Station base progress

I have had a nice 4 day weekend and I have been able to get the rest of the concrete into the station base. I now need a layer of fine cement mix to finish off to allow me to drill into it. I am toying with the ised of putting down wooden batons to fix the rail down but will decide tomorrow.

Concrete down and covered up to protect it from any overnight rain.

I have also started building some card kits that I downloaded from the website of Peter Chandler (mrjigstones.webs.com). they are for a market scene and have proved to be easy to build if a little time consuming. Obviously being made of thin card they are not suitable for leaving outdoors but will hopefully make a nice scenic feature when I have open days/running sessions.

The first of the market stalls. The boxes, fruit and veg & posters still need to be fitted.

Truck build progress

The open truck is now structural y complete with just the hinge and lock detail to be added.

The instructions say to use sanding sealer on the bare wood but I cannot find this in any DIY shop so will probably resort to using normal wood primer before applying the paint.

All that will be left once this is done is to add couplings which I will order off the internet.

The wagon completed with just details, paint and couplings to go.

I have now started on the van kit. I had previously done some work on this so not starting completely from scratch.

The van kit with the side drying under the weight.

Building a 16 year old kit

Whilst sorting out my shed contents including some very dusty boxes, I came across several un-made Fendyke kits that I have just realised are at least 16 years old.
I have started my way through building them starting with an open wagon and it is going together quite nicely.

My work bench with the sides of the wagon under weights to help them set. Note the dolls house tables found in the same box as the truck kits.

I have everything apart from couplings which I will order tomorrow.

The body completed

The chassis rails in place with just the axle boxes and wheels to fit.

I must say that it is probably a personal record for the longest time between buying a kit and building it, and I still have three others to build!

Thoughts of a Railway Builder

My desire to own a model railway started whilst playing with my Fathers Triang equipment in the living room of our flat in North London. Watching Princess Elizabeth charge around a large oval of track trailing 6 maroon MK1 coaches is something I will never forget. To me it was poetry in motion.

Every Christmas and Birthday I would ask for my own train set but my parents were not well off and the call went unanswered until I was about 10 years old and on Christmas morning I opened a large box to find a model of Britannia complete with 2 coaches and an oval of track.

That set saw some use in the few years I had it. Unfortunately when my room was decorated whilst I was in Spain when I was 19 the loco and coaches were accidentally thrown in the rubbish and my fledgling layout, actually a shelf on my bedroom wall, was also thrown away.

It was not until after I was married that I finally started an N gauge layout, spurred on by my Boss at British telecom whose layout I helped operate at exhibitions, and found room for it in our first home.

The end of that layout was the birth of my daughter and the need for the spare room to become hers. The layout was bundled into the loft and, as far as I know, it is still there. The stock was all sold off and now there were several years when I did nothing related to model railways mainly due to bringing up two daughters.

It was about 13 years ago that we moved into our present home and I wasted no time in building a 16mm gauge line in the back garden.

The original Merrytwit Light Railway

 This lasted a few years and saw sporadic use. It was eventually removed are replaced by a OO gauge line called the Sitton Watchet railway.

Sitton Watchet Railway freshly completed.

This line lasted several years but stayed the same double track loop despite plans to extend it.

It lasted until spring 2013 when rot and water damage rendered it unusable without rather extensive repairs. I considered this and finally decided to go back to 16mm scale and also to build something more substantial that would also blend in with the garden. So Merrytwit Light Railway MK 2 was started.

So far, due to a beautiful summer that saw us out and about, lack of money and little time has ensured that progress is painfully slow. Currently I have a pit built of blocks half full of concrete plus a lot of ideas.

Hopefully the current spell of wet weather will break and I will be able to get the station area (the aforementioned block pit) completed and track down with the rest of the line following soon after. I would like to at least get a working loop up and going before my 50th birthday in April.

Oh well, back to dreaming again.

Let there be light

Interior lights have now been added to the station building with just the second exterior light to complete and fit, hopefully sometime this week.

The lights should look better out in the garden after dark.

Some progress

Over the weekend I have made some progress, the first concrete has been poured into the station base and I have fitted one lamp on the station building with the other now being constructed. I hope to get a bit more concrete in next weekend as I have run out of materials and money!

The concrete is going in!

Lamp fitted to the station building

and it works!