The EWR.

[captrees]

It has been a slow two and a half years in the making, but the studio in my garden has now morphed into my railway room. There’s a lot of room in what had just been used as storage, and the tables have been built around stored trunks and boxes. Early ideas have been documented in a couple of previous threads…

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Whatever my intentions were at the start, there have been constant evolutions as we progressed. The South Westmorland Railway was to have incorporated Oxenholme station and Lake Windermere and the Arnside Viaduct. It became the Lune and Kentdale as the backdrop hills to the east were added. It was decided to add some gradients, and Lake Windermere gave way to Shap Fell, making it become East Westmorland. That could change if I extend into further depths of the studio later. It may even run to Euston Station. Or Carnforth or Lancaster. Settle, possibly, too. What’s in a name?

Being a total novice, lurking on this forum alerted me to all sorts of pitfalls. I had no idea what Analogue or DCC meant. It was all just British Rail to me, and I was unaware that I was in old LMS territory and needed all the locos and rolling stock to reflect that. I entered into an area of research and history that I had never anticipated would consume me. I was just trying to recreate a scene from my childhood, to rekindle memories of a world 12,000 miles and 60 years away. I am still in awe that so much stuff is available, because I don’t have any connections with other railway modellers other than this forum. I have been to the Margate Museum, and two exhibitions in Perth, but I’m not very good with clubs and social mingling with experts. There’s a fabulous little treasure trove of a shop here that I visit if I go to the city. It has lots of second hand stuff, and browsing here is a great source of inspiration.

Anyway, here is a view at about the 6 month stage. One table with an oval wasn’t enough, so a second was built, and there is still room for expansion about 3 times the size, if and when. There’s no hurry. Excuse the mess. I expect I tidied the room before taking the photo.

[Chops]

A beautiful design by which graceful passenger trains will sweep through a canvas of British countryside. Well done! That viaduct is cleverly worked in.

[glencairn]

Looking really good and a great layout size, captrees. Well done.

Modelling the Westmoreland area eh! May I suggest purchasing a book titled 'Historical Railway Modelling' by David Jenkinson. (No affiliation). Although the book can cover anywhere in the UK one is drawn deeply into LMS territory; especially East Westmoreland (now part of Cumbria). An invaluable book (imho).

Glencairn

[captrees]

It's all about illusion, isn't it? Initially I was very slap dash with this, particularly the back drop/s. Everything could be improved on at a later date. Or not. I was never going to recreate Oxenholme with any accuracy, so it was just about the feeling, or illusion, of being there. You can't cram all the features you want in such a small space, especially if you want town and countryside. So what are the requirements? In this case it was all about memories, so actual realism is perhaps less important. As a small boy I often travelled between Oxenholme and Carlisle, and lived about 2 miles from Oxenholme. We'd stand on the bridge there, running from one side to the other as the trains passed underneath. I smoked my first cigarette with other schoolboys on one of those trains. We'd bicycle along Paddy Lane, watching the trains climbing Grayrigg bank, often with the assistance of a banking loco pushing it along. And later, my sister and I travelled on the footplate of a banking tank engine up that hill. Quite illegally of course, but the driver was a mate of Dad's. Nowadays I wonder what that tank engine was. An Ivatt? A Fairburn? It didn't matter then, but seems more important now.

Anyway, a Build Thread is about the building, but the anecdotal stuff , to me is very much what it is all about. Now the first known photo of the EWR shows two large linked ovals and a siding. A large piece of ply was extracted from underneath my stepson's bed and so it would be fair to say that the layout started off as queen sized. This all sat on a table, which wasn't large enough, so you may observe some gradients at one end.



Essentially this was the learning stage. I had had nothing to do with electric trains for over 50 years, and I needed to experiment as to how it all worked. I think I had already been on this forum asking for some advice. I was told to get a small Hornby set with an oval and a controller, which I did. I followed it up with all the Hornby add-on bits so that the oval became 2 and then a siding. The piece of advice I didn't take was to start with DCC. I was told at the Model Railway exhibition that Australia would most likely not import any more DCC stuff. I still have no idea if this is the case, but I am perfectly content with analogue. I guess I can upgrade at some stage.

I got a new 4MT and 4 used Collett GWR coaches at that Exhibition. No research had been done at that stage, but luckily the 4MT was an Oxenholme regular. I built a row of redbrick terraced houses, a shop/Post Office, a signal box and a watertower, all from scratch, and ran them round and round. Then I went to the hardware shop and bought some timber.



