Two Sister's Farm 1/32 scale layout

[Mogul]

On September 5th 2007 a description of my layout Two Sister’s Farm was posted by Tellarian on this forum. It was generally well received by the viewers of the thread.

Over the intervening years many of the photographs posted at the time no longer exist due to the photo hosts ceasing trading etc. Therefore my last post under the name of bROADOAK was on June 11^th 2016.

Since it was built the layout has been exhibited over 50 times from Winchester in the south to Crewe in the north.

Due to health problems I no longer exhibit the model but still operate it at home from time to time in my conservatory.

In July 2016 the model featured in Model Rail magazine and was illustrated by photographs taken by probably the best model railway photographer in the country called Chris Nevard. He has kindly given me permission to share with you the pictures he took for the magazine.

I thought some newcomers to the forum might like to see some new photographs of the farm.

If there is interest I will post more.

 

 

A general view of the layout set up on an ironing board.

 

Peter M

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by Mogul

[Jack390]

Wouldn’t mind seeing more photos of this display , looks to be very nice

[Mogul]

The layout depicts a fictitious two foot narrow gauge light railway serving a large agricultural estate in the Lincolnshire fens in the late fifties. It is very loosely based on a similar railway that actually existed from the 1920’s until the late 1960’s and was some 22 miles long in total. It was originally powered by horses but in later years steam, petrol and diesel locomotives were also used. The light railway being used to bring the crops (mainly potatoes, both early and main-crop) but also wheat and sugar beet from the fields to either a standard gauge rail head interchange or to be loaded onto lorries for transport to market.

The model features the small terminus at Two Sister’s Farm, the largest of several farms that make up the estate. There is a small engine shed with minimal facilities for coaling watering and servicing the small but varied fleet of locomotives and rail trucks. There is also a small workshop where tractors and implements for the whole estate are serviced and repaired.

The main product grown on the estate is potatoes, for a crisp manufacturer in one instance, but the need for crop rotation and the varying soils mean that a variety of other crops are also grown. In addition to arable farming cattle pigs and sheep are also reared to give diversity. There is a small area of woodland which provides the estate with all its timber needs and allows the breeding of game birds for the occasional shooting party.

Wagons are pushed in to the small yard from the outlying fields and trains are then made up for sending to the standard gauge connection nearby. Rail trucks are used to take out fuel, seeds and fertilizer to the fields.

Peter M

[Mogul]

I have always liked tractors since I was a small boy growing up in the early 1950’s. So when I entered a competition to design a small layout in less than four square feet I built Two Sister’s Farm. I already had in stock three white metal tractor kits in 1/32 scale so that decided the scale. I had read a book by Stewart E Squires about the narrow gauge potato railways in Lincolnshire and that seemed a perfect subject combining tractors and a model railway.

In fact there were over fifty narrow gauge railways in the fens, mostly powered by horses but two larger ones used internal combustion engines.

The one I picked to loosely base my model on was called Nocton Estate Railway and was the largest and lasted the longest, from the 30’s to the early 60’s. It was some 7000 acres in size growing potatoes for making into crisps and wheat and sugar beet.

I wanted something different to the usual narrow gauge railway and had seen lorries converted to run on rails in New Zealand using Bedford O types.

Nobody made a kit of a Bedford O type in 1/32 scale so bought a kit of a 1/35 Opel truck from the second world war. This was as near as I could get to 1/32.

After much cutting and filing I managed to get the truck body to fit over an Athearn switcher chassis and tested it on my test track.

Peter M

 

 

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Mogul

[Mogul]

The Opel Blitz truck was used to check clearances with the buildings and general scenery.
The large gray barn is a much modified Britain’s kit, as is the engine shed which was unpainted at this point. The green house is scratch built in plasticard. The little hut and loading dock were made of balsa. The bank on the right hand side was made of card formers with strips of card then covered with kitchen towel soaked in pva glue. The top surface is polyfiller painted with an emulsion wash. The ground cover is flock and light coloured sand and is built up a layer at a time.
The layout looked like this.

Peter M

 

Edited April 16, 2023 by Mogul
problems with photos

[Mogul]

At the time I was building the model I worked part time at a motor racing circuit and they were installing a new timing system. This meant loads of the old telephone wire was available. With this I made a tree of the twisted wire which I covered kitchen towels soaked in white glue. When this had dried I covered it with Milliput putty which when hard I scraped the bark shapes onto the trunk. I then painted the trunk with a grey green mix of acrylics and when dry a thin black wash to bring out the details. The foliage was a whole packet of Woodland scenics material.

