to backs didn't need any tweaking to get them to run through the code 55 handbuilt finescale track here.

Another side-view, but this time from the other side showing the gubbins on the side of the boiler. I'm no rivet counter, but what's depicted does look rather good, I'm not going to count them for you though.

Flying across the rooftops, no I haven't rebuilt Brewhouse Quay, but simply placed my stock-photo-thingy on top of the wharf to take advantage of the layout's built in lighting. The eagle-eyed will notice that the cross-member has become detached from the brake hangers at the front, easily popped back in to place - the result of me being too eager to snap the engine after taking it out of the box without checking it over first.

Next I have to pluck up courage to renumber and weather it up!

Happy Christmas

2011-12-20T05:21:00.003Z

xmascard2011_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

I hope that Father Christmas brings your the model train you want. Looking to 2012 and that all important new year's resolution; if you're an armchair modeller, you will finally build that layout. If you're a modeller, you will finish that project and start a new one!

Above all though, have fun and don't pay any attention to anything I say!

Chris

Old Sox

2011-12-17T21:30:00.005Z

111216_rydes-hill_DSC_0157_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

As a model maker of mostly historical scenarios, I'm always on the look out for bits of 'olde England' to record for posterity to aid model making. Currently in Surrey, older street lighting is being updated with new low energy systems which can be controlled and monitored from a central remote point, the outcome being that power will be saved and failed lighting easily pin-pointed.

In residential areas like the above in Guildford the familiar rich orange coloured low pressure sodium lights (known by lighting aficionados as SOX) are being replaced with white flourescent lamps, and on busier roads, pink high pressure sodium lamps (SON) are rapidly taking over due to a longer life and a slightly less overpowering monochromatic effect on colours.

Sadly though it's not just a case of replacing the bulbs and control gear because many of the columns are suffering from internal corrosion and could be a danger hazard. This means that lights like the above are repidly becoming a thing of the past, with Rydes Hill in Guildford being one of the few roads left with these 1960's Stewart & Lloyd lights as I type this.

When the above Corby manufactured lights were new, they would have probably had mercury vapour lamps emitting that familiar blue-green glow which would have been replaced with the 35w sodium lamps seen here in more recent times. Whilst it's sad to see these lights go, environmentally the newer 'white' lighting in residential areas does make for a more pleasant experience, like many I've never liked that sodium glow that works past any gaps in the bedroom curtains. As the orange sodium-polluted sky gets replaced with a soft whitish-green hue in the side roads, in a funny kind of way the effect is quite retro and must be more like those night-skies of the 1950's when mercury and tungsten mostly lit the way.

More photos of older lighting here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/sets/72157623047631965/with/6521472631/

Forums, the web, mags and green nonsense.

2011-12-09T16:08:00.003Z

nevard_110731_BQ_IMG_0666_WEB800, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Forums, the web, mags and green nonsense.

The internet came along and changed everything, with all age-groups embracing the possibilities it bought. There can be few things in western society that the internet has not infiltrated, whether it’s shopping, banking, watching tv, gaming, research or simply uploading photos of drunken parties onto social media sites.

For me, internet hobby-forums are a great way to see what other model makers are up, what’s hot and what’s not. It’s also a great social tool for like-minded nutters like me, and since re-joining this hobby a decade or so ago. I imagine that 95% of all the modellers I now know in the real world I had first contact with via the internet. 15 years ago, such was looked at as being slightly odd, possibly because in those days those ‘online’ were frequently socially challenged computer types – not always though, but mostly! Mix that up with toy trains and you really were entering Jimmy-no-Mates land, that underworld of smelly types in sheds, multi-coloured biros, bad breath, GWR green enamel under the finger nails, infrequent changes of underwear, a bath tub full of Lima boxes and overly well organised tidy notebooks.

We all know this hobby doesn’t have the best of image, but interestingly the guys doing the really great model making are sound upstanding members of society, not the odd-balls often seen trolling around shows with that fruity-aroma in tow (they’re mostly collectors I gather). The smart ones tend to keep their passion private and away from their professional lives where they could be ridiculed unless they have the character to carry it off of course!

Like many hobbyists I'm not in a local railway club, possibly because what I see in the clubroom around the corner doesn't really inspire me, so would rather spend time working on my own projects. And anyway, when it comes to toy trains, I’m a bit of a control freak and would almost certainly snap at those who don’t know which end of the tube the glue comes out of (as it ends up all over my latest wagon). Luckily several times a month I get to travel the country to see other modeller's layouts up close through a lens (and over several cups of tea), so that takes care of my yearning to see other people's fabulous modelling first hand, but without having to share glue with people who stick their fingers together.

Traditionally the printed hobby-magazine prior to the web was the only platform to share modelling with a greater audience beyond that of a club open day or exhibition. But now, the internet, or more specifically forums are changing the way that magazines used to work, in the future magazines will probably have less emphasis on breaking news to become of more of a showcase for classy layouts and modelling professionally photographed, written and presented. I might be wrong of course, but with the ability of the internet to transmit breaking news globally at an instant, manufacturers clamouring for pole position increasingly will rely on the web as the first port of call to introduce their new wares.

Some will say that the bell tolls warning the end of traditional paper media, but I think that there will always be a demand for something that doesn't need batteries. For many, large volumes of text are easier to read printed on paper than on a computer screen - though maybe that's just me? When photography was invented they said that painting was dead, when TV was invented they said that film was dead. Nonsense of course!

But I do think with all these extra ways to get our fix (or is it distraction?) less model making takes place these days because there still are only 24 hours in the day, the likes of Hornby & Bachmann know this of course, and will happily swap some of your salary for an increasing arsenal of ready-made bits and pieces to save the modeller time ultimately turning us all into collectors.

In this increasingly ‘green’ society we live in, I always find it fascinating that we have a hunger for electricity that is far greater now that it was just a decade ago. When you’ve finished reading your paper book or magazine you can recycle it into egg cartons or newspaper and a new tree can be grown. On the other hand electronic display devices are costly to make, use many toxic materials, cannot really be recycled to any real degree and require bigger and bigger power stations to produce all the electricity to manufacture and power the devices.

Rounding up on a positive note, we have more choice than ever before with electronic and printed media living side by side, with some model railway magazines unlike their other paper stable mates covering other subjects are actually increasing their sales! Of course there will always be those that favour one media form over another, so now there is something for everyone which is always a good thing. Me? I love the web for its immediacy in getting information across and being able to communicate and share the hobby with like-minded souls, but nothing will beat the proper printed page to appreciate a good model railway properly photographed, short of seeing it for real of course, but I would say that wouldn’t I?

New Sign for the Pedant & Armchair

2011-12-04T23:32:00.005Z

111205_polbrock_IMG_2125_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

The Pedant & Armchair is now fully open and is complete with appropriate signage on the front. The nearby railway also has warnings to warn of its presence, but of the course the clientele would never dream of wandering onto the line because they almost certainly read government health and safety guides before going to bed. They are also unlikely to be drunk, 'mother' would never allow it.

I just need to think of a suitable name for the licensee to post above the door, thoughts?

Thanks to Troels Kirk for the inspiration.

Dirty Beattie

2011-12-04T01:28:00.005Z

Beattie Well Tank No. 30587 trundles through the open crossing at Polbrook with a freight from Wenfordbridge to Wadebridge on a sultry summer day in 1957.

111204_polbrock_IMG_2088_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

"She smells a bit but has a heart of gold", as coined by John Cleese when introducing his slightly less than fresh wife at a drinks party on a well known Monty Python sketch.

Here though I'm writing about Kernow Model Rail Centre's recently released Beattie Well Tank. The model supplied is quite delightful in pristine shiny black, any weathering being left to the modeller. Locos in service were generally a little grubby and had an acrid smell of hot oil, steam and soot - this aroma being perfume to steam fanciers

My method is to brush on a sludge of water based black acrylic and weathering powders, then wipe most of it of. These locos were generally quite well kept, so to reflect much use of an oily rag to give a nice sheen, Humbrol Metalcote was drybrushed on here and there to give a metallic oily look. To complete the effect, three link couplings have also been added, though I have still to remove the socket under the buffer beam used for the supplied tension lock couplings. I have also added one of the supplied distinctive Southern Railway route disks that sits just in front of the chimney.

Bigger version of the above photo HERE!

Salute to the glass-half-empty brigade

2011-11-30T22:59:00.006Z

Train nuts aren't known for having the most positive outlook on life, here are a few comments I've picked up over recent times, many on internet forums sadly.
Of course this is only the tip of the iceberg, but I'm sure you can add some real corkers....

Didn't buy that mag it because it was plastic bagged
Hope they do it in N gauge soon
Why do I have to pay for it?
There's nothing in it for me
Photography, these days it's all Photoshop!
Not enough modern image
Not enough steam
Not enough Z gauge
Too expensive
The never reply to my emails
Help me, I don't know what to model
Which scale is right for me?
Armchair
You don't want to do it like that, you want to do it like this!
That question has been answered many times before, why didn't you think of using the search function?
Not enough time to make a layout because I don't know how to turn the computer off!
I hate television
Grrr, the X-factor!
Don't like gurls
The car parking is dreadful at that show
Lima class 50s look much better than Hornby ones
Female
Mother has lovely hands
Said engine
Said poster
S&D means Stockton and Darlington not the Somerset & Dorset!
My mate said he saw a Deltic on the SDJR in 1961
Giving up and taking up stamp collecting
They don't do the number I want
They don't do the colour I want
Warley parking is far too expensive
Prototype or fiction?
Prototype is better!
Fiction is better!
I want mummy
Don't like colour
Don't like B&W
Giving up
I don't smell
I stink because I wash in beer once a year!
My rucksack is bigger than yours
I ordered a Bachmann 3F 3 years ago and I'm still waiting
Ex-pat; why don't I get the same deal as UK readers?
It's not fair 'cos I can't afford it
Help!
Can I get Waterloo onto a sheet of 4 x 2 in O gauge?
Mummy!
Why don't manufacturers make that loco?
P4 is better than S4
It's my trainset
Bad grammar
Youth of today
Why don't magazines employ proof reader?
That feature on the Class 87 was all wrong, they should have asked here first!
In my day...
Divorced
Too many adverts
Off to put the kettle on
Just dropped onto the doormat
Can't wait, mine was posted today!
Lost my modelling mojo
Why don't gurls like me?

January 2011 Model Rail (issue 164)

2011-11-28T11:57:00.000Z

Winter Essentials is the theme for this issue, with literally dozens of products being tried out to create a temporary or permanent winter wonderland. But for the cover shot here I used sifted B&Q plaster through the kitchen sieve on the then incomplete Polbrock. I must stress that I would not recommend such even though it does very much look the part, it's gets everywhere and will certainly not do your rolling stock any favours especially if you get it into the workings. For this shot I took advantage of the fact that the layout had no scenery or ballast at the time and that all I had to do was take to it out into the garden for a good beating to remove the powdered plaster.

Now I've told you what not what to do, rest assured that all the tips and techniques in the magazine are highly recommended and excellent examples of how things should be done!

And now the contents, in no particular order....

News
Reviews
Layout: Elm Park
Layout: The Tri-ang Collector
Layout: Ackthorpe
DRS decal offer
Exclusive Oxford offer
Britain's Model Trains 2012
Model Rail DVD offer
Q&A
Show & Tell
Model Rail Shop
Exhibition diary
Workbench: Cut wood
Workbench:Big upgrades
Super Sentinel
Build Lightweight Baseboards
Select the right wood
Cut, lay and ballast track
Supertest: SNOW!
Workbench:Refine your Class 20/9
Instant repaint
Backscene

Moonlight Express

2011-11-24T21:24:00.005Z

nevard_111120_warely_IMG_1980_MOON_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Under a crisp full moon, 44560 passes Kimble North Signalbox with the late service.


The shot straight out of the camera raw conversion

Captured at The Warley Show last weekend; the sodium light is unsuitable for serious photography, so rather than battle with the mixed sodium and daylight, a little Photoshoppery was used which primarily involved removing the ceiling of the NEC and replacing it with a Mediterranean sky. I also decided to de-saturate and colourize much of the image to replicate moonlight. Cheating? Well of course, and what fun it was too. Of course the other option would be to simply turn the photo into black and white, but I hope you'll agree this is a little more fun!

Here's a bigger version http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/6396462497/sizes/o/in/photostream/
A different version http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/6396461731/sizes/o/in/photostream/
The shot straight out of the raw conversion http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/6398987609/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Penguins and Pillboxes

2011-11-18T20:21:00.003Z

111119_polbrock_IMG_1960-web, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Mr & Mrs Penguin ponder on whether they should go in to The Pedant & Armchair public house next to the halt at Polbrock.

Deep down in the mystical country of Kernow all sorts of strange creatures are know to exist, everything from druids and dragons through to the well known but elusive Beast of Bodmin Moor.

The Pedant & Armchair public house was known to attract all sorts of strange creatures, many with thick unfashionable NHS glasses and rucksacks who were interested in trains, Star Trek and the inner workings of personal computers. Mr & Mrs Penguin where no exception having travelled all the way from the southern tip of Argentina to sample the delights of the Penguin Porter sold exclusively at this pub whilst enjoying a discussion about mother boards or the delights of travelling behind a Brush Type 4 in a British Rail Mk2F carriage.

