Tag Archives: hinton parva

HW&DMRS, Kernow Models, Model News

New SR related R-t-R updates, H Class, P Class, 10201/2 and Gate Stock @hornby @HattonsModels @kernowmodelrail

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There has recently been a flurry of activity in the Ready to Run world from various manufacturers / model commissioners and this post is a quick update on a number of models that I  had the chance to take a look at, run and photograph at the Hornby Magazine Great Electric Train Show (GETS) on their Twelve Trees Junction layout, that I was helping to operate last weekend. Further posts giving a more detailed photographic review of some of the production models about to be delivered will follow in due course.

Hornby H Class

Hornby H class No 1518 on Twelve Trees Junction

First announced  in September 2016 as being part of their 2017 range the ex ex SECR / SR Wainwright H class 0-4-4 tank is progressing well and the first of the production samples can be seen pictured left. No 31518 in lined black with late crest is Hornby catalogue number R3539 and is also pull push fitted. She ran very nicely on Twelve Trees Junction layout over the GETS weekend. Also being released are R3538 as No. 308 in full SECR livery, R3450 as No 1234 in lined olive green and No 31551 as part of a train pack with pull push set 602.

Hatton’s P Class

A line up of three of the Hatton’s P Class tank livery samples

Although only announced last month progress on the twelve livery versions of their ex SECR / SR Wainwright P class 0-6-0 tanks is progressing at pace. They have now received in the last week the first livery samples and three of these can be seen left, with all able to seen on the Hatton’s website project update page here.

Shades of a 1960s LCGB railtour the P Class tank along with a Hornby Adams radial tank. The Kernow Gate Stock can also be seen in the background.

These are of course the first livery samples and a few tweaks are still to be made but the excellent attention to detail on these models can be clearly seen.

Shades of a 1960s LCGB railtour the P Class tank along with a Hornby Adams radial tank. The Kernow Model Rail Centre Gate Stock and O2 can also be seen in the backgroundThe full details of the available versions and pre-order details can be found here.
Although being livery samples these were unpowered we could not resist running one the samples as a double header to possibly represent a Locomotive Club of Great Britain railtour in the 1960’s.

Kernow Model Rail Centre, Gate Stock and Bulleid Diesels

Set 363 sits in the bay platform at Twelve Trees Junction

The ex London and South Western Railway pull push Gate Stock has featured on this blog often and now that they have been produced and awaiting shipment from China a small number have been air freighted to the UK for magazine review samples etc. The BR Lined Crimson set 363 (K1003) can be seen left. Three other livery versions are being produced, namely: K1001 Set 374 SR Lined Olive, K1002 Set 373 SR Malachite, and K1004 Set 373 BR Green (plated) See here for more details.

 

10201 hauls a rake of Pullman coaches with ease

Although announced some time ago, the necessary research for the production of the CADS for these diesels with their complex multiple curved exterior shape has as already documented taken much longer than planned. When last year additional information came to light the development process moved on at a fast pace and now production of the first versions has now been completed. The model ran exceptionally well on Twelve Trees Junction hauling a long rake of twelve wheel Pullman coaches with considerable ease, due to its good weight and a centrally mounted 5 pole motor with flywheels powering each bogie.

These models will each feature in a more detailed review post in due course so watch this space…

Both an example of the the Gate Stock, the Bulleid diesel 10201 and as an exclusive, their first running Engineering Prototype of the Western Region D600 series Hydraulics, also being produced by the Kernow Model Rail Centre will be running on the High Wycombe and District’s Hinton Parva layout this weekend at the Warners / BRM Magazine National Festival of Railway Modelling. if you are planning to attend come and say hello to the Hinton Parva team.

HW&DMRS, Kernow Models, Model News

The Kernow Model Rail Centre ex LSWR Gate stock 2nd Engineering Prototype pictures and video

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I am pleased to show on this post the progress made on the Kernow Model Rail Centre ex LSWR Gate Stock sets, with some pictures and video of the 2nd Engineering Prototypes (EPs). The purpose of such EPs are to check the toiling and the options within tooling to represent the variations being produced.

2nd EP of Kernow Model Rail Centre ex LSWR / SR / BR(s) Gate Stock K1002

Although some will feel that it has been a bit of a while since both the initial announcement back in 2011 (but please bear in mind the manufacturer has changed in that time and the resources available to Kernow Model Rail Centre for such commissions) and the tooling starting for the first Engineering Prototypes (EPs) at the end of 2014, I can assure you that work and modifications since the first EPs have been undergone in that time to try and ensure the greatest of accuracy within the production constraints and costs of producing such models.

