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  • SouthernRegionSteam

    Coastguard Creek - 15 months of planning!

    By SouthernRegionSteam

    Hold on to your socks - this is going to be a lengthy one! (In fact it's so long, I've now split it into 2 separate posts - the next will be up soon...)   I think it's fair to say that you are all long overdue an update on Coastguard Creek. Due to other commitments, no real progress has been made since the last post way back in March 2021; almost 15 months ago! If anything, things went backwards for quite a while, as I kept finding more and more inspiring locations that I really wanted
    • 8 comments
    • 3,310 views
AllScales' Gerlos Blog

Gerlos lives again!

In March last year I pretty much mothballed my main layout: Gerlos and started work on a much smaller layout instead just to practice some building techniques. The small layout being Linksueberdorf (LUD for short).   Over the last year the baseboard for Gerlos has just become a repository for junk that needs to be put away, so the weekend before the Bank Holiday, I cleared all the junk away again and gave the top of the baseboard a bit of a clean. The reasoning being that as I progress with LU
AllScales

AllScales

0
drduncan's workbench

The locomotive shop - 28xx no 2811 part 2

While mulling over the top feed issue, the tender issue, and summoning up the courage to start drilling holes in the spectacle plate - and above all because the laser cut plasticard side frames had arrived from Ultrascale - I have decided to make some progress with the chassis.   Stripping the chassis was not as traumatic as I feared and the wheelsets, coupling rods, and cross heads gently slipped out of the chassis into a heap on the floor.         The sandboxes were removed too, a
drduncan

drduncan

6
drduncan's workbench

The locomotive shop - 28xx no 2811 part 1

While a 28xx is probably a bit big for a china clay shunting layout - a viewpoint I struggle with - the Hornby model of the straight framed version looked lovely so I had to have one.   The Hornby model is of 2812 in 1930s condition so not only will it need to be converted to EM gauge, but also back dated to 1912-ish. The early locos were builtg with short coned boilers, not the top feed fitted long cone of the Hornby model. However, the early locos started to receive D4 long cone boilers from
drduncan

drduncan

5
drduncan's workbench

Dr Duncan's workbench...

I blame Gareth. This, I can assure you, is a default position - but a very good one - derived from long experience of shifting the blame. Admittedly I had been mulling over doing a 'what's on my workbench and how I've managed create a masterpiece/complete pigs ear' for a while, but lets be clear - this is all Gareth's fault. Why? Well he has volunteered the EMpire Project to appear at the MRC's March 2015 Alexandra Palace show. Well so what? It’s already done that, so why blame Gareth? Because,
drduncan

drduncan

4
Wenlock's Blog

Track Laying part 4 "Nearly Finished!"

I'm glad to say that laying the track work has almost been completed! The back siding still needs to have its other rail installed, but as I've run out of C&L's plastic chairs, it will have to wait. I've placed the station building and goods shed in roughly the position they'll be on the layout, in an attempt to help keep my enthusiasm going during wiring! I want the private siding to look as if it's been laid with less care than the G.W.R. track, so I've introduced a few direction changes a
wenlock

wenlock

20
Barry Ten's Blog

Short video of trains moving on the layout

I was playing around with the camera last night and made a short clip of some trains on the layout. Let's see if it works:     The hardest part was converting from my camera's .mov file format to something I could read in Windows movie maker, which I always forget how to do each time. Hope you like the clip. It's basic, but I could try something a bit longer next time, with a few more trains and different scenes.
Barry Ten

Barry Ten

10
RJRs Branch Lines

Roof details

If you see a Metrolink in the street you don't realise how much detail is on the roof ! Below is the view most of us see, in fact this is more elevated than a street view       But from above there is all sorts of equipment. Its very rare to get a view of the roof, I have spent ages on Google. So I had to put on my "train spotter anorak" and go find a foot bridge. Armed with a limited number of pictures taken at a distance I have started to add the roof details    
johnteal

johnteal

1
Redgate's Modelling

A space to call my own

Spent some time this weekend sorting out and unpacking in the man cave.   So around the room from left to right we have the workbench and storage     Clear area for setting up layout boards for work with layout storage behind     Finally tool storage and bookshelves  
RedgateModels

