Commission Work- SECR Manning Wardle

~ andyj82 ~ 1 Comment

The latest loco to roll out of the Ouse Valley works is this SECR Manning Wardle built in P4. The starting point was a RT Models Manning Wardle K Class kit which needed a new cab to be scratch built. Building the cab took a little working out as there are very few pictures of the loco and no drawings I could find. I have also modified the lower boiler so that the motor can sit horizontal in it instead of being upright in the firebox.
Here it is pre painting and awaiting buffers fitting.

There is a plan that it might be seen this weekend at the Uckfield Model Railway Clubs show on one of the P4 layouts.

Horsing around

~ andyj82 ~ 1 Comment

 I have a bit of a thing for Horseboxes and came up with any excuse to run them on Herstmonceux so one (or more) finding its way onto Littledene is no surprise.

This is a Chatham Kits LBSCR Stroudley 14ft Horsebox available from Roxey Mouldings. Over 200 of these were built by the LBSCR with the last of them ending up on the Isle of Wight. The OVLR acquired this one some time in the early 20s so that railways’ local estate owners could move their thoroughbred horses. 
This will get weathered when I do my next batch of stock. In the meantime I’d best put my blinkers back on to stop me looking for more horsebox kits.

Coaching for Littledene

~ andyj82 ~ Leave a comment

I have made a start on the coaching stock for Littledene. I took a couple of Hornby generic 4 wheel coaches converted them. Much like the 6 wheeler I have done for Tarring Neville. (And yes this is based on a real livery)

The grab handles and vents on the roofs have been changed to for LBSCR ones to make them more like Stroudley coaches. The 6 wheeler and the 4 wheel brake are actually pretty close to being spot on. The OVLR livery on the 4 wheelers isn’t based on anything in particular and needs some toning down with weathering.


I have also been working on a Worsley Works kit for a Ford Railbus set. This is like the ones seen on the KESR, Selsey Tramway and Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railways. These took a bit of working out as you don’t get any instructions. I’ve managed to fit a High Level Horizontal MicroMiser into one by removing some of the floor area and I will add a new false floor to hide the motor and gearbox.

Wagon Wednesday

~ andyj82 ~ 1 Comment

I have started working on 1930’s stock for Littledene.
First up a D&S kits LBSCR/SR Dia 1527 Cattle Wagon. This has sat in the kit draw for some time as it was a bit out of period for Herstmonceux. Hopefully I’m not subconsciously building a layout just to run a cattle wagon!

Next up is a Prickley Pear Products SER 1864 coal wagon. This is the second kit of Paul’s that I have built and again the white metal castings are crisp, clean and require little work before putting together. A couple of these wagons were purchased by the East Kent Railway. I have finished mine in OVLR livery, it having been bought by the Ouse Valley Light Railway.

Last up, for now, are a few local Private Owner wagons. The Chandlers, Newington and Urry wagons are Powsides kits and the fictional Hemsley one is a Cambrian kit with custom transfers. The Newington one is not quite right yet, and will need some careful painting, as the first C needs changing to a G.

Buildings for Littledene

~ andyj82 ~ 1 Comment

For me buildings fall into two categories. Ones I need to model because the railway requires them, like station buildings, goods shed etc and ones I see and think “I’d like to model that”. What I don’t usually do is see a painting and decide I’d like to model it. 
This painting by Veronica Burleigh of a Sussex barn from 1935 has done just that. The barn is possibly near Goodwood in West Sussex where Veronica Burleigh lived most of her life.

And this is my model based on it so far.

Why a chimney was added to this barn is unknown, but some barns had chimneys for stationary boilers to work engines for threshing machines or other farm equipment for example. Others seem to have had forges added to them to make it easier for the visiting farrier to carry out their work and mending farm machinery.

I have also been working on is the station building. This is based loosely on Biddenden and Frittenden on the KESR. It is yet to be weathered and I need to build the gents (no ladies!) to go on one end and the lamp store for the other but I’ll do that once I have built the platform.

The stage is lit

~ andyj82 ~ 1 Comment

The boards for Littledene have been built and the track is down. Here they are out of their bunk beds and assembled. The front lighting fascias are recycled from Herstmonceux and only took a small amount of adjustment to fit. The left-hand Fiddleyard board is roughly 4ft x 20 inches and the right-hand Station board is 4ft x 2ft. They narrow to 18 inches in the middle where they meet. Both have a slight curve to them but on opposite sides.
I had hoped to reuse the mini tube lighting units from Herstmonceux too but they didn’t give enough light in the right places. I added some LED light strips with them but the colour didn’t seem quite right and trying to fit them to the lighting rig wasn’t easy and looked a mess. I’ve ended up with some new warm white LED tube lights which illuminate the layout fully.

Layout Storage

~ andyj82 ~ 1 Comment

One thing with building layouts is having somewhere to store them. When you have more than one layout space can be at a premium.
Tarring Neville now lives in a nook in the corner of the room and part of Littledene’s design was that it should fit in the space under it. A simple frame has been made so that Littledene’s two halves can stack on each other and be wheeled under Tarring Neville. The legs and shelves for Tarring Neville and Littledene all live behind the two layouts.