Stage 2 saw the construction of the first table, an extended version of the queensized, complete with removeable panel for access. A Bachmann Fairburn tank (brilliant little loco) was added for goods duties. The viaducts in the background could be Lowgill and Ribblehead, but they were cut from chipboard to add a bit of low relief. The painting of the Howgills and Ingleborough were loosely inspired by the Art Deco railway posters of that period, where they used very few solid colours. The result is not to my satisfaction and will be reworked as and when, but hey… its all part of the illusion.

Next came the second table.



It’s all pine with a pinboard top. The ply from the queensized bed got sawn up to make a template for the gradients, and as you can see there is no need to incorporate an access hatch as the sweeping curves mean I can reach everywhere. I had now discovered Peco flexible track. The S bend was a challenge, as I had set myself a criteria of running long trains at flat out speeds. There was thus a period of lengthening and smoothing curves, and ballasting trucks and generally modifying rolling stock until I was happy. Or at least I wasn’t getting any derailments any more.

At this stage I had envisaged the connection between the two tables to be the Arnside viaduct, with Windermere and Lakeside station worked in somehow. However, stretching geography beyond credible limits was abandoned, and the scenery reverted to eastern Westmorland as I progressed. There's enough space in the studio to make this layout 3 times larger, but that's a case of "we'll see."

Looking really good and a great layout size, captrees. Well done.

Modelling the Westmoreland area eh! May I suggest purchasing a book titled 'Historical Railway Modelling' by David Jenkinson. (No affiliation). Although the book can cover anywhere in the UK one is drawn deeply into LMS territory; especially East Westmoreland (now part of Cumbria). An invaluable book (imho).

Glencairn

Thanks Glencairn, I’ll get this, when I can work out how to avoid paying expensive postage to Aus. Usually the wife goes to the UK annually and brings back such shopping, but not just at the moment. The shopping list is getting longer….

[Mountain]

An interesting track plan. I found the controller you have a bit frustrating to use. I prefer a Gaugemaster DC controller or something along those lines.
DCC is also good, but to be honest it depends on your outlook. When I was younger I loved al the adgets and gizzmos I could get, but now I am older I am the opposite and just want simplicity. Just want to turn a control knob flick a chunky toggle switch or two and watch the trains go (All going to plan).
My pet hate are the touchscreen controllers in any form. Also the thought that they are now fitting them to cars! "No!" "What is wrong with this world?" (Uh-oh. Someone who loves them is going to give me a lecture!) Hahaha!
Ok, anyway... I love the viaduct. It looks brill. Having something like this in the background makes the layout look larger. Well done!

[glencairn]

It's all about illusion, isn't it? Initially I was very slap dash with this, particularly the back drop/s. Everything could be improved on at a later date. Or not. I was never going to recreate Oxenholme with any accuracy, so it was just about the feeling, or illusion, of being there. You can't cram all the features you want in such a small space, especially if you want town and countryside. So what are the requirements? In this case it was all about memories, so actual realism is perhaps less important. As a small boy I often travelled between Oxenholme and Carlisle, and lived about 2 miles from Oxenholme. We'd stand on the bridge there, running from one side to the other as the trains passed underneath. I smoked my first cigarette with other schoolboys on one of those trains. We'd bicycle along Paddy Lane, watching the trains climbing Grayrigg bank, often with the assistance of a banking loco pushing it along. And later, my sister and I travelled on the footplate of a banking tank engine up that hill. Quite illegally of course, but the driver was a mate of Dad's. Nowadays I wonder what that tank engine was. An Ivatt? A Fairburn? It didn't matter then, but seems more important now.

….

As you say, captrees, it's all about illusion. What must be included. Can it be squeezed in? I have been there with my 'Sovereign Street & Crown Point' layout. A lot I wanted to add but had to be omitted.

About the Ivatt or was it a Fairburn? When I saw engines I thought then that they would always be there. The thought of the Waverley Route closing was never on the mind. Coal trains and mines were firm fixtures. I was too young to think of recording such events. I bet you buy a Fairburn and an Ivatt.

Now we have to search deep in our minds to remember what things were like. Adding little cameos keep the memories. The milkman, coalman, newspaper seller on the street corner. Dogs getting a morning walk by following the postman. etc. etc.

