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David Holman

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  1. David Holman
    [attachment=:name]Just joined the group & keen get info on the 'Sligo'. Am building a 7mm scale, 36.75mm gauge model of the once proposed line into the Arigna coal mining area - mainly to enable a terminus fiddle yard set up, rather than end to end.
    Currently ok for coaches, wagons [mostly] & buildings, thanks to the Alphagraphix kits, which am using as colour plans to scratchbuild the actual models. Likewise have two of the Northstar kits of the small 0-6-4Ts, plus a J26 0-6-0T. What I'd also like to do is build a model of 'Sir Henry', one of the second batch of larger 0-6-4Ts, but so far unable to source a drawing. similarly anything on the articulated railcae would be good, so am hoping there are knowledgeable folk out there!
  2. David Holman
    Arigna Town is about to embark on a series of exhibition dates, starting with the three day show at York over Easter. Hence thought it might be of interest to record my experiences in the coming weeks & months as, after York, there is Epsom [25/6 April], Gravesend [May], Bexhill [Aug], Worthing [sept], Beckenham [Oct] and Tolworth [Nov]. York will be the layout’s 4th outing &, as usual, following the previous one at Orpington in January, there is a list of things to attend to.
    However, before having a look at this, I would like to share a few thoughts about exhibition layouts generally. Have attended a couple of shows recently as a paying customer & it seems to me that some layout owners are missing the point of why they are there – ie to entertain the paying public. To me, that doesn’t just mean keeping the trains running [realistically too if possible], it also means ensuring there is a decent standard of presentation on the layout as a whole. Things that bugged included one layout where the backscene seemed to have footprints on it, while others had baseboards joints so obvious they were more like earthquake cracks. Then there was the diesel motive power depot where every loco was fitted with sound and ALL of them were running on tick over – there were over 20 of them & the resultant white noise made me feel sorry for the layouts either side. However, would any self-respecting shedmaster waste fuel in that way? One loco on tick over would have been enough, and undoubtedly the effect would have been so much better, also enabling the full start routines to be used too.
    Anyway, enough of the soapbox, because I’m only too aware that things do not always go as planned at exhibitions, as the list from my last outing shows:
    • Wiring between baseboards two and three needs replacing, due to a serious short
    • Loco turntable spindle requires a brass sleeve to improve operation. Likewise, pickups to turntable deck need adjusting
    • Austin 7 car – three of the wheels need re-fixing [just one still on then…]
    • Bakers/dentist shop had come adrift
    • Several items of stock are fouling the platform ramp
    • Suddenly, some items of stock were buffer locking, esp cattle wagons going into the cattle dock [turns out what order they are marshalled can cause problems]
    • Extra foliage needed behind the Miner’s Welfare building, as found it was possible to see the point lever supposedly hidden behind
    • One buffer & set of steps to repair on Brake van 2
    • New ‘excursion train’ requires fresh info label for the fascia.
    Sadly, none of this is particularly unusual where exhibition layouts are concerned. Compared to home based [fixed] layouts, they lead a hard life. Every show means the baseboards are split up, crated & loaded into a car/van/trailer, then bounced & vibrated over often quite long distances [York is a 400 mile round trip for me], only to be set up again, operated intensively for 8 hours a day over 1-3 days, before being split up once more to be returned home.
    Owners & operators also go through it. The long journey to York means I am given Friday night accommodation [could have the Monday too if I’d wanted], but one day shows often mean you have to be there early in the morning to set up. Arigna Town needs about two hours, so a 10am start means being at the venue before eight, which can mean a 5am alarm call, or earlier. Packing up is usually quicker, because stock starts being put away in the last hour, but it is usually up to an hour after the show before I am driving home. Indeed, I often leave the layout in the car overnight [i do bring the stock in], because experience has taught me that tiredness causes all sorts of unwanted bumps and scrapes, to the layout and me, for that matter.
    So, one thing I always take with me to shows is a notebook, into which every fault/problem is recorded. It is therefore an unbreakable rule that these things get fixed before I go out next time. Because exhibitions give you an extended amount of [quite intimate] time with your layout, you often notice things that you might not see at home. Any electrical or track faults that might get ignored at home have to be sorted at a show, or you face the embarrassment of being seen with a duff layout – though there are a few who seem quite blasé about this. From time to time, I like to join the punters at the front of the layout, to see how things look to them, while seemingly simple things like a sticking three link coupling can be extremely frustrating when you have 20 people watching you struggle. Hence, it is better to get it all sorted before the layout goes out again.
    As well as working my way through the Orpington ‘list’ recently, a few changes have been made. These include painting the gates on the Georgian house & signalman’s cottage [they’d previously been left bare white plastic], removing the buffer stops beyond the turntable, touching up the backscene [mainly to cover up dirty marks made in transit], plus making new stock boxes for the excursion train. The last couple of weeks leading up to the York show will see all locos and stock serviced and repaired/repainted where necessary. Track, wheels and pickups all get a thorough clean, while all the ‘support items’ are also checked. Lights, toolbox, soldering iron, drapes, fascias, pelmets , controllers etc. There is a list of these in the back of my notebook & I shudder to think what I’d do if I forgot a key piece of equipment.
    Hence, watch this space, as I intend to add to this blog after each show, so you can get a feel for how things have gone and [with a bit of luck] an insight into some of the other layouts that catch my eye.
  3. David Holman
    Arigna Town's second outing is coming up in a few week's time - at Uckfield Model Railway Exhibition in Sussex on weekend of 18/19 October. Come and say hello if you can make it. The new 'sliding & rotating' fiddle yard will get its first full test, allowing more stock & greater flexibility of its use. First time out too for 'Lark' my latest loco - a Tyrconnel kit of St Molaga the T&C 0-4-2T.
    Sadly, doesn't look like my new rake of coal empties will be there as am still waiting for underframe castings. Likewise an SLNCR parcels van. Bodywork done and another serious full scale weathering job proceeding on all six vehicles, which am photographing as I go along, so you will see how they were built. Slight issue this morning though - was trying to create 'faded maroon' for the parcels van by adding light grey to BR maroon. Unfortunately has dried a decided plum colour. Words like bother and oh dear muttered...
    Looks like next big project will be a total refurb of my workshop. Very fortunate in that the missus allowed me to convert our former integral garage, which is now centrally heated, properly lit, plenty of sockets etc. However, that was about 15 years ago, so now needs a serious make over. Am also going to sell on my BR 0 gauge layout, Eatonswell, to make more storage and display space in my 'den'. Hoping to start late October & will post progress as I go along.
  4. David Holman
    As it has been a while, thought I'd bring you up to date on what is happening on the layout. Much has been covered in the workbench section, but these notes will try to bring it all together.
    The layout is effectively complete, as far as scenery goes, so work since the summer has concentrated on stock and operation. For the latter, new LED lighting strips have been fitted, cutting power consumption down from 480 watts to 150, with [i think] sharper light too. A fair bit less heat as well! The fiddle yard bolts needed attention after the Uckfield show, so these has also been strengthened, while the cassette for the railbus in the fiddle yard has been rebuilt to enable power and alignment without any leads or clips. This simply uses screws going through the aluminium angle & 80thou plasticard base, which then sit on brass plates, which are wired to the incoming tracks. Wrote this up for the Model Railway Journal Christmas Competition in 2013 and in the last couple of weeks heard I'd come runner up. Can't be bad as this gives me two years subscription.
    A new project is underway, to build a 'Pilgrim's Train'. These were regular sites on both CIE and GNRI. Mine takes advantage of the new Tyrconnel G2 2-4-0 and a rake of 6 wheel coaches. One of the latter is approaching the paint shop. It is another Tyrconnel etched brass kit. The other two will be scratchbuilt from plastic, using the Alphagraphix card kits as drawings. Am hoping the full train will be available for York at Easter.
    Before then, the layout has another outing, this time at the Orpington show [small but very friendly & always with some very good models] on the second weekend of January. This takes place at the wonderfully named Pratts Bottom village hall, just up the road from Badger's Mount. I kid you not...
  5. David Holman
    I really enjoy exhibiting, especially when things go well. Guess it is the teacher [bit of a show off?] in me. However, I also find the process both tiring and a bit stressful at times & with my layout fast approaching its exhibition debut, these notes are as much a reminder to myself about final preparation as a window to any reader about how I go about things.
    I’ve been exhibiting since 1987, with over 50 shows in that time. When displaying my models, I am always conscious of the fact that folk are paying to come and watch, so therefore it is essential to put on a good show. This leads to an important rule:
    ‘The layout must not only run well, but trains need to be frequent [far more than the prototype] and during any breaks in service, there should be enough interest to sustain the viewer’s interest.’
    I’m afraid this is not always the case in my experience - & my own attention span [or lack of it] tends to mean I soon move on if nothing is moving, unless the scenics are very good indeed. Two good examples of the latter were the late Tom Harland’s ‘Bramblewick’ – a North Eastern layout of impeccable design and more recently ‘The End of the Line’ a 7mm model with working radio controlled lorries, which more than entertained when there were no trains. On the other hand no doubt we can all cite 4 track main line layouts with trains less frequent than a country branch or those with more operators than trains and no interest in engaging the viewers. So, what to do…
    Preparation is vital and cleanliness is key to that. ALL wheels get a thorough clean [wagons and locos], as does the track before any show & before the layout leaves home [cleaned again after setting up too]. Couplings need a look. I use 3 links, which always seem to get in a tangle, so these need checking again as wagons are put on the layout. All motive power is checked and serviced, a little light oiling, cleaning & adjusting of pickups, plus a quick once over in terms of paintwork & any fine details which may have come loose.
    Much rehearsal goes on before a show, to check that each train in the sequence does what it is supposed to. That means no derailments, buffer locking, etc & anything that does is put to one side for attention. At a show I also have a small notebook to record any problems & try to make sure these are attended to before the layout goes out again. Enough spare stock to cope with the odd breakdown is therefore useful.
    Testing hopefully weeds out any other issues, such as point & signal control & the loco controllers themselves. I have always carried a spare since a very early show when a short on a loco caused a handheld controller to overheat. ‘Ere mate, did you know your controller is on fire?’ was the comment that drew my attention. It was certainly giving off smoke…
    Hopefully, the Show organisers will provide barriers. Personally, I don’t like Perspex screens to keep inquisitive fingers away, but appreciate why some do. At one show, folk were so close to the layout, their heads were encroaching on to the running tracks. One chap seemed keen to look through the ‘hole in the sky’ to see into the fiddle yard. Not sure why, as it was open to view, but after asking him if he wouldn’t mind moving & not getting a response, I announced in a loud voice that if he didn’t move, then the next train would be driven up his nose. He soon shifted!
    What you can pretty much be sure of at a show, is that you will spend many hours on your feet and do a lot of talking to people who want to know more. This is very tiring, but can be very rewarding. Many’s the time I have learned something new about what I’ve been trying to model. The worst part of exhibiting, is at the end of the show. All that packing up to do and just when you really just want to get home – which may well be a long drive away. Can never understand why some shows go on till 5pm or later on a Sunday. Most shops shut at 4pm and have lost count of the number of times when the only folk left in the exhibition hall after 4pm are the exhibitors themselves...
    My usual routine is to gradually get all the stock packed away as closing time approaches. This is where a railcar or similar is useful, to keep something running for those still left. After that, it really pays to be disciplined about packing up, for this is the time when most damage can occur. Somehow, things don’t go back in the car the same way as you set off so care and patience is essential. Then you have to do it all again when you get home, especially if the van has to go back Monday morning or you need the car for work. Here is where a trailer can score. Unhook, roll into the garage and go to bed! At the next opportunity, the notebook comes out on what went wrong & the whole sequence starts again, ready for the next show.
    Weather permitting, will be doing a trial fit of Arigna Town in the car soon, so will post a few pics - as long as it fits ok!
  6. David Holman
    The Sligo, Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway opened in 1882 & ran from Carrignat Junction, near Sligo, to Enniskillen. Broad gauge, it remained independent until closure in 1957. While no additions were made, there were proposals for branchlines to Swalinbar [from Florencecourt in 1883] and Arigna. The latter would have left the mainline at Dromahair and run via Drumkeeran, where there had been ironworks in the 18th century, then down the western shore of Lough Allen to Arigna. Here there were coal desposits, which were the basis of the proposal. In fact, there were at least two, the SLNCR’s just mentioned in 1904 and an independent line from Collooney, via Ballyfarnon in 1914. The latter was my initial proposal in an earlier blog, but the former is now the fiction behind my layout.
    The reason for the change is partly from the acquisition of Neil Sprink’s history of the SLNCR, but also because the orientation of the backscene on the layout better relects the likely SLNCR route and physical geography of the area. On the map, the station has been rotated 180 degrees, with the line exiting to the east & also moved north of the minor road from the actual Cavan & Leitrim station.
    Had the line been built, subsequent history would have most likely followed that of its parent, with railbus & railcar taking most passenger traffic and steam power for freight. However, I still like the idea of the M&GWR/GSR having a hand in the coal traffic, which is the excuse for my J26 tank. Being wholly in the Republic, it seems likely that most traffic would have been to/from Sligo, so a timetable will be created to link with mainline ones at Dromahair.
    Had the line been built, I guess it is just possible that it might have outlived the main SLNCR’s closure in 1957, not least because coal traffic could have continued to run & perhaps a link to the new power station on Lough Allen in 1959 would have brought welcome extra revenue. This could even have kept the line open until that closed in the 1990s. My larger version of the Arigna community might even have kept passenger trains running too. If so, the Railcar B could easily have continued into the 1980s, with C or G class diesels on freight. It is something to keep me interested as far as future stock building is concerned!
    [attachment=:name]
  7. David Holman

