My 00 Gauge layout - Oldmoor Junction Model Railway

[Peter C]

Day eight of the Oldmoor Junction Model Railway 2021 Advent Calendar - and it's a brand-new (well, new to the layout) engine!


This is a Triang 'Achilles' class - specifically, no. 3046 Lord of the Isles. It's a model I've been looking into getting for some time now, because the design looks really nice in my opinion - plus, it's another Great Western engine to add to the collection
The engine arrived today and came from eBay for only about £40 including postage, which given that some people are trying to get over £100 for one isn't bad. It's made even better by the fact that I'd seen another one for sale in a worse condition and almost went for it - thank goodness I did because this one is so much nicer! It runs really nicely, although the large flanges on the wheels means it bounces around a bit over points, but that just adds to its charm I think. Given it was made anywhere between 1963 and 1973 it's not bad. There are a few things which are really nice about it, such as the front pony-truck (is that the right term?) frames are metal, and there is a small amount of painted cab detailing. The tender comes without a coal load - or at least mine has - so I might make a removable one at some point.
There's something really interesting about these single-wheeler designs; you can't see any moving parts as you would with a traditional engine so it's definitely unique in the Oldmoor fleet!

Thanks for reading.

-Peter

 

[Iskra]

Well that is an ‘unexpected item in the bagging area.’

A very interesting locomotive and a splendid looking one too. On first sight, I questioned why it wasn’t broad gauge, but on further ‘research’ (Wikipedia), I learnt that the first members of the class were built to broad gauge, but were built to be convertible to standard gauge at a later date- very clever!

Just to add, I didn’t have ‘Lord of the Isles’ as originating with GWR, I always thought it was a name for Scottish area locomotives. A lot has been learnt today!

 

[Peter C]

Well that is an ‘unexpected item in the bagging area.’

A very interesting locomotive and a splendid looking one too. On first sight, I questioned why it wasn’t broad gauge, but on further ‘research’ (Wikipedia), I learnt that the first members of the class were built to broad gauge, but were built to be convertible to standard gauge at a later date- very clever!

Haha!
It certainly is a very nice engine indeed. I did a similar bit of looking into them before I bought it - very interesting way of doing things really. Although it would be nice to have a broad gauge engine somewhere on the layout...

Just to add, I didn’t have ‘Lord of the Isles’ as originating with GWR, I always thought it was a name for Scottish area locomotives. A lot has been learnt today!

It's certainly a bit different to Albert Hall or King Richard II isn't it? The engine definitely has GWR features, yes, but there are so many differences between it and the rest of the GWR fleet on the layout that such a different name is warranted I feel

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

Day eight of the Oldmoor Junction Model Railway 2021 Advent Calendar - and it's a brand-new (well, new to the layout) engine!

View attachment 106652
This is a Triang 'Achilles' class - specifically, no. 3046 Lord of the Isles. It's a model I've been looking into getting for some time now, because the design looks really nice in my opinion - plus, it's another Great Western engine to add to the collection
The engine arrived today and came from eBay for only about £40 including postage, which given that some people are trying to get over £100 for one isn't bad. It's made even better by the fact that I'd seen another one for sale in a worse condition and almost went for it - thank goodness I did because this one is so much nicer! It runs really nicely, although the large flanges on the wheels means it bounces around a bit over points, but that just adds to its charm I think. Given it was made anywhere between 1963 and 1973 it's not bad. There are a few things which are really nice about it, such as the front pony-truck (is that the right term?) frames are metal, and there is a small amount of painted cab detailing. The tender comes without a coal load - or at least mine has - so I might make a removable one at some point.
There's something really interesting about these single-wheeler designs; you can't see any moving parts as you would with a traditional engine so it's definitely unique in the Oldmoor fleet!

Thanks for reading.

-Peter

That’s a really interesting looking locomotive. It looks really old fashioned except the smokebox ’face’ which is classic GWR.

 

[Peter C]

That’s a really interesting looking locomotive. It looks really old fashioned except the smokebox ’face’ which is classic GWR.

I think that's the best way of describing it really - old-fashioned in appearance, yet still maintaining that GWR feel. I think a lot of the old-fashioned-ness comes from the fact that it's a single-wheeler; from my limited knowledge the railway companies didn't really build many (any?) of that type after a certain point.

