De Hoopvelt
Member:- Terry Rowe
Terry has a number of projects "on the go" outside the two club syndicates he is involved with.
The main "ongoing" project is South African Two Foot Gauge in 7mm scale.
He is busy building loco's, rolling stock and buildings for a layout which is based on the "Hopefield Branch", called "De Hoopvelt" (Afrikaans for Hopefield).
The branch was built in 1901 and ran as a two gauge line until 1926 when it was re-gauged to 3'6" Cape Gauge and the line is still in operation today
The proposed layout will be an 'end to end layout' with fiddle yards at each end and will comprise three boards of 4' x 2' which will make up the main "De Hoopvelt" Station.
In my world the railway did not get re-gauged to 3' 6" and ran well into the 1980's with the layout being set at the end of the 1960's and into the early 1970's.
Most of the rolling stock is scratch built or "kit bashed" and the coaching stock is from kits produced by "Worlsey Works" who produce the CGR coaches in etched brass. (however just the sides and ends!).
The loco's are "kit bashed" On30 Bachmann moguls converted into models of the first Loco's that ran on the line and I have replaced the locomotive wheels with wheels taken from the Bachmann On30 Consolidation Models and added "Grandt Line" outside frames, also the loco tender has been lengthen to the correct length.
