Platform for Success

This weekend we concentrated on platform construction - firstly with the station at Anchwood (see top picture) and, then, the various platforms at Davemoor.

All platform surfaces have been constructed out of hardboard, sitting on wooden supports to achieve the correct height.

The surface of Anchwood was then covered in the Metcalfe tarmacadam sheets but we were not happy with this so have painted it over in grey acryllic paint. 

With Davemoor, since there will be quite a few joins in the various sections of hardboard, we plan to cover all of the surfaces in Smooth It before painting them.

As there are quite a few curved platforms here, we first had to create templates for all platforms using pieces of card taped together. 

We then attached a pencil to an old coach to get the spacing right.

The pencil needs to be attached to the centre of the coach for inner curves and at the front corner of the coach for outer curves. I will try and demonstrate this, with pictures, in a future posting to make it a little clearer.

You will note that there is to be a small industrial unit incorporated into Davemoor, with its own siding and bay platform. At the moment the thinking is that this will be a paper factory but, of course, this is subject to change.

Heljan's Awesome Foursome

We took a trip to Howes Models of Kiddlington near Oxford the other day and came away with one of Heljan's DP2 prototype diesels.

We have been wanting to acquire one of these lovely models for some time now because it means that we have all four for Heljan's prototype main line diesels in our fleet - and all can be seen lined up in the photograph above.

Currently only two of these locomotives are fully operational, namely Lion and Falcon. These have both had Howes sound decoders fitted and have been lightly weathered by Alex of Mikron Models in Taunton.

Kestrel and DP2 have yet to be fitted with decoders and, once they are, they too will be lightly weathered and ready to start hauling trains on the remodelled Lakeland Railway.

Seeing them all together here makes me wonder if any of the full size prototypes ever met during their all too brief lives.

Outlines of Power - Nº 2: The Metrovick Co-Bo's

Here we have the second of the 'Outlines of Power' articles by Mike Turner that the magazine 'Rail Enthusiast' ran during the early 1980s. 

This one featured the Metrovick Co-Bo's or Class 28s as they were classified under the TOPS system. The accompanying annotation reads as follows:

Mike Turner has painted Metropolitan-Vickers Co-Bo diesel-electrics D5709/10 with the "Condor" fast fitted freight headboard that was often carried by the type in their early days.

The Metrovicks were introduced in 1958 and their Crossley V8 two-stroke engines produced 1,200 bhp at 625 rpm continuous rating. The Co-Bo axle design allowed the use of five Metropolitan-Vickers 180 hp axle-hung, nose-suspended, traction motors to be used and this, together with 3 ft 3½ inch driving wheels and an all-up weight of 97 tons, resulted in an impressive tractive effort of 50,000 lbs - exactly the same as a "Deltic".