In reality this is Polbrock my latest tiny micro, it's not even in Cornwall but on my dining room table 25 miles south of the smoke. My wife collects miniature penguins, with this duo being rather interesting; the left hand one is Murano glass and is well under an inch high, the one to the right was carved from wood by an ex-prisoner of war somewhere around Stafford well over 60 years ago. I'll find out more because it's an interesting tale, with this probably being the only ever photograph taken of this delightful little chap who will almost certainly have outlived his creator.

Whilst on the theme of WW2, you'll notice the pillbox that has appeared since the last update, it being the well known Wills kit that appears on every OO gauge club layout in the UK. I'm not sure such a structure would be so close to housing, but it fulfills the need to place something on on the far side of the line are part of the necessary scenic block. And anyway it's been kicking about in my kits-to-be-done box for 5 years so was well overdue.

To please Daily Mail and metallic-support-stocking-beige Rover owners, this little scene has been shot against a sheet of pale blue card rather than having a backscene Photoshopped in. I'm possibly starting to favour the idea of a curved pale blue backscene maybe with a simple water colour over a home-grown photographic one - the jury is still out.

Find out more about Polbrock here.

Armchair & Pedant Now Open for Shandy and Rover 400 Drivers.

2011-11-16T23:43:00.005Z

111116_polbrock_IMG_1930_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

The Armchair & Pedant is now in place to hide the right hand exit to the fiddle yard on Polbrock. Of course it still needs a proper sign, but my printer inks have dried up, so until I waste yet more time on cleaning the printer heads and taking out a mortgage to replace the inks it won't be happening for a bit unless I get a print done in the local Boots or Happysnappy next time I'm down in town. The sign on the right hand end of the building is a left over from Brewhouse Quay , and by the way it displays the imaginary 'Marriott Dent & Foster Brewery'.

I've cheated with the backdrop here, it is part of the 4 foot long image file created for the backscene which has yet to be printed, and it has been super imposed behind the layout to see how it looks. I'm sure this will probably upset some 3 day old Daily Mail reading Rover 400 driving ex-pat living in Normandy in that I should be messing about with a computer to appraise what the backscene will look like in advance of physically producing a hard copy, for you I have an unadulterated photo here with just a sheet of pale blue/grey card behind the layout.

What is probably a rather dangerous level crossing will be protected with a warning sign in due course, and probably just behind the loco will be an old shed or platelayer's hut and maybe some more shrubbery to hide the transition between 3D modelling and the 2D backscene.

Realistically this is probably about as far as I'm going to get with Polbrock before The Warley Show this coming weekend where it will be used as a prop to photograph some of the OO gauge new releases. Once that crazy weekend of modelrailwaymania is over, I'll be able to get this little layout to a stage of proper completion.

Lost place

2011-11-15T09:54:00.002Z

111108_austferry_DSC_4464_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

The England side of the long closed Aust Ferry terminal. It shut in 1966 with the opening of the Severn Bridge. 45 years on and it is still there. Even the turnstile still exists. Bob Dylan has a famous album cover shot here.

A misty dull morning in November is the time to visit this 'lost' place.......

'Doris' settling in

2011-11-14T19:13:00.008Z

111114_beattieWT_IMG_1919_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

With the little Beattie Well Tank now in my possession I couldn't resist popping the little beauty on to Polbrock to see whether it fits in. On that note is 'it' a 'she' or 'he'? Presuming 'she' had a name, I think that 'Doris' would suit? That being the case, 'Doris' is all rather pristine and will in due course be given a little fake patina replicating a working engine rather than looking like a finalist in the X Factor. The trick with weathering is to create the effect of a working engine, but not make it look like it's been trashed and dropped in due-to-be-changed-cat litter - it's often a fine line. Maybe 'Kev' would be a better name for mucky engine?

The 'set' is of course my latest micro Polbrock, which is far from complete, but finished enough to use it as a prop to photograph stock on. Recent work being to tidy up some of the static grass around and between the rails. During application I over-diluted the PVA glue a little too much making some of the grass fibres fall over through lack of support, over thinned glue being limp like a manager promoted beyond his or her capability. It was an easy enough job to rub the almost horizontal fibres off and re-apply with some less diluted PVA about 2 parts glue to 1 part water. Now the freshly applied fibres stand up boldly unlike limp management.

Interestingly enough the grass fibres between the rails have no effect on running performance as long as they don't stray between the loco wheels and rail surface. A disposable razor run along the rail top is a good way to remove any stray fibres followed by a good vacuum and dusting of hair spray to keeping everything in place - you don't really want the little fibres getting in to engine mechanics.

For the shot here, the camera was resting on the level crossing and the scene lit with natural window light. A large pale blue board and my rolling stock photo plinth thingamajig were then placed in the background to hide the lack of proper backscene and domestic furniture! Later in Photoshop I replaced the blue board with a de-focussed actual sky because the pale blue wall had some shadows on it. The smoke is the only other embellishment. I'm looking forward to sorting out the proper backscene which will have a fuzzy, misty Cornish inspired landscape which will negate the need to mess about with bits of board and computer editing too much.

Bigger version of the above photo here.

Oooh Beattie, You're a Right Beauty!

2011-11-12T20:56:00.054Z

Click image to enlarge

Earlier today a much awaited Beattie Well Tank commissioned by Kernow Model Rail from Dapol was handed to me by the postman. This is the main reason for my current 'micro' taking the name of Polbrock, it being built to justify this delightful purchase which rarely ventured outside Cornwall.

This isn't a review, that's been well and truly covered in the popular press and on various railway forums, so this more of a punter's appraisal, and the first thing to make an impression was just how great the packaging is, a proper foam inlaid box complete with a ribbon inside! I normally chuck the packaging, but won't be doing so in this case. The little loco is tiny indeed, after seeing close-up photographs in the various reviews for some reason I thought it a little bigger, but of course the real thing was only pint sized, it spending most of its life on the lightly laid Wadebridge to Wenford Bridge line pottering about mostly with mixed goods and china clay wagons.

Looking at the photo above which I've lit to highlight the fine detail, shows that this is really no toy with a plethora of separate mouldings all factory applied, leaving just some vacuum pipes and route disks for the owner to place should he or she so desire. In my case I'll add these along with some working screw couplings topped off with a little weathering and probably some replacement real coal.

This loco as already mentioned is a special commission by Kernow Model Rail, and from what I can gather as with Model Rail's recent Sentinel also commissioned from Dapol selling really well. I do hope though that the majority of purchasers are modellers who intend to run these locos and not funny collectors who will simply keep them in boxes under their beds away from Mother who will almost certainly disapprove of their flamboyant purchase.

If you'd like to see a few more snaps of 30587 like the shot above, follow this link HERE.

Sabotaged and Defeated

2011-11-12T10:03:00.004Z

111112_polbrock_IMG_1894_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Polbrock - late summer 1971 and the contractors are slowly clearing the line from a railhead 4 miles to the west of here. By May 1972 the rails had finally gone for good.

Bigger version of the above photo here.

The Armchair & Pedant

2011-11-12T01:51:00.003Z

111111_polbrock_IMG_1865_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Polbrock - construction of pub/cottage to act as a scenic break next t the level crossing. It has the beginnings of painting the stone work. Woodwork will be picked out at a later stage along with still to be made sash windows guttering and downpipes.

The pub might be called 'The Armchair & Pedant', that being the case will be a little run down because nobody normal wants to share a drink with the irritating middle-aged adenoidal Norman Bates type characters that drink shandy in there. - that's when 'mother' allows them out of course! I must thank the hugely talented Troels Kirk for the pub name inspiration here http://coastline.no13.se

Rural Backwater and a People's 'Grasmaster'

2011-11-09T17:56:00.072Z

111109_polbrock_IMG_1809_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Hopefully a little scene a tad like that from the excellent Railway Bylines? Here we picture an EWS class 08 trundling through Polbrock with coal for the nearby china clay works. Passenger trains haven't stopped here since 1967, and despite lack of use the ex-GWR corrugated iron 'Pagoda' looks in fine form considering its age. It would also appear to be in Southern Region colours, a result of frequent regional boundary changes.

Enough twaddle; it is of course the latest micro-project, today seeing a flurry of static grass activity whilst trying out a new budget static grass tool. The layout could still do with a good vacuum to remove the excess fibres but I think the result speaks for itself which is a bargain at £25 plus a little extra for postage. You now have no excuse to use dyed sawdust anymore - well for grass anyway.

There's quite a bit more to do on the little layout, for starters I need to fabricate two buildings to go in the far distance to act as a scenic barrier to the fiddle yard by the level crossing 'Helland Bridge style' (that sounds sort of Chinese take-away). The building in shot is my Cornish engine house which is temporarily standing in for this snap. Things like telegraph poles need to be added along with an open to the elements ground frame (do any of you fine folk know of a suitable supplier?). The photo here was shot in the garden against a big blue board for the sky, there will be a built in curved photo-back scene eventually depicting a hazy Cornish landscape.

Whilst I won't have the layout finished, I will be able to take it along to The Warley Show at the NEC to use as a OO gauge photo prop on the Model Rail stand. See you there.

A bigger version of the above photo here.
Find the budget grass tool here.

Beer, Cake & Toy Trains

2011-11-06T08:16:00.010Z

Operator's cake, this hospitality rapidly becoming the
trademark of Wycrail, with the cakes becoming more
luxurious year on year!

Wycrail is always a shining jewel in the toy chuff chuff calendar, it being a wray of virtual sunshine the weekend after the clocks change plunging us into dismal, miserable darkness for 5 months. I gather it's to do with farmers in the very north of the British Isles, though why they cannot just set their clocks an hour later than everybody else for the winter months I have no idea, especially seeing most of them are being subsidised by the UK tax payer. In the UK we've always been rather too obsessed with the minority and underdog at the expense of everybody else, well almost, the almost pointless Channel 5 stills needs to be replaced with 'Channel Rail' for us nutters with minority hobbies. Best stop, I'll get in to trouble and have my trainset trampled all over by a flock of irate sheep, men in kilts and Channel 5 employees!

Ian Mellors' 91000 'R. A. Riddles' powers through
Catcott Burtle with a secret test train on a sunny late-summer morning.

With my morning grump over; Wycrail was great fun with a good crowd around Catcott Burtle for most of the day, even during those silly moments put on especially to wind up enthusiasts from Tonbridge Wells featuring Ian Mellors' facinating 'could have been' creation of a Riddles 91XXX 2-8-2 (that's it above by the way). His stunning loco had on-board sound which even works with DC. Clever chap that Ian, and you can find out more about all of his smart stuff here. Rumour had it 'R.A. Riddles' will be appearing in the popular press soon as well - top man! I'm waiting now for some person who lives in a bungalow or who shares a bed with mother to tell me that such big locos would never have run along the former SDJR - I wonder if they've ever heard the sound of a raspberry?

Cheers 'anonymous benefactor'!

Beer? Yup, correct! Halfway through the morning a top chap (who wishes to remain anonymous) took me to one side and handed by a couple of bottles of ale from the Loose Cannon Brewery in Abingdon. They're a thank you for all my silly BLOG postings apparently, silly fool, there's far better stuff to read on the interweb I'm sure. Still, thank you kind sir - I will enjoy these very much!!! It's also great to know that the smell of boiling hops and malt now floats over Abingdon again now that Old Speckled Hen has become an ex-pat living in Suffolk after running off with somebody called Greene King.

A visitor in the form of Ian McKechnie's ex-GWR Collett 0-6-0 No 3218
is captured plodding through Catcott Burtle with an afternoon
empty return milk trains destined for the dairy at Bason Bridge.

Finally I must thank Ian Mellors and Ian McKechnie who kindly gave up their Saturdays to play trains on my trainset. And before I go, I must point you in the direction of Ian McKechnie's website featuring his photography of the real SDJR in the mid-1960's, without it, Catcott Burtle would not be the layout it is - www.3218.co.uk/

Expo!

2011-11-04T21:28:00.002Z

nevard_110101_catcott_IMG_1723_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Wycrail!

John Hampden Grammar School

Marlow Hill

High Wycombe

Bucks HP11 1SZ

Open 10am till 5pm. Saturday 5 November.

More info here!

Damage!

2011-11-04T06:00:00.006Z

nevard_090820_elford_4z05_66546_DSC_5501_web, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Damaged cross members on the 4Z05 empty Drax - Daw Mill coal train captured at Elford Loop on Thursday 20 August 2009.

Here's something I've never seen modelled, probably because it would be quite tricky trying to get the effect with moulded plastic - more of that in a minute. I'm no expert on coal hoppers and loading, but this looks like damage that could have happened during the loading? Most of the wagons in the train had this damage so presumably it's quite normal.

If one wanted to model this interesting feature, it might be possible to remove the centres of the partitions and replace with some suitably distressed aluminium take-away container, the same type that Paul Lunn recently used to create home grown corrugated iron as showcased in a recent issue of Model Rail magazine maybe?

Click on the photo to the right for a bigger view.

Demolition!

2011-11-03T01:00:00.013Z

nevard_110101_catcott_IMG_1739_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Catcott Crossing, September 1966. It's just 6 months after closure and the demolition contractors have already started to dismantle the railway. Most of the railway buildings on 'The Branch' survived the demolition men, with many of then ending up in private hands, unlike the Bath to Bournemouth line which ended up losing well over half its stations to the swinging iron ball.