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

I think that's the best way of describing it really - old-fashioned in appearance, yet still maintaining that GWR feel. I think a lot of the old-fashioned-ness comes from the fact that it's a single-wheeler; from my limited knowledge the railway companies didn't really build many (any?) of that type after a certain point.

-Peter

Yes I’m not sure when the last ones were built. The GNR/GER ones were impressive but they look archaic now.

 

[Peter C]

Yes I’m not sure when the last ones were built. The GNR/GER ones were impressive but they look archaic now.

Just had a look and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledonian_Railway_Single says Caledonian Railway no. 123 was the last single-wheeler running when it was withdrawn in 1935:

The locomotive was withdrawn in 1935, by which time it was the last single-wheeled express engine running in Britain, and set aside for preservation.

There's also this interesting bit:

The engine was a one-off design intended to represent both the railway and the builder at the International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art held in Edinburgh rather than to fulfill any specific need for such a locomotive by the Caledonian.

Looks like the GWR wasn't the only company designing engines for non-operational purposes with The Great Bear!

-Peter

 

[Iskra]

I believe the term is vintage, not old fashioned Now, I'm about to really upset the GWR fans, but I don't think the aesthetics of that locomotive are all that different from City of Truro (3700 Class), it's just the wheel arrangement that is the main improvement...

It is interesting that these were flagship, record-breaking express locomotives in their day too.

 

[Peter C]

I believe the term is vintage, not old fashioned Now, I'm about to really upset the GWR fans, but I don't think the aesthetics of that locomotive are all that different from City of Truro (3700 Class), it's just the wheel arrangement that is the main improvement...

It is interesting that these were flagship, record-breaking express locomotives in their day too.

I can see where you're coming from with that City of Truro comparison - the two classes share a lot in the sense that they've got really quite obvious outside frames of a different colour to the rest of the engine. That and the actual design of the engine is quite similar in some ways.
It's amazing to read through some of the history of the GWR, especially in that crossover period from broad gauge to standard gauge.

-Peter

 

[reddragon]

Coaches again from me today! Loco tomorrow

 

[Peter C]

Coaches again from me today! Loco tomorrow

Just had a look - looking forward to tomorrow now!

======

It's day nine of the Oldmoor Junction Model Railway Advent Calendar 2021 and so, as is tradition (well traditions have to start somewhere), we're looking at a workhorse of the railway...


Another old photo - don't worry, the layout's still somewhat intact
This is a Lima Class 09, which arrived on the layout all the way back in April. I was really surprised when I had to look back through all the photos of the layout to find it because it feels like it's more of a new addition! It's much better in terms of Class 08/09 details than the Hornby Railroad one which had been the main shunter on the layout for some time - most notably with regards to the wheels and the coupling rods. That and the much better chassis proportions than the standard Hornby 0-6-0.
I believe this model has been repainted at some point but honestly, without knowing, you'd be hard-pressed to realise at a first glance because the paint job has been done to such a high standard. The windows have even been glazed, which saved me a few pennies and a fair bit of time in having to get the bits to do that myself. I did think about repainting this after I'd bought it when it was on its way here, but honestly I think the livery is so well-applied on it at the moment it'd be a shame to ruin it.
The engine was playing up not too long ago but some work yesterday - mainly just running it round and round the layout at high speeds and giving it a go on the wheel cleaner - has worked wonders and now it'll run around and should be good for some shunting work in the railway centre.

Anyway - thanks for reading. Quite a ramble today but when haven't I waffled on and on?

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

Very good. I used to find that a gentle spray of switch cleaner worked wonders on old models like that.

 

[Peter C]

Very good. I used to find that a gentle spray of switch cleaner worked wonders on old models like that.

I haven't tried that yet but I'll be sure to remember it. There are a couple of models which could do with just a quick clean to get them running that bit better in the fleet.

======

I missed Friday and Saturday (10th and 11th respectively), so in a slight detour from what I've been doing so far, taking some inspiration from @43055 and @Cowley's advent calendars, here are some photos of trains on the layout as opposed to just the engines. Let's see how well this goes, eh?


It's all gone a bit late-1970s at Oldmoor Junction - D9006 The Fife and Forfar Yeomanry arrives at Platform 5 with a service to London King's Cross as 43010 arrives at Platform 4 at the head of a service from London Paddington to Hereford. Class 423 7756 sits at Platform 3 having arrived with a service from Woking a couple of hours ago - it'll head back out soon on a service which will then connect to a unit heading into London Waterloo.