Glencairn

[captrees]

An interesting track plan. I found the controller you have a bit frustrating to use. I prefer a Gaugemaster DC controller or something along those lines.

I bought a second (used) little Hornby controller so that I could run two trains, and very soon after ordered a Gaugemaster! Vast improvement noted.

I bet you buy a Fairburn and an Ivatt.

Of course. The Fairburn I bought new, and am very pleased with it, either banking or punching above its weight with a long complement of coaches or trucks. Sadly the Ivatt, which I bought used, is a fail as a banker. I believe it’s a superceded “split chassis” version.

Of the two, I’m sure the Fairburn is bigger than the loco we travelled on. The Ivatt was more likely the one, but I can’t be sure. Fairburns were used as bankers during that period. By coincidence, the last banker used at Oxenholme was a 4MT, not a tank. The first loco I bought was a 4MT because it “looked right.” I had no idea if it was correct for Oxenholme for that period, but bought it because it was a bargain.

[captrees]

Once the track had reached 2 tables, there was evolution and confusion. Had I taken on more than I could cope with? Every curve was a learning curve. I wanted a gradient up which trains could climb pulling long loads, sometimes double headers, or with a banker pushing. This was Shap Fell country. Coming down the hill at speed into an S bend ,with 2 sets of points, without derailing was a challenge. I don’t know how many times I ripped all the track up and started again. I tried 4th radius and Peco flexi until I got it right. Even then I hadn’t considered track expansion with temperature, or those little nails popping out, causing mayhem. There’s still a few screws holding it together which is something I’ll address when I am ballasting. For now trains are running well, but I’m not running goods trains flat out.



I lived about 3 miles from Oxenholme, but on a still summer night, lying in bed, I’d hear those goods trains coming up from Carnforth, or down Grayrigg Bank heading south. Just as you’d think the sound had disappeared, another train could be heard, as if it was an endless process. My layout was always going to be what you guys call a roundy round, because most trains didn’t stop at Oxenholme. Big expresses like the Caledonian just blasted through without stopping. The goods trains didn’t stop. There was a branch line to Kendal and Windermere. Perhaps some goods trains stopped at Kendal, but Oxenholme was a small mainline station with no town attached. The layout now runs express trains on the outer track, and the goods trains, or local passenger trains on the inner.

Diesel was in its infancy. Green locos with no soul. Even at a young age there was something sad about the inevitable passing of steam. Thus there are no diesels in the East Westmorland Railway. However steam trains were dirty things. I don’t recall any of those bright blue, green, or purple locos that Hornby would have us believe they were. Not the ones that stopped at Oxenholme, anyway. Nor were goods wagons clean, and trucks didn’t have all that writing on the side either. The local passenger trains never had uniform coaches. They were a mix of maroon ones and red and cream. As school kids we’d always try and get seats in the newer red and cream ones.

By now I had discovered and been impressed by the designs of Sir William Stanier, and a Bachmann Jubilee joined the 4MT and the Fairburn to run passenger train duties. The little Hornby 0-4-0 which probably had little effect as a banker actually helped on the downhill stretches by acting as a brake. The Jubilee ran countless laps with varying numbers of coaches to determine the best gradients. I hadn’t given myself enough room to do justice to Shap Fell, so the first gradient became Grayrigg Bank, with Scout Green at the top. The tracks then disappeared into a tunnel and headed downwards again. A steep road led up to Shap Summit itself, where the Eagle café, an old bus, dished out bacon sandwiches and cups of tea to truck drivers.



That’s the view from Shap Summit looking down towards Scout Green in the corner. A tunnel under Scout Green takes a single line towards Kirkby Stephen and Stainmore. The junction there will become Tebay.



The start of the road climb up Shap Fell. Many a trip in the family car was made up here, sometimes in snow, and we always got stuck behind the slow moving lorries. The fencing is made from strips of rodent mesh. I also used this for the basis of the hillside here before coating it with plaster bandage. There’s also some use of foam gap filler here.



It was a toss up whether to introduce the Shap Granite quarries or the Shap Lime quarries, but the latter won out. There is a crushing and processing plant made from toilet rolls, oven extractor fan filter material, glasses cleaner spray bottles and a Bisto container. The brown base is cork gasket material. That’s the obligatory Ribble Express bus going up the hill too. Another childhood journey.