A close up of the front of the 2nd EP K1002

With thanks to Kernow Model Rail Centre I have been able to have a look over the EP of their K1002 which will eventually be Set 373 in Southern unlined malachite green. There will also be three other variations of the 1914 Gate Stock namely: K1001 Set Number 374 in lined Southern Olive Green, K1003 Set 363 in BR lined crimson and finally K1004 in BR Green with tooling to reflect the additional steel plating fitted to this set for this period.

The Driving Brake Third of K1002 2nd EP

All are as per their condition post being modified by the Southern Railway around 1929/30 to their adopted air control (as opposed to mechanical via wires and pulleys) and the driving cab changed to the standard SR 4 window style.

The Trailer Third of K1002 2nd EP

Although it would be nice to have been able to produce a variant in original London South Western Railway (LSWR) condition the commercial consideration of possible sales verses the additional tooling costs precluded such an option (but I am sure some talented pre-grouping modellers might be able to do a conversion and I can provide details / reference information if required).

The video below taken on the Hinton Parva layout of the High Wycombe and District MRS and shows the set running pushed and pulled through a series of point work.

There are still a small number of known additions and slight corrections to be made to the tooling, but these models are really looking the part, all versions of the EPs are being checked over to pick up any other minor corrections needed and extensively test run. Once these tests have been completed and Kernow Model Rail Centre are happy with the running qualities we will move to decorated samples.
The livery artwork is being worked on at present and I have provided some advice to assist Kernow Model Rail Centre with this, they have already completed the box design.
An actual delivery date can not be given at this stage as this will only be known once livery samples have been approved and the model is actually in production.
All the 2nd EPs will be on display on the Kernow Model Rail Centre stand number A75 at the Warley  National Model Railway Exhibtion at the NEC this weekend. 
I will also be at the Warley Exhibtion all weekend as the ‘unhired’ help playing trains on the Hornby Magazine‘s latest layout Grosvenor Square (just turn a blind eye to the fact that it is a BR Western Region!) on stand A36 so please come and say hello.
Look out for a post show report of anything of a Southern / BR(s) interest that crops up.

Exhibitions, General, HW&DMRS

Hinton Parva of the @HWDMRS at the Quainton Steam and Model Railway Gala this weekend.

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Hinton Parva is one of the layouts of the High Wycombe and District Model Railway Society, I shall be exhibiting with this layout and the rest of the team from the Society at the Buckinghamshire Railway Society’s Steam and Model Railway Gala at Quainton on the Sunday and Monday (note: not Saturday!) of this coming Bank Holiday weekend 1st and 2nd May.

The ex LNER Garratt trundles through Hinton Parva

The layout represents a very busy junction station on a Joint Midland/Eastern north-south line. The “Branch” purports to be a cross-country line bringing Southern and Western trains from the south-west. As well as the usual “mainline” movements, there is a goods yard constantly shuffling wagons for the pick up goods trains, and a motive Power Depot which has to receive, service, prepare and dispatch locos for the stopping branch express trains, all of which require a loco change.

An ex SR E1R arrives at Hinton Parva

We operate a varied, late 1950s,  steam/early diesel schedule with a wide range of stock from modern detailed RTR and a large sprinkling of quality kit and scratch built locos and coaches. Not many layouts feature two Garratts  (one an LMS and the other the sole LNER machine) hauling 60 wagon trains or an ex LNER W1 or 10001,10201,10800, GT3 and prototype Deltic diesels / gas turbines. The loco stock for an exhibition is in nearly 50 locos, and they all make a running appearance.

Whilst the time period is outside of my own preference I do provide a small amount of stock specifically for the layout including my kit built Bulleid mainline diesel 10201 and a couple of other Southern Region locos and a passenger rake.

Another unusual feature is the working semaphore signals, 37 working arms at the last count. Apart from the aesthetic value of the signals, they also provide drivers with their only means of indications of what they are supposed to do, truly prototypical.

The layout is large at 32ft x 12ft, and maximum use is made of this size to provide a running spectacle for the viewers. The complete sequence takes some 50 to 60 minutes and involves about 90 mainline movements, trains in, trains running through, trains starting.

Buckinghamshire Railway Society’s Steam and Model Railway Gala at Quainton will feature up to six locomotives in steam, including visiting loco NER No. 1310, and in the Visitor Centre which is the splendid relocated Rewley Road station building from Oxford, Hinton Parva will be in the company of  seven other model railway layouts, from N  to 0 gauges, along with a number of trade stands.

