BoD

At some point in the past I changed the title of my thread from Crianlarich to Crianlarich(ish) and then to Crianlarich (very loosely). The reason – compromise due to space limitations. Something from which I think most of us suffer. When I started out, I had set a minimum radius for curves and decided to have hand built point work. I don’t regret those decisions but it soon became obvious I was running into problems. We have already mentioned compression on here but I found I was having serious space limitations. The track plan had to be constrained quite severely to fit and the throat became quite compromised to fit. I would not have enough room at the North end of the station for the original crossover so it would have to be based on the remodelled pointwork. (Does anyone know when this actually occurred?) I still had my heart set on semaphore signals too. Also, both branches would have to enter curves almost immediately. Certainly the right hand Fort William branch couldn't cross over the River Fillan Viaduct. There's just not room. That branch would have to disappear somewhow. the 'Oban branch' wasn't going to drop down to the old Callendar line either. Could I justify a viaduct there. If I had any hair it would have been torn out. Sadly the whole thing was becoming less and less like Crianlarich. Some serious deep thought was needed and some decisions needed to be made. Do I scrap it and rethink the layout? Do I rename as somewhere entirely fictitious but using WHL buildings and style? Am I alone in having these issues?

Many happy returns, Chris. Concentrate on the happy memories and the pleasant plans ahead.

Evening all. Met with a couple of former work colleagues today for coffee then went for a haircut and had the mother of all nosebleeds in the local shopping mall. It must have been my excitement at the barber actually finding some hair to cut that did it. Muddling goes on apace, I've even updated my layout thread. Well it has been nearly a year.

A couple more pieces of the jigsaw ready to plant. Or at least I thought they were ready to plant and then the photos showed up all of the faults. Photos can be oh so cruel. The signal box The former paraffin/Lamp shed based on photo here (7th one down)

I would never be so condescending as to say I told you so ….. but …….

Evening all. I’ve just got back from watching Newcastle Falcons play. Fortunately the rain that absolutely lashed down this morning and as we drove back gave the game a miss. Unfortunately the wind didn’t. I feel a bit sorry for the Cornish Pirate’s fans who made a 500ish mile each way trip whilst their team it would appear hadn’t. Actually the game showed the huge gulf between even a relegated Premiership team and the rest of the Championship. GDB and one or two others will understand what I am whittering about. Enjoy what is left of your weekend. This meal and glass of red before me says I will.

Being able to drive and shunt for the first time has held up progress a bit, however, I do enjoy all aspects of modelling so should see more progress soon.

Thanks for that, Mark. I have followed your build of Rannoch Moor from the very early days. Indeed I owe you a thank you for I ordered the etch of West Highland station windows and doors from PH Designs that you and he designed. I saw Rannoch a while back at Model Rail Scotland and thoroughly enjoyed that. I noticed that there is a Rannoch again on the layout list this year. Is that you? It will be at the top of my list of layouts to see. Regards Warren

Thanks. I don’t have that much space and sometimes I wonder if I should have added more compression to allow for a bit more of scenic run. The die is cast now and I am happy enough except perhaps when I see some of the scenic photos on Meanach I do sometimes envy your space too, and the chance to model a greater part of the whole system. It must be nice to be able to tun several trains from location to location and passing place to passing place. I suppose it’s swings and roundabouts and both approaches have their advantages. I’m a bit happier now that the ‘Oban branch’ actually goes somewhere even if it is just to an entirely fictitious lochside location a’la Ian Futters. It does give some feel of being part of a larger system - and gives a bit more play value.

You forgot plague and pestilence.

Goodness me. Is it really that long since I have updated this thread. Frankly, since I connected everything up and could actually run trains and do a bit of shunting that's what tended to happen each time I started to do something. However, over the last few weeks I have made a concerted effort to make more buildings, mainly down in the warmth of the study rather than up in the loft. So when I'm finished them all they will all slot together like a jigsaw and the layout will be finished. No, I don't think so either but one can dream. The first building I started on was the shed at Crianlarich. Still quite a bit of tidying up to do but I think it captures the flavour of it fairly well. A later picture of the actual shed Hopefully it will look better when planted and the scenery and all the 'clutter ' is in place.

And how many years is that? Seriously though it's a nice moment. The only problem is that once you can run things further construction gets put on the back burner. Ask me how I know.

As I asked on my status. What, short of a massacre, is the Saint Valentine’s Day version of Bah humbug?

Look at all of that blood.

Maybe 6 or 7 years ago I was at a meeting in Manchester. Having taken a (very) early train from Durham I had about an hour to spare before the meeting so looked for somewhere to grab a sandwich or something. I came across a ‘spoons’ opposite the hotel where the meeting was to be held. It was my first time in one - and the first time I had seen anyone drinking alcohol at that time of the morning. Frightening.

Ah, a gardening photo. Saved you from the awl there.

When I was teaching bearings and in particular back bearings, I started with aerial photographs of runways and asked if any one could see a connection between the numbers. A surprising number spotted it.

Afternoon all. I think we are getting the weather now that some have already had. Horizontal, and I mean very horizontal, snow at the moment. Take care whatever you are up to.

I was muddling the other day and got PVA on my thumb. My phone wouldn’t recognise my thumbprint. Fortunately it wasn’t superglue and I could just peel it off. I don’t know how GDB’s phone manages with all those cuts and abrasions.

I'm sure that Mr Dyson's designs for his motor/suction system are very clever - but the overall design of the cleaner and its tools is appallingly bad making them very difficult to use. Others may disagree but we found ourselves buying a second lightweight vacuum for use on the stairs and those areas where tools are needed. Perhaps that was part of Mr Dyson's business plan.

'This is Scottish Gas. Please press any key.' First time I've had one of those calls. Fortunately I know enough just to hang straight up but I do worry about my 88 year old mum. Thankfully she is still wonderfully independent, living on her own and getting out to do her own shopping except when the weather is bad. Although we have told her of these calls she is from a generation that is honest to the nth degree and trusts other folk to be the same. There are some rotten sods out there.

Morning all. Much more blowy here this morning than it was yesterday. The dog was keener to get back, he obviously doesn't mind rain but seems less happy with wind. Have a good day.

Morning all. Some sensible dogs refuse to go out if the weather is bad. Not ours. We have been out, he has breakfasted and is now curled up asleep again. It’s a dogs life. Having moaned about it, it’s not raining that heavily here and it’s no windier than it was a few days ago, which was best described as a stiff breeze. I wonder if worse is yet to come over here. It would, under normal circumstances, be my first day of the year running the layouts at the National Trust but I got a phone call yesterday saying they wouldn’t be opening. Apparently they are obliged to close if the wind is forecast above a certain speed. I didn’t expect many punters anyway. I don’t particularly fancy watching France embarrass Italy this afternoon so I may well end up fitting a load of drainpipes that were recently constructed. Seize the whatsits.

Trump? Blonde?

Your grass needs cutting. Oh, hang on...... that’s not the garden layout is it?