MODEL RAILWAYS No: 9
On-Line
January 2017
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MODEL RAILWAYS
Editorial
On-Line No: 9
January 2017 CONTENTS
West Green
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The Track Pages
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Layouts From the Past Exeter Central
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Readers' Letters
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Review of the Bachmann USA Tank
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Modelling a Brunel Style Tunnel Mouth
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Images From the MROL Collection
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Š GPP Software 2017 All rights reserved. Copies of this magazine may be made for personal use only. Multiple copying of the computer files or contents of this magazine, without prior written approval is not permitted. The computer files or printed copies shall not without the written consent of the publishers be lent, resold, hired out or disposed of by way of trade. Views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the publishers.
to the latest edition of Model Railways On-Line Magazine. It has been just over 11 years since the last edition of MROL was published and we are resurrecting the Magazine as the "Journal of the British Railway Modellers Down Under" following the creation of their new E-group. Over the past 11 years the technology available to us has changed dramatically. Broadband was in its infancy with the majority of readers using dial-up services. The magazine was designed around dial-up. Photographs were degraded to maintain practical down load times. Each edition was split into roughly two equal parts to enable readers to download in two modest sessions. Even then each part took roughly 20 minutes to download. While this was going on the telephone was unavailable. Future editions will be available on-line and in a single PDF file. We will continue to reduce the amount of data in photographs but only when the image is to appear small in the magazine. Old editions now take about two seconds to download so with more data in the pictures we still expect to keep download times within ten seconds and for those readers using the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN) we expect download times to be insignificant. How times have changed! By publishing the Magazine in a PDF format readers will be able to store copies on their home computers for future reference. However, we are conscious of the fact that the world is moving on and that readers will want to read our articles on i-phones and ipads. The new BRMD website has been designed for users of portable devices and we plan to make articles appearing in the magazine also available on the website. One thing that has not changed is our need for your support. We need articles for publication. In particular we are seeking articles about your layouts. They do not need to be completed and we would be pleased to receive articles about work in progress. Articles can be on any railway related subject, real or model. Hints and tips are also welcome. We would be pleased to publish readers' letters for those who prefer this approach to the instant communication of the E-group. In this edition we feature Steven Rowe's West Green layout, which is based on the now closed line between Seven Sisters and Wood Green in North London. This is followed by the Track Page in which the planning of very high speed railways is described. Graham Plowman reviews the latest Bachmann USA tank locomotive and we will also be returning to layout articles which have appeared in past editions of MROL, including previously unpublished photographs.
Paul Plowman
Who's who: Paul Plowman: Magazine and website Editor . E-group administrator. email: editor.mrol@gmail.com Cover: N7 0-6-2T No.69712 departs from West Green with a goods train to Palace Gates. Facing: O2 Class 0-4-4T No.W16 'Ventnor' departs from Sandown, Isle of Wight - 3 July 1966.
Graham Plowman: Website and E-group owner. System developer. email: gppsoftware@gppsoftware.com Website: http://www.brmdu.com.au
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West Green The suburbs of London are the setting for Steve Rowe's O gauge layout. Photographed and described by Paul Plowman
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Western Region Hymek No.D7054 speeds towards Palace Gates
While I was down in Sydney for the Christmas holiday we were able to visit Steve Rowe to see his West Green layout. Graham Plowman brought along his Hymek diesel and four Mk1 coaches. The Hymek is a former Triang Big-Big Train rebuilt using a DJH kit. The coaches are from Lima with new bogies and improved detail. Steve's layout is based on the former West Green Station which was located on the Seven Sisters to Palace Gates branch of the Great Eastern Railway. It is very unlikely that the branch ever saw Western Region locomotives or any through working. Although the line terminated at Palace Gates the remains of a railway alignment can be seen on Google Earth continuing to Bounds Green. I remember seeing remains of the earthworks in the 1970's. Possibly through running from Palace Gates to Bowes Park on the Hertford North Line occurred. The layout is out of doors, with West Green Station under the cover of a pergola. The line extends for about 65ft along the south side of the house. Normally (in Australia) this would be in shade. Unfortunately the time of our visit
L1 Class 2-6-4T No.67721 waits in the sidings at West Green
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Left: N7 Class 0-6-2T No.69712 shunting at West Green.
