Stevethomas6444

Hello! The news of Hattons closing down has no doubt shocked a majority of the model railway community. The topic has been extensively covered by a lot of people so I won't rabble on! They will be missed and I wish the team all the best. With the sale on I made an impulse purchase of a second-hand Bachmann Class 168. This is well outside my era/area which is usually SE London around 1991-1995 but I do have my reasons, not that I need to justify it! 😂 Back in late 2003/early 2004 I visited the Signal Box Model shop in Rochester shortly after moving to Kent. Back then as a teenager I wasn't set on a specific era/area and I wanted whatever looked appealing. I remember going through the Bachmann catalogue and looked at the Class 168 in the original Chiltern Railways livery, it caught my eye. A few times visiting The Signal Box and it was there just released and I loved the look of it. I had no connection to Chiltern Railways until recently so it was the simple fact that I liked the livery which was reminiscent of the NSE livery in a strange way. It was the model that eventually disappeared from the shops and in my late teens I went off the hobby for a good few years. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when Hattons were having a closing down sale, I spotted the 168 at a decent price and I had to buy it. It arrived quickly and for a 20 year old model it has aged rather well! Now what to do with it? 👀

I've made a start in running the fleet using DCC Concepts rolling road which I've had for a while. Space constraints makes this a very useful tool for running in. First up were the two latest additions, 60015 and 4308 then slowly going through the older stuff which haven't been out of the box in three years. So far so good! I am impressed by the Hornby class 60 with the level of detail and the weight is quite something! One day I would love to run this on a layout with a heavy load behind it. 4308 gets a good running in session with no issues to report. I did notice that it's missing a buffer on the motor carriage. 🤦 Will be sourcing a replacement soon.

Hello! It has certainly been a while since my last post that was all doom and gloom. I was in a dark place from the messy divorce and the legal implications that came with it. I survived two attempts on my own life, looking back I really underestimated how bad things were. Now I'm in a much better position and even gotten into a better career path. The scars are still there but they are healing as time goes on. Taking a break from the hobby has done a world of good for me. It was a big reset that helped me get re-inspired and wanting to build something again. This time round I want to build small dioramas as space is at a premium where I live and truth be told I struggled to enjoy running a layout. I'm making plans for a carriage sidings diorama to showcase the rolling stock. I sold off a lot of the unused coaching stock late last year and used the money to buy the Bachmann 2-HAP unit. It was on my wishlist since it was announced and had it on preorder for quite some time and the delays were frustrating! By the time it hit the shops I cancelled my order because of life events taking over and I could no longer afford it! Fast forward almost 2 years and I managed to purchase one and I was so happy. It's not been run yet due to nothing for it to run on but it will in the future. I've recently purchased a Hornby class 60 as well to hopefully get the fleet list growing once again. It will never be as extensive as it used to be and I'm happy with that. A big fleet for me always meant the need to build bigger layouts and I pushed myself to the point where I was getting frustrated with the hobby. I will slowly add to what I've not sold on and keep things nice and simple. That's all for now! :)

Hello all! Hope you are all keeping well. As usual, it has been a while since last posting on here. The recurring theme has always been losing interest in the hobby followed by regaining it for a short while, I guess it applies to all hobbies. I've hit the buffers well and truly this time due to personal circumstances. My marriage fell apart last November and the situation got really out of hand to the point where the ex got me arrested under false allegations, I was forced out of the house too. Her actions cost me the house, my job and my mental health was blown to pieces all because she lacked rationality and her family added fuel to the fire. Nearly 8 months on things have picked up, got my own place again and returned to my employer, there is still a way to go in regards to my mental health but we'll get there. I had to sell a good chunk of the fleet to get money together and also to get rid of reminders of my ex as she bought me a good number of them as gifts. My interest in the hobby has died off, I have no desire to restart and rebuild a layout but I do enjoy looking at other people's work.