It's interesting now as to whether the same thing happened again whether such woeful vandalism would be tolerated - for starters there are few people who would turn down the chance of owning an old railway station these days, certainly there would be far more money in such than a pile of stone rubble. But of course in the 1960's everybody hated anything old, we wanted new and modern, after all it was the space age! Now 40-50 years on we see old buildings that avoided the developers' mallets outliving some of the appalling tat the defined much of 1960's and 1970's Britain.

I was only looking through a book of immediate post-war photographs of my home town the other day, and noticed just how much vandalism took place in the late 1960's, certainly down by the river and the main railway station. The book displayed some beautiful medieval architecture, the sort of architecture, which had it survived to the present day would easily place my town alongside the beautiful cities of York and Bath. Sadly now, due to likely backhanders at local government level a generation and a half ago my town will never achieve such status, but I'm sure it ensured a comfortable retirement for the already fat cats who passed the schemes. One can however take joy in the fact that many of these semi-legal abominations are now being demolished, it's just a shame that the individuals who instigated these urban re-developments are have mostly passed way and cannot see their demise.

Another dose of the pedants

2011-11-02T07:25:00.005Z

nevard_110101_catcott_IMG_1728_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

It's Wycrail this weekend, so Catcott Burtle has been set up for the last week or two sufficiently high off the ground to hopefully avoid the various scenic details being chomped on again by the cat who has a taste for white metal, brass and plastic card.

The happy snappy above is of Catcott, the ficticious (maybe more 'faction') scenario depicting a mixed train off the Bridgwater Branch which regularly featured such trains. It's unlikely that an ex-GWR wheeled coach would have been used in this service, but I hope you'll agree it looks the part. The Morris 8 Series E, suitably grottied up adds a little depth to the shot. I'm guessing it's the photographer's car.

Another dose of the pedants; the other day I received 'one of those armchair' emails that pops through from time to time with some chap taking great delight in telling me that I've got it all wrong because Catcott never had a halt and sidings. He'd even been on Google Earth to point other bits out that are different to the actual location. Well I know that of course, and because my parallel universe version is so different it's pretty obvious that this is a bit of fiction! This hobby is full of people with little imagination sadly, who only see things as black or white. I do wish they'd spend their time more contructively and actually do some model making rather than stating the obvious and wasting internet bandwidth. I consol myself in that he's probably a traffic warden with aspirations of being a lion tamer - he'll almost certainly have a squeeky voice and definately share a bed with 'mother' despite being 64 years of age.

If you're the pedant, because I'm sure you read this blog and because I'm not known to suffer fools too well, here's what Catcott Burtle is all about (again):

'Catcott Burtle, a could have been scenario which is heavily influenced by the BBC TV film Branchline Railway, and having been taken in by the wild open feel of the area much dominated by willow, water and big skies. Many roads in the area crossed the railway via manned level crossings rather than bridges, with each crossing having its own crossing keeper and railway cottage. Several of the cottages had no running water or electricity right up to closure in 1966, the water being delivered by rail in milk churns! Catcott, one of the many crossings on the line never was a halt or had sidings. In the parallel universe world here, imagine if to serve the local peat deposits things had been very different?'

Find out more about Wycrail here

December 2011 Model Rail

2011-10-30T18:08:00.000Z

December 2011 Model Rail (163) is about to hit the shelves; this issue is particularly action packed and also features a DVD produced by Tele Rail of Model Rail Live (featuring Brewhouse Quay in action).

The Big Picture
News
Build your free clay hoods
Competition
Reviews
Layout: St Merryn
The Cornwall look
Layout:Lynton
South for Sunshine
All's 'well' that ends well
Layout:Carrick Road
Layout:Tintagel Road
Exhibition diary
Workbench: Maintain a motor
Workbench: Servicing essentials
Workbench: Make a Cornish Hedge
Workbench: All 'Sheds' great and small
Workbench: Building Combe Mill
Backscene
Next Issue

More about Model Rail and subs here.

It's all about me!

2011-10-28T06:06:00.002+01:00

This post is all about me; it's not often that one gets ones name on the cover of a magazine so I feel quite justified in shouting about it.

MJ-bladet is a rather nicely produced Norwegian model railway magazine which showcases the very best in Scandinavian railway modelling, and unlike the UK model railway press has an eager audience for model railways from outside their own country.

In the UK for some some reason whenever a British model railway mag features anything across the pond, the editorial teams get hunted down and viciously threatened by middle aged soap-dodgers who still live 'with mother' and refuse to believe that railways exist anywhere else in the world. This is a tad odd, because railway exhibitions frequently have guest layouts from the other side of the channel that draw an appreciative audience. Sadly though, these same people don't want to see continental modelling in print, however good gracing the pages of the mainstream UK modelling press.

Anyway, this post is unashamedly all about ME, so whether you like it or not I'm going to tell you all about why my name is on the cover! Back in the spring, Practical Photography magazine asked me to write a short article on photographing toy chuff chuffs as well as showing off some of my more recent better pieces of photography.

Unlike in the UK, where we only have the command of 'Office English', 'US English' and to a lesser degree now those early evening soaps have all but vanished 'Oz English'; in Norway there is a market for magazines not only in the mother tongue, but also the English language Practical Photography being sold in many Norwegian newsagents for those that are proficient in 'MTV English'. Despite this worthy UK export, toy chuffs chuffs in a photography magazine is likely to miss its key readership in Norway (and in the UK for that matter), so the top chaps of the MJ-bladet editorial team sought permission to reproduce the article. And what a cracking job they've done, the reproduction is spot on and the design very simple, stylish and only using big bold imagery. They have also used a couple of extra shots not seen in the original article which adds another dimension.

OK, that's it, I've blown my own trumpet enough with this BLOG post, so much so that I might not be able to get through the door later due my briefly over-inflated ego! I'm sure though it will soon be deflated with a barrage of private hate-anything-that-isn't-British-emails from those dreaded soap-dodgers that are always first in the queue at model railway exhibitions.

Steady progress and a name at last!

2011-10-25T22:35:00.009+01:00

I've had a rather busy week out snapping other people's model railways and taking care of the airwaves for a minority satellite TV sports channel. I have however shoe-horned a little time to carry on with the 'Cornish Project' which now has a name in the form of 'Polbrock' which is one of the places the Bodmin to Wadebridge line passed through. I'm not going to be too specific on the history, that way I'll hopefully avoid being nobbled by all the 'model railway experts' who've never even pinned a length of set track to an old door.

As you can see from the snap, the track is now down and wired up. The scenic basics are now taking shape, the not too obvious curved perimeter will allow for the curved backscene to fit between the edge of the layout and the diorama box the tiny little layout will sit inside when finished.

The backscene has been created, well electronically anyway from various bits of West Country photographic imagery, and is now a 4ft x 1ft 300 dots per inch PDF ready for the local printers to print off onto a suitable material as with Catcottt Burtle. No Peco-Disneyesque 3 inch high backscene here, time really has moved on with the advent of the home computer, high street repro houses and commercial printers that will print anything on to anything for a few sovs.

Since the above snap was taken the siding has been ballasted and the scenic sub base built up with tissue paper dipped in PVA coated in coloured plaster.

Jobs still to do...

Ballast the through line
Complete the fiddle/staging yards
Finish the presentation diorama box with backscene and built in lighting
Ground colour
Scratch-build 2 buildings for the scenic break behind the camera (pub/old barn)
Scenics

Count Down to Wycrail!

2011-10-17T08:09:00.062+01:00

nevard_111016_catcott_IMG_1527_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

The excellent Wycrail in High Wycombe is in just under 3 weeks on Saturday 5 November, and this year I've been invited to take Catcott Burtle along for the day.

Metal chewing cats helping to wire up a layout, maybe they
should have been callled Jaws and Fang?

'CB' is all ready to go, so there's no midnight oil to burn, which will make a nice break fom the norm, but I do need to finish repairing an ex-LSWR lattice signal post that one of the cats chewed the top off. I don't know why, white metal and brass hardly makes a tasty snack even for cats I wouldn't have thought, but I'm no cat so what do I know? Still, I've managed to get the signal into the right shape again and it now works, it just needs the replacement finial fitting in place, ably supplied by the excellent Wizard Models at the recent Scaleforum.

'What's with the class 121 bubble car?' you might ask, well I imagine most are fed up seeing the usual steam trains in photos of the layout, so I dug out this conversion of a Lima 2 car unit I performed back in the early 1980's when the real thing was still running (actually it still is on the Colne Valley Railway). W55033 portrayed, was a regular on the Bridport branch in the line's latter years and was probably my reason for choosing that number seeing we lived in the area for a short time in the 1970's.

Click for more about Wycrail

It actually looks the part, but of course the Highbridge - Evercreech line shut in March 1966, but imagine if the line had remained open to Glastonbury to serve the Clarks shoe factory and to transport revellers to Glastonbury Festival in June?

Find out more about Wycrail
Find out more about Catcott Burtle

Model Railway Photography

2011-10-16T12:22:00.112+01:00

60026 arrives at Cement Quay Old Wharf with a
and empty short rake of MFA high sided box
wagons. The loco will uncouple and run around
the train before propelling it under the screen for
loading. There is no computer Photoshop jiggery
pokery here, the sky is part of the layout painted
onto a nice hight curved backdrop, something that
is worth considering if you intend to photograph
your layout alot.

I'm always being questioned about photographing model railways, so here is a 'reprint' from an article I penned for Model Rail July 2008 issue. Cameras have moved on a little since then in that most are capable from producing a good quality A3 print, but the basic rules are the same - 'light it well, keep it still'.

After spending very many hours and money on creating your favourite railway item in miniature, it’s quite likely you’re going to want to record the outcome to share with the friends, on a railway forum like RM Web, your own website, or of course the model railway press!

The last decade has seen photography change enormously, with mega-pixels & digits replacing film emulsion in this increasingly digital world we live in. This for the casual snapper this has been nothing but a good thing, for now with even the most inexpensive digital camera, what was quite specialist photography is within the grasp of almost anybody.

OK, well, it’s not quite as simple as that, if it was I wouldn’t have written this guide! However, with a few simple rules and easy to grasp techniques, extraordinary good results can be had from the recent breed of high resolution small digital pocket cameras.

Let’s look at some of the key features that spoil good picture:

• Fuzzy?
• Noisy snowy pictures?

• Camera shake?

• Out of focus?

• Badly lit?
• Off colour?
• Too light or too dark?
• Subject too far away?

An out of the box Bachmann 3MT. This has been shot under the

layout's own built in flu lighting which gives nice even illumination.

Despite many manufacturers claiming that, ‘their’ camera will turn you into a brilliant photographer with little effort, some basic techniques and a little understanding of photography will help to give some credibility to their claims though ultimately framing and composition is very much down to the user.

Super fine, fine, ordinary?

Before we take any pictures, we need to be sure that what we record has the potential to be the best quality possible. Always use the finest and biggest – it really does matter! If you’re taking pictures for the printed page, always shoot at the best quality jpeg. The computer screen is quite forgiving, the printed page isn’t. If you’ve leant the camera to the kids or Aunty Mabel, the ‘ordinary’ quality will be fine, after all there’s no point in filling up precious memory with stuff you’ll probably delete anyway (with apologies to any Mabels out there that are top photographers). For serious photography, only ‘Superfine’ (this term may vary depending on camera make) will do. You’ll know when you’ve found it, because it will be the setting that gives you the least number of pictures on your card. Good things come at a price!

Size does matter!

Keep the camera still, the slightest movement

during exposure will spoil the shot

Indeed it does, well in digital photography anyway. Along with ‘superfine’ jpeg just discussed, you need to have the largest picture dimension selected, again as before, the printed page is far less forgiving than the computer screen. Most people have found this out when they try to print a picture from the internet, it looks great on the screen but terrible printed. The terms here are pretty straight forward. ‘L’ meaning ‘large’, ‘M’ for medium & ‘S’ for small. Forget the last two, large is the only option despite what the local pub know-all or salesman down the camera shop might tell you. Again, it’s as before, you know when you’ve found it because it will give you the least number of frames on your memory card!

Noisy snowy pictures?

With the flash turned off when in dark places, you might well find that you get snowy noisy looking pictures? This is because your camera has automatically boosted its sensitivity. Whilst this may be fine for that boozy snapshot down the pub, you probably won’t want to see this effect in your pictures. Check your camera instruction and you should be able to adjust the camera’s ISO, this being the international standard used to rate digital cameras and film’s sensitivity to light. Simply speaking, the lower the number (ISO) the less noisy or grainy the picture will appear. For this reason we need to ideally select the lowest ISO.

Camera shake?

A small bean bag is a great tool. It stops the

camera from damaging the layout and keeps the camera

nice and still

However steady handed you think you are, because we’re photographing something often close up, any movement will be amplified, making the slightest bit of camera shake looking like you took the picture during a 10 plus Richter scale earthquake! A tripod will always be a useful tool, however, if your interest in photography is only passing, understandably it’s unlikely you’ll want to invest in such. There are other options, you could try resting the camera on a cushion or table. A small bag of rice or purpose made bean bag can be very useful (get somebody nifty with a sewing machine or buy a purpose made one), it allowing you to adjust the angle of the camera with little effort.

