stivesnick

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

Jeremy I would be tempted to contact York Modelmaking - they do a bespoke laser cutting service. I have used their windows and doors in layouts and find them better than 3D printed items. Nick

Hi "An Illustrated History of the East Suffolk Railway" by John Brodribb (Oxford Publishing Co) has lots of pictures of Lowestoft Station. There are also pictures of various railtours including 55015 at Lowestoft on 3/9/78 and 40004 on 24/7/83. As Class 40 were used on the Great Eastern Main Line out of Liverpool Street it is possible they could have reached Lowestoft in the 1960s but by 1980 they had long gone from the route. They were used on the Harwich Boat Trains from the north west so could have made it on other routes. Given that most trains would have reversed at Norwich, more local motive power would have been used on the final leg to Lowestoft. I don't recall seeing many Class 45 on passenger trains in the region during the 1980s. They could often been seen at March Depot having worked freight trains. Regards Nick

The April 24 issue of Continental Modeller features a layout based on the story of Noah's Ark complete with narrow gauge railway to help deliver the animals and their food supplies. Does this count as the ultimate Era 1 layout? Nick

Some work on the scenery by the river over the last few days. I have a supply of thin polystyrene sheet once used as packaging. I also have some 5mm foam sheeting brought from The Works. The foam sheet has been used to fill in the gaps between the baseboard frame. It creates much less mess than the polystyrene. The overall effect is that the ground level rises from 10mm below track level to around 25mm above it. The flat area at the front will become a farm and associated fields. Progress photos enclosed. Regards Nick

Hi I managed to find another (hand drawn) signal box diagram. Hope this helps Nick

Hi Andy The items are called knockdown fittings are available at any DIY/hardware store. They come in packs of 4 or 10 and are around 50p per item. They come with a screw fixing, although the units are a tight fit, so using the screw is not always required. I used thin MDF for the backscene as it is more ridgid that hardboard. You will need to glue a thin piece of wood to the MDF to enable you to screw the male part of the fixing to the backscene (unless you are happy for the screw to poke through the MDF). The female part is screwed to the main baseboard. I used these on the removable backscene entrance to the fiddle yard and as a portable exhibition layout had good access for installation. For fixing these to a backscene where access behind the backscene is difficult I think the squence is as follows: 1. With the two parts joined together, fix the male section to the backscene ensuring that the bottom of the female part is flush with the bottom of the backscene. 2. With the backscene laid flat on the baseboard, mark out where the female part needs to go. Fix the female connector to the baseboard and hopefully it will line up. Photos enclosed - hope this makes sense. Nick

Robert Back to your original question. If you are worried about access to the track at the back of the layout, then make the backscene removable to enable you to clean the track from time to time. I use the plastic two part shelf connectors available from DIY shops. One part is fixed to the baseboard, the other to the backscene it self. Regards Nick

Hi Daniel I think the plan has great potential. A couple of things to keep an eye out for. The reach across the board to and stock at the coal mine or even filling up the coal hopper if you intend to load the wagons. I would also try to extend the passing siding in the town if possible. Ideally the mine would have a spur for deliveries of equipment and other supplies, perhaps off the run round loop. Although the two sets of tracks are seperate, you could use a cassette system to allow coal trains to move from one level to another. Regards Nick

One of the problems with model trees is that they are made as standalone trees. When trees are in a group, they tend to expand to fill out all the available space to get the maximum amount of light. If you look at a group of trees from some distance, the top of the canopy is usually a smooth continious line. On previous layouts, I have used trees from the model tree shop. They make trees that are more box like so when in a group fit more tightly together. I enjoyed seeing thelayout at the Mansfield show recently, I looked great and good luck with the changes. Nick

Yes at the Abingdon Show a few weeks back there were two layouts next to each other of Abingdon Station, one in O and the other in OO. Very intresting to compare the two and how they had slighly different approaches to fitting the layout in the space available. There is also a pair of Swiss Layouts on the circuit by the same builder, with the layouts set in differnt eras. This is more of an issue. If someone starts off with a layout based on a particular place, this is then copied and modified slightly a number of times until the result is something very un-railwaylike without the builder being aware of it. Bascially, model whatever you want but be aware of what you are doing. Regards Nick

A great idea and very tempted to do something similar in N, especially as just found that Kato do a Metra 3 car and loco box set. Also spent some time on google maps following the many railway lines in the area. The bridge you have looks spot on. If anyone does have a 60 x 40 foot space there is a nice bit of 6 track main line and extensive railway yards nearby to this site! Nick

Hi Dawn Great video. The points raised reminds me of the discussion we used to have at work in getting more women interested in engineering. According to the Engineering Council, around 16% of engineering jobs were held by women in 2022 up from 10% in 2010. You can see it is a long process even we we were able to send young engineers into schools to tell them about the industry. If only you could find a member of the England women's football team who was interested in model railways.... Regards Nick

Congratulations on getting the signalling working over the weekend. Perhaps there are some lessons for Network Rail engineers to learn! Were the signals connected back to and controlled by the dispatcher and was there an agreed signal spacing to allow trains of a particular length to operate? Regards Nick