Below: Western Region Hymek No.D7054 departs from West Green with a train to Palace Gates.
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D7054 approaches West Green
was mid morning and the sun was in the east shining right along the track. While taking photographs the rolling stock became exceptionally hot and we were concerned that serious damage might occur by softening of the plastic. We decided that it might be prudent to move into the under-cover section of West Green Station. The track is a mixture of Peco and C&L Finescale. The problem facing Steve was that West Green had a single slip in the north bound track and Peco only produced a double slip. So, as many modellers have found, if what you want is not available the only answer is to build it yourself. Operation is by DCC while Graham's Hymek is DC. Since it is possible to operate one DC loco on a DCC there was no problem with running. However, the locomotive was emitting sounds that would make you think a DCC sound decoder was fitted!
Western Region Hymek No.D7054 departs from West Green with a train to Palace Gates
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The Track Pages by Paul Plowman High Speed Railways With the introduction of duo-block sleepered track by Peco and the availability of Javelin and Eurostar rolling stock from Hornby it is perhaps an appropriate time for a few notes about high speed railways in The Track Page. For those who are interested in the financial and business aspect of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link there is much information on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Speed_1 , suffice to say that the Rail Link is now owned by two Canadian pension funds and the British Government. Whoever the stakeholders might be in developing major projects of this kind the money has to come from somewhere and that is invariably from the banks. Unfortunately banks require some security for their money and they were not in the habit of handing over £2Bn (as it was at the time) to a group of engineers who had never built a high speed railway before. To satisfy the banks the SNCF consultancy, SYSTA was involved throughout the project in setting and maintaining the design standards for the Channel Tunnel Rail Link as developed on the TGV routes in France. To put it mildly the French engineers were not impressed with the British Government’s open access approach to the Rail Link. Technically the TGV routes in France have been extremely successful because all trains run at the same speed. The superelevation is designed for just one speed and all trains experience the same effects of deficiency. Rail wear is kept to a minimum and safety to a maximum. The British Government’s specification for international services running at 300Kph (East of Ebbsfleet), 200Kph domestic services and 140 Kph for freight trains certainly raised a few eyebrows in France. Technically this is a very unsatisfactory situation likely to cause rapid rail wear. Centripetal acceleration increases in proportion to the square of the speed so it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that the centripetal acceleration at 300Kph is more than four times that at 140Kph. This requirement really put the permanent way engineers on the spot. How do you design the superelevation where. the fastest trains require over four times the cant required by the slowest? The only solution was to design for the fastest trains and let the slower trains, just grind their way around the curves with more superelevation than needed. A high speed railway with speeds in the 300kph range is a whole new ball game. It is not just an extrapolation of conventional standards. The French make an analogy with a motorway. The high speed tracks are the motorway which are entered and exited by slip roads. Stations are analogous to service centres. There are no platforms on high
Swing Nose Crossing in the Up Main at Glenfield Junction, New South Wales speed tracks. All entries to the high speed lines are protected by trap points irrespective of whether or not there is a sufficient signal overlap. Entry and exit tracks are usually at least one signal section in length. Trackwork Rails are 60Kg/m weight as compared to the more common 54Kg/m used in the UK. The greater weight provides a stiffer rail which keeps its alignment better for high speed running. Perhaps on a model railway code 83 would be a better representation than code 75. Sleepers are the French style duo-block type as modelled by Peco. The reason for using this type of sleeper is that it is a proven design used in France. However, British engineers have reservations regarding this design. The steel bar linking the two blocks can flex causing variations in gauge, which is not desirable with high speed running. Now that the railway is built and there is no longer a French influence I believe that we will see these duo-blocks replaced by a traditional British style prestressed mono-block sleeper when track renewals become due. All turnouts in the high speed lines have swing nose crossings (see picture above of Glenfield Junction, NSW). These crossings are significantly more expensive than the traditional fixed crossings and they are used to address the following requirements: Firstly, very high speed running; secondly, very heavy axle loads (30 tonnes) or a need for a flat angle of crossing (flatter than about 1 in 32). The crossings at Glenfield in NSW were installed as an experiment to overcome a problem with wear from heavy axle loads.