    Another new phase

    By David Holman,

    With the signals now complete, work on Arigna Town again enters a new phase.
    An audit of rolling stock shows I already have more than enough to be going on with for the layout's exhibition debut in June, so now have the opportunity of some bonus time to try and built my second Sligo 'Small Tank'. As mentioned earlier, can't think why I would want to only have the one, as really want to avoid handling stock in the fiddle yard if I can help it. Hence the building of this will feature in my Workbench thread & after months of working mainly with plastic sheet and scenic materials, am looking forward to doing some metalwork again. Fingers crossed, having already built Hazlewood, the new one will benefit from that experience, though it was a while ago and I don't always remember the details!. That said, a look at the instructions shows I made a lot of notes as I went along, so maybe a bit of common sense did prevail at the time.
    Due to one of our other clubmembers falling ill, have found myself in charge of publicity for this year's Chatham Show. 14th and 15th June, folks! Not having done this before, it has been interesting to see discover how quickly advertising deadlines come round in the magazines, with mid to late March the cut off for the June editions [which come out in early May - never could understand that one]. Will add something to this site's what's one.
    Magazines are often very good in featuring layouts to help promote exhibitions, but RM now need a 9 month lead in, though they will try to do a news item, so you may see a picture of Arigna Town published, but any article not likely before the end of the year. At least have plenty of time to write it!
  8. David Holman

    Best laid plans...

