Ryedown Lane – Locomotives and stock part 3

Like a lot of modellers, I suppose my main interest has always been in locomotives. In the nearly two decades since I returned to the hobby seriously, I’ve built up a sizeable and varied collection of locomotives, mostly from kits, not all of which are ideally suited to an English narrow gauge light railway set in the 1930s. Carriages and wagons often take second place and I know one or two very talented modellers who will happily spend hundreds of hours building and fettling complex brass locomotive kits yet have little or no interest in building the accompanying rolling stock. Personally, I’ve found constructing the carriages and wagons used on Ryedown Lane at least as interesting as building the motive power.

The first carriages that I built in 009 were various Parkside Dundas (as it then was) four wheelers, including two or three of the Glyn Valley Tramway carriages. Nice as they are matched up with a Beyer Peacock tram engine, they weren’t what I had in mind for a light railway supposedly opened in the first couple of years of the twentieth century. I turned instead to the same manufacturer’s Vale of Rheidol bogie carriages, the prototypes of which were of course built for a genuine two foot gauge light railway.

                                                Vale of Rheidol carriage built very much as the maker intended.

Like the majority of Dundas kits, the basic carriage is a delight to build and looked good with the Vale  of Rheidol four-wheel brake van that I’d already built.  However, having built two of the kits as the makers intended, I decided that I really wanted to operate two car trains without a separate brake van, so looked at ways of bashing the kit to provide a brake compo. The matchboard sides of the prototype make the job of cutting and shutting relatively easy, especially if one also uses a mitre block. Using this method, I cut four compartments from a pair of carriage sides and spliced them to a pair of brake van sides, which gave a nicely proportioned brake carriage body of the same length as the chassis. Having constructed the two previous two carriages as all thirds I decided to provide at least some accommodation for the better off clientele of the Wessex Light Railway and installed a partition turning the new carriage into a brake compo.

               The brake compo bash, achieved by combining the V of R carriage with the four wheel brake van body                       on the bogie underframe.

The off cuts from the bogie carriage sides left enough material to match up with the ends, roof and underframe of the brake van kit to provide a rather neat four-wheel carriage.

                                 The four wheel carriage built from the carriage off cuts mounted on the brake                                                               van underframe. I quite fancy building some more of these .

This was an enjoyable kit bash. I’m far from being the first person to do this conversion and there are numerous different ways to cut the carriage and van sides to provide a plethora of different combinations. Currently I’m working on a permanent loft layout which incorporates an 009 section representing another part of the Wessex Light Railway and which will give me the space to operate longer trains so we may yet need to bash another brake carriage.

 A little bit of silliness ...

Followers of the NGRM Online forum https://ngrm-online.com/  over the last year or so will be familiar with the series of 3D printed caricature 009 loco bodies designed by Dave Malton. Intended as a bit of fun, they caught on during the course of 2020 and the range gradually expanded to include a number of diesel 'prototypes'. 

The models are designed to fit the Kato 11-107 N gauge chassis and, as I've had one of those in the drawer for several years waiting for a suitable project in which to use it, I thought I'd join in with the fun. I was initially drawn to the the prototype Deltic and production Class 55 prints but towards the end of the year Dave announced that he had a Class 33 in the pipeline. I make no secret of the fact that the Cromptons were and are my favourite class of mainline diesel so it took me no time at all to order one from Shapeways  https://www.shapeways.com/shops/david-s-railway-bits as soon as they became available.

The one piece prints are excellent, requiring just a little cleaning up before painting. I opted for a BR blue (Precision Paints) with double arrows from the Railtec range (these are the smaller arrows from the 3mm scale set but standard 2mm scale ones  would do the job just as well), numbering is from a set of Fox generic letters and number that I normally use for 009 wagons.

While I'm sure that the purists will throw their arms up in consternation, these are just intended as a bit of fun and certainly a number of my friends have joined in with the spirit of the concept, producing a variety of mini Class 37s, 47s, HSTs, Deltics etc. 

When exhibitions are able to restart, expect to see a few of these delightful little caricatures appearing on numerous 009 layouts in the crazy hour at the end of shows.

 Ryedown Lane - Locomotives and stock, part 2

In a previous blog we looked at the original locomotives that operated on Ryedown Lane when first built. These still see regular use to this day but, like most modellers, I can't resist the urge to expand the fleet.

Two other locomotives built from white metal kits, that had seen operation on my previous layout, were also suitable candidates for use on a Colonel Stephens inspired light railway. I've long been fascinated by the early diesel locomotives constructed by Kerr Stuart & Co. As is well known the prototype had a short stint in use on both the Welsh Highland and the Ffestiniog in 1928/29 and is currently the subject of a volunteer led restoration on the modern F&WHR. My original model of this locomotive was built from the popular Meridian Models kit and mounted, as per the instructions, on a modified Minitrix chassis. It's a distinctive locomotive but the second hand chassis has never been a great runner, or at lest not until it has warmed up! In more recent times it's been joined by another example built from the etched kit made by A1 Models running on one of the ubiquitous Bachman Plymouth diesel switchers chassis, the so-called 'brick'.

