alexross42

Maybe not the site that Mallard60022 found but this site has quite a wealth of information and pictures - Old Plymouth

Agreed, that weathering looks spot on and really brings the locos to life.

Called in here for the first time a few days ago and spent a very enjoyable hour browsing through the good variety of stock items and chatting about supply chain logistics issues. Came away with a bag full of varied items at fairly reasonable prices - was less than a 10 minute stroll from the city centre and well worth a visit if you're ever in the area. I spotted a few (s/h?) Bachmann MK1 IC (raspberry ripple) BSKs for <£20 if anyone's on the lookout for some!

The previous two books in this series were really good so I'm looking forward to getting a copy of this, Bernard has a wonderful photographic archive so will be interested to see what particular gems have been chosen for this book.

Called in earlier as was passing and wanted to have a browse as they've currently got 20% off everything except items already discounted and items labelled 'New' (such as the Bachmann mk2f coaches), until 31st Dec. For some items this doesn't make an awful lot of difference as their pricing strategy is quite a bit higher than most other outlets but I did have to resist a Bachmann 47 that was <£100....picked up some useful accessories such as figures, cars, scenics though...oh and an SDR cuddly teddy for Junior to keep him happy!

I didn't realise it had been almost 9 months since my last update to this thread....there seems to have been two main courses of development - enhancing detail throughout the layout and buying too much rolling stock that I don't have the room to run properly! The recent release of Bachmann's (wonderful) MK2Fs have reinforced that latter point even further but at least it's enabled me to move toward recreating a mostly prototypical rake for the late 1980's Plymouth-Penzance loco hauled stopper services that saw a brief spell of service when the new Sprinters were pulled from service to sort a number of issues. Two other areas of development that feel like they've made a difference: Introduction of figures onto the layout. Installation of LegomanBiffo's Class 50 sound chip into 'Ajax'. ​Both of these points have really brought the layout to life, the sounds from the chip in particular are excellent - just missing a little exhaust smoke now! Extension of the layout itself is something I'm very keen to do however it's still waiting for the house move that the wife and I talk about lots but actually are doing little about...and a certain current political/economic situation may dictate that it doesn't happen until late 2019. It does feel like the more I read/learn/absorb/try/retry the more I feel I should have not actually started a layout for about 12 months but just done lots of research first....but I don't think I'd ever quite have the patience! At least when the layout does expand I can apply better techniques to those sections. Some images of more recent developments on the layout: Concrete fencing installed between the factory and the tracks (further finishing touches to follow) The Orange Army helping move things along 50046 waits with the mail, 50002 departs with a stopper service to Plymouth, the Class 101 DMU branch service has been strengthened with the addition of a bubble car... Thanks for looking!

Agreed. I'm planning on replacing the bogies on a MK1 BG with B4 bogies at some point to see if this makes a difference - am I right in thinking this happened in reality to some BGs to enable 100mph running?

A few were asking how they compared to other models; Against the Bachmann MK1 BG (the MK1 still appears slightly too high in my opinion) : Larger view: Against the Bachmann MK2A: Against the Hornby MK2D: Overall it's not too bad but it is a shame that the Bachmann models don't match up more accurately. I would've hoped this was quite an important part of the QA process when producing models all to the same scale.

According to Bernard Mills' book 'Backtracking around Millbay, Saltash & The Tamar' the line was singled in terms of operation on 02nd July 1973, although the track was not actually removed for some time after (at least 2 years).

I used Colletts for the first time last week, ordered a small item from the website and was very pleased with the communication received throughout the whole process. Will definitely use them again and hope to visit them in person in the not-too-distant future. I've used a few model shops in the SW area and so far this one (for me) definitely stands out amongst the rest.

I ordered an item from them earlier in the year but after three weeks of waiting the item hadn’t arrived and I’d had no communication from them. When I phoned they dealt with my enquiry there and then - they stated I should’ve actually received a refund sooner as the item was unavailable but for some reason it hadn’t gone through...within a day it was back in my account. It wasn’t a totally bad experience but it’s enough to put me off ordering from their website again.

Been a while since I posted any updates but the progress continues....the misaligned track was relaid and thankfully runs true to the platform. I managed to track down Hornby's 50046 after almost giving up...I think I searched every online site I could think of, then one just appeared on that well known auction site! Electrics continue to expand, with further point motors being installed...LED lighting will follow soon. And finally, the backdrop has been installed, to cover the unsightly wallpaper - it's now a true deep blue Cornish sky 50002 and 50046 enter the station: Overall view with the new backdrop in situ: The list of things to do keeps increasing though!

