A popular layout back on YMRC

Despite suggesting to myself that I wasn't going to do anything over and above keeping the layout running until April fate played its hand.  I managed to burn out a point motor without even trying and as luck would have it it is the facing point directing trains to the Down Main or Down Loop platforms at Treheligan so not a hardly-used yard connection I could abandon.

The motor is tight under the board and above the control panel area so was a very tight fit but luckily I had one spare in stock and the connections were push-fitted not soldered making swapping easier than it otherwise might have been.

That being done I strolled down to the far end of the layout where the sky-coloured panels have become dislodged over time through natural movement and found one was completely adrift.  So a few screws and a lot of filler later it went back to its original position - in fact slightly better than that - and the whole thing has a coat of new blue paint.  By 4th February's open day it might even have some clouds!  All in all a fair amount of work I hadn't intended over a few days.

While I was at it I added some green weathering powders to the clay dries roof at Carreglyp; the end wall has always had moss and lichen represented but not the roof until now.



I cleaned and tidied up some of the smaller scenes in order to record them in their final condition for posterity including the hay field



St. Teccan's Well and ruined chapel



The road accident where a van driver has come down the hill too fast and missed the bend at the bottom striking the railway boundary wall



The coastal path including a typical set of steps to gain height over the clifftops



An area of Cornish heathland with gorse, a distant mine engine house and even a kangaroo in the scrub as a nod to the layout being located in Australia



Men Tor rises high above Penhayle Bay.  The lower slopes are grazed by sheep but the higher rough pastures are inhabited only by the occasional walkers



She doesn't like being photographed so this is a very rare view of Penhayle Bay's resident mermaid.



Meanwhile on the main line more action from those bulbous and arguably ugly Warships as D865 "Zealous" was rostered the china clay duty





Down at Ponsangwyn (where the hastily-renovated sky described above can be seen) a trio of hydraulics was found on shed with the duty shunter tucked away in the clay sidings headshunt all beneath the brooding ruins of Wheal Julia mine.



D838 "Rapid" is hoping to live up to its name while a pair of class 22s await their next duties



D6315 receives some attention



A different angle on the headshunt showing the shunter with a single clay wagon alongside the stone pier and with a small sandy beach beyond.  Those enamel signs on the goods shed have faded nicely under natural light since first being applied a few years ago.



Something must have been moving because a cut of vans has appeared alongside the goods shed.  



There's more to come from Penhayle Bay despite having only 88 days to go until complete closure.  Anyone coming for the open-house on Saturday 4th February?

Some very nice photos there, Rick.

The kangaroo may not be as out of place as you might think! There is a whole herd of wallabies on the Yorkshire moors.

[user=321]SRman[/user] wrote:

Some very nice photos there, Rick.

I'll second that  :thumbs




Ed

P.s. I've always said that Rick had a kangaroo loose in his top paddock! 

:tongue  :tongue  :tongue

:twisted:  :twisted:  :twisted:

[user=321]SRman[/user] wrote:

P.s. I've always said that Rick had a kangaroo loose in his top paddock! 

:tongue  :tongue  :tongue

:twisted:  :twisted:  :twisted:

Thank you Jeff and I look forward to returning the compliment when an opportunity arises :mrgreen:

This one in particular seems to have a few folk fooled.  I have received comments, including from some hobby "heavyweights", via the layout's Facebook page and other fora to the effect that it looks real and one even asking where it was.  The reply of "In my backyard in Australia" didn't convince him ………

Hi Rick.   If only ?  I would love to make a visit to see how it is done. My plans just don't seem to be going anywhere at the time of writing . Good luck with all of your ventures, all the best. Kevin

I would say the only real give aways that it is a small scale model is the gap between the running rail and the point blade, and the tension lock couplings visible on the wagons.

It is a real compliment to both your modelling skills and your photography skills that people do think it is real, Rick.

:cool:

Thank you kindly Jeff.

 Yes the couplers are clearly visible and look nothing like the real thing.  The point is a giveaway to the knowing eye not only because of the coarse-gauge clearances and the incorrect "4-foot" width of all the the track but also the obvious tie-bar end with the raised boss on it protruding from the white ground where a point lever ought to be.

But if I can fool some of the people some of the time and make others look twice then I'll take that as a pat on the back for what is the first layout I had built.  Even if it's been improved upon progressively over the years as I learned new skills and techniques.

Those skills are coming to London soon enough so for those unable to enjoy the layout as it is today there will be some opportunities to see parts of it and maybe a little of how it was done once we are set up back home.

It's been a busy few days to put it mildly and I still don't have the photos from last Saturday ready to post.  

What I do have is a few views of locos which both arrived too late to debut at the event having arrived respectively on Monday and today.  These have been quickly tested, weathered and placed in traffic though will see very little use here.  They are destined to return to their boxes within days for return shipping to the UK during May.

37284 arrived on Monday despite hopes of making it in time to double-head Saturday's china clay workings.  Not a Cornish loco but at least a WR one having spent its blue life at Landore (Swansea) and Canton (Cardiff) so it matches well enough and could have reached Cornwall at times.





Having done the easy bit and descended the branch alone 37284 was paired with "native" 37207 named William Cookworthy and with a Cornish Railways "Wizzie Lizzie" logo applied.  The two in tandem took the train uphill through the forest shattering the peace and quiet with the thrash of 24 English Electric cylinders on full power.