The Kerr Stuart diesels. Earlier Meridian white metal on the left with the later A1 Models example in etched brass on the right.

Also built from a Meridian kit is this Protected Simplex. Numerous examples of the former War Department Light Railways petrol tractors saw service in a variety of locations in peacetime, including the Ffestiniog. My example was originally powered by an Arnold Koff chassis but in recent years this has been replaced by one of the inexpensive units made by Tomix of Japan.

                                                                'Tin Turtle' Protected Simplex.

There are a number of alternatives to the 'traditional' white metal kit for modellers working in 009 narrow gauge these days, including etched brass, resin and 3D printed materials. Examples of all of these now appear in the Wessex Light Railway's stud and we will share the story of some of these in future blogs. It's not the end of the white metal kit though and plenty remain on the market. The most recent locomotive of such origins is 'Alfred', another Kerr Stuart Skylark built from the excellent Chivers/Five 79 kit. This time the assembled body was fitted to one of the superb Minitrains chassis, in this case the outside frame 0-4-0. 'Alfred' has become another mainstay of operations on the layout.

                             Kerr Stuart Skylark 'Alfred' about to leave Ryedown Lane with a passenger train.

 

Flashback Friday -The Class 33s

For Christmas I received a copy of Simon Lilley's excellent book 'The Class 33s - A Sixty year History' http://www.crecy.co.uk/the-class-33s Growing up on the Hampshire/Sussex border in the 1970s and 1980s Class 33s were a familiar sight. In fact, other than the Electro-Diesel Class 73s and the occasional visiting Class 47, they were for a long time the only locomotives that we saw among the constant procession of EMUs. It's been an enjoyable read and I've certainly found out a lot of things I didn't know about these familiar engines.

Looking at the well illustrated volume has been quite a nostalgic exercise, seeing many of my favorite individual class members and even reading about a few events at which I was present. In the mid 1980s I decided to try to photograph as many of the class as I could, only a handful having been withdrawn by that time. If memory serves, by the time of large scale withdrawals in the 1990s I'd photographed all but one or two of the 33/0s, all of the push-pull fitted 33/1s and was only short of two of the slim-Jim 33/2s.

Unfortunately, most of my photographic collection from the 1980s is not accessible to me in the current lockdown but I have had a sort through some images from the early 1990s including these two from late 1992:

A personal favourite was 33 008 'Eastleigh'. Named in 1980, in 1986 Eastleigh depot started a gradual process of restoring it's original and attractive green livery. This was retained until 1990 when it was repainted in the departmental grey/yellow 'Dutch' livery. Happily, Eastleigh were allowed to restore the green livery in 1992 and it is in this condition, with original D prefix numbers, that I saw it at Salisbury on 18th October that year.

A few weeks previously, on 13th September, I took this picture of 33 102 at Bournemouth Depot open day. This is far more typical of the way that I remember the class in day to day service.

Although cited for withdrawal in the 1990s, amazingly a few Cromptons soldiered on to work on the privatised railway network of the late 1990s. A small number are  still to be seen at work on mainline duties, including three with West Coast Railways.

Slim Jim 33 207 is seen at Yeovil Junction in July 2017 when involved with the working of the 'End of Southern Steam' railtour which it top 'n' tailed with 34046 Braunton. The Crompton worked the non-steam leg from Yeovil Junction to Weymouth via Yeovil Pen Mill. Hopefully it wasn't my last mainline run behind a Class 33.

 Workbench projects - ending the old year on a high.

Making the most of the time off work, the school holiday and the need to stay at home to comply with the Tier 4 restrictions, Christmas 2020 proved to be a quiet and enjoyable time in and around the house. With the children now at an age where they are able to entertain themselves, for some of the time at least, I was able to escape to the workbench for an hour or two on most days which enabled me to tinker with various projects that i have under way.

I spent some of the time trying to finish this standard gauge Hibberd Planet locomotive built from the excellent Planet Industrials kit designed by James Hilton. I bought it from the Narrow Planet stand at the 2019 Warley show (ahh, model railway exhibitons ... remember them?) but didn't get round to starting the build until the summer. In keeping with the designer's intentions, it's an easy kit to build combining 3D prints and etched panels running on a Tenshodo Spud chassis. The length of time taken to reach this 'nearly-finished stage' is wholly down to my own inability to stick to one thing at a time rather than any issues with the kit itself. The picture shows the almost completed model, which now just needs couplings, the addition of a driver figure and a little more weathering to complete. 

Check out the Planet Industrials website https://www.planetindustrials.co.uk/ to see their range of interesting products and to see their exciting plans for 2021 (I have no connection with Planet Industrials other than as a very satisfied customer and the occasional exchange of banter with the proprietors at exhibitions over the years). 

There are several other things on the bench at present as well, and slow progress is also being made with a permanent loft layout, but we'll finish here by wishing everyone a happy and healthy New Year and let's hope it's not too long before life returns to normal.

