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Afternoon all, Subtle reference to the Fawlty Towers 'The Builders' episode in the title there Little opportunities to do anymore on the FY this week so a splash of grey paint this weekend to keep things moving in the right direction whilst I work out how to resolve the electrical connections. The fascia has been given two coats of grey paint to match the scenic section and the 2FS logos have been positioned - overall I am happy with the composition which I think highlights the sliding tray stronger now due to the letterbox format. I include amongst the pics the join between the scenic and FY boards to show how the shadow gap helps to conceal the join, expressed by the two logos. Next task is to hopefully lay the track to the short connecting roads and get the alignment in place for the sliding tray. Any comments always welcome, Pete Overall... From FY end... From inside... And again... The join... When complete...

How to construct the baseboard? This question seems to be asked on a regular basis. I will describe my own experiences. The woodwork in progress I have used the same basic approach for all three of my ‘big’ layouts. I would say it is my variation of the ‘L’ Girder technique. ’L’ Girder overview according to CJ Freezer I spent some time this weekend searching through old periodicals to see if I could find the original article that inspired me to use the ‘L’ Girder technique. No luck – I think it was a US layout. I did find an article in the Railway Modeller from September 1969 which linked back to an earlier article from October 1966 which I do not have. These articles provide a useful overview of the technique but differ slightly in detail from my own practice. For my basic structure I made ‘L’ girders by screwing and gluing 1x2 inch planed timber to the top of 1x3 inch planed timber to form an inverted ‘L’. PVA provides the bond and a few strategically placed screws provide the clamping action. I have used these sizes of timber to make girders successfully up to 10 ft long. Stash of ‘L’ Girders The ‘L’ Girders are then joined together to form a rigid frame. I form joints between girders by overlapping the 1x2 inch timber from one girder to match a similar sized cutout in the other girder. This can be done at the ends or in the middle to make cross joints. Again I use PVA to form the bond with a screw to provide the clamping action. The rigid frame for the Extension Where the layout completely occupies a room it is possible to hang the whole frame from a 1x2 inch batten screwed to the walls around the room (without the need for legs). ’L’ Girders hung from battens screwed to walls Where the layout is to be free standing I have made legs from 2x2 inch sections. These are both expensive and difficult to cut and latterly I have fabricated supports variously by screwing and gluing 1x2 in sections to 1x3inch sections to form trestles. Girders supported by trestles Support for the railway is provided by 1x2 inch joists screwed and glued across the tops of the ‘L’ Girders. Joist positions are determined from the track layout, not forgetting where you might want point motors! Where the layout is to be flat such as for stations, sidings and depots, and where a continuous sheet of board is preferred, the joists can be equally spaced at say 12 inch centres overlapping the underlying ‘L’ Girders by as much as 6 inches. Adding joists The joists are screwed through the flanges of the ‘L’ Girders from underneath. It makes sense to mark the positions of the joists on top of the flanges and to drill the screw holes from above. Having laid the foundations so to speak the railway ‘board’ can be laid across the joists and any excess material (weight) removed. 1/2 inch medium density fibre board (MDF)running surface Excess MDF removed where tracks or heavy buildings not required At the corners of the room where curved track is required it can be convenient to arrange the joists in a fan shape. Joist positions for curved track – an earlier layout using 1/2 inch chipboard surfacing The real advantage of ‘L’ Girder construction is the techniques ability to support multi levels and tracks with different gradients. Support for multi levels with gradients Instead of screwing the baseboard material directly to the cross joists the track bed is mounted on vertical supports cut from the 1x2 timber sections. Creating supports – early version In the past I would clamp the supports in position before cutting to size, and screwing and gluing using the long face. For the current layout I turned the support through 90 degrees and used a jigsaw to cut a notch at the bottom of the support to locate it onto the joist. Close up of supports located on joist, bonded with PVA, screwed to provide clamping action Using this approach the vertical support can be glued and lightly held in position whilst the clamping screw is tightened, without the need for extra pairs of hands or temporary clamps. It should be noted that the horizontal spacing between supports on adjacent joists has to be greater than the length of your screwdriver plus the size of screw that you are using (otherwise you cannot tighten the screw)! I would usually use ‘Philips’ type screws but where the spacing is very tight I have had to revert to conventional screws that can be tightened with my old short stubby screw driver. For stations and other ‘flat’ areas at high level, I have added cross members (joists) at the higher level supported by pairs of vertical supports from the joists at low level. The two pictures below are essentially the same location. The first shows the vertical supports whilst the second view below shows a ‘dry run’ with the high level boards cut to size prior to laying the storage sidings beneath. Lots of support Dry Run with High Level boards With this form of construction there is no need for continuous heavy framing beneath the higher level boards and hence the clearance between different levels can be kept to the absolute minimum (2 1/2 inches for 00 gauge) to minimise track gradients between levels. In fact at a critical point on a previous layout I stopped the overlying boards short of the underlying track and bridged the space with brown paper. The ‘gap’ of perhaps 2 inches was easily bridged by the overlying Peco Streamline track and I saved a very valuable 1/2 inch in height which went to reduce the ruling gradient. I fixed the MDF baseboards to the vertical supports using PVA and screws. It makes life easier to cut and position the MDF board prior to fixing (a dry run) and to draw round each support with a black marker pen from the underside. The board can then be turned over and the required screw holes drilled from underneath all in one operation. One advantage to this form of construction is the ability to handle rail layouts with curved tracks and adjacent differing up and down gradients. Supports for multi level gradients (FT=from terminus, TT=to terminus, RLD=reversing loop down, RLU=reversing loop up, GWR=exGWR single line, LNWR=exLNWR single line) Since the joists are screwed from beneath, they can in theory be removed and repositioned. This is not something that I have needed to do. I have added extra joists and vertical supports when I have wanted to extend high level station layouts. The vertical supports from the joists can also be removed, all be it using hammer and chisel. This too I have done where gradients did not turn out as hoped. On a positive note, the strength of the PVA joints needs to be seen to be believed and the combination of ’L’ Girders, joists, vertical supports and overlying MDF board makes for a very strong ‘box’ like structure reminiscent of the hollow sections and box girders used in prototype structures. The dust from cutting and drilling Medium Density Fibre Board is considered to be a health hazard. I carried out all major cutting and drilling outside in the fresh air. Prior to layout construction I made 1/2 inch to the foot scale plan of the main boards, which I then cut up with scissors and rearranged in the manner of a jigsaw to see how best economically to cut up the 8x4 sheets. Outside in the fresh air the sheets were laid out on upturned plastic crates, marked out with a back pen and cut out to the required shapes using a jig saw.

