Jeremy Good
Western Thunderer
I've kept this fairly low profile over the last couple of years but following comments elsewhere this evening have decided it would be a good time to start a new thread for the continuing developments of this layout.
First and foremost, I must give all the credit to Andrew Ullyot (@ullypug) who built the layout in the first pace as part of, I think, the Scalefour Society's D&E Challenge where it was a Runner-up. Andrew continued to develop the layout and it attended quite a few shows across the country as well as being extended from its original concept as the terminus of a small clay branch into a through line with a clay works facility alongside. The full story is (was) documented over on RMWeb. I acquired the layout a few years ago having harboured a desire to build something similar which never really got off the ground, although some stock did get built.
Wheal Elizabeth was installed in my railway room (loft) and over the intervening period I tried to decide how I wanted to develop the concept. Having become a little bogged down with building track and wiring for my other project (Bodmin General (1955) in P4 - see other thread) I decided at the start of lockdown to refresh Wheal E and to try to return it to its original concept.
The layout was inspired by the last remaining coal fired clay dries at Carbis Wharf and Wenfordbridge and is an amalgam of elements from both. Andrew utilised the fact that the basic "hardware" on some of these branches didn't change much between the mid-1950's and the early 1980's to allow him to vary the period of operation. Fortunately that also ties in with my modelling interests and, over time, I expect to be able to run it either in the mid-1950's/early 1960's or in the late 1970's and early '80's periods.
During the first round of pandemic lockdowns I started updating the layout. The through lines were removed and the end of the layout adjacent to the dry was closed off again with the reinstatement of a loading platform and canopy and a low relief, block and asbestos clad warehouse building. The land profile around this areas was also adjusted to try and close in this part of the view and manage sight lines whilst a single piece (and very unwieldy) wrap around backscene was created. In this form the layout was shown at the mini-Scaleforum event in Norfolk last year and this is shown below.
There was a potential exhibition lined up for early 2022 but that is not going ahead but we are booked for the South Hants show in Portsmouth in November by which time I hope to have upgraded the scenery at the other end of the layout and finished off a little bit more stock. It'll probably run with blue diesels again in Portsmouth but as a taster of the other options here are some earlier shots taken whilst I was working out how to develop (or more accurately playing with) the layout over the last couple of years.
Firstly, a rather grubby ex-GWR Pannier No 3635 toying with some early clay wagons. The loco is a Bachmann body on a Comet chassis with Gibson wheels.
And then a few years later BR Class 08, 08 945, a Bachmann loco with Gibson wheels and Brassmasters coupling rods toys with some under construction caly hoods....
Hopefully this gives those who asked a bit of a flavour of the layout and if I can get some decent light over the next few days I'll try and add a few more photos.
Jeremy
First and foremost, I must give all the credit to Andrew Ullyot (@ullypug) who built the layout in the first pace as part of, I think, the Scalefour Society's D&E Challenge where it was a Runner-up. Andrew continued to develop the layout and it attended quite a few shows across the country as well as being extended from its original concept as the terminus of a small clay branch into a through line with a clay works facility alongside. The full story is (was) documented over on RMWeb. I acquired the layout a few years ago having harboured a desire to build something similar which never really got off the ground, although some stock did get built.
Wheal Elizabeth was installed in my railway room (loft) and over the intervening period I tried to decide how I wanted to develop the concept. Having become a little bogged down with building track and wiring for my other project (Bodmin General (1955) in P4 - see other thread) I decided at the start of lockdown to refresh Wheal E and to try to return it to its original concept.
The layout was inspired by the last remaining coal fired clay dries at Carbis Wharf and Wenfordbridge and is an amalgam of elements from both. Andrew utilised the fact that the basic "hardware" on some of these branches didn't change much between the mid-1950's and the early 1980's to allow him to vary the period of operation. Fortunately that also ties in with my modelling interests and, over time, I expect to be able to run it either in the mid-1950's/early 1960's or in the late 1970's and early '80's periods.
During the first round of pandemic lockdowns I started updating the layout. The through lines were removed and the end of the layout adjacent to the dry was closed off again with the reinstatement of a loading platform and canopy and a low relief, block and asbestos clad warehouse building. The land profile around this areas was also adjusted to try and close in this part of the view and manage sight lines whilst a single piece (and very unwieldy) wrap around backscene was created. In this form the layout was shown at the mini-Scaleforum event in Norfolk last year and this is shown below.
There was a potential exhibition lined up for early 2022 but that is not going ahead but we are booked for the South Hants show in Portsmouth in November by which time I hope to have upgraded the scenery at the other end of the layout and finished off a little bit more stock. It'll probably run with blue diesels again in Portsmouth but as a taster of the other options here are some earlier shots taken whilst I was working out how to develop (or more accurately playing with) the layout over the last couple of years.
Firstly, a rather grubby ex-GWR Pannier No 3635 toying with some early clay wagons. The loco is a Bachmann body on a Comet chassis with Gibson wheels.
And then a few years later BR Class 08, 08 945, a Bachmann loco with Gibson wheels and Brassmasters coupling rods toys with some under construction caly hoods....
Hopefully this gives those who asked a bit of a flavour of the layout and if I can get some decent light over the next few days I'll try and add a few more photos.
Jeremy