A nifty trick is to find the camera’s ‘self timer’, that’s the setting you use when you want to do that self portrait whilst on holiday. OK, the idea isn’t that you do a self portrait of you and your favourite piece (well, you can if you like!), use the tool to fire off the camera without touching it – thus reducing the chance of camera shake when the shutter opens. Obviously the camera needs to be supported so that bean bag or bag of rice already mentioned will be ideal!

Out of focus?

Must modern digital cameras will focus very close indeed with their built in auto focus. For real close-ups, you’ll probably need to select ‘macro’ mode, this is often via a button with a ‘tulip’ icon depending on brand of camera. If unsure, check the camera instructions.

Some cameras will allow you to turn the auto focus off. If you have this option, which will again depend on make and model, this will have the advantage of letting you focus exactly where you want to. Another option is to point the camera at the part of the item you want in sharp focus, half press the shutter release (which will set the focus), then with your finger still half pressing the shutter release recompose the shot to the angle you want then fully depress the shutter release. If you’re using the self timer, you can fully press the shutter release button before recomposing, the 10 second delay giving you lots of time.

Mendip is captured mid-take at Catcott during the

making of 'The Return of the Titfield Thunderbolt'

during the late summer of 1956. Of course that's

complete tosh, but I can tell you that the is no computer

addition other than the splirt of smoke from the engine,

which was added using the 'clouds' filter in Photoshop.

 How do I get more of the picture in focus?

This will again depend on your camera make and model. With many makes, you can set the camera into ‘aperture priority’ mode, this is often displayed as ‘AV’. With this setting you can select a small aperture.

What’s all this small aperture thing? The aperture is an iris much like in ones eye, hold a finger up to your eye and really squint, you’ll notice that you might even be able to see your eyelashes, finger and background all more or less in focus. Choosing a small aperture does the same thing, meaning far more of the picture will be in focus – just what we want! This is known as ‘depth or field’, aperture is normally marked up as numbers, the higher the number, the greater the ‘depth of field’.

Some of the simpler cameras will not let you have any control over aperture or shutter, user changes being via ‘scene modes’ where you select the type of picture you want to take. There are usually modes for ‘sport’, ‘portraits’, ‘landscapes’ fireworks, but sadly no mode for model railway close ups! For this reason you may have a problem getting the camera to select a small aperture for the close ups. However, if you can take your model out side into brighter light, it’s quite likely that the camera’s computer will select a smaller aperture.

If you have yet to buy a small digital camera, and you intend to do quite a bit of model railway photography, it would be a good idea to choose a camera that allows you to have control over the aperture setting.

Badly lit?

You must turn that flash off, direct camera flash doesn’t have a place in our world. Whilst it might be fine for family snaps, it will generally not do our model making any favours, creating flat and quite often washed out pictures with no depth. This can usually be controlled by a button with a ‘lightning’ icon somewhere on the camera.

Getting your subject properly lit, the simplest way, is to take your model outside where the light is good. Overcast and sunshine work well in this respect, both giving different but equally good results.

Another option, especially if photographing a model railway, or using one as a backdrop for an engine or train, is to use the layout’s own lighting. Digital cameras generally have quite good automatic white balance control, which like the eye, should adapt to the lighting on the layout - more on white balance in a moment.

Too light or too dark?

It’s possible that the camera metering is being effected by something very bright or dark within the picture. Photographing a dark engine against a white background or visa versa will do this. Check your camera instructions to see if you can use manual exposure ‘M’ or exposure compensation (often marked as a +/- button).

Off colour?

The resulting photo from the set up below. The computer

smoke is optional of course

The trick when doing this is to experiment a little, after all, cameras and lighting will vary. Sometimes the automatic white balance will refuse to work as well as you like, when this happens, you might want to experiment with some of the white balance ‘pre sets’, again look at your camera manual. White balance settings are often embedded in one of the menus, and will usually be indicated up with simple icons to reflect the type of light you are trying to balance for. Fluorescent lighting and the new ‘energy saver’ bulbs are the ones most likely to cause issue, due to there being so many different types. Some cameras will also allow you to balance for your specific light using a sheet of white paper in the scene prior to taking pictures.

One thing you cannot do, however clever your camera, is to mix different types of light. Daylight does not mix with tungsten, it being very blue and the latter very orange. The same problem occurs when trying to mix fluorescent lighting which can be very green. Keeping to just one type of light gets around this, the camera can only correct for one type at a time.

What makes a good picture?

Try photographing your trains against a simple back ground.
A large print was used here with the light coming in from the garden

If you’re photographing an item of rolling stock or engine which isn’t on a layout, try to place it in front of a background which isn’t too busy or distracting. Its simplest form can be placing the subject on a length of clean new track in front of a large sheet of curved paper.

Fill the frame, there’s no point in having a picture which needs to be enlarged at a later stage. Rather than zooming into your subject from far way, keep the zoom wide and fill the frame, you will get a more natural perspective.

Make sure your subject is totally dust free – I’m mean totally! The smallest amount of dust or fluff will really spoil a model.

Digital is a great tool, you can analyse the photographic progress as you go along, adjusting brightness, colour and focus then deleting sub standard images and correcting errors as many times as necessary. These cameras can also be very useful for checking progress of model making, sometimes errors and blemishes only show up when you see them on the back of the camera or computer screen. Because the camera is totally unforgiving, it can help us become more critical and better model maker - hopefully!

Useful camera purchase tips

• Buy a camera that has proper ‘aperture priority’, ‘scene modes’ are unlikely to offer enough flexibility.

• 5 mega pixels should be your minimum resolution.

• Mobile phone cameras are no substitute for a proper camera.

• Get a decent sized memory card, the one often supplied is too small when shooting at the highest resolution and picture size.

• Check out camera reviews online prior to purchasing. These two are very good, not only can you download full size image files, you can also compare specs and performance between models.

Sharp tips for sharpshooters

• Fill the frame!
• Keep the camera totally still, rest it on something, tripod, bean bag? Use the ‘self timer’ for hands free operation.
• Select ‘macro’ for close up work.
• Turn that flash off! Light your subject properly, daylight is free and ideal! Experiment with your layout’s own lighting too.
• Check your white balance, ‘auto’ may not always be best – experiment with other settings.
• Use the lowest ISO to minimise noise.
• Always use ‘superfine’ and ‘large’ – size really does matter!
• Get rid of that dust and thumb print on the lens!

• Make sure your subject is clean dust free!

The Return of the Titfield Thunderbolt

2011-10-11T22:15:00.005+01:00

nevard_111011_CatcottB_IMG_1462_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

It's not generally known, but following on the success of the Ealing Comedy, 'The Titfield Thunderbolt', the iconic Ealing Studios shot a sequel called 'The Return of the Titfield Thunderbolt' in the summer of 1956. The film was released the following summer, but was a complete flop due to the total Americanization of the cast, so sadly the movie has been lost in the mists of time but does occasionally make a secret appearance as a projected 16mm colour print at Lodge meetings in the area.

The film which was shot on the Highbridge Branch of the former S&DJR and used a Sentinel vertical boilered engine borrowed from the Marriott, Foster & Dent Brewery in Bath. The ex GWR 4 wheeled passenger carriage was loaned from British Railways Pontypridd Permanent Way Department and was hastily repainted in BR Carmine for the film. Sadly the carriage caught fire during a take when the on-board still producing 'Mallingford Magical Moonshine' blew up near West Pennard a couple of weeks after this shot was taken.

Ivan Locksmith, as always was around to capture unusual workings on the former S&DJR, and as usual he has posed his latest car in shot, much like his good friend Ivo peters.

If you believe any of the above, you'll believe anything! Catcott Burtle will be at Wycrail on Saturday the 5th of November, so though it best to dig the old girl out for an up and under. And for people that think photography is all Photoshop these days, only the puff of exhaust blowing in the strong south-westerly is.

Here is a bigger version of the above photo http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/6235222235/sizes/o/in/set-72157612020895249/

There is an alternative

2011-10-11T09:51:00.006+01:00

I was just looking through last year's Warley Show photos and spotted a couple of shots that didn't make it into print due to lack of space. The subject to today's random post being that we don't always need to use that popular track system produced in a well known holiday resort - there are other options for those who'd like a break from the norm.

Getting to the point; above and below is just one of those from Tillig - the lack of moulded plastic bits to represent those bits on a real point that are made out of rail is one of the first things to catch my eye. The base is also slightly flexible which allows the point to be bent slightly to fit in with a flowing track layout - this until now has only been possible with hand laid track.

Then there is the tiebar - it's nice and slender and not too far removed from the real thing in looks - no crushed Dalek as seen on many ready-to-lay track systems to spoil the look sitting on top. The movement of switch rails simply rely on the rail flexing, no unsightly knuckle joints to fail electrically once painted. I suppose this is starting to read a little like an advert, but I'm not being paid - this just an observation of other options that don't take one down the hand-built route if that's not ones kind of beer.

Purists will of course say that the track is H0 and that the sleepers are too close together for OO, and that it conforms to European rather than British practice; but people who know me know that my view of toy chuffs chuffs is that it is the overall effect that counts, and above all if things are well done, a far more satisfying model railway will result over that one that maybe has the 'correct' 1963 vintage flangeway bolts surrounded by shoddy modelling.

From an historic scenario, flat bottomed rail to depict a British railway scene with highly distinctive bullhead rail and chairs is maybe too far removed in looks, but from just after the WW2, Britain's railways started to use flat-bottomed rail for the main running lines, so it is quite suitable for that popular transition era onwards which still interests the bulk of Britain's railway modellers. And of course there is nothing stopping one from using a length of C+L bullhead flexi track in the sidings where the sleepers are often hidden under a layer of clinker, thus hiding the sleeper size and spacing differences.

C+L Track
International Models - (supplier of Tillig, not a smutty site)

Sweet Bridge

2011-10-09T20:49:00.006+01:00

111008_cornish_int_IMG_1410_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

A very kind Mr Sweet mailed me this rather nice bridge casting for the Cornish project last week. I'm sure you'll agree that it is a wonderful piece of work, with nice deep rendering which would be quite tricky to achieve by scratchbuilding.

When it arrived, I expected it to be resin or plaster, but much to my surprise it is fibreglass! The stone being moulded into the gel coat. The joy being that it is very tough and very light - ideal for a portable layout.

The shot above shows it in primer in preparation for dry brushed top coats of various pale greys, beige, browns, creams and so on. Real stone is a fascinating mix of subtle different colours and shades, and certainly nothing like the painting-by-numbers approach often used which feature large blocks of solid colour - that approach suits engines and carriages just fine, but not hacked up materials straight from the ground which will have been exposed to the elements for decades.

I'd be very interested to know more about this stone effect beauty, because fibreglass is not a material we normally associate with toy chuff chuffs, it being more a material of yachts, dingies, kit-cars and the aeroplane industry.

Pretty pic for Saturday

2011-10-08T00:30:00.004+01:00

nevard_111008_BQ_IMG_1444_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Here we have a renumbered Bachmann GWR 'pannier tank' now as Templecombe's 4691 running into Brewhouse Quay with a short train. Bigger version here http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/6221662700/sizes/o/in/photostream/

It's hauling a Ratio 4 wheeled ex-GWR passenger carriage. A few of these lasted into the early 1950's, so it's quite possible that the BR carmine is accurate. Given that the kit is 30 plus years old it still makes into a nice model.

The lorry to the right is a EM76503 Pocketbond "Classix" Jen-Tug artic & flatbed trailer GG2301 in "British Railways" livery. I have de-railwayised it be removing the railway markings, finished it with a puff of matt varnish and added a load of bags - the load can be whatever you fancy!

Now that's clever....

2011-10-07T08:42:00.003+01:00

111007_cornish_int_IMG_1430_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Track laying on the Cornish thing using C+L components; note the folded etched brass chairs where strengthening copper clad sleepers are required. They are a test product from Pete Harvey Designs www.phd-design.co.uk/ .

Normally one would simply solder the rail to the sleeper top, then have to cut in half the C+L plastic chairs and glue - quite a fiddly task. All that's needed here will be a good splosh of liquid flux and a dab with a loaded soldering iron. The brass also takes care of the gap between the sleeper top and the bottom of the rail. Once painted, ballasted and weathered, they'll blend in just fine - especially seeing in real life they're a lot smaller than seen here.

Model Rail 162 - November 2011

2011-10-05T16:25:00.038+01:00

November Model Rail has now hit the shelves, as always it is packed to the brim with news and reviews, layout features, how to make things and much more...
Contents run down.....

News; Photos of latest Hornby samples at Model Rail Live (B1, Gresley full brake etc) photographed on Brewhouse Quay.
BIG PICTURE - St Merryn (in next month - it's dead classy btw!)
Bachmann Blue Pullman computer image
Model Rail Live photo-feature
Review: Farish 'A1' 4-6-2
Hornby brake van
Heljan Class 55 (O gauge)
Finescale Brass O gauge 'Manor'
Dapol N class 26
Ramsbottom 1950 layout
Workbench: How to brush paint
Build a Command Station
Upgrade MGR coal wagons
Supertest: Fillers
Masterclass: Figures, How to paint/modify
Paint Hornby's new Skaledale buildings
Make a scene: Dave Lowery's Dunmere Crossing - the main photo taken by yours truly at Model Rail Live - this diorama was the catalyst for my Cornish project.
Clive Hardwick's bespoke buildings
How to create realistic loads
Ruddington OO layout (photos by yours truly, not as credited) - a super-huge layout of the fromer GCR station at Ruddington. You can visit this latyout for real at open days.
Show & Tell
Fen End Pit - 16mm scale narrow gauge, with actual working dragline and gravel grading machinery. The gravel moving in shots is not Photoshop, but long exposures. Its was great fun to shoot and one to keep an eye out for at shows! If you have kids, they'll love it!
Repairing Townstreet stonecast buildings
Q&A
Exhibition Diary.

