November & December 2025

Allan is making good progress on his 7mm rendition of Cole. Platforms have been started and landscape formwork started. The platform surface was finished using fairly fine emery paper dusted with weathering powders (and brushed off outside as the stuff gets everywhere!).

This is a recently acquired LMS Period 1 all third coach built and painted by the Sidelines man himself Malcolm Binns. Jim couldn’t resist it even though outside his period as the lining is outstanding. Unfortunately Jim had to refix the seating and entirely reglaze it – old model, old glue!

AnC - Crucaern Track Plan — Plan of Proposed Layout

Andrew has been busy planning and ordering parts for his O gauge layout Crucaern Station (Anglo Saxon for Crewkerne. “Cruc” is hill and “aern” is a place or building). He’s taken delivery of a large box of points and track from DCC Train Automation.

iTrains Schematic showing where everything needs to go

Below a few words to describe what should happen.

System Description for Crucaern Station O Gauge Layout
The control system for the Crucaern Station layout is built around the YaMoRC YD7001 command station, which provides the DCC command signal, LocoNet communication, and accessory power for the layout. The layout is divided into two electrically isolated track power districts to improve reliability and fault handling. Each power district is supplied by its own DR5033 booster.

Track Power Distribution
Track power within each district is delivered via dedicated red and black wiring from the DR5033 boosters. The two power districts are electrically independent, allowing one district to continue operating if the other experiences a short circuit.

Booster Communication (LocoNet-B)
The boosters receive their synchronised DCC control signals from the YD7001 via brown LocoNet-B cables. These connections ensure all boosters operate consistently and maintain a stable DCC output across the layout.

LocoNet Communication Network
A network of orange LocoNet cables interconnects the command station, feedback modules, boosters, and display units. This network carries system-wide communication including block occupancy data, device status, and accessory control.

Block Detection and Feedback
Each district includes a combination of DR4088LN-CS and YD6016LN feedback modules. These units provide current-sensing and ground-sensing block detection, reporting the presence of trains to the control software via LocoNet. This enables automated operation, route setting, and visualisation on the layout mimic panel.

Accessory Power
Accessory devices such as point motors, relays, and signals are powered using a separate accessory DCC feed from the YD7001. This keeps turnout and accessory operation independent from the track power feeds to ensure stable running.

Power Meter Displays
Digital display units within each power district monitor voltage and current draw in real time. This provides clear visual status information for operators and helps diagnose faults quickly.

Control Interfaces
The YD7001 connects to a computer for layout control software and to wireless devices such as smartphones and tablets for handheld throttle operation. A screen-based mimic panel provides a graphical overview of the entire track plan, including live block occupancy and turnout positions.

Technical Overview
This layout is divided into two power districts, each managed and monitored to provide reliable DCC operation, feedback reporting and accessory control. The wiring scheme uses a combination of power buses, boosters, feedback modules, point motor drivers and signalling components, all coordinated through the YD7001 command station and LocoNet.

Power Distribution
A pair of red and black solid lines represents the main DCC track bus. This bus supplies traction power to the entire layout. The bus is divided into two separate power districts, each protected and managed independently. Dotted boundary lines identify the equipment assigned to each district.

Boosters and Command Station
The YD7001 acts as the central DCC command station.
It provides:
– Booster outputs (brown lines) feeding the DR5033 boosters via LocoNet B. Each DR5033 supplies regulated track power to its respective power district and provides short-circuit protection.
– Auxiliary power outputs (blue and brown lines) used to feed point motors, accessory decoders and other low-current devices.

LocoNet Communication
All digital communication between devices is carried by orange LocoNet cables, linking the YD7001, boosters, feedback modules and accessory controllers into a unified network. This ensures reliable synchronisation of power management, occupancy detection and signal control across the entire layout.

Block Detection and Feedback
The track is divided into several blocks, each identified by blue labels.
Every block contains two feedback sensors, represented by red labels, providing precise occupancy detection. These sensors report directly to the feedback modules via LocoNet, enabling automated signalling, route setting and train monitoring.

Points and Signals
Turnout control is handled through green-labelled point motors, each connected to the accessory power bus and controlled via LocoNet accessory commands.
Yellow-labelled signals are positioned at block boundaries or key junctions. They respond to feedback events and route logic, ensuring accurate line-side indications for both manual and automated running.

Overall System Function
All components operate together as a coordinated digital layout control system:
– The YD7001 provides command, logic and accessory control.
– The DR5033 boosters supply isolated, protected traction power.
– Feedback sensors deliver block-level occupancy data for automation. Accessory devices such as points and signals respond intelligently to LocoNet instructions.
– LocoNet interconnects the entire system, maintaining consistent communication.
The result is a fully integrated DCC control environment supporting automated operations, realistic signalling and reliable running across the layout.

Andrew also informs us that there are only two boards left of Heyno Junction to wire up before trains can run complete circuits! [Ed. Something I can understand!]

