Track.

I have been reminded that I haven't mentioned the track I am using for 'Teignford'.
Here are samples of the system used-PECO. This is their Hom track with 12mm gauged rail. I had considered using some of Hugh's excellent handbuilt points with Society sleepers but as I have been invited to an exhibition already, then this was the easy and quicker option. Don't worry- the copperclad points are earmarked for another project.
The advantage with the PECO product is that it is quick to lay and robust for exhibition purposes.

BR Mark 1 Bogie Side Frame

This is the side frame casting that will be used with some of the rake of Mark1 coaches being made.
Part CBR 126 in the 3mm Society range, one of numerous types available, they are the first Mark1 bogie and applicable to Teignford's timescale. Later types are available.
Mastered by Bruce Hoyle, this cruelly enlarged picture shows the excellence of Bruce's work.
Needing a little cleaning up of flash, they are then ready for use. They will be fitted to 3SMR bogie frames and, when completed, attached to the underframe of the coach previously mentioned.
At least one coach will have the original Kitmaster frames attached to etched bogies-I look forward to the comparison.

Kitmaster Mark 1 Brake 2nd.

 I'd quite forgotten how easy these coaches are to make, it also brought back a lot of memories.
I am going to use etched bogie frames so the first part of the instructions are ignored, starting with assembling the body itself.
Firstly the lining guides have to be removed from the sides, this was done using a new Stanley knife blade held parallel to the plastic moulding and scraping from left to right.
At this stage I don't fully finish the removal, that I will do when the body is in one piece.

 One side is adhered to the floor after cleaning up the solebars from where the sprues attach themselves. One end and then the other come next, followed when dry , by the other side.
We now have a rigid body and will allow to thoroughly dry.
The lower picture shows how far i got in about an hour.This is the easy bit, the repetitive part comes next-windows!

Whether to Weather.

 As part of Westfest , Tom, The Weatherman kindly attended. He agreed to weather some of the groups wagons.The three pictured are wagons built by me some time ago.
Unfortunately the varnish decided to turn white in places, the reasons for this are not completely clear.
However, I decided that these three were ideal candidates for treatment and the results you see are how they turned out.
I didn't want really heavy treatment and am very pleased with the outcome.
In fact, Tom will be invited to one of the Dorset Group meetings in the future. He is going to supply us with a shopping list so each of us can replicate his methods ourselves.
 I am undecided whether all the stock will be so treated but the idea is growing on me after seeing the results Tom has achieved.
It will probably first appear on Teignford and then who knows?

Platform edging

Althoug this has been seen previously, it is relevent to Teignford.
The platform edging has been painted to represent a stone built face, undercoated with grey primer and then drybrushed with a darker grey. stones were the picked out in brown and black to give, hopefully a realistic appearance.

Turnout Control

This shows how the turnouts are operated. The on-on slide switch controls not only the wire that operates the point but changes polarity of the selected route.
The wire is a fairly rigid steel which is housed in a sliding fit brass tube which really only serves as a holder.
The steel wire is turned at 90degrees to locate in the centre hole in the PECO tie bar. The baseboard is slotted beneath to allow the wire to protrude.
I try and keep the operating wire at right angles to the point, this saves bends which may cause looseness in the operating mechanism.

Layout

First picture of the main boards of Teignford. The two station boards are made from 9mm ply braced by 2x1 inch softwood. Legs are attached to these two boards. A horizontal extension, to the left of the boards, contain the point controls and section switches. There are not enough switches to justify a control panel,plus the wiring is considerably reduced.
The whole lot is controlled from 'HH' controller connected by 5pin DIN plugs. Board connection is by 15 way 'D' plugs.
The end board is designed to fold in half when not in use, this is 9mm chipboard supported also by2x1 softwood. At the moment this is supported on trestles but will have bolt on legs attached later. The fiddle yard is also the same material as the main station boards.
Next I will try and explain the method of point, or turnout, control.