Peter M

[Mogul]

I wanted some suitable wagons and some more motive power so I bought A couple of Bachmann On30 quarter inch scale locos, a diesel and a steam loco. Both had to be modified quite a lot to make them suitable for my needs. Because the layout was so small short wagons were best and I bought several kits designed for G scale but were perfect for my wants and just like the ones pictured in my book. I bought three On30 scale side tippers side tippers and three wooden side tippers as well.

P

Edited April 16, 2023 by Mogul

[Mogul]

At this point I started to collect odds and ends for detailing the layout also some 1/32 scale figures. I found finding suitable figures in this scale very difficult so ended up using 1/35 scale military figures modified to look like civilians. It doesn’t matter as people come in various sizes anyway.
In this photo we see the Porter 0-4-2 steam loco made to look more English. Some small wagons, side tippers and one ex HO American flat car. In the workshop you can see a horse drawn field kitchen. The oil drums and tools are from military kits. I'm starting to collect clutter which is something that seems to be found on all farm yards.
Note a small coal stage for the steam loco in the lower right corner of the last picture.

Peter M

Edited April 17, 2023 by Mogul

[Mogul]

At this point I started to do a bit more scenic work and adding buildings and small details to the model.
I found another lorry kit, a Canadian Ford which I found most attractive but how to power it. The Athearn chassis I already had in stock was too big and made the model much too high. After much searching I found a crude Bachmann inter urban car with passengers painted on the windows, but it did have a small can motor. After a certain amount of fiddling and cutting I got the body to fit the chassis and it performed

quite well.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Mogul

[Mogul]

A few more bits and pieces added to create an interesting scene, for instance a roadway over the track to hide the entrance to the two road fiddle yard.
The little Porter 0-4-2 steam engine is seen with a train of side tipper wagons and two white metal kits of Fordson tractors are in the asbestos workshop at the rear of the layout. The Opel rail truck is seen with a couple of wagons
The whole scene is starting to come together at this stage although there is still much to be done.

Peter M

 

[Ferret90]

Really enjoying this keep it coming 👍

[Mogul]

Thank you F 90

A view showing some of the detail in the large tractor workshop. There is a bench with a vice and tools. On the wall is a lubrication chart for the Fordson 27A which is the tractor on the left hand side of the picture.

In the second it shows a front view of the Canadian Ford truck now fitted with a canvas tilt over the back. She is used to ferry tractor drivers out to the fields and then bring them back at night.
Note on the wall another lubrication chart for the Fordson 27A tractor.

Peter M

[Mogul]

A view showing the Davenport diesel and the Opel Blitz rail truck behind it. You can just see tomatoes growing in the greenhouse. This was a cash crop grown during the summer, in winter the potatoes were chitted in the greenhouse ready for planting.
In the second picture one of the two farmers himself is admiring the crop of tomatoes.

Peter M

[fordmajor]

Fantastic detail

[Mogul]

Many thanks Fordmajor I’m glad you are enjoying the thread.

 

Peter M

[Mogul]

A wire fence was erected at the edge of the track over the railway that led to the cow sheds. A herd of Friesian cattle are being driven along by a herdsman and his dog. A bit different to the usual bus seen on model railway layouts.
The cattle were originally Jerseys but the local farmer said they looked more like Friesians so I repainted them black and white, they are quite clean as it is summer. They tend to get mucky in winter when they are kept in.
The herdsman was a German military figure that I have modified to look more farm like the dog is a Britain's model.
The scale cow pats are made from a splash of molted solder painted greenish dark brown.
The long grass is made from an old shaving brush bristles glued into small holes with PVA adhesive.

 

The cold frame is made from balsa and clear plasticard and the vegetables are made from Milliput putty painted with acrylics. Note the broken pane.
The milk maid, not the prettiest young lady, a Britain's farm model is feeding the free range hens that are wandering all over the place.
Peter M

 

Edited April 18, 2023 by Mogul
missing text

[Mogul]

A photograph showing the cows being herded in for milking to give a better idea of the bridge that hides the tracks in the fiddle yard. A Fordson E1A lurking in the shed.

Peter M

 

[Mogul]

I felt the need to build something that could be used to haul the main line trains from the yard to the railhead or road interchange.
That is how the yellow beast came about. It is totally freelance and is supposed to have a Gardner four cylinder diesel engine which drives a small generator which in turn powers the rear bogie which has two traction motors. The front bogie is un-powered and is purely for load carrying and braking, this needed as the wagons don’t have any brakes. All this is fiction of course.
The model runs on another Athearn switcher chassis, this time with the rear drive shaft disconnected to give a bit more room in the cab area. The body has bits of its original donor loco, a Baldwin S12, with the cab removed and doors and handles on the bonnet sides added. The cab like the tractors of that time is open to the elements. The driver is a converted army figure with his tin helmet filed to look like his hair. The model was photographed on my test track.