September & October 2025

For the last few months most of the work at CS2 has revolved around getting Evercreech New ready for its second appearance at Taunton Railex. Happily its appearance was an outstanding success and the team involved should feel very proud and pleased, especially given the hard work involved. The Somerset Railway Modellers were brilliant hosts and Taunton School a superb venue with proper puddings. A few pictures from the event follow:

The infamous viaduct stillage (when loaded the size of a small car), with Prestleigh Viaduct on the bottom and Pecking Mill above. The castor painted green is key to the loading procedure – there are actually six castors on the stillage, and it has to be carefully pivoted on the outside edge of the tailboard on the green castor since the stillage is too wide to go in sideways.

This is why we do this!

The fiddle yard, with the operating area of other layouts behind.

Prestleigh Farm, which is unfortunately mainly hidden from the viewers by the viaduct, although Dave H constructed a high level background mirror to help with this. Next a few pictures taken during loading at CS2 and unloading at Taunton School:

With more scenery than last time, will it all fit in the lorry? Maybe……

The the new landscape boards (left) and original station boards waiting to be loaded.

Early stages of setting up on the Friday with a good three hours to go before it will be ‘ready to run’.

Meanwhile, In his large purpose built railway shed Allan has been working away at his new project, Cole (S&D) in 7mm Scale. The trackwork has been constructed from C&L components on plastic sleepers and the three way point was ‘particularly challenging’. [Ed. The ballast and colour of the sleepers I find pretty convincing, and doesn’t it flow nicely.]

The bridge over the lane going up to Sunny Hill School. Will the Austin 7 need to reverse to make it up there? The arch was laser etched and cut by Mike of Jurassic Models.

July & August 2025

The project that has gripped Jim over this period was improving an ex-LMS 4F 0-6-0 which he bought some while ago via the Gauge O Guild ‘Sales and Wants’ on its website. A kit of some description, it had been constructed in true ‘Tri-ang fashion’, with the motor/gearbox installed horizontally so the lower part of the boiler had to be removed. Jim managed to re-install this with the motor sited vertically in the firebox some while ago, but he has now got around to filling in the missing part of the boiler and remodelling the inside of the cab so a crew could be added. A false floor was constructed out of plastic card to match the level of the tender and a flap of very thin plastic card added to bridge the gap. Hopefully the crew won’t now fall out!

The main efforts in CS2 have been directed towards developing the scenery on Evercreech New ready for its appearance at ‘Rail-Ex Taunton’ in late October. At a recent visit to CS2, Allan took some pictures of the area around the two viaducts. As can be seen things have really started to come together on Evercreech New.

New bridge sections have arrived, made in a flexible ABS-like resin. They’re much easier to fit and are currently on the workbench getting some weathering treatment to help them blend in nicely. Over on the Pecking Mill Viaduct, the scenic team has been busy with the static grass, and the area is really starting to look the part. Fences and hedges have gone in too; which adds a lot of depth and character. Some very neat 3D-printed telegraph poles have been made up. These are destined for both the Pecking Mill section and the station area, and will add another great detail once in place.

Dave H has been building a signal box from a laser-cut kit and now has the fun of the interior, using the etched brass kit from Severn Models

This reminded Jim of the signal box he had constructed some while ago for Littledean, from an LCut Creative kit, that included a full interior.

Allan has been beavering away at his 7mm rendition of Cole, and recently added an LMS 2-6-4T to his loco roster. Made from a Gladiator kit, the Fowler 4P has always been Allan’s favourite tank engine. He recalls seeing them in Manchester in his youth, but it is unlikely they ever appeared on the S&D. But what the hell it’s beautiful! [Ed. who wonders what that chimney is going to be when it grows up.]

This is where Cole stands currently. There will be a hole in the shed wall beyond the overbridge so that through trains can run on into the garden – not much point in modelling a through station otherwise. [Ed. 0 Gauge in the garden – where there’s room for it – what’s not to like?!]

May & June 2025

Although not quite finished, in May David S held an Open Day to show his superb new 7mm layout of Lyme Regis in its entirety.

Alongside his work on Lyme Regis, Allan has continued work on his new 7mm layout and built the platform shelter for Cole (S&D) Station. Allan didn’t want to model the sag in the roof. Those props may well have been added to combat the sag on the real thing. Below is some additional rolling stock for Cole.

Since the last blog, The Summit has been exhibited at the two and a half day Bristol Show at Thornbury and acquitted itself well. Glimpsed in the background the scenic boards are back in their stillages and all hands have been diverted to Evercreech New which is due to appear at the Rail-Ex Taunton in late October.

Pecking Mill Viaduct is a complex structure and a curve has had to be introduced to it so that it fits on our layout. Because of the curve the 3D printed girders for the skew bridges cannot be quite parallel or exactly the same length. All this has led to a potential lack of clearance if the girders are not precisely placed. There is a timber walkway outside the girder and the railings for those pretty much align with the outside of the piers leaving just enough clearance for model coach and loco overhangs. The girders may be very slightly outboard of where they should be as a result. The girders were printed in two halves, the farm bridge girders being similar but shorter, and it was vital (there was some confusion), that only the long half girders were used on the A371 bridge. (Ed. We kid you not!)

