Saturday, 14 March 2015

That's it for today

All done for the day and neatly packed away.

What a great day with an unexpected surprise.  Hopefully see you tomorrow.  Show opens at 10am. 

Lazy afternoon

As the day gets quieter we set the layout to southern period.

best in show

Completely unexpected, we won best in show.

Let the show begin

The Basingstoke model railway show is about to start. And we are ready to go.

Tuesday, 10 March 2015

One for the Bus Anoraks

From what I understand Thornycroft was not a prolific bus manufacturer, unlike their lorries and vans. Nevertheless there are a couple of photos I have seen of bus chassis under test on the road.

These photos are quite rare and unusual among the plethora of lorry photos in that they depict the chassis loaded with 1 ton concrete test loads, representing a typical payload for the vehicle during road tests.

Seeking variety in the models I am making for our Thornycroft Sidings layout I choose to model the XC chassis as there is a detailed article about it in The Commercial Motor Archive.

The XC chassis was designed in 1931 to  meet the special requirements of Thornycroft's customer - The Eastern National Omnibus Co., Ltd. They wanted a very low frame that allowed for a easy step up onto the rear passenger entrance platform. In fact the height from ground to platform was only 11.75 inches.

Thornycroft supplied five chassis for use on bus routes in Essex. The bodywork, accommodating 51 passengers on two decks, was made by another company - Strachan  (Acton) Ltd.

The vehicles were not in service for long, being withdrawn one by one between 1941 and 1949.

Photo right is the model. A photo of the prototype on which it  is based is in the article linked above.

The chassis is being driven from the test load storage area between the Running Shed and Repair/Experimental workshops towards the main entrance where it will journey to the long, straight Buckskin Lane a mile or so away for brake testing.

Without colour photos I have assumed the chassis and engine cover were grey primer. A temporary body wrapped the chassis to contain the test loads. I assumed this was wooden. At the rear you can see the chassis jutting out. This is the rear platform supporting frame.

The model was designed in CAD and 3D printed as a kit of parts, except the mudguards are paper and the driver is made from wire and FIMO clay.

David

Sunday, 8 March 2015

Exposure

Back in the Autumn of 2013 an article I wrote about our Cliddesden layout for the 'Your Model Railway Village' part work series was published in issue 8.

A guy on YouTube has reviewed every issue of the partwork and he has just (March 8th 2015)  got around to reviewing issue 8.

If you would like to hear what he had to say about my article then play his video from time mark 3.10 minutes. By the way, it is pronounced Clid-des-den.




It seems to be all happening this week as the layout is being exhibited on Saturday and Sunday.

Aldworth Science College, 
Basingstoke, RG22 6HA 
Saturday 14th March 10-5 and 
Sunday 15th March 10-4 
David

Sunday, 1 March 2015

Cliddesden at BNHMRS Show March 2015

See Cliddesden in person at Basingstoke North Hampshire Model Railway Show:
Aldworth Science College, 
Basingstoke, RG22 6HA 
Saturday 14th March 10-5 and 
Sunday 15th March 10-4 

Stand 6L in the Gymnasium. Hope to see you there!

In the mean time to refresh your minds of the layout. Here is a video of the local goods train and passenger train arriving and departing from Cliddesden station.





Ed