Workshop Wednesday - Sherwood Bus Depot

 

On the way to a photo shoot, I found myself running early, so I stopped off in the Nottingham district of Sherwood. The forest is close by, in case you wondered. 

It's an interesting place. More charity shops than you can shake a stick at, but also a local baker and lots of visible signs of community action to brighten the place up. I popped some of them in this Instagram post.  

Halfway along the street is Sherwood bus depot. According to this document (PDF), it was built in 1901, originally as a tram depot. Buses replaced trams in 1936.

One half is now a 'spoons pub, and the other used to be a bus depot, though it closed a month ago.  

Frustratingly, the satnav route back home after the shoot didn't replicate the route out, or I'd have examined the building further over lunch in the pub.  

You can see this building on Street View. 

Fitting out the galley

 

Finally, a bit of time to stick on an Inspector Morse DVD, and get back to working on the model barge. 

The kitchen units confused me. In theory, they fold up, but I got lost in the instructions, and ended up going off-piste. The various sides were split up, and reassembled in a way that seemed to make sense to me. It didn't help that I disagreed with the idea that the doors should open. On a real barge, just like a camper van, surely there are latches to stop them swinging around when in motion? 

No problem, just fit the parts inside out, and the doors stay closed. I added some handles from scraps of microstrip, stuck in place with Deluxe card glue. Extra strips were cut from the spare card fret to add a worktop and drawer fronts. With a sharp blade, the card cuts beautifully. 

Coloured with paint pens, they will look fine when viewed through the side windows, and not bad with the roof removed. I think I'll look for some suitable detail fittings to bring the galley area alive at some point, but they look OK for now. 

L&WMRS Open Day - September 2026

 

We've just enjoyed the post-TINGS club open day. With a stand at a major show, it seems sensible to follow-up by offering people the chance to visit our not that easy to find clubrooms, in daylight. We lay on tea, cake, and lots of working model railways. 

 

All very nice, but it was the team behind our modular project who really pulled out all the stops for this event, with some stunning modelling. 

 

All products of the 3D printer, plus an awful lot of work painting and finishing the basic prints. And yes, that is Godzilla. Printed in clear material, then painted, and fitted with lights. Press a button on the front of the layout, and his spines illuminate, and the giant screen on the building stops showing Japanese adverts, and instead advises the population to flee. 

I've been busy...

 

...so I'm behind on my blogging. In lieu of a proper post, here is a picture of our cat, Stampy. 

Normal service will be resumed tomorrow.  

Saturday Film Club: Class 14: Why Britain Scrapped These New Locomotives After Just 5 Years

The Class 14 "Teddy Bear" has, to my eyes, always been an attractive loco. Sadly, it was a bit of a failure - the traffic it was designed to handle was fading away as the locos were delivered. This video covers it nicely, with some well-researched archive footage. 

But, the highlight for me is at 12:50, when we see a self-propelled rail-mounted Coles crane batting along a bit of track. I don't recall seeing one of these in action before, and it can certainly move!

I built a static model of this in the September 2025 issue of BRM, using a base from 247 Developments, with a Corgi Trackside top.