Notice that check rails are not provided with this type of crossing. Wheels contacting a check rail at 300 Kph or more is not a good idea and does little for the quality of ride. Bridges Bridges are an extensive subject on their own but of interest to the modeller; all underline bridges carry ballasted track; no pointwork on bridges; all overline bridges are designed to keep the public away from the parapets to prevent the throwing of missiles at trains. In rural locations overline bridges may be built like tunnels with security fencing against the road. All overline bridges span the whole railway. There are no intermediate supports for derailed trains to collide with. Abutments are protected with crash barriers built of mass concrete and designed to guide a derailed train under the bridge. Tunnels Tunnels are generally built with single bores. There are exceptions such as the North Downs Tunnel which carries both tracks. However, for safety there is a wall of platform height between the tracks to prevent a derailed train colliding with one in the opposite direction. Air flow is a significant feature of tunnel design with pressure relief shafts close to the entrances. Signalling The Channel Tunnel Rail Link has in cab signalling. There are no lineside signals. Safety The railway is fenced throughout with high security fencing.
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Staff are not permitted on the track while trains are running. If staff need to go on the track in an emergency train speeds are reduced. Modelling a High Speed Railway The space needed to model a high speed railway with any degree of realism makes such a project difficult if not impossible. For 300 Kph running the minimum radius for mixed traffic is 4 Km, which for 00 really means that only a straight end-to-end layout is practicable unless one models a service area such as at Stratford.
Swing Nose Crossing in the Down Main at Glenfield Junction, New South Wales
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Layouts from the past
Exeter Central Built by the late Ken Webb and photographed by Paul Plowman During the period 2004 to 2006 I was privileged to visit the homes of a number of railway modellers in the Sydney and Central Coast areas to photograph their layouts for publication in our Model Railways On-Line Magazine. During these photo-shoots many photographs were taken which were not used in the published articles. In this series we will be publishing many of these discarded images. The first layout to be revisited was built by the late Ken Webb and was based on Exeter Central. Most of the photographs in this article have never previously been published. Only one by David Taylor appeared in my original article. Ken Webb was born in Catford, which is in the London Borough of Lewisham and lived in nearby Sydenham until 1939. The family then moved to Herne Bay in Kent to avoid the London bombing of WW2. Ken started with Hornby trains but changed to Trix Twin when it came on the market. Sometime later he sold them at a shop in Canterbury, which was blitzed in the big raid on the city. That was the end of model trains for awhile. Ken worked for Stewart Reidpath, manufacturer of model trains but at the time were engaged
Above: Ken Webb's model of Exeter Central Station.
Below: Looking along Queen Street with the station building on the right.
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Below: Lord Nelson Class 4-6-0 No.855 'Robert Blake' crosses Meldon Viaduct with the Devon Belle.
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Above: The locomotive depot and turntable.
Left: Back view of buildings in Queen Street.
Below: D15 Class 4-4-0 No.464 arrives at Padstow.
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Above: Battle of Britain 21C166 'Spitfire' comes up the grade from Exeter St Davids. Right: A restaurant car is shunted in to a London bound train. Below: A12 Class 0-4-2 No.637 in the North Devon countryside.
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Above: Battle of Britain 21C166 'Spitfire' crosses Meldon Viaduct. The backscene is from a photograph taken in the Exmoor National Park and merged with the model using Adobe Photoshop. Photograph by David Taylor.
