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About this blog

The building of my first portable N-gauge layout.

Entries in this blog

Foster Street - Warrington Exhibition 2015

Well it was the weekend of the Warrington 2015 exhibition and the first time Foster Street has been at a 2 day exhibition. Despite varying degrees of panic leading up to the exhibition, mostly about whether the layout would stand up to 2 days of constant operation, and public scrutiny it seemed to have gone well.   There were a couple of minor sticky points, namely when the shuttle unit decided to blow itself up, or when a couple of the locomotives decided to take a nose dive off the layout an
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13

Sad news

This is Tim, the Domestic Overlord. Paul died last Wednesday. I wasn't in the right frame of mind to come on and post this before. We were together for a long time, and I know just how much he loved modelling and loved being able to get things just as he wanted them. I'd like this blog to stay up here if that's okay by the administrators.
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Playing Trains (Its Not My Fault - Andy Made Me Do It.)

Well if you read the Blogs by AndyRam you will see that the WESTON 2014 exhibition he is organising is shaping up to be the Model Railway event of the year, miss it and miss out (I think I have missed my calling in publicity ), the only thing that may put a damper on things is that Foster Street is booked to attend.   So in an attempt to break my record for the most consecutive days without gluing my fingers together I thought I would spend a little time working out what trains should fill the
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Foster Street - Time for another update.

Well its been a while since I last posted an entry on here, some might say its not been long enough . The reason for this is not because the Domestic Overlord has been scheduling my every waking moment.   The real reason is that in part I have lost my modelling mojo, and because I have been bogged down with some of the boring time consuming jobs that have been backing up, like wheel cleaning etc.   Anyway thanks to Phil of this parish the fiddle yard on Foster Street is finally having the po
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I think I have a problem

Being a simple sort of a chap, I have spilt the world into two types of people, Railway Modellers (even those who model the SR) and Non-Railway Modellers.   The problem is that unfortunately there seems to be far more Non-Railway Modellers in the world, which kind of make me thing I'm an endangered species, I certainly feel this way sometimes when I'm threatened with extinction, when the Domestic Overlord has to clean up the aftermath of some of my modelling miss-haps (hot soldering iron in po
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HELP ME! IM CURSED BY LIVE FROGS

Just a quick entry this time - Try not to all cheer at once     I need a quick break from re-inventing the laws of physics and more particularly the laws governing electrics.   I NEED HELP,   The bay platform, and the goods yard on Foster Street are accessed by electro frog points, the are isolated from the main lines by double insulated fishplates, everything went well, running was great.   After the track was ballasted and painted, second testing and everything went well, until now.
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Foster Street - Simple Locomotive Improvements

Well as the little cherubs at work very kindly allowed me nearly two hours of uninterrupted sleep this evening before calling me to kindly illustrate another example of their mind blowing ineptitude.   So as I wait to see if the "intellectual giants" have the ability to remain conscious and follow the simplest of commands, I thought I would let you know about the progress of my latest project, that is if anyone is interested :if)   As you know I model the years prior to the dark day the rail
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Tanks for the Memories (2) - or Tanks a Lot

Well since the last update I have come to realise as few things, some more important than others but the major discoveries are.   1. Modelling time is still incredibly rare. 2. I found my box of tanks wagons and a couple of other things that will remain secret. 3. I think I have a bit of a collecting problem.   My last update highlighted a couple of bargain Shell Electrical Oils wagons I found in a local box shifters, I remembered that I already had maybe 4 or 5 of these and that they were i
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Foster Street - Stock Storage 3, Layout Facia 1, and Dirty Weathering

Well after being at work for a monster 17 hours, not including travelling time (I know what your thinking, it's not one of my ploys to escape the demands of the Domestic Overlord ) my boss said that I could take a day off to recover. So in typical fashion, despite being "dog tired" I could not sleep, so I needed to find something to do to help me maintain my delicate metal state, so I tried to do a couple of little jobs on the layout.   So the first thing I thought I would tackle was the linin
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Foster Street - Naming locomotives - Suggestions Welcome

Well another exhibition, gets dangerously close, and the pressure is mounting to finish off, all of the outstanding jobs on Foster Street. What a sensible modeller would do in my position would be to get on with these jobs, but I don't think I could ever be described as being sensible for anything, let alone modelling, so I have spent a little time on a couple of my on-going locomotive projects.   There is still a lot of work to do on these, but if all goes well the crimson contingent on in th
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Foster Street - (Playing Trains)

Well today I was another year older, so in an anti-celebration mood the Domestic Overlord and I walked (yes actually walked), into our local town to partake of a meagre spot of breakfast, spot the healthy tomato Once we managed to get on the outside of a weeks worth of calories, and still having the use of our legs we managed to walk home, this healthy living is easy. Anyway I set off to the railway room to work on a few of the outstanding jobs that never seem to get finished, and actually m
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9

Foster Street - Where Does All the Time Go

Today's big question Is where does all the time go? I managed to finish work relatively early today, all I had to do was beat the traffic on the motorway. Drive to the bank to get the money for the repairs to the Domestic Overlords Car, park mine close to the garage but not too far away from where we live (halfway).   Then walk (yes actually walk ) to the garage, pay for the repairs then drive the worlds smallest car home (more like wear the car home as its not easy to drive it when your six f
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Foster Street - Saga of Billy Grimes - Went to meet Mickey Mouse came away with a Disiesel

Well in the last couple of days the Domestic Overlord has been very gracious and allowed me a couple of free hours, from duties around the house.   Being unaccustomed to such freedom at first I sat there in the skirt I borrowed, from next doors washing line caked in blue face paint contemplating plans to free other such enslaved modellers and leading a revolt against all the oppressors in the country, and then I thought, sod that I'm going to do some modelling.   So still wearing the skirt (
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9

2 Terriers out of service - but a Jubilee and a pair of Moguls near completion

Well I'm not sure what the active service levels of the Southern Railways Terriers was like, but I bet its better than the activity of our two Terriers. Having suffered the indignity of being woken up from 10 hours overnight sleep to be given a nice breakfast including a cup of milky tea (which is more than I get), the terrible physical demands of eating made them plonk themselves on my knee for a nap. I think this is the result of training from the Domestics Overlord in an attempt to put a sto
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9

Foster Street - Dirty Weather Hits.

