SD85

1995 Central Hall exhibition. I think it may have been the last one held at that venue. Was 9 years old at the time and persuaded my mother to take me and a friend there. Went mainly for the MRC layout New Annington which had featured in the magazines at the time and which I remember being pretty impressive. I still have the show guide somewhere.

Went yesterday. First time I have been to York and it was definitely worth the journey. Thanks to everyone for putting it on. Was also nice to meet up and have a chat with Jerry and Gordon Gravett who was doing tree making demos. Definitely not a box shifter show in terms of traders but it was a good thing to have something different to offer in that area. I was drawn to the bigger layouts this time. Grantham was fun to watch but South Pelaw was as expected amazing. Definitely one of the best layouts on the circuit, because it's not just amazingly detailed and well done but it works flawlessly. Very well worth attending.

I went along today for the afternoon. Newchapel Junction really is great to watch. Seen it many times but it's always so impressive because something is always on the move, it's fully signalled and well operated and it runs absolutely flawlessly which is the key to exhibiting successfully. Harton Gill was good, not seen that before. Most ingenious layout though had to be the US harbour one where the fiddle yard was the train ferry which would move on and offstage with its load.

A newly tooled 8F is one of the most obvious steam outline locomotives for any manufacturer to produce IMO and it's just bizarre that no one seems to be contemplating it. The current Hornby model is 20 years old and decent enough but is rarely in the catalogue and as noted above has its issues. I was wondering if Hornby were going to retool it after doing the 9F and the Black 5s but nothing has been announced so far.

I don't understand why Bachmann seem to have given up on producing any new steam locomotives (not counting commissions for retailers etc like the Caledonain 812). Surely there are still some gaps in the market which can be filled? The main one is the 8F. Hornby's model is getting long in the tooth and is only rarely in the catalogue these days. Bachmann make the 9F, the Super D, the SDJR 7F, the Robinson 04, and the WD 2-8-0. It's surely a no brainer to put a new tooled 8F in alongside those and complete the range of heavy freight locomotives.

What do people use for their workbenches and could anyone recommend me a decent sturdy table which is relatively lightweight that I can use for modelling on? Looking to upgrade to a larger workbench/table but not sure where to get one. Thanks.

I went to the last MRC exhibition (I think?) in Central London. As I understand it that exhibition essentially was replaced by the London Festival of Railway Modelling. Do the MRC still mainly organise it or are there other parties involved? If so then could something like Warley continue in the same way so that the onus of organising the entire exhibition is not reliant on one club? Warley MRC have done brilliantly over the years to put on such a large scale show but it was probably likely that the issues they cite were going to come to a head sooner or later. Is there another way of organising a show on such a scale that can navigate round this? Thanks to Warley for putting the show on anyway, glad I got to attend it during the last two years.

A member of my club brought along the same model to our last running session and had the same problem. The loco did not like going over a standard Peco double slip. It did run well otherwise but seemed to be much more sensitive to pointwork than other models. For the record we run a system between sheds to a timetable with bell codes etc. and some of the trackwork was laid down a while ago, but the double slip in question seems reasonably well laid and caused no problem for the other stock that was running.

Could you please provide a link to the DJH news as I can find no evidence of this having looked around online. Thanks.

Personally I would say that not encouraging your grandson into the hobby would make your closing thoughts a self fulfilling prophecy.

Electrostar - not even available in kit form AFAIK. 4-CIG - seemingly every 60s third rail EMU has been produced but not this one, and if you want to the model the Brighton line after 1965 these are an absolute necessity. U Class - the main gap in Southern Region steam power, admittedly not easy to tool as there were several variations in design and detail. 8F - Hornby's model is 20 years old or so and only appears in the range sporadically. They strangely recently chose not to retool it on its latest release. I'm very surprised that no other manufacturer has considered making one, surely it would be an obvious contender for Bachmann to do as they produce a lot of other heavy freight locomotives. Would like to see a Z Class in RTR but they had a very limited use in real life in terms of their range of duties and were only based in a few locations.

Does anyone remember Cold Harbour Lane? A NE based shed scene that turned up in RM in about 1998.

The lack of any resources to model the Brighton main line in RTR post about 1920 is one of the more annoying aspects of the hobby. Seemingly every RTR 1960s third rail EMU has been produced but not the 4-CIG which was the mainstay of Brighton line traffic for decades. Electrostars aren't even available in kit form AFAIK and though the tooling options are complex due to the variations it is still surprising that at least one variant hasn't been produced yet.

Many thanks to @DLT for letting me operate the layout at Warley last weekend; it was really fun and is good layout to observe and run.

South Pelaw? I had a good day yesterday, thanks to @DLT for letting me operate Bridport Town in the afternoon, was fun to do so.

