Friday Update: Thirty Six Twenty-three…
Let’s start this week’s update at last weekend when I spent a few nights at Haven near Pwllheli with the kids. As well as walking the track bed of the old miniature railway and hearing the trains pass the site we also nipped down to Pwllheli…
Meanwhile back in ‘the office’ a new project has been underway for a third party and that has swallowed a lot of my time this week. In addition yesterdays successful clearance sees only a few items left, and I’ve revised the price of Kinross to just £200 and the Planet to £75, I’d really like to see these move to a new home in the next few days, they’re projects that are definitely finished.
This of course was a chance not to be missed, to stand and at the platform and imagine arriving here after a long train ride along the coast. The station is undergoing some restoration at the moment and having seen the plans on the council website it’s going to be a lovely job. The romance of the long distance rail journey may be tempered by the Sprinter and the destination but this is one I’d still really like to make this summer.
An interesting project is the creation of the Bagnall diesel locomotive, above. The prototype 3D printed body has now arrived and I’m waiting on the etch to assemble this ‘test’ model which is destined for my customer before release of a limited kit run later in the year.
On home projects I’ve not managed much but this rework of a Farish van has seen the ‘Speedlink’ boards, holes filled and then re-weathered. VGAs go a funny colour compared to other stock, the aluminium (?) must tarnish and then attract filth in a different way as they very often seem this brown colour, a bit like the clay slurry ‘silver bullets’. Beaverbrook hasn’t turned a wheel for a few days, but I did switch things up by running the GP15 mid week, and thoughts are turning to ‘what next’ on the scenic side.
The weekend ahead offers a chance for a mild reset, and potential for relaxation. Plans circle for a next project, to replace Pont-y-dulais and Kinross, but I’m not ready to share them yet. Trains come and go, like our ideas, but we don’t get on every one, sometimes it’s just nice to stand and watch them. Until next time , more soon…
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Wow, that first photo is packed with modelling inspiration; the canopy, the grounded van and the heavily weathered roofing in the background for starters. What a lovely view.
ReplyDeleteI love the Bagnall too - probably no great surprise, that. I'll keep an eye out for the kit. Having seen Kinross in person, it would be a wonderful place to lose oneself for a few moments a day for someone with a few bits of North American stock - I'm surprised it hasn't gone yet.
Thanks James - indeed Pwllheli has been modelled effectively in recent years in P4, by a chap who has never visited it! Just the wonders of modern Google street view!! Anyhow, the Bagnall will be end of the year - we've a few more Pi kits to re-issue now I've sorted the 3D printing through a new supplier.
DeleteGood to hear, PI has some interesting kits I haven't seen elsewhere. Though I'd better use the interim to build the kits I already have!
DeleteAlso, worth commenting on a line in the above post that I particularly enjoyed; "Trains come and go, like our ideas, but we don’t get on every one, sometimes it’s just nice to stand and watch them." - something that those of us who are most easily distracted (hi!) should probably note.
Thanks again James - yes - having gone through 2 schemes already for the next layout I'm cautious about sharing too much of the current thinking - but it's more certain that previous examples... it feels right this time.
DeleteHi James
ReplyDeleteI am sure what ever you will come up with for a layout will a worthy successor to those that went before. I am looking forward to seeing how your thinking transforms into another operational "work of art". I guess one of the nice problems of model making for a vocation is being able to dip into many genres and also to use a personal layout as a back drop and advertisement for you kits and commissions. The downside, if it is a downside, is perhaps not being forced to be focussed. As you are aware I have focussed for many years on a north American forest products short line. There is much to model and still research to do and the focus stops me doing too much of the "I like that so must have it", if it does not fit with the base scenario. However I still have flights of fancy which might turn into a model railroad or a cameo as you are also aware. I think your statement "Trains come and go, like our ideas, but we don’t get on every one, sometimes it’s just nice to stand and watch them" sums the situation up well.
I also like the Bagnall 0-6-0 project which is coming together well. You probably know that very similar locos were exported to New Zealand in the late 1950's for use by NZR and a few industrial operations on 3'6" gauge
Best regards
Alan