Sheffield Park
| Having never built anything like this before, and appreciating quickly that I would likely be building most, if not all, from scratch, I set about some early planning. For instance, a room only 9' long does not allow for full length platforms and any operations beyond; so they had to be abbreviated. But I was determined to make something operational and that would look good at close inspection; so, I started to look for supporting efforts to help me develop model building skills. By surfing the web for British modellers in North America, I found and met a local group of enthusiasts who had sympathetic but somewhat different backgrounds and aims from what I was really looking for. I decided to go it alone; but I did make and keep a couple of contacts from that early meeting. |
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Station staff barrow crossing and the first attempts at a Metropolitan rake in the rear. |
| The coaling stage in front of the E2, with the water tower and road bridge beyond. The road bridge will lead to a fiddle yard on other side of wall. |  |
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A general view of main station building on the down platform, still lots to do! |
| Detail of narrow gauge milk cart and crossover with standard gauge siding. SECR brake van awaiting modifications. |  |
| Then my research took on a new angle as I tried to find local
suppliers of various scratch building materials. While basic plastic and wood
sheet is readily available, such things as Flemish bond brick sheeting or
correctly designed windows and doors certainly are not. I quickly discovered
that importing whatever is necessary is quite straightforward until Canada Post
decides to intercept an occasional package and add what seems to be a
disproportionate amount of "administration fee" before one can
collect that package from the Post Office.
But I was off and running, keen to build, and eager to see how good I could be. |
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This page was last updated 17 March 2006