This wing wall was also replaced with an embankment – because there never was a wing wall there! The painting of the viaduct is complete, and looks good. Once the bridge girders are in place work on the groundwork, fencing etc. can start to make the place look real. There’s a good base layer of grass on some of it, it just needs a bit of variation, and longer grass on the embankment inside the railway fence. The road needs a camber on it and some attention to texture and colour, and there’s a small stone bridge over the stream needed too. Dave H was trying to explain Pecking Mill Viaduct to his father (he was a civil engineer). He thought it was something we’d made up as a modelling challenge, not a real place!

The scenery for The Summit was quite deliberately built ‘light’ as it only needs to hang off the rigid backbone boards that carry the track. This makes it vulnerable to damage as it’s ‘persuaded’ into and out of the stillages. Seen here, repair work is in progress with reinforcing of the tunnel boxes with paper mache joints. The scenery board has had the scenery detach from the frame for about 50%. Again paper mache, i.e. several layers, should be enough plus a couple of wood blocks glued in.

From Pete C, a 4mm Scale EM Gauge Ruston 88DS built from a Judith Edge kit, and perhaps more interestingly a weathered 7mm Scale Tickford bodied Land Rover intended for The Summit. These Tickford built Landies were marketed as a ‘Station Wagon’. They were better equipped than the standard Land Rovers and thus attracted Purchase Tax limiting sales. About 900 were produced, most were exported and few survive.

March & April 2025

Dom has been making progress on both the scenics and fleet at 00 Gauge Coombe Town.

The remaining road surface has been added forming a nice country lane.

The station forecourt and more grass has been added as well as planting on the platform. 3212 has now been fitted with sound and a firebox glow adding a tender locomotive for the goods roster.

Hinted at in a previous post Dave H’s fabulous scratchbuilt 990 Class (0F Gauge) had indeed had a close (and abrupt) encounter with a floor. He had spent a couple of days with Dave S in North Wales and took his mangled 990 with him, which had been sitting in a “too sad to look at it” box for a year.

Dave S took it out of its box and set about unbending it during an afternoon with the aid of a blowtorch. In the end he had to make and splice in a new piece of footplate, but managed to get the S shaped buffer beam straightened out, and some other nasty dings and bends straightened while Dave H watched. Every now and then Dave S would say “Look away now, Dave” and there would be an almighty thump. Something to do with techniques for restoring vintage cars, I believe! Dave H took heart watching all this and took the big Z bend out of the front frames with some pliers.

Anyway, the photo shows the results. So a big “thank you” to Dave S, who persuaded him that it can be fixed! If there is a silver lining to this cloud, then the necessary repaint could be partly justified because the alleged Halfords etch primer didn’t etch, so the paint is not very fond of the metal. It won’t be ready for Bristol, sadly, but maybe it will run on The Summit another day.

Dave H has also been working on City of Gloucester over the winter – the bones of it are done now, just detailing to do. Fitting the upper works to the footplate was very fiddly but he got there in the end. The ‘City’ is a much smaller looking engine than the 990, although I think the heating surface in that fat Std. 4 boiler might be greater. The ‘City’ didn’t have to get over the Settle and Carlisle, though, just trundle along on Brunel’s billiard table! [Ed] There was a definite lump in the green baize between Tiverton Junction and Exeter, even if these engines never made it as far as the infamous Devon banks!

Dave S (master of the hammer) was asked if he might be interested in fixing a Black 5 tender with a split corner. Unfortunately Dave did not take an initial picture of the tender. It was an old model and it was built not to be taken apart. The tender rattled when shook but there was no way to get to the inside. The first job was to remove the tender body from the chassis. A thin fine toothed back saw helped in that process. The first three pictures show the contents of the tender body. I’m not sure what the white mineral was but there was a lot of white bath sealant in there too.

After cleaning up, we arrive at the re-soldered joint and the split in the hopper before.

The next problem was how to attach the tender body back onto the chassis. Two hollow square section brass stretcher bars were soldered across the tender body base.

The heat from the soldering process burnt the paint on the outside of the body. As some of the original varnish had already come off, a repaint was in order. Transfers for the letters L, M and S along with some thin red lines for the edges of the tender body were ordered from Fox Transfers. These pictures show me measuring the positions of L, M and S to ensure they went back in the same position as received. [Ed] Looking at that ruler this model must be in 7mm Scale 0 Gauge (for those wondering).

The tender body ready for painting. Dave needed to mask some small etched plates on the tender body so that they did not get painted. He used Phoenix Precision PQ7 Superacrylic Masking Fluid. He’s sorry that he did as he found it to be awful stuff to remove – never using that again. Sue then gave him some Pebeo Drawing Gum that she used. This he found to be totally acceptable on further masking he had to do. [Ed – This is exactly how marriage should work!] The body was given a coat of light grey primer followed by a few coats of gloss black (as recommended by Fox transfers). Once dry, the transfers were applied and then given a few coats of matt varnish – part of the owner’s request.