This photo turned up in the Oldmoor Railway Centre archives the other day and it's a superb record of the trains which ran through Oldmoor at the turn of the 20th-Century. This photo shows GWR 'Achilles' Class no. 3046 Lord of the Isles on an express service from Oldmoor to Birmingham in 1908.


"Can't go yet, the squire's not here!" (but neither is anyone else for that matter)
A simple attempt at recreating the train from the beginning of The Titfield Thunderbolt. I wonder if anyone sells the right figures to make a little scene from the film? Having said that, I did ask a chap in a city in Kent about this but the answer was "no" - perhaps there aren't men of sufficient faith in Canterbury...

Anyway - thanks for reading. Just a bit of fun; hope you liked it.

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

I like all of them. Good bit of imagination Peter.

 

[Peter C]

I like all of them. Good bit of imagination Peter.

Thank you! It's actually quite good fun to set up the little scenes.

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

Thank you! It's actually quite good fun to set up the little scenes.

-Peter

I think the Titfield one is my favourite.

 

[Peter C]

Now then - this advent calendar thing has gone well, hasn't it?
I was given a copy of Gerard Fiennes' I tried to run a railway last week, and having read it I'm wondering if I could write the sequel - I tried (and failed) to run a model railway...

It's safe to say that real life has definitely come back (I'm most certainly not complaining though), so there's been less time for modelling, but I've managed to get one main bit done - or at least, sorted for now: the church.


I built this over the course of an evening earlier this week and I'm really happy with how it came out. Those of you who've followed the thread since it began may remember that there was a church on the layout last year, but during the course of various remodellings and the move from downstairs to upstairs, it got so knocked-about and broken that I didn't think it was worth trying to salvage it, so this is a new kit.
The greenery around the back looks to be a lot more than it actually is - the green of the grass doesn't show up well on the photo so it makes the dark green shrubs stick out a lot more than they do in real life. I've put some round all sides but most of it is concentrated around the back as I figured that'd be where the gardeners wouldn't spend as much time.

Here's a view from the front, which also shows the little paper tree I knocked up earlier today:

(I coloured it green but it doesn't show up all that well on the photo unfortunately)
There are a couple of bits of greenery on the buttresses on the tower to hide the bits where I didn't have enough covering pieces to do all of the angled bits as they get thinner towards the top - turns out I'd used the wrong pieces and they were supposed to go on the pointy bits (technical term) at the top of the tower! I've used some blue-ish-grey tiling for the tops of those bits instead.
The gravel has been done in the same way as Little Piddling Manor - that is, it's just some very fine sand-coloured ballast which I didn't end up using on the layout. It's been spread around the front to create a little area where people can stand without getting too muddy.


And here's a rather odd shot which didn't turn out how I'd intended, but it does show what the church looks like from the road (a view I hadn't seen until looking at this). The clock makes a nice addition to the tower I think, and the gate finishes off the look on the road. I need to buy some more Metcalfe paving slabs to finish off the pavement around the roads actually.
(I wonder who that giant is in the background?)


And now time for something completely different.
And then here's the last bit for the projects on the layout today - this little platform for the railway centre. This is part of the main railway centre 'complex' and will form the end of a demonstration line service which can run from next to the engine shed here to Little Piddling on-the-Wold.
The platform is a Metcalfe kit, and the building is a Hornby resin one which has been sitting around looking for a home for some time now. It's not a stereotypical Great Western design as I would have liked to have included here, but it works and the platform dimensions have kind of been designed around it so it'll be a bit difficult to replace it
The slight angle in the corner is to allow trains on the main running loops to pass the station without colliding with it (which would be quite the problem, or so I've heard). The platform has also had the overhang taken out of it at one end to allow coaches to run in and out of the station without colliding with the platform.


No photos of trains today (well, there's the autocoach right at the end I suppose), but there should hopefully be some tomorrow. I hear there's a parcels working through Oldmoor tomorrow - can't think why...

Thanks for reading.

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

Now then - this advent calendar thing has gone well, hasn't it?
I was given a copy of Gerard Fiennes' I tried to run a railway last week, and having read it I'm wondering if I could write the sequel - I tried (and failed) to run a model railway...

It's safe to say that real life has definitely come back (I'm most certainly not complaining though), so there's been less time for modelling, but I've managed to get one main bit done - or at least, sorted for now: the church.

