Graham T

I'd prefer to be in a town really Clive. Or at least somewhere that has a decent pub within staggering distance!

Most of my family are in Hereford, apart from my daughters, who live with a dragon in the south-east US. Strangely, house prices in Hereford itself seem to be higher than in Kidderminster, Stourport-on-Severn, and so on. So I think that's the area I'll end up in!

So, I've managed to save nine points from the layout. One or two of them might need some repairs, but I think they'll be ok for using in a fiddle yard. One other point didn't survive being lifted, and I haven't even bothered with the single slip... This evening I got all the point motors removed as well. A useful reminder of the joys to be had working underneath a baseboard. When I build CR Mk II I'd like, if at all possible, to arrange things so that I can do at least the lion's share of the wiring before I actually fit the boards in position, so that I can flip them over onto a workbench and deal with them more comfortably. I need to give that some thought too! Tomorrow I'll make a start of dismantling the baseboards, which promises to be all sorts of fun as I appear, for some reason, to have made them strong enough to withstand a low-yield nuclear explosion 🙁

Hi Russell. Yes I'd be very interested in having a crack at that for you.

I did manage to save all the main trees, yes.

Thank you all for the vote of confidence! I shall have to give it some more thought. Clive, yes I think commissions would probably be the way ahead. Did you have something in mind?

Thanks very much for the kind words chaps. You have given me an idea (uh-oh). Seeing as I'm still one of the great unemployed, do you think I might be able to sell bespoke buildings?

Same here Clive - hard to make a start on scrapping it, but I'm committed now (or perhaps I should be...) I've managed to lift all the buildings and trees. It's only the cattle dock that, so far, refuses to budge. Doesn't look very much when they're all put together like this. All excellent lessons that I will try to follow Clive! I may get bespoke baseboards made, or build my own (carefully). It will depend on finances I suppose. And I will actually use a couple of buses for the wiring next time, rather than have a repeat of the snakes' wedding that is currently dangling underneath the remains of CR Mk I. One of the things I'm looking forward to is browsing some model shops in the real world again. I tried to visit the Hereford Model Centre last time I was in England, but it was closed unfortunately.

Thanks for the tip Neal - the track is marinating as I type!

Thanks Colin. It will be a permanent structure (hopefully) so that's another option to look at.

That's what I had in mind - get someone else to do all the cutting for me. Separately, on a first quick look I think it will be more economical to use Peco bullhead flexitrack rather than trying to recycle my existing rail and buying C&L sleeper panels.

That's an idea - but I couldn't find those on the C&L website? Ah! Yes I can. Need to do some maths now. Time to take the shoes and socks off...

I'll take a look at that for sure Andy. Or I may try making my own using this technique. Meanwhile, in the "not news at all category", I can confirm that it's a tad quicker to destroy a layout than it is to build one... Also, I don't think I will be able to salvage much, if any of the track and points. It's ballasted of course, and pretty solidly attached to terra firma.

Ugh. I was pleased that all of the buildings so far have lifted from the layout without any damage. The few remaining items you can see will need to be chiselled out though! I'm also going to try lifting as much of the track as I can. It's Code 75 bullhead so can be used again on CR Mk II. The points, if I can salvage them, will be useable for a fiddle yard - I'm planning to use British Finescale for the running lines next time. So, onwards and - upwards?

Good morning Neal, and greetings to you from a dry but rather windy Vienna. I did take note of your ideas about cutting Chuffnell R into sections for the move to the UK, so that I would have something to run stock on in the new house. But the inherent problems that I built into the current layout - wonky baseboards and track, coupled with shoddy electrical work - make me think that it's probably not worth the effort. What I might do is preserve the "fiddle yards", so that I can at least trundle a loco up and down for playing testing!

I still cringe when I think back to some of my original ideas for a track plan (please don't look!) I had absolutely no idea how a railway actually operated. And despite the enormous amount of really helpful advice and encouragement available through this forum, I didn't have much more clue as to how I should go about baseboard building, track-laying, and wiring. All of that stuff is equally embarrassing! But as you rightly say, I have made some progress. And this is a good opportunity to build something better, rather than being seen as a shame having to take apart something that isn't all that good anyway. As you mention, I do like the LMS as well, so that will no doubt be a feature of the reincarnation. (Lazarus Junction anybody?!) I have toyed with the idea of a fictional addition to the S&DJR, where I could even run some Southern stock as well. More to follow no doubt 🙂

Hopefully not rotten! But quite possibly scrambled...

i think I’ll just continue on with this thread John. Put all the eggs in one basket !

Thank you Phil. You can rest assured that I will be pestering you for planning ideas as soon as I've identified a new home for Chuffnell Regis 🙂

The butler did it!

It's starting to look somewhat bleak at Chuffnell R, but not as bad as it will look soon! All the rolling stock now packed away...

Well the axe hasn't fallen yet, but I began boxing up my rolling stock today 🙁

That's a good point Brian. They were separated so I'll try with them hooked back up.

I could disconnect and test the motor I suppose. If it works I just have to find where the short is then! Might the copious amounts of oil swilling about in the chassis be causing a short? I've cleaned up as much of it as I can.

I've adjusted the copper contacts as per @Harlequin's suggestion, and tried a continuity tester across the contacts on the motor. No reading there. Electrickery is by no means my forte, so am taking a pause as I'm not sure how to proceed. Perhaps best to mull it over for a while...