Titfield
Titfield is based on Monkton Coombe in the Cam Valley, Somerset. Of course Titfield was the
fictional village made famous in the Ealing film 'The Titfiled Thunderbolt',
starring John Gregson, Stanley Holloway and Sid James. The script was written by
T.E.B. Clarke and follows the endeavours of the local villagers as they try to
prevent the closure of their railway.
It is intended to complete the project to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the
film's release in March 2013. The layout will be 17'6" in length, constructed to
4mm scale/OO gauge and utilise SMP track. The baseboards are complete and track
laying will commence shortly. Following the laying of the cork road bed,
some track was positioned to give a better idea of what will fit where,
essential if the correct perspective is to be achieved.
fictional village made famous in the Ealing film 'The Titfiled Thunderbolt',
starring John Gregson, Stanley Holloway and Sid James. The script was written by
T.E.B. Clarke and follows the endeavours of the local villagers as they try to
prevent the closure of their railway.
It is intended to complete the project to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the
film's release in March 2013. The layout will be 17'6" in length, constructed to
4mm scale/OO gauge and utilise SMP track. The baseboards are complete and track
laying will commence shortly. Following the laying of the cork road bed,
some track was positioned to give a better idea of what will fit where,
essential if the correct perspective is to be achieved.
More progress has been made with Titfield including the decision to build an additional board bringing the total length to 17'6". This will alleviate the need for too much compression. The station building is progressing well and is an exact copy the building at Monkton Coombe.
We decided to fit the adjustable feet to the legs at the same time as the new baseboard was added. The overall effect can be seen below. The cork has been laid and we are now transferring the track plan to the baseboards. A second layer of cork will be added before the track is laid, this will have a chamfered edge to represent the shape of the ballast shoulder.
Having laid all the cork in the scenic section, we have now started to lay the track. The plastic sleepers nearest the baseboard joints will be replaced with copper clad ones, as this will be more robust during transit. The sector plates have been constructed and these will be fitted to the end boards shortly. We have also decided to use Seep point motors to operate the points, this is instead of our original idea to use the 'wire in tube' method.
Construction and laying of the track has continued at a good pace, so much so, we are now ready to install the sector plates and begin wiring the layout up.
The sector plates are now in situ, along with the track. We have opted for double track plates to allow for more intensive operation at exhibitions. Well, the public do pay to see trains running!
GWR Pannier tank, No 3715 in the station.
The station take shape. Progress has been made on the station building and the platform Research indicates the building was still painted in GWR light stone/dark stone at the time of filming in 1952. This is not surprising as materials were still in short supply due to the war, indeed food rationing was still in place.
Given this information, we have started to paint the building in this colour scheme. Construction of the platform is also uderway as can be seen in the pictures below.
We have also started on the mill loading dock, the mill itself is off stage, in fact the public will effectively view the layout from the mill.
Given this information, we have started to paint the building in this colour scheme. Construction of the platform is also uderway as can be seen in the pictures below.
We have also started on the mill loading dock, the mill itself is off stage, in fact the public will effectively view the layout from the mill.
With the wiring nearing completion, we turned our attentions to the scenic side of things. The station building is all but complete and good progress has been made with the platform.
The embankments are formed of expanded polystyrene, cover with a layer of DAS modelling clay. This gives a good working surface and keeps the weight down.
We decided to to spray the track prior to applying the ballast. This tones down the plastic appearance of the sleepers and also gives a good base colour to the track bed.
The next job is to install the level crossing by the station entrance, together with the road.
The overall effect can be seen in the following pictures.
The embankments are formed of expanded polystyrene, cover with a layer of DAS modelling clay. This gives a good working surface and keeps the weight down.
We decided to to spray the track prior to applying the ballast. This tones down the plastic appearance of the sleepers and also gives a good base colour to the track bed.
The next job is to install the level crossing by the station entrance, together with the road.
The overall effect can be seen in the following pictures.
With March 2013 marking the sixtieth anniversary of the release of the 'Titfield Thunderbolt' film, we decided to have a running session. This serves two purposes:
1. It gives us an opportunity to test all the electrics and the running quality of the track prior to finishing the scenery.
2. It's fun!
The following pictures show some of the trains which would have run on the line, plus a couple of what might have been scenarios.
1. It gives us an opportunity to test all the electrics and the running quality of the track prior to finishing the scenery.
2. It's fun!
The following pictures show some of the trains which would have run on the line, plus a couple of what might have been scenarios.
Since these pictures were taken, the scenery has progressed well and we have started to paint some sky on the back scene. The eclectic mix of stock shows the breadth of interests within the society and on meeting evenings, anything goes. The layout will be appearing at the Hayle Model Railway Clubs August 2013 exhibition, for more details click here.
We decided to meet up on Good Friday and have a running session. Another eclectic mix of stock included an American take-over and for a short while it was Titfield, USA!
As the line was used for filming some sixty years ago, we thought we would do some filming ourselves. We set up a filming train as seen below, to capture a driver's eye view of the line.
With the excitement of a pannier event that was held at the Bodmin and Wenford Railway, we decided to have our own pannier event on Titfield. Members brought in their panniers of different types and models and in total there were nine panniers on the layout.