Working On The Water Tank Wagon

The time has come to make a determined effort to finish the water tank wagon.

I cast the DZ chassis a while back and many months ago I got my hands on a length of 22mm plastic tube for the main body of the tank.

What's been holding the project back - aside from all the other things I've been building - is the lack of something to use for the ends of the tank.

My idea all along has been to borrow from this legendary plastic kit.

You may recognise it as the Kitmaster / Airfix / Dapol oil tank wagon which has been around since the year dot.

We had a fleet of them when we used to model OO standard gauge.

The advantage is that the tank ends are separate parts which are ideal to be re-sized for the smaller diameter of the new WHR water tank.

The first step is to employ my trusty circle cutter.

As you can see from this pic of a trial run I've cut it a smidgeon on the large side so the edges can be filed down further to give it a nicely rounded profile where they join onto the tube.

My plan is to cut one disc and use it as a master to cast copies.

There's not a lot more I can do until the mould is ready.

The Lower Deck

More progress on the revised fiddle yards with the track being laid on the lower level - the Porthmadog end of the layout.

Most of it is in position except for a couple of Y points which have still to be obtained.

The layout is not a mirror image of the upper end and the changes affect the shorter sidings.

This is due to the long sidings being towards the front at this end of the layout so by the time the fan of points has reached the back of the yard it has eaten into the space available for the short sidings.

As a result the furthest away road will not have a run round facility but will have an isolating section at the end and the train will have to depart before the incoming locomotive can be released.

Himself has also added an extra siding off the 3rd of the long ones which may well end up getting used to stable the Engineering Consultant's bridge inspection train!

Across the middle section of the yard the arrangement of the long sidings is identical top and bottom.

Himself has also made up the control panel at the bottom end and added all the switches and tape for the diagram.

The two blue lines at the right hand side will be for loco stabling.

Now it's time to turn it over, fit all the point motors and wire it up!

Extended Sidings

By discreetly squirrelling away some of his meagre pension into a secret slush fund Himself has saved sufficient pennies to buy some more point motors to complete the top layer of the extended fiddle yards.

This shot shows quite dramatically how we are going to be running either very long or very short trains on Bron Hebog

The long lines will be able to handle a 10 car modern WHR rake while the smaller ones on the left will be used for works trains or heritage rakes so only need to be long enough for an asthmatic England engine and a couple of bowsiders.

With such a stark division in the length of the roads the onus is going to be on the operators to ensure they match the trains dispatched from either end with capacity at the other terminal.

It would be dreadful thing if your opposite number was suddenly faced with an incoming double-headed Garrett consist with no where to put it.

I'm sure it would never happen on purpose.....

Garden Design

There's been a degree of educated guesswork involved in landscaping the gardens of the three new houses on the layout.

We don't have many good pictures to work with from our research trips because a) it's not really the done thing to tramp into peoples' gardens unsolicited and start taking pictures - they tend to get a little alarmed - and b) the sides of Goat Cutting as so steep that it was out of the question to scramble up and take a peek over the fences.

So Himself has made a working assumption that the three houses have all got a patio of some degree and there is also a lawn.

(Which all seems quite reasonable to me)

Having created the basic shape of the land with chicken wire it is covered in a layer or two of Modroc.

Apologies to those modernists among you who find this technique distressingly traditional.

At the front of the houses there are some small areas of grass bank and rockery which have to be created in a similar manner.

Once the Modroc is set is is treated to a coating of plaster - horrors!

You can also see from this shot from above that the final shape of the roadway in the cul de sac has been formed and styrene kerb stones fixed in place.

Now we go away and find something else to do while this all dries...

A Slap Of Paint

Before the landscaping is done around the new houses they have to be painted which is what Himself has been getting on with.

Fortunately because they are mostly whitewashed render this is more straightforward than it might otherwise be.

These properties are among the more colourful in the row, however, with some vivid blues and reds around the doors and windows.

The most delicate task was picking out the fake dry stone wall on the front of the garage attached to number 22. 

Next attention will turn to laying out the gardens at the back.

Future Plans

So what's next on the agenda?

Well, I've still got plenty of projects that I want to get completed in time for our appearance at WHR Great & Small II in September.

First priority is to build the interior for my model of carriage 12 (our 3rd incarnation of it) which is supposed to look something like this.

It's relatively straightforward so I'd like to think there's not much more than a week's work in that.

There are a few other foutery details to finish off on both of those carriages, like the vacuum pipes and the electrical connections, and then I shall send them off to Himself to fettle and paint.

I am also determined to get my WHR water tank wagon finished in time for the show at Dinas.

So far I have acquired the tube for the tank - for free! - and cast the main chassis block in resin.

What I need to do now is get hold of a Dapol oil tank wagon kit to rob it of the end sections and summon up the motivation to get on with it.

I also have designs for another two of the Oberon Wood houses ready and waiting.

The next ones on the list are those nearest the entrance to Goat Tunnel which begin a row heading down towards the front edge of the layout.

And when they're done, looming on the horizon like a recurring nightmare is new observation carriage 150.

I feel a headache coming on.....

Room At The Back

The remainder of the first class interior for number 11 has been completed.

As well as the observation section at the rear the carriage has a compartment behind with four seats arranged around the central corridor.

It doesn't show up so well in the photograph here but the right hand seat at the back is wider than the other three, and the sliding door leading into the guard's compartment is offset.

I do not know if once upon a time this was considered to be a double seat and two passengers used to be expected to squeeze themselves into it but I doubt that's still the case now. Is it?

This compartment is also the only access point into the carriage for passengers but there is a second door, with a frosted glass panel and engraved FR crest, which separates it from the observation saloon.

With both doors closed and the train underway it makes for a very convivial little space for you and your companions.