"Is it EM?"

That question, asked two or three times, was the least expected one. Our layout isn't but the question is a ringing endorsement of PECO's Code 75 bullhead track and how that is a major advance on what was offered before for 00 gauge modellers. The gauge may be wrong, but nearly everything else about this track is right. The result is that the trackwork of a steam era branchline can be reproduced effectively.

Good track means that it is worth getting the ballasting right as well as things like platform edges, bufferstops and that tricky area of the cess between ballast and vegetation. We are still getting to grips with some of that, but Holbrook station has shaped up very nicely. A few passengers were temporarily placed on the platform for the Dorking show, but a more accurate representation based on pictures of Northiam and Bodiam taken in the 1930s will be there next time.

The station building was completed in time for the show, and included the guttering, with downpipe that provided the sole flush for the gents urinal. Interior details included a 3D printed stove to keep the passengers warm while they waited for the infrequent trains.

On the yard side the groundwork was roughed out and given its first surfacing. Like the station platform, the yard needs a less generic scenic treatment. Coal is not surprisingly the primary form of inward goods, so a coal merchant's steam lorry and an open wagon in the process of unloading have been made. Bedding them in and adding the details such as scales, sacks and labour is work for the next few months. Overall the view into the yard seems right for one of the smaller Stephens stations

The Stephens railbus attracted a lot of interest as it trundled back and forth. It is now DCC chipped - a single function decoder lying in the trailer car. The motor is a very small can - only 8mm diameter - and there is an issue in that it surges when first starting. Once on the move it is very controllable but it does behave as if the driver had a heavy foot when starting. Possibly a chip designed for N gauge and thus more sensitive to low levels of back EMF might improve things as might adopting 2mm scale practice of light wire pickups pressing on the axles rather than relying on electrical connectivity through the bearings. Interior details, light fittings (no actual lights) and the roof racks are needed to complete the vehicles.

Visitor interest was also shown to another bit of rolling stock. A 3D printed body for the loco "Gladstone" from the film Oh Mr Porter has been purchased from the Will Hay Appreciation Society along with a second hand Hornby Electrotren 0-6-0T from a well known Liverpool model railway supplier. Light Railway aficionados will know that Gladstone was in fact the K&ESR's Northiam with a half cab and a ludricrously tall chimney with a serrated crown on top. The Northiam cab has been restored with some Plastikard work and the chimney shortened to normal size. Additionally the buffer spacing was widened to 00 gauge spacing - the maker of Gladstone had clearly used the Electrotren H0 dimensions - and a lot of grinding and carving done inside the body to get it to sit at the right height. It was hoped that converting the Electrotren chassis to a 2-4-0T would be straightforward but sadly that is not the case. For now it will run as an 0-6-0T. At the show the body was unpainted, but perhaps that is what drew people's attention to it

Not very good picture I'm afraid, it's a snapshot from a video. The two wagons are of interest as they are the first efforts of two of the club's junior members.

Trees have started appearing. The construction method has been described in an earlier blog entry, but many visitors at the show asked about that. At the moment the trees are in their leafless winter state, that too is something to be worked on over the next few months.

One thing we learned is that our baseboard alignment needs refinement. Although the boards align accurately we found that variations in height between opposite ends of two boards opened up gaps at track joins. That caused derailments and while we got those sorted at the show a more robust approach was needed. That will be this month's work.