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SEPTEMBER 2020 UPDATE
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KARL CROWTHER
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GREG BROOKES
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HYWEL THOMAS
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All of the main storage area pointwork is now laid, with just a few lengths of plain track to
add for the sidings. The precise layout was worked out essentially by trial error to try and
get the most storage out of the available space and the target is to achieve berthing for a
total of around 20 individual trains. The trap point template in the left foreground will be
the entrance to the turntable & loco berthing area. The next job is to install all the track
droppers, after which the boards will need to be taken down so these can then be wired to the
DCC power bus. Then there’s the small matter of switch panels and the fitting and wiring up of
all the servos. Should most likely take me the rest of the year…….
The opposite (Heversham & Dent Head) end of the storage area. The paper Templot printout is
the junction (i.e. Natland) for the Dent Head Branch which will have its own dedicated storage
area. In reality this only needs space to house the branch passenger and local pick up goods
workings, so three, possibly 4 sidings. Also, trains doing the full trip to Dent Head (as
opposed to only as far as Marthwaite) will need to be turned there, so room has also to be
found to accommodate another turntable here. The main Kendal-Kentside double track route is
indicated by the two loose lengths of flexi-track (i.e. representing the bit between Natland
and Heversham Junction). To the rear of the board is a feed from the ‘through’ line leading
to four storage roads – these for trains that will run only on the Hincaster-Kentside route
(avoiding Kendal). One of these sidings is much longer than all the rest and will house the
Windermere Cruise excursion working, while the other two will be for berthing the loaded and
empty Tebay coke trains. The fourth is a short spur for loco handling purposes.
Looking across Heversham Junction in the opposite direction to the last view are the Excursion
and Coke sidings referred to above. These will be well and truly hidden behind the backscene
and may need a CCTV set-up to we can see what’s going on in that area……
And finally the promised Peak, now running very well with its Penbits sprung suspension. Just
needs the body lifting brackets (Shawplan) which I still need to order (and a sound decoder!),
plus some final weathering and it will be ready for service on the Leeds-Kendal passenger workings.
For a bit of variety for the freighliner rakes on Shenston Road and Hornsey Broadway,
these keg loads (6 wide) are just the right size to fit on some scratchbuilt one-ended flat
containers. Available from 
Detail work on the layout continues - this temporary speed restriction sign has been made from
plastic section. Illuminated by propane light from an adjacent gas bottle, these signs were
usually weighted down with bits of concrete or fishplates.
Roving photographer Paul James has been out lineside with his camera, capturing a variety of
Black Country workings, starting off with a view of the exchange sidings at BSC Shenston.
Hymek D7036 is seen with a PW train, consisting of a Ruston & Hornsby shunter PWM654 and a
15 ton diesel hydraulic crane with support vehicles. Up until recently the Impetus R&H shunter
was motorised, but has now been de-meshed to run in this formation.
English Electric type 3 number 6972 heads towards Wolverhampton with a loaded rake of 16 ton
mineral wagons.
Early ETH fitted Brush 4 - 1932 with a northbound mixed freight.
Another Brush 4, this time 1674 Samson in charge of a mixed rake of 100 ton tankers.
D1057 Western Chieftain heads a very mixed freight which includes a Class 08 fresh from works.
D847 Strongbow on the last leg of its journey from Paddington to Wolverhampton.
Another mixed freight behind D1 Skafell Pike, consisting of tank wagons, covered grain hoppers,
a trestle wagon and a few 16 ton mineral wagons filled with scrap steel.
Peak Class 46 number D163 Leicestershire & Derbyshire Yeomanry heads north with a short parcels train.
BR Derby built Class 24 D5140 with brake van.
English Electric type 4 D337 with a solitary van.....
.... and 228 Samaria following on light engine.
Somewhat a long way from home, this English Electric type 4 (Class 50 number 402 from the
Shenston Road fleet) is seen at Hornsey Broadway with a parcels service, whilst BR Crewe built
electro-diesel E6107 heads north with a rake of 21 ton hoppers.
This month sees two long-standing wagon projects reached the front of the queue. First
up was a conversion of the recent Oxford model of the AA3 Toad into a mess and tool van.
The model seems to have received a lot of bad press online but I thought that the basic
model wasn’t bad. An MRJ article by Gerry Beale helped to iron out some of the issues
although the mystery centre window that was very un-Toad like turned out to be a fine
representation of the windows fitted by Swindon during tool and mess van conversions.
Here we see the van with the verandah boxed in, some details filed off and the planks
filled in on the ends and where the new door will be.
A bit later and the new end is finished, based on the opposite end. The new door overlay
in 10-thou sheet has been added and the additional windows cut out and framed. Also added
were some roof vents, the chimney and new handrails.
As a trial I decided to use some Archer resin rivet transfers. I was very impressed with
these and the results can be seen here. Much easier than fiddling about with small cubes
of plastic rod, which was my usual method. I also bought a set of MicroMark rivet transfers.
You get a lot more of these for your money but I found they were much less prominent than
the Archer variety.
Here we can see the primed result. They seem to work quite well.
With the body completed it was time to tackle the chassis. Here we see the new brake gear
using lengthened plastic pieces from the spares box, possibly Ratio, and some ABS brake
hangers. The Oxford wheels were fitted to longer than standard axles so I decided to use
the original wheels and turned them down in my mini-drill using files. They may not be the
neatest but they seem to sail through my point work okay!
Here we see the finished van sat in the yard about to head off for some weekend engineering
work site. Thanks to John Lewis for the correct number for a Neath-based van, perfect for
Morfa Bank. Transfers, as usual, were a mix from various sources to suit. It also sports
those hideous orange curtains that Swindon seemed to fit to all the various mess van and
coach conversions at that time. They certainly date the van nicely to that period!
Next up was this Roco continental tank wagon bought cheaply a good few years ago. This was
planned as a bit of an experiment to see if a 4mm conversion was feasible.
After taking it to bits a start has been made on cutting the chassis up. The plan was to raise
the sole bars by removing the top lip and adding a new one from strip plus widening the chassis
to correct width for 1/76 scale. The plan was helped by the Roco tank wheelbase being pretty
much correct for a number of the ferry tanks that visited the UK. Ignore the reference photos
of the bromine tank - that was to help with the chassis and will also form the next conversion
from another model if this one works.
Having decided on a VTG-owned diagram E631 tank the process of reassembly could begin. The axle
guards are of that springy plastic that doesn’t stick easily so a new plastic box structure was
built into which the two pieces were firmly glued. The chassis is coming together with new
spacers from plastic to widen it plus the new top lip to beef up the solebar height.
The completed and rather crude chassis experiment. Most will be hidden beneath the tank and
this first attempt was really to see if it was feasible. The tank has been modified with a new
centre section to the anchor plates as the E631 tank seems to have full length plates. The new,
more chunky, axle boxes are actually some lamp shades from a German street lighting kit!
Here’s the chassis showing the modified suspension, the lashing rings and the rather
interestingly shaped brake lever. As the W-irons have been dropped the spring mouldings
were beefed up with some extra layers.
And the almost complete wagon. I used MicroMark rivet transfers along the extra anchor plate
and as you can see they are nowhere near as prominent as the Archer variety. The distinctive
number boards have been created on the computer and have been tagged on the back of a photo
print order so should be arriving as a 7x5 glossy sheet in the next few days! The early VTG
logos were ordered from Germany.... hopefully the finished wagon should be ready by the next update.
