The Burnbake and Woodyhyde Railway

[WALLSHIRTS]

That loco has a lot of character. Is it based on a particular prototype?
Mal

[clayliner]

That loco has a lot of character. Is it based on a particular prototype?
Mal

Sorry it's taken a while to reply - it's been one of those weeks... (I went to Town yesterday and was disappointed to find that 'Princess' had already left Paddington (? a week earlier than publicised) but did have a good time tracking down Lillie Bridge LUL depot).

I met someone at WimRail last weekend who had based his entire layout on a single photo, and it's probably much the same story for me. Since school days (i.e. aeons ago) I've had a book in which a particular photo really caught my imagination - the book is 'The Regional History of the Railways of GB - Vol. 1, The West Country' and the (Ivo Peters) photo is captioned "'Quintus' resting in the woods near Creech Grange on the Furzebrook clay line in the Isle of Purbeck".

'Quintus' was a Manning Wardle and I hope I've been able to capture something of its essence (from the front, anyway). Life being the odd thing it is, I now live within half a mile of where the photo was taken (though I can't be sure exactly where it was).

David.

[WALLSHIRTS]

It definitely captures the look of the Pike Brothers engines. There was a scale drawing of Quintus in The Narrow Gauge a while ago, although I can't remember the issue number, perhaps some one on this forum knows. I would like to build a model of Quintus too, but it would mean building a chassis and it takes me forever! I do have the wheels and gears though..

[JulienW]

All the Furzebrook locos (and some of the stock) were covered by scale drawings in 009 News by Paul Webb ("Dad" to me!).

The references are Volume 14 (1986/7), issues 1 (Secundus), 3 (Tertius & Quintus), 5 (Sextus & Septimus) and 7 (Simplex (Octopus?) and Stock).

[clayliner]

I would like to build a model of Quintus too, but it would mean building a chassis and it takes me forever! I do have the wheels and gears though..

I just concocted something that looked about right on a second-hand Roco chassis which I bought somewhere ages ago - that's good enough for me as I wasn't too concerned about a faithful replica.

All the Furzebrook locos (and some of the stock) were covered by scale drawings in 009 News by Paul Webb.

Very interesting to hear this, Julien - I must try to track them down sometime. However, I fear they will only show how adrift my version of 'Quintus' is from the real thing!

David.

[clayliner]

An interloper in the shape of GWR 1466 has appeared in the transfer siding (yes, to my surprise it does fit under the bridge) with some assorted open wagons to check the clearances along the loading dock:


old trsfr sdg by clayliner, on Flickr

Sadly it shows that the ng line is a tad on the low side, which is going to make transferring the clay less than easy. So it'll need to be re-jigged...


new trsfr sdg by clayliner, on Flickr

I think that's better - now at least the guys won't be shovelling uphill. (Rather than tear up the track I just separated the underlay from the baseboard and inserted another layer of camping mat underneath to give the extra height, and glued it all down again.) But the locos will need a bit of a run to get up the slope - it's going to need a substantial stop-block at the far end, just in case...

David.

[WALLSHIRTS]

I found the issue of The Narrow Gauge with the drawing of Quintus, it is issue # 182, Autumn 2003. The article is Purbeck Memories by Sydney Leleux.
The drawing is not credited, does anyone know it's derivation?
Mal.

[clayliner]

Rather low progress of late, I'm afraid - too many time-critical things to do outside in the spring and early summer, and modelling has had to take something of a back seat. However, I have not been entirely idle, and among other things I have been experimenting with scenics, involving assorted raw materials, blenders, dyes and beard trimmers. Some of the processes I have been trying out have been so toxic that even I - I who laugh in the face of dust and believe low-VOC compounds are for wimps - have resorted to wearing a face mask on occasions. I can now report (just in case it might help someone else, though maybe everyone else knew already) that dried tea-leaves, coffee grounds and moss are immune to bleach, and moss can't be dyed either, it seems. As a result I've decided that moss is probably best used as it is, after it's been through the blender and sieved to grade it for different uses - from fine dust to shaggy vegetation. I haven't yet tried it for tree foliage...