The Gala is open between 10.30am and 5pm and the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is located at:
Station Road
Quainton
Aylesbury
Bucks
HP22 4BY

It promises to be a good day out at an interesting location. If you do manage to pop along make sure you come and say hello.

 

Exhibitions, General, HW&DMRS

Great Electric Train Show this weekend 11/12th October

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This coming weekend 11th / 12th October sees the second Great Electric Train Show organised by Hornby Magazine  will feature 25 top quality layouts across all of the scales. This year as well as usual for such Hornby Magazine events I can be found not only behind one of Magazine Editor Mike Wild’s layouts  ‘Twelve Trees Junction’, making its exhibition debut, but also ‘Hinton Parva’ from the High Wycombe and District Model Railway Society of which I am member.

The Great Electric Train Show is being held at the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon in Warwickshire, and admission to the exhibition also includes entry into the Museum itself.  Further details of the show can be found here.

Hornby Magazine’s latest layout Twelve Trees Junction a combination of Southern Region steam and EMUs.

Built by Mike Wild and Mark Chivers for the Hornby Magazine Yearbook No. 6, Twelve Trees Junction represents a busy Southern Region main line station and junction close to London. At its heart is a double junction which creates two routes – one through the station and one on avoiding lines. A large number of sound fitted locomotives will also be operating consisting of steam and diesel locomotives as well as third-rail Electric Multiple Units.

Where the Regions meet Hinton Parva with a Southern / Western secondary line meeting the Midland and Eastern main line

High Wycombe and District Model Railway Society’s Hinton Parva depicts a junction station in the mid-1950s with Midland and Eastern Region services running on the main line and Western and Southern Region services coming in off the branch.  Built first and foremost for operation, the aim is to always have at least one train movement and usually more at anyone time due to the seven operators deployed. All the signals are fully working and interlocked comprising of 37 semaphore and a small number of colour light signals. I have had quite a hand in the construction of this layout (and provided some of the BR Southern Region stock) therefore quite of bit of Southern based architecture has crept in via the buildings I have scratch built for the layout, see if you can spot them.

In addition to the two layouts above there are others with a Southern interest such as: Thonbury Hill, Knights Hill,  Casterbridge and Wellbridge

As you might have guessed The Great Electric Train Show does feature Steam and Diesel models but they are of course in model form being electric powered. I hope to see you there!

Pictures copyright and courtesy Mike Wild / Chris Nevard / Hornby Magazine

A view from the line, Fisherton Sarum, HW&DMRS

A view from the line #13 creating the impression of depth – effective backscenes

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A particular pet hate of mine is viewing layouts that have no backscene, even simple a plain blue or grey painted back board is better that nothing. The last thing I want to see is the clutter behind the layout and the midriffs (being kind) of the operators. A good backscene helps create impression of depth and finishes the overall illusion that we are trying to create with a layout.

Salisbury Cathedral has been slightly moved north on Fisherton Sarum

There are a number of methods that can be used to create the backscene from the simple single colour plain painted board to full wrap around photographic images that are now being very successfully used on  layouts such as: Chris Nevard’s Catcott Burtle, Paul Marshall-Potter’s Albion Yard and the RMweb team behind Black Country Blues.

Scenic materials help hide the join with the backscene

In between these two extremes variations include: fully hand painted, commercially available printed or photographic images such as available from PECO or International Models.

On Fisherton Sarum I am indebted to fellow High Wycombe and District MRS member Ron North who, from a couple of grainy black and white images of the rooftops of Salisbury and its cathedral, kindly and superbly hand painted my backscene. This not only uniquely helps create the illusion I was after but also places the layout as being based on Salisbury so well, even if we have moved the cathedral to the north of the line!

A mix of low relief and hand painted cottages add to depth

In addition to the hand painted scene, at the western end of the layout I have a row of low relief terraced cottages backing on to the line that have been constructed from Langley Models vacuum formed mouldings suitably painted and detailed fixed to the backscene. Their back gardens and yards are on the layout itself.

Again the scenic materials soften the join

The illusion of depth is further maintained by avoiding where possible sharp angles between the back of the layout and the backscene itself. This can be achieved by a number of tricks such as; curving the ground level up on the backscene, carefully placed fences or hedges, or the use of perspective with slightly smaller scale models just in front. It is also good practice to avoid things roads meeting the backscene at or near 90 degrees as this is very difficult to blend with a backscene (it is better to curve the road into a backscene to allow the actual join to be concealed behind a hedge or similar).

