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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
    • 2,788 views
Somewhere in Germany

Seeing the light

Now that Steinrücken is a running layout, the opportunity to play trains is not to be missed. Pending a circuit diagram for an occupancy detector I've been promised, proper wiring is slighly held up, but then it'll be easier to wire when the layout is dismantled. As I'm moving house later this month that would be the sensible time to seperate all the boards and wire in the comfort of a chair with the baseboards on end.   Having some inexplicable urge to do things with a soldering iron, I deci
Taigatrommel

Taigatrommel

5
Hammer's Blog

A Boxfile Diorama?

Since my last blog post, I've only been home once. I had been hoping to make progress in ballesting, painting and maybe doing something to counter the current billiard table effect. Annoyingly, I wasn't able to get any of that done due to other time commitments. With the problems of job hunting, dissertation and so on, I'm not going to get near it again for a few months.   So, I've been pondering making a box file diorama with a duel purpose - to let me take pictures of models against somethi
Hammer

Hammer

5
The Fatadder's Modern Workbench

Virgin Cross Country Class 47

Further to my earlier research on Virgin Class 47s I have come to a decision. Having researched photos of the first five locos to gain Virgin livery, I have eliminated any possibility of 4 of the 5 locos retaining Virgin XC logos into 1998 (further discussions with friends who were paying attention to the prototype at the time backs this up).   I did debate just going ahead and doing it anyway, but that would be a dangerous precedent and would no doubt open the floodgates.... As such, I think
The Fatadder

The Fatadder

0
ewsjo's Blog

Heading SouthEast

Today I've finished prepping stock for Trainwest, an ED got weathered (may end up on the engineers in place of the dutch tractor after the photo I found today) and the VEP is finished. It runs ok, may need some more lead added, but we'll see. If push comes to shove (no pun intended) it can always run with an ED at the show. Anyway, some pictures: The 73 was weathered following a couple of photos using Games Workshop acrylics. First up, Graveyard Earth was applied to the fibreglass panels ve
Steadfast

Steadfast

6
Ramblings from the Man Cave

Wagons Roll

After a frustrating Easter weekend trying in vain to produce TOUs to any design that might have the necessary pre-requisites I eventually figured something out. This has allowed me to get on with track laying. I'm not convinced that Easitrac is any quicker than soldered construction. It is undoubtably easier if you are scared of a soldering iron and will probably have improved appearance compared with solder blob chairs. However I am in no doubt that Versaline is the current daddy where appearan
richbrummitt

richbrummitt

6
TomE's N Gauge Modelling

Fairsh Voyager

Here are a few photos and thoughts on the Graham Farish Cross Country Voyager. The model has been around for a few years now but still holds it's own against some of the latest releases like the Class 150.   The power unit is fitted in one of the front vehicles which means only 2 decoders are required for DCC operation compared to the 3 required for the Dapol version. Performance out of the box was excellent, smooth and quiet as you would expect with a Farish product. The units are joined by m
TomE

TomE

3
Coombe Barton

Slight change of plan

Measure twice, cut once, they say.   This one fell at the 'measure once' stage.   The layout was designed to have four boards 3' 6" long, 2ft wide and one 2' square. It's portable and would have to be stored, and the design takes care of this. It also has to fit in the back of the car, a Focus estate. That's where the problems come in - I made an assumption (which is the mother of all cocks ups). So now there are four boards 4' x 1'9", two mainly station, one mainly river and one fiddle.  
Coombe Barton

Coombe Barton

0
Grahame's dining room table

Back to the NSE class 47

I've glued the cab handrails back on (well, the three sets I took off as I overlooked one set and they remained on during the paint and transfer process - ooops) and basically I think all the painting is complete and sealed with matt varnish. Just remains to take a deep breath and risk tackling some weathering, or should I, err, ummm......       G.
grahame

grahame

5
TomE's N Gauge Modelling

Another new arrival

The cross country fleet has seen expansion with the addition of a Farish Voyager. A superb model it is too! I'll post a few more photos later.   Unfortunately the past few weeks have had little modelling time available so not much as happened on the layout but hopefully a bit more progress will be made soon.     Tom.
TomE

TomE

1
Coombe Barton

Signalling

Following a great deal of help from RMWeb members here http://www.rmweb.co....al-box-diagram/ and here http://www.rmweb.co....ease-crossover/, the signal box diagram is now finalised.     Levers 1 - Home 2 - FPL 3 - Main to loop and trap 4 - Main to goods 5 - Dummy main to goods 6 - Dummy main to loop 7 - Dummy loop to main 8 - Starter 9 - Adv starter 10 - Shunt 11 - Dummy from goods to main 12 - Spare 13 - Engine release 14 - Dummy for engine release   Lever 12 will control
Coombe Barton

