Isle of Wight models

[Irishswissernie]

I have always been interested in the Isle of Wight Railways and keep pondering about building a model but there are only limited range of models available RTR.

Back in 2016 I visited the Isle of Wight Steam Railway and on a whim purchased the 2 Kernow Isle of Wight versions of the O2. On returning home I discovered that Kernow were going to do an ex LSWR Brake Van Isle of Wight version so I ordered 2.

The years rolled by and no sign of the Brake vans appearing so when someone offered to purchase the O2's which hadn't even been taken out of their boxes they 'went the journey'

Moving on to 2021 and I was looking for a couple of Brake Vans for the Sligo & Donegal Junction but I'm long past building stuff so searched for a model a bit different from the usual to convert/re-letter (The Sligo & Donegal being an independent company would have had its own rolling stock) After 6 years I discovered that Kernow had finally made the LSW Brake Van so purchased 2 grey for the S&DJR plus 1 SR brown Isle of Wight version to go with the latest Hornby Isle of Wight SR Terrier which I couldn't resist getting.

I then tried to find a Kernow SR Isle of Wight O2 but no such luck so gave up. Suddenly on 4 August I had an email from Rails of Sheffield with the info that Bachmann in the 2021 Autumn new models were going to release an O2 under the EFERail brand so I thought might as well order one and hopefully it will appear in the next 3 or 4 years so won't interfere with the looming expenditure on 2 more A Class!

It was a bit of a shock to get an email 6 days later saying the O2's were in stock and mine was being posted.

Sure enough its turned up this morning.

Rails now say this version is now sold out so lady luck was with me for once.

6 years for the Brake vans to appear and 6 days for the O2!

 

[Galteemore]

Lovely Ernie. Having visited a few times, I get the charm of it! I had a an IOW terrier in 7mm before I moved to 5’3”. The Vectis lines are almost Irish at times, with a gentler climate. These are good times for OO modellers - Sonic models have just shown a GCR 4-6-2T, one of my favourites, which might be a useful donor chassis for a CBSC 4-6-0T if you can live with a few discrepancies…..

Edited August 14, 2021 by Galteemore

[Broithe]

For a good 150 years there has almost always been a campaign running for a fixed link to the Big Island, be it a tunnel or a bridge.

The remains of a few abortive attempts can still be seen on the ground.

You could pretend one had succeeded and expand your possibilities?

[Irishswissernie]

The cheapest or should I say the least expensive option has been a tunnel under the Solent in the Lymington to Yarmouth area and has always foundered on the cost plus the major centres of population are Portsmouth on the mainland and Ryde/ the East coast of the Island so it would be a huge detour to use the tunnel. My imagineering (new word?) has always centred on a line called the Yarmouth, Totland & Alum Bay which would have run from Yarmouth with a branch joining from Fort Victoria Pier where minerals would have been shipped, then via Totland and a short tunnel to Alum Bay. Possibly a colliery near Alum Bay (perish the thought), however there are apparently deep down under the chalk, coal measures rather like as in Kent where coal measures had been discovered during digging for the early channel tunnel proposals. It could have been oil or gas as in the Isle of Purbeck. Anyway such a line would have captured and developed the tourist traffic to Alum Bay from Yarmouth and the ferry from Lymington.

I will have to try and forget all this! The current layouts are the Sligo & Donegal Junction and Glengarriff, its bad enough trying to incorporate the North Eastern, Caledonian and North British alongside CIE/Irishrail on Four Masters Bridge; scenically -not at the same time. Chalk downs, bricks and Morris Dancers just won't fit in.

Edited August 14, 2021 by Irishswissernie

[Broithe]

There is not universal support for a fixed link - https://solentfreedomtunnel.co.uk/results-independent-fixed-link-study-survey/ - some islanders like the separation.

There have even been calls to become an independent tax-haven, along the lines of the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

You could have trains with bullion vans and wagons full of washing powder...

[Mike 84C]

Shock horror! butcher a GC A5to get a Bandon tank shame on you!!  Buy the SSM kit it goes together very well, happy with mine.

[Galteemore]

No way could I do such a thing myself Mike but I know there’s some who might find it a short cut to a chassis ! if I was building a Bandon tank it would be an Alphagraphix 7mm one….
 

The A5 looks a lovely model and it’s another NE one for you Ernie!!  

Edited August 14, 2021 by Galteemore

[Irishswissernie]

Sorry not a fan of the A5 and they didn't use them in true Geordieland much. Darlington I think had some but they had to have lower domes and modified chimneys to fit the former North Eastern railway loading gauge. The final batch built in LNER days had these and cab side windows., however they were built up here at Hawthorn Leslies.  I would rather have an A8.

[airfixfan]

The only Irish Railway with 4-6-2T engines was the Lough Swilly. From 3 different builders, 4 different designs of just two locos per class! The Swilly never believed in standardisation!

[Irishswissernie]

Now I would have models  of 6 of the Swilly 4-6-2t's but not the ugly pair 13 & 14. They were built by er Hawthorn Leslie now where did I mention them recently oh yes A5's .  

Edited August 14, 2021 by Irishswissernie

[Galteemore]

But of course, Hawthorn Leslie was a North Eastern workshop. Bound to turn out ugly stuff. You need to head to Manchester for true locomotive elegance  

[Irishswissernie]

Yes I'm right with you there plus Kitson, Hudswell Clarke & Hunslet from dog chains, oh and the Scottish builders and then there's Dugald  & Peter Drummond, T W Worsdell, etc

[Irishswissernie]

I've been musing this week up in the railway room wondering how I could make a small Isle of Wight layout in the space available and things have now progressed to the stage where one can be incorporated. There is a space in front of the Four Masters fiddle yard and a small terminus can be fitted in here and linked to the rest of the layouts so that the existing fiddle yards can be used. The space was earmarked for a diorama of a North Eastern railway coal drop but this project has now been moved to the remaining area at the fiddle yard throat. All these small dioramas layouts plus the main Glengarriff/Four Masters layout are linked together so that one can just let the locos/trains run etc.

The photos hopefully explain the concept with Alum Bay being perched on a ledge above the chine with a cliff railway terminus providing a link to the beach below and the station having an overall roof to cover the exit to the fiddle yard. You may have noticed I have used this concept before! The siding next to the head shunt will just take an ex LSWR Gate set (specially transfered to the island to provide a more frequent service for tourists between Yarmouth Pier station and Alum Bay) The service to Newport originally from Freshwater was diverted by the Southern to Alum Bay so as to serve the more populous areas and also Yarmouth Pier. 

Overall size is approx 1 metre by 1 foot (I use both measurement systems plus rule of thumb as a matter of course!)

 

Edited August 19, 2021 by Irishswissernie

[Georgeconna]

sounds fab, Only visited the Island once, Lovely Spot.

Nice 02 as well, Is that one of the EFE jobbies or original DJM one. I got a DJM one , runs nice too.

[Irishswissernie]

Its an EFE Rail which I believe is made from the original Kernow/DJM moulds,dies etc.