Order your copy of Model Rail here!

Micro progress

2011-10-03T12:10:00.038+01:00

111002_cornish_int_IMG_1427_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

The little GWR/LSWR-Cornish-esque 2'10" x 12" micro continues to take shape. Not bad I guess seeing it was only a twinkle Sunday before last - but it is only dinky winky so no great challenge.

Yesterday you saw the GWR 'pagoda' and platform manifest, and the afternoon before saw a little track construction using C+L components. Note the lower level siding and catchpoint, something that's nearly always missed from sidings joining main running lines on models.

Here we see much of the whole caboodle from roughly where the level crossing will be. Note the bridge marking the boundary to the fiddle yard on the left hand side; the rather delightful structure being courtesy of 'GWRrob' on RM web. Currently it's halfway through the paintshop and it sitting in primer ready for the dry-brush top coats. I hope you'll agree that it's got some lovely stone rendering, but it might surprise you (it did me) that it's made from fiberglass, the moulded gel-coat representing the stonework suggesting a 1960's kit maybe? Tell me if you know more.....

Something for the Weekend

2011-10-02T18:21:00.003+01:00

111002_cornish_int_IMG_1420_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Cornish Interlude (working title) update

What better that to move the workbench outside when the weather is as good as it has been! No need to hoover up after either!

This weekend saw the repaint and weather of a Bachmann Scenecraft GWR 'Pagoda'. The weekend also saw the construction of a short platform from foam board, embossed plastic card and Das modelling clay. Note the faded BR Southern Region colours, this to display ongoing region changes between the SR & WR.

Books!

2011-09-29T07:17:00.006+01:00

110928_cornish_int_IMG_1342_02_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Cornish Interlude (working title) update.

Railways enthusiasts generally love books, and I am no exception, needing little excuse to buy another for the collection. They are never idle purchases, they get looked at over and over again to inspire my model making. I think this is why I have far too many ideas, the purchase of a new book inevitably resulting in the back of an envelope sketch for some kind of mini or not so mini layout or simply to help capture that all important atmosphere.

You'll note in the bigger version of the above snap a strong Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway bias with many of the books, which as many will know is my favourite line, I'm unsure why, having no real connection with the area other than frequent short breaks in Georgian Bath which was the northern terminus of the line. I imagine it must be the wonderful photography and colour film by Ivo Peters that did it - I'm not alone here.

I also like gritty moody black and white photography of real working steam, that will be the reason for the 2 Colin Gifford books, firstly the hugely iconic 'Decline of Steam' and his later book Steam Finale North. Many years ago I asked a second hand book seller to keep an eye out for a copy of Decline of Steam, and much to my surprise, 11 years later he got in touch with a copy - now, that's service! No it's not for sale by the way....

In case you think the latest Cornish project has stalled, quite the contrary, it is underneath all the books which are holding the foam core trackbed firmly in place on top of the plywood base whilst the glue sets in preparation for tracklaying.

Emperor's New Clothes

2011-09-28T10:28:00.010+01:00

blog-grab, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Having worked in TV land for many years, I'm used to broadcasters relaunching TV channels at least once a year with a 'bold new look'. There then follows a much promise of a 'better viewing experience' and lots of other 'exciting' reasons for the change - mostly thought up by people that shouldn't really have a job.

In the good old days, these clowns would have been bashing tin buckets together, cutting the individual sprocket holes in 16mm film by hand, sticking labels on things (traffic wardens are the only ones that do that these days in the UK, but even they're mostly Polish) or something else useful instead. But of course we don't make anything anymore here in Blighters, so we have to give these people what I call 'non-jobs' which tend to have 'executive' or 'consultant' on the end of their menial position to help them with the chat up lines at office parties and to help console the the fact that they're earning less than they were 5 years ago - "Hello, I'm Wayne and I'm a product locus executive" (tells the shelf stacker where to stand to you and me).

To the point of this post, the BLOG; you might have noticed the olde-worlde look in place of the previously slightly garish look. It is very much a case of Emperor's New Clothes, because the content will be just as repetitive and dull as before - in fact, just like much of the the telly I've been involved with for quarter of a century.

3 hours work with glue, hammer, saw, blood, less fingers etc....

2011-09-27T17:25:00.010+01:00

110927_cornish-interlude_IMG_1336_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

3 hours work with glue, hammer, saw, blood, less fingers, and we have a baseboard in a box.

This is probably the average time most armchair modellers sit online before lunch pontificating about flanges, why they've lost interest in the hobby, why they don't have enough time to actually do anything, why 66134 has not been released in S gauge, why aren't model railway magazines free and how much Photoshop does that Mr Nevard use on model chuff chuff pics (very little). Actually I don't really dislike armchair modellers, in fact "some of my best friends are armchair modellers", they're just an easy target like people with caravans, lager drinkers, Nissan Micra owners, shell suits and trainspotters with adenoidal voices. In fact, I'd like to see a gallery of these armchairs to see who has the most impressive one. Does anyone have one with a high wing back in red velvet with an ornate gilt frame like on 'Big Bruverrr'?

Back to the trainset - The box is not fixed to the baseboard at this stage, that won't happen until after the track has been laid and the bulk of the scenic work done. Actually I might just screw it into place to allow future removal should I want to extend the layout. The backscene will be on flexible plastic and will sit inside, the natural curve of the plastic will ensure no sharp corners. The local printer will print my home-grown photographic backscene onto it.

The track will be laid straight onto 5mm foam core (there is a plywood base underneath), it takes glue easily, it might (though I doubt) just sound-deaden a tad, lies flat and it easy to draw on. As long as the surface is waterproofed (primer) before ballasting with diluted PVA there won't be any problem with the card de-laminating away from the foam core having used it successfully with Brewhouse Quay and Catcott Burtle.

Next, I'd better get some track laid I guess, I'll be using C+L components for that. Before I go and pour a well deserved beer, this is the inspiration for the exit on the right hand side http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ron.strutt/fullpics/helland.jpg

Lost? Yesterday's introduction to this little project: http://nevardmedia.blogspot.com/2011/09/having-little-doodle.html
Any thoughts on a name for this little layout?

Having a little doodle

2011-09-26T22:00:00.010+01:00

I like doodling and thinking of ideas for small layouts, small layouts appealing to me because they can cater for all the different type of railways I like. I don't think I could ever commit to just one big project, I'd probably get bored halfway through.

Here we have a back of an envelope plan for a 3x1 foot (excluding fiddle yards) micro depicting a fictitious halt and crossing on the Wenford Bridge branch line. The forthcoming Kernow Model Rail commissioned Beattie Well Tank being the catalyst and now on order!

The rear of the layout will be about 3 inches higher than the front which will be a gnat's todger lower than the rail height, the halt being set into the cutting on the far side. High 'Cornish hedges' will add a nice and easily achieved feature. The backscene will be photographic as with Catcott, (see here) this I'll shoot myself, and prepare for the local repro/printing house (I have just penned an article for the popular press on how to do such). I will probably use a flexible 1 foot high plastic base for this which will give me the all important curved corners rather than using 'Bendy MDF' as with Brewhouse Quay. The photographic image will be treated a little in Photoshop (with 'Paint daubs' as with Catcott) to get rid of the pure photographic look, it's important that the modelling takes centre stage rather than the backscene, but it's also important with such a small layout that it feels like it is part of a much bigger landscape.

Bigger version of the above sketch:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/6186238153/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Sunday Night Photo

2011-09-25T22:32:00.004+01:00

With work looming for many tomorrow, here's a little cheer up snapped earlier today in the car park at Scaleforum! Brewhouse Quay, not you you can tell was balanced briefly on the roof of my car, it not being officially part of the show. The lovely little loco, an Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 is owned by Tim Maddocks - oh lucky chap! Click on the photos below to enlarge.....

Grain Wagon

2011-09-23T10:16:00.003+01:00

nevard_110920_grain_IMG_1294_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Currently on the workbench; a Dapol grain wagon. Breweries and maltsters need barley to turn into malt, so at least a couple of grain wagons will not look out of place on Brewhouse Quay and as part of a good train for my other layouts.

At Model Rail Live last weekend, the fine folk at Kernow Model Rail Centre who had a stand at the show with all sorts of goodies, also had a bargain bucket to suit cheapskates like me who like to pick up models to have a fettle with. In there was the above - perfect!

Research begun with a peruse of Paul Bartett's excellent wagon website, with the discovery of this rather useful page of unfitted grain wagons http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brgraincgo/h32c0988#h141fb379

Comparing photographs on Paul's website, this older model has quite a few errors, the main one being that the underframe is completely wrong, especially when it comes to the brakes and associated gubbins. Some brass wire, strip plastic card, the spares box and a little time should be able to address this. The long vertical strips that run from the roof to the chassis do not bend in nearly enough where they join with the chassis, but they will have to stay, trying to rebuild that aspect would be a major headache. There are probably all sort of other faults, but until I complete my adenoidal voice training evening classes I'll have to pass on those for the time being.

Despite its failings, this wagon does 'look like' a BR grain wagon, and the mouldings are nice and crisp so it should be possible to create something that 'captures the character' - so will be good enough for what I want it for - given the time I have to put into this project.

Paul Bartlett's Wagon Website - book mark this!

Duffers day out!

2011-09-22T18:14:00.001+01:00

Yesterday a few of us nutcases met up for a jolly tracking down trains with cameras in the north Oxfordshire/Warwickshire area. Without rambling on too much about what a nice day we had hanging about on station platforms and railway bridges; here are the results. Oh yes, and we also bumped into fellow blogger Phil Parker.

To the PHOTOS

You might like to check out what fellow photographers Chris Perkins and Tony Callaghan captured on their cameras too.

Video of miniature chain shunting at Brewhouse Quay

2011-09-20T19:44:00.000+01:00

Chain shunting a wagon at Brewhouse Quay onto the wagon turntable, the turntable then rotates and the wagon is pulled clear.

A wagon with more drag would probably produce a better effect - something else to add to the pile of things to be done.

In real life shunting like this would be done with rope with chain only on the the very ends, but sadly law of physics give fine thread too much memory to be practical for such a small model.

Thanks!

2011-09-19T14:05:00.021+01:00

nevard_110918_MRL_DSC_3766_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Thank you to all who popped by to say "Hi" at Model Rail Live over the weekend at Barrow Hill Round House whilst exhibiting Brewhouse Quay for it's inaugural outing. I've never been to a show quite like this with indoor and out door exhibits. This made an unusual mix to appeal to fans of all railways whether miniature or full sized. It also made a great day out for families with the addition of train rides and even face painting for the little ones.

I was surprised and indeed chuffed to meet for real so many readers of this blog, which now makes me realise that people actually do read it - I must be more careful before commenting on people with beige cars who live in bungalows in future. I also hope after my excessive postings about this little 4x2 foot trainset weren't too much of a disappointment for those who saw it for real.

Thank you also to the rest of the Model Rail team right next door who were handed the controller and three link coupling hook from time to time to allow me to escape for the obligatory chips with curry sauce and the all important tea! I have never seen a more terrified look than when I handed the operational tools of 'BQ' over to Chris Leigh and said "you'll be fine!".

Thank you to the Barrow Hill posse who made us very welcome, which even extended to an impromptu pub crawl of Chesterfield's bright-night spots, the highlight observing the antics of 'yoof' taking part in a never ending carnival of hen and stag parties from the safety of an Indian restaurant in the town centre.

Before I go, yes, the chain capstan/wagon turntable shunting worked a dream after a little practice - Mr Tele-Rail recording the process as proof! Trick? File a couple of tiny notches onto the turntable rails near the perimeter to stop the wagon rolling off!

Brewhouse Quay will be shown next at Railex in May 2012 and Wycrail in November 2012. I might pop it into the boot of the car for a rebel car park showing at Scaleforum this coming weekend - I won't tell the organisers if you don't - hush hush....

Be sure to check out George Dent's BLOG post on Model Rail Live.

Web free for 24 hours

2011-09-16T00:05:00.004+01:00

nevard_110916_BQ_IMG_1283_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

It's amazing what can be achieved if one turns off the computer for 24 hours. This wasn't really planned, but it's Model Rail Live this weekend and I had a rather long list of things to complete which didn't involve hanging around all day on toy chuff chuff forums like a bar fly to stale beer......

The first job of the day; a EM76503 Pocketbond "Classix" Jen-Tug artic & flatbed trailer GG2301 in "British Railways" livery 'Mechanical Horse' received a load of sacks, removal of the British Railways badging and a blast of matt varnish. I then popped out to the model shop (Addlestone Models) and bought some fine brass chain for the 'rope' shunting. This evening my spur of the moment kit purchase in the form of a 4 wheeled GWR compo from Ratio took over the garden table in the fading light. This took about 4 hours from opening to box to weathering. Armchair modellers - pah!

