A 1944 themed layout

[heda]

No progress on the board itself at the moment but I have made a start on building a small rickety coaling strage using coffee stirrers split lengthways to make planks. I need to add bracing to the legs and some steps. The coal is a small piece of polystyrene covered with a layer of filler.

Dave

[heda]

A bit more progress on the coaling stage while I've got some modelling time.The building works is finished and the coal is black which is a distint improvement from the white filler.
The next job will be adding some washes of watery acrylic then add the coal.
Dave

[heda]

Not a lot of time for modelling just now but I've managed to give the coaling stage some weathering using washes of artist acrylic. Burnt umber first the black. It's looking suitably grubby now. Next job will be to add some coal.
Apart from that I'm thinking about entering the world of DCC. I'm happy enough with DC although I have been planning to upgrade my two basic hornby controllers but son in law has had a loft clear out and amongst other things I've been given an old Lenz digital controller to sell on for him, it doesn't seem to be worth a great deal due to it's age but would suit me, so other than the cost of decoders it would be just as cheap to buy that as a decent DC controller. I haven't made a decision yet but I'm tempted.
Dave

[heda]

After another lay off I'm finding some time and motivation to work on the layout again.
What was intended to be an army depot is now also a general warehouse depending on what trains I want to run.
Had another attempt at painting some wooden crates, this is my third attempt at getting an acceptable colour and I think it's as good as I'm going to get them. The fork lift truck is Matchbox, repainted and named, it will need some weathering to dull it down a bit.
Next job was sorting out trains. Two loco's sold on, a Mainline collet a very noisy old Hornby 0-6-0 and two TR Great Western coaches. The replacement will be a newer SR 0-6-0, probably a Terrier as there seems to be quite a limited choice in SR.
I drew up a list of items I need to start detailing, I hope the postman will be bringing me some goodies later in the week, I'm going to need more wagons too.
Lastly to improve shunting control I'm still thinking about going DCC it's just really a matter of fitting a couple of decoders and giving it a try but my lack of motivation is holding me back on that.

Dave

[Bigmet]

Your choice entirely, but SR was way different from the rest of the UK systems, where the 0-6-0T was the most common tank loco by far. SR had significantly more of both 0-6-2T and 0-4-4T than 0-6-0T, so the H for the Eastern side and the M7 or O2 for the Western side of the system, and the E4 for that peculiar area in between, would also be eligible, and arguably more typical for Southern. (There's also the Beattie 2-4-0T, Adams Radial 4-4-2T, P 0-6-0T, B4 0-4-0T, which were in specific locations, and since the war is on, the Leeds derived WD 0-6-0ST and possibly the USA 0-6-0T might have been seen.

Along with the Terrier that's a decent choice in small SR tank locos from RTR.

And while I know nothing about fork trucks operating at that period, in the late sixties when I first saw one working, and well into the 1980s they could be in very dull paint garnished with rust and filth. Matt green, dull red, not unusual, and operating poorly lit warehouses. It was the employee's job to look sharp and avoid them.

Your crates look nicely 'nondescript'.

[Mountain]

If you need a roof for your goods van, I have a few so if you want one I can send one to you. It may not fit perfectly but it can be glued on if that is the case. One can make them fit! Let me know if you need one.

[heda]

Thank you for the advice Bigmet. I do like 0-6-0's one reason being anything much bigger looks out of place on my small layout. The Terrier I think will look right.

I have no idea a fork lift truck of that design would have been used in the 40's / 50's but it was cheap at a car boot sale and I don't think it looks out of place although as you say it looks in showroom condition, scuffs and dirt will be added in due course. I have an identical truck painted in olive drab which suits the army depot perfectly.

Mountain, the wagons to the left are open plank wagons, the angle of the camera makes them look higher but I do have a goods van missing a roof, I'll pm you.

Dave

[glencairn]

Looking good, heda. Lovely photographs.

Fork Lift trucks have been around since 1923. The pictures I have seen of them taken in WW2 were (mainly) a drab green colour or a khaki brown. Never seen one in yellow, which doesn't mean there wasn't any.

Carry on the good work.

Glencairn

[heda]

Thanks Glencairn, once I get more scenic work completed I will take better pictures.
I didn't do any research into forklift colours, my layout does include a rather large amount of modellers license. But thought I'd do a quick Google to see if they did exist in yellow and it looks like they may have, although not as bright as mine !

https://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/ind ... ndustries)

A picture of the other fork lift truck on an army day

Dave

[glencairn]

heda. Please do not think I was criticising your modelling etc. Far from it.

As for modellers licence I use it more than most.

Glencairn

[heda]

Not at all Glencairn, the reason I chose yellow was because the original Matchbox colour was red so I changed it for the sake of it, only after reading you post I wondered if they did exist in yellow and had to look it up.

The layout is pure fiction but based on the area around Canford Magna village which is just to the East of the Castelman Trailway where a single track ran down from Wimborne to Poole. My layout is my imaginary loop off the branch line serving the depot / warehouse.

Without modellers licence I wouldn't have a layout !

Dave

[glencairn]

I am glad to see the fork lifts do not have 'cages' over them. They came in when the 'elf'n'safety brigade stepped in. I had to cut them off my fork lifts.

Glencairn

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Anything owner by the Army/Ministry of Supply in 1944, would have been in dark green/khaki.

Layouts looking better everyday

manna

[heda]

Thank You Manna
I have got through a few Tamiya rattle cans of both dark green and olive drab.
Dave

[heda]

With a burst of enthusiasm and some free time I've made a start on the last two gardens. Both have a static grass lawn and sawdust soil. The plan is to have vegetables in the smaller garden and fruit trees in the larger one. Slow progress but I'm in no great hurry to finish it's a project to fill in spare time rather than to spend time on.

Dave