    By David Holman,

    Casting my mind forward to June & Arigna Town's hopeful debut, started thinking about operational sequences. When planning the layout, deliberately went for a turntable fiddle yard because this complimented the on scene loco turntable and would minimise handling of stock. Initially thought all was well, but then found that could only fit in 4 roads, not 5, so the railbus & railcar would have to share a track. Again, this seemed ok, but then realised that Railcar B does not need turning, but the railbus does. So, now a question of how to swap them over as part of the operating sequence?
    A bit of scribbling found this was possible, with both on the layout at the same time, but this was not really what I wanted. An alternative would be to break the fourth track in the fiddle yard, so each railbus/car only operated from one end. In mind simple minded way, decided this would be ok, until then realised that the railbus would need turning by hand, which is definitely not on the agenda. Bit of a bummer really, though an option would be to use a small cassette on the fiddle yard, so the railbus and trailer could be turned round easily. Have used cassettes on several previous layouts & they are very effective. In this case would use the same aluminium L shaped angle as the 'track' and glue it to some plastic sheet, so that the top of the angle matches the top of the rails. If I go on that route, will share how I manage the electrical connections.
    However, another issue presented itself, in that had been initially aiming to run with just the one Small Tank [Hazelwood], but use it to hall both the mixed train and the goods. Guess you have already spotted the fault here - more crane shunting in the fiddle yard! Beat me round the head with it and I get there eventually...
    So, looks very much as though I need to build my other Northstar kit before the layout's debut. Given that Railcar B will have taken around 5 weeks of [fairly full on] work, then am hoping can get the second Small Tank done in a couple of months. It is as well I don't have much work on at present [increasingly semi retired], methinks. Equally, am feeling the need for another change of direction, so will probably have a go at the signal for the entrance to the station. Will be based on the splendid 3 arm jobbie shown in the Sligo Album. Main post has two slotted arms [one for each direction], with the secondary doll having a third arm. The two on the main post will be the starter and the home signal for entering the platform road, while the one on the shorter doll will be used to indicate entry to the other side of the loop, eg for the goods and coal train. Have got some Tyrconnel etches for the arms and a range of bits and pieces from Wizard Models. Have use Andrew Hartshorne's stuff several times and more than happy with its quality. The tricky bit will be fitting 3 operating mechanisms on the one main post. Arigna Town is a very simple layout, so anything that expands its operating potential has to be a good thing.
  9. David Holman
    The main problem with the Chatham Show is that however fired up with new ideas/new toys one might be, it generally represents the start of the summer too & that is never a productive time for model making for me. When I was working full time in education, the summer term was always the most manic & we not so much reached the holidays as fell off work into the welcome stupor of a bit of R&R. These days, we try to go on holiday before the schools break up – simply because it is cheaper and since returning, the weather has not been conducive to being in the workshop with a hot soldering iron. Not that I’m complaining of course.
    So, not a great deal going on, though time away from actual modelling can be a good time to do a bit of thinking – especially the ‘what next?’ variety. And here lies the thing. Arigna Town is nominally finished as a model, but hopefully has a busy exhibition schedule ahead of it, so it is a case of keeping things going and creating new interest in model making.
    The first/next stage is approaching completion, in the form of a new fiddle yard. The same size as the previous one, but it has seven parallel tracks instead of 4 curved ones and slides on double ended drawer runners. It also pivots, enabling the whole thing to rotate 360 degrees, like the mark one version. A write up and pictures will appear in the layout section in a couple of weeks & it was certainly an interesting challenge.
    However, with seven tracks, I will have the space to build some new stock. Not wanting to mess around with the geography & history of my fictitious line, the options I’ve come up with are as follows:
    • Track 1 will have space for Railcar B and Railbus 2b, but also room for another railbus eventually, so one of the earlier versions may get built
    • Tracks 2 – 4 will have the current trains – mixed, goods and coal. However, the coal wagons will be supplemented by a rake of empties. This means I can then run the ‘mine branch’ will its own engines: hence a chance to raid the Tyrconnel range.
    • Track 5 will be able to hold a short ‘Paddy Train’ – either converted vans or perhaps the Tyrconnel 24’ six wheelers, plus the J26. I envisage the latter will arrive with a train of coal empties, which will be picked up by the mine engine [maybe St Mologa or one of the other T&C engines or even a Sentinel]. The J26 will disappear light engine, maybe to shunt the yard at the new power station on Lough Allen. Later the mine engine will return with loaded wagons and the previous sequence repeated the other way round.
    • Track 6 is currently reserved for a full cattle train for which ‘Large Tank’ Sir Henry will be built
    • Track 7 is ear-marked for an excursion train. Imagine my delight therefore when I read in the latest ‘New Irish lines’ that Tyrconnel have a G2 2-4-0 planned! Do I detect the hand of our ‘Mayner’ here? A rake of six wheelers would complement the loco nicely. My only slight concern is whether a G2 would fit on my turntable, but am assuming the wheelbase should come in at under the 42’ diameter. Perhaps someone can let me know?
    So, plenty to do and though there a no deadlines as such, I am certainly expecting the new fiddle yard to be available for the layout’s next outing at Uckfield in October and would hope there will be at least one new train by the time York comes round next Easter
  10. David Holman

