stivesnick

Thanks Travis I did find this video on youtube showing a Class 66 with a single wagon from Sleaford to Doncaster so similar moves might still be possible. A great video for anyone worried about the length of modern freight trains! Nick

Hi When I moved to Sleaford at the end of last year, there were two open wagons in the sidings adjacent to the station. I assumed they were crippled wagons removed from a passing aggregates train, although they could be there to move waste materials from the work being done in the area. Over the last few days one of the wagons has been moved to the other siding. This raises two questions, why did it move and how was it moved? Has it been repaired and it was moved to confirm it was fit to operate again? Has Network Rail adopted model railway practice and a big hand has decended from the sky to move it? There have been track machines based in the sidings from time to time, so was this used to move the wagon. Any thoughts on this welcome. Photos show original and current locations. Regards Nick

Some more progress with the car barn. The walls have been put together, the side building and the roof trusses have been added. Progress photo enclosed. Regards Nick

Thanks for this. Photos inside car barns are rare so this is useful. I did think about having an internal crane, but worried how it would work with the overhead wires. I must obvisouly look again at photos to see what actually happened. Nick

Work has started on the car barn for the interurban line. Using Slaters sheet with doors, windows and roof trusses from York Modelmaking. The main doors will be scratchbuilt to allow for the non-existent overhead line to pass through. Progress so far is to crate the main walls and the base for the building to sit on around the tracks. There will be side building that contains the workshop and staff mess facilities. The base allows for a walkway around the building. Progress photos so far. Nick

Neil Forgot to mention - Freight Only Vol 2 by Micheal Rhodes and Paul Shannon has has a lot of London area freight timetable information for Jan 1988. Regards Nick

Hi Neil I have two London area timetables for Oct 87 to May 88: Section PD covers the western main line so includes Action and Southall Yards Section LD covers East Anglia and includes Stratford and Ripple Lane The map with the later timetable suggests that Section YH covers the south end of the East Coast Main line. Hope this is useful. If you are after specifc workings I can check the timetables for these. Regards Nick

Look forward to seeing this at the show later today. Nick

Hi There is a company called Detail Associates who make various parts to add/replace on locomotives. Link to their page on the Walthers web-site: https://www.walthers.com/detail_associates?productListFilters=scale%3AN Scale Regards Nick

Hi Andy The fiddle yard drawing looks great. Is the need for a hinged fiddle yard just for storage or is it for possible transportation as well? With the two parts joined only by the hinges, there could be a bit of sidewards pressure when the traverser is moved. It may be necessary to have some other means for connecting the two parts such as a bolt between the two sections when in the deployed position. Regards Nick

Hi Scenery work around the farm continues. I have painted the backscene (Homebase Twilight Skies sounded about right). I then covered the basic scenery in soaked paper and added some taster pot emulsion when dry. The photos show that the paper did not stick is some places so I will go over with some diluted PVA to try to stick in down. The farm buildings have been finished and stuck down, followed by the first application of scatter materials. Over the years I have collected a large range of different scatter materials. For each area, I then create a cocktail of different material mixed up in a sealable bag. If I remember to label each bag then I can go back and touch up any areas later. Having a fixed layout rather than a exhibition layout, I can no longer tip the board up to see what comes off. Once dry I will brush the area to see what is not stuck down and then carry out local repairs. Extra layers of scatter, fences etc to be added later. For the river, I will put a layer of gravel /rocks on the riverbed followed by some clear resin for the water. Not sure how sealed the riverbed needs to be - any thoughts? Would it be useful to add a layer of filler over the paper? Progress photos enclosed. Nick

Hi There has been no mention of possible freight traffic so far. Freight Only Vol 3 by Michael Roades and Paul Shannon says that in the 1980s, Kings Cross freight terminal was still active with a number of regular freight flows. The freightliner depot closed in 1986. There were daily sand trains in HTV hoppers from Fen Drayton ( 2 x class 31 from memory) they switched to bogie hoppers in the late 1980s and the traffic ended in the early 90s. There was also an oil terminal on the Hertford Branch served from Ripple Lane. There were also Speedlink services from Willesden and Ripple lane that passed through the area. Today freight trains tend to use the Hertford Line as the mainline is very busy, based on the track plan, you may need to run the services up the main line (apart from the oil train). Regards Nick

CM3 models had some suitable trees on sale at the York show this weekend. Around £30 for a pack of 5 fir trees, 250mm high. They look similar to those already on your layout. Link to web-site here: https://cm3models.co.uk/trees-70-c.asp Hope this helps Nick

I find that topics on RMweb tend to fall into two categories. The first with loads of reponses, often from friends, the other with few comments. Don't worry about it. The crane modification looks great. Nick

I have started to assemble some new kits from Walthers including their farm house and barn/silo kits. This has been combined with some buildings from previous layouts to create a farm scene. I may move the buildings closer together to create a larger field behind the farm house for some horses and a small vegtable garden. The silo kit was a bit disappointing as there was no method of loading cattle feed into the silo. You-tube provided a video of a farmer loading up a silo using an tractor driven auger and pipework. Using bits from the scrap box, I made up my own version. I will also need to add a small extension on the end of the barn for a unloading elevator. Link to video here: I have also put in a raised roadbed and created a ditch that runs adjacent to the road. The next step will be to finish off the basic contours using soaked paper. Also to add some cows and fencing to the shopping list for the York show. Progress photos enclosed. Nick