The last pictures show the finished item looking good again. It has been returned to the owner who is delighted with the repair.

Allan’s superb completed model of Cole station in 7mm Scale. The wires sticking out are for a light fitting. Allan thinks that perhaps the roof could do with a little more weathering. Purists [Ed. That would be me!] are going to dispute the LMS colours but, as with the signal box, he would find it difficult watching his LMS trains passing through the station painted in SR colours!

January & February 2025

The highlight of February was the attendance of The Summit at Model Rail Scotland in Glasgow. The extreme logistics of this exercise, although complex, all went to plan. A few pictures follow, courtesy of Dave S who was one of the operators.

The layout was awarded 3^rd prize amongst the “visiting layouts”;assumed to be those not owned by Scottish member clubs. First prize went to an N gauge layout with loads of moving vehicle and second prize to Peter Kirmond’s “This is York”, a 2mm finescale rendition of the inside of York Station in the 1930s.

A picture of the tightly packed van taken by Allan outside the CS2 – part Tetris, part Jenga!

David’s new 7mm layout – Lyme Regis – is making excellent progress, and above are pictures of the girder bridge that Allan has made which carried the branch over the main line to the up side bay at Axminster. Lots of concrete of which the LSWR were something of a pioneer.

Those rivets (and the weathering) – lovely!

Peter’s EM conversion of the Rapido 15xx 0-6-0PT is virtually complete. The conversion has been a successfully completed after some more bushes had been made before an acceptable centred number were made (quite quickly with practice!). The issue of rotation in the wheel centre was cured by pinning the top hat section to the wheel centre.

Quartering proved a bit more difficult, basically by trial and error, aligning spokes etc. Initially the coupled wheels were fitted on the axles with just a small amount of roughing up the axle ends with a file. This technique didn’t work very well as the wheels wouldn’t run true. The wheel was resolved by making new axles and lightly scribing parallel lines along the axle with the lathe tool in the lathe. The driving axle was scribed where the gear fitted, and the gear was pressed on using the lathe, spacing washers were fitted and the wheels were pressed on a small distance and aligned by eye to the opposite wheel spokes and then pressed on fully. With the wheels and coupling rods refitted, a small amount of tweaking of the other wheels resulted in a smooth running chassis. In reality this took quite a lot of adjustment over a couple of weeks, before everything worked properly.

The valve gear was re-fitted and the eccentric crank soldered in place after Loctiting the crankpin in place. Markits plain crankpins were used, (threaded ones aren’t currently available). The retainers still have to be soldered onto the rear driven axle wheels. One of the Rapido rear wheel crank pins was damaged, and had to be replaced with the Markit’s crank pins – the threads are compatible with the Rapido wheels. Only the front wheels have retained the Rapido crankpins which have been recessed slightly into the wheel to clear the crosshead.

November & December 2024

First a reminder that The Summit is all set to be on show at Model Rail Scotland at the SEC, Glasgow over the weekend of Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd February (a three day show). This enormous 7mm Scale 0 Gauge scenic layout is based on the railway between Settle and Carlisle, requires a lorry and a large team to transport erect and operate it, and exhibiting The Summit is a major undertaking. It’s not unheard of for visiting locos to be given running rights, and our layout has been used at exhibitions to test locos before purchase. If you’re at the show please come along and say hello, and we’ll take it from there!

Over the past few months, Andrew has been working on the impressive flyover bridge for our 00 Gauge Heyno Junction club layout. The design was first created using CAD software, and the structure was divided into 12 sections for 3D filament printing. Once assembled, the bridge was painted grey, and Deluxe Materials’ Rust-It solution was used to give it a weathered, rusty appearance. To enhance its realism, further weathering is planned to make it look like it has stood the test of time. For the brick supports, he intends to clad the existing blocks with laser-cut plywood featuring a brick pattern, as the 3D CAD generated filament printed brickwork did not meet his expectations.

Allan has just finished this splendid 7mm model of the signal box at Cole in anticipation of his future layout of Cole station on the S&D which will replace Kingsferry in his railway shed.

It is constructed in card and Plastikard entirely from photographs as it was demolished when the line closed in 1966. It represents the signal box pre-nationalisation when the chimney was extant. It is finished in the brown and cream of the LMS parent company. Perhaps Allan was concerned that the Southern vivid green and cream would have shown up his collection of GWR engines in that dull browny-green so beloved of Swindon. A superb S&D model by an enthusiast for all things GWR – whatever next?!

2024 was a good year for 4mm scale Coombe Town as Dom managed to complete some major scenic projects including finishing the exterior of all the station buildings, adding the yard ground cover and building up the field in the front corner of the layout. All this has allowed him to start photographing some of the views he’s been aiming for the last five years, one of which is included here. 2025 will hopefully see the completion of major works with the road and Station Master’s house currently under construction, with the garden to follow to complete basic ground cover across the layout. Your editor reckons the overall look and that backscene are pure genius!

