manna

G'Day Folks Some railway related to today. The Workbench is taking shape, I started off with a built in wardrobe, with 4 doors, the center two are hanging space, the two outer doors are for shelving, the middle doors have been removed and a frame built, 12 ply was then cut to size (nearly six feet X 600mm) I'm just wondering how long it will take me to fill it ??? My other quandary is, with 7m X 3.8, what to I fill it with, I've done Edgware, now I need a mainline location. I wanted to model Bounds Green, but that won't fit, there's Holme, with the Ramsey branch, or I could do part of the Hertford branch ?? manna

Hi cypherman It probably would, but the windows in the house are very small, the house's are designed to be open, which lets a lot of air in, I have three sets of French doors, one in each of the rooms, when they are all open, there is a cool breeze running through the house, and there's no insulation yet. Luckily the caravan has Air Con, so I can retreat into it to cool off. manna

G'Day Folks Sorry for the long delay in any updates. The Internet is poor out here, I can pick up U Tube, Facebook, but not RMweb, strange, but today I have it. A lot of grass has been cut and burned, a large area is now available for cars and vans, my Brother-in-Law has now arrived and is giving me a helping hand. I've ripped all the old moldy carpet out and taken it to the dump, nice hardwood floors under the old carpet, the main lounge area is 7.1 X 3.8, which will give me a decent model railway, the second bedroom, will become the model workshop, the main bedroom will be the study, I'll continue to live in the caravan for the time being. Timber has been purchased for the workbench, that'll go up in the next few days. I've been up on the roof and patched the hole in the roof and any nail holes in the tin, then it rained, No leaks. slowly covering the side of the building with Cement sheeting, had to wait for a longer ladder to arrive, so I can get to the top, house should be watertight this week. Water has been piped to our two caravans, we're now on 'Mains' water. Also connected the water to a outside tap, after removal of the valve inside the tap we back flushed the water system in the house, again water at all taps in the house and no leaks, that'll get connected soon. manna

G'Day Folks I have a connection, No I'm going to use the main building, 7mtr X 3.8. should make something out of that, might start making a few plans soon. The second bedroom is going to become my Modelling workshop, but for the moment, cutting grass and burning it. manna

G'Day Folks Well it worked out the way I wanted it to. Have found a house on a large block of land (1.5 acres) moved in on Tuesday, I have intermittent Internet at the moment. manna

G'Day Folks All that glass would be a pain, it would get so hot, all the track would melt and rolling stock would warp, bit like the old Tri-Ang coaches 😲 A sympathetic restoration will be on the cards, but with a twist. (Money permitting) manna

G'Day Folks A potato railway, has got to be named 'Chipperfields'............... manna

G'Day Folks Looking at the shape of the house, Potters Bar signal box comes to mind. Maybe not. manna

Hi cypherman Thank you for your morale boosting comment. It's going to be a test of skill and ingenuity. but I'm looking forward to it. Got to get this workbench back on track..... manna

G'Day Paul Totally agree, I'm glad I spent some time and money fitting solar panels , inverter (3,000w) and a 4Kv Generator, can run a Welder now, so a soldering iron won't be a problem. manna

G'Day Folks Personally, I cut my boiler bands from electricians tape, on a glass sheet, never lost one yet. manna

G'Day Chas. Afraid I don't know, but like you I'm going to try and find out. Queensland having a mild/warm/tropical climate, the house's were built very different, they built a frame, then fitted a waterproof tongue and groove lining inside the frame, an outer frame covering was never fitted, as you can see in the 'inside' pictures. In later years somebody has attempted to cover the outside of the house in cement sheeting, which is now falling off. I would say it would date from the 1890's to maybe the 1920's. Here's a couple more pics. Some of the 'Stumps' will need replacing, the front verandah needs a bit of work, I'm attempting to cut the grass, and lastly we have a carport, haven't managed to get to that yet !! No Power, but I do have water! manna

G'Day Folks Thank you micklner, you've made my day. I always thought it arrived to late to have been painted Apple Green with LNER numbers. Now I just have to find a picture of her at the 'Cross'........... manna

G'Day Folks Ya never know, there is so much potential. maybe that 40' long version of Bounds Green. A Hornby LNER A2/3 jumped into my cart today whilst browsing in Hatton's. I can see a name change coming on later. Watling Street, even though I'm sure it never carried LNER livery, a what if. manna

G'Day Folks I seem to recall the the A5 was also used on the Royston stoppers. As for the problems all loco's seem to have on the Hertford flyover, they should have kept the old R1 0-8-2T tank engines, they never stuck. manna

G'Day Folks Interesting journey from SA to Queensland, a sick dog, caused me to spend some unintended $$$, but she's OK now. Queensland is a lot warmer than South Australia at this time of year, which is great as I hate the cold. I've been looking for somewhere to put down roots again, and have finally found somewhere, a small town where I've managed to buy a 'Very' old rundown two bedroomed house on 1.5 acres of land, the grass hasn't been cut in 30 years, and the house has lost a lot of it's outer cladding, but I have ROOM, for the car, caravan and a model railway. I take possession in two weeks, so I'll be setting up the workbench, very shortly, but I'm going to be very busy, trying to make the house habitable again, but I'll be taking time off to finish a few outstanding projects. manna

G'Day Folks So a J6 fitted with a 'Banjo' dome in 1920, would be incorrect ..........even if it was named. Terry. aka manna

G'Day Folks So sorry to hear that news, I've always enjoy Arbroath, it was something different, My Condolences to the Family. 😢 manna

G'Day Folks Yes. Very sorry to see it go. I hope it's not the end of your modelling career.😔 manna

G'Day Folks I take it, the dedicated 'Kaydee' loco will be something like a "Big Boy', to haul the immense tank train !!! manna

G'Day Folks The Claughton is coming on well, never saw one of them, mind you I never saw many GN loco's before they all disappeared. On my way to Northern Queensland at the moment, so no modelling, shouldn't be to to long before I set up the workbench again. manna

G'Day Gents Came on here to have a look at your latest offering, scrolled down to far and to fast, I saw the cotton going through the buffer housing and immediately thought, 'He's making working oil lamps'........that's a first !! manna

G'Day Shaun Buying some land/house, will at least allow me to start another layout, which is sorely missed. Wonderful views of your layout. Congratulations. More power to your elbow. manna

Hi Shaun 25 ft of snow, certainly make a few snowballs out of that lot. A mate has got a block of land here in SA, and if I have a house on a large block of land in Qld, we can travel backwards and forwards, and live in perpetual summer !! Won't ever need to worry about snow.........❄️ manna

G'Day Folks Looking forward to the new boards being covered in tracks, but what happened to all the snow !!!!! I'm making my way to Queensland, to escape the cold weather in South Australia, so no modelling for me for at least another six weeks, might even buy a house up there, at least I'd have somewhere to build a layout. manna