These 4 wheel ex-GWR carriages according to the blurb on the Ratio instructions mentioned that one or two lasted until the early 1950's in the Welsh Valleys - which was good enough for me, though it's unlikely that any were painted carmine - still, it's rather fetching don't you think? And don't worry about the number, it's total fiction and based on the few numbers I had left on the sheet of Pressfix! The reason why it's here? The brewery needed a runabout for the brewery directors and it was a cheap purchase of course!

Bigger version of the above photo here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/6151000093/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Nothing really to write about....

2011-09-14T09:03:00.004+01:00

nevard_110913_BQ_IMG_1214_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

I haven't posted for a day of two due to a dose of seasonal lurgy and the need to catch up with other stuff we all need to from time to time, so basically I have nothing really to write about! I did however grab this snappypoos of 58086 an old Midland 1P 0-4-4 on loan to the Marriott, Dent & Foster Brewery pottering about the wharf yard on Brewhouse Quay.

BIGGER VERSION!

Most of the below will be familiar to regular readers of this BLOG, so it's likely you'll be bored out of your scull if you read on. However, in case you're not, here goes....

'BQ' my latest 4ft x 2ft micro takes advantage of the latest crop of ready to plop buildings which form 50% of the structures. I'm very much eating my words, because a year ago I said that I'd never use such! To try to pretend that I'm still a railway modeller all the track and the remaining 50% of the buildings are built from scratch. The loco is my first and to date last full brass loco kit (Craftsman), it dating from 1982. I never could get to run properly, so pro-loco-expert-builder-extraordinaire Phil Hall rebuilt the chassis for me and now after almost 30 years of limping around is now truly stunning runner.

www.modelraillive.co.uk/

The photo; the sky is not added, it is the actual high curved backscene painted on to 'Bendy MDF' with Halfords white primer and some pale blue fuddy-duddy car colour no doubt popular with people who live in bungalows - the two pigments were misted together gradually getting darker to the top. The photo was shot under the layout's own built in fluorescent lighting with the camera resting directly on top the layout. The puff of smoke is the ONLY addition ('Clouds' filter in Photoshop - thanks to Graham Muz who showed me how) not actually there, and only because I like it.

Follow Graham Muspratt's excellent BLOG
See Brewhouse Quay at Model Rail Live this weekend (17/18 Sept)
Read all about Brewhouse Quay in the current issue of Model Rail magazine

Kits of the Sixties!

2011-09-10T10:25:00.014+01:00

nevard_110909_BQ_IMG_1203_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Upon my return to the hobby a decade of so ago, a very kind gent sold me around 50 kit-built wagons and half a dozen Maunsell and Bulleid passenger carriages for the price of a round of drinks. As required, I've been slowly refurbishing selected items to bring them a little closer to current standards.

Behind Radstock we have a rake of kit-built tank wagons from Airfix, the rumour being to fire up the new oil fired brewing coppers due to a major investment by Courage, who by 1964 were a major shareholder within the Marriott, Dent & Foster Brewery.

www.model-rail.co.uk/

Back the wagons, the jury is still out as to whether I'll bother doing anything with these, the weathering is very clumsy by today's standards (dirty thinners weathering being very passe don't you know?), the ladders are very thick plastic and the tranfers looks like they've been applied to a matt finish due to the haze under them. To be honest, it will be a lot less work to start fresh with some new kits or ready to run, but they serve their purpose for this shot as long as one doesn't look too closely. The little blue Morris (76MES001 Blue Morris 8 E) is a toned down model from Oxford Diecast hopefully draws the eyes away too! Click on the photo above for a bigger view.

The Making of Brewhouse Quay, the layout used for the background here features in the October 2011 (161) of Model Rail Mag.

Scammell Tri-Van

2011-09-09T13:35:00.005+01:00

nevard_110909_scammell_IMG_1178_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Few of us need an excuse to pick up yet another diecast road vehicle for the price of a pint (though this one is the price of 2 pints because it has more bits than usual).

So here we have a Scammell 'Mechanical Horse' aka 'Tri-van' (Oxford Diecast 76MH006 British Rail) sat posing in the cobbled yard at Brewhouse Quay. This one has been de-railwayised with the removal of 'British Railways' and toned down with Testors Dullcote matt varnish. It has also been re-glazed due to difficulty of removing the cast glazing supplied. Usually drilling out the rivet that holds it in place will do the trick, but the clear plastic moulding was rather stubborn. I needed to remove it to avoid having to mask the windows before spraying with Testors Dullcote. In the event I ended up having to break it up, but replacement was simple with a little clear plastic sheet and some Microscale Kristal Klear for the quarter lights. I decided to leave the side windows unglazed because it is always a sunny, hazy, hot day in Brewhouse Quay Land!

I hope you'll agree it makes a nice quick and easy embellishment to the brewery yard. The wooden ale casks from Cornwall Model Boats are not fixed for this shot, but I might fix them in place with a little water based PVA to allow removal should it be desired.

Model Rail - October 2011 / 161

2011-09-08T12:46:00.009+01:00

October Model Rail is a ‘micro layout special’, showcasing 4 small layouts with big ideas. Brewhouse Quay my ‘quickie’ which has featured rather a lot on this blog dominates ‘Workbench’ this month and goes into a little more detail than seen to date.

If you’re at a loose end weekend after next on the 17 & 18 of September, pop by and see ‘BQ’ in all its 4ft x 2ft glory at Model Rail Live to have a closer look and ask a few questions.

Let's have a look at the rest of the magazine.....

• The Big Picture - showing the rather fabulous Ruddington, coming up next month in Model Rail. This layout is huge and no micro!

• News: Hattons announce garrett, images of Heljan’s DP2 and Olivia’s Trains EM1 and much more….

• Reviews: Kernow Model Centre's 'Beattie Well Tank' etc

• Micro Layout: Ingleton Sidings – Paul Allen’s clever ironing board micro.

• Micro and Much More – by artist, author and micro-expert Paul Lunn

• Masterclass: Class 08

• Model Rail DVD Offer

• Micro Layout: The Headshunt by Chris Phillimore

• The Runaway Carriage

• Workbench: Install Working Lights

• Workbench: Motorise Dapol’s Railbus

• Supertest: Roads

• Workbench: Install Moving Road Vehicles

• Workbench: Build a Portable Workstation

• Workbench/Layout: The Building of Brewhouse Quay (that’s mine!)

• Model Rail Live Preview

www.modelraillive.co.uk/

• Ten Budget Scenic Ideas

• Micro Layout: Hennock

• Q&A

• Model Rail Shop

• Exhibition Diary

• Backscene – Chris Leigh always has the last word!

• Next Issue

Order Model Rail Mag....

The Real Catcott Crossing

2011-09-07T08:42:00.006+01:00

nevard_110906_catcottcrossing_DSC_3428_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

The real Catcott Crossing; since closure of the line in 1966 the cottage has extended and covered in pebble dash. The bridge would appear to have been rebuilt on recent years with new railings. It's hard to imagine that when the railway ran through here there was no running water and it was delivered by rail in a milk churn often carried on the footplate of a passing loco!

The model of Catcott Crossing; whilst it was indeed a real level crossing, it never had a halt or sidings, but in my rose tinted parallel universe it did.

Find more photos of the layout here.
Prevous BLOG posts about Catcott Burtle here.

Know Your Limits!

2011-09-04T11:31:00.013+01:00

combwich_mrj_07, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Combwich way back in 2002 mid-way through refurbishment after 15 years in my parent's loft

I think it's all too easy to be over ambitious, get carried away and take on a project that's far too big and demanding. At every show I get a beginner coming up to me wanting to know what I think about building a huge prototype layout - 'Caerphilly in P4' was the latest from a very nice chap who had never even seen a length of Peco. There is nothing wrong with this, but it's not a first layout project project even in OO - well maybe not in isolation or without the help of modellers who have been there done that. Sadly I have a hunch very few of these projects ever happen or even get past the planning stage.

Personally I like too many types of railway and could never commit to one big project because I would lose interest, so for this reason I'd rather have smaller projects that will support my my ever-changing whims and still get finished in a reasonable time. When I was younger I had a very puritanical view, but nowadays I'm far more realistic about the time I have available for model making and won't shy from utilizing many of the wonderful ready made bits and bobs we have now. Brewhouse Quay being a good example of this (and I've never had so much fun!).

In my case I lost total interest in the hobby for 15 years, but not full sized railways. However rediscovery of a mothballed Combwich in good condition in the old folks' loft got me all excited, and 10 years ago I salvaged it carrying on from where I left off and the layout is enjoying occasional shows now. If I was start over, it is not the sort of layout I'd do again, but I'm really glad I have it now and have no plans to sell or burn it just yet. It would certainly never have happened without the help of my of friends at the Southampton Model Railway Society who showed me that a soldering iron could do more that torture daddy long legs.

There are lots of other hobbies out there, we don't have to force our selves if it doesn't work, after all most of us have to do things we don't enjoy, so the last place those things should extend to is 'me time'.

Any one for stamp collecting?

Publicity Photo

2011-09-03T02:20:00.004+01:00

nevard_110903_BQ_IMG_1087pete_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

This morning's rose tinted load of old tosh ....

This colour publicity shot was taken around 1964 of Sentinel 'Mendip' involved in a major cask movement during the change over from wood to metal casks at the Marriott, Dent & Foster Brewery in Bath. The gentleman posing behind one the casks is thought to be Lord Marriott de Shenley, one the leading lights at the brewery. A note on the transleeve says 'Ektachrome X, Mamiya C3, 55mm Sekor.'

Bigger version: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/6107287719/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Friday Photo

2011-09-02T02:39:00.002+01:00

nevard_110902_BQ_IMG_1108_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Looking across the Avon, ex-Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway 'Pug' No. 51202 is spotted shunting the Marriott, Dent & Foster Brewery sidings in Bath.

Much care was no doubt needed to avoid the ale casks ending up on the deck. It's is thought that this is an internal shunt between the cooperage and the cask cleaning area.

New view and a little digression....

2011-09-01T01:40:00.006+01:00

nevard_110831_BQ_IMG_1073_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Here's a view of Brewhouse Quay which has only been possible for a day or two since the exit to the extra fiddle yard was created. A short telephoto effect makes an interesting slightly compressed view showing off the lightweight track and various ground textures between the rails and around the yard. As soon as one views 90 degrees to the light source, all sorts of interesting things start to happen texture-wise - the lighting here simply being the built in fluorescent tube that runs along the front.

Finding new angles is one of the aspects that interests me most about photographing model railways, and particularly so if it's a layout that has been well photographed for the popular press many times - finding that new angle that's never been captured before gives huge satisfaction.

Digressing slightly; I look forward to returning to Pendon at some stage to get some new and exciting angles. The various layouts there have hardly been touched in this respect, especially that the dinkiest of cameras can now give outstanding results that will blow up to double page spread, the small camera size allowing new vistas from all sorts of snug places.

Really digressing - I'd love to shoot an HST in blue and grey blasting across the Vale Scene - it would be a sure hit and introduce a whole new generation to the delights of model railways!

Bigger version of the above

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/6098100035/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Presentation is Paramount

2011-08-31T13:29:00.005+01:00

nevard_110825_BQ_fascia_IMG_0961_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

We spend many many hours making our locos, wagons, carriages, track, buildings and scenery look magnificent for that big exhibition. Then, far many too of us are happy to put up with a grotty rather badly painted or home made sticky backed plastic lettering to display the layout name to attract the crowds at exhibitions. This is a real shame, because a layout is only ever as good as the worst bit, so what could have been tip top suddenly becomes very ordinary.

We show off our layouts to paying public who are well aware of the high standards of presentation outside toy-train-land at trade shows the high street etc. Instead too often they get badly presented layouts that shout out 'amateur' in a dusty, squeaky adenoidal voice. Sadly this does nothing to promote the hobby to people that don’t spend their whole life on their own inside dusty, dark damp sheds.

These days there is no excuse for bad presentation, especially for those layouts that get out on the road. Your traditional sign writer has been mostly replaced by the boys with Macs and huge printers, who will print anything on to anything for a palm full of sovereigns or the price of a OO gauge loco. And let’s face it; we all have far too many locos, so the £45 spent on something like the ready-to-attach 4ft x 6 inch name board seen above is money far better spent. No skill is required other than the ability to knock up a quick sketch of what’s required to give to your local print shop and then negotiate a discount for cash if you have a cheeky face.

As already mentioned, modern signwriter-printer-graphics workshops will print anything onto anything , so I asked then whether they be able to print my next home-created photo backscene onto sticky backed plastic – their reply was ‘of course’, so now there is no need for a wrinkly and creased photographic paper backscene any more - just peel and stick.

‘Brewhouse Quay’ seen above, is 9cm high laser cut lettering utilising ‘Stencil’ type face bonded onto a tough high density plastic display board. They even cut it out to my precise dimensions so it it is ready to fix to the proscenium arch with high strength double sided tape. I think you’ll agree it looks better than the usual blobby Tippex painted on to hardboard – though of course those guys do have more locos than me!

I used Gidden Place www.giddenplace.com/ in Guildford for this example – though every town will have a similar shop.

Keeping the plebs out

2011-08-30T20:59:00.002+01:00

nevard_110829_PHD-mill-gate_IMG_1029_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

A PH Design 'Mill Gate' from etched brass, seen here guarding the right hand exit on Brewhouse Quay.

