As a young electrical engineering
apprentice in the early 60s I had occasion to visit the North
Devon Clay Company site. The extent of the narrow gauge railway
and the locos that operated there left a lasting impression. Some
20 years later, having moved into the ceramics industry, I discovered
Michael Messenger's Book 'North Devon Clay' and desired to model
the locos so well recorded there. It is not until now in my retirement
that I have had the spare time to commit to the project. Returning
to railway modelling after 40 years has involved quite a lot of
research into newly available methods, materials and components
particularly in the 00n3 and 009 scales I needed to work in. This
site will record my progress and methods as I proceed.
Some of the steam locomotives of NDCC, being required to run
over extensive wooden
viaducts engineered by J B Fell, were purpose built with a
long wheel base so this meant building my own chassis. These locomotives
were quite diminutive in size posing a problem motor wise and
most of my work to date has centred around experimenting with
the various options.
Avonside 0-6-0 ST was the first model I completed and such
is the interest that this is now undergoing modifications with
a view to offering it as a kit.
'Peter' the little Stephen Lewin is curently under development
and this time I am building with possible kit in mind.
A non NDCC diesel the Ruston LB has also been built in 009
for the 2ft gauge version along with a re-gauged 3ft version for
00n3
Such has been the interest in my chassis concept that much
of my time is being spent developing specials such as a chassis
and kit for Velinheli.
3D printing at home is now a reality and I have spent considerable
time exploring the potential for modelling in the smaller scales.
Hopefully this will become a useful guide to those considering
employing this latest technology.
- will I actually ever get to completing my own layout?
You can follow the progress via the links on the left.
