NeilHB
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Posts posted by NeilHB
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On 12/05/2023 at 10:42, RedgateModels said:
Hi Neil, I too have seen your layout in BRM, would you bring it to the Mansfield Show next March - 2nd & 3rd?
Thanks very much for the invite, but unfortunately two day shows are a no for me. I can only commit to one day at a weekend sadly.
On 12/05/2023 at 14:07, JustinDean said:Hi Neil, and thanks! You’re added to the list.
Theres quite a variety of lovely stuff on the ever expanding layout list. This bodes very well.
Jay
Thanks Jay, much appreciated. It’s in the diary and I’m very much looking forward to it.-
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Hi Jay,
@Mike Bellamy mentioned this to me in our virtual pub meeting earlier this evening. I’m local in Derby and would be happy to come along and bring Elsbridge (7mm standard gauge) if there’s room please.
Cheers,
Neil
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1 hour ago, Ruston said:
Elsbridge is looking very good in the June BRM. Well done, Neil.
Thanks Dave, much appreciated.
21 minutes ago, DLT said:Lovely work Neil,
Have you tried adding the nuts from small cubes of plasticard? Saves all that drilling and fitting. I chopped bits of the end of 20thou square microstrip and applied them with tweezers or a sharp point, and Mekpak. You get pretty quick at it, and you can move them if you get them in the wrong place.
All the best,
Dave.
Thanks Dave, I hadn’t thought of that before tbh. I’ve drilled all the holes out in the wagon shortly after the last update, but haven’t managed to progress since then. There’s a few more wagons to build once I’ve got over the current chest infection (back to back ones since Easter unfortunately), so I’ll try that out when I build them. I really do like that cattle van, and may have to build something of a similar design for the tramway.
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Very much looking forward to seeing this one come together Rob, looks like it will be another cracking layout.
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I’m pretty certain that there was footage posted on t’interweb of the prototype RTR Ruston 48DS running. Hopefully it does get picked up in due course by a kind soul as I’d very much like one (or two!).
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That dumb buffered open with outside framing is delightful, quite delightful! Looks just like the sort of wagon my tramway would have acquired third or fourth hand 😁
What are the origins of it please?
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Very much looking forward to seeing the 7mm stuff progressing! Re where to locate said 7mm updates, my vote would be to either carry on in this thread, or post a new one in the 7mm scale section.
You may find it easier in 7mm scale to have separate loco and wagon cassettes due to the length of trains you want to run, as this will help to avoid any unnecessary disasters should the unimaginable happen. The cassettes I use for Elsbridge are only 550mm between gates (loco and 3 wagons), and I still managed to drop a full one of them on the floor 😭
With the ABS wagon kit I’d suggest replacing the buffers supplied in the kit with those from either Slaters or Haywood, others may be able to get those supplied in the kit to work satisfactorily, but I find them a very odd and cumbersome design.
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Some cracking progress on the layout Schooner, it’s looking great.
For me I think option 3 for the placement of the coal merchants hut feels like the right one.
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A very quick and easy wagon build undertaken today. Having assembled the chassis frame sometime ago (as part of the last batch build of wagons), I figured I really ought to build a body for it.
The plan had always been to replace the coal merchants wagon with a standard ETCo designed 4-plank open, and this has now been achieved:
The bodywork has been assembled, all that remains is to drill hundreds of holes and add the plastic rod to represent bolt heads etc. That can wait till tomorrow though - to get to this point only took a couple of hours in total.
All three ETCo 4-plank opens - livestock wagon, open and coal merchants private owner.
Still need to build a few more ETCo wagons though. I think a couple more 3-plank opens, and another van or two should do for the time being.
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Hope you’re on the mend soon Northroader, best wishes for a speedy and full recovery.
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WSR No.1 ‘Thorkell’ has been borrowed by the tramway company to cover for a loco failure:
Seen here arriving with one of the latest acquisitions, a rather nice pre-built cattle van that I picked up at Kettering for a very good price.
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Thanks Rob, much appreciated. The MBR grass mats look rather good and I think should work quite nicely in 7mm.
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Superb photos Rob, particularly the last one with the brambles.
What have you used to make those please? They are very convincing.
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On 13/03/2023 at 20:02, AY Mod said:
It should be the June issue to tie in with your June outing at the 7mm NGA bash.
Lovely to spend the morning with you and the modelling is superb;'very impressed!
Thanks Andy. It was a most enjoyable morning.
14 hours ago, Mike Bellamy said:. . . . . . . and Oscar and Rupert - I know how much they enjoy meeting visitors 🤣
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Haha Andy escaped meeting the hounds as they were banished downstairs! Rupert made his feelings known though loud and clear 🤣
All quiet in the yard tonight, the last down tram of the day has departed and the gate has been closed:
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Thanks Nearholmer, that was one of the most satisfying bits of the layout to do.
The buildings will get weathered eventually, however the directive from tramway management was to ensure that all tramway owned buildings were in a presentable for today to enable a visit by a Mr A York of BRM to take place…
Not one of Andy’s superb photos, but one of mine from earlier today of ‘Godred’ in the platform road whilst running round.