 

Ryedown Lane

 Locos and stock – Part 1, the first white metal kits

The locomotives and rolling stock that I use on Ryedown Lane has attracted some favourable comment at exhibitions and on the NGRM Online forum. At the risk of repeating a few facts already discussed on the forum, here is the first of a series looking at the stories behind some of the regulars to be seen on the layout, starting with locos built from white metal kits

Returning to railway modelling and getting into 009 narrow gauge in the early 2000s one had limited options when it came to providing locomotives and rolling stock. The only ready to run stock available was European HOe some of which could be adapted. Otherwise, the only route was kit building and kit bashing or, given the skills, scratch building. My first attempts at kit-built locomotives were a couple of Chivers diesel outline locomotives built on Graham Farish chassis. They went together well enough so I moved onto my first steam locomotive, the ubiquitous Peco Glyn Valley Beyer peacock tram locomotive also fitted on Farish 0-6-0 chassis. These locomotives initially saw use on my Wintonchester Water Works industrial micro layout, for which they were all a bit on the large size.

My interests were turning towards building a common carrier narrow gauge railway and at first, along the lines of a layout based on one of the proposed but never built extensions to the Snailbeach District Railway. I was familiar with the area and the theme fitted in with my interest in the various Colonel Stephens railways. Fortunately, kits were available for the locomotives and rolling stock.

 

First off was the Chivers kit for the Kerr Stuart ‘Skylark’ No. 2. Here I encountered a problem familiar to most 009 modellers. The kit had been introduced in the 1980s and was designed to fit a chassis that was no longer available. Fortunately around this time Neville Kent of N Drive Productions was just starting to sell his range of replacement RTR chassis. I acquired one of his short wheelbase 0-4-0s and fitted a pony truck adapted from the parts supplied in the excellent Chivers kit. It worked although the real SDR No.2 was outside frame and my version was inside frame (KS supplied Skylarks for use on a variety of gauges and inside framed versions did exist).

 

Famous among Snailbeach locomotives was the large Bagnall 0-6-0T ‘Dennis’, dismantled for overhaul on the Colonel's orders in the early 1920s and never rebuilt. GEM produced a kit for this to fit the Farish 0-6-0 chassis (again, an inaccurate inside framed locomotive is the result). A friend in Wessex Narrow Gauge Modellers had a part-built one which he no longer wanted and was willing to sell to me. With much of the assembly done, all I had to do was add some of the details, fit the motion to the chassis and paint. The resulting locomotive is a big beast indeed and has since become the pride of the line.

In the end, I gave up on the Snailbeach idea and the layout that I’d started became Ryedown Lane, the terminus of the Wessex Light Railway, a little-known narrow gauge addition to the Stephens empire. No 2 and ‘Dennis' (which was eventually renamed ‘Wessex’) became the main motive power in the layout’s early years.

 

 

Flashback Friday: The Royal Duchy, 3 April 2010, a railtour remembered

 

2020 has seen so many of the things that we normally take for granted denied us. Every walk of life has been affected in some way by the restrictions that have, of necessity, been imposed upon us. Those of us involved in any of the many facets of the railway hobby will be all too familiar with the things that we haven’t been able to do, from club evenings and model railway exhibitions through to steam galas and railtours. Although some railtours have run in the second half of the year, and heritage railways have managed to stage a few events, all have been run under strict social distancing guidelines with greatly reduced numbers of participants.

Looking back through some old photographs, I came across a set that I took ten years ago in April 2020, when I travelled on the Royal Duchy railtour, from London Paddington to Penzance, which I joined at Reading. I’d originally booked on the tour as it was scheduled to be double-headed from Bristol Temple Meads to Penzance section by 34067 Tangmere and 30777 Sir Lamiel. As a fan of Southern steam locomotives, the prospect of experiencing these two over the South Devon banks was an enticing one. I’d been trying to get a mainline run behind the King Arthur since the early 1980s and had always been thwarted by circumstances. Alas it was not to be on this occasion either as both Sir Lamiel and Tangmere were side lined. The Southern duo were replaced by LMS Black Five 44871 and BR Class 7 Pacific 70013 Oliver Cromwell, while the steam-hauled leg of the tour would now start at Exeter St Davids. All was not lost however, even this curtailed section provided several hours of steam haulage with the added bonus that the non-steam legs of the tour, from Paddington to Exeter and from Penzance back to the capital, were to be in the hands of the Class 52 diesel hydraulic D1015 Western Champion.

I remember it as being a super day and the presence of the Western only enhanced the experience. The Black Five and Oliver Cromwell certainly didn’t disappoint on the South Devon banks and the Cornish mainline. As the train departed Penzance for the return run in the late afternoon, my feelings were not so much those of disappointment that the steam leg was over but more of anticipation to see what D1015 would deliver on the long run back to London. We were not disappointed.

Let’s hope that it won’t be too long before railtours are running fully booked and platforms are once again crowded with onlookers.