Construction Part Two – Baseboard Superstructure

SYd 081Base Board Superstructure Early days in building adding Sheepcroft Yard, the curve laid in (two Peco curved points), three sidings and loading bank. The back scene and retaining wall with its building was put in first.

SYd 081 Early days in adding Sheepcroft Yard.

With a firm foundation established, it is time to work on the baseboard superstructure, the broad outlines of Hintock. My techniques are best illustrated in in the building of Sheepcroft Yard in Phase 2, and its extension to enable the addition of the HFTS warehouse. At the same time I improved the Staging Yard. These works and images illustrate my methods. What they amounted to was a widening, the laying of track, altering the back scene and new scenery. [Continue Reading…]

Operating Part Two – Operating a Model Railway, Actions & Events

Syd 125. Operating a model railway. Prairie with horse box behind passes inner home signal and brings a local passenger train past Sheepcroft Yard into Hintock Redux. The horse box is destined for the Bay

Syd 125. Prairie with horse box behind passes inner home signal and brings a local passenger train past Sheepcroft Yard into Hintock Redux. The horse box is destined for the Bay

Operating a model railway is what I most enjoy. That is the actions that take place and the events leading to them. Most are straightforward and prototypical, nonetheless they still need to be done, as in the real world of railways, effectively, efficiently and in a timely manner. And there is quite an art in achieving that.  It is also most importantly fun. [Continue Reading…]

Hintock Branch Where it all Began

When I think back to Hintock Branch where it all began, my mind goes back to Easton Station. This was a time long before I was aware of Peter Denny and my knowledge of model railways was limited to a tinplate Hornby ‘O’ gauge train set. I was introduced to Easton Station, Portland and behind my grandparent’s home its Sheepcroft Yard. At both I spent many a happy hour.  It was at Easton too and when older, I had my first footplate ride (courtesy of a kind driver) the length of the Portland Branch from Easton to Melcombe Regis (Weymouth). Never forgotten. [Continue Reading…]

Enhancing Hintock – Small and Significant Changes

Enhancing Hintock – A touch of creative thought, some imagination and a little effort combined to enhance the charm and operational realism of Hintock. This post also illustrates what I think is simultaneously an unforeseen opportunity and blessing of the modeling process: You can’t just change one thing on a fully developed model railway, and if you follow where the modeller’s sense leads, the changes, though small, can yield significant improvements.[Continue Reading…]