Simon K has completed the weathering of Alice for his 7mm scale NG Tynradd layout.

And Tynradd virtually complete – electrics to be finished and the buildings shown previously to be positioned in the far right corner. Anyone wondering about the name could just try reading it backwards…

Also from Simon K, a picture of 82041 which was shedded at Bath GP so appropriate for S&D, but it and sister engines also ran on ex GW branches (such as that through Shepton) so OK for his little layout.

Dave H reports that City of Gloucester is coming along nicely – the picture shows the now running chassis. As designed the kit entombs the wheels and motor forever between the outside frames (a bit of a blind spot in an otherwise very good kit). He’s spent some time and bother making the outside frames detachable so that the wheels can come off for maintenance. It also needs special outside cranks made as the Slaters ones don’t work with GWR engines (the extended axles aren’t long enough). Luckily MOK supply some very good machined steel replacements originally developed for their Armstrong kit. The Slaters wheels are good – they screw onto threaded axles which is quite neat. The extended axles for the outside cranks have tiny squared ends to make sure the quartering is spot on.

Jim has been working away at constructing a train of 10 autoballaster wagons in 2mm Scale. They are N Gauge Society kits which will have 2mm finescale wheels installed at the last stage – not a straight-forward kit with a sheaf of very delicate etches. The first batch of five have brass etches but the second batch, yet to be started, have stainless steel etches so they may be a little more durable. Below is a picture of the prototype:

Missing so far from Steve’s putative recreation of the Downton Train Crash of 1884 is the Lion Class pilot engine Stour of 1869. So over the Christmas Holiday options were explored for modelling this Nine Elms built contemporary of the more well known Beyer Peacock built Double Framed Goods. This process turned out to be slippery slope. There were over forty examples of the class, and there are photos of a subset of these engines in Bradley, but none of Stour. The only drawing available was from the Locomotive Magazine from 1933 published in Mike Sharman’s collection of drawings. This is only a side view, but it was scanned, scaled and traced in QCAD and a start was made on developing plan, front and rear elevations from the very few known dimensions.

Slithering over the crest of that slippery slope, the boiler unit was modelled in OpenSCAD with a view to 3D printing it. The boiler then needed a backhead, and it needed to be a double firebox one as the Lion Class received the final development of them. The only drawing in Bradley was of 7′ 2-4-0 Clyde of similar vintage, but once traced it was found to fit inside the Lion Class cab like a glove. This is also the backhead that the crude example in the K’s kit was clearly supposed to represent so this will be an upgrade for Vesuvius Class 294.

How to make the rest of this somewhat peculiar little loco though? Chemical Etching seemed the way forward for cab, splashers, running plate etc., so the sorts of etched shapes needed were mocked up and a start made on assembling them around the boiler and smokebox unit. This allowed Steve to pose his 3D model against photographs allowing adjustment of the jigsaw puzzle of etched parts to improve the proportions, and confirm fit of the different components. There was now the boiler unit (and backhead), sitting on a reasonable looking running plate with the filigreed splashers and fitted with an Adams’ cab. To robustly model the ‘face’ a half etched smokebox surround was drawn up to also represent the handrail brackets and lamp irons, with the fastenings for those to be pushed through from the back. The smokebox door and hinges, will be 3D printed as will the sandboxes and buffer beam. There’s a gap behind the huge wooden buffer beam on the prototype for access to the cylinder covers, and the cylinder block is clearly angled to align with the crank axle.

Adams’ stove pipe chimneys are available commercially so not a problem to obtain, but Steve is not aware of any source for those distinctive Beattie domes. As has been mentioned earlier in the thread, OpenSCAD has no tools to flare one cylinder into another, but conceptually rolling a ball round the junction of the two cylinders must just be a matter of some convoluted trigonometry. This needed to be a generic capability so the boiler and dome size and the required flare were all parameterised. Segments of flare were hung round the dome and the correct height of each segment calculated using somewhat rusty trigonometry so that the corner sat at the junction of the two cylinders as shown above. As can be seen this didn’t completely reproduce the ‘ball rolling round the junction’ effect that was required.

Having an engineering background rather than being a mathematician Steve resorted to a more empirical approach to resolve this problem by adding a ‘fudge factor’ (in this case 1.55) for the vertical axis that can be adjusted to further drop the curve of the flare in the correct position for the two cylinders. This left a bit sticking out each side of the ‘saddle’ and this was removed by an intersection operation with an elipse of a ratio of a second fudge factor (in this case 0.95). No doubt a mathematician could come up with a suitable formula for these two crucial values, but that’s something for another day. For Stour and 294 these domes would have been painted, so they will be printed in positon on the boiler, though hollowed out for resin drainage and for weight to be added.

