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Lapford station in N gauge.
- Thread starter Cowley
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Purple Train
Established Member
I was just browsing through my rather-too-big collection of Railway Modeller back issues and found the March 2022 one - really interesting to see your description of the process there as well as on this thread, even though I've read both a lot!
As an aside, I was sorting out one of the piles and noticed this...
(Image shows the spine of a copy of Railway Modeller, mis-spelt.)
As an aside, I was sorting out one of the piles and noticed this...
(Image shows the spine of a copy of Railway Modeller, mis-spelt.)
Attachments
I was just browsing through my rather-too-big collection of Railway Modeller back issues and found the March 2022 one - really interesting to see your description of the process there as well as on this thread, even though I've read both a lot!
As an aside, I was sorting out one of the piles and noticed this...
(Image shows the spine of a copy of Railway Modeller, mis-spelt.)
Ah Jume. They’m spellin it wrong in um!
Thank you for your kind comments @Purple Train.
Stafford Show 22nd/23rd September:
Paul and myself took Moors View up to Stafford this weekend, the show was great, probably the biggest one we’ve been to so far, but there was a crash that closed the M5 on the way up so it took twice as long to get there as it should have (six and a half hours in the end). Coming back was much quicker but it was through a massive storm in a high sided van so that was pretty intense too!
People seemed to really loved the layout and I guess we’re starting to know more and more fellow exhibitors now. It was really good actually and the quality of layouts was extremely high.
I must say that it was quite hard work not being able to have a proper break for the two days due to there only being the two of us, but then it was really well organised and you didn’t have to queue for lunch/tea/toilets etc.
All in all a great weekend but I definitely felt quite tired today and both of us have been under quite a bit of pressure for one reason or another recently (me work. Paul work and also trying to get his house sorted out), so we were going into it slightly on the back foot…
I think we put a good show on though and various people kept coming back to have another look. We ran steam going into Hydraulics over the first day and 1980s diesel stuff the next day which worked really well. That’s definitely the way to do it on a two show by the looks of things. Previously we’d tried swapping eras half way through and that was complicated.
Definitely need a bigger fiddle yard!
Going back to Lapford. My friend Steve sent me this today and I hadn’t seen it before:
Some great footage of the station and the area from the late 1970s!
hexagon789
Veteran Member
I'm glad you enjoyed the show, sorry I couldn't come but I was with you in spirit hoping all went well.
I do hope I get the opportunity to see Lapford one day.
Yes I guess Stafford is far from you as it is for us? We’re lucky in that these shows pay for the van hire, fuel, lunch and hotels if they want us to attend. We wouldn’t be able to do it otherwise.
Next stop Warley and we’ve even made it onto the flyer!
hexagon789
Veteran Member
High praise indeed, the SECC next???Yes I guess Stafford is far from you as it is for us? We’re lucky in that these shows pay for the van hire, fuel, lunch and hotels if they want us to attend. We wouldn’t be able to do it otherwise.
Next stop Warley and we’ve even made it onto the flyer!
View attachment 143512
I think that’s what we were invited to. It would be a bit of an epic mission for us though. Although we’d love to do it.High praise indeed, the SECC next???
hexagon789
Veteran Member
Mammoth journey certainly, but I it's sort of among exhibiting royalty so to speak.
Bit like having a painting you've done hung in a major art gallery (if such a thing ever happened of course)
Mammoth journey certainly, but I it's sort of among exhibiting royalty so to speak.
Bit like having a painting you've done hung in a major art gallery (if such a thing ever happened of course)
We’ve just realised that it’s an invite for the 2025 show (Paul got an email yesterday). I think we’ll try and do it in that case.
hexagon789
Veteran Member
Fingers crossed for you, I'd definitely be there bar illness.We’ve just realised that it’s an invite for the 2025 show (Paul got an email yesterday). I think we’ll try and do it in that case.
devon_belle
Member
First time looking in this thread. Enjoying the various layout pictures - fantastic work!
Class15
On Moderation
Brilliant layout Cowley. Really inspirational for all. A pity I couldn’t make it to Stafford to see it. Next stop Alexandra Palace please!