Coombe Barton

0
ewsjo's Blog

4VEP progress

So, a little bit outside the usual sphere of operations for this blog - early 90's Southern region EMUs. With Trainwest at Melksham only a couple of days away, work is progressing well with my 4CEP. The photo shows Farish mk1s prepped to take Electra sides, with TPM ends fitted to the driving cars. The motor is from a Bachmann USA diesel picked up cheap, which it appears the TPM mk6 motor bogie frames are designed to fit. I had great fun chopping the block down with the minidrill! The chassis w
Steadfast

Steadfast

2
RJRs Branch Lines

Using pictures to extend low relief buildings

Well some time ago in a now dismantled layout I dabbled with using a photo to extend 3D into the back scene with reasonable success....     With this in mind I have been trying with various pictures to create an interior for the warehouse... I think this is about the best and when the fork truck I have recently purchased on Ebay is sat in front of it, It may be nearly right       John
johnteal

johnteal

5
Doveston Works

Overhaul - J94/Torrington, New Arrival - T9/Gresley Buffet

Evening all,   While I still debate weather to rename Torrington and pondering about something that will follow in another post, I've been out and about the place purchasing various bits and pieces for the layout. After about 7? ish years of waiting, I've finally brought my First Hornby teak Coach, a Carmine and Cream Buffet while on holiday and today, purchasing one of the Hornby DCC Fitted T9s (see below). Both have been run in on the layout but I haven't taken any pictures yet so the offica
trainfan

trainfan

0
Somercombe

More new stock at Somercombe

Just about finished my 2H, just a lick of paint to tone down the Black Beetle wheels. Sitting here in the bay waiting to depart for Yeovil Town. Gloucester MPV is on a run down to Exeter, while 3MT is on the Exeter-Salisbury service.     Ignore the front bogie from my S15 lying behind the platform .   Both of the units are ones I have always had a liking for. My Grandfather moved to Ropley in the early '60s and 2Hs were a constant feature of the line and as I never saw them elsewhere, t
JZ

JZ

0
JaymzHatstand's Blog

Static, but moving...

As I've been moving house I haven't had much chance for modelling, in fact I haven't done any that is railway related. I haven't even put Scrayingham up yet! Fortunately there is sace in our 'spare' room for my modelling desk and asociated paraphenalia, along with my layout to stand so I can work on it so hopefully in the near futre there'll be some updates on it!   The house is not too far from the racecourse in York so Easter weekend was not without my annual trip to the show. I picked up
JaymzHatstand

JaymzHatstand

0
halfwit's fantastic workbench!

OOn3 Ruston 48DS - body detailing 1.

More work has been done on the pair. The n.g. loco now has its bonnet fitted and I've fitted the reinforcement strips to the botom of the frame sides, these were cut from .008" x .040" brass strip (from Eileens Emporium) and sweated in place. On those the axlebox gaurds are soldered, first by tinning the back of the gaurd then sweating in place. I left a tag on the gaurds to give me something to hold with self gripping tweezers to make positioning easier. A couple of pics; This made life a
halfwit

halfwit

0
Fen End Pit's Blog

North lights on Scalescene warehouse

A Bank holiday seemed like a good time to do a bit of building work and finish off the roof of the big warehouse behind the viaduct. The Brassmasters etchings made the northlight units quite rigid though cutting them all to a different length to match the profile of the backscene was a bit of a faff. I had decided that one end of the building would house the lift shaft so this got a block house on top to house the lift mechanism.     From track level the building now looks quite impressive.
Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

4
Highclere - 2mm Finescale

It Lives! (well sort of...)

Hello   I was holding off posting an entry until I had something worth talking about and now I think I have.   FINALLY! I have managed to get my little pannier tank engine working on the layout. Its quite a serious milestone for me which has been about 4 years(ish) in the making, Im very happy       It took a bit of head scratching but now electrically everything works. I had 3 faults with the wiring on this board in the end.. 1. I had a short across 2 tracks on a piece of veroboa
-missy-

-missy-

18
Hythe Parkway Blog

Hythe Parkway - Extenstion, New Plan!

Hi Guys,   Went down to Hunts of Marlow today to go and get some track and a couple of points for the new board.   Got home and tried a few plans, I soon realised that the orignal plan is not going to work because of the gap between Platform 4 and the headshunt. So we came up with a new plan, here it is on the board:     I quickly redrew the plan in anyrail:     All the buildings are the same as the original plan (see last entry)   Tomorrow, I'll stick down the cork and hopefully
St. Simon

St. Simon

1
Inspired by Botley - Closed

The Bridge - Ready for paint...

Taking advantage of yesterday's bank holiday I have got on and finished the main work on the bridge. The rear face has had the main brickwork added forming the outer face, wing walls and side wall. I have decided to leave off the fine detailing making up the arch and some of the other fancy brickwork, simply because I am running out of plastic and it will be easy enough to add later should the layout get extended.   The final area which will need work in the near future is adding the top ca
The Fatadder

The Fatadder

1

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