    New Buildings

    By David Holman,

    The last few weeks have been all about the buildings at the ‘country’ end of the layout. The general scenario is that trains appear/disappear through a hole in the sky that is masked by a combination of a garage, tree and large, Georgian house. Immediately after is a level crossing, with signal box and cottage. Behind the signal box is an end terraced house and then come a couple of low relief buildings before the goods yard is reached. At the planning stage, it was envisaged that all these buildings would somehow blend into a backscene, showing elements of the rest of the town.
    The signal box is both the smallest yet most complex building on the layout. It is based on a standard Saxby and Farmer design, which I adapted from the Alphagraphix kit, using the latter as a drawing. Unlike most of my other buildings it is almost completely made from plasticard. The base uses Wills random stone sheet, which is thick enough to not require any bracing. Though nominally intended for 4mm scale, the stone pattern seems to also work well in 7mm scale, for which the same can also be said of their corrugated asbestos sheets, which are very good for the generic corrugated iron you see as roof covering on many Irish buildings.
    Inside the random stone is an inner layer of 40 thou glazing, though this only goes to roof height for the fixed middle windows. The outer windows are made from separate sheets of glazing and sit in U shaped slots so can be slid open like the prototype. Glazing bars are made from 20 thou square microstrip, with 40 x 20 layers for the outer frames. The glazing material is something called ‘Cobex’ [or similar] which is a harder plastic that does not go cloudy when touched by solvent. The lever frame is a whitemetal kit from Skytrex. 16 levers in all, while you also get a level crossing wheel and block instruments as well. Pay a bit more and the similar Springside kit gives you a desk, clock, signalman etc, though my furniture was easily made from bits of plastic and wood.
    The roof has a considerable overhang, with guttering hanging from this. I used half round Evergreen strip for the gutters, fixed to small brackets made from other microstrip and welded to a false plasticard roof. This has an inner layer which sits snugly inside the walls of the cabin. The rest of the roof is ordinary card, fixed to the false roof with UHU. Slates are strips of cartridge paper a scale 18” deep, cut at 12” intervals and fixed with PVA. The finial is a piece of plastic rod turned in my drill.
    Steps are always difficult to get right, but making a jig helps, as did deciding the ‘slope’ would be 45 degrees, regardless of what the prototype suggested. Paintwork is mainly green, using Humbrol xx. The stone walls were done by stippling various greys onto the surface & not worrying about mortar lines. The indigenous limestone of the area seems to have many shades [probably not 50 though] of grey, often within the same piece, so there seemed little point in painting them individually. Inside, the levers are painted in what I hope are the right colours and in order of where they are sited. First up is the outer distant, then the home, then the lever to lock the crossing gates, after which comes the starter signal then points [and locking bars] in the yard. Spare levers are white, points black, locking bars blue, home/starter sigs are red, distants yellow and crossing gates brown.
    While I’m here, a word about the wider concept of the trackplan is appropriate. As I do not have enough room to model the coal mining aspect, this is deemed to be ‘off-stage’. The sidings are set as being a trailing connection for trains approaching the terminus, about half a mile distant. Points are unlocked by a key and empty wagons are then reversed into the mine sidings. Loaded wagons have to be pulled into the terminus for the engine to ‘run round’ as there is no loops at the mine itself. This means I only need a train of loaded wagons and avoids the problems of how to load/unload in view of the public.
    The other buildings [apart from the garage, which is just an empty shell] are coming along well, though all are yet to be bedded into the ground cover. The Georgian house and end terrace are built on a core of 5mm foamboard, while the signalman’s cottage uses more Wills sheet, this time the ‘whitewashed stone’ effect. The latter features a reasonable amount of interior detail, again made from scrap bits of wood and plastic. Ideas came from the BBC ‘Heirhunters’ TV programme which featured a typical Irish cottage left untouched since the early 1960s and yes, the furniture was indeed painted in those bright colours.
    Next time will have a look at how I painted the backscenes.
  11. David Holman
    The Festival of Railway modelling at Alexandra Palace was its usual enjoyable event, made better by seeing Paul Green's fine S scale Irish layout. Some superb stock there Paul, especially the Achill bogie...
    A feature of Allypally is the sheer range of scale, gauge and prototype on show. One that stood out for me was Orange County and 'FS3' model. For that read 1:15 scale, so 3' gauge on 45mm track. BIG, in other words - am sure whole layouts have been built in one of their stockboxes!.
    Lovely modelling & it set me thinking that this combination could be used to model the Irish scene. Maybe Clogher Valley, where the steam loco chassis could be hidden behind the tramway skirts. Producing the Railcar or its tractor sibling would be an interesting exercise!
    Actually, have pondered 32mm track and 10mm/ft scale for a Clogher model & even gone as far as producing a few drawings. Wheels and track not a problem & would imagine a lot of work could be done in plasticard. In my 7mm NG days, did a lot of this. Locos were initially freelance on Lima chassis, using 12mm plastic water pipe for boilers and plastic sheet for footplate, tanks, can etc. A loco can be built very quickly in this way & if freelance, one can get on without worrying about prototype fidelity. Actually based one engine on a CVR 0-4-2T. Chimneys and domes were either 7mm castings or 'expanded' 4mm ones. Eg cut a GWR 'King' chimney in half & made it longer with some brass tube.
    Another scale gauge combination is 'American' 0: 1:48 or 6mm/foot. Gordon Gravett uses this on his Pempoul odyssey. For Ireland, 32mm [0 gauge] track is near perfect for 5'3 and EM [18mm] track spot on for 3' gauge. However, 7mm scale wheels do not scale down well in 6mm. A 5'6" driver in 7mm scale would be 38.5mm in diameter and therefore 6'3 in 6mm scale, and probably have many more spokes. Shame...
    Incidentally, just to show I dabble in other things, check the 'American' section of this website for my 'dual scale' shunting layout. Has anyone else tried this wheeze?
  12. David Holman
    Spent a couple of weeks in France, so not much time for modelling. However, did take some maps and ref books with me to finally try and nail down a precise location and name for the project. Details below:
     
    Arigna Town [sLNCR]
    Opened in 1882, the Sligo, Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway remained independent until its closure in 1957. Built & run on a shoestring, it never expanded beyond its 42 mile ‘mail line’ from Sligo to Enniskillen. However, at the end of the 19th century, there were proposals to build a railway to access the coal mining area on the mountains above Arigna, west of Lough Allen & to the south of the SLNCR.
    Coal being in short supply in Ireland, eventually the 3’ gauge Cavan & Leitrim Railway was extended up the Arigna River valley in 1920, but before that, there were several schemes that included narrow, broad and even mixed gauge railways. Indeed, Arigna station on the C&L [at the end of the mainly roadside tramway from Ballinamore, opened in 1888], was a good two miles from Arigna village and further still from the mines in question, so until 1920, coal had to be carted to the station along roads one assumes were less than perfect.
    Among proposals to get a railway to the mines, the SLNCR did consider a line from Dromahair, via Drumkeeran & the west side of Lough Allen, to Arigna in 1904. Before that, in 1895, an independent, broad gauge line, was proposed from Collooney Junction [where the SLNCR & M&GW met], via Ballyfarnon & Keadue, to Arigna. This was followed in 1907-8 with another Arigna – Sligo proposal, which would have seen the C&L converted to 5’ 3” gauge. Then, in 1913, the Arigna Valley Railway Bill propsed a further extension to the above scheme, with a 3 mile line from Arigna station [mixed gauge] and a 9 chain, 3’ gauge connection to the C&L.
    None of this happened of course, apart from the C&L tramway of 1920, but my model supposes that a project did get built in 1895, as a joint line between the SLNCR and the Midland & Great Western, from Collooney to nearby the C&L’s Arigna station. The latter was sited in a woodland glade, pretty much in the middle of nowhere. However, supposing a community had already begun to grow up there? Iron working had already started near Arigna village in the 18th century and even though that proved unsuccessful, my ‘imagineering’ supposes a community had emerged, away from the mines and works, that became known as Arigna Town.
    To build the joint line, it is supposed that the M&GW laid the track, while the SLNCR added the buildings, with signalling from Saxby & Farmer. The M&GW worked the coal traffic, while the SLNCR took responsibility for local passenger & freight. Arigna Town station was sited on the opposite side of the road from the C&L station [see map], while there was also a short mineral branch trailing in, just before the station, to the mine sidings.
    Apart from the GSR and eventually CIE taking over the coal trains, in practice little changed on the branch throughout its history. An ex MGW E class 0-6-0T & a few wagons made one or two trips daily, bringing coal down from the mines. These were linked to the sidings by aerial ropeway, as they were high in the slopes of Kilronan Mountain. The sidings had no run round loop, so empties were propelled there and the loco hauled them back, running round in Arigna Town station before returning to Sligo for onward movement, probably to the cement works at either Limerick or Drogheda.
    SLNCR operations would have closely followed those of the main line, with passenger traffic soon turning to railbus and railcar, with a daily steam hauled mixed train. Steam power would also have worked general freight and cattle traffic – probably the 0-6-4 ‘small tanks’.
    When the GNRI line through Enniskillen was closed and the SLNCR with it in 1957, it may well have been that the Arigna branch would have continued a little longer. However, in 1959, a new coal fired power station opened on the shores of Lough Allen & this would have effectively ended the coal trains, so the branch may not have lasted much beyond 1960. That said, given the [sensible] Irish attitude of mothballing, rather than dismantling, branchlines maybe cattle and other specials could have continued a little longer & C and G class diesels might have become the motive power?
    The reasoning behind all the above is that it provides a setting for my model and helps to map out not only what the line might have looked like, but also provides sources of traffic & thereby the types of locos and rolling stock to build. All of this should help sustain interest in what is otherwise a simple branchline terminus, with a model making programme that should keep me busy for at least another 2-3 years. The E class, one small tank and railbus 2a are finished, but will need another small tank, railcar B and a fair few more wagons to enable me to operate an interesting sequence. Add in C & G diesels, plus a MGW 2-4-0 for excursion traffic [with a short rake of Tyrconnel 6 wheelers and there is plenty to look forward to. After that, adding the adjacent C&L station could be very tempting!
    If anyone has any thoughts/comments on my history of Arigna Town, please let me know. My sources are not exhaustive and as none of it happened anyway, I’d be happy to adapt the story if more useful info appeared.
  13. David Holman
    These are the cranes I mentioned at the Dockyard & which the late Ted McIlroy made fully working 7mm scale models of. See Mayner's blog/thread on the Fenit branch.
     
