flexible_coupling
Western Thunderer
My name is Dave Germain (formerly known by an alias on rmweb as John - long story and an over-cautious move to choose to suppress my name there) , and I've sparked an interest in O-scale modelling over the course of the last 6 months or so, having been truly captivated by layouts such as Bury, Thorn & Sons and Dock Green (via RMweb). I grew up with British OO thanks to my father's interests, and in my teenage years grew to build up a strong interest in Australian HO-scale, primarily revolving around the New South Wales' SRA - despite growing up in Queensland (you just couldn't get anything from the home state at that time, as a kid... literally within the last 18 months, the first half-dozen RTR models have made it to the market!). I lost all direction with model railways for a good few years in the late-teens and twenties, had a brief flirtation with finescale N a few years later but have effectively lay dormant for a good stretch of time as other interests (guitars and building/repairing high-voltage valve amplifiers for said guitars!) took the front foot in my limited spare time. However, the metaphorical bug has bitten hard, and having been quite enamored with my build of a Coopercraft/Slaters one-plank wagon kit and having successfully scratchbuilt a copperclad turnout, I committed to developing the woodwork for a 6' x 1'6" (4' x 1'6" display space) basic layout. The size of the layout is perfectly suited to the space I have to store it, and it fits neatly on the bed for display. I can fit it on the desk for dirty-work during construction. And I can carry it by myself! Solid pine framing, good quality 6mm ply on top.
The plan for the scenic space has altered numerous times, but a few important elements have remained; the canal, an elevated roadway and small streetscape to overhang the traverser (not yet installed) and crib a bit of extra scenery space, and the simple single-turnout track diagram. The Templot-printed templates that are taped on are slightly out of place - the turnout has been pushed "down" to effectively place the turnout blades off the bridge, which will be chopped to be straight and not wedge-shaped, and the siding will be a touch shorter. The other track will be shortened up about 10" or so. The reality of the layout is simple; this is the end of a very small and unconventional preserved railway. The concept is that, in a nonspecific spot in the UK (I'm probably leaning to imagining it being somewhere around the Manchester -> Bolton area.... only because I follow Bolton Wanderers from afar and the sweet ex-L&Y pug loco I plan to kit-build early next year was originally made at Horwich, a mile away from Reebok Stadium! That's more than enough justification for me...), a short 3/4 mile industrial railway servicing a large factory with two separate plants was decommissioned, and when the majority of the sites were taken offline as production facilities, the owners (both quite fond of their little railway) chose to offer the use of the line, sole locomotive and rolling stock to a local railway society. What resulted was a pair of small stations being built, and the tight snaking railway line offers brake van rides from end to end. What we see is the loco fitting shed end, larger station building with booking office and what will be the diesel filling point/storage tank and a general yard space for the trackworkers. It's implied that the rolling stock/most locos would be stored at the other end.
Basic plan as it stands. I have quite literally developed 80+ plans before deciding on this. They're all on the one CAD plan sheet, side by side....
The next steps are to complete a shopping list for a C&L finescale order, and order and prepare timber sleepering (I plan at this stage to use mahogany sleepers stained to suit), and to also install and lay tracks over the traverser. Since there's such a small amount of track and only one turnout, I plan to make it to a high cosmetic standard. I'd really like to add a fully motorized facing point lock to the turnout, as superfluous as it no-doubt would be, just to have the interest and extra movement in there... The immediately-planned rolling stock purchases will include a Connoisseur BR std brake van kit and an LMS brake, and quite possibly a Queen Mary brake kit (imported, wrong-part-of-the-country-but-who-cares - Rule #1.... a wealthy local benefactor found it and trucked it up north!) - along with a MMP modern tank for diesel fuel, the 16t coal wagon that's en-route, probably a Catfish ballast hopper, a box van of some kind (probably an etched Connoisseur - I'm not a snob on kit media but I do very-much enjoy etched brass construction!) and the ex-GWR single plank wagon I already have here. That complimented with an Agenoria 'Pug' kit, a repainted and slightly modified Ixion Fowler diesel (the imagined "company loco"), a Dapol '08' when they eventually surface, and a DJH '03' in good time.