Hinton Parva uses adapted PECO backscenes for its townscape

Away from Fisherton Sarum on Hinton Parva a 32’ long exhibition layout of the High Wycombe and District MRS a number of different techniques are used including hand painted sections, low relief retaining walls, fencing to hide the joins and also to help with the creation of depth the PECO printed sheets were fixed to 2mm mounting board to lift them slightly from the surface of the painted sky.

Hinton Parva also has hand painted sky and country area

To avoid too much repetition with the townscape over the length involved the PECO sheets were modified to remove some of the obviously repeating items such and chimneys, gas holders and church spires etc., even some of the buildings were reduced in height by a story or two!

I hope the pointers and tricks above have been of interest and perhaps will avoid some future occurrences of one of my pet hates…

Exhibitions, Fisherton Sarum, General

Four exhibitions in five weekends with four different layouts…

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A busy few weeks ahead beckons on the exhibition front, with the main highlight for me being the appearance of Fisherton Sarum at the BRM  Festival of British Railway Modelling at Doncaster Racecourse, in 12 days time (11/12th February).  If that event wasn’t enough I shall be operating three other layouts at three other shows between now and the first weekend in March!

Berrybridge will be at the Stafford Railway Circle Exhibition on 3rd/4th February. Picture copyright Mike Wild

This coming weekend (4th/5th February) sees the Hornby Magazine layout Berrybridge making an appearance at the Stafford Railway Circle show, and I shall be assisting Editor Mike Wild for the weekend.
Hornby Magazine are also the sponsors of Model Rail Scotland at the Glasgow SECC, and their layout St. Stephen’s Road  is being exhibited for the three days of the show between Friday 24th and Sunday 26th February. This will be my first time operating St. Stephen’s Road, based somewhere in the South West,  and I am negotiating operating the Southern Region branch line end of the layout rather than that of the other region!  Model Rail Scotland is organised by the Association of Model Railway Societies in Scotland and this year will twice the size of previous years taking in two halls.

Hinton Parva where a Midland / Eastern Main line meets a Southen / Western Secondary line.

And finally…, for the time being, the High Wycombe and District MRS are exhibiting two of the Societies layouts; Hinton Parva (00 gauge) and Blandford St Mary (0 gauge); at the Abingdon Model Railway Club’s AbRail Exhibition on Saturday 3rd March and I shall be behind the controls of Hinton Parva for most of the day.

Exhibitions

Hinton Parva on show at REC exhibition in Woking this weekend.

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Hinton Parva is one of the layouts of the High Wycombe and District Model Railway Society, I shall be exhibiting with this layout and the rest of the team from the Society at the Railway Enthusiasts Club exhibition this weekend (10/11th September) at Woking.

The ex LNER Garratt trundles through Hinton Parva

The layout represents a very busy junction station on a Joint Midland/Eastern north-south line. The “Branch” purports to be a cross-country line bringing Southern and Western trains from the south-west. As well as the usual “mainline” movements, there is a goods yard constantly shuffling wagons for the pick up goods trains, and a motive Power Depot which has to receive, service, prepare and dispatch locos for the stopping branch express trains, all of which require a loco change.

An ex SR E1R arrives at Hinton Parva

We operate a varied, late – 1950s,  steam/early diesel schedule with a wide range of stock from modern detailed RTR and a large sprinkling of quality kit and scratch built locos and coaches. Not many layouts feature two Garratts  (one an LMS and the other the sole LNER machine) hauling 60 wagon trains or a W1 ex-LNER Pacific or 10001,10201,10800, prototype Deltic diesels. The loco stock for an exhibition is in nearly 50 locos – and they all make a running appearance.

Whilst the time period is outside of my own preference I do provide a small amount of stock specifically for the layout including my kit built Bulleid mainline diesel 10201 and a couple of other Southern Region locos and a passenger rake.

Another unusual feature is the working semaphore signals – 37 working arms at the last count. Apart from the aesthetic value of the signals, they also provide drivers with their only means of indications of what they are supposed to do – truly proto-typical.

The layout is large – 32ft x 12ft, and maximum use is made of this size to provide a running spectacle for the viewers. The complete sequence takes some 50 minutes and involves about 90 mainline movements – trains in, trains running through, trains starting

The details of the show are as follows:

Woking Leisure Centre
Elmbridge Lane
Off Kingfield Rd
Woking
GU22 9BA
Opening times
Saturday 10.30 to 5.30
Sunday 10.00 to 4.30