Steve1900

Very nice indeed, has a 'busy' atmosphere about it and I've always liked layouts with a dock or canal. I totally agree with your earlier comments regarding the smaller plastic couplers - I just don't like them. All my stock has the older Hornby metal X171 couplers fitted. With the X171's being metal, I use one wagon as a height guide and slightly bend them all to match and they work perfectly. I have a US inglenook but have decided to make a small British OO one and by coincidence the board I've made is 4' x 10". Just trying to decide whether to make it a country scene or an industrial one - may even include a small station as an excuse to run couple of 4-wheel coaches. Also just bought my first static grass applicator and was very impressed at the results so I'm leaning towards the country setting as an excuse to use it. Can I ask how those Pecketts run? They get good reviews for their running so may invest in one. Best runner I have at the moment is the Model Rail sentinel which is silky slow, perfect for shunting and just needs those tiny couplings changing. Regards Steve

Paula - thanks for the confirmation, I'm just pleased to find a wider Hornby coupling available as it seems they get narrower - and more frail - with every new edition. I tend to buy the older Bachmann Branchline rolling stock at trade fairs as the metal couplings are a simple replacement. John - Good idea with drilling the buffer beams. I could use a guitar string - probably a .016 'G' which when painted black would be almost invisible. I was going to make a paperclip loop if all else failed but this would be easier to fit. DCB - A great idea for making a shank. The X171's take solder very well. Could also make one from thick plastic which should also be sufficient as the loco will only ever pull a few wagons. . Funnily enough, I have a couple of HGLR 16mm locos and thought of putting X171's on them or making my own sightly larger version. Thanks to all for the input Steve

Thanks David. That may be exactly what I'm looking for as I can live with a plastic bar as long as it's wide enough for the arm of the X171 metal coupling to easily catch onto. I've also found a review where someone uses this coupling so it will work with their older Triang stock so it must be okay. Might even be able to cut off the plastic bar and attach a complete X171 to it. Thanks for the help, much appreciated. Steve

Hi all, Recently bought a 00 sentinel shunter from Model Rail and it's a superbly smooth and slow runner. However, all my British 00 locos and stock are fitted with the metal Hornby X171 / X8025 couplings and I'd like to fit them to this loco too. Yes, these couplings are big but I've always liked them as, once bent to a uniform height, they're very reliable.. plus I do like the 'clunk' sound of the arms engaging. :) Being a newish model, the Sentinel has NEM pockets so I'm asking if there's a commercial 'shank' I can use to fit the X171 coupling too then just clip it into the NEM socket. This would let me refit the original small coupling if I ever wanted to sell the loco. I'm quite prepared to make the conversion permanent though and will sort something out myself but was just wondering if there was a suitable NEM 'shaft' available or if anyone else has already done this conversion. Don't think photos are showing on the site yet but a Google search will show the loco and couplings if anyone hasn't seen them before. Thanks Steve

This looks so much better - now we have a reason for cars to be there. Made with 1/16" card and foamboard internal reinforcing and given a couple of coats of white primer. Windows are leftovers from Metcalfe cardboard kits, as is the skylight. Few more pipe and vent details to add.. and I definitely need some sort of interior pic to paste onto that back wall. There's a lone figure on the loading platform but too dark to see him..at least he'll have a quiet day Steve

Thanks for the nice words guys. I don't have much space for a layout anyway but even if I did I think I'd still go for the minimal look - seen a nice shelf plan that uses 3 sides of a room but only has 4 turnouts so has long sidings which I think looks better than loads of short ones. One change I am going to make to this little layout is to add some low relief warehouse entrances at the right side, as if 2 of the tracks were going in. That end looks a little bare at the moment (see pic 6) as there's nowhere in theory to load and unload anything. Lack of planning at the start by me! I have some bits of foamboard left so will knock something up. Couple of mock-up pics which I think will work - paint the interior matt black or even use the old 'mirror' trick to make it look like there's cars inside. Perhaps I can even find a good perspective interior photo from the 'net to use.