    As for exhibiting...
     
    The amount of other stuff that the exhibitor needs to take with him/her is considerable and no doubt I am not alone in being neurotic about leaving something vital behind when I go to a show. So, along with the baseboards, trestles or other supports, plus lighting and pelmets, what else needs to go?
    Starting from the ground up, we need a set of drapes, to hide the baseboard legs. These days, they should be fireproof and not be within 15cm or so of the ground. Thankfully, my drapes have been recycled over several layouts, though I still rely on drawing pins [and sore thumbs] to fix them in place. Velcro one day…
    Electrics come next. Most shows only give you a single mains socket, so that means several additional multipoint leads. Arigna Town needs four points for its lights, plus one for layout power, two more for buildings, plus at least two more for the spare controller [wheel cleaning] and a soldering iron. And this is a relatively small layout.
    Generally, this all goes in what I call my ‘sundries box’, which also includes odds and ends like pieces of plywood [for packing layout feet], eight clip-spots, screwdriver, gaffer taper, soldering iron and a plastic box with all the M6 bolts and wing nuts which hold the various fittings in place. The latter something I dread leaving behind! An additional ‘box’ is an old brief case, which takes the transformers, hand held controller [Gaugemaster], spare controller [H&M Clipper], uncoupling hooks and an A4 file with layout info. One set for me [the wiring diagram amongst it], the other basic info on the layout for folk who might want to invite it to future shows.
    Then there is the ‘tool box’. This is my long suffering cantilever box with all my modelling tools, plus a range of minor bits and pieces. Essentially, if I need something that isn’t in there, I can only hope there is a tool stand [like Eileen’s Emporium], or I’m stuffed. That said, if the layout is well built, then nothing should go wrong, but given the state of British roads these days, I am often amazed that the entire layout hasn’t been reduced to kit form, long before I arrive at the destination.
    Will be fascinated to know what other folk take & any ideas on keepimg things to a minimum. For me, this is the key difference between the owner/operator [who has a couple of mates along to help at shows] and the group layout which may well arrive in a large van or even a 7 tonner. When Mostyn Yard [a splendid P4 opus] arrived at Chatham last year, the team spent at least 5-7 hours setting up and knocking down. Much as I admire that sort of dedication, I like to be away within an hour of the show closing & the record was actually just 15 minutes, with a 3 board 7mm NG layout.
  14. David Holman
    [attachment=:name]
     
    Here are a few pics of the backscene to my SLNCR layout. The low resolution photos make them appear a bit flat to me, but like any sort of proof reading, it is useful to get a different perspective!
    Either way, the backscene still needs some work, but will probably not do that until after I've got the scenic and ground cover done. That way it should be easier to blend the 2D and 3D aspects together more easily.
    For me, especially in 7mm scale, it is essential to have some sort of backscene to extend the layout beyond what is always a rather minimal depth. In my case, the latter is just 2 feet [600mm in new money], so not much space for anything beyond the railway fence. Additional limitations are that the height is just 8"/20cm. I've done higher in previous layouts, but deliberately kept it low this time to make the baseboards, when paired for transport as small a volume as possible. There are four boards, so two pairs, which will make a box around 4' x 2' x 18" and therefore fit easily inside my Yeti, once the seats are removed. The backscenes are made from the same 6mm birchply as the rest of the baseboards and an integral part of them.
    I did consider have a separate, single sheet of roller blind material to avoid the joins & likewise ducked out of making curved instead of square corners at the ends. The former will be hopefully fairly well hidden by the scenic features I have painted on, while the latter are hidden by two full height, low relief buildings.
    You'll see that dodges for the baseboard joins include a church spire and trees of different sorts. The current 'earthquake' crack in the baseboard surface will be hidden by removable items like small buildings, foliage, vehicles, barrow crossings etc.
    Creation of the scenes uses a range of media. I started with a basecoat of white emulsion, then added poster paints [in small quantities] to paint in the sky. A fair few clouds seemed appropriate, but it would be interesting to see if anyone can create a proper 'soft' day. Remember a layout years ago where everything had been gloss varnished to suggest rain. Best bit was the name - 'Piddlin Down'...
    Details were then drawn on and then part painted [using acrylics and enamels], part coloured with felt pens, crayons and white markers. Pens are so much easier to use than a brush if you want straight lines. Inspiration for the subjects themselves came from the various colour photo albums available, particularly of the C&L tramway section, which is not a million miles away from where the layout is supposed to be set.
     
    The final picture is my latest project, to build Railbus 2A. Have used the Alphagraphix card kit to produce drawings, including of a simple chassis, which is what you see in the photo. 18 thou nickel silver was used for the sides and spacers, while the scrapbox has produced a couple of suitable looking front springs. The motor and gearbox will drive the rear wheels, while the body will be made from plasticard and the roof [probably] sanded to shape from wood. Still thinking about those patent wheels [steel rims outside pneumatic tyre & road wheel], but at least I only need to make two as the rear ones are hidden. Some sort of overlay methinks.
  15. David Holman

    SLNCR railbus

    By David Holman,

    As you can see from the Models section, my SLNCR railbus is almost complete. It still needs a bit of paint touching up & plus some weathering, but is now looking the part I hope.
    Its initial trial run was a bit dodgy, to say the least, but then I realised the wheels hadn't been cleaned, nor the chassis oiled. No surprise that it couldn't pull its trailer and the [undriven] front wheels weren't turning round... However, a bit of fettling and it proved capable of trundling round the layout, albeit a little noisily. Hopefully it will quieten down as it gets run in.
    As said before, the chassis is a simple nickel silver 'ladder' type affair, with drive from a small Mashima motor to the rear wheels. The motor intrudes slightly into the body, but seats and a few Slaters passengers help to hide it. The body is nearly all plastic sheet and microstrip, though the nearside mudguard is nickel silver and the rear steps are brass strip, for strength. The roof is balsa, sanded to shape, though the rear entrance section is all plastic.
    Main body colour is Halford's 'Ford Laurel Green' spray can acrylic, with the top half brush painted with Model Colour 'ivory' acrylic. Transfers came from my stores box & must be over 20 years old! the luggage van lettering is Woodhead transfers 'pressfix' letter, while the SLNCR is water slide from an SMS 'LMS' sheets, plus the '&' from a Fox sheet. Just goes to show you should never throw anything away.
    The other photo is of my fiddle yard. Given the Irish railways predilection for turntables at ever terminus, it seemed to me that a turntable fiddle yard was also merited. Cut from 12mm MDF, with a pivot using an M6 bolt, all seemed very simple until I discovered that my idea of 5 tracks was not possible because the board is only 46" long and the outer curves were far too tight. Indeed, even reducing to 4 tracks has meant I needed to widen the track gauge to around 37.5mm [instead of the nominal 36.75].
    Alignment is by home-made bolts, using brass rod & tube, bought on the cheap due to the sad demise of the Modelzone shops. We had two in my area, including the wonderful Signalbox in Rochester & now both are no more. Shame.
    The loco turntable on the layout itself is by Dapol, in other words, the old Airfix model. At 250mm diameter, it is ideal for the Sligo tanks, but a bit short for the railcar & trailer, so have fitted extension rails to make life easier & maybe one day enable a small 4-4-0 or 2-4-0 to visit on excursions. It is handcranked using the Frizinghall models kit [very Meccanno-ish & effective]. Will be working on track feed this week, so I can start doing some serious test running before the layout enters its 'scenic ground cover' phase. hopefully more pics of the turntable next week.
  16. David Holman