This is the loco attached to the tender. The dragbeam (and running plate) is currently a scale 6’6″ wide and that seems very narrow. The running plate is visibly 6″ narrower than the bufferbeam, that in itself is about the same width as the Beattie tender buffer beam. Photographs confirm that the loco was narrower than its tender but by this much? The Stour of 1884 would have had a sort of pressed steel looking Beattie cab, and the CAD for that will be more cardboard based to try to confirm what an etch for that should look like.

Steve likens his approach to scratchbuilding in CAD rather than commercial kit development allowing a less rigorous approach to be taken to the design. His model will be 4mm scale EM Gauge, but a couple of friends might build ones in 00 and P4 Gauges. The use of 0.4mm sheet for 4mm scale etches might enable models in S or 7mm scales using proportionately thicker etched material with the 3D printed parts scaled up, but his own model of Stour in 4mm scale remains the main objective.

September & October 2024

The Summit (pictured below at its first showing in Telford in 2015) will be heading to the Model Rail Scotland Show in Glasgow in February and our focus is now on getting this huge 7mm Scale 0 Gauge layout fully up to speed and ready for a three day show and a lot of miles in a 3.5 Tonne lorry – good job they come with tail lifts nowadays!

The Summit has also been invited to another three day show, the Bristol Model Railway Exhibition at Thornbury at the beginning of May, so some busy days ahead for the team!

Allan has added an ex-GWR small prairie, the preserved 4555 to his fleet of 7mm locomotives. Now fully converted to 7mm, he is advertising the sale of his lovely 4mm 00 Gauge layout “Kingsferry” in the next issue of ‘Railway Modeller’ and is planning an O gauge model of Cole on the S&D to replace it.

Dom has not been idle with his 4mm scale 00 gauge layout Combe Town, and recent progress can be seen above. He’s spent plenty of time building over 2′ of fencing along the front side of the railway (only another 4′ to go!), and has put the initial ground cover down in the field and on the yard surface. For good measure he built one of the Smith’s loading gauges.

Your editor will spare his blushes as to why, but Dave H’s beautiful scratchbuilt 7mm scale Deeley 990 Class 4-4-0 requires complete replacement. It’s another 4-4-0, but this time it’s a green one – City of Gloucester as built in 1903. It’s based on a Finney kit but heavily modified so it can be dismantled for painting and maintenance, which is tricky for a double framed engine.

He’s also modified the tender so it will weigh on the rear of the loco. The tender underframe is mostly complete, and he’s made a start on the loco underparts. Dave reports that it’s a good kit and all is going well.

Continuing the ex-GWR theme, Pete C is finding the conversion of a 4mm scale Rapido model of a 15XX Hawksworth pannier tank to EM Gauge something of a challenge. This conversion is complicated by non-availability of wheels (they’re standard size GW wheels, but with a unique crank throw). The axle size is 2mm and the pickups are an unusual style of plunger pickup which has turned out to be unworkable with a widened back to back. The factory assembly wasn’t the best either, this engine having the same i.e. incorrect not handed coupling rods. The clearances proved just sufficient behind the crosshead by deepening the crankpin hole, which could then be screwed in another 0.5mm.

The wheels are pressed onto splined axles with top hat bushes which proved insufficiently long to reuse. Delrin rod was obtained and using the Unimat lathe new bushes were made by trial and error – more than enough were made to get ones that fitted accurately. Roughening the new axle ends with a file appears to have been sufficient to stop the wheel slipping on the axle. The original axle face was moulded on the wheel but was cut away allowing the bush to extend the whole way through the wheel and then trimmed.

New pickups were fitted to the keeper plate using copperclad glued and connected together by 0.35 brass wire on the top surface and reconnected to the circuit board plug through a new hole drilled in the chassis block. New return cranks have been filed from nickel silver sheet and riveted to the motion using Markits rivets. Only the front axle uses the Rapido screwed in crankpins, Romford crankpins have been used as the wheel threads were compatible. New spacers were drilled and turned to size, the return crank will be the final item reassembled after basic testing as they’re soldered on the crankpin.

As the conversion proceeded more and more parts were removed, it’s a good job an exploded drawing is on the web! The buffers are pretty poor and fitted badly, they’ll be replaced with brass ones. Otherwise the detail is excellent, including in the cab where it can’t be seen!

Derek is a fairly new member to YMRG. Recently he’s had some time on his hands, so he made a start building a kit he bought at Guildex in September. The kit is for an ash plant, and above are two photos of the work so far. He will replace the wooden railings (not shown) with wire ones, paint the model and then fix the roof on. This will eventually be used on a model of an LMS MPD.

Simon K has acquired this 3D printed shed, coal store and water tower for a little quarry based layout that his wife and some ‘friends’ have decided will be a good project to keep him busy. Most of it will be built by a chap near Ludlow, but he will be doing buildings, people, stock and detailing as it suits him.

And this is Simon K driving Alice on the Bala Lake Railway.

Former Chairman Dave S installing the control panel on our 2mm scale N Gauge club layout The Bank with Hon. Secretary and Layout Co-ordinator Dean looking pleased, and Hon. Chairman Ed providing vital moral support.

