Tri-ang TT Blue /Grey brake coach.

I never owned one of these whilst we had Pamelas Tri-ang TT layout, The ones we displayed were kindly loaned.
So- this one was found ,as a body only, on the 3mm Society secondhand stand. A couple of bogies with couplings have been added to give me my first Blue/Grey coach

Tri-angTT- De-ja-vous.

 As some of you may know, in a previous life my youngest daughter had an extensive collection of Tri-ang TT.
My youngest Grandson wanted a railway like Gramps.
So a 4x2ft chunk of 9mm ply has been surrounded with 2x1inch softwood to create a baseboard which will accommodate an oval of Tri-ang TT Mark 2 track obtained from the 3mm Society.

 A couple of Jinty's and a rake of suburban coaches together with five goods wagons completes the available stock.
A station , platforms and building, were collected at the recent West Byfleet meeting of the 3mm Society.
So how far will this go? Grandson 2 is already delighted with his trainset and yet again we will see how deep are the Finance Directors pockets?

009 RNAD Layout.

After a period of teasing, all will be revealed.
To the left is a BAE Hawk, as per The Red Arrows, but this one is in RAF training livery.
The layout -below -is an attempt to create a diorama  of a refuelling and rearming scenario using RNAD locos and stock with associated vehicles and personnel.
So, the track has been laid on a board about 24 x 21 inches with a single siding.
I have used damaged '\N' gauge track , the majority of which will be covered with the aircraft apron, with a very low relief aircraft hanger as a backscene.
So the mystery has been revealed- any thoughts or constructive comments will be welcomed- I have a pal who will make sure that the scene is a realistic representation to keep me on the straight and narrow.
No layout name has yet been chosen.

Wessex Narrow Gauge Modellers Open Day.

On Saturday 2nd December Hillbrow will be shown at :-

Wessex Narrow Gauge Modellers with Dorset 009 Society Members:
Narrow Gauge Model Railway "OPEN DAY":
Colehill Memorial Hall,
Cannon Hill Road,
Colehill,
Wimborne,
Dorset.
BH21 2LS

Opening times: 10.30-15.30

Admission £3

 Layouts include:
"Vale Quarry" (009) John Bruce
"Hillbrow" (009) Steve Fackrell
"Hirson Bellevue" (Hoe) Howard Coulson
"Llanfair Caerinion" (009) Andy Cundick
"Ryedown Lane" (009) Patrick Collins
"The Brickworks" (0-14) Arthur Budd
"St Mary's" (0-16.5) Julian Evison
"Avalon Brickworks" (0-16.5) Howard Martin

Loco testing station and test track - bring your poor performer for expert advice
Home layout to visit (009) - "Imperial Western Railway (Southern Division)" Brian Guilmant
009 Society Sales - plus special end of year clear out at half price of many smaller parts, scenery and track items

4mm Scale Thumper at Woodlands.

The level crossing gates have been fitted an I couldn't resist this shot of  the level crossing with a Class 2H- Thumper approaching.

4mm Scale LCUT Creative Railway Buildings.

 This is a new name to me- and these two kits were found at the recent Poole Model Railway Exhibition.
Laser cut with a contents list and instructions on where to download instructions. 
Shown here is a Station building which can be constructed in many different configurations and sizes.
Likewise the signal box can be made with right or left hand stairways.
After looking at the website I am amazed at the extent of their range see- www.lcut.co.uk 

4mm Scale Woodlands Concrete Lamp Posts.

 These have a pedigree which I am particularly fond of- strange thing to say about a lamp post I hear you say-bear with me.
I have forgotten how long I have had these but they were always destined to be planted somewhere special.
I ordered these castings unaware that Albert Goodall had passed away. I had previously obtained castings for Bullied Pacifics and some cast fencing, the order was always accompanied with a personal note from Albert which I still have.

His widow, Shirley rang me apologising that some of the items I had ordered were no longer available- these werethe gas lamps shown.
Anyway, to cut a story short, Shirley said she had some which Albert had already painted for his own use, would I be interested in them- you can guess the answer. Hence they have a sentimental value and hope I can do them justice on Woodlands.

4mm Woodlands is back in the workshop.

 It is about time that Woodlands was brought out of storage and re-started.
It has fared rather well during its enforced sojourn into the comparative luxury of a nice warm bedroom accompanied by a few vintage Pirelli and Avon (tyres) calenders.

 So- a few shots of some of the finer points- I must admit that I am very pleased with the station building and staff.
The Thumper and 02 will be regular visitors as this will be a short train layout- after all it is only 5ft 4inches of scenic space.

So with the trestles with beams supporting the layout, at leastthat has proved that the system works.
The other upside is that the layout is fully wired so no electrickery to do-where did I put the transformer?

009-Second clue!

A few days ago I gave a teaser of what layout would be next- here is another.
An Austin fire tender in RAF colours- I have added Fred to the passenger seat just to give a bit of individuallity otherwise it just needs a dust over with matt varnish to complete.

4mm Scale Montys Models loco crew.

This is one of the excellent Montys Models loco drivers.
After undercoating, the exposed skin parts were painted followed by a workworn shirt and tie-red of course-then the clothes were attempted.
I am particularly pleased with how these have come out. Using Vallejo acrylics the basic blue overalls were first applied followed by a dry brushing of darker blue, grey and matt black.
Comments on how this has turned out would be appreciated-rose tinted glasses can be deceptive!

Unknown loco type.

 Hope fully some king soul can advise what type of loco this model is based on.
I bought it as a runner with a Graham Farish-by Bachmann- chassis.
A bit of fettling was needed to get the chassis to fit correctly and sit at the correct height. But now it runs well and once a crew is fitted plus a couple of additional parts then it will fit in with other stock on Hillbrow.

009 Manning Wardle 2-6-2 Loco for Woody Lane.

 This beautifully made Manning Wardle loco has been made from a white metal kit and rides on a modified Minitrix chassis.
Currently named Magpie, I did have the opportunity to buy her sister loco but thought I would wait for the Heljan offering to appear once their production issues were solved.
So- this one is too big for Hillbrow so another layout-Woody Lane is currently at the design and pattern making stage- really how can I make this work with plywood and 2x1 timber!
I hope you will agree that this is  a well made attractive looking loco.

3mm Adams Radial.

Well,since buying this kit from Branchlines at Warley a couple of years ago, I had a go at building it but in the end asked my good mate Colin to complete.
This he has done and I now have a superb model. It needs lining and numbering which I will do all in good time for the completion of a Southern Region 3mm layout-East Boldre.

4mm Scale Building sites need a Digger!

And here's one I made earlier.
A JCB3! I found aa Airfix kit of this some time ago and slowly assembled the contents to produce what I think is a smashing little model.
It will fit in with most of my 4mm modelling and is ready to work- really needs an oil drum in the front bucket.

Dorset Railway Modelling-Whats Next?

I have been thinking of what to produce next. I know there are several layouts currently in production but because of the RNAD stock I have for 009, I thought a quick continuous circuit may be next!
To that end I show a teaser of what will be next below-

By the way- the next Dorset Railway Modellers meeting is tomorrow afternoon so maybe more will be revealed.