P.C.M

Hi Gary, The pictures taken in natural light look great. I am with you on the point rodding, I started doing mine after ballasting, it's a right pain in the butt. I still have more to do but can't face it at the moment. It's definitely worth doing though. Look forwards to seeing your Large Logo 37 when its done. Cheers Peter.

Here are a couple of Speedlink trains that worked out of Eastleigh East Yard. First is is an Eastleigh to Dinton, the vans would have come down from Tyne Yard or Willesden or both and would have been shunted out and put together the clay slurry tanks normally came down on the Willesden service. The train would be made up with the tanks at the back as they would be shunted out at Quidhampton, the vans would then go on to the MOD sidings at Dinton. The return working would bring back other vans from Dinton and call in at Quidhampton to pick up loaded slurry tanks. The train could also call in at Dean Hill another MOD terminal. All this would depend on traffic flows, this train could sometimes be quite long, other times only 3 or 4 wagons. This picture show a Marchwood MOD train returning to Eastleigh. The use of a pair of 37s was for a while quite common as it was a fill in turn for the loco's. As they worked down on a freightliner, did the quick trip to Marchwood then run LE to pick up the return Freightliner. Cheers Peter.

Hi Jack, I will post up some more pics for you. As for a Speedlink using a small yard it depends on what you are planning to do and what sort of traffic you want to run. A small yard is more likely to be served by a trip working from a bigger yard that would have shunted a bigger train and made up a smaller train. A small yard might have a daily train bringing a couple of vans for unloading but have a cement siding near by so the trip working would just turn up with a couple of vans and a couple of cement wagons. It would shunt off the vans then go to the cement siding. The train would then return with empty cement wagons and pick up the unloaded vans or empty vans from the previous day. The train would then depart to the main yard where the train would be shunted to form a longer train with traffic from other small yards oil terminals or whatever. Cheers Peter.

Hi Doug, Great to see you back on here, thought we had lost you. Good luck with the new project. Now I know you are back modelling I will put something in the post for you. Cheers Peter.

Hi James, The 37s look good, as do the wagons I think you have the weathering spot on, the insides look great. I have a few pics of green 37411 at Eastleigh depot that I took back in Feb. I will post them on your thread if you like. Cheers Peter.

Hi Jack, I can show you some pics. These two pictures show that the Speedlink has arrived and is being shunted by the class 08, the pic shows the VGA vans have been shunted into the siding with the fuel tanks that were placed in the yard earlier, the coal wagons are still coupled to the class 08 and will be tripped to the coal yard later. In the other siding is a VAA van which will be picked up by the Speedlink return working, the VGAs will have been unloaded by this time and the empty fuel tanks will all go on the afternoon Speedlink leaving the yard empty. Hope that helps Cheers Peter.

Hi Dave, Hope you had a good holiday, I am happy with the extension now and seeing the trains on the curve captures what I wanted. As for the cable tube I added these on the old part of the layout after I had ballasted so it can be done. Just makes a bit of a mess, I did my point rodding the hard way too. The TPOs are good, they are now in the long line of coaches waiting to be done I expect you will have yours weathered before me. Good luck with the timetable I have been doing for mine for years now I just keep adding and changing things as each time I run the layout I find ways to improve it. I expect you will find you need a few more loco's to work all the extra diagrams on WW as there were plenty of loco hauled trains in 1986. Cheers Peter.

Hi Larry, I have a class 47 booked on my Speedlink but a class 25 turns up quite regularly, In my timetable I have the speedlink leaving for Warrington early afternoon, with the Maentwrog Road train running in the afternoon using a class 25. The loaded wagon is left in the yard and returns on the next days Speedlink. I think thats how it worked at one point, but happy to change it if its wrong. Cheers Peter.

Hi Jackblack, The station yard is used for unloading the VGAs that get shunted off the daily Speedlink, the coal wagons also get left in the yard until they are tripped to the coal yard (off scene) the TTA fuel tanks often get shunted over to the yard when they are ready to go back on the Speedlink. other wagons also get left in the yard but its only the VGAs that get unloaded. Hope that helps. Cheers Peter.

Hi Mark, Thanks mate, feeling heaps better today went back to work though, so not so happy about that. I am happy with the new section though, more so now since I relaid the oil siding. I am well happy with the TPOs too my Blue grey actually looks ok next to my Southern Pride stowage van so thats was a bonus, I just need to weather them now but they will have to wait as I have a few things on the go at the moment. Cheers Peter.

Hi Leon, Pic of the week, well done mate. Cheers Peter.