Peter M
 

[Mogul]

I found another 1/35 scale truck kit of an earlier version of the Opel Blitz, a bit more thirties than forties looking. It is in fact a gas producer. The long vertical tank shape on the right hand side was used to heat either coal or wood chips and the gas given off was collected in a pipe and directed round to the front of the vehicle. Here it passed through a radiator which cooled it then it was stored in a large tank fitted crossways to the front of the truck. The gas was then fed into a carburettor to power the engine. It produced about 40% of the power that petrol would apparently. It could run using petrol as well in a conventional way if required.
This time I managed to get it to fit over a Con-Cor switcher chassis. It is very similar to the Athearn but with a can motor. It came out of a loco I’ve had for years but never really liked because of its awful over scale hand rails. This time to get it to fit meant removing a flywheel and drive shaft to fit under the cab and bonnet. The body is held in place by two self tappers each side that press against the sides of the motor.
A large tarpaulin covered box in the back hides the motor and drive mechanism. I sprayed it with grey car primer then picked out the wings and radiator outer cover in black. I washed the whole body with a mix of black ink and grey acrylics to tone everything down a bit. The driver is a modified military figure.
I then added ropes and chains and a few oddments in the back to make it look more interesting and give it a bit more character.
Originally it was fitted with a Kadee coupler at the front but because the rail truck is rather longer than the other Opel Blitz it swings out too much and was a menace in the yard. Now the front sports a wooden buffer only to protect the front of the truck.
I fitted a kd coupler to the rear instead and added a petrol tank under the front near side wing. It is as far from the heat source as I can get it. Now the vehicle is started on petrol then when warm changed over to gas.
The first two photos were taken on my test track. The others on the model itself at a later date.

Peter M

 

[SirTainly]

Looking fantastic! 

Re the Blitz, I think it's actually a later model, as the square cab and the wood burner make it an Daimler Benz L-701 (licenced Blitz copy) from 1944. 

[Mogul]

Thanks for the extra information Simon. I must say I like both my trucks the Opel and Daimler Benz

Which I think is slightly more attractive to my eyes. Both trucks are Italerie models who I  have found are a pleasure to make as the fit of the parts is so good.

Regards Peter M

[Mogul]

I found another truck which I found attractive, an Italeri 6x6 GMC truck kit. This is also powered with a Bachmann urban trolley car chassis and motor. It meant making a scratch built Plasticard frame to connect the body kit and chassis together. I also added some more weight in the cavities in the truck body using milliput and lead wheel weights, extra weight improves the running of the model.
The driver is another soldier modified to look more like a civilian. The couplings are link and pin, the pin being a U shaped piece of paper clip.

Regarding the photos above, the truck in the kit should really have a large electric powered winch mounted on the front but I thought the front looked OK without it so I fitted the winch in the back instead. It has link and pin couplers at each end. The guard around the radiator I cut so it just fitted the profile of the bonnet.
I sprayed it a rather bright yellow which I toned down with several thin dark grey washes. The canvas hood over the cab I painted with a matt oil based paint in a fawn colour then gave it a wash of very dilute Indian ink. A spare jerry can of fuel is carried each side of the cab mounted on the running boards. I then added the usual tools, shovels ropes and chains draped over various parts of the vehicle. In the load carrying area is the large tarpaulin covered crate, a forty gallon oil drum, a selection of jerry cans, a spare implement wheel some folded tarpaulins and more rope. At the very back is the electric winch mechanism.
 

Peter M

 

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

This an awesome project. I'm following it with great interest. Keep up the great work.

-Ed-

[Mogul]

Ed, I'm glad you are enjoying the thread, I wondered if it would be of interest as it reproduces fictitious events from long ago.

Regards Peter M

[Mogul]

 

I felt that the farm needed more small locomotive power so my next model was a Motor Rail Simplex type of 0-4-0 shunter. It was assumed the farm bought a damaged Simplex from the War Department after the first world war and re-built it their own workshops. It was originally petrol powered but later converted to diesel.
The model is made of plasticard and bits of wire. It runs on a Model Power chassis with a vertical motor in the cab, so there is no room to fit a driver. I added more weight where ever I could and bent the pick ups outward to contact the backs of the wheels better. It runs reasonably well given its low purchase price, but needs an extra bit of welly when going over dead frog points sometimes.
It is seen shunting in the yard, the man sitting on the bonnet will be getting a lift out to the fields later when the shunting is done in the first photo. The later pictures show what she looked like when she was re-built in the farm work shops.
In the last picture she is seen leaving the yard towing a weed killing tank. Incidentally the driver sits sideways on the footplate.

Peter M