Monday 29 December 2014

Privates Smith & Jones

With their newly fitted uniforms Privates Smith & Jones of the Brookwood Home Front pose proudly for the camera.

Both figures are from the Modeltown range of Military Figures (Nos. F706/8).


Friday 7 November 2014

Bure Valley Railway

The Bure Valley Railway in Norfolk is a nine mile journey between Aylsham and Wroxham through Brampton, Buxton and Coltishall along the way.

Spitfire retiring at the end of the day at Aylsham.
Aylsham Signal Box.
No.9, Mark Timothy, 2-6-4 Tank ZB Class preparing to depart Aylsham.
Spitfire preparing for departure at Wroxham.


Friday 31 October 2014

Down the line

In the garden I am always looking for ways of adding realism to my line without cluttering the garden with items that can easily break, fade, rot or disappear (magpies!) and do not spoil my overall garden landscape.

I recently read an article in Garden Railways, a beginners project of how to make telephone (telegraph) poles for your garden railway. I immediately thought, "I can do that" and consequently took about making my own.

Nowadays you don't tend to see so many telephone poles but they are synonymous with railway lines of the past and akin to heritage railways. But as it's my railway, loosely based in the past, it's allowed!

For the making of the poles and cross arms I used light hardwood dowelling (15mm) and beading (8mm).

Each pole measured 400mm in length allowing for approx 100mm-150mm below ground.

The cross arms measured 100mm.




Each pole top was cut at an angle with an 8mm slot cut 30-38mm from the top.

The poles and arms were then submerged in creosote and left for twelve hours to soak.













From the local craft store I obtained a pack of white 8mm beads and a pack of white painted upholstery nails.

The beads are a good enough likeness of insulators with the nails providing the perfect insulator covers.

With the cross arms held in a vice to stop the wood from splitting, the beads were nailed into place with the upholstery nails.






Depending on your requirements, you could have up to four insulators on each cross arm.

















With the cross arms nailed and glued in place, here are six finished telephone poles complete with insulators.





















You could of course add wires between the poles when in situ but I think that would make garden maintenance a little difficult.

Friday 24 October 2014

Brew time

This diorama from Modeltown depicts two workmen enjoying a mid morning brew whilst warming their hands over an inviting brazier. Complete with a flashing orange led situated under the fire this model will look great on HLR.


Sunday 14 September 2014

Station fencing

I've looked around for fencing, in particular 'picket fencing' but until recently I hadn't been able to find any. And then whilst sat in the my local coffee shop, the mist began to rise....................

Wooden stirrers and chopsticks.

Chopsticks for the fencing posts and cross members.

I used an electronic pencil sharpener at the blunt end of each cross member to form the male end for the joints.

Evo-stik weatherproof Wood adhesive (exterior) is strong enough for the glue.


Stirrers for the uprights spaced evenly (the width of a stirrer) and glued to the cross members.

Uprights were also glue onto each post.
For painting I used Valspar spray cans, white primer with white satin top coat.
A rough sketch of the measurements I used and found to be most suitable.

The posts were glued onto the rear of the platform edging using a generous blob of Evo-stik Evo-Grip.



Brookwood Station.

Friday 15 August 2014

Welsh Highland Railway

NG143 switching in preparation for its 10:00 departure from Caernarfon.
The original Goods Shed at Dinas.
Snowdon towers above in the distance.
Porthmadog.
The return journey through the sleepy country side of Snowdonia.
Dinas sidings.

Tuesday 27 May 2014

Brookwood Maintenance Shed - Part 2

Here's the finished product in situ, waiting for the scene to come alive.

The shed was initially primed followed by a grey coat of acrylic paint. Stone coloured masonry paint was daubed over the stone with a piece of sponge before randomly picking out single stones with various colours.

To allow for my LGB Stainz engines to gain access, a plinth was made to lift the structure by 10mm whilst at the same time creating a slate grey floor and foundations.

Now I just need to work out how to make some wooden doors!










































Part 1

Sunday 20 April 2014

Brandbright - Premier Panelled Coach Kit









Bought one of these last weekend for making on a rainy day(s) - should get plenty of opportunities then!

Have you got one? Any tips?

Thursday 17 April 2014

Little John

The third engine to be delivered from Roundhouse is this cute little diesel engine.


The design is quite typical of a small yard shunter, ideally suited to the requirements of Brookwood station and its yards.

















Ordered in yellow with yellow/black chevron buffer beams the cab has a charging socket and power switch for the receiver.







Weighing in at 1.275 kgs, this is a really powerful performer with long running times between charges.

Wednesday 12 March 2014

Brookwood Signal Box - Part 3

With the roof, stairs and glazing complete, the finished signal box was put into position at the end of the platform at Brookwood Station.

Before doing so I made a plinth for it to rest on, which also serves as a barrier to keep things dry.
















































After programming the decoder (55025) via the LGB MTS Programming unit (55045), all four pre-cabled switches/points were tested. Once tested the plinth was screwed onto the base.

Monday 17 February 2014

Brookwood Signal Box - Part 2

Well it's been a while, but with all the bad weather around, it was time for me to come indoors and begin detailing the signal box.

 

The brickwork was painted all over with brick-red paint, daubed on using a small piece of sponge touched into the paint. Once dried I used a cotton bud to highlight several bricks in various shades of brown.

The inside detail was to be minimal, so I created a dado line around the box and painted it a shade of green.

The switch levers (rivets) were painted black, blue and red.















Next stage, to finish off, will be the addition of the external steps, roof and glazing panels.

Part 1
Part 3

Saturday 18 January 2014

Brookwood Maintenance Shed - Part 1

With the start of the New Year and limited opportunities to venture outside, it was a good time to get on with some kit making, including several unfinished and a couple of new projects.
One of my new projects was to build a maintenance shed for Brookwood. I found the ideal kit for this whilst visiting last years Llanfair Garden Railway Gala, available from T & M Models.

So armed with my 'Evo-Stik Evo-Grip' adhesive, I glued together the two side walls, one end wall and the open entrance wall. Making sure that all was square, the glued model was left to set for 48 hours.