Leahurst Road is not far off from being in a more-or-less completed stage and I'm very happy with how it has turned out. I haven't rushed anything, which is the important thing as that was the main factor in previous projects failing. It is being built to a fairly strict budget - I had to be strict because of recent stock purchases! Oops!
The station is missing one major thing, the building/booking hall! The reason behind why the terminus end of the station is still barren is because I was
Admit it, we all have a list of trains we really want. Some of us are lucky to get them right that second and others have to wait for a Birthday or Christmas to come along. For a while it has been a waiting game for both to come along to get a much wanted Loco/DMU/EMU and recently it has turned into impulse buying whenever I see what I really want. The two recent purchases, the 33 and 205 were a step too far in impulse buying and now I have to refrain from browsing on eBay and online model retai
Hello!
As mentioned in the previous post, I am planning to repair and improve my Hornby Class 73. This includes cosmetic improvements like adding NSE branding and giving it a recently out-shopped look with the bogies getting painted to pick out details. Other improvements include replacing the damaged bogie and servicing the motor as it sounds a bit rough.
So far the decals have arrived and the replacement bogie is on its way, I might make a start today on adding the decals once I get o
A lot of thinking can be done when you're on holiday and it is p*ssing it down with rain, apparently that is typical Cumbrian weather! We have been lucky so far and even got sunburn earlier today while hiking some hills!
The thinking has been aimed towards the 73 I have in the fleet, it has seen the least amount of attention since it got damaged from falling off the workbench in the previous house. Luckily the damage is only to the dummy bogie and it can still run perfectly fine. I have dec
Taking things steady while building Leahurst Road has been the best plan of action I've taken in this hobby. Past projects have failed because I wanted the finished result so quickly that when things go wrong I lose all interest and get fed up. The layout now is at a stage where it is really starting to take shape and I am very happy with how well things are going The temptation is still there to get it finished ASAP but I don't want to risk making monumental mistakes that will ruin it in one w
It's funny how quickly interests can change, it has happened to me quite a bit recently. I used to be really interested in buses, but now that I drive them I have lost all interest in that. Even trying to go out for them was like flogging a dead horse! It is similar with model railways, I have been on and off with the hobby over the years and now I am really keen on it, mostly thanks to the greater availability of some fantastic models from my chosen era (any guesses what that could be? ).
About an hour ago, I took delivery of Bachmann's Class 205 DEMU in de-branded NSE livery. Just wow, the amount of detail is amazing and the livery application is brilliant I won't go into a detailed review as that has been done many times by other railway modellers but I will say this, get one!
This particular model was announced some time ago by Kernow Model Railway Centre and it did look appealing to me as I did see these units in the NSE days. The price, which was £239, was far too stee
I've decided today that I should make a start on the Peco signal box kit that I've bought recently. It is my first attempt at building a kit like this and if I have to be honest, minus a few blemishes, it looks quite nice but it will need more work doing to it (weathering, proper NSE signs etc). It is far from complete but I posed it on Leahurst Road to see how it would look....
Downside is, I didn't realise that it would barely fit where I had intended to place it unless I position it
Leahurst Road is now under construction at long last and I am quite happy with how things are going. I hope to capture the 1990's SE London atmosphere with this layout and the rolling stock / road vehicles will add nicely to that.
I've been doing a lot of painting various little bits in preparation before being placed on the layout, these vary from the Bachmann Concrete lampposts to the fiddly NSE style clocks that come from the station modernisation pack, also by Bachmann. Still plenty lef
Now that I've managed to sell off a few items of rolling stock for a good price, I've now got funds for either a new diesel loco/DMU/EMU or to get a new project kick started. It was a tough decision to make as I saw a few loco's that really caught my eye but then again I have literally nowhere to run them on. I have built a diorama recently but it is only for static display, truth be told it was something to keep me going for a little while and I'll post photo's soon!
I've decided to use th
And it didn't take much to get it back again either! I've been struggling for a while to dig up any motivation to do anything railway modelling wise and even took a long break and didn't even think of it at all. What did it for me was the recent announcement by Bachmann for their 2016/2017 range, which was aimed quite heavily towards the NSE era as it is the 30th anniversary of the once great British Rail sub-sector. I saw the 2-HAP and immediately started to think of ideas for a fairly compact
It has been a little while since my last post regarding Leahurst Road, that is because quite literally nothing has happened. After some quite big expenses, it has left very little money to play with and I can't go beyond the planning stage............yet.
I am still very much inspired to get this new project going but I will have to be patient until finances improve, hopefully in the near future!