View attachment 107509
I built this over the course of an evening earlier this week and I'm really happy with how it came out. Those of you who've followed the thread since it began may remember that there was a church on the layout last year, but during the course of various remodellings and the move from downstairs to upstairs, it got so knocked-about and broken that I didn't think it was worth trying to salvage it, so this is a new kit.
The greenery around the back looks to be a lot more than it actually is - the green of the grass doesn't show up well on the photo so it makes the dark green shrubs stick out a lot more than they do in real life. I've put some round all sides but most of it is concentrated around the back as I figured that'd be where the gardeners wouldn't spend as much time.

Here's a view from the front, which also shows the little paper tree I knocked up earlier today:
View attachment 107510
(I coloured it green but it doesn't show up all that well on the photo unfortunately)
There are a couple of bits of greenery on the buttresses on the tower to hide the bits where I didn't have enough covering pieces to do all of the angled bits as they get thinner towards the top - turns out I'd used the wrong pieces and they were supposed to go on the pointy bits (technical term) at the top of the tower! I've used some blue-ish-grey tiling for the tops of those bits instead.
The gravel has been done in the same way as Little Piddling Manor - that is, it's just some very fine sand-coloured ballast which I didn't end up using on the layout. It's been spread around the front to create a little area where people can stand without getting too muddy.

View attachment 107511
And here's a rather odd shot which didn't turn out how I'd intended, but it does show what the church looks like from the road (a view I hadn't seen until looking at this). The clock makes a nice addition to the tower I think, and the gate finishes off the look on the road. I need to buy some more Metcalfe paving slabs to finish off the pavement around the roads actually.
(I wonder who that giant is in the background?)

View attachment 107513
And now time for something completely different.
And then here's the last bit for the projects on the layout today - this little platform for the railway centre. This is part of the main railway centre 'complex' and will form the end of a demonstration line service which can run from next to the engine shed here to Little Piddling on-the-Wold.
The platform is a Metcalfe kit, and the building is a Hornby resin one which has been sitting around looking for a home for some time now. It's not a stereotypical Great Western design as I would have liked to have included here, but it works and the platform dimensions have kind of been designed around it so it'll be a bit difficult to replace it
The slight angle in the corner is to allow trains on the main running loops to pass the station without colliding with it (which would be quite the problem, or so I've heard). The platform has also had the overhang taken out of it at one end to allow coaches to run in and out of the station without colliding with the platform.


No photos of trains today (well, there's the autocoach right at the end I suppose), but there should hopefully be some tomorrow. I hear there's a parcels working through Oldmoor tomorrow - can't think why...

Thanks for reading.

-Peter

Blimey what a great job on that church you’ve done.
It really does look the part and that part of the railway looks great now. It’s definitely starting to look like ‘Somewhere’…

 

[Peter C]

Blimey what a great job on that church you’ve done.
It really does look the part and that part of the railway looks great now. It’s definitely starting to look like ‘Somewhere’…

Thanks @Cowley - that's very kind of you.
I had a look at that bit of the layout from my desk last night and it really is starting to look like what I was hoping for so to hear someone else say that is really nice.


It's Christmas Eve (blimey, how did we get here already? It was Summer yesterday) and the layout is prepared for the big day tomorrow. The church is all ready for the morning service, Little Piddling Manor is prepared for the big feast they call Christmas dinner, and the engines in the railway centre are tucked away in the shed for the Christmas break. Mrs Miggins has been looking at the weather forecast and even though Oldmoor's not due to get snow this weekend, that's not going to stop everyone enjoying the festive season.

But all because it's Christmas, it doesn't mean work on the layout stops (well, it was hardly being done to the same level as Network Rail). There are still a few bits of scenery which I'd like to get sorted as soon as possible - and one of those is the main road through Oldmoor town centre. The church is at a point now where I'm happy to leave it whilst I get on with some other bits, and the same is true for the cottages next to the church and then the inn next to that. The main thing is the set of three buildings on the opposite side of the road.
They're resin buildings from Hornby, and they're all square, meaning putting them around a curve, like that of the main road, creates gaps between them. Last night I had the idea of slightly changing the positions of the shops to get rid of this:

The idea is that I'll then fill in the space between the edge of the pavement and the shops with yet more paving slabs, thus creating a wider pavement with a bit more interest because obviously it'll be curved on one side but straight on the other. It also gives some more room for the pillar box, which you might be able to see the top of by the roof of the bus.
(We also seem to have a Titfield Thunderbolt moment in the background with that 'Jubilee' but I'm sure that's not a problem )

That's really the only thing I've done on the layout today - I'll have to check, but I don't think I've enough of the Metcalfe paving slabs to actually put the plan into action just yet, so it'll have to wait until after Christmas. At least that's one thing I can do in that strange period between Christmas and New Year

I'll leave you with this view of the main road through Oldmoor town centre. I quite like it; I think the church and particularly the grass around it add quite a bit to the scene:

(This has also reminded me that I need to sort out the ends of the driveways for the cottages; the gravel doesn't extend all the way up to the road - that's a project for today sorted!)