Well this morning as I awoke in Price Towers, an almost once in a lifetime thing happened, the weather reports on the TV were actually correct, it was freezing cold.   Still like I told the Domestic Overlord as they lay there apparently shivering, the heating does not go on until we see Penguins marching up and down the streets (and I don't mean Nun's )   Anyway as the Domestic Overlord was apparently suffering from "hyperthermia" I took advantage of the peace and quiet, well once I had clos
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9

Foster Street - Time to Play

Well as Christmas day is rapidly approaching, the usual colds and sniffles have hit the Price mansions and the Domestic Overlord has been hit with the dreaded lurgy   Every cloud has a silver lining though, and it has meant that I can play with my trains, so today I have managed to spend a hour our so just running trains around Foster Street.   While I was doing this I a couple of thoughts hit me, one of which was a little concerning, do I have too much stock? The question raised itself fro
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Foster Street - Ivatt Class 4 Part 5 - Turning a Flying Pig into a Pigs Ear

Well my attempt to create a passable impression of an Ivatt Class 4 (a very vague impression ), sort of ground to a halt, it was not because I lost interest, it was just that I found lots of other things more interesting.   However I was spurred into action because of Ebay, the acquisition of a old Minitrix Ivatt Class 2 in a horrible condition (mint but with a British Railways number and emblem, of the inhumanity)meant I had to get some transfers to get the old girl in a decent livery.   So
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Foster Street - Like unexpected visitors, just what you dont want another project

Well just like unexpected visitors, that turn up, and then never seem to take the hint to go away, or those people you see when your out that you want to avoid with every fibre of your being, that recognise you before you can leg it, well another project has fallen into my lap.   The Domestic Overlord, decided to abandon me today, and leave me alone an innocent in a cruel, cruel world, so once they had buggered off and left me to fiend off legions people knocking at the front door, I decided t
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8

Foster Street - My Name in Paul and I have Problem - OR Private Owners

Hello my name is Paul and I have a problem, well its more of an addiction, I have this uncontrollable habit, it all started with one private owner wagon, and then it led to another, then another, then another...................   Before long, found myself hiding this addiction from friends and family, I would visit my local pusher, had over some cash, and I would be given a small package, that I would nervously hide within my coat, rush home, sneak upstairs to the spare room and with mad aband
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8

Foster Street - HELP I MUST BE ILL

HELP ME I THINK I AM SERIOUSLY ILL - I'm actually contemplating adding a DIESEL to the locomotive roster for Foster Street.   I have a prototype Deltic which occasionally runs through now and again, but it's my trainset and what I say goes (well sort of, Phil - no more Southern)   Of all the projects filling my head, that I really want to start, the one that keeps jumping to the front, is to paint one of those old farish 08 models, black, and produce a lash up of the shunters the LMS had (ev
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8

Foster Street - Time for Another List

Well this time last week, the Domestic Overlord and I were running around trying to get fit the proverbial quart into a pint pot, or more accurately Foster Street into the a Focus.   Well it just about fit and I just about fit behind the steering wheel, anyway a week later, and no modelling has been done, to be honest I needed a bit if a break from it.   However I could not quite break away from it entirely, and I have spent a little time working on a list of the things that either need comp
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Foster Street - Time Flies When Yout Not Getting Much Work Done

Well the weekend finally arrived well at least Saturday did, an I got my long waited for lie in, it was bliss instead of getting up for 4am to get ready for work, I got up at 5am so I could spend a few hours in the office, then I rushed home to escort the Domestic Overlord out on a shopping expedition.   Anyway eventually I managed to get everything completed so I could spend a little time on Foster Street, to try and get it ready before the rapidly approaching deadline.   I had intended to
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Foster Street - All 3 Boards Together (And Another List of Jobs)

Well, rather like Topsy, Forster Street just sort of grew, my original plan was to build the layout from 3 equally sized boards to give a maximum length of 9 feet, however when I visited my friendly timbre merchants, I managed to get boards measuring a total of 10 feet.   Not a problem I thought, they will still fit in the spare room, as its 11.5 feet long, and it gives me a little more railway well what I have come to realise now, is that the 1.5 feet of space between the end of the layout an
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Foster Street - Driverless Locomotives - a Pet Hate

Its official the Domestic Overlord has confirmed that at the grand old age of 38, I am now a "Grumpy Old Man", and I am almost at the stage you can set your watch by one of may rants.   I don't think they are rants just mild essays into the areas of life that are beginning to grind my gears, and can range from the so called "Pull to open" tabs on anything from Ginger nuts to Washing powders which don't actually work, just leave you with a pointless piece of packaging in your hand, and the prod
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Foster Street (Let There Be Light)

Well the good news is this will be a very short update, in fact it will probably take me longer to type this than I have actually spent modelling (I can use multiple fingers - the problem is it multiplies the mistakes )   Anyway I have made a little progress on the streets around Foster Street and as you can see the Street lights are starting to go up, even though with the advantage of the camera (pesky thing) some of them appear not to be totally vertical .   I have even started to add a li
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