Sandy Shores @ Wilton (Salisbury & South Wilts Railway Society)

 

This weekend just gone saw the return of the S&SWRS' exhibition in Wilton, nr Salisbury. I had not been before, but I found it an immensely enjoyable show, with friendly stewards and a good mix of visitors (and very busy it was, too!). I received the invite to take Sandy Shores to the show due to exhibiting at Narrow Gauge South the other month. Unfortunately, a layout had to pull-out, so I was drafted in to appear at Wilton a year earlier than planned (which left just a couple weeks to prepare).

Well, actually, more like a few hours to prepare because I am behind on my paid work! The morning of the first day of the show (yes, really), I knew that the priority was to replace the SEEP point motor that failed with a puff of smoke at NGS. Luckily, due to taking apart Old AGWI Rd I had plenty spare...

Above: Having noted the colour of the wires running into the point motor (see the right hand side), the old one was removed (inset). Note that originally I thought I'd be 'clever' and mount the SEEPs onto their own ply blocks. The SEEPs were originally mounted via double-sided sticky tape, but inevitably these started peeling off, so at some point they were attacked with expanding glue (a risky job, looking back!). Needless to say, the point motor wasn't particularly straight, so it's no wonder it failed. Perhaps I'll have to replace all the others at some point...

...anyway, off I went to the show to set up. Despite the lighting rig not working (I didn't have too much time to troubleshoot why, but after the first day I eventually realised a wire had worked loose on the LED driver), the layout performed well. That said, I didn't quite cut the new point motor rod short enough, so the 'new' bogie wagons sometimes fouled them - another job to sort out. Before I talk about those bogie wagons, after the first day of exhibiting, it was time to do more maintenance...

Above: ...all of my OO9 wagons are far too light, and whilst I didn't really have time to make loads for all of the skips, I did add some 'Liquid Gravity' to 8 of the flat wagons (the ones that have couplings!). After a bit of trial and error, I realised that it was easier to remove the wheelsets and dab superglue into the intended places before shaking the 'Liquid Gravity' into place. The weight of the LG balls settled nicely into the superglue, allowing just enough time before it all set solid. The resulting weight certainly seemed to help on the 2nd day of the show, although the uncoupling magnets still cause issues from time to time (another job to add to the ever-growing list!).

So, moving onto those bogie wagons. They were all bought around the same time; when I first started in OO9 some 12 or so years ago. You may remember that I finally added couplings and secured the bogies on one of them in the last blog entry. I also mentioned how I lost the 'Ambulance wagon'. Well, as you'll see, I finally found it (along with another Parkside bogie well wagon that I had forgotten about!), so on Saturday night I started to bring the remaining bogie wagons up to standard...

Above: ...here's the Ambulance wagon. The first job was to cover that awful plain white roof! Tissue paper was cut into 10mm wide strips, watery PVA brushed onto the roof, and the strips carefully layed into position; each one overlapping the previous. Once in place, a brush loaded with watery PVA is used to secure it fully, and wrap it around the roof edges. This was then left to dry for 20 minutes or so.

Above: Whilst the PVA was going off, I noticed that all the bogie wagons are slightly different shades of green. I wasn't a huge fan of the olive green of the Ambulance wagon, so I took the opportunity to repaint all three of the wagons. I don't hugely care for colour accuracy, so I just mixed bright green and dark grey until I achieved a colour that I liked! The green is actually a really cheap 'artist' acrylic called 'Christmas Green', which had a few drops of Vallejo 'Black Grey' (my go-to colour for everything) to tone it down a tad. Nothing complex; which meant it was easy to mix the colour again when I inevitably ran out!

Above: I had long lost the brass nuts for the bogie securing bolts, and as the prototype I was inspired by upon purchasing the kit originally sat unused at the end of the line (in use as a store at Eaglehurst Camp, RAF Calshot, I believe), I considered adding some wooden baulks to sit the body on top of. Nothing complex; just lollipop sticks cuts up and drowned in a wash of black and then brown paint and then glued together with PVA.

Above: I recently bought some weathering powders to try out for the first time, thanks to a video by Phil Parker who showed just how easy it is. I will never look back; as weathering powders are such a versatile and easy-to-use medium, that you don't even need to use paint to weather most things! I wanted my bogie wagons to really look quite knackered, especially the Ambulance wagon. The above is only about 5 minutes work, using three different colours ('Light Rust', 'Dark Rust', and 'Smoke Grey' from Hornby). The great thing about the powders is that, just like paint, you can mix them to get a more subtle colour (which I typically do after the main 'rust' marks have been put on - to tie it all together). I won't bother explaining the whole process as it's easier to show than it is to explain - but it really is simple to do!

Above: The finished wagon, complete with weathered roof. The roof was first painted in a wash of Vallejo 'Black Grey' (see, I told you that it's my go-to colour!), before having the same weathering powder treatment.

Above: Just for completeness, here's the never-before-seen bogie well wagon having also received the same treatment. Luckily, I still had the brass nuts, so, along with couplings and washers (as explained in the previous blog entry), the bogies could be fitted permanently.

Above: Here's the finished well wagon in-use at the Wilton show, yesterday. It makes my quayside look too clean and tidy!

Above: And coupled up next to it, we see the other bogie wagon with a fresh paint job and subsequent weathering. I really ought to touch up the black on those couplings!

Above: In the end, I couldn't find space for the ambulance wagon to be 'grounded', so I replaced the brass bolts and balanced it on it's bogies - leaving it OOS on the loco shed headshunt.

Finally, here are a few photos that I grabbed quickly at the end of the show. Oh, and you might just notice that I also weathered the tipplers with the powders, too. What a difference it makes!

All in all, a very enjoyable (if tiring) show - I just wish I was able to get the layout lighting working on the Saturday! Note to self; allow more time at events for testing and troubleshooting next time - as what works at home on the morning, might not work by the time you get to the show...

...anyway, my utmost thanks goes to Charles Ottowell and the rest of the S&SWRS for their kindness, patience, and for putting on a superb show! I hope I can return next year (as a visitor - at least until I get my next layout at a presentable state!).

Mainly for my own reference, here's what the 'fettling' list looks like currently:

• Cut off the excess bit of screw that poked out of the scenery when refitting the new point motor
• Trim the point motor's rod by half a mm or so to avoid stock fouling it
• Touch up the paint on the couplings
• Order and assemble more couplings for the rest of the wagons
• Add wagon loads for the skips to weigh them down
• Sort out the magnets for reliable uncoupling
• Find a way to permanently attach the loco shed lean-to!
• Maintenance on LED lighting rig and driver (find a way to better support the lighting trunking)
• Find a way to fix the Liliput diesel shunter (after many years of being 'dead', despite previously being an exceptional runner)
• Anything else that needs tweaking, painting, weathering etc...

I'd also like to think about:

• Adding a pop of colour behind the lighthouse by creating a couple of beach huts and a small promenade, although that will require some more thought.
• Creating some sort of brake van