Thanks for reading. Sorry for what has turned into quite the ramble!

-Peter

 

[reddragon]

Thanks @Cowley - that's very kind of you.
I had a look at that bit of the layout from my desk last night and it really is starting to look like what I was hoping for so to hear someone else say that is really nice.


It's Christmas Eve (blimey, how did we get here already? It was Summer yesterday) and the layout is prepared for the big day tomorrow. The church is all ready for the morning service, Little Piddling Manor is prepared for the big feast they call Christmas dinner, and the engines in the railway centre are tucked away in the shed for the Christmas break. Mrs Miggins has been looking at the weather forecast and even though Oldmoor's not due to get snow this weekend, that's not going to stop everyone enjoying the festive season.

But all because it's Christmas, it doesn't mean work on the layout stops (well, it was hardly being done to the same level as Network Rail). There are still a few bits of scenery which I'd like to get sorted as soon as possible - and one of those is the main road through Oldmoor town centre. The church is at a point now where I'm happy to leave it whilst I get on with some other bits, and the same is true for the cottages next to the church and then the inn next to that. The main thing is the set of three buildings on the opposite side of the road.
They're resin buildings from Hornby, and they're all square, meaning putting them around a curve, like that of the main road, creates gaps between them. Last night I had the idea of slightly changing the positions of the shops to get rid of this:
View attachment 107538
The idea is that I'll then fill in the space between the edge of the pavement and the shops with yet more paving slabs, thus creating a wider pavement with a bit more interest because obviously it'll be curved on one side but straight on the other. It also gives some more room for the pillar box, which you might be able to see the top of by the roof of the bus.
(We also seem to have a Titfield Thunderbolt moment in the background with that 'Jubilee' but I'm sure that's not a problem )

That's really the only thing I've done on the layout today - I'll have to check, but I don't think I've enough of the Metcalfe paving slabs to actually put the plan into action just yet, so it'll have to wait until after Christmas. At least that's one thing I can do in that strange period between Christmas and New Year

I'll leave you with this view of the main road through Oldmoor town centre. I quite like it; I think the church and particularly the grass around it add quite a bit to the scene:
View attachment 107540
(This has also reminded me that I need to sort out the ends of the driveways for the cottages; the gravel doesn't extend all the way up to the road - that's a project for today sorted!)

Thanks for reading. Sorry for what has turned into quite the ramble!

-Peter

Yes but a bit Titfield Thunderbolt with a loco in the street.

 

[Cowley]

Those houses definitely look right the way you’ve done them as a little terrace. Do you have to glue the paving slabs down or are they sticky?

 

[Peter C]

Yes but a bit Titfield Thunderbolt with a loco in the street.

In the real world they use a low-loader to move engines from railway to railway; we've not got one of those in Oldmoor so some bright spark back at the railway centre had the idea of firing up the engine and seeing how far he could get...

Those houses definitely look right the way you’ve done them as a little terrace. Do you have to glue the paving slabs down or are they sticky?

Thanks! The paving slabs are self-adhesive but it's not perfect; I looked on Metcalfe's website earlier today to see how much they'd be (about £7, which really isn't bad) and it mentions gluing them down as well. The way I did it with the slabs already on the layout was to put them down without extra glue, but then to go over them with a scrap bit of card from a kit dipped in PVA - it's left a bit of a shiny finish but you can only notice that when the light catches it. Could always use some sort of matt varnish to sort it I suppose!

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

PVA does do that. The trouble is because it’s card it’ll probably start disintegrating if you wipe it.
You could rub a little bit of weathering powder on it to take the shine off and give it a bit of texture maybe?

 

[Peter C]

PVA does do that. The trouble is because it’s card it’ll probably start disintegrating if you wipe it.
You could rub a little bit of weathering powder on it to take the shine off and give it a bit of texture maybe?