Thanks. Yes we would love to do that show!
So tonight? Well just geeking it out really…
I was looking at my Warship and I couldn’t work out what it was that just didn’t look quite right to me. In the end I realised that there was no yellow line between the windscreens and once I’d seen it, I couldn’t unsee it!
The model:
The real thing (actually I’ll come back to this photo):
So I masked it up.
Mixed some paint up and touched it in. It’s only a minor thing but I reckon it’s made quite a difference to how it looks:
The other thing that’s happened is that my green class 47 body arrived today, so I’ve just made a load of pipes up for the buffer beam and painted them black ready for weathering. I also had to fiddle with the lights a little as I’m using it to swap between chassis at shows depending on the era we’re doing:
The one thing that’s annoying me is that I can’t change the headcode from a freight service though…
Coming back to the Warship photo. I took these at the Severn Valley on Sunday. It was a day to remind us why we love all these old diesels!
Edit - That strategically placed fir tree looks a bit odd.
hexagon789
Veteran Member
You know, I too thought something was off with the Warship but couldn't place it.
Once you said what it was - yeah, can't unsee it, can you!
That little bit of yellow makes such a difference it's crazy really.
Nice double heading combo, very much liking the Green Brush 4
I wouldn't worry about the headcode, they did forget to change them on occasion.
Of course here on the superior Scottish Region we just didn't bother mostly beyond the first digit!
I wouldn't worry about the headcode, they did forget to change them on occasion.
Of course here on the superior Scottish Region we just didn't bother mostly beyond the first digit!
I didn’t know that about the Scottish region?
That Warship does look a lot better now with that yellow line @Cowley (though of course it didn't look bad to begin with!). I'd never have considered doing that, but if I ever get a model of one of those of my own and it has the same omission, I'll be painting it on.
And that 47 looks superb as well - I'm a big fan of the two-tone green. Those photos from the SVR are lovely too!
-Peter
hexagon789
Veteran Member
If you look at period photos from the late-60s/early 70s on the Scottish Region, where the loco had an alphanumeric indicator mostly they just seemed to use the first digit for train class and left the rest blank. Only intensive suburban services seemed to bother with the rest...
Iskra
Established Member
Interesting to see a bit of colour on the railway! What’s the justification? Or are these more aimed at the show layout? I like the idea of swapping the loco bodies over for more variety with reduced expense
Yeah all for the show layout really, although the Hymek and Warship are also appropriate for Lapford.
I’d like to get a couple of weathered maroon mk1s to create a mixed train but the prices are ridiculous at the moment!
Edit - @hexagon789
You started something that’s caused me all kinds of problems with this statement…
Last edited:
Now then now then now then, I hear that there's an update to be 'ad on this 'ere layout?
-Peter
Blimey, sounds like you’ve been watching the TV thingy with Steve Coogan in it Peter.
Anyway it was further to this post that @Ashley Hill made about the sign made of stones that spelt out LAPFORD on the bank opposite the station. I had a go at making it and it was a bit of a nightmare…
I had to build the bank up first as it wasn’t big enough, which then entailed painting it and blending it in etc. I then cut all the letters out of card and tried to mark lines out where the stones joined (after a small amount of Faulty Towers type behaviour):
I then stuck them down with glue (quickly before it dried) and then went over it with static grass so that the grass grew between the letters. The results?
Too thick and it looked silly!
Back to the chopping board.
This time I snipped a load of tiny slithers of plastikard into strips, then snipped them again into roughly 3mm lengths, dug the first lot of letters up and had another go at laying them out individually. Not easy. Again having to do it quickly so I could get the grass down:
Again though, still not sure, although I quite like the last photo through the bridge as it captures this shot a little (and I’m not sure where it actually came from unfortunately):
Yeah. That was a fair amount of my life that I won’t be getting back.
I just don’t really know how to improve on it without pulling more of my hair out unfortunately?
I wonder if there's a continental twin named Alpdorf? 
hexagon789
Veteran Member
I think the second version is an excellent effort - it mimics the prototype photo very well to my eye.Blimey, sounds like you’ve been watching the TV thingy with Steve Coogan in it Peter.