Its all a bit slap dash, especially the painting, but I’ll go to the Woodland Scenics catalogue and improve it in time. Of course I’m writing this long after the event, not during it, so will bring it up to current date in a few more posts. This is where we were at perhaps a year ago.

[captrees]

I have been reading other people's Build Threads and see some cats have been introduced. So I thought I'd better introduce Charley, in his capacity as Chief Railway Dog. Charley has a brother, Henry, but Charley has made it clear to Henry that he is Chief Railway Dog, and Henry is not welcome in the Railway Room, and can certainly not sit on his chair!



His Master's Train.



Henry of course thinks Charley is completely mad. Henry's visits to the Railway Room in the garden are only duty visits to ensure that there are no rats there. West Highland Terriers shouldn't sit on a chair watching trains go round and round. They are ratters not trainspotters. I think I agree with Henry. Charley is quite mad, but I am happy in the knowledge that it is highly unlikely that any rats or mice will take up residence here!

[Ironduke]

What a good boy! I like your chest of drawers viaduct.

[Chops]

Henry and I are both entranced by the sweeping passenger trains arcing through those fine
reversing curves. Wish I'd thought of that.

[captrees]

We may as well bring this up to where we are today, because I don't have many other pics of the build-in-progress. Here's a view looking, um, north from Oxenholme. It's a fine summers day. The grey skies looming are the photographer's fault for not having enough light on the matter.



You will observe a cricket match, Netherfield v Milnthorpe, is underway. Whilst Oxenholme may not in reality have a cricket field, it seemed a good way to disguise the large inspection hole cover that lifts out to allow me access things that I could not otherwise reach. The cricketers themselves, (expensive little people. No chance of fielding a second team here.) are stuck on with that marvellous 'tacky wax' but have a tendency to fall over if I lift the cover off. They will be glued on with UHU when my son next visits. He's a keen cricketer, and I'll need him to advise the best field placement for that Milnthorpe spin bowler.

In the foreground a goods train is blasting through Oxenholme from Carlisle to Lancaster. The Caledonian seems to have stopped there too. This was not scheduled. Those Bachmann coaches seem to randomly uncouple them selves, so it was probably that. My wife bought me the "City of Sheffield" with sound, for Christmas. The sound, I think, is marvellous. I can forgive the loco for being bright green, because it brings the layout to life. The loco itself is a bit slow, certainly compared with my Jubilee, but they both tow 8 carriages up Grayrigg Bank without a banker or going double-headed. Can't ask for more. All the direct expresses from Euston to Glasgow only had eight carriages.



In these here parts, there are sheep and old stone barns and 'dry stane dikes.' Farmers with sticks and collies and Landrovers too. Its only a very small paddock, but it's a very important corner of my childhood landscape. If you've never been to a sheepdog trial, drop everything and go now. I'm not much of a reader these days, but someone gave me James Rebanks' "The Shepherd's Life," recently and it was positively unputdownable. I'm just sorry that Peco have seen fit to make only Suffolk sheep when they should be Herdwicks.

As for the barn, well of course it was one of Mr Metcalfe's finest. Having decided to scratch build all my buildings, my wife saw that Metcalfe came from down the road in Skipton, and came to the rescue with this and some other fine purchases. If Oxenholme looks like it should be in Yorkshire, well so be it. Mr Metcalfe, in his blurb, says this particular barn looks like his family's barn in Malham Cove. Now I do know where Malham Cove is, but mention it to an Aussie here and he'll be wondering if it has a Surf Life Saving Club.

Notice too, the fencing, made from strips of rodent mesh from the left over from some garden fencing. It can be trimmed so that long tabs are left on it that can be pushed into polystyrene with ease. I'm well aware that they should be dry stane walls, but they will be converted later. The brown rubble at the far end of the paddock was jarrah wood shavings from cutting firewood with my chainsaw, and secured with timber varnish. It seems to work. I'm a firm believer in using up stuff that is on hand, and not shopping if possible. There's a large rock next to the barn that is just that. I'm sure it should have a name. Or people climbing up it.

To be continued.

[captrees]

May I suggest purchasing a book titled 'Historical Railway Modelling' by David Jenkinson. (No affiliation). Although the book can cover anywhere in the UK one is drawn deeply into LMS territory; especially East Westmoreland (now part of Cumbria). An invaluable book (imho).

