Big Shed - Little Shed

The previous post was all about me building a Metcalfe loco shed kit for the 'test track' project in the modelling den.

This particular kit comes with an additional, smaller, building in a similar style which is billed as a workshop.

It occurred to me it was ripe for conversion into a wee shed for a narrow gauge loco on the 009 part of the layout - sorry - 'test track'  (almost got caught out there...).

The first decision was which of the two end walls to cut into to form the shed opening.

As printed, the workshop comes with two doors, one and the side and the other in one of the ends.

I decided that for a shed a door at the side made more sense than an end-on one, so this was where I made the cut.

The other big consideration is how to maintain the building's strength?

As designed, this comes from a solid floor which the four walls are folded around and glued to, but that wasn't an option if I wanted to use it as a running shed.

So what I did was cut out most of the middle section of the floor and add strengthening right angle sections from some of the spare card in the kit which, I hope, will keep the walls straight.

As the first picture shows, it's just about the perfect size for a small NG tank engine - no Garratts in here!

Consistency Is Key

For the last couple of modelling sessions I've been working on one of the key buildings for the test track - the standard gauge steam locomotive shed.

You probably recognised it straight away as a Melcalfe kit, and it may seem strange that someone who's made something of a fetish of scratch building should be taking the easy way out.

Primarily it's because time is of the essence.

I want to get this 'test track' done before my son gets fed up of waiting or loses interest in model railways.

Also, at lot of the stock he'll be running is getting on for 40 years-old, and some of these Metcalfe kits are arguably of a higher standard of detail!

And the final reason is that I have always believed that consistency - or uniformity, if you like - is one of the most important factors in how a layout looks.

The Metcalfe range has the advantage that we can quickly (and inexpensively) populate the layout with the full range of railway structures, and create a townscape around it, and they'll blend together nicely.

So often I've seen layouts at exhibitions - mostly ones built by clubs rather than individuals - where you'll see a some stunning stock or structures placed alongside other stuff that is nowhere near the same standard, and it sticks out like a sore thumb and spoils the effect.

On the other hand you can get a layout where there's nothing particularly outstanding, but everything is of a good, consistent standard, and the whole thing looks so much better for it.

(For those wondering, the engine shed isn't finished yet, but I won't be adding the smoke stacks, because they will come perilously close to the high limit when the layout is folded away.)

Learning Curves

Due to popular demand - well, a couple of comments, anyway - I thought I would post an update on the 'test track' project.

The standard gauge part is now almost complete as far as tracklaying is concerned, but there is no juice connected to any of it yet.

Despite being to all intents and purposes a 'train set' with the design of the tracks we've tried to make it to a reasonably high standard using flexitrack and medium/long radius, electrofrog points, and despite appearances none of the curves are any tighter than set track radius 2 at any point.

It's been a great learning curve for me because it's the first time I've laid track.

We began with a day-long session with Himself as the tutor, when we got most of the station area completed, and I've been taking it on from there solo, with occasional remote assistance by phone message - remind me how many insulated joiners this point needs again??

It's been a very enjoyable, and completely absorbing, process, although I can't pretend that it's always gone right first time.

Quite often on the large curves I've stood back to admire my handiwork, or pushed a carriage along to check clearances, only to decide that I could do better and pull it up and try again.

As I have written previously, this will be a dual gauge set up, and although the narrow gauge element was included for the purposes of having a test track at home, I've not been able to resist attempting to justify its existence.

Therefore, at one end of the goods yard there is a raised siding where I intend to create a coal transhipment point from standard to narrow gauge.

Image in Peter Johnson's Vale of Rheidol book published by Pen and Sword

I envisage something which is a blend of the arrangements on the Vale of Rheidol (above) but including chutes in the style of Minffordd Yard.

Picture by Rob Fisher, on Fesitpedia.org.uk

Quite what narrow gauge rolling stock will need to be 'tested' is as yet unclear.

Domestic Duties

Himself has been putting the finishing touches to a little side project to make a track cleaning wagon, which will be handy for the hard-to-reach areas in the centre of Bron Hebog.

This was made up from a Nine Lines L and B bogie van we ended up with - I can't remember how - and finished in the current FR infrastructure livery to try and make it blend in a little.

I'm not fond of this colour scheme, I think it looks dreadfully dull, and I might have thought you would wish vehicles that are likely to be in the vicinity of personnel working on the track to stick out like a sore thumb, but what do I know?

It makes a nice little model, and if we ever get back to exhibitions then it will probably make a few circuits during the course of the day to try and keep everything running smoothly.

It's packed with so much lead weight that it needs to be topped and tailed with two locomotives.

Two Slices

I've been getting very behind in my blogging again.

It's not that there's no modelling going on, but the lack of updates here is because I have been lured back to the dark side of standard gauge and have spent much of my spare time in the last couple of weeks working on the tracklaying on the dual gauge 'test track' in the study.

Officially, this is a more practical solution for my son's OO 'train set'.........

I have stayed away from posting updates about that here because you come to read about narrow gauge modelling, right?

I did manage to get some FR work done immediately after my return from a few days in Wales  - the first time at the railway since 2019.

With the arrival in the post of a pack of fresh Hudson bogies I have trial-fitted the chassis in the toast rack carriage 39.

The task which am putting off - and which the OO track is providing an ideal excuse for - is trying to find a way to represent the tiny mesh safety doors fitted to this carriage.

All suggestions welcome...

Toast Rack Update

I apologise for things being a little quiet on the blog in recent weeks, which is on account of a number of factors including holidays, effort on constructing the dual gauge home 'test track', and a secret project that I can't tell you about.

All of which means that there hasn't been much progress with my scratch built model of FR Hudson 'toast rack' replica 39 until the other day when I cut out and test fitted a styrene floor / chassis for the body which has been glued together.

At the moment I only have the one pair of bogies - which I've stolen off the 009 Society kit - so I can't glue the floor into place and finalise its position and the running height until they are both on the rails and I can accurately compare them.

I have a pair on order but it's likely to be more than a week until I receive them.