While continuing to work on the loco and tender chassis I have started compling the list of modifications that will have to be made to the body for it to represent 2322. As a reult I have been diggin around for information on the Dean Goods. The first point to note is that there were two different widths of footplate. Before 2450 they were narrow, after 2451 they were wider. Having run a ruler over the martin Finney drawings it looks like there is a scale 3 inch difference between wide and narrow, or put it another way only 0.5mm difference on each side. Whether this is enough to make a difference to me I'll have to have a think.... The first major difference to my eye is the arrnagement of the cylinder covers at the front end. This is an unusual arrangement and has caused me to post a question about it on the GWR rolling stock: model and prototype thread: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/92972-dean-goods-locos/ I will also have to replace the front footplate step: Replace the curved reverser included in the High level Kit with a scrtahc build version of the earlier straight version. Also does anyone know what the sloping pipe that can be seen on the boiler side is for? The chimney will have to be replaced with a parallel sided version. The smoke box door will also have to be replaced with something that loos like this: (its not a picture of 2322 but shows the front more clearly than the almost broadside image I have of 2322.) The pipework cover on the left side of the smoke box will also have to be removed and replaced with a single pipe. The final possible modification is to the spectacle plate as there were two different versions, one with a much higher top curve than the one on the Mainline/Hornby model Any info about this higher curved version of the belpaire spectacle plate or more references for pictures of 2322 will be most warmly received! Anyway this list of mods, some involving quite a bit of work might cause me to look afresh for apre 1914 wide footplate belapired boiler Dean Goods to model - any suggestions for a suitable prototype? drduncan

