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I really ought to start a seperate blog for this project, but for fear of duplication I'll stick to this one for now. So the large scale bug has well and truly bitten - so much so that I'm sat here contemplating selling some of my OO stock to make it pay it's way - however, in the short term at least I'm all spent up having no more disposable/savings before my birthday in August. So what's been happening in the last few weeks? It all started with the repainting of my LGB 2-axle coaches into a representation of Zillertalbahn coaches which I mentioned last time. The full description on how this was done is on G-scale central. I've since acquired some new bits and pieces - these workshop characters are perfect for my new engine shed (the plans of which are drawn up ready for construction to start). The station characters were picked by my daughter - and no doubt are the start of a small collection of people to populate her carriage. These seem quite good value for money from Bachmann Scenecraft at about £7 a pair. The big acquisition is this classic LGB U-tank. These are no longer made by the company and this is an example that was still made by LGB In the old factory in West Germany - and is brand new in the box. Lovely! It's not got the fine detail of some of the more recent releases, or the Bachmann US models, but it has a bunchful of character. The U-tanks were synonomous with Austrian narrow gauge with several examples still operating today on the preserved OGEG and Zillertalbahn. 298.56 itself is operated by Club 760. So what next? Next is building construction and now the U-tank has arrived I've got the dimensions for the engine shed for the EJ&KLR - following that will be a small station building. These will be fabricated from various sizes of MDF and weatherproofed - although they will not 'live' permanently in the garden. I'm going to base them on a sort of European/English hybrid as the EJ&KLR is in my mind, a UK based preserved railway inspired by the Welshpool and Llanfair. I'd like to build a second rake of coaching stock in the summer, but it's more important to make sure we've got the civil engineering aspects ready for the spring and so any spare cash will be diverted that way. So I hope sharing this stuff with you all is interesting? Questions comments etc welcome as usual. I've found this quite liberating, working in a large scale with no previous experience. The physical size and weight of the stuff is really intoxicating - it feels really heavy and real, and makes the 4mm stuff feel tiny. Working on the Class 58 last night felt SO fiddily in comparison. I would recommend it though, trying something new, something different to your usual modelling - be that prototype, scale, steam/diesel - it's refreshing and helps polish the skills you learn - everything is transferrable. In this case I can't wait to get all this out in the garden this summer!

James, I'm really beginning to see the attraction in this.... really getting the kids engaged and being able to play in the garden when the sun shines (even in Macc )... watching the trains go by.... hmmm, a cool beer in hand. Sounds great! I hope that the permanent way work outside proves fruitfull and fun. But don't give up on OO yet James ... I still hope to see that 58 and 66 , which I'm sure will be fantastic B) . Watching with interest... as always

Leith Central was an enigma amongst sheds. That suffix, 'H' - allocated late and following on from a certain legendary Waverley route shed, Hawick. The facility itself, adapted from a white elephant terminus station eclipsed by Edinburgh's tram and bus network. A premises whose relics survived closure by many years, achieving secondary 'fame' in TV and film. Enough for now, that chapter of industrial and social history has been told elsewhere, we can return to it here at leisure. Main line diesels available to the Edinburgh South division have been dissected on the 64B blog, here I turn the spotlight on the substantial DMU allocation, and in this first snapshot, the inter-urban fleet of Metro-Cammell triples, later Class 101. The period concerned is the Waverley's twilight years, 1966-69. Thirteen sets were allocated to 64H as follows: 51465 + 59563 + 51535 51466 + 59564 + 51536 51467 + 59565 + 51537 51468 + 59566 + 51538 51469 + 59567 + 51539 51470 + 59568 + 51540 51795 + 59686 + 51802 51796 + 59687 + 51803 51797 + 59688 + 51804 51798 + 59689 + 51805 51799 + 59690 + 51806 51800 + 59691 + 51807 51801 + 59692 + 51808 by March 1974, the units were still operating in the Central Belt, only by now the first half dozen at Eastfield (4) and Dundee (2). The latter batch of seven were still in Edinburgh, having transferred to the by now better appointed DMU facility at Haymarket. This grainy legend purports to be 64H: http://www.edinphoto...tral_deltic.jpg Amazing what you find out, the following detail is so epic I may have to link to the Waverley images thread. I think I need a drink... Supported by this: "Moving on to a photo on the site of 'Deltic' at Leith Central I have a little more info on that. The loco in the photo is in fact the prototype of the Deltic class and that came into service with British Rail in 1955. It did not appear on the Edinburgh area until 1959 when it spent five days of testing on the Waverley route. It was then diagrammed to work the East Coast Main Line (ECML) alongside the A4 Pacific steam locos." This is added gen from Napier chronicles: 8th June 1959: L/E Carlisle - Edinburgh (via Waverley route), then to 64H 18th June 1959: L/E Edinburgh - Carlisle (via Waverley route) And on that bombshell, even Jeremy Clarkson becomes a Waverley Route enthusiast...