That's the thing. I did think about using some of Metcalfe's paving sheets, but then I'd have to do all sorts of fancy stuff (technical term) to it to make it go around the corners and look realistic. I'd probably have ended up cutting out each slab individually and using them in the same way as I've already done
I hadn't thought of that - thanks! I could do with weathering some bits of some of the buildings too actually, and considering how long some of the materials I've used on the layout have lasted (the static grass bottle I bought three, perhaps four, years ago has only just started to run out of the stuff), could be quite a good investment!


It's the big day tomorrow, and in Oldmoor they're definitely getting ready. This has just arrived at Oldmoor Junction, in fact:

Yes, those presents simple won't deliver themselves and the railways have stepped in to help. The main train this year is quite long and has been double-headed, with 5050 Earl of St Germans leading 6023 King Richard II at the head of a varied rake.
The train starts with a Hornby wagon (well, it wouldn't be proper to have Christmas without trains of some sort, would it? ), then we've got a BR Express Parcels van, followed by a Mk1 BG (there are so many parcels we've had to rope this one in too), and then there's the TPO (an obvious part of a mail train), then a Southern cattle wagon (must be for Surbiton), followed by a couple of box vans (just to carry some miscellaneous stuff), and then a GWR Mogo wagon (probably carrying a Model T), with a continental ferry wagon bringing up the rear. The contents of that must have travelled a fair way!
And then there's obviously the GWR 'Express Parcels' railcar arriving at the station. There's quite a lot to be moved around, it seems!

(You can also see in that shot a bit of the platform work I've done today - it's not the tidiest job in the world, but it'll be sorted eventually. This should mean that all of the platforms, at least at a basic level, are sorted for Oldmoor Junction - wahey! I've been thinking about perhaps moving away from the modern-image station building and towards a GWR 1930s-styled one, like Birmingham Moor St., mainly because that'd be easier to make but also because I really love Moor St itself - thoughts?)

Thanks for reading my stuff over the past year. It's been great fun - I'm sure it'll carry on into next year and beyond. Merry Christmas.

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

I mean that’s present delivery power there!

 

[Peter C]

I mean that’s present delivery power there!

Nothing but the best Swindon power for the most wonderful time of the year

-Peter

 

[Cowley]

I’m liking the pile of old sleepers by the way…

 

[Peter C]

I’m liking the pile of old sleepers by the way…

Thanks! That's a bit of accidental detailing, I must admit - but now you've mentioned it, could be quite a good way of filling in that little area. One of a few bits on the layout where I'll definitely use your idea of making it look unused and a bit unloved.

-Peter

 

[43055]

That's the thing. I did think about using some of Metcalfe's paving sheets, but then I'd have to do all sorts of fancy stuff (technical term) to it to make it go around the corners and look realistic. I'd probably have ended up cutting out each slab individually and using them in the same way as I've already done
I hadn't thought of that - thanks! I could do with weathering some bits of some of the buildings too actually, and considering how long some of the materials I've used on the layout have lasted (the static grass bottle I bought three, perhaps four, years ago has only just started to run out of the stuff), could be quite a good investment!


It's the big day tomorrow, and in Oldmoor they're definitely getting ready. This has just arrived at Oldmoor Junction, in fact:
View attachment 107572
Yes, those presents simple won't deliver themselves and the railways have stepped in to help. The main train this year is quite long and has been double-headed, with 5050 Earl of St Germans leading 6023 King Richard II at the head of a varied rake.
The train starts with a Hornby wagon (well, it wouldn't be proper to have Christmas without trains of some sort, would it? ), then we've got a BR Express Parcels van, followed by a Mk1 BG (there are so many parcels we've had to rope this one in too), and then there's the TPO (an obvious part of a mail train), then a Southern cattle wagon (must be for Surbiton), followed by a couple of box vans (just to carry some miscellaneous stuff), and then a GWR Mogo wagon (probably carrying a Model T), with a continental ferry wagon bringing up the rear. The contents of that must have travelled a fair way!
And then there's obviously the GWR 'Express Parcels' railcar arriving at the station. There's quite a lot to be moved around, it seems!

(You can also see in that shot a bit of the platform work I've done today - it's not the tidiest job in the world, but it'll be sorted eventually. This should mean that all of the platforms, at least at a basic level, are sorted for Oldmoor Junction - wahey! I've been thinking about perhaps moving away from the modern-image station building and towards a GWR 1930s-styled one, like Birmingham Moor St., mainly because that'd be easier to make but also because I really love Moor St itself - thoughts?)