Next up we have representation from the North Staffordshire Railway. The North Staffordshire has always intrigued me. It came into existence due to the railway politics of the 1830's. The planned Grand Junction Railway route through the potteries was diverted via Crewe by agreement with the Manchester & Birmingham Railway in preparation for the creation of the LNWR in 1846. In order to fill the void, funds were raised, significant funds, as the Trent and Mersey canal was bought with a view to filling it in to create the track bed (and conveniently remove the competition). This was never done and the canal can still be seen in use from the train between Stoke and Stafford. The price paid for the canal was in excess of £1 million in 1845! It is also my local line. The trackbed of the Macclesfield - Leek line runs a few hundred metres from my door. Thankfully it still reverberates to the sound of steam thanks to the 10.25 inch gauge Rudyard Lake Steam Railway. www.rlsr.org The main route north-south route from North Rode to Norton Bridge was only about 35 miles but links directly to the LNWR, GWR, GNR, MS&L (GCR if you must...) and the Midland, made the NSR what the Americans would call a bridge line. The Knotty, as the NSR was known (due to its use of the Staffordshire knot symbol) played its role well and remained independent until the 1923 grouping maintaining a constant level of profitability that would make many of its larger rivals jealous. The NSR rolling stock was built by a mixture of external contractors and in-house in its own Stoke works. In many ways it was ahead of its rivals, its wagon designs being larger and higher tonnage from an early time. The wagons here are two 3plk opens of differing side height and a 4 wheeled milk van. All very much a work in progress, the milk van requiring the most. All are built form kits from Meteor models. The open wagons are brass, with white metal castings that require some fettling, some of the castings being a bit rough. The milk van is obviously a resin kit, nicely cast. This will form the milk train into Three Shire's in conjunction with a D46 LNWR refrigerated van that is sat in the kit pile. I need to sort the chassis components and I've lined up the W irons to the sole bar but the axles do not align to the axleboxes, ho hum.... I'll post up an update once the wagons are painted and finished. I'd love to give the Staffy running rights into Three Shires Head, but NSR loco kits are hard to come by. Dragon models do an M class, but that is out of time frame being built in 1907 and would not be used on menial freight tasks. Other NSR kits have been produced but don't appear to be available at present. So if I want some Knotty motive power I'll be scratch building, which is a way off yet as I'm still getting confidence and experience kit building. One of the chief engineers shared a name with me so I'd love to do an type 9 outside cylinder 2-4-0t. I'll stick it on the to build list.........

Back home now after our outing to our local mega-show. After a few comments from other people beforehand I was a bit wary of exhibiting at Warley but really enjoyed it. For sure, the NEC is a huge venue and this brings with it extra aggravation particularly during setup and packing up and for sure it was stacked out with people on Saturday but there is stacks of space behind the layouts and the food is good, even if the queue was a bit long. It was also great to spend some time again with the other 2mm folks. Here are a few 'behind the scenes' photos from Friday. Driving my car into the hall was a new experience. Driving out again we had to drive along one of the main aisles so I got to see Clarendon and Leicester South from a new vantage point. I'm not sure that drive through model railway shows will catch on though although it does solve the rucksack issue. There were white vans too. Especially worrying when they reverse up the aisle . I can't say that I'm a big fan of the lighting. It's not the camera. It really does look like this. Testing testing... oh dear . Friday turned out to be not one of our better days with all of the points on the MPD board refusing to respond to the correct button (or in most cases any button at all). John and Ian spent quite some time with their heads in the control panel. Fortunately they managed to get it working again before we left, although it meant that we were there rather later than we had intended. Not the best start to a show but fortunately things improved from there and the layout was pretty reliable with only fairly minor annoyances during the show itself. This morning a nice man called Mr Waterman interrupted our wheel cleaning to give us a plaque for the best modern image layout. Very pleasing given the standard of layouts at the show so thank you to whoever decides these things. I've posted some pics of other layouts on the show thread... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/85146-warley-at-the-nec-2014-22nd-and-23rd-november/page-8&do=findComment&comment=1675581

I'm just back from a couple of weeks hard holidaying, so I'm hoping to get things moving a little bit at least, over the next few weeks. Whilst away, I used to time to read through the 2mm Association book 'Track - How it Works and How to Model It' several times. Each time, it makes more sense, but also makes me realise the extent of the job I'm taking on... I'm now thinking that I will, despite early resistance, build a very small layout before tackling Middleton, as I want to test a few options. Over the next few days, U'll try to get my thinking together, and summarise what my thoughts are at present.