Pete's designs are wonderfully delicate in design and execution, so quite a bit of care was needed when painting it to avoid distorting the delicate brass etch.

The etching is supplied in 2 halves, and the idea is that one solders the two together for extra strength. The problem I had was that due to the very fine nature of the etching I found it impossible to get 100 contact so decided just to use the one half. The bonus of this is that one gets double the number of gates! If the owner requires the gates to operate, it would be easy enough to add a verticle and horizonal strengtheners from some spare brass strip of wire.

Painting was a doddle; 2 coats of Halfords red primer followed by a pale Hunbrol chrome green was dabbed on randomly by brush making sure that some of the red primer still shows throug to represent rust. I then finished off with a very light dusting Halfords grey primer to add further sun-bleaching and patina.

Old Film of Brewhouse Quay

2011-08-28T23:17:00.005+01:00

I have just found an old 50ft spool of standard 8mm Agfachrome of Sentinel 'Mendip' arriving and shunting a brake van along the Marriott, Dent & Foster Brewery sidings at Brewhouse Quay.

I'm currently suffering audio problems with this clip - select 240p if you cannot hear anything!

http://youtu.be/rqmbdj4X90A

See this layout for real at Model Rail Live on 17 & 18 September 2011

Midland Elegance but with the Dexterity of a Hobbit

2011-08-25T09:11:00.004+01:00

nevard_110823_BQ_IMG_0960_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Part bull: 40564 was one of the very last of the elegant ex-Midland Class 2P 4-4-0 locomotives to run on the 'The Dorset', it being finally withdrawn in 1962. In latter years, it would be frequently used on the 11.30 'Beer Express' from the Marriott, Dent and Foster Brewery in Bath down to Bournemouth West. On a bright morning in 1960, the train is captured departing Brewhouse Quay for its holiday resort destination freshly loaded with bottled 'Bright Bath Bitter Ale' for thirsty holiday makers. The train would initially trip the mile or so into Bath Green Park goods, where it would be run around in preparation for its journey south over the Mendips.

Truth: I've had this Hornby loco for around 10 years, it being a nice Christmas pressie from the trouble and strife. The only work on it has been a blast with Halfords matt black, a renumber and light weathering. It sadly has a tender drive unit, which is fine on a roundy-roundy layout, but quite inadequate for any operation that requires slow controlled smooth running. It doesn't help that the tender drive wobbles and that more often than not, the loco wheels stop going around or rotate at a slower speed than the engine!

I gather this ex-Mainline model from the 1980's is to be re-released in due course from Hornby with LOCO-DRIVE - if that does come to fruition buying a new one for the chassis and tender could be a cheaper option than fitting a Comet chassis.

So, for the meantime the loco only sees use in front of the camera for static shots like this that require nothing to actually move! Oh yes, and it's raining outside again!

Cheery pic for a dull old day!

2011-08-23T17:42:00.099+01:00

nevard_110822_BQ_IMG_0942_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Looking across the Avon towards the Marriott, Dent & Foster Brewery in Bath, Johnson 1P 0-4-4 No. 58086 is spotted shunting on what would appear to be a lovely summer's day. Note in the distance the little privately owned Sentinel 'Mendip' which can be seen resting in front of the grainstore.

Reality; in the UK today it's the height of summer supposedly, but as most are no doubt aware it's a dull, wet old day and more like something we would expect in the middle of November! To slightly balance reality, here is a rose-tinted reminder of how all summers used to be - well, as we like to remember them anyway!

Model; the quayside has been embellished with a little more undergrowth after seeing something similar week before last during a waterside afternoon walk on one of the few sunny days we've enjoyed this summer. The bright-ish green is more of a feature of my RAW conversion than the actual colour - it was rather late in the day when I sorted out this photo! And (yawn) again for all those sceptics who think that all photography these days is 'Photoshop', they will be disappointed to know that the only 'addition' is the light waft of steam as 58086 blows off.

58086 photographs really well from this angle, its elegant lines suiting side profile views. This is my oldest loco in regular use, it being the first 'proper kit' I built as a teenager. Interestingly, although it's from brass, quite a bit of superglue was used in its construction, and surprisingly almost 30 years on none of those bits have failed which very much bucks what the heavy-rimmed bespectacled tweed clad 'experts' with yellow flux-stained fingers told me all those year ago!

See Brewhouse Quay at Model Rail Live, 17 & 18 September 2011
A BIGGER version of the above photo can be seen HERE!

An angle of BQ you won't normally see

2011-08-22T16:45:00.060+01:00

nevard_110821_BQ_IMG_0923_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Here's an angle you won't normally be able to see unless you peer over the end of Brewhouse Quay behind the lighting rig. From this angle, the track layout can be observed to full effect including the wagon turntable which links to a siding that runs out right through the backscene to the other side to allow a little fun swapping wagons around.

Very shortly, the line in the centre foreground will be extended towards the photographer's groin, between 2 buildings out of shot and through the backscene to another small fiddle yard which has yet to be constructed.

The 2 lines that disappear behind the brewery buildings run through to a hidden sector plate which links to further sidings behind the backscene.

Hopefully all the above will provide a margin of excitement and entertainment that will keep the poor operator amused for maybe 4 or 5 minutes before going terminally mad from the shear boredom of pushing wagons to and fro in a random manner. Clever people would think of some kind of shunting puzzle to make some purpose, but with most viewers only watching a layout for a couple of minutes maximum (the gold fish bowl theory), and operational-apathy on behalf of muggins here, such excessive organisational indulgence could be wasted or maybe not?

Creating the effect of cinders ballast

2011-08-21T11:22:00.046+01:00

SDJR 7F No. 53809 is captured storming through Catcott Burtle with a long rake of coal wagons from Evercreech Junction. This coal will originally have come from Writhlington near Radstock and is heading for Highbridge Wharf for export. Note the fine dull ballast on the siding to the right, and how it contrasts with the coarser ballast on the main running line to the left. This is very much a feature of railways from the steam era.

Why cinders?

We’re not taking about the turn midnight, frogs and glass slippers here, but the days when steam reigned supreme! Before central heating but when we toasted crumpets in front of an open coal fire, coal was the backbone fuel of Britain as well as the major mineral handled by the railways. As a result of its extensive usage for powering and manufacturing things, the bi-product was ash and cinders – literally millions of tons of the stuff. Rather than waste it, one of the uses of this dusty plentiful product was to ballast sidings and little used railway lines. In some northern areas it was even used for ballasting mainlines where they had an even more plentiful supply due to the extensive coal fired industry.

Many steam era railway modellers ignore following the real world and tend to ballast their sidings with granite chippings as seen on main running lines. Some even include a ballast shoulder in railway yards which looks and is totally wrong. Frequently this error can be observed on layouts that utilise the finest scale and most accurately gauged track. I have a hunch this is due to people copying other model railways rather than observing pictures of the real thing, my other thought is that modellers simply do not know how to generate the effect?

The use of granite in sidings is only a feature modern times and as a rough rule of thumb should only used to create the appearance of track that has been laid or re-ballasted after the end of steam.

Technique

At first the above appears simple to replicate, simply use some fine dust like granular substance which isn’t illegal and spread it onto the track and dribble diluted PVA over. Those who have tried this will know that all that happens is that we end up with a mess as the glue forms dusty balls that refuse to sink in however much or expensive the washing up liquid is used to help break the surface tension.

Another technique which is likely also to remove any outstanding cranial hair is the use of plaster. Plaster can be used for big wide flat areas, but as soon as it goes anywhere near rails, sleepers and chairs, it will cling like molten ice cream does to a clean shirt better than barnacles do to a sunken wreck off the Needles.

Do not despair; Humbrol Air Clay or Das Modelling Clay are our savours, with their plasticine like qualities being ideal for packing down between sleepers to create that distinctive smooth effect which is so removed from that of granite.

Humbrol Air Clay and DAS are available from many model or craft shops, and is supplied in brick sized in air tight packs. Once opened it will dry out and spoil, so it’s a good idea to reseal it in some kitchen film after use. The most common colours are white and terracotta, neither of which is right unless one is using it for ballast the railway in a china clay works in which case choose white. We address the colour later so do not worry at this stage.

Application is simple but does take a little time – ‘good things come to those who wait’ as they say in that advert for a well known stout. The same can be said for this.....

Firstly paint your sleepers and rail sides then ballast to just under sleeper height using your usual favoured paint and ballast; I favour sieved sand because it’s nice and fine. Then drench in the time honoured way using diluted PVA white glue and allow it to properly set. If you use track with thin sleepers like SMP or C&L you can omit pre-ballasting.

Next comes the fun bit (OK, just a little better than swimming in the freezing sea in January); scoop or break off a tea spoon sized lump of clay and using fingers and thumbs press down and spread it over the existing ballast and between the sleepers and tracks working on 2 or 3 inches a time.

Once it’s fairly even, with a stiff brush (a 1 inch decorators’ one will do or one of those cheap kiddies’ brushes) pack it into place between the sleepers much like a dentist does when packing a new filling, taking care to avoid getting clay onto the sides of the rail and chairs. Repeat until your whole area is covered, I suggest doing this is dribs and drabs to get a break and to appraise the progress. When working on wider areas like between tracks or in a yard, it is a good idea to paste on a thin layer of PVA to help the clay adhere to the surface. As the clay dries it may lift or crack a little, if so push it back into place with a thumbnail or back of a spoon.

Once fully set, any outstanding cracks (more of a feature with Humbrol Airclay than DAS) can be dealt with smearing in some fresh clay or wetting the surface and smudging over with a thumb.Once you’re satisfied with the result you’ll want to colour what you’ve done. For this you can use your favoured medium of matt enamel, matt acrylic, or my favourite – matt interior emulsion. I like matt emulsion because it’s easy to get hold of from D-I-Y superstores with the loss of so many model shops. No need to buy big tins, use the little match pots, there are all sorts of dull earthy colours that are far more suited to our uses than painting walls. I guess this is one positive bi-product of all these faddy TV programmes where they transform bright cheery rooms into dull and often gaudy caverns.

What colours you choose is up to you; I prefer to use paler grey and beige tones, using the darker shades around the track, blending to lighten the open areas. good touch once you’re happy with the colouring of the clay and sleepers is to dry brush on some rust (not too red though) to highlight the rails and chairs. Te use of pale shades not only helps the sunny dusty effect often seen in summer, but also has the bonus of making a layout look bigger – and that is never a bad thing.

This feature is from article I previously had published in Model Rail - the leading magazine to show you 'how'.

Brew-up at BQ

2011-08-20T15:08:00.042+01:00

nevard_110821_BQ_IMG_0878, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

The Bull:
It's brew up time at Brewhouse Quay for Sentinel 'Mendip', ex-L&YR 'Pug' 51202, Planet 4WD 'Fleur' and 'Radstock' an Austerity tank recently purchased from the National Coal Board. The Ford Popular wasn't parked that well from a photographic point of view, but now 55 years on it adds to the scene.

The Model:
The Sentinel is a Model Rail/Dapol Sentinel which has had a change of identity, having been detailed up and is now in private ownership. The Pug a detailed, renumbered and repainted Hornby model - it runs a dream too which is much to my surprise - widening out the back to backs to 14.7mm may have helped here. The Ford Popular in the forground is from Oxford Diecast and has been reglazed with Krystal Kleer liquid glazing, muckied up and finished off with Testor's Dullcote. The little green diesel is a Planet from a Roxey Mouldings kit, and finally the Austerity a fiddled with Hornby 'Harry'.

The photo:
Taken on a little Canon G9 shooting RAW under the layout's built in flu-lighting, 7 exposures were stacked and processed with Helicon Focus to increase the depth of field to match what the eye sees. The only CGI is the faint puff of smoke from the engines - which I like so there! The backscene is nice and high so, no need to mess about there.

Brewhouse Quay will be at Model Rail Live for its very first outing on 17 & 18 September 2011

More Miniature Street Light Nerdism

2011-08-19T17:54:00.007+01:00

nevard_110819_BQ_IMG_0868_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr

I'm really getting into building streetlights; with this 'Lucy Large Swan Neck Bracket taking about an hour from start to finish and was scratch-built from bits of wire, brass tube and plastic rod as with my Mk1 version here http://nevardmedia.blogspot.com/2011/08/art-deco-electric-street-light.html

It depicts one of the later electric designs with a less ornate swan neck from the 1950's with a rotary timer from a design dating back to the 1920's. To get really in to street-light-nerdism, the lantern is my rather crude interpretation of an 'ESLA Bi-Multi Group "AL" Two-Way 165°' made from some brass tube filed in half and mangled a bit with some small pliers.

The faded mid-green, after painting with Humbrol 101 I then dust over a little Halfords grey primer from a couple of feet away to get the effect of faded paint.

The light is seen here freshly planted on a corner of Brewhouse Quay and could do with a few weeds around the base. Betty Stoggs of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise as usual was keen to pose for the camera.

I'm now waiting now for some smart Alec to tell me that a kit is available and why didn't I make it work....

Art Deco Electric Street Light

2011-08-18T09:38:00.024+01:00

nevard_110817_BQ_IMG_0835_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

A spare hour yesterday afternoon produced this scratch-built art deco era electric street light based on ones seen in Weybridge Surrey. The underside of reflector on the real lamp would have a mosaic of mirror glass like on a glitter ball - obviously too small to model.

