7mm Heybridge Basin

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Pencarrow

Pencarrow

Western Thunderer
simond said:
Panniers.

you really can’t have too many. But building three or four of a broadly similar design, with detail differences, would be boring, particularly when they’re readily available, run well, look right, and are just crying out to be made suitably grubby. So I built two and a half*, and bought three.

* the half is still WIP, as @Pencarrow knows!
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Panniers.

You can have too many. They all look the same, are evil and are prone to give you stress and headaches. Worst of the lot are 1366....

Edit: Still suffering from Post Traumatic Kit Disorder after being sold the Agenoria 1366 as being perfect for the first time kit builder...
 
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G

garratt396

Member
Osgood said:
And this is the fate that befell the last member to attempt to impose a restricted field of modelling content onto the WT membership:

View attachment 221126
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I have a simpathy with this, though I have built several in the past, 7754, 2035 plus saddle tanks 816, 2057 & 789, all since sold.
More recently, when asked what I was building , I replied - a pannier tank. Friends thought I had finally cracked.
Actually it was a Kitson long boiler PT for the Consett Iron co, as running at the Tanfield gala a few years ago.
 
Osgood

Osgood

Western Thunderer
garratt396 said:
I have a simpathy with this, though I have built several in the past, 7754, 2035 plus saddle tanks 816, 2057 & 789, all since sold.
More recently, when asked what I was building , I replied - a pannier tank. Friends thought I had finally cracked.
Actually it was a Kitson long boiler PT for the Consett Iron co, as running at the Tanfield gala a few years ago.
Click to expand...

:thumbs: I've been hoping someone will produce a kit of the long-boiler tanks - they could be as per your build, or the saddle tank variety by Sharp Stewart, some of which appear to be of identical design - e.g. SS 2503 (snap from IRS):

SS 2503.jpg
 
Osgood

Osgood

Western Thunderer
The pannier mod results in a nicely proportioned engine - wonder if anyone produces a kit in 7mm......
 
Alan

Alan

Western Thunderer
Richard Gawler said:
While I am supposedly "away for a month or so" I will also mention, I am sick and tired of seeing posts concerning box-opening and wish-listing. They take threads off-topic and nurture model-making of nothing more than ballasting and static grass. The whole reason why I joined WT is because this is a model-making forum, not a re-run of RMweb. I wish it could stay this way. I have blocked more members in the last couple months than in the previous two years. Whether writing this publically on the forum I love actually makes me feel any better remains to be seen:shit:
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Richard,
I am slightly gobbsmacked by your verging on that vitriolic comment. I openly admit that I have never built a locomotive in my modelling life. I've always thought of myself as a RAILWAY modeller ie trying to model a stretch of railway if that means I can use RTR stock I will, something I have always done whether it be my 00 layouts Wencombe, Kingsbridge Regis and Louville Lane all of which have gathered many likes on WT as has my O gauge effort Blackney I will say that of my RTR stuff , the locos and a few wagons, is that nothing goes on the layout straight out of the box.

I find it amusing that your rant was at the end of your post praising Geoff's layout and he like me uses some RTR stuff

I'm sorry if my ballast and static grass offend you
 
4

40057

Western Thunderer
Alan said:
Richard,
I am slightly gobbsmacked by your verging on that vitriolic comment. I openly admit that I have never built a locomotive in my modelling life. I've always thought of myself as a RAILWAY modeller ie trying to model a stretch of railway if that means I can use RTR stock I will, something I have always done whether it be my 00 layouts Wencombe, Kingsbridge Regis and Louville Lane all of which have gathered many likes on WT as has my O gauge effort Blackney I will say that of my RTR stuff , the locos and a few wagons, is that nothing goes on the layout straight out of the box.

I find it amusing that your rant was at the end of your post praising Geoff's layout and he like me uses some RTR stuff

I'm sorry if my ballast and static grass offend you
Click to expand...

Returning to Richard’s original post, I confess I do feel slightly cheated by layouts at exhibitions (which I have PAID to see) where all the rolling stock is ready-to-run.