Hi Doug, I have never bothered to do timetable running at a meeting, maybe once it's sorted I will. I still have the flu, we have all had this week, Abbie said kids at school have had it and a couple of Leanne's friends have been sick too. Cheers Peter.

I know what you mean Claggy, I am quite happy to watch trains on other layouts but if there is a timetable showing whats going on it makes it just that bit more real. I used to be a member of the New Forest Model Railway Society and the exhibition layouts had a timetable useing flip cards which showed the movements to the public as well as the operators. For me it always made the layout more fun to operate. Here is a pic of a page in my timetable book which hopefully will give you an idea if what I am doing. The other thing I use is a whiteboard with the loco diagram number ie 47401 with the loco I have chosen to work that diagram written next to it. As you can see last time I used the board there were a few no heat loco's working, which is due to the fact I don't have quite enough ETH loco's yet. As you can see my darling daughter left me a note, and I haven't seen the marker pen since. Cheers Peter.

Hi Claggy, You must have scrolled past my write up and just seen the pics. have another look. My timetable is written in pencil in a book. It covers 24 hours and each move is written down each loco has a diagram based on a Loco-Hauled Travel book that I mentioned to you on your thread. Each time I operate the layout using the timetable I find things to improve hence writting in pencil. I still haven't worked out the flask train and some of the trips but all the Trans Pennine and Inter City are sorted. DMUs need to have headcodes sorted but I am getting there. In the back of my rather tatty book is my todo list for the year and the things I want to buy. Sad I know but there you go. Here is 35 minutes for you. --.-- Loco leaves shed to behind signal 47401 07.05 IC arr plat 2 EX Holhead 1A44 47403 --.-- Loco drops onto train in plat 2 47401 07.12 Speedlink Dep loop To Holyhead T92 47002 07.15 IC Dep plat 2 To Cewe/ Euston 1A44 47401 --.-- * Yard pilot takes vans in plat4 behind signal. 08001 --.-- Loco in plat 2 goes to shed 47403 07.20 DMU Dep plat 3 To BF ? DMU001 07.35 Vans Arr plat 4 r r set back. ( pick up vans in plat 4)* EX Holyhead 3J04 31401 * Note If 5 vans long go to plat 2 . *Pilot will attach vans then go LE to H.S Loco onto train or Pilot shunts to plat 3. then loco onto train.

Yes but isn't there a a spot with a weak Bridge and only type 2s can go there. PM sent. Cheers Peter.

G'day, I have had man flu and been off work for two days, I felt well enough to go out to the garage this Arvo though and take a few pics. 47106 waits for the shunter to finish his tea before collecting a few VGAs. 45111 waits to depart for Bangor, 47106 has finished shunting and waits to depart for Warrington with the return Speedlink service. 45029 sits on the holding sidings. 45111 storms onto the new section which shows some new troughing and other bits. Cheers Peter.

Hi Claggy, Sorry I am becoming a pest, but a class 20 might be an idea they worked up Fort William now and then, pretty sure they were used on local trips. I don't have any info on what Eastfield called their loco diagrams but I have an old 'Loco Hauled Travel 1987-88' which gives Headcodes and departure times, for the Glasgow QS- Fort william and Oban trains. Plus the diagram for each loco. Cheers Peter.

Hi Claggy, yellowvanmans pics were I am pretty sure taken in the winter of 1987, as we did several trips up to Scotland about that time. Cheers Peter.

Hi Ian, Your VEAs look good, shame Perkside are not interested I think it would be a good seller. I wonder if Cambrian would be interested in doing some 7mm wagons. Cheers Peter.

Hi Leon, The latest pics look good, you have certainly been busy. And you can never have enough class 37s. Cheers Peter.

Hi Brian, The van looks lovely, I do like the Slaters kits I am part way through building a BR 20t Brake Van, I haven't touched it in ages though. It would be nice if Slaters did the van with a modern chassis, I would like a couple of VEAs. Cheers Peter.

I may have posted this before, but here is some insperation for you. Cheers Peter.

Hi Grimley, That's railfreight red stripe heaven, the 56 looks to be on an angle, I am guessing the pit roads aren't fixed down yet? Looks good though, gives a good idea of how things will look. Once you have finished the deopot I think you are going to be busy weathering those loco's plus the others I am sure you will buy before you finish. Cheers Peter.

Hi Michael, I think, like me, you've been watching too much Tour De France. The 31 is Hornby, I still like the Lima model though I have been thinking of putting a Lima body on a Hornby chassis, that's a while of yet though. Cheers Peter.

Thanks Pete, You made me go and have a look at Jims Thread, I can't spot it. Do tell. Cheers Peter.