Hello all, It has certainly been a while since I last posted much on here. Work commitments, personal matters and even losing quite a lot of interest in the hobby all played their part. With the current world events, I feel as though it is time to give it another go. This isn't my first layout that carries the name, the first being a APA Box layout from 2013. The more recent venture was from this year with a 2 platform station with a siding much like Caterham station, alas space constraints and the operational headache that it ended up to be put an end to that. The solution to me now is simplicity. I no longer enjoy laying complex trackwork and the headaches that come with faults, as much as I want to have a big layout to showcase my ever growing EMU fleet it is not feasable. This incarnation of Bromley Common will simply be a 1 platform station with a siding, now on to the setting.... Bromley Common is set in its namesake in the sectorisation era, more specifically 1990-1994 when the elderly EPB's were slowly giving way to brand new Networkers as part of the heavy investment of the Kent Link routes. The fictitious line to Bromley Common was part of an ambitious project to extend the Hayes Line to Orpington by the Southern Railway but with many similar plans, they were put on hold indefinitely due to the onset of WW2 and only went as far as Bromley Common. The line had a healthy existence until the 1980's when passenger numbers declined and local bus services increased competition. Despite this, there is the following services: 2tph to/from London Charing Cross via Hayes, Elmers End and Lewisham calling at all stations. This is usually formed of 2 two 2EPB's coupled together. 1tph to/from Addiscombe. An extention of the 'Popper' service that reverses at Elmers End. A single 2EPB and later a 466 would run the service. Peak time AM/PM to/from London Victoria via Elmers End, Lewisham, Nunhead and Denmark Hill. This is usually in the hands of a spare Kent Coast 4VEP unit. A rather ambitious early cross-London trial service to/from Slough via Lewisham, Denmark Hill, Kensington Olympia, Acton Mainline and Ealing Broadway using a brand new Class 166 from the Thames area. This was very short-lived owing to lack of demand at the time. (It's a good excuse to run my 166 ). On top of the passenger services, there is a healthy amount of mail traffic using the surplus MLV units and the sidings do play host to visiting locomotives. Construction has already started, pics will follow shortly!

Railway modelling has been quite an emotional rollercoaster over the past couple of years. So many projects come up then quickly get scrapped. Th problem is that I push myself to build a layout that I have in my head but then I find myself not enjoying it or face an obstacle and that'll be that. I've built some layouts that I am so proud of, Chalk Lane being my first and Leahurst Green being the largest so far, but I feel as though I can't get the motivation to build one from start to finish. The enthusiasm quickly dies off and any project that gets started gets scrapped very quickly. This is the case for a layout that I've been trying to build over the past few months using bits recovered from Leahurst Green and it's been getting nowhere. So the decision has come to take a long break from the hobby, put everything into storage and come back to it when the time is right. A lot of factors have come into this decision: Time, money and motivation - all limited at the moment. Work has taken up a lot of my free time and has done for the past 5 years. Money is limited due to multiple house moves and a wedding to pay off. Motivation is just non-existent, the job has made me tired all the time and I rather focus on other things. Space - or the lack of it! The new house is substantially smaller than the last place, we relocated quickly, perhaps too quickly! This is only a temporary place until we can find a more suitable place, hopefully with a good spare room for a decent sized layout. My mental health - I was diagnosed with depression after losing my job as a trainee signaller, it was quite a big hit and still is after just over a year and my current job as a bus driver doesn't help it either. This plays a big part in why I don't have the get up and go with the hobby and why I get quite irate when things go wrong. In short, I can't keep forcing myself to engage in the hobby as it makes me not enjoy it, The main part of the hobby is enjoyment and if there is none then what is it? I think a break will do me a world of good and I can come back to it with a much better outlook and with some proper motivation! In the meantime, I will enjoy looking at other people's layouts and projects on here and on Twitter, there's no end of fantastic projects that you people have done.

They are Bachmann's Concrete Lamp Posts (44-542) that have been painted and has one light removed. Cheap(ish) and effective

First time in a while that I have decent time off work. I knew going back to bus driving was going to consume my life but not on this scale! Anyway! 2 weeks off and have been making some progress on Leahurst Green Scenic break now in place. This will either be painted or have a backscene fitted in the future. Work is slowly progressing on the carriage shed with one wall now covered with corrugated iron sheets and weathered. Next will be to figure out how to do a pitched roof! The area near the signal box will be a bus parking area for a nearby bus station. Spent today ballasting 70% of the layout, it was a horrible task but it's worthwhile. It is now drying and I hope it sets right. While running the trains last night, I failed to notice a rather large obstruction on the line.......

Slight update on Leahurst Green. Laid and ballasted the abandoned siding, this will look more overgrown in the near future.

I have played with that idea when planning it but I opted for an additional siding as it is based on Addiscombe