    Starting a new phase

    By David Holman,

    The scenic work has proceeded well & must admit to being pleased with the outcome thus far. Indeed, the layout is now fully covered - though that does not mean finished, as there is a lot of detail work to do. However, will have to wait till after Christmas to add wild flowers, rushes etc [the latter along the ditch] as supplies of coloured scatter are out. So, what next?
    At the Reading Trade Show last week, got various castings, including street lamps [s&D models], plus a range of W irons from ABS. Also ordered some new moulding silicon, so have made a new mould from my GNRI van masters. A while ago, mastered the side and end of a semi-covered van, so did a mould for these too and have been casting enough parts for 3 GN vans and a couple of semis. With the Christmas season upon us, it is my habit to move the modelling to the living room. A workboard on my knee and a few basic tools mean I can be creative while keeping half and eye on the TV, just in case anything interesting comes on.
    Also planned are a Sligo parcels van, plus another brake, though will have to retreat to the workshop when painting and weathering is done. Acrylic and enamel paints, to say nothing of weathering powders are dangerous things to have on the sofa...
    In the new year, the two main modelling projects will be to built Railcar B & before then that wonderful 3 arm signal on the Sligo that protected 3 different level crossings. Wizard Models do all the bits and though fiddly are fairly straightforward to put together. My 3 way will be as a starter, plus two arms for entering one or the other side of the loop. Wizard do a nice operating mechanism, though fitting 3 could well be tricky. Expect rude words.
    The other work needed is to make the layout ready for exhibition. I already have a set of trestles and longitudinal beams [as per Iain Rice's idea], plus 10 spot lights, so the plan is to make some more gallows brackets for the Clip Spots. The outer ends of these will be used to hang a full length pelmet, with the layout name, while a folding fascia at the front will have photos of the prototype, as am sure there will be more than a few who are unaware of this delightful line, while even those in the know will question that it had a branch terminus.
    A fair bit to do then and that is without the all important running tests. No point in having a model railway if things don't run properly, especially when people are paying to see it at shows. However, a simple branch terminus must, of necessity have periods when nothing runs, so the trick is to keep people interesting with the scenery, buildings and little cameos. A 3D painting in fact.
    Hopefully, will be able to post new pictures of these [and the new stock], from time to time.
  17. David Holman

    Why Irish?

    By David Holman,

    Was thinking about this the other day, when preparing some notes for a magazine article and the answer is not easy to fathom, other than the obvious delights and the fact that it makes a very satisfying alternative to the conventional 'terminus-fiddle yard' concept.
    I started off in 4mm scale, EM gauge, modelling Light Railway practice. The Colonel Stephen's railways have always fascinated me & we do share a name [my surname, being his Christian one]. After a couple of layouts, one of which was exhibited in the late 80s [Oare], I turned to 7mm NG, mainly because I liked the chunkiness of the larger scale. I also had lots of spares, particularly wheels, in 00 and found that I could build freelance locos on commercial chassis that were visually satisfying and also worked well. When the Hornby 08 shunter came out, the outside cranks made for an ideal base for a NG diesel and it was quickly chopped up and re-vamped the way some of you create Irish prototypes. Lima 08s and 2-6-2T chassis got similar treatment and the High Weald Light Railway appeared in RM in the early 90s. It was followed later by Cranbrook Town, which also got an article, along with several others on various locos and buildings.
    Loose End came next, also in RM, a layout I look back on fondly, because it ran well, looked good and introduced me to Gordon & Maggie Gravett, who remain good friends. Bizarrely, after I sold it to a chap near Nottingham, it then ended up in France, in the same barn where the Gravett's Ditchling Green resides. Strange or what? Loose End was a standard gauge, roadside tramway, based on the Wantage. Did my first proper scratch build for it, with the MRJournal's multi part article on how to do it from Laurie Griffin. Gave me the confidence to do a D16 Claud Hamilton after that, then a B17 footballer, so guess loco building fears were largely conquered by them - though I still get things wrong!
    the mainline locos were built to get a mainline layout out of my system and now my local club are doing a 7mm oval, I feel I have exorcised that particular ghost and find myself far happier with something more manageable in Arigna Town. As to why Irish - can only re-iterate the charm, and the fact that it something a bit different. That and [on the minor lines at least], the similarities to the col stephens lines. Which is where I came in...
  18. David Holman
    Though sort of retired, I still do a lot of consultancy work in schools and after a decent spell of quality modelling, spare time is suddenly at a premium again. Typical, when things were going rather well...
    However, as mentioned before, one can have too much of a good thing and driving around from one place to another can give a bit of thinking time. Also, while I can't speak for everyone else, one of the great attractions of this hobby is the variety it affords & must admit I'm starting to get a bit weary of scenic work, having done little else for the last few weeks. I'm also running out of materials! It is surprising how much fibre, crumb, glue, lacquer etc one gets through, so with no time to buy more, there is another reason why scenics will slow down over the next few weeks.
    However, in hoping to get the majority of the green stuff done soon, thoughts turn to what next? Certainly need another loco before the layout makes its debut, but am tempted by doing Railcar B first. At the very least will develop some plans and building notes - another technique I use for 'exorcising' ideas sometimes. Drawing layout plans is another, though not in the Iain Rice class [few are], must have drawn many times more than I could ever build & find this a good antidote to starting a new project, before the current one is finished.
    Why am I wittering on with this, when I could be modelling? Good question!
  19. David Holman
    [attachment=:name]
     
