Mighty

Thanks to all for your very helpful responses. I haven’t yet had a chance to put it to the test, but when I do I’ll show my workings! It’s all so new, but I’m have a good time exploring woodworking. Thanks Chris - I cant imagine how on earth you made life sized Ostrich eggs!

Hi all I have been a long time follower on here, and used to have my own model railway before moving house, having children and you guessed it, life intervened. With railway modelling on hold I’ve turned my hand to wooden toy making for the kids who are 4 and 2 (and still a bit young for model railways. It’s simple stuff such as small wooden animals at first. You can see a couple of examples below. At least it’s given me the chance to purchase a simple scrollsaw, multi tool sander and so on... My latest project is to make a small house, with a few windows in it. Problem is, I’m pretty new to woodworking and my school DIY didn’t stretch to this. My guess is simply to drill some holes in the wood, then use a coping saw to cut out the window shape, before sanding down. Is this the best way of doing it, or is there a better way? Any advice gratefully received, and apologies if this is in the wrong bit of the forum - I wasn’t quite sure where it should go! Thanks Chris

I've already got two on order from Rails, and have paid the £30 deposit for each, so looks like I'm going to have to stick with Rails for now, which looks to be a shame from the photos above. Let's wait and see for the reviews.

Really pleased to see this LBSCR tank locomotive being announced and it will be a welcome addition for my planned future layout. I was interested to see the pre-war post grouping option was 'SR Black pre-war' - I'm guessing this means that the E1s would have carried the unlined goods black with Maunsell lettering, not the fully lined olive green? That's what it looks like from the first photo on the SEMG webpage, but I'd be grateful if someone in the know could confirm!

An earlier contributor mentioned the cost of the H2 at Hattons. I have received the following email from Kernow just now and quote below for information: I'll be keeping my order with Kernow as I want to continue to support their commissioning of Southern stock (even if it is LSWR focussed rather than LBSCR!) Chris

I asked if the seller would amend the listing, and just had this: "NO I WILL LET THE WINNING BIDDER JUDGE WHETHER THEY ARE HAPPY WITH THE ITEM" *sigh* Thanks for the info, shame there's nothing that can be done. Given I have a real Model Rail USA Tank on order, I won't be worrying too much!

I just noticed this so sent the seller the following question: Given that Model Rail hasn't released the model as it hasn't yet been manufactured, how can this be sold and described as a Model Rail locomotive? Is this not the HO scale (not OO scale) Hornby Rivarossi USATC 0-6-0? IF so, it is not the same scale and will be smaller than other OO gauge locomotives. I had the following reply: "OH WELL" Is there any way to report this to ebay? I know if I bid on this and it arrived, I'd be annoyed as it would be knowingly selling the item with an incorrect description.

Further to my earlier post about transferring orders to the new Maunsell liveried 02, Kernow sent me the following update a few days ago: Many thanks to Kernow for the clarification from one loyal and happy customer. I've several other items on order with Kernow and I'm very happy to support an excellent business. Chris

Just to update everyone, Kernow have announced a seventh version of the O2 in Southern Maunsell livery fitted with push pull gear, numbered 207. It was announced today on Facebook via their e-newsletter (non facebook link here - http://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/index.html?action=23) The pre-order price is £104.99, price once it is in the shops is £119.99. One small word of warning, I had ordered my Southern black liveried O2 way back in January 2011 at the then pre-order price of £91.99. Unfortunately, on changing to the Maunsell liveried one, the pre-order price is £15 more expensive. Whilst I'm slightly disappointed that the order couldn't have been held at the £91.99 price given I was only asking for a livery swap, I did decide to change my order in the end as I want to support the shop.

Sorry to hear you've been having trouble with the couplings, but your cats look delightful, even if they are complaining of the cold!

In what has been a particularly difficult couple of months for me where I had serious concerns over whether I was going to lose my job or not (fortunately I have survived!) the fact that I had a couple of beautiful kittens to come home to was a source of great comfort. Scout (the black and white) and Willow (the tabby peeping out from under the drinks cabinet at the bottle of gin...) have a definite mischievous streak and they never fail to make me smile, giggle and roar with laughter at some of their antics as each day goes by. They are two sisters from the same litter, now six months old and have been with us for three happy months, hopefully for many more years to come.

Pricey, and way out of my reach, but I shall be somewhere along the route with a camera, as I'm sure many others will be. Hopefully the Steam on the Met will be a little more in my price range!

I can get you a photo of that, living in the next town. Interestingly, the 'overflow' bit is literally true - the new car park they are planning to build will be at serious risk of flooding, hence the need for the overflow car park!

Excellent news that Steam is coming back to the Met. I really have missed this over the last decade and some of the other events look really interesting. I do hope that this might not just be a one off, even though it is part of the 150th celebrations!

Great project and a nice and unusual prototype locomotive as well. Subscribed and paid for one at the same time - top stuff.

Outstanding, but rather curious that there is an LSWR layout in Middlesborough. I bet there's an interesting story behind that one! Do you have a link to any more photographs?

Hi Mark Good to see progress being made on this. Any hints on what the layout will be based on? All the best, Chris

A very moving story and thank you for sharing.

Gilbert, the card on the bookcases looks great - a definite improvement and leads the eye into the most important part of the photograph - namely the fantastic layout! Regarding the bottom of the bookshelves and the brackets, the only thing I could think of that might work is a roll of stiff paper in the colour you need pinned to the bottom of the bookcases and then to the wall a foot below. That would also prevent the darker shadows which I think are the only thing that's really distracting the eye now. A quick mock up shouldn't take too long to try out on just one section. Andy's method would work of course, but this way might be a bit easier on the wallet! All the best, Chris

Gilbert Perhaps fitting flat-faced doors on the bookshelves might work? You could then paint these the appropriate sky colour you are after, or at least to match the walls. A bit of DIY and maybe a pain if you are looking for the right book, but discrete labels on the doors would assist searches and also prevent having to photoshop each picture? Love the layout, the photography and the thought that goes into Peterborough North. This thread is one of my 'must-check' ones each morning and evening when I log on. Thank you for sharing it with us all. Kind regards Chris

I couldn't resist a chuckle at the point when the finial dropped off, but congrats on getting a nice final result with persistence!