A couple of pictures from Steve of his 4mm scale 3D printed lever frame, instrument shelf, and Tyer’s No.6 tablet machines as once found at Verwood, cruelly enlarged to show how rubbish his current 000 brush and eyesight are. Any brass has been painted light yellow which seems to work well. It was anticipated that ‘STEVENS & SON’ would be legible after painting, but one can just about make out ‘PATENT’ and ‘LONDON & GLASGOW’ underneath, though the letters are much fatter than they should be due to ‘additive kerf’ – something (that regular readers of the blog will know) makes holes smaller and rods larger in 3D printing.

The levers are incredibly delicate and a comb like jig had to be devised to hold the levers in place whilst the supports were removed; even then, Lever 6 pinged off where it was nice and thick and has had to be glued back on so is wonkier than the others. There is scope for further straightening with the warmth of a hair drier. This lever frame would even better printed in 7mm scale where the levers wouldn’t need to be quite so plump. the number of levers can be varied and alternative lettering is possible for other makers of Stevens & Sons style frames.

One of the plunger buttons is missing from the shelf – it probably came off with a support, and no attempt was made to portray the coiled spring for the gong at the left end – a coil of fine wire being the only option. If it had been realised that the handles on the release lever had come out on the tablet machines he’d have picked them out in black, and I would have dotted the labels above the repeaters if I’d been able to see them. He’s left the steel bits of everything unpainted whilst he contemplates what colour steel should be. The steel poles supporting the shelf at 0.62mm are clearly too thick and should be painted green.

Next up is the painted parts of the Verwood signal box ready for assembly. There are some mistakes. I failed to order the cupboard with desk, pen and register, and need to pick out the lower string course in dark grey, as well as all but one set of brick quoins.

This being Verwood there’s no weatherboarding to the wall under the canopy and no drainpipe on the basis that it drained onto the attached canopy. Jurassic Models cut the sash windows for me and they really look the part and fit well. The sashes had to be redrawn to fit the 3D print and then again to allow for the heavier kerf of the laser used. Due to additive kerf the ‘VERWOOD’ lettering on the 3D printed sign is a little too heavy so I’ve redrawn the lettering 0.05mm less all-round and will re-order.

Now for something completely different – cue Monty Python! When the Beattie Well Tanks were being retired from suburban service in the 1880s, thirty were converted to tender engines using Beattie 1950g tenders – those that have been paying attention to these blogs will have know where this is going! So above is the resulting engine with Adams style cab, overlain with a tracing of the Eastleigh Weight Diagram for a Beattie Well Tank in orange. The tender engines were shorter at the front (not having been rebuilt with frame extensions and steel buffer beam), and have pierced splashers, shielded safety valves, different dome and chimney, but otherwise compare well. The green lines are the Kernow running plate and splashers. The intention is that an etch will be designed to replace the cab unit on the Kernow Beattie Well Tank, and to further this, the necessary parts have been drawn up and will be test built in tinplate by a fellow enthusiast for railway engines of the 1880s.

Lastly from Steve the three stone pier caps for Pecking Mill Viaduct (see above). A styrene armature forms the arrises and Milliput was used for the lumpy bits. The many brick pier caps needed will be 3D Printed, and the long runs of brick capping for the parapet will be laser cut and etched.

Jim’s LGP (Last Great Project) tentatively titled Bungham Road, will be a 2mm finescale rendition of Littleton Exchange Sidings at Penkridge in Staffordshire, set during the mid 1990s. This is a photo of the prototype, taken by David Rostance from Wolverhampton in 1985. The new layout will be housed in the space vacated by Halsdon Road after its move north.

A picture of the superb second hand fiddle yard boards that Jim has sourced for this project, when they were briefly erected in CS2 back in 2019. Rumour has it that Jim already has more than enough stock to fill all those sidings!

August 2024

August saw another excellent Railwells show. This year YMRG was represented by Susan’s S4 layout Buntingham.

Based very loosely on Buntingford in Hertfordshire, it was built in the 1970s by Susan’s father Ray Hammond, a founder member of both the P4 and Scalefour Societies. In this photo Susan can be seen doing something very important in the fiddleyard, whilst fellow operators Dave H (nearest) and Steve both in YMRG shirts are wondering which knob to turn, or lever to pull or push next. Two very enjoyable days, and the layout was well received.

Regular readers may recall a recent feature on a 3D printed obscure ex-LMS Armstrong Whitworth diesel loco which Steve designed and constructed in EM. This is the mk2 3D print (and nearly finished product with the flush glazing sticking out of most of the glazing pockets) plonked on the track at Buntingham. Looking at that bend in the bonnet highlights how 3D printed resin whilst brittle is also oddly flexible when you’d really rather it wasn’t!

Allan has finished constructing his LMS Johnson 1P 0-4-4T from a Slaters’ kit – and excellent it looks too:

Our former Chairman Dave S has been wiring the control panel for The Bank (TB), the club’s N gauge layout based on Hemerdon Bank in South Devon. These are nearly finished and he will be bringing them down to CS2 soon.

