HADARFORD: November 2023

From when my Parents gave me my first train set for a Christmas present as a child, I have had an interest in model railways. I originally started in "OO" gauge, but have also built in "N" and "O" gauge. The last layout I built was my exhibition layout "Holmehurst" which was in "O" gauge, and I exhibited it around the country. Photos of it can be seen by following this link.

I inherited some "OO9" rolling stock from my late father, including a loco I built from a white metal kit for him, and ever since living on our working narrowboat Hadar I have been thinking about building a "OO9" layout.

For those who do not know, "OO9" is "OO" scale, which is 4mm to 1ft, but the track and rolling stock are narrow gauge, equivalent to 2ft gauge in real life. Modelling-wise this means that I can used standard "OO" scale buildings, people, scenery etc. of which there is a far greater range of ready built items and kits to choose from, but it has the advantage that the reduced size of the track and rolling stock means that curves can be tighter than for standard gauge, without losing a realistic look within a restricted layout size.

I had thought about building a layout in our garden alongside our mooring at the Saltisford Canal Centre, but after much thought decided that this would not be practical. However I built a small layout (now dismantled) which sat on the shelf above the display cabinet, in our saloon, which houses my "O" gauge rolling stock. Having finished it, my wife Jo suggested that when we stop selling coal I could build a layout in the hold. As we stopped selling coal at the end of 2016.

I have now built the layout. This is now a full record of the building of this layout and any new additions along the way.

Please feel free to leave comments, I am always interested in suggestions or questions.

Thursday 30 November 2023

Christmas is on it's way. 🎅🎄🎁

Keith

Monday 20 November 2023

New Bogie Box Van

Thursday this Roco bogie box van arrived, an eBay purchase. Today some transfers arrived to convert it into a Royal Mail van, along with a few other transfers 😊

Original box van as purchased

With new transfers fitted

It goes well with the 2 mail wagons I already have

Keith

Sunday 19 November 2023

New Fueling Point part 3

My equivalent of bunding strip/upstand at the ends of the drainage channel, all 3 pieces glued in place, this now completes this task. 😊

Keith

Saturday 18 November 2023

New Fueling Point part 2

This afternoon and early evening I have filled in the gap between the rail and the concrete apron of the new fueling point with brickwork and a drainage channel (many thanks to David Burleigh for suggesting the drainage channel). I have also filled in the surrounding ground cover which got damaged whilst removing the ground cover to site the fueling point. It looks darker in comparison until the glue dries completely. 😊

Keith

Thursday 16 November 2023

New Fueling Point

One thing that Hadarford was missing was a fueling point for diesel locos. I had built a diesel tank, but didn't have a means of getting the diesel from the tank into the locos.

This week I was successful in purchasing this fueling point, and today I removed ballast etc. from it's new location, and glued it in place. I also added a downpipe to the fuel tank, and valve wheel (the yellow wheel in the 2nd photo) to isolate the fueling point from the tank. I also refitted the water standpipe, which once stood where the new fueling point now resides. I have fitted it to one of the legs of the canopy.

I just need to reballast and fit new ground gravel to complete, once the glue has dried 😊

Keith

Sunday 12 November 2023

Remembrance Sunday

Keith

Upgrading to Coreless Motors

Should keep me busy and out of the rain today, 10 locos to upgrade to coreless motors from Tramfabriek. 😊

I managed to upgrade the 1st 5 locos with coreless motors today, they took longer than I had thought.

The 1st video is of 1 of the 3 Roco diesels before upgrading, very noisy it was too.

The 2nd video is after the upgrade

This video is my oldest Bemo diesel I upgraded today.

This video is my newest Bemo diesel I upgraded today.

Keith

Lest We Forget 🌺

Keith

Thursday 9 November 2023

Sentinel Loco part 2

Today I applied some transfers to the new Sentinel steam loco. 😊

Keith

Tuesday 7 November 2023

Sentinel Loco

17 days ago I made a slow start on this 3D printed model of a narrow gauge version of a Sentinel steam engine. 😊

Fitted to a Kato chassis, just needs transfers adding to complete

3 body parts and 2 crew primered

3 body parts sprayed satin black

2 crew painted

Liquid lead added inside the body

2 parts of the footplate, and cab interior fixed together and crew added

Outer body fitted

Keith

Sunday 5 November 2023

Repair Work

Having used my box static grass applicator yesterday to re-leaf some trees, this morning, before packing it away, I gave this tree some new leafage, as it was looking very sorry for itself.

Now looking much better 🌳.

Whilst I had the box with all my static grass gear open, I used my precision micro applicator to hide the crack that appeared in the towpath walling when the resin in the canal cracked 2 years ago. 😊

With the glue having had time to set, the tree I added foliage to earlier this morning, is now back in it's place. 😊

Keith

🎆🎇✨🧨💣🔥

Of course, it is November 5th. 🎆🎇✨🧨💣🔥

Keith

Saturday 4 November 2023

Improving the Cheap Trees I bought in 2016

Some of cheap trees from China I first bought in 2016 for Hadarford at the start of the build. For some reason they had little silver specks in the leafage, weird 🤔.

Being a rainy day today, I set about adding new leafs to them to improve their look using my WWS Pro Grass Box Static Grass Applicator, which I recently bought to put woolly coats on my sheep.

No more glaring silver specks. This was the last group of 3 batches I treated today.

They were part of 100 trees for £12.89 post free! The 1st of 550 trees on the layout. 🌳🌳🌳

Before treatment, you may just about be able to see the offending silver specks in them.

After the new leafage has been applied, and no more silver specks.

The refurbished trees refitted back on the layout, they look so much better without the silver bits glistening away, and mixed in with all the other trees.

Keith