tony.carnell

A really interesting and informative article. Plenty of food for thought there. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us lesser mortals!

Again, a great big thank you to everyone for their advice. It all helps to further enlighten the newbie (and also muddy the waters at the same time!) Those links you gave were particularly useful Northroader. There's some damn fine modelling going on out there! All the best, Tony.

Right, now I've got some time to myself I'll sit down and read through all the really useful comments you guys have given me 5.5mm scale - that's a new one on me Keith! The buildings and scenery are definitely something I'm looking forward to creating. If I'm honest the running of trains is secondary to creating the scene and the little details that roots the layout and makes it 'sing'. I'll check out the links you provide - much appreciated Thanks Jason. Actually I've already got that book, but your comment has provoked me into digging it out again! Yes, I've seen a lot of OO9 layouts in the modelling press and at exhibitions. I remember seeing County Gate a few years ago at EXPONG and was totally blown away by it. The more I think about the scale though, the more I'm drawn to 7mm or larger. It's the finer details I'll really enjoy adding, and I'm not sure my eyesight will permit me to work in a smaller scale! Just done that Kevin I did a search for the book and it was available on Oxfam's site, so I've bought a useful and informative book and helped out a charity - double win! Wow, I love the detail you can get with those 16mm models, but I'm wondering if it's just too big for a small layout? Definitely food for thought though and I'll dig a bit deeper into the scale. That's essentially what I was thinking of, just a small layout to get me into the swing of it. Not too daunting as a newbie project! I like some of those Smallbrook Studio kits. More food for thought there! I have looked at the Black Dog Mining Co kits before. They do look interesting, but I too remember reading somewhere recently that their availability is in question, although if they're still available to order on the website one would think those concerns may be unfounded. I bought RailModeller Pro for my Mac some time ago because someone recommended it. It's pretty powerful and I have tinkered with it in the past. I'll undoubtedly revisit it when I've come to a decision on which scale/gauge to go for. That's not 'off the wall' at all - it's sound advice I have visited the site in the past, but as you say it's a cornucopia of ideas. I'll head over there again once I've sent this post! Radio control is also something I've read about recently. As you say it completely eliminates track power issues. Certainly something to think about, but I would imagine it's not really practical in anything other than the larger scales? I forgot that I had already joined NGRM online some years back. I'll head over there and make an introductory post. I actually was a member some years ago. I let my membership lapse in February 2013 (he says consulting his back issues of Narrow Lines!) when life decided to throw me one of its curve balls. Rejoining is definitely on my to-do list. I'll have to check my busy social calendar (he says with tongue firmly in cheek) and see if I can make this years exhibition. It's good to hear that the size of locos in O9 isn't a problem, it's definitely one of the front runners in my mind at the moment. If I remember the writer of the piece I was referring to was commenting that most of the figures to fit in the locos were white metal and as such tended to raise the centre of gravity and make them more unstable. -- Well you guys have excelled yourselves in giving me so much homework to carry out! Thanks so much for all your help and advice. Tony.

Wow, all I can say is a massive thanks for all your sage advice guys! There's a lot there to ruminate on, and when I've done that I may be back to pick your collective brains further! Thanks again for your cumulative help. Tony.

Hi, For some considerable time now I've been toying with building a narrow gauge model railway, but being essentially a newbie to the hobby I thought I'd ask for advice on what I'm sure is a large and complex topic. Ok, a bit of background... The last input I had in building a model railway was when I was young (pre-teen) with my father. The layout was N gauge and since neither of us really knew what we were doing it was riddled with electrical issues, and as a consequence its running was flaky at best, non-existent at worst, and so didn't commence much beyond the bare baseboard with a couple of card buildings, and some patchy crude scenery. The remnants of this (mis)adventure now languishes in a cardboard box in our loft (see attached photo). Since then I've been an armchair railway modeller off-and-on but as I have now entered by fifth decade, and with retirement now appearing as a faint glimmer on the horizon, the desire to build something has returned. So what do I want to build?... The layout needs to be compact, so that I can easily store it (possibly on a shelf) and move it around, so I guess a micro or cameo sized layout would be best. I appreciate that many very fine minimum space layouts have been built to standard gauge, but narrow gauge has appealed to me for some time now, and lately industrial narrow gauge has particularly piqued my interest. I think it’s the griminess and the slight air of dereliction and neglect that is often inherent with this type of railway that has captured my imagination. As far as scale is concerned, I’m thinking 7mm, although I’m not fixated on it. I like the increased level of detail that can be incorporated into this scale, especially when taking into consideration my ageing eyes, and when married to a narrow gauge subject a reasonably interesting layout should be possible in a reasonable size. Now we turn to the gauge to model in. There’s O-16.5, which I believe is the most popular narrow gauge because it uses OO ready made track, but would the pointwork for this gauge be non-prototypical for an industrial themed layout? For some time I was thinking of O14 because I was drawn to KB Scale’s range of industrial trackwork and rolling stock, but I understand the owner of the company is currently struggling to find the time to devote to the venture, and of course everything would have to be hand built, so perhaps for now (and considering my newbie status) this will have to be relegated to the back burner. Then there’s O9, which again employs ready made track; N. This has an appeal because of its space saving potential, and also the fact that I’ve got the remnants of track from my youth, but I have read that rolling stock can be top heavy due to the 9mm gauge, and therefore be more prone to derailments. Having listed these gauges, I’m not really married to any of them, so please feel free to offer your own thoughts on the subject, after all the purpose of this post is so elicit useful advice and information from those forum members who are far more experienced and knowledgeable than I am! Finally, where do I start?… In common with the majority of people who are new or returning to the hobby after a number of years, I’m keen to get track laid and trains running, but should I instead concentrate on building my skills, possibly by constructing a couple of items of rolling stock, or a building? That makes sense to me, taking small steps at first and building confidence, but does it risk my becoming disheartened if it doesn’t seem to go well and abandon the whole venture as a result? I wouldn’t say I was fickle, but I’d be lying…! Well this first post is getting long, so I’ll leave it there for now. If you have any thoughts, questions, advice or information that you think useful, please let me know. Here’s hoping this is the start of a wonderful new adventure! All the best, Tony.

Hi all, I'm aiming to scratch build some buildings using foam board as the carcass. I want to remove the paper from the outer skin of the board so that I can press/stamp detail into it, but I recently bought some board from my local Hobby Craft shop and found the paper is nigh on impossible to remove - even soaking it doesn't help much (plus I only want to remove the paper from one side, so wetting the board isn't ideal). The board is labelled Westfoam and is 5mm thick. I have read elsewhere that all foam board isn't the same, and some allow easy paper removal and have a finer foam density to give a better finish, so I'm wondering if anyone has any buying advice about foam board, and in particular the brands that allow easier paper removal. Thanks in advance for any help and advice. All the best, Tony.