Having survived the crowds (and cancelled trains), involved in getting to, and getting around Warley show I have a loosely connected (honestly, I didn't mean that as a pun!), mystery. I shall explain. As has become a tradition in these parts, our rail friendly friends came over from Hertfordshire with their little girl and her collection of small push along Thomas toys. Now, these toys have a very interesting feature which I am wondering if there is any use for in our pursuits, but I am at a loss to explain it (short of fatally dismantling one and even I am not cruel enough to do that). Alternatives then are to either buy one myself to destroy or pose the question here. Anyway, feature is that they couple magnetically but - and this is the bit of magic - they will still couple if you turn the wagons around. Now having a rudimentary grasp of physics I know that this is not typical behavior for magnets. They do seem to rattle a bit when you shake them so something is moving around in side the coupling block. Could it be a rectangular magnet that is free to spin about the center (a sort of 'T' arrangement?) so one end will always be able to attract the end of the other magnet? Here are a couple of pics to illustrate - comments (sensible or otherwise!), would be most appreciated.

after the news of Kernows foray into Western Region DMU set,they are now proposing some GWR Steam Railmotor - OO Gauge 5 different 1.All at £149.99.Well they say it comes in 3s

My first Warley Show was excellent. But I am now a poor man! I guess these two statements almost have to go hand in hand. The Shipston Branch benefited enormously, with several significant additions, including a GWR Dukedog which was my impulse buy, a TCS decoder for the 57XX, new wheels and bearings for the Hornby Clerestories, Brassmasters coupling rods for the Midland 3F and various bits and bobs. The various small suppliers at the show were most helpful. Sylmaster provided many items listed on my "to buy" sheet. And in general I found the exhibitors to be friendly and interested in my questions and comments. Thanks, guys! There is no doubt that laser cut kits are part of the future; two companies were showing examples of how high the high end can go. Greenwood Model Railway Products exhibited what are basically laser kit turntables still under development but very close to being ready for market. I calculate that their kit is three times the cost of the Peco kit but since I have now bought three of the latter their cost is competitive. My next turntable will probably be a Greenwood (60 ft vacuum style, please!). The other high end manufacturer is Timbertracks and their engine sheds are fantastic. Unfortunately at the moment they are mainly GWR and not LMS, but the future could open up all sorts of possibilities. Not much evidence of 3D printing (the demonstrator had to call in sick, unfortunately) though I am following this new branch of the hobby through RMweb. I have been following the new product announcements with interest though in all cases they are not likely to be on my wish list. The nearest would be the DJ models/Hattons 14XX/48XX/58XX loco, but I am currently making a Comet/Airfix hybrid and that will be just fine. I understand there are now two different Adams Radials in the works which seems like unfortunate over kill. A Midland 2F 0-6-0 or similar would seem to be of a lot more use to more modelers - numerous built, wide distribution as well as a wide range of liveries. I had not been to the NEC for several years and in the interim a lot of good things have taken place. It is a truly huge but magnificent location and very versatile as well. The cost of food and drink does seem to be high, though. A few photos: Waiting for the door to open: Talyllyn: Warley (NEC) from Talyllyn's cab: Bellerophon:

After an excellent weekend with 'Fen End Pit' at the Southwold exhibition I came back and spent a few more hours on the PC producing the drawings for the roofs and chimneys of the test station building. No matter how hard I try to sort out the angles of hipped roofs by being mathematical I'm always surprised when they fit, more often than not after a bit of 'adjustment'. The chimneys are cut from 1mm MDF and fitted together quite well. I'm less convinced about making 'interlocking' brickwork than I was originally but it seemed the right approach for these as I wanted some strength in them. The built out sections which fit horizontally around the main chimney worked particularly well. The fit will be better once I have the slates and the flashing in place but you get the idea. I also fitted the remaining windows into the building and with these in and roof on I think it is coming together quite nicely. David

Wanted something to use out doors to take pictures on in proper light so I came up with this. This experiment cost next to nothing. A small piece of 9mm ply found in the garage, some spare Hornby set track, some Pva, ash from BBQ. Spread glue on ply and place in BBQ . Spread ash from BBQ liberally over glue. Remove and leave to dry. the glue has dried and the surplus ash has been knocked off and a wagon run over to check nothing fowls. i dont think it looks too bad for an experiment for next to no cost. with a bit of scatter added and some longer grass and weeds it will be just like the real thing. now we have added some green scatter it looks a whole lot more unloved. just some longer grass and weeds to add to finish I have added some Woodland Scenics ballast in places to see how it looks and to replace patches of ash that did not stick too well. With long grass added now must get the backscene sorted.