Below: The approaches to Waterloo Station with U Class 2-6-0 No.1902 awaiting the road.
on making models of Japanese warships for the Navy to be used for recognition training. Then it was off to war! Years later in 1957 Ken bought a quantity of Triang trains in London for when his son grew up. Some ten years later the family moved into their own home in Sydney, which had a room underneath suitable for a model railway. His collection grew and his interest was the Southern Railway. They moved to a larger house, which had a very large double garage where Ken built the model railway featured in this article.
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Readers Letters West Green A model railway from the Codgerite Age Just as we talk about we eras in History such as the Ice age, the Dinosaur age there is also the Codgrite age or the age of the Old Codger of which I am a junior member but hope one day to reach to be an experienced member where you are licenced to slop gravy down your clothes forget things and wear thread bare cardigns. The Codger era started with the industrial revolution and ended in 1968 when steam traction was ousted from Britain, it is the age when travelling on trains was safe, where engines were friendly with smiley faces and there was half day closing on Thursday and all day Sunday and roast dinners. Born in the early 50s, I thought steam was for every, trains went clickety clack I wanted to be an engine driver. How romantic. I loved trains, and of course the state of the art Hornby Clockwork trains that looked nothing like the real ones, but only the lovely art work on the box they came in looked good. I must admit, size mattered and to get my little hand on O gauge was good, but like boys we ventured into electric trains sets, Triang for the ordinary kids or Hornby Dublo for the cashed up spoilt brats who got everything or so I thought at the time. Well I grew up, in size but still am a boy much to the horror of my wife and still love trains. Like many I decided to build the best layout in OO but never did, I had it all worked out , I could fit double track mainline, terminus stations, goods yard engine sheds turntable fancy track work to make Kings Cross look tame all on an 8 by 4 board. Well I never did any of it just false attempts but some better than others. In the back of my mind was the burning desire to play with big toys such as O gauge, The senior scale as some call it. So in 2003 I bought my first loco kit, in Gauge O, and built it and another 2 engines, however was still pursuing the idea I could build double O and an O gauge layout as if I had the money or the time. I moved home in 2011 and decided I had to make up my mind what to do, I could do both as even if I had the money I don’t have time. O gauge won out after I worked out that I could use the space down the side of the
house which is normally just a wooden fence with weeds growing through it I had 65 feet to play with and thought if I build a pergola at the back I could have a 65 foot run then a bend into a covered area 22ft long where I could make a reasonable model. I also decided this could then be extended. So I started building down the side of the house and ended up with a terminus and a long run. To see a train run along in the outdoors is something to behold but somehow I had no firm plans. The terminus was based on the Classic CJ Freezer Minories layout and I used peco turnouts and track to get me started. Where I grew up in Tottenham in London was a branch line from Seven Sisters to Palace Gates, it was on built by the GER in Jan 1878, by the 1930 the piccadilly line was extended past Finsbury Park and so the little line went into decline, so much so that Beeching eyed it off for closure and in officially closed to passenger traffic on 7th Jan 1963 and lingered on for freight till October 1964. West Green was the first station from Seven Sisters, it had a modest coal yard and I thought why not build a prototype and so started researching google for West Green Station. There is a site called dissused stations and many of the photos I got from this site or just a general google search for images. So far I have got all the track laid and working but am using C&L turnout kits, I have chosen B8 turnouts and also have a B8 single slip as per the prototype. Currently am building the station and hopefully when finished it will be recognizable as West Green. If you go to youtube and type in North Woolwich to Palace gate there is very rare video of the line showing West Green I thought I need something quirky for the line and I have decided on a fictitious company called the Shepton Mallet Ballcock company and there will be a warehouse and also some BR vans with the company logo on the side. So a bit of history on this company; as a very young boy had to know how things worked, toilets interested me, how they flushed, why did they stop flush and fill up so lifted the lid to see inside. Well that has not been forgotten by family and one day I was ringing my brother in Somerset and when he picked up the phone I decided in a flash to pretend I was from the Shepton Mallet Ballcock Company Call Centre that just happened to be in India the home of
call centres and to put on a convincing Indian accent. Needless to say he hung up on me not once but twice. So on call three I rang up normally and well we laughed and I thought I had killed him with laughter. I pretended to offer to service ballcocks, provide 2 for one offer , trade in ballcocks, basically talk crap but he always liked me ring up and making him laugh. Well, he has passed away now but I thought perhaps this fictitious Company should come to life at West Green. I think you will all agree that model railways should be fun and whilst my railway is going to be a model railway and not just a layout, I don’t want to be an extremist and so the bottom line is fun. Steve Rowe Fat Controller Railway West Greenius and CEO Shepton Mallet Ballcock company.