Thanks Rich, should look better once all the details get added. ...and thanks for not mentioning that telegraph pole next to the bridge, the wires would stop pedestrians walking across it. I planted it before I planned it lol.

What a beautiful and atmospheric little layout, definitely one of the best Inglenooks I've ever seen, I could imagine myself walking round it and being eyed suspiciously as a stranger by the locals Well done indeed. Steve

Hi all, Been a member here for a while but this is the first post I've made - and it's not very original, just another Inglenook (though personally I think you can't have enough of this type of entertaining, cheap and quick-to-build layout). 60" x 12" with a 36" twin-track storage cassette (not shown) which fits on one end and allows a 3-car train to leave the main board and a different train to enter, which I find more fun that just rearranging the same layout-bound cars between the spots all the time. It's nice to send box cars out and then tanker or grain cars come in. Baseboard is 1" x .5" wood with artboard as a top surface - used because there was nothing else I could obtain. Track is Peco code 75 using 2 medium radius turnouts and less than 3 yards of track, laid on 1/16" cork and ballasted with Woodland Scenics fine stone. Backscene from thin MDF and buildings from foamboard covered with thin card and plastic windows from old kits. Vehicles are from my local Poundland shop - the fork lift truck is a very good model as it fits into the scene well. There's always a lot of space where the lead track is and I was going to put some buildings there but decided to model a highway along the length of the layout instead. This has the advantages of no buildings at the front blocking the view and it also makes the layout look a lot longer than it is. Road is cereal box card, grey acrylic and a wipe with lead pencil dust to simulate oil in the lanes. Roadbridge is artboard, balsa, foamboard and pencils for the pillars. There's something very relaxing about watching a train slowly going under a bridge and vanishing to an imaginary destination, or seeing one emerge. Detailing is what's needed now - lots of it; industrial signs, road signs, relay boxes, signals, light poles,rubbish lying about and the many other things that complete a picture. Should keep me going for a while. It's been a very enjoyable little layout to build and operates faultlessly (another advantage of the simple Inglenook) Regards to all Steve

A lot of satisfying modelling contained in such a small layout - I'm impressed! Many years ago I had a similar 009 layout in a box, which opened out flat and had openings cut through the hinged sides to allow half an oval in each side - gave a bigger run though of course there was nowhere to store the stock as in your layout. Still have some 009 stock and may well build another one of these days. ...you've got room to store 20 more wagons in that lid, get building Regards Steve

I remember 'Polpendra' in the RM. I kept the pages for future reference as I thought the scenery was excellent and the whole layout very believable. Some layouts you can imagine yourself walking round the station and yard and there doesn't need to be anything running to hold your attention. If I do build a small British N layout it will be along the same lines.. and I'll probably blatantly rip-off scenes from Polpendra Steve

I'm sure you'll be very happy with them, Simon. If this is your first purchase from UM you'll get a surprise at the weight of the boxes; these are no lightweight locos! Once you see the great paint job you might not want to touch them at all Steve

Get your order sent off Lloyd, you won't regret it Was at my Dad's today and saw his new D16/3 - he wanted the LNER green one - and what a beauty it is. I don't know who does the painting and lettering on these locos but it's absolutely first class. It's not a full matt finish which would show finger marks but neither is it a satin finish either. It's somewhere in between and it looks superb, as do my Dad's other UM locos. I don't have a camera good enough to take a picture that would really do it justice. I model American HO and N gauge but am starting to quite fancy a small British-outline N layout now.

I sent off the order and cheque for my Dad's D16/3, posted lunchtime on Wednesday. Loco arrived today (Saturday). Excellent service from Colin. Steve

Hello Lloyd There's a price list and address posted in this thread here, dated March this year so it should be the current address. Scroll down a bit and you'll see it. http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=16508.45 My dad has a few of these engines and we're both very impressed with their running qualities - and their weight too. Steve