Hello! Hope you've all had a lovely Christmas
In the past two months or so, 3 new items of rolling stock have joined the NSE era fleet. First was the Bachmann 166, which Sarah got me as a gift Second was the Queen Mary brake van and yesterday, the Bachmann MLV. All are brilliant models and it has inspired me even more to get Leahurst Road under construction.
166202, in very good condition for a 15 year old 2nd hand model, runs like brand new
The Queen Mary brake van, wanted it
I was meant to add the basic plan that I have quickly drafted up on Microsoft Paint a few days ago but for some reason, I forgot, whoops!
Here is the basic plan for Leahurst Road, opinions are most welcome
The signal box is a maybe along with the chalk front as I haven't planned what I want for the back just yet, either retaining walls or some very low relief industrial units.
Been spending the best part of today researching locations and a name for the new project. Being from SE London, it was a tough choice of either around Bromley area (where I frequently visited) or around Lewisham (where I lived for most of my London years). I was about to carry on the name of Chalk Lane but it did not seem to fit with the location at all.
After looking on Google Maps around the entire SE13 postcode area, I stumbled across a road close to Hither Green station named Leahurst R
Good news! We have more-or-less solved the damp issue in the house and also having a pay rise has allowed more spending money for myself!
I've decided to start a project for 2016 (some of you probably thinking 'oh god, not again!') but this time I have spent quite a bit of time researching and planning has resulted in a (hopefully) great idea for a small spaced layout. The planning stage has been rigorous, similar to when I was planning Chalk Lane.
I have thought long and hard about if
Going through my old external HD this morning to find some old transport photographs to upload and stumbled across a folder named Chalk Lane. This folder has every single photo from construction all the way through to just a few months before it was taken apart. It made me feel a bit emotional and I do heavily regret ever taking it down. It was my first ever layout that has been more or less complete, with help from Sarah, it showed what could be done on a budget and limited space. It had a shor
Was talking to my other half about the withdrawal symptoms I've been suffering since scrapping Chalk Lane, she understood and gave a fantastic idea!
I got a bookcase that displays my model bus / railway collection that has 3 shelves and they are the type of wood that is not prone to moisture damage and doesn't have the tendency to grow mould. Also the 3 cats refuse to climb on the bookcase so that eradicates the risk of them monsters causing damage. Obviously I will need to look into the id
Everyone in the hobby has noticed that things have been getting more and more expensive in recent years. To some, it is very off-putting and to many we have to resort to a very thorough and tiresome search for a cheaper solution.
One such example is the increasing price of rolling stock, it is extortionate! 10 years ago the average price of a 2 car DMU/EMU was about £50-65 (now fetching over £100) and a 3 car was on average £75-80 (now nudging £150). I do accept the fact that new tooling ca
Currently sat at my desk typing this post and I feel a bit lost. It's my day off from work (don't get many of them these days!) and I feel annoyed that I can't build anything because of the awful moisture problem this house has! It has made me think that even if I didn't completely take apart Chalk Lane that it would have succumbed to mould anyway. My rolling stock collection is just sat in their boxes for now with nowhere to run and the boxes are gathering dust. I want to build something! But I
Argh! - That is how I've been feeling all day today when I found mould on the board that I was building the new project on. This was all due to the fact that the new house has a serious moisture problem due to very poor ventilation that has been a pain in our backsides for 2 months now. This means that other than the preserved Chalk cliff that was salvaged during dismantling, Chalk Lane is officially no more at all.
I have no confidence yet that the moisture problem will be solved in the ne
Well it is Sunday, usually the best day to do some railway modelling, but alas I simply can't be bothered today after doing 3 late shifts on the buses. Taking it easy today
So far the plans have changed dramatically. Chalk Lane in it's current form is no more, quite literally nothing of it remains except the board and even that has been partially chopped up!
Before anyone assumes that I've gone bonkers, I've tried to work round the rebuild and struggled at best to find something that
More work has been done on Chalk Lane by getting rid of most of the original landscaping and it has definitely lost weight! When it was built it had over 4kg of Polyfilla on it for the landscaping and it was awkward to move around as a result. I aim to keep the weight down this time round so it can stay portable.
Hello!
I've been thinking long and hard about this hobby for some time now, neither giving up nor going at it full steam ahead was going to work out. Giving up was just an easy option because of the nature of my job (bus driver) doesn't really allow much time for me to do thing on top of everything else. Alas after a while I missed engaging with railway modelling and then came the idea of doing bits and pieces here and there when time permits. I've tried numerous attempts at building this '