Thanks for the heads-up on this, was able to order it online for this much reduced price and am really enjoying it, a lot of information to digest and a very useful resource.

There should be a safelist/exceptions facility within Norton that will allow you to add the Hatton's website (and any others) so that you don't see these types of warnings/blocks in future. One of the earlier screenshots you posted suggested that the website has been submitted for review (by Norton), so presumably this warning page will keep appearing until they've had chance to complete the review and have added it to their centralised database as a trustworthy site. The warning it's generating seems like a default position that the AV adopts until it can be sure that it isn't a potential phishing/scam site.

I received my Blue/Grey 121 last week, it's a great model but stutters a lot and seems to be suffering power drops, which seems a bit more extreme than just running in issues. Twice yesterday it stopped at spots on the layout that other models have no issue with, then I just put my finger on the roof of the model (didn't move it back or forth) and it started running again - I'll do some more running in and track cleaning to see if this improves things, will take a look at the wheels too in case they need cleaning up.

Things don't always go to plan! Despite measuring (twice) I had somehow managed to pin the track at a slight angle - as trains entered the platform they got increasingly closer to the platform edge until the door steps were literally riding along the edging! Great for passengers but not so much for realism.....so with a deep breath and after soaking the glued ballast with water I set to it with some small screwdrivers and a healthy dose of determination. Note to self - check how everything runs at every stage before moving on to the next one!

Progress continues although at an almost glacial pace...much track weathering and ballasting is now underway. Opposite the station entrance a shelter has been constructed at the bus stop: Next steps will be to extend the fencing around the back of the shelter then to fill in the gap between the fence and the track.

The construction team have been in over the past couple of days building pavements, roads and railings. The station building is the wonderful Metcalfe Mainline Station kit, for which I've created some pavements to fit around the front steps using a Scalescenes printable texture sheet (paving slabs) and surplus platform edging stones to make kerbs. Pavements under construction: Station and pavements in situ with road texture: View along the road (another Scalescenes kit) showing the station entrance with the freight line running in from the left - 37671 'Tre Pol And Pen' waits patiently with an engineer's train:

The main section is 12 ft 10 in long and and at it's widest (which is at either end) it's 2 ft 2 in - as there's a chimney breast in the middle this section is reduced to 1 ft. The right angled section on the right-hand end runs along the wall for 7 ft. Hoping one day to extend by quite a bit.....we shall see what happens Thanks for looking!

Your layout's taking shape nicely! I've only recently ventured (back) into modelling but had started to face similar quandries - in the end I decide not to be so harsh on myself and to simply make getting enjoyment out of the layout the top priority because although I want it to be as detailed and realistic/accurate as possible I know that I won't be able to achieve this 100%, so there have to be compromises and there are a number of ways you can achieve this - for example, in your instance running steam could easily be 'excused' as a railtour and there's no reason why your layout can't support an example of 'what if RETB was available earlier than it actually was?' (although a quick scan of Wikipedia suggests it was installed on the WHL from late 1984 so this would fit in with your layout for at least some of its intended time period). I believe modeller's licence is often imperative - Don't worry about what the purists think - unless you are one yourself of course

How far to the west do you plan to extend in the future? The carriage sidings at Wearde which were on Brunel's original route before the 1908 inland deviation was opened have always intrigued/interested me although this may be a little far from the viaduct....however the goods loop before this could certainly be done and perhaps in the reality of your model Defiance Halt never closed? Such potential is what makes the creative possibilities of modelling great!

A recent addition to the rolling stock fleet is a pair of Bachmann MK2 NSE TSO's, however as others have mentioned there's an issue with the seemingly incorrect height of the stock compared with the MK1s, which means when running a mixed rake something looks 'a bit off': To improve this I crafted a rough cardboard shim and inserted this between the bogie and the body, which did make a difference but still not quite enough to fully conceal the disparity in height - this is something I'll have to revisit at a later date though:

A stunning layout on many levels - quite literally! The viaduct looks absolutely spot on, reminds me of a combination of Coombe and Forder viaducts nr. Saltash, Cornwall (apologies if I've missed that this was modeled on a real viaduct?).