However, on the wider point of modellers using r-t-r stock, I use it — and I don’t even have ballast or static grass. So the question is: If you’re building a model railway, does that automatically make you a railway modeller? We’re already not including collectors who don’t need anywhere to run trains. And I guess if the model railway consists entirely of ready-to-use equipment, completely unaltered, it’s difficult to say that any actual modelling has taken place. But the moment the baseboard gets painted, ballast is added or stock is weathered that has to count as railway modelling — so the person is a railway modeller. As is, I would say, the person who makes a static diorama.

One point that Alan touches on is particularly important here. Richard — your layout is looking lovely, but it is very small. So building everything is entirely practical, if that is what you want to do. My interest has always been running main line trains — in an ideal layout world, a Duchess sweeping through on the centre road with 14 on. I am fortunate, very lucky, to have a space 23’ by 10’. So that’s over 200 square feet of base board to cover with something, at least 300 feet of track in total. Even if I wanted to (I don’t), building everything would be quite impractical. Ready-to-run makes grand schemes and big(ish) layouts possible for people who are not multi-millionaires.
 
spikey faz

spikey faz

Western Thunderer
I can't say I've noticed many (if any) posts here about wishlists or rtr being used 'straight outta the box'. But then I'm probably half asleep most of the time, so may have missed those particular posts. :D

Personally I see rtr as a shortcut and a basis for a model of a particular prototype. I know I've probably taken this to extremes by converting a trio of Dapol's finest into a variety of crane locomotives :eek:, but even if I were to keep things as the manufacturer intended, I'd still be looking to personalise things a bit. Maybe by adding that bit of unusual pipework that only one prototype had, or removing some rivets if the prototype was repaired. Or even source a different tender.

Mike
 
Richard Gawler

Richard Gawler

Western Thunderer
From time to time, a friend asks me whether I will take Heybridge Basin to exhibitions - and I keep stalling him. I simply don’t know. I have come up with four pairs of criteria I expect to see in a layout at a public exhibition:
  • spectacle and craftsmanship
  • reliable and prototypical operation
  • originality and engagement
  • education and entertainment
Any layout which scores all eight for me is going to be memorable; any layout which scores all eight for everyone is probably a miracle.

RTR can fit into all of my pairings, but its application needs care. I have seen plenty of exhibition layouts which score zero and I have wandered away, perplexed as to what their owners are trying to achieve. Clearly, their criteria are different to mine.

Heybridge Basin might eventually scrape four, for me.

Its suitability for exhibition ought to become clearer after I get to grips with the ground cover and detailing, and I have some photos to post :)
 
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Richard Gawler

Richard Gawler

Western Thunderer
DSC_7396.jpeg
It is Friday morning at the end of a fraught week. One of the managers is taking something to Heybridge foundry. Probably the hand wheel lost from the water column, to let them use it as a pattern. The platform surface is a little grey ballast mixed into chinchilla dust to try to represent a pale ash.

DSC_7393.jpeg
The shelter glazing has finally arrived (I lost it for a month) and Marion is enjoying her sewing. Her feet rarely reach the ground, this is normal.

DSC_7385.jpeg
The desk and ledger are still missing. Yesterday, head office said they would come tomorrow, but they’ve said tomorrow for the last fortnight.

DSC_7362.jpeg
The station sign is my second attempt. Printed paper with a serif typeface looks happier to me than plastic letters without serifs. The border is from an Intentio coal office.

DSC_7370.jpeg
I have tried to make this structurally balanced to discourage wrapping but next time I might use sheet brass as one of the layers. Fortunately no-one sees the sign from the back.

DSC_7397.jpeg
The gardening task remains too challenging to comprehend.

Including Marion is my only deliberate anachronism in the project; any others are mistakes which I can try to put right.
 
Hayfield1

Hayfield1

Western Thunderer
As a visitor to exhibitions I tend to look at out of the norm layouts far more that layouts built by groups (with the exceptions of masterpieces) especially when the builder has done a lot of scratch building, layouts like yours give so much pleasure to others if not inspiration to have a go your self.

Unlike larger layouts it clearly shows the opportunities smaller layouts offer to the vast majority who lack space for a larger layout, or don't have the funds for RTR items.
 
spikey faz

spikey faz

Western Thunderer
Richard Gawler said:
View attachment 221328
It is Friday morning at the end of a fraught week. One of the managers is taking something to Heybridge foundry. Probably the hand wheel lost from the water column, to let them use it as a pattern. The platform surface is a little grey ballast mixed into chinchilla dust to try to represent a pale ash.