The power supply for TB. It provides power for the controllers, the LEDs, the relays and the point motors. It has a couple of spare outputs, 12v DC and 16v AC.

The bare panel top prior to the addition of switches etc.

The underneath of the bare panel. Note that all the push button and LED positions are marked for ease of finding them for wiring.

The finished panels in testing mode with a rats nest of wires connecting the panels to point motors etc to simulate the layout.

A closer picture of the Up panel. Note the MP1 point motors in the foreground.

The finished top of the Up panel. It will fit the box underneath when installed on TB.

Steve will be building his K’s Falcon Class as Vesuvius Class engine 294 – the train engine for the Downton Crash Train. One problem with the K’s kit (the relevant bits of someone else’s complete kit shown above), is that the rudimentary chassis is about 1.5mm too far forward in the whitemetal body, cunningly disguised by making the front about 1.5mm too long. The rear splasher is the correct length, but the coupling rod splasher moulded into it is 1.5mm too far forward, so needs a cut and shut to move it. It took ages to spot this error as the coupled wheel base is also correct, and it wasn’t until it was realised that the sandbox covered far too much of the inner front springs that the error was finally spottted. The aim here is that everything will end up in roughly the right place, as that’s more likely to look right. The changes to the splasher unit don’t stop there, as the front driving wheel splashers on 294 weren’t pierced, didn’t have any sort of trim round them and the coupling rod splasher swept down to the running plate without that step. Between the splashers where the Falcon had an exposed donkey pump, the Vesuvius Class had one that was all boxed in to match the rear splasher.

Below is the home made artwork for all the etched parts that Steve thinks is needed to make a Vesuvius Class body from a Falcon Class kit. All done in QCAD, it was a steep learning curve to work out a method to allow for cusp, and put in moats and tabs in a way that was fully reworkable. Black is no etch, blue is half etch from front, red is half etch from rear, The phototool is a one off, up-front cost, enabling about five copies, It was thought that a modular approach was the way to go, but with the minimum order being a 290mm x 135mm sheet, these two plus the three larger etches to build the engine and tender chassis, almost fill a sheet to make one big etch. This means that any revisions from the test build will require a completely new phototool.

294 had the flat top Stirling style cab, and being EM Steve can spread the rear splashers a bit so has provided a wider etched floor. The rear driven axle is very close to the cast floor, and to provide clearance for the twin compensation beams he will narrow the K’s casting under the cab. The etched floor with soldered nut provides a better fixing and permits this approach.

The boiler was raised about 3″ compared with a Falcon, so a more accurate smokebox front with a sort of saddle to lift the smokebox and better simulate the exposed front frames seemed the way to go. On the prototype the buffers are bolted to the frames and the toggled extensions on the cosmetic frames will accept the K’s buffer beam as part of the body – this is much more convenient for a model. The new front allows the smokebox to be shortened (no visible rivets on the smokebox sides), and this also allows the other ways in which the front was too long to be addressed.

July 2024

Congratulations to Simon K on an excellent article in the August issue of “Railway Modeller” (published in July), featuring his S&D garden layout as “Layout of the Month”!

Allan has been productive on a number of fronts:

He has completed these lovely 7mm scale narrow guage lime tipplers for Evercreech New from Smallbrook kits.

This beautifully weathered 7mm scale goods shed is for a layout of Lyme Regis for David S.

The 7mm LMS brake van was built from a Slaters kit and Allan modelled the interior – crazy as it’ll never be seen? Nope, (editor) ‘cos we know it’s there!

This 7mm loco is Allan’s latest attempt – and possibly his last – at building a loco! It is a Slaters Johnson 1P 0-4-4 tank engine, now nearly ready for the paint shop. There were so many problems building this kit, not helped by the wrong gearbox and motor, the wrong hornblocks, the wrong instructions, then the wrong gearbox and motor replacement! Eventually David S gave Allan one of his – an ABC gearbox and – lo! – it was the right fit.

Allan then went onto report his acquisition of a scratchbuild LMS 2P to help satisfy his thirst for engines that ran on the S&D. Jim (an enthusiastic proponent of the ‘Senile Scale’ who also models in 2mm finescale) reckons Allan has been so badly bitten by the 7mm bug that he should consider selling his excellent 4mm 00 gauge layout Kingsferry.

Dave H has produced this wagon in 7mm scale 0 Gauge. It’s a bog standard Slaters PO wagon lettered using POWSides transfers, but at least of local interest! There have been commercial models released of this wagon in very lurid reds, but Dave mixed a guess at ‘London Red’ which was a crimson lake brightened up with some Post Office red, which seems more likely for the 1900s. A bit of light weathering and there’s a wagon likely to have been seen in most of Somerset before the Great War. The transfers took a year to arrive!

Yeovil Model Railway Group (YMRG)

Making The Biggest Layouts That Will Fit In Our Huge Clubroom – since 1974

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