Anyway it was further to this post that @Ashley Hill made about the sign made of stones that spelt out LAPFORD on the bank opposite the station. I had a go at making it and it was a bit of a nightmare…
I had to build the bank up first as it wasn’t big enough, which then entailed painting it and blending it in etc. I then cut all the letters out of card and tried to mark lines out where the stones joined (after a small amount of Faulty Towers type behaviour):
View attachment 145599
View attachment 145597
View attachment 145598
I then stuck them down with glue (quickly before it dried) and then went over it with static grass so that the grass grew between the letters. The results?
Too thick and it looked silly!
View attachment 145601
Back to the chopping board.
This time I snipped a load of tiny slithers of plastikard into strips, then snipped them again into roughly 3mm lengths, dug the first lot of letters up and had another go at laying them out individually. Not easy. Again having to do it quickly so I could get the grass down:
View attachment 145602
View attachment 145605
View attachment 145603Again though, still not sure, although I quite like the last photo through the bridge as it captures this shot a little (and I’m not sure where it actually came from unfortunately):
View attachment 145604
Yeah. That was a fair amount of my life that I won’t be getting back.
I just don’t really know how to improve on it without pulling more of my hair out unfortunately?
I don't think any further hair-pulling is required!
Ashley Hill
Established Member
That looks super. For those that remember it it’s pretty damn good. Lovely shot of the Skipper and Crediton PW gang.
That’s good. I was struggling to think of another one!I wonder if there's a continental twin named Alpdorf?
Ok I’ll take that Hexagon. Thanks very much.I think the second version is an excellent effort - it mimics the prototype photo very well to my eye.
I don't think any further hair-pulling is required!
Thanks AH. I was wondering if that shot was of an initial test run of a Skipper for gauging maybe? I just can’t remember where I got the photo from unfortunately.
In other news. Today I’ve renumbered a couple of my locos, both of which I’d lost a nameplate from (at least once) and finally decided to just renumber them to different locos. So my Railfreight general 47209 Herbert Austin has become 47147 which was a loco I had on a summer Saturday working in Devon in 1988 and my Dutch 33046 Merlin is now 33030, which was actually one of the very few non named Dutch ones surprisingly.
I even did the little numbers on the front and this was after some very helpful advice from @D1511 who (along with some other very useful advice) pointed me in the direction of Railtec Transfers who supply the numbers as a complete set quickly and for a very good price.
I'll take that - it's better than people thinking I've been listening to too much Max Bygraves...Blimey, sounds like you’ve been watching the TV thingy with Steve Coogan in it Peter.
I must admit, I think that looks very good! Unless you actually got some ballast (I suppose it'd have to be OO or a larger scale) and did it that way, you wouldn't be able to get a more realistic result (and the ballast would be unbelievably difficult anyway). That shot with the Pacer is brilliant - I'm always going to be a fan of chocolate and cream!
That's a nice touch with the 47. With my models I tried to find ones I'd got some sort of connection to (or at least ones which were close to ones I'd actually seen), and it's good fun to see something like that going round the layout. You've done a good job with those transfers on that 33 - I just wouldn't bother at such a small scale so I envy your skills! I need to resist the urge to get my models out of the cupboard and build another small layout now...
-Peter
Don't tempt me! Fortunately - for the models - there's a couple hundred miles between them and myself at the moment. I don't think I could flick paint that far...
-Peter
Great job, sir! Not sure of the value of any tips of mine though, as the first thing I read when my Railtec decals arrived was to NOT use the decal fixing product I mentioned!
However, if you hadn't found the treasure trove that is Railtec's decals site before, then I'm happy to have pointed you to that! I'm about to get busy on some PCAs with my new Blue Circle Cement decals and running numbers this very evening, thanks to Railtec!
I like your Lapford sign too......my suggestion might have also been to use N gauge ballast to emulate the stones (presumably) originally used to make up the letters of the sign, but that would have been uber fiddly and I doubt it would have looked any better than what you've done!