Ready for the 2nd show

I have havent posted on my blogg for a long time, so thought I best keep peopel up to date.
I have been working on the layout for the past month, I have now filled in the space that was empty on the 1st show that it went to, we now have a ploughed field with a scare crow in, with the farmers tractor in, around the field is a post and wire fence.
A Pway gang as been put around the plate layers hut, on sitting having a cuppa, the foreman standing with flags, and a man with a hammer walking back to the hut for his tea. There are some lengths on rusty rail on a pile, and one length with a cutter on ready to be cut up and bended.
I have also added some people onto the platfrom, and another post and wire fench along the side of the road from the station.
I have also but a board aroudn the fiddle yard even thou it is only one road, but I have also put an isolation swtich in so you can hold a train ready there.
I will post some pictures after my next show which is this weekend 8th & 9th August, at Tinkers Park Hadlow Down West Sussex.

1st Exhibition Midhurst, 22nd Feb, 2009

Sunday the 22nd Feb 2009, Didlow down made its 1st public appearance at a small one day local show in Midhurst.
It was a very enjoyable show and i think that things went on, just need to add a littly extra weight to some wagons to make then shunt better.
I hope that the layout went down OK with the public, always hard to say, but the next outing that I have booking in isnt till August soe plenty of time to do some more on it.



Black L&B stretchs its legs and departs pasts the yard with a passenger train



Busy times in the yard, as James (time for re paint) 0-6-0 shunts some stock.



After running off the turntable the 0-6-0 Saddle tank makes its way on shed.




After a re coal and water, the loco takes charge on a passenger train complrising of 4 4-wheeled coaches.

Think this is my favourite shot, WD Baldwin with a mixed train, the wagon behind the loco has a covered up car on it, then a bogie coach and 4-wheeled break van.

Ready for 1st show

Didlow Down is off to its 1st show on Sunday 22 Feb 2009, It will be going with 2 boards, which are about 80% finished as you can see from the pictures, at the moment it is mostly grass, but hopeing to put some hedges etc on very soon.




A Passenger Train comes out of the bridge under the road that leads from the village to the station, on the right is the yard, where a Wallis & Steevens Advance steam roller is currently parked up, on the left is the site of the plate laywers hut.



The loading bay finished, it is able to load and unload 2 wagons.

An over view of the layout with bridge in place.

Will get some pictures from the show to post.

I have been working down in the yard today, I have added a pile of coal at the end of one of the road, either having been up loaded from a wagon or going to be loaded into one to be moved up the line for the villages. I have also added some coal in the coal stage in the engine shed area, have added some on the oppisite side of the track showing that when loading the bunkers of locos they have missed and it has fallen on the ground and they havent moved it.

I have also been working on a small loading stage to load and unload the raw materials that will be comming and going out of the yard and going down the line, still a ramp to be added .

Layout update

I have been working on the layout this afternoon and into the evening, with intention to maybe take it to its first outing in March, yet to be decided.

The yard takes shape

Over the past couple of nights i have been working on the goods yard.



The yard crane is by Ratio, bit more interesting than the other crane by Wills.
just need to get some ideas of what else to add to the yard, thinking about a one wagon loading stage somewhere, a bit or scratch building will be needed.

Didlows Deisels

Yes I am affraid to say that the railway company has a hand full of non steam locos, these are mainly small locos, bought from the War Department and other such places, there are plans to add more to the fleet but the company will never ever get rid of steam on the line.

We start the roster with a engine that will primary be used on passeenger services.

This engine is the only one on the railway that is painted in the stock livery of blue and white, will mostly be seen pulling the ex VOR stock and maybe from time to time pulling or shunting freight when nothing else is available to do the job.

This engine was the first that the railway bought from the War Department, they used to use it on passenger trains before they got the more powerful larger 0-6-0 engine above, but can now been seen pulling passenger trains and freight train up and down the line .

This is the second engine from the war Department, it was bought just after the first to haul freight trains, it was found to be more useful around the yard rather than the main line pulling trains

The last deisel loco that the line has at current is a large 0-4-0 + 0-4-0 hydrolic BoBo, this was bought when there was a threat of some heavy freight trains to be run on the line to serve the local woods, but the villagers won the vote to keep the woods and the logging never went ahead, the loco is now used on track maintenance trains, freight trains, moving cold steam locos, and also the odd passenger train, could call it the work horse of the non steam fleet.

The line also has two Deisel railcar, one is one in the works for a re paint into the company livery, which will be able to carry more passengers with its flexabilty to be able to run with its standard two car set up, or a third coach can be added if need be in busy times.