Thom

The empty coal train still needs to be detailed to early BR period and heavily weathered. The Bachmann LMS 10000 was just trundling around so I could see how it ran. Wish I could turn the cab lights off but still analog here. Overview of Hogsmeade Station area.

Added some videos on Youtube. IMG 2072 IMG 2073 IMG 2077 IMG 2079 IMG 2084 IMG 2088 IMG 2096

I have my laptop as well as my iPhone set to British English. The voice on my iPhone is also set to a British accent voice.

Hornby made it clear that locomotives would be available to buy, at a discount, I believe, for reviewers, so no mystery there.

Looks awesome!

Hmmm... I could have the main characters waiting at the entrance like they did sometimes and even once at the station. Which, by the way, was the same station used in Dad's Army for the Royal Train visit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weybourne_railway_station

Last night I decided to finally do the Hi-De-Hi cameo on Angloshire since I just finished watching the complete series from the boxed set I bought. (I now just started watching the complete 'You Rang, M'Lord' series.) I had originally thought of using a holiday camp bus like one of the ones used on the TV series but decided that was way too ambiguous. So, since they used Warner's Holiday Camp for filming I decided to recreate the entrance to Maplin's Holiday Camp. I could also add it without any major changes to what I already had. It's placement is not ideal but I think it works. I still need to redo the backscene to look like a holiday camp, but at least it is in place for now. Also, the shadow will not be there at shows. The second image is before I added the correct size sign but shows the arch pretty good. I used left over card from Metcalfe viaduct kits, glued them together before using a band saw to cut it, then separated the bottom back up and glued it that way using Loctite. I then sprayed with a stucco effect paint before painting the correct colors. Now if I could just get what looks like Christmas lights around the sign... To all you fellow modelers out there... Hi-De-Hi!

I have lots of things preordered but use a dedicated card/ bank account for such purposes. I keep a minimum amout in that account and that way I can never be charged from that account unless I transfer money into it. That way, when the seller goes to charge my card when an item comes into stock, I can see if I want to add anything to the order at that time or even cancel the order. I have also canceled orders before the item came into stock, so yes, one can always cancel a preorder at any time until they actually charge your card for it.

After not doing much for a while I recently picked up a bunch of used wagons on eBay and got a few new ones, along with some I already had, to make a mixed goods train of 30 wagons. All of my goods wagons have knuckle couplers on as well, now. As soon as I can figure out where to do it I will be uploading some videos. Some vans are not quite totally correct for my time period but I wanted them anyway. This old Triang/Hornby one that I had was one I wanted to use so I did some research and then did some chopping and detailed and weathered it. These ferry vans were introduced in 1961 so I'm pushing it by using it. One of two old Wrenn banana vans I had that I weathered. It's not up to today's standards but weathered it is passable at a distance. I knew from the beginning I wanted several banana vans in the train. The milk train is a static display and I will eventually change the V1 for a Q1. A lowmac I had and two new lowfits with old military vehicles headed to a museum or somewhere. I added the wheel chocks but still need to add cables to hold the vehicles. Thomas is now better detailed and weathered and they all have knuckle couplers. This is the Bachmann version with moving eyes. More accurate then the Hornby model, as well, especially the coaches. Sodor Mail is Hornby which is more accurate then the Bachmann model. Normally the mail van will not be attached while running. My next project is weathering a coal train for my early BR Beyer Garratt plus I still have to finish the access bridge that I built.

They are available at Rails on their web site.

I subscribed and get every issue sent to me. Ok, actually sent to my friend in Bromley since I am in the States, so I have not actually seen any of the 31 locos that I bought and I have waiting for me in the UK. All the postings have been great for me to read even though I will just be putting mine on shelves. Anyway, according to my friend who is graciously collecting them for me in his small flat, along with the 31 locos there are also 3 more that came, a Ty5 1947, a F40PH 1976 Amtrak, and a Seria 1200 1961 (Portuguese). I am told two of them area smaller scale. Does anyone know anything about these other locos and why I got them?

I spoke with the folks at 0844 472 5244 Great British Locomotives this morning and they told me there will be a total of 50 but they did not have the names of the final ones yet. Feel free to ring them to check it out.

It was great chatting with you, as well, William. I really felt like I was visiting friends this time up and had a great time in Brampton. By the way, my car died Saturday evening on my way into Toronto. (Timing belt went.) I had to stay in Toronto til Monday morning and then towed my car back to Allentown.

To answer your question, second radius is 17 1/4".

To answer your suggestions, first off I have a very limited space for cameos. Second, I went with shows and places that I felt were the most recognisable, or that I persnally liked since it is my layout, and/or that people or things were already made comercially. From Heartbeat I have Aidnsfield Arms and the garage and that is plenty for that show. I do have Del Boy's Reliant next to the garage. Thomas and Harry Potter are main themes on my layout but besides them any others are very limited, as one can tell.

Leaving the show I parked my car next to this 1:1 scale model hopper car outside. The weathering and graffiti were very realistic looking. I wish I could do that well on my models. At the show I bought some model trees for a great price and also a brand new HO Proto 1000 RDC-3 railcar in Reading Company livery. That is the only train I remember riding in my late teens, although in SEPTA livery by that time. I had been wanting one for some time and at $45 it was too good a price to pass up.

The Bachmann stand had all their North American Thomas range on display as well as things from their other lines. Cool crane on the far left of the first picture. Tom and I got to talk to the person who is in charge of the whole Thomas range and was very knowledgeable to talk with. Doug, if you get to read this, it was great talking with you. By the way, they were handing out free catalogs.

