Hornby Pannier

 

I've already got a couple of these open cab 2700 class pannier tanks, the Chinese manufactured version with the more detailed chassis, but you can never have enough of them. This one also has different plates to the two I've already got so a double incentive to add it to the motive power stable. Why not?

Some More Callington Branch Colour Photos

 

Callington Branch Colour Photos

 

Mainline 56XX British Railways Black

Another Mainline 56xx from eBay in excellent nick, this time in early British Railways livery, ideal for my proposed branch line engine shed layout. These old Mainline models are a bit noisy but nicely detailed and inexpensive, which means I can afford to weather them up without worrying about over cooking the final finish. 

Branch Line Engine Shed Ideas

 

I've been sketching out some ideas for a compact branch line Engine Shed layout, with the idea being to run my expanding stable of GWR and early BR locomotives. It will also have some limited shunting to supply coal to the coaling stage. To keep things simple I'll use set track as most of it will be buried up to sleeper level, so it won't look too unrealistic. The engine shed will probably be scratch built or adapted from a kit. I'll have to plan it out properly but I think this will work well.

Mainline 43xx

 

The latest addition to the GWR locomotive stable is a very nice Mainline 43xx, which I've been after for ages and which cost me just over £25 on eBay. It's in immaculate condition and runs smoothly too, so I'm very happy. I now have a fairly impressive line up of locomotives, so a compact, engine shed shelf sized layout is looking like a really good idea, possibly in addition to a shunting yard, wharf or quarry layout for goods traffic. 

Callington Branch Layout Plans

 

The latest edition of Model Rail has not one but two track plans for a Callington Branch layout, one modelling the whole line from Bere Alston and the other a section from Callington to Chilsworthy Halt. I don't have space or time to build either but a smaller shunting layout based on the Hingston Down  part of the plan or a through and through based on the Chilsworthy Halt section would be workable. It's a short article but well worth a look.