The Welcome Mat

Welcome to this Blog. Hopefully you may find it of use (i doubt it but it doesnt stop me hoping does it?). All my skills are normally self taught, and at the moment i'm a lone ranger when it comes to my layout with the occasional help from friends (normally it involves alot heckling).

I've never yet got a layout really past the electrics stage. I normally lose interest which is why i've decided to become involved in lots of things so i can vary my time between different things. All the work you see on Westleigh is my own work and all the photos you see on my fotopic sites are again my own work. I'm amazed i havent started to play with it, perhaps leaving the vast majoirty of the wiring to the end helps.

My main interest in railways is principally the early 90s. Even though i only just got into double figures in terms of age just as privitisation came in, i find it a very interesting period. My earliest memories were at Salisbury, Oxford and Bristol. So to counteract this aswell i tend to model the northwest scene during 1990 to 1994. However i also do the Wessex area during the same period and the scottish lowlands during 1988-1990.

I do have a little interest in the 1996-1998 privitisation period. I'm more aware of this period than the sectorisation period and again i wouldnt mind if it turned into this era.

I also am working on a project of Devizes station in 1963/64 just before alot of the line was rationalised and eventually closed. This however is a very very long term project and probably wont get anyway for many many years yet.

I do spend alot of time in the summer out an about doing photography particularly of civil jet aircraft. I'm certainly no David Bailey but i'm reasonably proud of most of the photos taken.

Anyway i suppose i really should get off the computer and get on with some modelling work, except work has a tendancy to get in the way!

Saturday, 25 April 2015

Going Cornish

Hello to everyone
Its been a while since ive updated this blog. Simply because theres been too much to do and so i havent really thought about this.
Anyway there hasnt been too much to report on any of the layouts as ive been busily getting the stock ready for the DEMU showcase show where i am providing the stock for Pengwynn Crossing. For this show the layout will be back in the sectorisation era so its back to the class 37s.

Ive chosen the period 1992/1993 as there was still quite alot of variety in the stock fleets. There was at one point more 37/4s than 37/5s in the Laira cornish clay pool and so far 37/5s are one area where i am bit short. Ive recently added a r/f red stripe 37/5 but i have no 2 tone grey ones however there are to in the shops to come out as 37673 and 37675 as i already had the nameplates for 675. Ive also done 37413 along with the I/C mainline pair of 37417 and 37420. There is also a brace of 47s and a trio of class 50s.

Ive also recently built up my rolling stock rakes and now have 15 CDA hoppers, four silver bullet wagons and a few polybulks. Its amazing however when you really how very little of the rolling stock is actually finished so with 5 weeks to go it will be out with the airbrush and weathering powders and actually get on with the task. Although they wont all get used ive picked out the best part of 80 odd wagons. That sounds alot but by the time you remove 10 HEA, 15 CDA, 10 PCA wagons then a few seacows and then some spoil wagons then fertiliser vans then fuel oil tanks, 80 odd wagons isnt that many.

I suppose id better get on with it all then!