View attachment 221329
The shelter glazing has finally arrived (I lost it for a month) and Marion is enjoying her sewing. Her feet rarely reach the ground, this is normal.

View attachment 221330
The desk and ledger are still missing. Yesterday, head office said they would come tomorrow, but they’ve said tomorrow for the last fortnight.

View attachment 221333
The station sign is my second attempt. Printed paper with a serif typeface looks happier to me than plastic letters without serifs. The border is from an Intentio coal office.

View attachment 221332
I have tried to make this structurally balanced to discourage wrapping but next time I might use sheet brass as one of the layers. Fortunately no-one sees the sign from the back.

View attachment 221331
The gardening task remains too challenging to comprehend.

Including Marion is my only deliberate anachronism in the project; any others are mistakes which I can try to put right.
Click to expand...
All looks very neat and tidy. :thumbs:

Mike
 
76043

76043

Western Thunderer
Hello Richard,
I've been following your thread with enjoyment for a while now and thinking of doing the same for an EM test track.

In regards to your eight exhibition layout criteria, one of my aims for my Dublingham layout was education. I wanted to run to a timetable, but show as much information about the train as possible, this meant a large monitor.

IMG_20240728_120003363~2.jpg

I also have sone extracts from the BR rulebook placed in leaflet holders on top of the layout.

IMG_20200212_221529.jpg

I have wanted to make a leaflet up on goods trains during the fifties, highlighting how much traffic was sent by rail in those days.

I've not yet seen anyone attempt anything like this despite lots of interest at exhibitions. Maybe nobody is interested and only wants to see the modelmaking?

I do run Dublo wagons straight out of the box though, but my locos are modified RTR and run perfectly on feedback DC, I do not ever need to bang the layout to make anything move, it's always operator error that causes a stop.

Presentation is important to me too, hence the cabinet making approach, Paul Merton complimented my layout at the Ashford show. LOL!

Cheers
Tony
 
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Ideas for Presentation . . train displays
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    • Richard Gawler

    Richard Gawler

    Western Thunderer
    76043 said:
    I've not yet seen anyone attempt anything like this despite lots of interest at exhibitions. Maybe nobody is interested and only wants to see the modelmaking?
    Click to expand...

    I tried something using an Arduino driving a 20x4 character LCD display to describe a layout and the locos to be seen in operation, but the display wasn't coordinated to the movements of the trains. The same Arduino drove a couple of scenic animations too, and I got a fair way to filling up its memory which was a quiet ambition at the time. I think it was a fair idea but spoilt by my obsession with using really old-fashioned technology; the display was the alphanumeric type where I defined bitmapped characters to join up together to make pictures of my trains. No-one except me has seen it in action.

    I saw a P4 third-rail (not three-rail!) exhibition layout "St. Mary Hoo" and this had a working flap-type departure board. The entire display of layout and departure board was a joy to watch - this was a large layout built by a small team who clearly all worked to very high standards. Of course, this sort of departure board is ideal for passenger trains but unsuited to freight, but it was ever so good. The whole layout was like watching a real railway through an upstairs window on a nearby building.

    I very much like the look of what you have done. I guess there is a laptop with a PowerPoint or similar presentation and the TV is running as a duplicate screen? I suspect I could stand a tablet on the fiddle yard of Heybridge Basin (not built yet) to show similar things.

    The only doubt in my mind is, your TV is offset to one side; and so people can see the screen or the layout but not both. Possibly, you could have a smaller additional screen, carrying the same information and located above the sky at the back of the layout? I think your display would be ideal for someone arriving at a layout at a show and wanting to find out what is going on. I think for me, such a display might give me the discipline to work out an operating sequence for Heybridge Basin too.
     
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    • 76043

    76043

    Western Thunderer
    Yes, I have seen St Mary Hoo, a great indicator board for the passenger trains, but as you say unsuitable for freight.

    In regards to sighting on my layout the total length of the entire layout is less than 6', so you can't really miss the screen. It also hides the fiddle yard.

    In terms of tech, it's really simple, a Raspberry Pi model W drives the screen, a wireless PowerPoint pen type clicker advances the screens manually. The slides are a PDF.

    Advancing the slides tells the layout operator what to do too, so the PDF drives the operator.
    Tony
     
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