Thanks for reading my stuff over the past year. It's been great fun - I'm sure it'll carry on into next year and beyond. Merry Christmas.

-Peter

Very important train. Nice work on the platform. Corners are never tidyest sections but once the edges are done it will look a lot better.

 

[Peter C]

Very important train. Nice work on the platform. Corners are never tidyest sections but once the edges are done it will look a lot better.

Thanks! I don't think I'll be doing a lot of work on that bit of the station for a while now as I've got to work out how to do the station building (which will have to be scratchbuilt) beforehand. Should be able to make it all look a bit neater though in the meantime.

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It's the last day of 2021 today (how this can be, I simply don't know - it was August yesterday), and I thought it was as a good a time as any to share the latest acquisitions on the Oldmoor Junction Model Railway (really, the things I got at Christmas - which I refuse to believe was six days ago).
Let's jump into this and see how much I can waffle on then, shall we?


The first item is this lovely Hornby A1 Terrier. It's in LSWR green and it's absolutely tiny in comparison to pretty much everything else on the layout! It came pre-DCC-fitted from Hattons and is a lovely runner. There's loads of detailing on it and the livery is superb. That's the main reason I went for it actually; the green isn't unique on the layout in the sense of it being a shade of green, but the bright colour is so nice and really adds to the whole thing.
The second item is the coach currently coupled to the first - a Hornby Mk1 brake coach. I can't remember the technical term at the moment but it's one of those ones with the guard's bit (or the brake bit, whichever) in half the carriage with the other half being normal seating; it's a design I've already got two of on the layout, but they're both test-train coaches and so would look a bit out-of-place in a heritage rake! This coach ticks two boxes - firstly, it's a passenger-rake-prototypical livery, and secondly, it's in maroon - a livery I've seen countless times on heritage railways but not yet had on the layout. Hopefully at some point I'll have a few more maroon coaches to join this one!


The third item is this GWR Mk3. It's a first-class one and takes the number of GWR Mk3s on the layout up to three - thus meaning there are five total (the other two being old Hornby ones - the short ones - in BR blue/grey). Just as with the other two GWR Mk3s on the layout, there's not really much to complain about with this model - the gloss finish is lovely, there's plenty of detailing, and the couplings allow for close connections between the carriages. There's also the fact that being from the Western Region and having grown up with the FGW/GWR HST sets, the plan is to make a GWR HST set at some point (because I doubt I'll ever be able to afford a Hornby FGW Mk3 without selling a kidney) - probably using the RailRoad-style GWR HST powercars.


The fourth item is this Network Rail Mk3 - I didn't put two and two together until I saw it in person, but I think it's probably supposed to go in a New Measurement Train rake. Either way, it's a lovely addition to the test train fleet, which now comprises four yellow coaches. Just as with the GWR Mk3, there's really not a lot to complain about with this coach - apart from maybe that some of the bits of plastic put in the windows to change their shape or otherwise remove them are very noticeable in places. However this is typical of the whole Hornby test train range so it's not a major problem as it fits in with the other coaches in the rake.


The last items for today are these two vehicles - the first being a Morris Marina (no, of course I didn't have to look that up), and the second being a British Rail Land Rover. They're lovely additions to the layout and I can easily see how people start collecting these little models - they're not overly expensive and they make for a really good way of populating a town scene. I don't quite know where the Land Rover is heading off to, but I can only assume there's been some sort of issue up the line! Probably leaves - or the wrong kind of snow - or maybe that 'Jubilee' currently looking in the insurance offices' window...


Anyway - that's it for 2021 on the Oldmoor Junction Model Railway. Thanks so much for reading all of the stuff I've written over the past year (well, even if you've not read it all - and I don't blame you - I still really appreciate it) - it's really lovely to read the responses from everyone and the banter makes it all the more worthwhile. I've had two extremes really in terms of the outside world and its affect on the layout; for a not-insignificant proportion of the year I had quite a bit of free time, and got a fair bit done, but then for the past few months it's been a lot more full-on so less has been finished but I'm still really happy with the overall state of the layout as it stands.
I've got all sorts of ideas for 2022 - I've shared most, if not all, of them with you already: let's see how well it goes!

Happy New Year, everybody - let's hope it's a good one.

-Peter