Staff Show & Tell
LOW LEVEL TRACTION
Needing a diminutive locomotive to operate his low-level colliery line, George Dent may have found an almost ready-made solution.
One of my current layout projects features what will be a partly overgrown colliery line, running in a slightly claustrophobic cutting, below several overbridges with seriously restricted clearance.
The staple traffic will, naturally, consist of open mineral wagons, but some form of propulsion is needed, with no main line steam or diesel traction able to fit under the bridges. I’d been mooching around the internet looking for suitable kits and Rapido’s forthcoming Port of Par Bagnall 0‐4‐0ST will be perfect, although a diesel would also be welcome.
As usual, while searching for something completely unrelated, I unearthed a motorised Knightwing 4wDM shunter, built for my erstwhile ‘Maudetown Colliery’ layout some 10-15 years ago. Posed in the partly finished cutting, the yellow diesel looks perfect.
However, it’s still slightly too tall, requiring at least 4mm to be trimmed from the cab.
Do I really want to butcher this model? Or shall I start from scratch with a new kit? The latter option would be my preference, as I could possibly reduce various elements of the kit (and fit smaller wheels) to maintain an overall sense of proportion.
Alas, this particular Knightwing kit has been difficult to obtain in recent years, other than on the second-hand market. Before buying another, though, I have a strong feeling I already have one in stock. This calls for another rummage through my boxes of kits and bits…
While the bull’s away
A walk in the Peak District offered GEORGE DENT an idea for a layout cameo scene.
Paying another flying visit to the Peak District, I managed one of my many familiar walks about the Hope Valley line in the hope of photographing the regular freight trains. Snow seemed to follow me around during my travels in February and early March, so it made a pleasant backdrop to my photography.
An underpass under the railway caught my eye. This structure forms part of a public footpath, but I seldom use it other than in winter as, come spring, it usually forms a ‘byre’ for a herd of rambunctious young bullocks, complete with straw bedding and water troughs.
One thing life in the country has taught me is to always be wary of cattle, especially when one has a dog in tow. However, it got me thinking that this would make for an interesting layout cameo scene: a herd of cows sheltering under the railway, regarding with malevolent contempt a pair of ramblers as they ponder whether to risk trespassing on their turf. It’s a situation I know all too well.