I recently paid a visit to the Greenlane and Hillside Railway which is an extensive 0 gauge system with a focus on operation and timetables. It was the focus of a book that came out about 30 years ago called 'The Living Model Railway'. The system is based in the attic and eaves of a large house. It runs on stud central contact via pick up skates with some centre rail used in the storage sidings. It also features interlocking of signals and points. The road has to be set and correctly signalled for the controller to work. The whole set up is fascinating but sadly it is not currently wholly operational. The sections in the eaves require crawling on one's belly to reach them and I got the general impression that the owner of the railway and his operating team are all getting on in age and find access to those areas difficult. Running is therefore concentrated in the main room which consists of a large terminus station with through tracks to parcels and goods depots, carriage sidings and another station at one end. In the other direction the tracks go into a tight spiral which serves several stations and then diverges into the sections in the eaves. A branch line is also situated on this section above the main lines. There was also a narrow gauge system running alongside the main line set up but this was never used fully on a regular basis according to the owner as the main line required too much attention to operate. The tracks are still there however. I had hoped to attend an operating session but it was just myself and the owner there. At its height the system required 14 operators to run but I think the number has dwindled somewhat over the years and as a result operating sessions are not always as regular as they could be. I moved a few locos around the yard and spent most of the day taking photos of the system because apart from the aforementioned book and some older articles in magazines there is not a lot of information or pictures out there documenting the railway. It is an enormously impressive set up and at its full operating capacity must be quite something to witness. The owner's father established the railway in 1921 and it has been in its present location since 1945. Some of the trackwork dates from the 1930s. This is a railway that is old school to the nines - bomber panel toggle switches, mechanical signalling in areas, and I think some of the block instruments are actual full size ones. It isn't finescale but it gets the character of the real thing and replicates the complexity of operating it. Very reminiscent of the famous Sherwood Section in places (indeed there is an LMS BG on there which originally came from Sherwood). It is a real labour of love and the owner has ideas about getting the local council to preserve it as a museum piece in the future but quite how they would get it out of its current location is a puzzle. The owner is a friendly guy with some interesting stories relating to the local area and the railway. His father knew people high up in the local railway operations division and several quite prestigious people visited the layout in the past including Robert Riddles whom the owner met when a youngster. Many of the regular operators of the system down the years had interesting backgrounds and connections to railway history as well. Overall a very enjoyable and fascinating visit. I took a lot of photographs and if I get the owner's permission I may post some here eventually.

Yeah it's in the current catalogue, but I think it hadn't been in the range for some time prior to that. I still don't understand why no other manufacturer has bothered to make one. One of the most numerous British heavy freight classes, surely there should be some demand for a super detailed model, just as Hornby certainly thought that it was worth their while making a 9F to outdo Bachmann's offering.

Johnster's original post mentioning the Hornby Dublo 8F makes some good points. Obviously given that it's a model that was introduced in the 1950s it has certain compromises, but it gets the character of the real thing in a way that the subsequent Hornby models never seemed to. It just has this certain weight and power to it (probably being made of metal helps, an appropriate construction method for a heavy freight engine). I actually think it's still the best RTR 8F so far, and it also manages to replicate the pulling power of the prototype. Rather surprised TBH that someone like Bachmann or one of the more niche manufacturers haven't produced their own version as the lack of the regular appearance of the more modern Hornby version in the catalogue over the years has surely left a gap in the market. As it is, if you want a decent RTR 8F the best option is arguably to get an HD/Wrenn example and rewheel it (and if you have the confidence to replace the valve gear with something of finer detail). Just rewheeling can really bring the appearance up a lot. I'd also like to nominate the Class 20 for the other truly great Dublo loco; a very good representation of the prototype. Still undecided on the HD rebuilt West Country - it almost works but the compromises are a bit too hard to ignore compared to the 8F. Triang's L1 deserves a mention too, despite the reuse of the 3F tender.

Some suggestions, maybe not all of them practical, but worth a try.... 1) Electrostar units. The lack of any manufacturer to produce one (even just focusing on one of the sub classes) over the last 20 years is nothing short of baffling. These units are used widely all over the SE and arguably if you want to model the SE/London railway scene you need at least a couple. 2) 4-CIG. Most 1960s EMUs seem to have been produced, but not this one. This is a personal choice as I have fond memories of travelling on them back in the 90s/00s. The aforementioned lack of an Electrostar model combined with the lack of a 4-CIG means that it is virtually impossible to model the Brighton line after 1965 without kit or scratch building. 3) 8F. Definitely a possibility in terms of potential sales etc. Hornby's current model is not often in the range and their decision not to retool it on its reintroduction recently was just odd. 4) U Class. The SR steam scene post 1930 is pretty well provided for, except for this class which were seen over most of the region. Again, bizarre that no manufacturer has done one. 5) Z Class. Rather a limited amount of scenarios where one could use these locos but they have a lot of character and would be an unusual and interesting choice to model. 6) Gladstone Class. Again, rather limited in terms of where one could run them, but with the Rapido E1 and Dapol/Hornby Terrier models it could fit in with them in an LBSCR scene. 7) Urie S15. Possibly a slightly odd choice but plenty of them were built and the Hornby model only covers the Maunsell variant. 8) WD 2-10-0. Could be made in WD or BR liveries. Not used widely over here post war but there would possibly be a reasonable amount of folk who would buy one anyway.

Cassettes might work, but the turntable is possibly quicker to set trains up on? The spurs into the fiddle yard weren't getting used I agree, so maybe ditch those and use that area for stock storage.

I think I got into the vibe of it and just found it relaxing to shunt. The only aggravation really was as you said the couplings and the sector table alignment, but those are fixable.

I came down from Croydon, not Luton, just to clarify. But yes, I did go to the Basingstoke show to see the layout and very glad I did, it oozes atmosphere and is very much a place where (IIRC) you said nothing really happens in a hurry - nicely languid. Good to see you last weekend as well!

Surely the easiest way for Wales to get a N-S rail route is to redraw the eastern boundary to incorporate the lost areas of Powys, which would handily transfer the Welsh Marches line onto the correct side of the border (I think).

No, I think it was definitely called Albion Street. P4 scale freight yard (track plan lifted from Iain Rice's Butley Mills) set in the York area in the 60s.

Thanks. Thought it worth a try anyway. I was sure you'd photographed Albion Street though? I'll have to find the article. One layout I think you definitely did photograph was Littlehaven Harbour which was a quite compact Sussex urban seaside terminus. I liked that one too.