Return of MROL Magazine The return of the MROL news pages is a welcome addition to the web presence of British Railway Modelling. There has been a gap in the reporting of modelling British within Australia for some time now and I believe the intention of the group preparing these pages, Paul & Graham Plowman, is to report on happening and information on full-size railway matters, railway modelling news, reports from the model suppliers with reviews on new products provided by you the readers and the manufacturers, not forgetting the issues and solutions to wiring of points and the best way to achieve reliability from either DC or DCC power. Many of these aspects of modelling have previously been published by MROL and will now be revised to take into account new features. I look forward to once again seeing an updated web presence of MROL and hope you the reader will support Paul and Graham with news, photos of your layout, models and projects. In addition, ask questions of the many modellers who have already done this or that, or made mistakes and can guide you away from those problems. An example is the recent Adam’s Radial model that had incorrect wiring that would blow the DCC chip unless modified. The remedy is most likely within this latest issue of MROL courtesy of Graham. David Lord
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Review of the Bachmann USA Tank By Graham Plowman
Background and Prototype History The Bachmann USA Tank No. 30064 is a model of a class of 382 locomotives which was constructed by the United States Army Transportation Corps as S100 class for use in the invasion of Europe at the end of the second World War as it was expected that no motive power would be available. Most were exported overseas but some remained in store at Newbury Racecourse after the war having hardly been used. The Southern Railway (SR) purchased a number of locos and adapted them to replace ageing B4, D1 and E1 class tank locos being used in Southampton Docks. The Bachmann model represents the class in its SR modified form. A number of locos have been preserved, probably the most well known being 30064 on the Bluebell Railway (the subject of the Bachmann model), 'Maunsell' and
No. 30064 approaching Freshfield Halt on the Bluebell Railway 'Wainwright' on the Kent and East Sussex Railway and 30072 which appeared in a distinctive 'Worth Valley' 'umber' livery
on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, also a subject of the Bachmann model.
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The Model Back in the late 1970's, I recall visiting an exhibition at Clair Hall, Haywards Heath, Sussex where I saw a 'finescale' layout with hand-built copper-clad track and running on it was what appeared to be a Finecast, or similar kit of this loco. I really don't know what its origins were. My familiarity with the prototype at the time was on the Bluebell Railway where all through the 1970's and early 1980's, 30064, along with the Adams Radial, seemed to the only locos running every weekend we visited! I recall thinking at the time that the chances of seeing a ready-torun version of this loco were highly unlikely! But here we are, 35 years on and Kernow Model Railway Centre have engaged Bachmann to produce a model of this iconic loco. Initial observations are that this is quite a small loco but it is packed with detail, making it fairly fragile to handle. It is beautifully painted and lined out and the characteristic walschaerts valve gear running from the rear axle is immediately obvious and well portrayed. When run out-of-the-box on DC power, it runs extremely smoothly, not unlike the performance of the 08 shunter from the same manufacturer. This loco is fitted with an NEM 651 6-pin DCC decoder socket and when fitted with a suitable decoder, it gains the benefit of constant full track power, which ensures perfect running at the slowest of speeds. A comparison with the original drawing reveals that the model measures up exactly on all the major dimensions such as wheelbase, height, width, length, distance from axles to end buffer beams etc.