    Tyrconnel kits are marketed in the Alphagraphix catalogue and as well as the E class include Cork, Bandon & South Coast Railway 4-6-0Ts and several highly individual small Irish locomotives including a Fairburn 2-2-2T and two Timoleague and Courtmacsherry Tramway locos.
    The E Class 0-6-0Ts were introduced between 1891 & 1894 by Martin Atcock & built in Britain by Kitson & Sharp Stewart. Originally numbered 106-117 by the MGW, they became 551-562 under the Great Southern, ranging far & wide across the system. There is a photo of 558 at Sligo in the 1950s, while other allocations included the T&C in the far south west and the isolated Waterford & Tramore line in the south-east.
    The Tyrconnel kit [£90] is mainly etched brass, with whitemetal castings for things like chimney, dome, buffers & other fittings. Additionally required are wheels, motor, gearbox, wheel bearings, handrail knobs & various gauges of wire. Suggestions of various sources for these are provided in the fairly extensive instructions, which also include several labelled photos of a part assembled model as well as the prototype itself. A scale line drawing is also provided. However, as a ‘flatpack’, there is no box to contain the finished model.
    The loco was built pretty much as per instructions, which proved to be a pleasant, largely stress free experience, taking about 40 hours work in all, including painting & weathering.
    The builder is advised to split the work into three parts – superstructure, boiler and chassis. For the superstructure, the only difficult part was at the start – soldering the splasher backs and tops to the footplate. Heat from the soldering iron tended to warp the footplate & with hindsight it might have been better to add the valences first to make the unit stiffer. However, once done, things went together easily, aided by slots and tabs, plus a few half etched lines on the bunker rear to help curving. Alternative etches to make the Waterford & Tramore line versions are also provided.
    Boiler, fire & smokebox units come as flat etches & need rolling to shape, but as the brass is quite thin, this was easily achieved using ¾” plastic pipe, as suggested in the instructions. A neat touch is the provision of 6BA holes in the boiler & smokebox front/rear, enabling the two to be bolted together prior to soldering. The combined unit then slotted neatly between the tanks/cab front & sat nice & level first time. Boiler fittings are whitemetal castings. Alternative chimney & smokebox doors are provided for early/later models but, along with the dome & safety valve units required a fair bit of fettling before they would ‘sit’ properly on the boiler. However, in fairly quick time, the loco body was complete.
    The chassis is interesting in that it is designed to simply fold up from a single etch. Unfortunately [for me at least], it is designed for 32mm gauge as opposed to the correct 36.75mm for Irish [5’ 3”] broad gauge. The latter is catered for by reversing the fitting of the wheel bearings, so they project outwards, which gives the right back to back measurement. This was the route I followed and though very suspicious of the fold up chassis, it actually worked out very well. My ‘portfolio’ runs to over 50 locos over the years, including several scratchbuilds & having always used separate spacers, I wondered whether the single etch would fold up accurately. However, my fears were unfounded & apart from having to open up the etched axles holes a fair bit to take the bearings, when I did a trial fit of the wheels, the chassis sat level & true.
    Coupling rods seem very lightweight & are just a double laminate. As per prototype, they are not jointed, so again are quick and easy to assemble. Fitting them to the wheels gave a smooth, free running chassis first time – always rather satisfying!
    My only major departure from the instructions was to fit a commercial motor/gear box, floating on the centre axle, rather than soldering the motor to the etched mount provided & suggested in the instructions. For a while, I also contemplated making a set of dummy frames [by tracing round the etched ones] to go outside the narrow ones. However as the loco is only really seen ‘side on’, I decided in the end this wasn’t necessary.
    Tyrconnel kits were a new name to me, but if the little E class is typical of the range, then I can thoroughly recommend them. They should be well within the scope of a careful beginner. Building mine to 36.75mm gauge was not a problem. Slaters provide the longer axles for a small fee, while I have found their wagon axles are more than longer enough to ease the wheels out to broad gauge without the need for any replacements. My new layout is using custom made points
    from Marcway, with plain track soldered up on copperclad sleepers. The light rail & broad gauge really help set the scene & it is a shame that most 4mm scale models seem to use 16.mm track – especially when that is already narrow gauge! The Alphagraphix catalogue includes several etched coaches and a large number of card kits for wagons, coaches and buildings, all of which provide useful starting points for anyone contemplating modelling the Irish scene. Given the many delights of railways across the water, it is a relatively neglected area for modelling which deserves much more attention & hopefully Alphagraphix are doing just that.
  20. David Holman
    The Christmas period has traditionally been a productive time for me. Generally, there is little on TV [though Mrs Brown 's new year episode was eye wateringly funny, to me at least], the days are short, the weather miserable, so best to stay in and make things.
    Initially, got on with casting van sides - three sets of GNRI 9 tonners, plus two sets of what appear to be either SLNCR 'semis' or early Guinness vans. These were then made up into the relevant vehicles, using ABS castings for W irons, axles boxes, buffers etc. The GNRI vans have been sprayed with Halfords red/brown primer, to represent the fitted variety, while the two semis are in the usual Halford's grey. The weathering process will tone it all down eventually, while the lettering [on the GNRI vans at least] is hand done with a white gel pen. Thank goodness for a simple set up.
    One prezzy was a Classic Commercials kit of a 1939 Austin van. A more simple, boxy vehicle is hard to imagine, but the castings [whitemetal and resin] are superb. Takes a long time to build though, because you stick a couple bits together, then have to do a bit of painting, then add some more, paint some more and so on. At the moment, it is intended to be the delivery van of Keogh's Model Bakery, whose shop is just behind the station, but as yet am unsure what to do re lettering. Might try Letraset, or alternatively will create a full panel on the laptop and print it off on ordinary paper to stick to the sides.
    The rest of the time has been spent planning/fretting over the Railcar, though, as usual, once started things to flow, albeit not always smoothly.
    This week, received a formal invitation to exhibit Arigna Town at the Chatham Show in June. In some ways, the layout could go out now, but as mentioned before, there is still a lot to do to make it more presentable and interesting for the public. Nevertheless, all being well 14/15th June 2014 will see the layout's debut at the Medway Sports centre in Gillingham.
  21. David Holman

    Turntables

    By David Holman,

    Here are a few notes on the two turntables in last weeks 'photos' section.
    The loco turntable is a much adapted Dapol [ex Airfix] kit. Very cheap [about a fiver] and reasonably cheerful too. Turned the whole thing inside out & upside down, so it is now an underhung table. The plastic bearing surface is fairly robust, so the outer wheels are really only cosmetic. The design is influenced by the SLNCR's one at Enniskillen, though the well has turned out somewhat deeper at a scale 4'.
    The plastic kit was installed in a timber subframe, which is screwed to the underside of the baseboard. The walls of the well are 40 thou plasticard, covered in watercolour paper to simulate a rendered finish, while concrete slabs around the edge [more plasticard pieces] hide the small gap between them & the well wall.
    Running rails are the usual code 100 flatbottomed, soldered to longitudinal sleepers and the glued to the deck with 5 min epoxy. The outer wheels are 7mm scale 'lowmac' ones I had in the spares box and are about 2' 8" diameter. They used shortened stub axles, fitted to some U shaped brass section, this in turn is fitted to the ends of the deck by brass rod, which enables these wheel sets to 'rock' and therefore induce a bit of compensation.
    Power to the track comes from 0.5mm phosphor bronze wires at each end on the well & these are lightly sprung to wipe on small brass plates that are glued to the end girders of the deck . These are in turned wired to the rails. Though simple/crude, the system works well thus far. The deck is turned by a Frizinghall Models hand crank, which consists of a large gear wheel, plastic worm and some steel rodding. The turning handle can be switched from front to back of layout according to need.
    Late on, the design was changed slightly, by adding extension rails, so the track actually projects over the coping stones and extends the overall diameter to a scale 40'. This was because the new Railbus was found to be a very tight fit. however, perchance it will enable me to run small tender engines [sLNCR did have a few 0-6-0s].
    Am also pondering the need to have walkways either side. The SLNCR's table at Enniskillen did without them, though the well was a fair bit shallower. for now one of the crew will have to dismount the engine before it runs on to the table [needs someone to crank the handle anyway]. If not, the a step ladder will need to be kept in the cabs!
     
    The other turntable is the fiddle yard. In the past I have used cassettes to good effect, but with each baseboard being just 46" long, I felt it would be interesting to have a full train turntable. Originally hoped to have 5 tracks, but the curves required on the outer roads become increasingly severe & in the end had to reduce to 4 roads. Even so the locos grunt a bit on the outer ones and I have increased the gauge to around 37.5mm to compensate.
    Alignment is by home made bolts. These use brass tube/rod, soldered to brass plates, which are wired to the rails. Two bolts are needed at the layout end, plus two receiving tubes for each track & at each end. didn't take long to make or fit & again, seem to work well thus far.
    This week, have started on a rake of GNRI 9 ton vans. Made a master for side & end on Monday, created a silicon rubber mould on Tuesday, then cast three sets of sides and ends on Wednesday. Assembled these Thursday and added wheels, buffers, brake gear on Friday and Robert is your father's brother' as the saying goes & I now have three more wagons. Course they still need painting, lettering & weathering & that will take as least as long again. Hopefully some photos soon.
  22. David Holman
    Recently been working on some GNRI vans, from drawings found via the website. These are 9 ton versions & were made from my own resin castings. A picture of the master is also shown.
    As I've mentioned before, there is nothing difficult about making your own castings and there has been a regular advert in Railway Modeller for the all important materials. however, have found that the silicon mould material has a definite shelf life & the stuff I used was a bit too viscous, resulting in some bubbles. Think I will make another mould & add some detail differences to the master to make what I assume were later versions of the vans, with different door fastenings. either way, it seems from photos that one can never have enough vans on an Irish layout!
    The eagle eyed amongst you may just notice that the trackwork has been weathered somewhat, prior to getting busy on the ground cover over the next few weeks. No less than 9 tree skeletons are in the process of being coated with PVA/filler & I am looking forward to getting some colour on the layout. In the meantime, have also been building brake vans, so will hopefully be adding pics of these in the next couple of weeks.[attachment=:name]
  23. David Holman
    As Fermanagh approaches completion, looking at my journal, it will be my 54th locomotive, only 8 of which were bought ready made and all but two of these were substantially altered as well. Of the other 46, 13 were scratch built, though in earlier days some of these were my own bodywork on commercial chassis. 12 were 4mm scale, one HO ( a Bachmann Shay - long story), and the rest 7mm scale, 13 of which were narrow gauge. There have ten layouts in all, with Arigna being the seventh one to be exhibited.
    Anyway, this leads me to wonder if other folk keep a modelling journal? I started mine about ten years ago and like any diary, can be interesting to look back on, as well as providing a useful source of notes if asked to write an article. Maybe some of my future blogs will cover a bit of my model making history...
  24. David Holman