I’ll keep you all posted as to which issue of BRM Elsbridge will be appearing in.
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A good day today getting a lots of part-finished jobs completed, and a few more details added to the layout.
I picked up a set of enamel signs at Kettering last weekend so I’ve been adding some of the more suitable ones to the layout. I rather like this view down the back siding towards the buffers and the stable block in the distance.
A couple more signs added to this end of the layout too.
The tram locos have now been adjourned with suitable crew.
All interchange thanks to brass wire in their feet and holes drilled in the footplates in various locations.
I do love this view looking down the layout.
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Still here and still plodding on, lots of little jobs being ticked off on Elsbridge over the last month or so, so here’s a couple of photos to show you all:
Looks like spring has sprung as the flowers are out.
A dose of weed killer is clearly needed in the platform road.
“Oh darn it, I’ve missed the last down tram of the day!”
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23 hours ago, rob D2 said:
I’d follow it up. I placed an order through eBay a week ago, and got my goods fairly quickly.
Anyone had experience of sticking plastic brick card to the MDF ? In which case what glue did you use ?
Im impressed by the look of these . A fair price answer to buildings , easy to convert , and not much time consuming scratchbuikding
I’ve not had issues with delivery from them, stuff ordered usually arrives in a week at the latest.
I used woodglue to stick the plastic sheet to mine which worked fine.
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Thanks for buying them off me Alec - good to see you've taken the plunge into 7mm scale! I'll see if I can find the wheels/axleboxes for the Lambourn carriage, I suspect they may have ended up in a different box somewhere in the train room. FYI the kit was from Steam and Things in Australia, sadly they appear to have stopped kit production now which is a shame as they'd done an interesting selection of quirky prototypes.
Motor/gearbox wise it may be worth talking to Andy at Ragstone about, as he'll know what's suitable for it.
As John's mentioned above, 422 Modelmaking is definitely worth looking at, he does a lovely range of resin building and coach parts for 7mm standard gauge (I've used a few kits/bits of his on Elsbridge).
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9 hours ago, Annie said:
On the GER's light railways coaches were often fitted with smaller wheels to make them more accessible to passengers from low platforms.
Thanks Annie, I think that’s settled it then.
There is a reference in the companies minutes to the “Acquisition of a pair of three compartment All-Thirds, modifications required to enable them to be suitable for tramway requirements” - I’d merely assumed the addition of a second set of lower footboards and longer grab-rails.
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No.3 ‘Gerda’ is up and running again, for some reason the motor had stuck just enough to prevent it from turning. A quick adjustment with digital power (ie a finger) and it was soon sorted.
What you can’t see is that I only did the lining on the ends and one side on Friday, so I’ve still got the other side to line out in due course.
Hmm, there’s an obstruction in the way! The body of one of the new 3-compartment All-Thirds got assembled at lunchtime today. It’s only slightly about 10mm shorter than the tramcars, so fits in nicely with the other stock in terms of size. Still trying to determine if they were fitted with 2’6” or 3’1” wheels, so I think some further deliberation is required.
Four skirted maids of work are we…
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Thanks Ade for posting the photos, good to see you again yesterday and lovely to meet Lez too.
The unnamed layouts were:
On3 Brymston Railroad (Paul Martin)
O-16.5 Trengarw Builders Yard (Alex Bingley)
O-16.5 Wheal Ponder (Andrew Young)
O-14 King Edward Street (Simon Jones).
There was a lot of midnight oil burnt in the last week, and I’m utterly knackered now, but it was so worth it! We had our best modelling day yet, with nearly 120 visitors through the door (three times the number of last years do). The 10kg of bacon that Mike had ordered ran out (despite ordering more than previous years), so a mad dash to Tesco’s was required to buy more (just like usual then!) and then we ran out of cake (clearly more needed for next year). We had a bloody good day though and ended it with a very tasty curry at the Sunar Gow in Hatton.
I spent most of the day playing with the layout and talking to folks, so didn’t get much of a chance to have a wander round until well into the afternoon, so only managed to grab a few snaps of Elsbridge.
ETCo Nos.1 and 2 did most of the work yesterday, with a couple of visits from the WSR’s K class and Terrier locos. The Terrier is definitely on the big side for Elsbridge though, even though it isn’t exactly a large loco! ETCo No.3 decided to not play ball, so was banished to the stock box for the day (it making all the right noises, but not actually moving so further inspection is needed), annoying though as I’d finished lining her out on Friday night at 10pm so she was ready for the show…
No.1 ‘Godred’ shunting the rear siding.
No.2 ‘Sigrid’ arrives with a mixed tram.
No.2 ‘Sigrid’ takes water whilst running round the last tram of the day.
An overall view of the layout.
A lovely visitor to the layout in the last few minutes of the show was Wantage No.5 ‘Jane’, which had been built by Paul Holmes, and was temporarily fitted with DCC so she could come for a spin.