This past weekend I went to a train show in Edison, NJ, and got to meet up with my ex-pat friend, Tom Burns. North American shows are considerably different from UK shows and there were only a few very large club layouts. This first club layout is based on old Reading Railroad location in South Eastern PA. I grew up near Reading and so this is a favorite of mine. The last picture shows a current view of an intersection near Reading. I grew up in Pottstown and now live in Allentown so I know that intersection.

After bringing Angloshire home from the show the other week I finally got around to setting it up, but I so dreaded having to crawl under it every time to get into the fiddle yard that I decided to build a lift bridge so I can simply walk into the center. I knew it would be tricky since I would be crossing two sections that are not solidly connected like most are, so getting the track to line up might be a problem. Fortunately it worked out great and the track lines up perfectly. The first two pics show the module circled that I will be replacing while it is set up at home and what that module looks like when it's in place. I will scenic this lift gate module in time, but it will be rather simple since there has to be room for the hinges and for it actually opening. The left side bolts to the other module as does the support for the lifting section on the other side. The whole layout is bolted together rather tightly so the scenic modules on both sides line up perfectly and really can't move out of line. While the rest of the baseboards are framed out with 1x3s with 1/2" styrofoam on top, I needed to use 1/2" plywood here for it to be rigid. I used 1x3s for supports. At this point the lift section leans against the scenics on the other module, that will be corrected so it cannot stay upright. That way it will be impossible to accidently leave it open. The first train, a DMU, crossing the module. The track overlaps the bridge itself so it rests on the viaduct when lining up with the viaduct track. I have brass wipers extending from each track rail on the viaduct that push up on the track on the lift bridge when it is in place and that keeps the electrical current running on to the track on the lift bridge from the right side. On the other side of the lift bridge I used fishplates with wires connecting the track to the track on the short 4" section with then has connecting track to the main layout. The final pic shows the 'show module', as I now call it, sitting on the floor next to the new lift bridge module. I will keep the show module stored back out of the way and just use it at shows. Crawling under the layout at shows I can deal with. lol

That would seem it was simply a good business move on their part.

I've wanted Royal Mail in BR Express Blue ever since I saw an old Wrenn model.

This is the second year at this show and the reception was great just like last year. Actually probably better this year. The organizers were very keen on having me last year when I told them it was British and they even made room for me at the last minute. While most modelers in the States are not interested in international trains, I have never felt any negativity about it from anyone. Whenever there were groups of people passing by I was always able to draw people in with the cameos and had crowds around it quite a bit. I was actually surprised that there were even some who knew about Dad's Army! I even got to talk with some people who actually model some British trains. So, while there were not hoards of people interested in British Railways per se, there were lots who enjoyed it and learned about it, as well. Definately more people crowded around my layout then the very detailed circus layout or the other HO layout next to mine. I don't have any current plans for any future shows. I do want to do the major one in Timonium, MD, (near Baltimore,) but am waiting for them to give me more info and dates. Of course I will be doing the 2016 Great British Train Show in Brampton, near Toronto, but beyond that one, anything more then a couple hours away is cost prohibitive for me since I have to rent a truck every time. Thank you for the kind comments about the layout. As for postage, I don't find the postage bad when buying from the UK. There are some retailers who charge very high shipping prices, but Hatton's is not one of them. Everything I get from Hatton's comes with a comercial invoice enclosed with no prices listed and they always ship in small boxes so even if you are spending £1000 it will be in several packages so paying duty is never an issue. Richard, I did not run the Garrett. Until I get a coal train to run behind it I decided to just leave it at home. I really didn't have much time to switch trains, anyway, during the day. You definately would have enjoyed the show, though. Here is a local paper's coverage of the show. http://photos.lehighvalleylive.com/4424/gallery/allentown_fairgrounds_hosts_sp/index.html#/0

These are just some pictures taken on Sunday with some views I cannot get when it is set up at home. While I did have a better location this year, I also did not have the space to put up rope barriers so I had to keep the plexiglas in front of the Tovis Valley module. This is the first show where I got to run different trains throught the day, especially Thomas when some little kid would ask. That was always a pleasure to do. Once again, at this show, I was able to draw people into looking at the layout by calling their attention to cameos. I couldn't even count how many time people were just walking by but I was able to get them to walk around and see the whole layout. Proof that it is the scenics that attracts so many people who have no interest in railways, in spite of being at a train show. The Midland Pullman crossing the Tovis Valley Viaduct. An ex-GWR railcar, W23W, coming out from the fiddle yard. The town of Great Waterton. The module with the track going to the fiddle yard. 46245 'City of London' crossing Tovis Valley from an angle I could never get at home. Thomas coming off the viaduct heading towrds Hogsmeade Station. 30051 M7 class on a pull push service with an additional traling coach.

This past weekend I did the bi-annual Allentown Train Meet which is only a few blocks from my house, but people come from all over the region because of what can be found here. The weather was pretty bad but the attendance was still pretty good. This is not a typical train show since it is almost all selling with a few layouts thrown in for good measure. There is never anything British to be found here. The first two pictures are of my layout. I was here last year but this year had a much better location. The next three pictures are of a highly detailed HO circus layout that is here once a year as well. This guy built it so it all folds up into the trailer you see and then he pulls that trailer ouside into a regular trailer to transport it. The pictures do not do it justice. The last three show the selling area. As much antique toy trains as second hand and new ones.

Thanx, Richard. I used a total of 19. They are not glued down yet so I can move some if need be.