    Arigna Town in 2016

    By David Holman,

    There are ten shows booked for this year, so will again try to record what transpires.
    St Albans went pretty well two weeks ago, with those lovely photos from Tony Wright. These have generated an invite to do an article for British Railway Modelling. Since then invite to Manchester in December has been accepted, but Eurospoor in Holland will have to wait for another year, as it is just before Cultra.
    Pontefract was a good weekend, though a long way to drive on my own - particularly coming home last night after a full day's operating. Will have to take an extra night for long distance shows in future, methinks. Pontefract Club helped out with an operator on Saturday, while 'Mike84C' came over on Sunday. An ex railwayman, he proved to be both an excellent operator and very good company, so many thanks Mick!
    As shown elsewhere, the layout got the 'Best in Show' award & a very fine trophy it is too. Sadly, had to leave it with the Club, but do have a small plaque now on the layout.
    Overall, things went fairly well, though I broke the golden rule of 'if it works, don't fix it'.
    Small tank Fermanagh has always had a wobbly driving wheel. Ran ok, but felt I ought to address the problem. At first, couldn't get the wheel nut off, but eventually ground out a slot and used a screwdriver. The solution was a new axle. So, once fitted, cleaned the wheels and boxed up the loco for the show. On the Saturday, it barely ran. No time to look at it until the evening, but soon found a pickup wasn't touching & on Sunday it ran well with the new SLNCR coaches & parcels van.
    Same thing with the railcar. Fitted a retaining nut on the draw bar for its trailer, but it fouled the boarding on the points, so had to go! Fine after...
    Had checked all the back to backs on the wagons, but limited clearances on the cattle wagons caused rubbing on the back of the axle boxes & Hazlewood slipped to a standstill with them. BtoBs narrowed a bit, though haulage remains a bit marginal, so will have to do some more testing.
    Other minor issues included Lark losing its front coupling and Sir Henry buffer locking with brake van 5 on the mixed train. Sod's Law [or should it be Murphy's?] says than no matter how much you test and practice at home, gremlins will catch you out in front of the public and I'm afraid that I have a thing about operation being as near to perfect as possible for folk who are paying good money to visit.
    Anyway, things did indeed go pretty well on the Sunday & it can often be the case that the second day of a show is better - something to do with the layout settling into a new atmosphere I think. Hope it doesn't apply to Cultra...
    The only problem with Sunday was packing up to go home. Or more to the point, the exit from the hall was via a quagmire and it was raining. Still, everything now back in my workshop & the layout seems ok, while the car has been washed & vacuumed clean too.
    Next show is St Neots, actually at the Wood Green Animal Centre near Huntingdon, followed by Alexandra Palace the weekend after. Just as well I don't work much these days!
  25. David Holman

    Proper Blog...

    By David Holman,

    It is a long time since I started this and not being a regular contributor, it occurred to me that to do a blog properly is to provide an on-going commentary on the project. Beat me round the head and I get there -eventually...
    Anyway, with luck I will endeavour to do something here once a fortnight or so, which should mean I can usually report on something new. So, maybe I should backtrack a little.
    My SLNCR project began towards the end of 2011. I'd long been tempted to do an Irish line, having completed an EM gauge light railway - must be something to do with having the same surname as Col Stephen's Christian one. 'Oare', was exhibited in the late 80s -early 90s and this was followed by High Weald a 7mm NG railway running through Kent. This appeared several times in RM, as did its successor, Loose End, my first 7mm scale standard gauge project, which was exhibited around southern England in the late 90s. There then followed a sojourn with 'mainline' and the Eatonswell layout. This is still being exhibited, but I've always favoured independent lines with a bit of character, so spurred on by Neil Sprinks excellent photo album and the availability of Alphagraphix kits, I decided to have a go at the SLNCR. Inspiration also came from good friends Gordon & Maggie Gravett, who have shown with their Pempoul model what can be done even if you end up scratchbuilding almost everything. If mine is half as good as their masterpiece, I'll be well satisfied.
    The first thing I built was the Tyrconnel E class 0-6-0T. This was my 50th loco build in all scales & proved that 36.75mm gauge was not going to be a problem. Thoughts then turned to what sort of layout I might build. The SLNCR never had a branch, but there was the proposed line into the Arigna area, which gave me my 'might have been' scenario. The trackplan was kept deliberately simple & from the start I wanted to keep everything else that way too. So, analogue control [use DCC on Eatonswell, but could not justify it here], with wire in tube point operation and manual signal/turntable control to minimise wiring too.
    Baseboards were started early in 2012 & are made from good quality 6mm birch ply. The 20cm high backscene is integral to each board, of which there are four in all. Three of the form the scenic section, with the fourth a train turntable. All are just under 120cm x 60cm so the layout fits along one wall of my workshop, which used to be the integral garage of our house.
    Track came from Marcway - custom made points [copperclad] with plain track soldered up by me. In what seemed a very short space of time, I had the E class trundling round the layout, with one or two wagons I'd also built by then. That was about a year ago and since then I've managed to produce a fair bit of stock and most of the buildings are finished or nearly so. It helps only working part time these days! Reviewing the list still surprises me:
    - Beyer Peacock Small Tank - Northstar kit
    - Coach No 9 - scratchbuilt using the Alphagraphix kit as a drawing; plastic body with cut down Slaters bogies
    - 5 cattle vans, 3 seven ton vans plus a brakevan, built as above
    - 4 SLNCR open wagons & a carriage truck, scratchbuilt from photos
    - a rake of coal wagons [4 & 6 plank] from resin castings I've made from my own masters, using drawing on this website
    - station building: Florencecourt - ish
    - good shed & signal box [again using Alphagraphix kits as starting points for scratchbuilding]
    - bakers, pub, end terrace house, half relief Georgian house, stone barn, stone water tower, stone cottage and corrugated iron village hall
     
    Recently, have been painting a backscene to frame the layout and once the buildings are painted will take some photos to show how things are progressing. The aim is to have the layout exhibitable in time for the Chatham Show in June next year. That means completing scenic ground cover and ensuring I have a bit more stock. At the very least I want to build Railbus 2A and some GNRI wagons to complement the SLNCR ones. After that, the Walker railcar and a large tank will hopefully follow, especially as I now have drawings of both. Unlikely before June 13 though! Normally when one scratchbuilds something, an RTR model comes out shortly after. Can't see this happening here somehow, but then it is part of the challenge & fun.
    What the project is starting to need now though is a name. After significant amounts of pondering, playing with words and scouring maps of the area, I am not intending to model an existing location. Instead, a fictitious town is deemed to have sprung up near the mines, though this is no Yorkshire pit village - I really want to capture the essential flavour of the area. So it can be neither Arigna nor Drumkeeran, while Killyconcarnay or Ballyshawbheagan [think about it!] seem just a bit too twee. Currently am leaning towards something like 'Sprinxtown' - to honour both Neil Sprinks and Alphagraphixs, without whom the project could never have started. Comments welcome, including any ideas on a Gaelic translation.
    Next time, hope to have photos showing the backscene and also buildings at the 'country' end of the layout.
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