No. 30065 'Maunsell' and No. 30070 'Wainwright' at Tonbridge where they were dumped on the site of the closed engine shed for six months after being dragged from Ashford and declared unfit for further travel due to hot bearings. They were en route to Barry Island for scrapping. They remained at Tonbridge until being moved to Rolvenden, on the Kent & East Sussex Railway, in September 1968. They had been re-sold to the preserved line in the previous month.
Dismantling to fit a Decoder This model is very easy to dismantle. To remove the body, first, the couplings must be removed to reveal the body attachment screws. When these are removed, the body lifts off very easily. There is no detail to be 'unwound' - the body simply comes off, nice and easily, no pulling, twisting or levering. Once inside, we find a standard Bachmann mechanism layout with a cast chassis. The body is also cast, which means that this loco is actually quite heavy, considering its small size. This isn't a fast loco, but the pay-off is that it runs extremely smootly at low speeds - which
is what one would normally want from a shunting loco. As will be noted from the picture below, the loco is fitted with a 6-pin NEM 651 decoder socket, into which, we have fitted a DCC Concepts ZN6D decoder. Like many locos these days, this one has a solid metal body/footplate arrangement for increased weight which works well. The buffer beams are solid metal, in this instance, attached to the chassis. It is at this point that we must highlight our only
disappointment with this model as it continues the trend of locating body attachment screws right behind the buffer beams, exactly where a coupling hook threads through for those who fit chain couplings. Not only is this annoying, but on this model, there is solid metal behind both buffer beams, making the fitting of chain couplings virtually impossible or requiring a significant amount of drilling. The odd thing is, as supplied, the model is fitted with plastic 'hooks' which fit into holes in each
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The
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underside
of
the
model,
showing
the
The underside of the model, showing the location of the front body attachment screw.
Bachmann USA Tank No. 30064 with body removed. buffer beam. These could be made a little bit bigger to make them actually usable. Heljan are actually fitting exquisite
location
of
the
front
body
attachment
The underside of the model, showing the location of the rear body attachment screw.
A close-up view of the mechanism. chain/screws couplings to a number of their locos as standard and the couplings are actually usable, not requiring replacement. Not everyone uses NEM pocket couplings!
screw.
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Location of front body attachment screw preventing fitting chain couplings
Location of rear body attachment screw preventing fitting chain couplings
Summary This is a beautiful model, very neatly finished, runs extremely smoothly and on the review sample, exhibits no wobbling when running. It would be a very useful and appropriate addition to any early BR(S), SR or preservation layout. Highly recommended.
â– No. 30064 at Ashprington Road
Locomotive supplied by:
Zen ZN6D 6-pin Decoder supplied by:
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Modelling a Brunel Style Tunnel Mouth by Graham Plowman Modelling tunnel mouths has always been a limited activity for the modeller who has generally had to resort to using commercially-made products such as the Peco/Merit or various card offerings (see figs.1 and 2). This article presents a method of modelling a characteristic Brunel-style tunnel mouth. The techniques can be equally used on tunnel mouths and other constructions such as buildings, regardless of the prototype region. Like many modellers, when I first started my layout some years ago, I opted for the Peco double track tunnel mouth:
Fig.1: Peco/Merit tunnel mouth
Fig.2: Peco/Merit tunnel mouth installed on the author's Ashprington Road layout However, the more I looked at this product on the layout, the more I realised that it really didn't look right and with this, I undertook some research to find a prototype for the Peco product. I came to the conclusion that the Peco product is totally wrong: I was not able to find any photos on any of the UK regions of a tunnel mouth constructed like this. The nearest I came to it was a single bridge at Trethall Halt on the Helston branch in 'West Country Branch Lines' by Peter W Gray, page 76: (see fig.3) The problem with the Peco product is that the retaining walls are wrong. When a real tunnel was constructed (assuming a dug rather than 'cut and cover'), digging continued to form the cutting until it was deemed that the ground above was sufficiently hight and stable that tunnelling could commence. Other engineering reasons were also involved. Modellers are often unaware that railway cuttings and embankments never slope at more than 1 in 1 and a half gradient unless the ground is retained or it is rock. This is because a real embankment/soil will not naturally stand up at greater than this gradient. A typical cutting will be V shaped right up to the tunnel mouth. For the Peco tunnel mouth to be plausible, a 'quarry' would
