SHerr

Yes doors need a bit more thought for a serious model. Below is how I have tacked them but you have to make the cuts with a fine razor saw as a knife tends to splinter the wood everywhere. The problem then is making an accurate enough cut with a saw. The one below is waste as it went too small. I presume with laser cutting you could get something accurate enough to fit within the door frame with a thinner material and then glue some card behind to hold. They could even be produced or sold separately. I think part of the issue is the kits have a bit of an identity crisis- on one hand they are great pieces of bespoke semi specialist subjects but on the other their roots are still in the pop together card market. Personally as a modeller I have quite enjoyed turning a bespoke but slightly crude kit into something fit for the detail of a model railway but yes finer doors and windows would have made it easier, the other stuff is straight forward with a bit of care and patience. That’s ok as long as the price stays in a place to reflect more work is required.

Thanks, Much appreciated. It's not particularly difficult just time consuming and the Pop Up kit is a great template to start with and helps to position everything. I couldn't have got anywhere near by scratch building so worth the £40 for the kit. Framing the windows and Timber work having done it I'd say is essential to get a decent amount of relief . The brickwork is also needed as the gaps around the bays are far too big.

Slow but steady progress on the station building, after getting some more plastic strip I have now finished the timbering around the windows. I was also unsure initially whether to leave the upper rendered sections of the building as they were and just paint the wood. I have some clear textured plastic that I think was a cover from a bound report or something, but the dimpled texture looked good for render. After a trial piece which I painted I decided this would look much better as the wood grain did show through slightly. Cutting and fitting this tight has been quite time consuming (and boring) but i think will be worth the effort when painted. The photos don't really show up the difference at present. All the doors have also been completed - again a bit tedious, the Popup kit are fully recessed to the width of the main laser cut sheet which is too deep so i have carefully cut with a razor saw (knife splinters the wood) and then chipped off 2 of the 3 plys around the outside of the door. This means they sit a more realistic depth.

I always think it beggars belief that Hornby have never produced the standard Railfreight red or even Thames light blue OTA’s but keep doing runs of probably the least popular/common liveries - and no doubt then have discussion head office along the lines of ‘why do these never sell’. Nice work on the repaint, I’ve done 2 and they are absolute sods to do a tidy job on. Got another 3 to do as I got 5 cheap turquoise ones from a show along with a comment of ‘thanks, these are taking me ages to shift’.

A bit more completed on the station building. The whole main building halves have been glued together and I’ve completed most of the bottom sections of the bay windows, these were fiddly but not particularly difficult just needed a bit of patience with the ledges etc. I’ve also attempted the first bay window frames, larger section of Plastruct pushed into the opening and filed a little on the inside where needed. All seems to have gone ok but I did start with the best fitting gaps! Photo attached of an unfinished one for comparison. Again very close up photo looks much worse than to the naked eye.

Following a trip to the model and DIY shops yesterday I have stocked up on Plastruct sections and various glues so could get back onto the station. I have now completed all the timber framing, brick lower sections and glued the end pieces together and onto the flat roof underside. Luckily this seems to have cured the slight warp on the roof. A few (cruel) close ups but I am pretty happy. I have now started on what will be the tricky bit which is around the bay windows. I hav’nt quite worked out yet how to get the bigger window posts in and fill the big gaps.

I have been continuing with the wagon building bug, first up is the old Dapol Presflo kit - in essence a test to see whether it can scrub up well enough against the Bachmann model - considering you get 3 for the price of 1. I can't finish until I get some more superglue to fix the brass pipes etc but I am pretty happy to date. Next up, a little more adventurous is this; a Slaters NER Coal hopper converted to an Alumina wagon, strangely Slaters do the Alumina wagon in O gauge but not OO. There is a drawing on RMWeb that helps a little although conversion so far has been fairly simple. The tricky bits to come are walkways and the hatches on the roof. Link below to the real thing that appear to have lasted to the late 60's and there are distant shots of trains with generally 1 of these mixed in with Covhops and Presflo's. https://hmrs.org.uk/photographs/17t-bulk-alumina-wagon-lne-157330-wooden-conversion-in-train-f3r-lne-diag-82-steel-versions-either-side-part-lne-229084-on-right.html I've also completed the backscene board in the loft, along with getting the last 2 turnouts I needed allow most of the track to be finished although not yet glued down. I have decided to add an extra 'private' siding for the smelter which will add to some shunting interest.

