A Bridge Too Far……….

I think the post title goes a long way to describing how my experiments with a bridge went. In all honesty it didn’t look that bad and the backscene could have been easily tweaked to blend in with it. But the height of the thing overpowered the scene, no surprise there but it was something that I needed to try.

So having scratched that particular itch I shortened the limekiln siding, nature is now slowly reclaiming the remainder of it, and the site in general.

The occupation crossing is now single but remains gated, the cottage beside it will live for another day.

The single crossing works far better in my opinion, the gates are hinged and open outwards rather than across the track, which is typical of such minor crossings. As usual I will leave things as they are for a few days, whilst photos of the new arrangement are taken from various angles. Then, if I’m happy I will work the scene up, if not then I will go the whole hog and remove the the rest of the siding. But at the moment all modelling is on hold due to a minor problem with my right hand, which is preventing me from holding craft tools.

The shortened siding is long enough for two wagons to clear the trap point, I briefly considered modelling a small loading bank and went as far as mocking one up from cereal packaging card, there was enough room for it but it just didn’t look right. So I tried a small yard crane mounted at ground level, which didn’t look too bad, but in the end I decided that less was more and left things well alone.

One of my friends suggested that the siding could be used for withdrawn Pannier tanks. My reply to him is unprintable, nevertheless I couldn’t resist taking this photo.

A few of you have asked me how I’m getting on with the Fordson truck, at the moment it is waiting for the radiator grille, headlamp lens, glazing, wipers, mirrors and interior to be fitted. It will then be a case of fitting the number plates and other small details. I also need to track down some suitable lettering, but at the moment I’m drawing a blank.

The Class 03, or Swindon 204 if you prefer has generated a lot of interest, so here she is again but in colour.

To round this post off here are a few photos taken at the station, today’s engine 5807 is taking water behind the photographer’s back.

And here she is running through the platform road, before setting back into the siding loop to couple to her train.

With a toot of her whistle 5807 gets underway, as you can see below this view is completely different now that the siding has been cut back.

Thanks for dropping by.

Geoff