One of the things I realised from the outset that was modelling a line in this part of the world would involve recreating heathland if it was to be convincing. That would mean silver birch trees, gorse, heather and maybe bracken. The heather has worked out okay, I think:


heath 3 by clayliner, on Flickr

although the birches and gorse are probably going to need some more work:


heath cx by clayliner, on Flickr

The sharp-eyed will have noticed that I've also painted the back-board - it's surprising how much difference it makes to the overall feel of the scene to have blue sky instead of brown (who'd have guessed?) -


heath a by clayliner, on Flickr

That's the transfer sidings on the left, and the pale area is where the transfer shed will sit.

I've also been thinking about possibilities for the backscene, mainly photographic ones. My original idea was for one long panorama but I now realise that that's probably too ambitious, and that it will be easier to break it up into sections (though marrying them together could be tricky). I also foresee problems tying the back of the scenery into the backscene, and there's the question of the right focal length for a convincing view. I plan to print the photos out onto ordinary paper (not photo paper) as I think that will give a softer view. Any ideas appreciated.

Back to those trees and the gorse... more soon, I hope.

David.

[petersmith1942]

looking really good; hope the transfer shed will not lose that open, semi-derelict look
The higher level of the ng transfer siding looks excellent and quite natural
Peter Smith

[38thfoot]

I am sure other cameras have a similar feature but canon cameras can relatively easily create panaramics which could be printed off professionally or at home.

38

[tedp]

That's looking quite good, David. I like the remote atmosphere - very much like a siding out in the country.

[clayliner]

Thanks for the comments. I will try to maintain the general air of dereliction.

Re photographic panoramas, 38(?Tony), making a panorama itself isn't too difficult, I think - some cameras (and even iPhones, it seems!) will take a panoramic view and computer software like Photoshop and Gimp will stitch pics together. The tricky bit is this: how many shots will I need to cover a (say) 12' spread? - and at what focal length (obviously the more close-up the shots are the more one will need). The backscene needs to tie in with the foreground model to some degree so probably just using a selection of random shots probably won't look right when they're in situ - in some ways it would be easier to do the backscene first and then create the model scenery to fit in with it! But too late now... anyway, the layout of the line needs to come first in practice, I think.

Just been out collecting another load of moss and putting it through the blender... (blenders don't seem to like working on dry materials like moss or foam, incidentally - they're much happier with added water. Just a tip!)

David.

[clayliner]

An unexpected visit to Costa earlier this week yielded the wherewithal to complete a rough crossing across the sg siding to the transfer shed (I realised a while ago that the transfer shed would be completely surrounded by tracks and that I had better put in some kind of road access):


road crossing by clayliner, on Flickr

On the same trip I picked up the Dapol van in the picture for a couple of quid in the local market, which was just what I was looking for as I thought a grounded van body would look good in the loco shed area. Need to do some research on it, as it's branded 'LMS' in tiny letters on the side, which won't do at all... Incidentally, I wonder when the device of a cross in a circle painted on condemned stock came into use? Did it go back before nationalisation?

David.

[clayliner]

Well, the van has now been dismembered, and here is the body resting in the loco yard:


store van by clayliner, on Flickr

I suspect many of these van bodies were just dumped straight on the ground, but it might be better if it were resting on some blocks in due course, to keep it off the ground (and provide a nice cosy home for the local rats underneath). I was now left with a wagon chassis which just needed a timber deck of Funky Foam to make an acceptable flat wagon (though wagon buffs may tell me such a vehicle never actually existed - oh well).


flat wagon by clayliner, on Flickr

I think it will live permanently by the buffer stop on the s/g siding - a cripple (is that still an acceptable term?) or maybe just forgotten...

I am quite taken with Funky Foam (50p a sheet from The Range, maybe more elsewhere (see below), in a variety of colours) - it is flexible, cuts cleanly, paints well and scores cleanly, too, as one can see from the wagon deck (I also used it for coping stones on the twin bridges where it has scored nicely into individual blocks):


funky foam by clayliner, on Flickr

I suspect it has many modelling uses and will be on the lookout for more ways to use it.

David.

P.S.  Apologies for any offence caused by any standard gauge content in the foregoing but the van actually died and has definitely been reincarnated as an integral part of a narrow gauge railway  ;)

[clayliner]

The 'new' flat wagon has already found a use:


off for overhaul by clayliner, on Flickr

The first of the line's locos is going away (possibly to Lewin's of Poole) for overhaul before entering service on the B&W, and has been manhandled across from the narrow gauge exchange siding onto the wagon. Here she is, minus chimney to keep her within gauge, on the flat wagon, chocked and chained down for the journey on the big railway...

David.