Alcanman Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 Hi,  I went along to the Newcastle exhibition today and met with fellow RMWebbers, master modeller Jon Grant and guest engineer, Jack (Shortliner) who had travelled from the most northerly UK outpost of US model railroading, somewhere in the highlands of Scotland. For me a mere 30 minute drive.  Great to meet the guys and have a chat as Jack got to grips with the intricacies of switching Sweethome Alabama  The layout is absolutely superb, the trees in particular, are the best I've seen, and the trains aren't bad either!   With Jon's permission, I took a few pics which I'd like to share with you.  If you get a chance, go along on Sunday and support the guys.                  I'll post the rest of the pics tomorrow,  regards,  Mal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Grant 4472 Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 Great photos Mal and nice to meet up too. Maybe you could post a link to your photos to the SWA facebook page, but you may have to repost this thread in the overseas forum, as this is a 'closed' group and a direct link may not work  Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted November 13, 2011 Author Share Posted November 13, 2011 Thanks Jon, Â Here are the remaining pics. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â regards, Â Mal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Great shots of a beautiful layout, Mal. Â Can I just add that "USA & Canadian Railroads" is very much open - I'm trying to get it higher visibility rather than being bunged in with some marginal "Special Interest"'s. Help always appreciated! Â Cheers, you guys, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Grant 4472 Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Great photos Mal.  A few more trees sprang up overnight as did some corn stalks near the silos. I also got a redwood tree because Shortliner Jack probised to make me a couple of bald eagles - one flying and one on the erie.  Heres a seelection of my photos from today and a link to the rest   jack at the helm       Now the layout has been operated intensively in an exhibition environment, I now want to extend the scenery by 8 feet- 4ft to the right to put a lumber mill in front of the east fiddle yard, and another 4ft to the left, taking the track over a tree-lined gorge on a girder bridge. My target for the upgrade will be next June  Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Pretty as a picture! Â The layout's not bad either............ Â Trust y'all had a great time. Â Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Looks great Jon! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Grant 4472 Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 I forgot to add the link  Sweethome - http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/2416  Some of the other layouts at Newcastle http://www.trainboard.com/railimages/showgallery.php/cat/1237  Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mallard60022 Posted November 14, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 14, 2011 Good morning. I'm not normally a fan of 'overseas' models (really sorry), however I have just this Saturday morning learnt the basic lead guitar riff to Sweet Home Alabama! So, as I now have seen some super pictures of the 'actual' place, I have to say that this layout looks fantastic; so much atmosphere in a small space. I think you should take a CD or phone app. & play the intro riff to S H A as the layout starts up at any show you are at (nobody from the PRA will notice I'm sure)!! Hope you get to Donny or York sometime. Phil @ 36E Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 Hi Jon,  I also managed a little video on Saturday and managed to edit out the overscale 'hand of Jon' removing the overscale 20ft cat hair from the BN geep  Hope you like the video and again all I can say is SHA is a real inspiration, can't wait to see the extended layout.  http://youtu.be/KLL_O4Od1os   regards,  Mal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Grant 4472 Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Great video Mal. Your camera's a lot better and more you Tube friendly than my Sony Handycam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Gwinnett Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Really gutted that i couldn't make it down last weekend due to my bout of pneumonia. I'll get to see it one day! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alcanman Posted November 15, 2011 Author Share Posted November 15, 2011 Thanks Jon,  My camera is a Fujifilm S1730 bought at ASDA (Walmart) for only £99.00 ($160.00). It offers Widescreen HD video and decent pics also in Widescreen.  The only problem is a faint clicking sound on the video HD soundtrack. At first I thought it was simply the sound of boxcar wheels on the track!  I think ASDA are currently selling an updated version for £120.00.   regards,  Mal Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 A few from the short, stubby, grey-haired bloke with glasses - thanks to Jon and the Gang for having me - to John for shipping me about - I had a great time and topped up my stock of locos and shortline boxcars          Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Grant 4472 Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Great shots Jack Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilM Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Looks really very good (layout that is!!). Will you be bringing it down south and a bit east anytime soon? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Grant 4472 Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Nothing specific yet, although Nottingham expressed an interest for it before I'd even started building SWA. I'd also like to do Ally Pally, since the other 2 layouts, Sweethome Chicago and Hudson Rd NER have both appeared there   Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium cnw6847 Posted November 15, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 15, 2011 Superb Jon, hopefully will get a chance to see it in the flesh sometime. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Stunning scenic work, as has been said - and seen on here before of course!! I like how the track curves so much - nothing parallel to the baseboard edge at all! Can I ask, is the Boxcar in this picture RTR or a Repaint? Â Â Â I know{think?} it's an Ex-I.P.D Valley & Seletz Car as seen here on another forum:- http://www.the-gauge...php?f=35&t=4639 Â I've seen cars like this in Progressive Rail trains, so would like to get hold of one or two... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I guess these should probably be in the "Workbench" thread,but since they will be heading south to Alabama I'll put them on here. I volunteered to produce a Bald-headed Eagle for the layout and have actually made 1 flying(not shown), and 3½ sitting (the ½ is a chick in the nest) - the proof (if such were needed), that Shortliner has finally gone round the twist! I hope Jon will forgive me for having built the nest in a "dead" tree - which wasn't part of the brief! Now he has to find somewhere to put them! Anyway, on with the pictures.......      Just hope Jon likes them! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Grant 4472 Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Thanks Jack, they're brilliant. Looking forward to them flying South for the winter. I'll put the layout up tonight in readiness for their arrival, and had better get the Busch rats and frogs painted up for their welcome meal  Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted November 17, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 17, 2011 Nice weathering on that ex Seaboard Sd40! Iab Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Grant 4472 Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Can I ask, is the Boxcar in this picture RTR or a Repaint?  The boxcar is an E&C Shops 50ft hi-cube and came as lettered but in a colour resembling BN cascade green. A check on Railroad Picture Archives showed the car as a much lighter green, so I mixed flat green with white acrylic and repainted the car.    Once dry, I scratched off the paint over the lettering and totem using a fibreglass pencil then weathered it all down. I still have the steps to add    Jon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Thanks for that Jon. E&C Shops seems to be a "Fallen Flag" Manufacturer from a quick Google.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glorious NSE Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Yes they are, IIRC there's a string of relatively short-lived companies that E&C was part of, I think the most recent was called 'Huberts' although i'm not sure whether that particular tooling reappeared from that name (some did). They did some good stuff over the years, that high cube, some nice modern gons, and some of the rarer modern coal gon designs (not just another Bethgon!) Â Cracking job on the faded/washed out colour there Jon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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