Glencairn

At last this has arrived down under after 9 weeks, probably at sea.. The vagaries of the postal systems at these times are a mystery. In fact as a bonus, she who does ebay better than me was confused by two books of a similar name. Thus I not only have Jenkinson’s ‘Historical Railway Modelling’ but also his earlier Modelling Historical Railways,’ since she purchased both. The latter arriving 2 days after the former. I am half way through reading the first, having studied all the pictures first, of course.

Anyway, thank you Glencairn. This was just what I wanted. I’m now overloaded in detail about my chosen area, and very much more aware of my mistakes. I feel I should start again. But I won’t. Maybe I’ll just add a branchline to Marthwaite. After all, Marthwaite is at the foot of my backdrop. Hey, I even went to school there.

Jenkinson’s genius is in inventing a line that doesn’t exist, through an area that does. I would question the route, since he takes liberties with local contours. A more realistic track between New Hutton and Natland would have taken the line through our garden. And a gasometer stood near Canal Head, where his ‘Kendal Castle’ station stands, and where he would have us believe was the castle.



I am a little in awe of Jenkinson’s total understanding and descriptions of this modelling stuff. Inspiration, compromise, and research, are components that he talks so much about. One thing that makes me nervous is that he assumes that the reader will progress through several layouts. I only considered doing it the once, but he’s giving me too many ideas.

[glencairn]

Glad you like the book, captrees. It is a favourite of mine.

Maybe I’ll just add a branchline to Marthwaite. After all, Marthwaite is at the foot of my backdrop. Hey, I even went to school there.

Jenkinson’s genius is in inventing a line that doesn’t exist, through an area that does. I would question the route, since he takes liberties with local contours. A more realistic track between New Hutton and Natland would have taken the line through our garden. but he’s giving me too many ideas.

Now all this I must see. Especially the LMS through your garden. Imagine had it really happened. A 1-1 scale garden railway. Heaven.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Glencairn

[captrees]

Making a model railway that is based around the early1960’s means that all the locos have to be the ones that were in use in that era, and specific to that area too. I wanted to run something older, since most locos I have were built in the 30’s to 50’s. I can remember cycling with my sister along a country lane that ran alongside the railway track when this loco came along on its own, not pulling anything. It was a very old loco, clattering along quite slowly. It was a small rusty loco with a tender and a tall funnel. I remember wondering what such an old loco was doing. Its odd how memories stick. I probably hadn’t given it a thought for over 50 years. Anyway British steam engines are very well catalogued on the internet. So I tried to find out what sort of loco it might have been, and found that in my area a loco known as a 3F ran up until 1964, and 938 of them were built between 1875 and 1908.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midland_R ... nson_0-6-0



(Note driver wearing a tie!)

Once I had worked this out, I wondered if anyone made a model 3F in 00 gauge, and found that Bachmann made one. It was unlikely that I’d find one in Australia, but ebay turned one up at a little model shop in Sydney for $219 plus postage. I didn’t want one badly enough to pay that much, and this one was in LMS livery when the correct period livery would be a late British Railway crest.



I thought nothing of it again until I was browsing through the model railway shop in Perth. This place is a real treasure trove of new and used stock. Peter the owner doesn’t do ebay so you never know what he has in stock. In fact he has so much that he doesn’t know either. I was looking at all his used stock on his shelves. There must have been 100 locos. Peter buys old collections, and often there’s no difference between old and new, as much of the ‘old’ stuff has never been used. After looking at the ‘loose’ engines, I looked through the boxed stuff, new and used. The boxes were arranged so that you could read the description on the end of the box, and perhaps there were 50 boxes stacked up.

After reading what was in all the boxes I was disappointed that I hadn’t found anything. The 3F ‘Jinty’ tank engines without the tenders were interesting enough and I might have bought one if he had one. However I went back to one box that was stacked the wrong way round, in the most unlikely chance that it was what I was looking for. And lo and behold it was a 3F with a tender, brand new, in the correct ‘British Rail’ livery, and only $140. Bingo! I wondered what the odds were. So I bought it.

It’s a great little runner. Being an 0-6-0 loco it can get run flat out without derailing, and has as much power as my bigger locos. Here it is pulling some coal trucks through Tebay on the approach to Shap Fell.



Apparently the reason for their longevity was their simplicity and reliability, and they were very popular with the drivers. No 3F’s survive in the UK. The remaining ones were all scrapped in the ‘60s. It’s easy to imagine that the rattly old loco I saw as a kid was on its way to the wreckers.