I must give thanks to all the exhibitors yesterday and to my fellow Trent Valley group members, and particularly to Andrew’s wife Liz, my mum Leigh, Mike’s wife Mary and Mike himself for running the kitchen which kept us all well supplied with food and drink throughout the day. And to my husband Dan who came and manned the door for us during the morning rush.
I was quite restrained with my spending, and only acquired a couple of necessary items.
A further trio of Caledonian dumb buffered pig iron wagons from Phil at Port Wynnstay, which will get finished in Ulfstead Mining Company livery. One day I’ll get round to building a micro-layout based on the lead mines at Toryreck:
From Andrew at 422 Modelmaking a set of packing cases to dot around the layout, and two sets of carriage sides to make a model of the pair of dinky standard gauge coaches that the tramway company acquired third-hand in the late 1890s:
They were very small and rather cute! It’s known that they carried an all over blue livery, rather than the usual blue and white tramway colours, however history hasn’t recorded if the tramway fitted them with its usual 2’6” wheels, so further consultation of old photographs will be required.A couple of photos from late on Friday afternoon of the progress made:
The house and shop are now complete, and just need the roof and interiors painting before they get fixed down. The Farmers Cooperative Society needs a fence along the rear of the loading dock, and then some clutter adding and grass for the track.
The water tower and yard office are both finished and fixed down, I just need to encourage the tree to grow some leaves now. The cattle dock has been painted too, and just needs some suitable occupants.
The goods shed and coal merchants office have both been finished bar some signs etc. and I just need some goods to go in the goods shed now. The stables just needs the roof painting and then it can be glued down. The parcels lock up just needs the red paint touching up in a couple of places and the public facing side painting, and the train shed needs its roof sorting. I still need to finish adding greenery to the back siding too.
I also need to sort out some new mounting points for the lights.
Mostly little jobs now, which hopefully won’t take too long to do. I do need to sort out some figures and a couple of horse drawn vehicles too that are suitable for the late Victorian/early Edwardian period which is the main time period that I’m modelling. The omnibus, lorry and tractor will all be suitable for the later 1920s period.
I got captured by the husband whilst playing trains just before opening time. Not quite visible is WSR No.1 ‘Thorkell’ shunting the WSR milk van.-
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Alrighty folks - the Trent Valley Area Groups 2023 Modelling Day is this Saturday!
We've got the following confirmed attendees:
Layouts:
Elsbridge Town - 7mm Standard Gauge (Neil Blair)
King Edward Street - O14 (Simon Jones)
Whiteoak Light Railway - O-16.5 (Allen Law)
Wheal Ponder - O-16.5 (Andrew Young)
The Basin - O-16.5 (Dave Marriott/West Midlands Area Group)
Kinver Light Railway demonstration/info - O-24.5 (Kevin Hughes)
Brymston RR - On3 (Paul Martin)
Trengarw Builders Yard - O-16.5 (Alex Bingley)
Black Drake Wharf - 7mm Standard Gauge (Phil Traxson)
Trade:
EDM Models
7mmNGA Modelling Goods
422 ModelMaking
Iconic Rail
Port Wynnstay
GLR Model Railways
Demo:
Building Association Slate Waggon Kits (Adrian Gray)
Building Construction (David Wright)
7mm Scale Trams (Ian Thompson)
We've also got lots of tasty treats lined up for you with cakes a-plenty, so we're very much looking forward to seeing you all on Saturday 28th January, at Our Lady of Lourdes Church Hall, Mickleover, Derby, DE3 9GE. We're open from 10am to 4pm, and its £5 per adult to get in.
We may even have a surprise in store for those of you that remember our Henmore Dale Light Railway...
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Not long to go at all now folks - it's this coming Saturday!
A few last minute confirmations to add:
Layouts:
Trengarw Builders Yard - O-16.5 (Alex Bingley)
Black Drake Wharf - 7mm Standard Gauge (Phil Traxson)
Trade:
GLR Model Railways
Demo:
Building Construction (David Wright)
Which means the full list of attendees is:
Layouts:
Elsbridge Town - 7mm Standard Gauge (Neil Blair)
King Edward Street - O14 (Simon Jones)
Whiteoak Light Railway - O-16.5 (Allen Law)
Wheal Ponder - O-16.5 (Andrew Young)
The Basin - O-16.5 (Dave Marriott/West Midlands Area Group)
Kinver Light Railway demonstration/info - O-24.5 (Kevin Hughes)
Brymston RR - On3 (Paul Martin)
Trengarw Builders Yard - O-16.5 (Alex Bingley)
Black Drake Wharf - 7mm Standard Gauge (Phil Traxson)
Trade:
EDM Models
7mmNGA Modelling Goods
422 ModelMaking
Iconic Rail
Port Wynnstay
GLR Model Railways
Demo:
Building Association Slate Waggon Kits (Adrian Gray)
Building Construction (David Wright)
7mm Scale Trams (Ian Thompson)
There may also be a surprise in store for those of you that remember our Henmore Dale Light Railway...
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Elsbridge Tramway Company: Elsbridge Town - NeilHB's layout
in 7mm+ modelling
Posted
A very sensible decision Dave! Next time I build some wagons requiring black ironwork I’ll give that method a try.