RedgateModels

4
Dad-1's Blog

Shillingstones Lane Pt.II almost finished

6 weeks since I posted and in truth not a lot done. Family members are having the caravan this weekend so I had to do something with Shillingstones Lane. Pt.I shown in the last posting was all but finished however Pt.II was sitting unloved so I brought home and added some grass, fixed (although not painted) fencing around the cottage then planted a real height tree roughly a 44 footer.     I enjoy the making up of a scene, much more relaxing for me than trying to copy some existing lo
Dad-1

Dad-1

2
Layout - Fisherton Sarum

Controlling Interests #8 Uncoupling the ash wagon

Following the success of the installation of a ‘Dingham’ electromagnet for uncoupling the box van delivering spare parts to the shed stores siding as detailed in my Controlling Interests #6 post , I have now added an additional Dingham’ electromagnet for also uncoupling the ash wagon next to the workers clearing the ashpits.   As with the box van I have added a short piece of iron wire fixed to the dropper of the tension lock coupling hook of the ash wagon, and installed the ‘Dingham’ electrom
Graham_Muz

Graham_Muz

0
Up the Line - 1918

Remarkable Baldwin Progress

With nothing better to do the other night I decided that I really ought to make some more progress on the steam engines so opened up the box of a Wrightlines Baldwin 4-6-0 that I started a couple of years ago and then shelved. I was pleasantly surprised at how much progress I had made.     I had detailed the backhead, fitted pickups to all wheels including the pony truck that I had fitted with a neat swinging and swiveling contraption. Then the reason I had shelved it appeared in the form o
KH1

KH1

5
petertg's Blog

Playing trains

Hi all! As stated in my last post, after nearly seven years of messing about with my layout (and messing it up), I have now reached the state where I can seriously think about “playing trains” So I got various models out of their boxes and, after cleaning the track with IPA (which, to my surprise, is sold at chemists here) I started trying them. The result is that my Bachmann DMUs (Class 108 and 156) performed reasonably well although the 156 derailed two or three times at the same turnout in
petertg

petertg

0
Clachbeg: trackwork

Laying the mine spur turnout

After completing the station entrance turnout, next up is the extremely sharp turnout to the mine spur.   The mine spur actually pre-dates the station: it is the last remaining section of the ½-mile standalone track constructed of portable rail panels when the mine was first opened, along which a Highland pony named Blackie drew a single skip to carry the high-grade ore to an old iron furnace for smelting. That endeavour was unsuccessful and most of the track was taken up and reused, but the l
Richard T

Richard T

1
Barry O's Weathering Blog

Another Duchess - in EM again!

This Duchess was built many moons ago by Mike Edge and was painted and lined by Larry Goddard (Aka Coachman). Despite the many years away from Mike it has now returned via Carlisle and has been regauged to EM. For Horsetan - this is the livery Maroon Duchesses normally had unlike the last on in this blog.   This is a "recently cleaned at shed" loco - which wasn't too difficult a Coach's paint job is still very sound after all these years. Cleaners don't "do" right into corners according to the
Barry O

Barry O

1
David Johnson's Blog

John Houlden

I was wondering if anybody could help me find John Houlden (loco builder); Suprisingly, I have lost touch with him for the many months. He has a number of my locos and also helped me some time ago with my large EM Carlisle layout. He has disappeared inexplicably after calling and emailing him for several months now to no avail, so if anybody knows him or what has happened to him or even better, put me in touch I would be very grateful.   Many thanks to all in advance, best wishes David Johnson
David Johnson

David Johnson

1
BRM Blog

It's amazing where you can fit a bit of modelling in...