All that having been said - one would ask why I'd sign up to a heavily WR-biased forum... between always having preferred to drive Dad's old (Lima HO-scale) Western Gladiator, and my grandfather's Welsh roots and very severe GWR bias, I was well set on the path. My long-term goal is to build a large and permanent layout in the just-transitioning-over-to-BR Blue era, somewhere on the eastern edge of the WR, to give a bit of overlap with non-hydraulic traction, but still be dominated by the Westerns, Warships, Hymeks and Class 22's... once I have a basic layout built, I'll build 1-2 locos a year ongoing and develop a collection over time! My ambition is vague as I truly don't have the geographic knowledge... yet!
I plan to visit the UK for the first time (indeed, leaving Australia for the first time!) late next year - and along with catching at least one home-and-away Wanderers match, visiting a few preservation societies and museums, and hopefully catching a major exhibition or two with an O-scale bias, I hope to pick the subject for my eventual railway!
I'm sure that's a long read.... sorry!
The plan for the scenic space has altered numerous times, but a few important elements have remained; the canal, an elevated roadway and small streetscape to overhang the traverser (not yet installed) and crib a bit of extra scenery space, and the simple single-turnout track diagram. The Templot-printed templates that are taped on are slightly out of place - the turnout has been pushed "down" to effectively place the turnout blades off the bridge, which will be chopped to be straight and not wedge-shaped, and the siding will be a touch shorter. The other track will be shortened up about 10" or so. The reality of the layout is simple; this is the end of a very small and unconventional preserved railway. The concept is that, in a nonspecific spot in the UK (I'm probably leaning to imagining it being somewhere around the Manchester -> Bolton area.... only because I follow Bolton Wanderers from afar and the sweet ex-L&Y pug loco I plan to kit-build early next year was originally made at Horwich, a mile away from Reebok Stadium! That's more than enough justification for me...), a short 3/4 mile industrial railway servicing a large factory with two separate plants was decommissioned, and when the majority of the sites were taken offline as production facilities, the owners (both quite fond of their little railway) chose to offer the use of the line, sole locomotive and rolling stock to a local railway society. What resulted was a pair of small stations being built, and the tight snaking railway line offers brake van rides from end to end. What we see is the loco fitting shed end, larger station building with booking office and what will be the diesel filling point/storage tank and a general yard space for the trackworkers. It's implied that the rolling stock/most locos would be stored at the other end.
Basic plan as it stands. I have quite literally developed 80+ plans before deciding on this. They're all on the one CAD plan sheet, side by side....
The next steps are to complete a shopping list for a C&L finescale order, and order and prepare timber sleepering (I plan at this stage to use mahogany sleepers stained to suit), and to also install and lay tracks over the traverser. Since there's such a small amount of track and only one turnout, I plan to make it to a high cosmetic standard. I'd really like to add a fully motorized facing point lock to the turnout, as superfluous as it no-doubt would be, just to have the interest and extra movement in there... The immediately-planned rolling stock purchases will include a Connoisseur BR std brake van kit and an LMS brake, and quite possibly a Queen Mary brake kit (imported, wrong-part-of-the-country-but-who-cares - Rule #1.... a wealthy local benefactor found it and trucked it up north!) - along with a MMP modern tank for diesel fuel, the 16t coal wagon that's en-route, probably a Catfish ballast hopper, a box van of some kind (probably an etched Connoisseur - I'm not a snob on kit media but I do very-much enjoy etched brass construction!) and the ex-GWR single plank wagon I already have here. That complimented with an Agenoria 'Pug' kit, a repainted and slightly modified Ixion Fowler diesel (the imagined "company loco"), a Dapol '08' when they eventually surface, and a DJH '03' in good time.
All that having been said - one would ask why I'd sign up to a heavily WR-biased forum... between always having preferred to drive Dad's old (Lima HO-scale) Western Gladiator, and my grandfather's Welsh roots and very severe GWR bias, I was well set on the path. My long-term goal is to build a large and permanent layout in the just-transitioning-over-to-BR Blue era, somewhere on the eastern edge of the WR, to give a bit of overlap with non-hydraulic traction, but still be dominated by the Westerns, Warships, Hymeks and Class 22's... once I have a basic layout built, I'll build 1-2 locos a year ongoing and develop a collection over time! My ambition is vague as I truly don't have the geographic knowledge... yet!
I plan to visit the UK for the first time (indeed, leaving Australia for the first time!) late next year - and along with catching at least one home-and-away Wanderers match, visiting a few preservation societies and museums, and hopefully catching a major exhibition or two with an O-scale bias, I hope to pick the subject for my eventual railway!
I'm sure that's a long read.... sorry!
Your interest in the WR is very welcome on here, but if its not WR then its still nice to have new people on board.
We'll see you there 