Fig.3: Bridge at Trethall Halt on the Helston Branch Photo: Courtesy Peter W Gray need to be cut out around the tunnel mouth in order to maintain ground stability, given the shape of the retaining walls. When I first built my cutting, I did exactly this as can be seen in the photo above. There must be a better way! For some years now, I have been using a method of plywood frame construction, covered with plaster and then scribed with a stonework effect with great success. I decided to employ this method for a tunnel mouth. The first thing which needed to be done was to get the shape and size of the tunnel itself correct and to do this, I used the picture above: (see fig.4) This was to be printed out and used as a template. The first thing
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The hillside on the layout was opened up and a suitable sitting base was built. The tunnel mouth was put in place and a series of tests were undertaken with various items of rolling stock used to test clearances. Initially, the mouth was sited too low on the ground such that rolling stock roofs collided with the tunnel 'tube'. Quick checks against pictures confirmed that the mouth needed sitting higher, which was done. There's nothing worse in my view than looking in a model tunnel mouth and seeing the inside of a hill! A tunnel 'tube' was therefore added, although it isn't shown in the pictures below because some minor trackwork was in progress at the time. A BR MKIII, a GWR Centenary and a GWR Autocoach were used to check clearances. MKIII's are actually as good as MKI's in terms of Fig.4: Dainton Tunnel, Eastern Portal Photo: Courtesy of SouthWest Trains which became obvious on printing the template was that as modellers, our curves are much sharper than prototype (in this instance, mine are 5 foot radius) and we place our tracks at a greater separation than prototypical. I therefore used computer software to enlarge the template, maintaining the aspect ratio, so that when printed the width of the tunnel mouth spanned my tracks with sufficient clearances. So although the model is not true to scale, it is fully in proportion. The template (see fig.5) was then used to mark out the tunnel mouth on 3mm ply. The
Fig.5: Template of Tunnel Mouth
Fig.6:
Fig.7:
Eastern portal of Dainton was chosen because in comparison, the Western Portal is plain in appearance. The Eastern portal is also fairly unique in that it is flat-fronted which makes it easy to model, unlike the western portal which is curved.
overhang and end-swing, therefore, they were of little use in the tests. The two GWR coaches are very wide and were good tests.
Figures 6 and 7 show the construction of the frame, followed by plastering and the finished product. Painting is a mixture of watery washes of water colour which gives a very realistic stone effect. Some Carrs powders have also been used to give 'tone' and to mark the soot on the top of the arch.
Once position and clearances were confirmed, the tunnel mouth was fixed in place and the hillside rebuilt using fibre insulation board supporting chicken wire (which was pinned to the fibre board) onto which newspaper dipped in builder's finishing plaster was laid over with many, many layers, giving a very firm surface. The ground around the tunnel was painted brown and then scenic work commenced:
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The finished product appears below. Note the drainage covers either side and in between the tracks. These are very rarely modelled by modellers. In this instance, a drainage pipe would run
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down the centre of the tunnel with the centre cover acting as a 'T' piece with pipes under the track at right angles to the outer drainage pits.
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Images JANUARY 2017 from the MROL Collection
Above: Busy time at Waterloo - 20 April 1964 Below: Festiniog Railway, 'Blanche' emerges from the new Moelwyn Tunnel with a train to Bleanau Ffestiniog - 14 August 1984
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Above: Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, 'Typhoon' and 'Green Goddess' at New Romney - 16 June 1964 Below: Three-way turnout at Oxted - 9 July 1985