Whilst on a visit to the Ricoh Arena ahead of RMweb Live in September it was all too tempting to stage a shot which combines a couple of elements of the weekend with Phil Parker's pizza layout grafted onto the roulette wheel in Britiain's largest casino which is on the same site.     For those who know Phil he's quite a funghi.  
Andy Y

Andy Y

4
The Legge Lane MPD Blog

Track Plan

More on the turntable saga later, as mentioned in my last post. Here is a sketch of the track plan. The diorama is 186cm by 40cm.     Note that the ash plant wagons run straight across the turntable, an important consideration I think. In fact it would probably be only one wagon at a time. The coaling stage is as shown in a recently posted photo but I am considering a typical wagon-to-tender affair with water tank over as seen at Monument Lane. The wagon siding would be slightly elevat
Focalplane

Focalplane

0
The EMpire Project

Empire Mills: the CME's report 3 - the class 42 Warship

Ultrascale drop in wheel sets are simply superb. They make converting loco's to EM gauge an absolute doddle - at least in theory...   Foxhound is one of Bachmann's creations and very nice it looked to, even if it was, to put it bluntly, narrow gauge. However, the loco's transition from OO narrow gauge ugly duckling to EM standard gauge swan was just a matter of throwing an acceptable sum of money at the problem and waiting the required half a lifetime for the wheels to arrive (I freely admit t
drduncan

drduncan

0
The Legge Lane MPD Blog

The turntable saga - attempts at stabilization

The second generation of Legge Lane's turntable moves to the new apartment and a smaller diorama footprint. A new base was needed and the Dremel Trio tool began to pay for itself in cutting the well for the second Peco kit.   I had cut up an old hardwood framed futon base and this came in useful for the new baseboard. The first idea I came up with was to tap three holes in the base of the turntable well and pin down the flexible base for the motor.     three tapped holes in the base took
Focalplane

Focalplane

0
Fourgig East

A Sign of the Times

Fourgig's name board arrived in the post today     It's attached to the centre lighting pelmet by velcro so that it can be swapped for Summat Colliery's when the need arises   The lighting rig supports need a final coat of paint then the wiring can be sorted
RedgateModels

RedgateModels

1
BRM Blog

A happy accident

Working on a model for a future article, I scratchbuilt a door from white Plasticard. It's a simple job – just cut a rectangle out and scribe the surface with an Olfa plasticard cutter.   Next, the door was painted a sunny green to match the windows and left overnight.   In the morning, weathering work commenced with a wash of enamel track colour Humbrol. I'd hoped the paint would sit in the gaps between the planks emphasising them as well as toning down the green.   I'd obviously not left
Phil Parker

Phil Parker

1

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    • BarryP
      Post Scaleforum 2024

      By BarryP · Posted

      It's good to see so many positive reviews of a model railway exhibition. I did dabble in S4/P4 way back and Iain Rice's writings were inspirational. I saw Butley Mills when it was first shown at Scaleforum in 1987 and I loved it. Gordon Gravett's models are fabulous and I would love to see them in the flesh, as it were. I did visit two shows specifically to see the magnificent "Pempoul" layout that the Gravetts built, that was the finest I've ever seen. I'm dabbling in "O" Gauge and an opportuni
    • Keith Addenbrooke
      Post Scaleforum 2024

      By Keith Addenbrooke · Posted

      Good to see it was a positive experience - and really nice to see a couple of photos of Ditchling Green (I didn’t realise it was still around).  Always struck me as a lovely layout: an early example perhaps of the ‘less is (so much) more’ approach to railway modelling that is now widely appreciated.  Keep up the good work, Keith.
    • Mikkel
      Post Scaleforum 2024

      By Mikkel · Posted

      The layout and info display looks very good. Thanks for posting photos of the other layouts, always a gift for those of us abroad - especially when they are this good.   Imposter syndrome is common I think, it can hold us back but on the hand I'll take that over bragging anytime.  
    • Mikkel
      Netherport and Basuto Quay Chronology

      By Mikkel · Posted

      That sounds like a good approach Nick, thank you for clarifying. A sense of space is so important, less is more and all that.   The Penzance photo shows unloading of flower traffic from the Scilly Isles (no date). It features on the front page of this volume by Tony Atkins. The book is perhaps not unexpendable and a tad dry, but it is informative and some of the photos are lovely.    
    • WFPettigrew
      Post Scaleforum 2024

      By WFPettigrew · Posted

      If only you'd brought some crossing timbers, we could have had them down too 🤣. It was a pleasure to be able to help!   All the best   Neil 

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