Preparation – Shillingstone Model Railway show 26th Sept

Started today to get ready for my next show with the Shillingstone model which is the show being hosted at Shillingstone Station in September and the show poster features the layout so no excuses. The layout is still in storage and planning to get it out, cleaned and tested in the next couple of weeks but before that I want to review the stock and prepare some of it for the show as I have some new items to run. I started with laying out most of what I have on the workbench and review what I have and what I will need for the 26th.

I have been loosely basing the layout on a 1915- 1940 period with a mixture of S&DJR, MR, LMS, and SR coaching stock as I didn’t have enough coaches to stick before 1935. Now I do and I only have room for 6 passenger trains on the layout at anyone time, its a one day show so its going to be S&DJR and MR stock only as below

These will need a light weathering, the couplings changing where possible for Hunt Couplings for ease of use and changing of Locomotives at each end, the layout is an end to end operation. At some point I need to check the lights and work out if they should be on or off, I haven’t any passengers so I think lamps off. This gives me two longer express trains (Pines Express) and 4 local services of 3,4,5 coach sets of 4 and 6 wheel coaches with one bogies set paired with a SR Parcels van

I need to also do this with the goods stock, whilst I have a few new wagons most of these have been out before and have been weathered, I fit Kadee’s to the ends of the rakes to make coupling and uncoupling easier and changing to Hunt magnetics is not something I am considering. Again I need to reduce the amount I am taking.

With only room for 5 trains, 2 for each of the fiddleyards, 1 for the siding and some spare wagons for the yard I am going to go with the military tanker wagons, the MK1 Tanks under the tarpaulins, the crane along with some utility wagons and brake vans for the crew and two mixed freight combinations featuring the most local wagons to the line that I have. The rationalised set looks like this and probabaly a few too many but I would rather have some spares than not enough.