An "off the edge" shot on the narrow part of the layout because the light is good and shows off 207's nameplate.  Note also the differing treatment of the radiators with 207 having a grille guard but not 284.



And growling off into the distance …..



Then in today's post came Hornby's latest class 50 offering in the shape of 50026 "Indomitable" in the first iteration of Network SouthEast livery with its garish stripes.  Hornby has to my mind captured the colours quite well; they were described as making real trains look like plastic toys by some when the livery first appeared.  This loco has again been weathered though lacks my usual Fox etched nameplates at this stage; these will be added at some later time.



And approaching Treheligan where the clays are held on he branch awaiting a road up-country.  The comparison between Hornby and Bachmann representations of the same livery is significant though not too jarring.  The Mk1 coaches so painted faded rather quickly as they were often berthed in the open.  This livery did not wear well and was replaced with darker shades and detail changes such as upswept curved corners instead of the angles.  Hornby released 50002 in that livery some time ago which is also in my fleet.  Summer Saturdays saw BR InterCity sector hiring a rake of Mk1 coaches from NSE which were normally used on weekday business trains between Paddington and Oxford.  The hired set ran a Paddington - Penzance - Paddington round trip usually behind a class 50 and this working is represented here.

Great pictures Rick  :thumbs

Just an everyday snap of a train in the landscape.  

And hot on the heels of announcing the final chance to enjoy this layout comes the delayed photo-shoot of the last BR-WR "genuine" running day.  Not photographed on the day as I mentioned above because it's already a challenge to run the trains, meet and greet, organise the teas and keep an eye on everything when single-handed.  There's also not the opportunity to get the exact shot required.  But these are a record of the trains offered for service on that final "proper" running day.  No attempt was made to keep to a specific timetable or time period.  The only criterion was BR Western Region in Cornwall.















And some video clips









The SmugMug gallery with these images and clips holds 40 files.  Please feel free to browse the lot at this link rather than me filling your screens and this reply window.  A SmugMug account should not be needed to view.

Penhayle Bay - Final WR Running Day - gwiwer

A fitting collection of photos and videos capturing classic scenes from a great bit of Cornwall in Australia.

Proper job me 'ansome.


Marty

Thank you Marty.  And also thanks for your support over the years albeit mostly from quite a distance though we are delighted to count you among the mere hundred or so who have seen Penhayle Bay in the flesh.

 Today saw the re-boxing of all things get under way.  That much is hard enough knowing that everything which goes back into its box has turned its last wheel on Penhayle Bay.

Before this layout finally closes the NR-class which has been to Cornwall and the Isle of Wight on different trips and has performed on the YMR modular layout and others at Carn Brea will make one further appearance here leading its rake of stainless steel "Overland" cars.  It then embarks upon its third trip to the UK which may not be a record but certainly a milestone few have passed.

In its dying weeks the layout has passed another milestone.  Over 10,000 people now follow and like it on the Facebook page.

I have no idea how many other layouts might have a similar presence on the internet nor what their following is but I find myself amazed and humbled at this level of interest.  For what began as an oval of track around the dining table 14 years ago it's not done too badly.

Rick, a master of an understatement, every time I look at your layout I find something I haven't noticed before.  

[user=1188]Barneybuffer[/user] wrote:

 

 For what began as an oval of track around the dining table 14 years ago it's not done too badly.

paste quote here

Rick, a master of an understatement, every time I look at your layout I find something I haven't noticed before.  

So do I !!!  

Though I don't make a habit of showing pictures of spiders and leaves blocking the line.  Once or twice was enough.

What a few people have also spotted and commented upon over the years is that there is some occasional movement meaning the same people, vehicles and animals are not always seen in the same places.  It helps to add interest as well as being prototypical.

Ladies and gents.  An update.

 We have successfully relocated to London and now rent a small flat in the Strawberry Hill area of Twickenham which any rail enthusiasts will immediately recognise as also being home to a South West Trains depot and currently the home of the Bluebell Railway's preserved 4Vep electric unit.

Which means that Saturday 1st April will be the FINAL chance to enjoy Penhayle Bay in action.  Also if there is enough demand I am happy to host an evening session on Friday 31st March under the lights.  The layout will remain intact until its advertised closure date of 17th April - Easter Monday - but I have to work on all other days making an open house event impractical.

The layout will then be dismantled with a couple of scenes surviving on static display in London.  The small amount of space in our new home means it will not be possible to have it as a working layout.  I can also take the track-laid boards which were intended for the Beer & Branscombe project and create something from them; these were laid out in end-to-end format so will fit along one side of the room available though with a little adjustment to the run-off tracks.  The theme would be Southern electric though I shall find and excuse to run steam as well plus perhaps the occasional WR interloper.

We viewed 16 properties in all and while we would in some ways have preferred the additional space a house might have given the flat we selected is in reality the best option overall.  I really liked a house we saw which also had a loft conversion ideal for a railway room but Sharon has difficulty with stairs and those in this house (and several others) were simply too steep and narrow for her.

In due course I shall be able to show the new arrangements which will include maximising use of space by having a high-level bed with workstation beneath and storing the rolling stock in the existing plastic boxes beneath the baseboards.

For now if anyone is able to come along please let me know.  Enjoy Penhayle Bay if you can.  And while you still can.