I spoke to Phil about a week ago as I’d ordered a 24/1 by phone and hadn’t received a confirmation- it wasn’t a complaint but was just checking details hadn’t been written down wrong. Phil explained the size of the backlog caused by the 25 rush so as said above they are a small outfit and just catching up. When I ordered the 24/1 ‘end of the year’ was mentioned which is fine as I need to save up for the sound upgrade. I took ‘end’ as literally that ie December and not Q4 like some do! probably not a lot to share of worth until it’s ready. One of the green 24/0’s that went to Scotland in 67/68 might prove tempting as well to join the 24/1!

Little has happened on the layout over the last few weeks other than fixing of backscene boards and a couple of running sessions to test things. The other reason is I've been waiting for the shops to re-open to get the final 2 turnouts for the yard/smelter turnback and other scenic bits and pieces. I have though started my unhelpful trait of commencing multiple projects at once:- Firstly, a month or so back I purchased the Pop Up Designs wooden laser cut kit of Rannoch station, this was done knowing it wasn't quite what I wanted (mainly too big) and lacked a bit of relief and detail for something so prominent at the front of the layout. After fitting it up 'loose' I came up with the optimum place to cut a section out and removed about 80mm, tis also meant cutting the roof sections and making some new slots to take formers etc. I wanted something that represented the West Highland/NBR style but a bit more subtle like the smaller building that used to be at Craigendoran. Now I've got to the model shop and got some plastruct strips I have started to detail the wooden framing and overlaying slaters embossed brick to give a finer look - I'm quite happy with the results so far although I have not yet decided whether to leave the upper render section as the base wood or cover it with a textured plastic sheet. Also I have commenced some wagon projects after getting a bunch of Parkside kits on eBay - I've made a start whilst the weather has been warmer - so far a 20t tube, Vanwide and Dapol Prestwin have been started and I have refurbished an unused Plate wagon. Researching the Aluminium finished products it looked like they were all transported in Tube and Pipe wagons as made by Parkside and Bachmann but I've also found some really good photo's on Earnie's site of Plate wagons from Invergordon. I'm hoping where possible to use kits rather than RTR and also have some interesting builds to come with a clue in the photos attached above.

If you haven’t tried a Parkside VEA I would suggest having a go. I was in the same boat as you with wagon kits never sitting square or running right but the Parkside kit is a delight to build even for those who may struggle (I am certainly no kit building expert). Apologies if you’ve already tried one but these are the ones that got my confidence back. Alternatively how about a Parkside body on a Dapol chassis and use the detail from the kit? Would still only come to about £15 per wagon. I’ve never tried it and the buffer beam may give an issue but just a thought.

There’s a photo of a class 25 at Mallaig on here although it doesn’t seem to record the number. Also one at Fort William that suggests it’s come from Mallaig. http://www.eastbank.org.uk/whl.htm

Thanks Charlie, much appreciated.

I’m sure this question has been covered elsewhere but I can’t find anything quickly. I have a factory sound fitted class 20 (D8113, green with Tablet catcher). The sound seems very shrill, too high pitched and too loud - I know there has been plenty of debate in the past, I’m not sure whether mine is the old or new versions as it was a second hand purchase. I’ve turned down the volume but the top end just seems way too much almost to the point of being unpleasant to operate. Are there any suggested modifications to CV settings (or anything else) that will help improve or is it a case of re-blowing with a better quality sound file?

A quiet week after the recent good weather, but late last week some more Bullhead turnouts arrived. I was still undecided what to do about the catch points and whether to have a full turnout or not. After laying out the track a full unit took up too much space. I decided to take some brave pills and cut up a Bullhead turnout as suggested above by Eddie R. Generally it has worked well with one issue, as mentioned the units are quite flexible and after cutting the through rails the rails moved and dislodged the point mechanism and spring. I managed to get the rails back (sort of), but wasn't convinced the would operate properly. I dropped some superglue on the last few chairs at each end to hold the rails but couldn't get the points to swing reliably so took the decision to drop some glue on and set them open. Obviously they now won't work but will hopefully work reliably. In hindsight I should have glued the rail ends before cutting which may have helped. Despite this set back I am really pleased with how they have turned out and after testing no problems encountered.