Looking at old photographs in the Weybridge and Walton on Thames, area they appear all over the place in 1955 Francis Frith photographs, and I remember seeing the tungsten versions as modelled here within the last 10 years locally. Now they have modern SOX sodium units in place, but thankfully still have the swan neck and are painted mid-green.

I'm guessing that before electric conversion (in the 1920/30's?) they could have been gas, and would have probably featured the familiar cross bar for the lighting up man to rest his ladder on.

The problem now is that I want to make some more, a simple enough job, the base is carved plastic rod, the neck brass wire, the reflector aluminium from a beer can, and the bulb a little piece of clear styrene from the sprue of some window glazing.

Jinty and The Wrong Box

2011-08-17T21:45:00.002+01:00

nevard_110817_BQ_IMG_0829_CLAG_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Two blog posts in one day! This is only a little photo for bedtime, so nothing too wordy.

The loco is a Bachmann 'Jinty' re-numbered as Bath's 47276 which spent much of its later life shunting and banking trains around Bath and the nearby Radstock area. It briefly had a moment of fame when it appeared in 'The Wrong Box' starring Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Michael Caine and was painted green for the station scenes shot at Bath Green Park Station in September 1965.

Here is today's main post which covers more of the scene here - should you have missed it. http://nevardmedia.blogspot.com/2011/08/pipework.html

Nighty night.

Pipework

2011-08-17T14:14:00.004+01:00

nevard_110817_BQ_IMG_0830_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

A new building has finally appeared at the rear just in front of the backscene on Brewhouse Quay. It is half low-relief and is constructed with a foam board inner clad is various textured plastics for Evergreen and Slaters. Breweries are all about turning water, hops and malt into alcoholic liquor, and to achieve this much is the way of water is pumped all around the place courtesy of a Knightwing (thx PP) piping kit which features different pipe gauges, taps, bends and brackets.

Marriott, Dent & Foster Celebrated Ales

2011-08-16T23:44:00.004+01:00

nevard_110816_BQ_IMG_0812_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

'Marriott, Dent & Foster Celebrated Ales' is now displayed on the roof of one of the brewery buildings at Brewhouse Quay.

www.modelraillive.co.uk

Various serif type faces were also tried, but the real Messrs Dent & Foster chose the sans serif 'Trebuchet' type face for that immediate post-war look. It was created with Photoshop and coloured cream with a maroon drop shadow, it was then printed out at my local 1 hour lab (my colour printer inks have dried up!) and bonded onto a plastic card frame.

The loco is a Roxey Mouldings kit of a Planet 4WD, the old milk van is from a Kays kit and is at least 40 years old.

See Brewhouse Quay at Model Rail Live 17 & 18 September 2011 www.modelraillive.co.uk where you'll be able to meet the real 'Marriott, Dent & Foster'.

What if.....

2011-08-15T00:05:00.018+01:00

nevard_110606_MIDFORD_7F_DSC_2443_web, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

S&DJR 7F No. 53809 passes the Anchor and Hope at Midford with an Evercreech to Bath goods train.

Model Rail 159

This shot a few might recognise from a black & white BIG PICTURE in the August issue of Model Rail which was dedicated to various aspects of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway. It is of course a spoof and not pretending to be anything more, for trains have not passed through here for 45 years. The loco a model from Bachmann has been unashamedly super-imposed onto a present day photo taken at this delighful spot just south of Bath.

On a light-hearted note, really serious railway enthusiasts tend to be a 'very matter of fact' brigade with a glass that is nearly always half empty, and a few hot under the collar readers since publication have pointed out that the double yellow lines would not have been around in 1959, and another commenting on some period technicality with the telegraph pole (?). To be really pedantic of course, back in the days of steam the pub and viaduct were not covered in Ivy, and the pub sign to the far left used to hang from the wrought iron bracket seen protruding from the pub wall top right. In those days it was a Courage pub rather than a freehouse as it is now. The 1960's sports car was however really there, and would have probably left the factory when steam still ruled supreme on Britain's railways - with hindsight though, I wish I'd grabbed the car a little closer to camera, but I imagine the owner's present day attire and lack of period tweed would probably add additional heat to an already baking red-hot raw collar.

Of course Photoshop and a degree of skill might be able to address such, but that is not really the point of a photograph which is simply about trying to imagine what it would be like if trains ever run through Midford again with preserved 53809. Computer altering the image to such a degree to address the onslaught of time would simply turn it into an electronic painting and be rather pointless, as I might just as well have published a period photograph from the era.

So, moving on from 'glass half empty-ism' to a fully charged fresh foaming happy pint; maybe I should do a version with a FGW class 153 DMU or Virgin Voyager?

Land Reclaim

2011-08-12T22:49:00.003+01:00

nevard_110812_cementQ_IMG_0716_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

For the photo here of a Ruston Bucyrus I'm working on for Model Rail mag I poured a pile of sand onto the watery bit that ran until very recently along the front of Cement Quay Old Gravel Wharf. I was so taken with the look that I now want to build a small gravel pit layout.

I already have enough model railways so getting planning permission would be almost impossible, so instead I have decided to reclaim some the wharf area as seen above. Here we see the intital work using some 5mm foamboard to form the sub-structure of the gravel pit which will feature a spoil heaps and a large pile of gravel piled up to dry before transfering to rail. I might even include a little section of narrow gauge railway and another aerial conveyor.

Almost free scenics

2011-08-12T01:21:00.005+01:00

nevard_110812_BQ_IMG_0721_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

Wharf-side vegetation at Brewhouse Quay.

Model Rail Live

We've never had it so good when it comes to model railway scenery products, and many modellers new to the hobby are likely to think that they HAVE to use bespoke products from the plethora of specialist suppliers that have appeared onto the market over the last few years eager to charm you free of your hard earned cash. That's business and there is nothing wrong with that, with some of the products being quite superb, but we must not forget that with a little imagination there other options using inexpensive ready available materials from the local DIY store or even the garden.

The wharf edge scene here uses very little in the way of bespoke model railway scenic items;

The leafy growth is the only model railway scenic item, it being dyed sawdust over sea-moss.
The water is PVA over grey paint, though one could use and expensive resin 'water'.
The water lily leaves are blobs of green paint over the PVA base, encapsulated under layer of clear gloss varnish.
The grass/reeds are traditional plumbers hemp, search Ebay if your pumbers merchant doesn't stock it any more (updated: B&Q stocks it - thanks Mr Hand). You could cut up and old doormat or paint brush instead.
The straggelly green bits are fresh moss from the garden, given a good soaking in cheap hairspray to preserve it. All that's needed is to paint the tips mauve to give the effect of flowering buddleia maybe?

See Brewhouse Quay for its first out at Model Rail Live on the 17th 7 18th of September 2011

Gravel pits and no reciprocity failure

2011-08-05T17:47:00.092+01:00

nevard_110804_bucyrus_IMG_0705, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

The model: Sentinel 'Mendip' poses with a single wagon next to a Ruston Bucyrus 19 'front shovel' on Cement Quay Old Gravel Wharf (try saying that quickly after 5 pints). The foreground is in fact a wharf, but for bit of fun you can instead see temporary big pile of beach sand.

The Ruston Bucyrus is a fettled with Corgi Trackside model and will be the subject of a 'Workbench' in the popular press shortly. I'm only showing its ugly side because most of the interesting stuff is on the pretty side and I don't want to give too much away at this stage.

Since more or less completing the Bucyrus seen here, I'd quite like to build a gravel pit layout, but with current space restrictions there is no way I'll be granted planning permission by the domestic authorities. So instead there will be a bit of land-reclaiming by turning some of the water along in front of the current wharf into a gravel pit - see here. I have a spare Walthers Cornerstone aerial conveyor too, so it will consist of gravel dumps to allow for drying prior to loading into wagons. I'm tempted to add a little narrow gauge tramway coming through from the rear too - who knows what will happen, so much more fun!

Photography: Rather than use studio lighting, for convenience this shot was taken under a single domestic light bulb hanging from the ceiling with a 4 second exposure. Digital photography especially when shooting RAW allows succesful results in the sort of lighting that would never have worked well with colour film without a great deal of trial and error correcting and filtering to compensate for the warm colour temperature which is probably only around 1800 kelvin; and that's before we even get to reciprocity failure!

Used Motors

2011-08-01T17:55:00.032+01:00

nevard_110709_cars_DSC_2811_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

We all love those ready-to-push diecast model cars that can be bought for the price of a posh pint (well in Surrey anyway!). Whilst they are probably better than what can be made from a white metal kit costing 4 or 5 times as much, everybody else down the railway club will own a whole set of cars identical to yours.

A full sized car will be shiny when clean and new, for some reason gloss does not scale down well without the result looking toy-like, however we can create a better looking miniature effect. These cars from Oxford Diecast and Pocketbond Classix are the result of about 30 mins sat at the table under the sun in the garden and here's what can be fitted into that time......

Dismantle (you might need to drill out the soft rivets)
Wash over the body with a brown/grey paint mix (any old paint, I like acrylic and emulsion).
Dab off, leaving just enough pigment in the recesses, the amount depending whether you're going for banger or beauty.
Remember to treat the wheels too.
Reassemble temporarily without the glazing.
Blast over with some Testors Dullcote aerosol matt varnish - Google for a supplier.
Once dry, dismantle and reassemble with the glazing.
I didn't like the glazing on the left had car, a Ford Popular because it was set far too deep inside the car so I discarded it and used Krystal Kleer Glazing fluid instead.
Add a dab of super glue where the drilled rivet heads were to hold the car together.
Place on your layout in a parked pose - unless of course you add a miniature driver, in which case queue it at a level crossing or traffic lights so the lack of movement does not look silly (unless you are modelling the M25 of course).

Further reading: there is of course a lot more than can be done, so much so that ace modeller George Dent and your's truly penned and article for Model Rail 156 (for back-issues tel: 0845 121 4000).

Eye Eye Capstan!

2011-07-31T09:12:00.007+01:00

nevard_110731_BQ_IMG_0662_WEB, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

With Model Rail Live pending 17 & 18 September 2011, attention has gone back to Brewhouse Quay to get it ready with a little extra detail and such, and for once I'm not in a dreadful rush to complete this project in time.

Model Rail Live

The shot above which has a big nod to the late great micro layout genius Carl Arendt illustrates the bedding in of the base and capstan for rope shunting using a smudge of Das modelling clay and a spot of Super Glue.

The capstan manufactured from turned brass, was purchased from the very useful Cornwall Model Boats and is lurking here in primer with a plastic card base. It of course will be painted before some clever dick who has a mother with 'lovely hands' tells me it's the wrong colour.

The capstan is to aid rope shunting, which was one of the various ways that wagons were moved around in small yards like this - see this old post for more info on rope shunting and wagon turntables.

You'll be able to read more about Brewhouse Quay with a plethora of unpublished photos in Model Rail very shortly.

Dirty Minky

2011-07-18T23:50:00.008+01:00

nevard_110719_MinkD_DSC_2976, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.

From a Parkside Dundas kit; a GWR Mink D used for stores and local movements around Bath seen here on Brewhouse Quay being pulled along the wharf road with a tractor. The driver has probably gone for a jar by the way...

Rather than go for 1950's carmine which was rather pushing history, I decided to turn it into the local stores runabout in grey (Halfords primer). Numbering still needs to be toned down a little and I need to replace the rods between the brake levers at either end with some brass as I have already have between the V hanger wotsits in the middle - the supplied styrene rod is not really tough enough even for normal handling.

Note the Sentinel in the background - that is a modified Model Rail/Dapol Sentinel and this is a tease for a forthcoming article 'wot oi wrote' for the printed page.

Now you've got to the bottom of today's drivel, be sure to check out George Dent's blog - and by pure chance he has made up a cracking selection of stores van including a Minkypoos...
http://georgedentmodelmaker.blogspot.com/2011/07/ncb-stores-vans.html

Bigger version http://www.flickr.com/photos/nevardmedia/5951905761/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Midford Masterplan

2011-07-16T21:11:00.046+01:00

MIDFORD_PLAN_web, a photo by nevardmedia on Flickr.
This month's Model Rail is a SDJR special featuring 3 rather good SDJR layouts - 2 out of 3 of them having never been in print before either. It is of course right that 'Masterplan' should have a strong S&DJR flavour too with Midford as as a 'roundy-roundy', which with a little compromise would fit into the average garage or loft. To find out more about this special issue you'll need pick up a copy to find out more.

I can however reveal a little about my original idea which was designed as a long shelf layout that could go along a wall or exhibiton layout. So, rather than the original plan sitting on my hard drive shedding pixels, here it is for all to see.

Thinking about it, there is no reason why such a layout couldn't form part of a roundy roundy for exhibitions, but live on a shelf when at home. Whilst end to end fiddle yards would work, this part of the line was known for its long goods and passenger trains, something that would be a bit of a nightmare if one used cassettes because in OO they'd be getting on for 10 feet long and even in N gauge they'd be dangerously long!

Another thought could be to ignore the station and viaduct and have the goods yard as a separate 'micro', but then 10 carriage passenger and 30 wgaon good trains could look a little silly because they'd probably be longer that the layout. Of course one could always extend towards Bath and include Tucking Mill Viaduct.

To discuss the idea further, I have set up a thread on RMweb here - see you there?