Hi
I am Mark Kennard and live in the lovely village of Digby (not Dibley) but I am the vicar here.
Our home has a “storage room” that measures 23ft by 10ft and here I am just starting to build a dream railway.
It is a model of Midford on the S&DJR in 4mm from Combe Down Tunnel exit to the Up Outer Home Signal at approximately scale distance, and incorporates all the gradients of the prototype. Having said its 4mm I should admit that it is being done in OO. Simple reason is one of cost and sentiment. I still have operational some old Triang trains, the first from when I was just four, and I really don’t want to get rid of them. (Am I alone in these feelings?). The cost of new wheels for all my rolling stock was a little bit scary. (Enough said…) The point work is all scratch built using plans from Templot.
Why Midford: well it’s an opportunity to build a railway that allow will me hopefully to “watch the trains go by”, and to operate a real signal box in something like the manner of the prototype, and a railway I have explored on line and on foot.
Time wise it’s the end of steam era - which I just remember – with a lot of compromises about dates. My youngest son wanted a branch line so the Camerton branch still exists, as does a restored length of the Camerton Coal Canal leading to a marina at the old transfer wharves at Midford. The up and down lines will lead via some very long “tunnels” to independent return loops, and trains will stack and move forwards to return through Midford.
One big question that I would love to hear about others thoughts on: how to make the two signal boxes either side of Midford offer trains to the signalman using bell codes, as in the late Peter Denny’s Buckingham branch. I would like to avoid computers. I have seen too many layouts where the fun seems to be the key board and not the railway. Although computer literate, I now have Parkinson’s which severely restricts my ability to learn new systems.
Look forward to hearing folks thoughts
Mark
I am Mark Kennard and live in the lovely village of Digby (not Dibley) but I am the vicar here.
Our home has a “storage room” that measures 23ft by 10ft and here I am just starting to build a dream railway.
It is a model of Midford on the S&DJR in 4mm from Combe Down Tunnel exit to the Up Outer Home Signal at approximately scale distance, and incorporates all the gradients of the prototype. Having said its 4mm I should admit that it is being done in OO. Simple reason is one of cost and sentiment. I still have operational some old Triang trains, the first from when I was just four, and I really don’t want to get rid of them. (Am I alone in these feelings?). The cost of new wheels for all my rolling stock was a little bit scary. (Enough said…) The point work is all scratch built using plans from Templot.
Why Midford: well it’s an opportunity to build a railway that allow will me hopefully to “watch the trains go by”, and to operate a real signal box in something like the manner of the prototype, and a railway I have explored on line and on foot.
Time wise it’s the end of steam era - which I just remember – with a lot of compromises about dates. My youngest son wanted a branch line so the Camerton branch still exists, as does a restored length of the Camerton Coal Canal leading to a marina at the old transfer wharves at Midford. The up and down lines will lead via some very long “tunnels” to independent return loops, and trains will stack and move forwards to return through Midford.
One big question that I would love to hear about others thoughts on: how to make the two signal boxes either side of Midford offer trains to the signalman using bell codes, as in the late Peter Denny’s Buckingham branch. I would like to avoid computers. I have seen too many layouts where the fun seems to be the key board and not the railway. Although computer literate, I now have Parkinson’s which severely restricts my ability to learn new systems.
Look forward to hearing folks thoughts
Mark