Update Good afternoon - Various bits of progress this week on the layout, and with 'The Outlaws' just arrived back in town for another week, things may move a little slower during this period. First up, trackwork. The first track laid was to the 'mainline' which is the one that folds up/down to increase/minimise the width of the layout. The sleepers that had been pre-painted in the last entry were laid with easitrac white adhesive (it sets pretty rapidly) and a few brass lost wax sleepers have been positioned at the ends for strength and also for wiring connections between boards - Note to self: remember to run the disc cutter through the brass sleepers to prevent head scratching when the controller shorts... I had wanted to drill small holes in the edges of the brass sleepers to locate some droppers (I think I recall Bryn doing this and it was very neat) but the holes I drilled were too small and so I reverted to turning the sleepers upside down and trying to solder in the small preformed holes beneath the chairs Of course, having tinned the base, once I turned it over, I realised all the solder had flooded and closed up the chairs so that was one sixpack of those trashed...so I will have a rethink on that... Secondly, the platform base was formed generating said bay. This has been built from 1mm white card and I am not sure how I will develop this. I normally use wet n dry on the surface, but this time I was tempted to use the scalescenes platform download as I can also use the brick bases...have used them for my sons 4mm layout but did find they seem to delaminate after a while...again, need to rethink that... The track was then laid for the bay platform road as above and this time a few holes were predrilled beneath so positioned for the wire droppers. By chance in the rummage box I managed to find a 'Cockrobin' 2 aspect signal that must be over 20+ years old so I positioned it to see how it looks. This is only a placeholder, as Matt from Absolute Aspects is making two signals at present, but it's not bad for its age...I recall at the time it was quite a breakthrough as most N signals had been grain o wheat bulbs and these were bright LED's. Not sure if it still works as I have lost the instructions. I am no electrician, but there's a green wire and a red wire...which I'm pretty sure I know what they relate too ...but the Blue one Must be the power...but I can't remember if it was 12vDC or other...seem to remember a resistor in the mix too...sorry, am rambling now... Lastly, I marked out positions for the canopy, which on the prototype seems to cover only half of the platform in the bay. This suits me, as the layout was conceived so that this would sit on one platform half once folded in the boxfile. The canopy has a pretty decorative awning too (Thanks for the pic Nick) and probably the best way to deal with this would be an etch. Trouble is, will I get my act together to draw it in CAD and see whether any other modellers have spare space on their etches to get it fabricated in time for the exhibition? The legs and support structure will be Evergreen I-section and to check on heights for the roof I have mocked up a small test canopy framework. Using an oblique pic of the awning found on the web, I scaled it and printed and have attached it to the ends of the test canopy...as you will see from the pics, it all fits nicely...so all those drunken sketches done at high altitude working out dimensions seem to have paid off to date. In other news, some more rolling stock arrived from Hattons today, including a nice rake of Bachfar Seacow/sealions, some TTA's and parcels stock. I will save this for another update perhaps once they have been weathered etc. Lastly, after reading that interesting thread running at present on layout names, I thought I had better adjust the name of the layout to Paddock Wood Bay (in a boxfile) as after all, as with Kyle was, its only an extract of the place, which I hope conveys the location and I don't want peeps to arrive at the exhibition to see Paddock Wood and expect to see a four track mainline with two bays, freight sidings etc etc So Paddock Wood Bay it is from now on. Enough of this waffle...a few pics to better demonstrate... EDIT: Thanks to Kris, I now have a copy of the wiring instructions for the signal - FYI, The power is 12v DC and the blue wire runs through a resistor to the negative and the positive connects to the chosen switch. Overall shot showing progress... a few predrilled holes...as I normally forget to do this... With 4CEP in the bay platform... SR rail built buffers and track components have been ordered to complete this... The Cockrobin 2mm signal... And with the 4CEP... Plan view in the box folded back... Signal and canopy sit just within size constraints...