Its the little things

Things here at Chateau Dandruff have been getting just a wee bit wagonsy lately, so I thought I had better try to redress the balance (before I nip back to the workbench to start work on some W wagons).

It's occurred to me in the last week or so that apart from making locos and wagons, my layout has not actually progressed that much. Its odd but this didn't bother me too much as Cass had most of the trains built for it long before I started cutting wood. However it is sometimes hard to retain the focus, especially when there's a string of pretty modern wagons being built 1/2 way round the globe, tempting use with their seductive curves and colourful paint.

I've spent so time looking at the plans and pictures of Paekakariki lately trying to work out different ways of operating it. During these I noticed that there are several smallish groups of buildings that could be modeled as diorama's for inclusion in the layout at a later date. I picked these 5 areas for special attention.


1) The large white building is apparently a telephone exchange. There are a few smaller hut's, what looks like a jigger shed and a stack of sleepers. What is very interesting is that the large red object appears to be a grounded carriage of some type, possibly with a clestory roof. I'm very tempted to make it an old WMR guardsvan just for something different. Sods law will show that just after I finish it, a picture will come to light that's its a rusty tin shed or a film processing error.
2) Fueling point. I would probably split this into Cola and oil areas. The coal area will require a pneumatic coaling crane plus a row of old wagons being unloaded, and the oil tanks will need all the pipes and valves etc.
3) Sand shed. I've seen pictures of Lc's being unloaded at this point, and there is sand everywhere. Another nice wee scene.
4) Water vat. These are popular subjects for some odd reason. I've included the sheds next to it, being I think a lamp/drying shed and the crew shed. not shown, but just this side of the water vat is a grounded Xa van body, and a pile of old drums.
5) The single men's quarters. There are 2 rows of small simple huts (possibly easy to cast) plus an ablution block of some sort. the modeling in here could be quite interesting, with motorbikes, bicycles, cars and groups of men up to no good in between shifts.

There's a selection of small projects that would be worth a look at if I ever get bored with making wagons.