Warwickslade Cutting railway

Whilst searching for something else I found some images of Warwickslade Cutting Railway. Warwickslade Cutting was a straight drainage ditch dug circa 1850 in the New forest. In 2009, The Forestry Commission decided to fill it in and replace it with a meandering stream, presumably to benefit wildlife. A light railway was used to assist in this work to allow working in all conditions, prevent too much erosion, and reduce emissions.



The 'loco' is a Boxer Mini-Skid, and the track panels appear to use cylindrical rails. It's difficult to tell if it's standard or narrow gauge, but it looks fairly broad. Obviously modelling it accurately would require some challenging scratchbuilding, but kits could but used to build a narrow gauge interpretation.  In in O scale KBscale track and rolling stock could be used, or Nigel Lawton's range could be used in 009 with modified N gauge setrack used to represent the track panels.  Operationally it would be fairly dull, though in O scale a working digger might be a possibility.

More pictures can be found on Geograph and Wikimedia Commons

A new layout

I said in my previous post that I'd not built a layout, but I found this draft post from almost a year ago with a completed layout. It might not be the usual toy trains but it was fun to build and I was pleased enough with the design to take a photo.  It can either be an inverted figure of eight or two ovals linked by a scissor crossover.  The advantage of wooden trains is that I don't need to work out where to put isolating rail joiners!

It was a relaxing way to spend a cold Sunday afternoon with my children, which is a better way of spending it than getting frustrated with a kit I'm trying to build.

Deconstruction

I knew it had been a while since I posted anything, but I didn't realise it had been over a year!  Any readers left will not be surprised to learn that I've not a layout in that time, but have built a couple of buildings, and a been to a couple of railways, so I've got material for a few blog posts.

The reason for this post is that Michael Campbell's recent posts about building a Kerr Stuart Skylark inspired me to have a look at the partially constructed kit I bought a couple of years ago.  I was obvious that it would require some modification to fit on the Dapol 14xx chassis I had in mind for it, but I'd need to get it into the component parts before I could work whether it would fit.  I'd been meaning to buy some superglue remover, but a quick google search suggested that hot water might do the job.  I found a jug and ran the hot tap and a couple of minutes later I had all the parts.  Checking it against the 14xx chassis shows I'll need modify the footplate, and probably the boiler too.  I'm undecided as to whether to modify the doors like Michael, there's no question that his loco looks nicer with the modifications, but I'm wondering if I should keep it as simple as possible to increase the likelihood of me actually finishing the thing.

Old Railway Bridge

On holiday last year we walked down part of an old railway line and I took a photo of a bridge.  The brickwork seems in very good condition considering it's 40 years since the line closed, but I expect it has had some maintenance to keep the bridge safe for walkers.  Looking at this bridge I can't help imagining the wooden railings being removed and a small narrow gauge steam train running across it.  Walking down the line I realised that all the trees must have grown since the line was closed, probably most of them in the first few years.  It's interesting to see how quickly nature recolonises.

Linkdump Summer 2011

This was in my draft and still had the title "Linkdump Autumn 2010".  It's better on the web where I can find it more easily so I've added a couple more recent links and updated the title.

Modified C-Rail Tanktainers

How to build a hipped roof

Narrow gauge airbraked wagons, built by Julien Webb from 3mm scale kits

Lineside Industries (via Si from ngrm-online)

Modern 1:76 Scale Colour Light Signals

Plants and flowers by Will Vale on RMWeb

Ouse Viaduct/Balcombe/Lewes project an ambitious project to build a P4 recreation of the Ouse Valley Viaduct, Balcombe station, and Lewes Station using a Fremo style modular approach. They are going to build some generic scenery sections to link the main boards together. Their first baseboard is built and they've laid out the viaduct, and are making good progress.

The Elly James & Keith Light Railway - I've always admired James' modelling and his garden railway looks great fun.

Devil's Dyke Railway -  I've still not got round to watching this video of an old railway line that I've walked more than once.  I remember there being a good apple tree next to the track bed.

Hayling Seaside Railway

I've been rather busy recently and haven't done much modelling, but I am still here and I've not forgotten about the blog.

At the end of last summer we went to Hayling Seaside Railway for one of their steam weekends. Emmet was the visiting locomotive.  It's just over a mile long according to Wikipedia and the scenery isn't that varied, but I've always had a soft spot for railways on beaches.  We started out from Eastoke Corner and took the train to the main station at Beachlands.  When we arrived at Beachlands it was starting to rain but as part of the station is under cover we got out and watched Emmet being prepared for the return run.  By the time Emmet was running round the train the rain had got fairly heavy so I took a couple of quick photos and got back in the dry.  The rain had stopped by the time we got back to Eastoke,so we had a play on the adiZone outdoor gym went for a short walk before heading home.

The station and sheds would scale at around 100x30cm in 009, so a micro layout could be built without any compression.  Google maps shows the size of the station and this photo shows compact shed area.  It would be good to include a representation of the line across the beach, but to keep space down this could be kept quite narrow.  If the fiddleyard exit was to be hidden then the scene would have to be modified, a building could be used, or the amusement park could be moved to the hide the exit.  The other option would be a cassette fiddleyard in plain view.  beach.  Operation would be fairly limited, as the line can only have two trains running at a time - either two passenger trains, or a passenger train and a demonstration freight train, but modellers license could be used to make operation slightly more interesting.

More photos on Flickr

Bure Valley Railway

This summer we visited the Bure Valley Railway, a 15" gauge miniature railway, built on trackbed of the old standard gauge branch line from Wroxham to Aylsham. After told my two year old daughter we were going on a steam train, she announced that she they were noisy and she didn't like going in the dark. We eventually realised that she must be remembering a visit to Moors Valley the previous summer, where she was upset by other children screaming as the train went through a tunnel. Fortunately she thought the tunnel was brilliant this time and we all had an enjoyable ride.  The scenery isn't spectacular, and the intermediate stops are halts rather than stations, and it's a short walk at the Wroxham end of the line to the river. There is a path running most of the length of the line, and some connecting footpaths so it would have been possible to walk some of the return journey and have additional photo opportunities, however the weather was looking ominous and the children were a bit tired, so we got the train back.

Of course Colin Lea has visited it (I'm beginning to think he's visited every narrow gauge line in the country) and gave it 65% on his marking system.

Here's a couple more photos, there's plenty more in my Bure Valley Railway Set on Flickr.





Links:
Bure Valley Railway
Bure Valley Railway Set on Flickr