This time last week the auto-coach looked like this, the only outstanding jobs being to paint the roof, add the glazing, entrance door grab rails, numbering, lettering and then a spot of weathering.
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But the curse of the auto-coach struck again, as whilst reaching for a reference book I disturbed another which dropped onto my workbench, bounced once and landed smack on top of the upturned underframe. I could see it all happening in slow motion but could do nothing to prevent the total destruction of the truss rods and underframe detail. You may recall how I had previously tripped over our old dog Patch and damaged the original body, not wanting to buy a new coach it took ages to find a decent replacement and following this latest setback I just couldn't motivate myself to start all over again. So I salvaged the bogies and as much detail as I could and binned the rest, if the truth be known I wasn't convinced that the coach looked at home on the layout, to begin with its a long vehicle and short coaches look far better at Llangunllo. Secondly, to the best of my knowledge no auto-coaches were used in regular service in the area, other than on the last special trains run by the SLS prior to withdrawal of passenger services.
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This combination is in my opinion far more suited to the layout, remove the milk tank and you have the sort of train which once worked up to Presteign from Titley Junction. Browse through any album showing goods trains in the area and you will find that most comprised of a couple of open wagons and a van or two and although I like the sight of a Dean Goods slowly plodding through Llangunllo on the return working of the pick up goods.....................................
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..............................I think 1455 as seen below with just a couple of wagons in tow looks far better.
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Now this photo throws up an interesting question and that is, would the layout have captured the remoteness of Mid Wales to better effect if I had kept things simpler ?
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I suppose you are wondering just where this post is heading, well its too late to go back to basics or is it? Could the next stage mean stripping everything back to leave just the signal box, the cottages and a simple halt with a wooden platform, the goods shed could go as well leaving the yard with just a loading bank and a disused van body acting as a store. One thing is for sure and that is the layout gives a better feeling of place when its operated with a small amount of stock and one engine in steam in the same manner as the real Presteign branch. This means that a lot of models are going to be surplus, some are in store until I decide their fate, others will be kept for their sentimental value, several have already been sold and no doubt more will follow. The branch engines for now are 1455 and 4678 but the latter will eventually be replaced with 7416 which will give me two engines that actually worked in the area. 4560 and 2538 will be kept as spares though both are a little out of place, the Dean Goods could actually be seen down at Kington at one time but in the era that I model they had been moved away to pastures new. However both engines were common in other parts of mid Wales and the border counties so they could have turned up from time to time.
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At least one Railcar will survive but I'm not sure what will happen to the diesel hydraulics, at the moment I think they will be axed. As for coaching stock, well the Hawksworth's are definitely under threat and I'm unsure about the A44 driving trailer. Goods wagons are another matter and several carefully chosen new ones will appear so they are safe.
All this might seem to be a little drastic because I really am cutting things to the bone but I'm a firm believer in quality rather then quantity, engines that start first time and run smoothly, rolling stock which stays on the track and reliably couplings are what I aim for. Having fewer models to maintain makes such a goal achievable and I reckon that I've almost cracked it, so for me less really does mean more.
But the curse of the auto-coach struck again, as whilst reaching for a reference book I disturbed another which dropped onto my workbench, bounced once and landed smack on top of the upturned underframe. I could see it all happening in slow motion but could do nothing to prevent the total destruction of the truss rods and underframe detail. You may recall how I had previously tripped over our old dog Patch and damaged the original body, not wanting to buy a new coach it took ages to find a decent replacement and following this latest setback I just couldn't motivate myself to start all over again. So I salvaged the bogies and as much detail as I could and binned the rest, if the truth be known I wasn't convinced that the coach looked at home on the layout, to begin with its a long vehicle and short coaches look far better at Llangunllo. Secondly, to the best of my knowledge no auto-coaches were used in regular service in the area, other than on the last special trains run by the SLS prior to withdrawal of passenger services.
This combination is in my opinion far more suited to the layout, remove the milk tank and you have the sort of train which once worked up to Presteign from Titley Junction. Browse through any album showing goods trains in the area and you will find that most comprised of a couple of open wagons and a van or two and although I like the sight of a Dean Goods slowly plodding through Llangunllo on the return working of the pick up goods.....................................
..............................I think 1455 as seen below with just a couple of wagons in tow looks far better.
Now this photo throws up an interesting question and that is, would the layout have captured the remoteness of Mid Wales to better effect if I had kept things simpler ?
I suppose you are wondering just where this post is heading, well its too late to go back to basics or is it? Could the next stage mean stripping everything back to leave just the signal box, the cottages and a simple halt with a wooden platform, the goods shed could go as well leaving the yard with just a loading bank and a disused van body acting as a store. One thing is for sure and that is the layout gives a better feeling of place when its operated with a small amount of stock and one engine in steam in the same manner as the real Presteign branch. This means that a lot of models are going to be surplus, some are in store until I decide their fate, others will be kept for their sentimental value, several have already been sold and no doubt more will follow. The branch engines for now are 1455 and 4678 but the latter will eventually be replaced with 7416 which will give me two engines that actually worked in the area. 4560 and 2538 will be kept as spares though both are a little out of place, the Dean Goods could actually be seen down at Kington at one time but in the era that I model they had been moved away to pastures new. However both engines were common in other parts of mid Wales and the border counties so they could have turned up from time to time.
At least one Railcar will survive but I'm not sure what will happen to the diesel hydraulics, at the moment I think they will be axed. As for coaching stock, well the Hawksworth's are definitely under threat and I'm unsure about the A44 driving trailer. Goods wagons are another matter and several carefully chosen new ones will appear so they are safe.
All this might seem to be a little drastic because I really am cutting things to the bone but I'm a firm believer in quality rather then quantity, engines that start first time and run smoothly, rolling stock which stays on the track and reliably couplings are what I aim for. Having fewer models to maintain makes such a goal achievable and I reckon that I've almost cracked it, so for me less really does mean more.