Thanks for info re Ed, I will hang off for now as just trying to get my head around options of scratchbuild vs kit bashed vs bespoke. I suspect something to that quality will come at a hefty cost. The comments about 1985 were a bit tongue in cheek as I thought you may not have enough 37’s! Although on a serious note do the experimental 37’s with yellow ends (ie 112 and the other one that I can’t remember) fit your timeframe or is that pushing the livery boundary too far? My interest started properly in 84 into 85 particularly with the LL 37s in Scotland and everything that followed up to about 88-90 when interest started to wain as the Sprinters took over everything.

Thanks, the ‘formerly part of’ makes more sense, I have been searching for Dawson-Hall online but you can’t get past a homepage. Does Ed have an online presence, I can’t find anything looking myself. The layouts looking great and I’m blaming your thread for me scrapping my previous Speyside layout and going for something different! Howver, I think you also need to also cover 1985 with some LL 37’s, Railfreight 20, IC charter mk1’s, China Clay PRA’s etc etc!!

Could I ask whether the WHL and Mallaig Signal cabins are scratch built or kits please? I am trying to figure out which option to go for on my layout. Many Thanks

Thanks, I must admit my initial thought was to think they should look more like the Peco one but having looked on various photos (particularly West Highland etc) they are all 2 switch blades not one. The one thing from some quick research is they all seem to be different arrangements, lengths, angles etc. Modern ones are probably standard designs now but in the 60’s and 70’s I expect they were more bespoke.

Thanks for that, I have looked at your thread a few times and wondered about chopping down a turnout. At first it seems OTT but the more you think about it and put it into context again other options (kit or scratch build) it does seem a more viable option. In the grand scheme of things your probably talking a tenner more than a ready made unit even if I t existing. I’d thought I had seen one somewhere like Marcway but I think I may have inadvertently been looking at O gauge. Out of interest, have you cut yours in the place you have because that’s the length you wanted or because that’s the first place you can cut without damaging the through rail or to miss something else?

Things have started to come along nicely over the past week. I have finished the major woodwork elements, glued down cork sheet and then at the weekend I have managed to get down the first pieces of the Peco Bullhead track. It went down quite nicely and I have glued the long straight as a datum to work from, the points at each end and the curved loop are laid loose but fitted to final size etc. As mentioned elsewhere the peco fishplates are a bit difficult to fit to the points but go nicely onto the flexi. I must admit that working with something finer certainly makes you work a bit slower and more precisely. I am pleased with the results. By far the biggest bonus is the new frog arrangement - I have a bit of a phobia of all things electrical but these are a joy, one feed and no insulating fishplates and things run very smoothly fully through the station, over the bridge and back round the loop. I always seem to struggle with shorts but nothing of the sort and super smooth running. One question if anyone knows the answer, what’s the best (non kit) way to a catch point? If such a thing exists. I could try a code 75 but suspect the sleeper spacing may look wrong. Yes I know the catch point in the photo is the wrong hand, it’s the only one I have and was using it to check appearances. The sidings are old code 75 to test sizes, I am looking at ditching one of the sidings as it left one fairly short one and a second reduced length, plus was looking a little cramped. I’ve not made my final decision yet but erring more to the 3. The first 2 test trains pass each other

Another vote for a 00 gauge version from me.

Good idea - you could base around the 3 quayside sidings at Kyle with a few mods and use current stock.

Theres a link (etsy) on page 1, 1st July from Ben Alder. Not a lot on there at moment due to them moving etc.

The bridge has had its main girder and abutments painted and weathered. Finishing off with walkways etc will mainly have to wait until track can be aligned and final position fine tuned as the track is supposed to fix to the girder top and then the walkways fix to the sleepers.

Great video/overview - I've been meaning to ask for the same thing but never got round to it! Its a fantastic space you have but also goes to show what can be fitted in with a bit of thought. The split levels and scenery works way better than you would imagine. I'd be tempted to keep the tbc area as a fairly open bit of 'wilderness a la Rannoch Moor or similar' to allow some free running and a bit of thrash without being a specific landmark. I think you might need some more 37's though!!