70000 Britannia

Looking forward to bringing 29th Street Wharf this weekend.

That was a very life-like layout Brian. Susan and I enjoyed our chats at the week end. You have a message!

Congratulations to the MIOG team and, in particular, Chris and Cameron, for organising and delivering such an excellent inaugural show at the weekend. For those that couldn’t make it, you missed a treat. Great atmosphere, created by a friendly and supportive team. Really good blend of stands, layout, trade and societies. A must not miss for the next time. Cameron and Chris, thanks.

Excellent show in the offing, based on those that had already set up last night. Well worth a visit, to see some really interesting O gauge layouts and what looks to be a good set of traders!

Well let's have the viewing figures then: how many are newbies, so to speak, to then understand the degree of interest by current enthusiasts? I suggest to you that it does matter how many modellers view it, because they can at least have a positive effect on encouraging others. I try to! I think you underestimate the programme supporters. Incidentally, my "conversations" have, without fail, shown they have watched numerous episodes! You say "look past the theme" - I am well aware of the strategy being employed in the programme. It is hardly difficult to understand that various approaches and creativity need to be exploited to open up the hobby to a wider audience. IF you are suggesting that I may be microscopic in only wanting some specialised presentation, e.g. GWR branch lines, then you are being presumptious; although I can recognise that your approach might have been simply to categorise certain players that have some opinions different to you. For the record, my interest is in model railways of all types, nationalities, activities, and in various scenarios. Forgive me, if I think that going off at a tangent embracing Volcanoes, Jousting, Giraffes, and rockets to the moon, et al, doesn't exactly hit the right note. But don't get me wrong, I enjoy the programme - we just have differences of opinion. If there is a next series, I will (without hesitation) look forward to watching it through again, in the hope that there is some progression in the mindset, to convey a little more relevance of what our brilliant hobby can deliver.

I did not suggest it would but then, we have yet to see the viewing figure outcomes. It would be interesting to know, just what the defined, target audience was. Of course, there has to be a strong theme of creativity; however, I am making the point that, for me (and many modellers that I have recently met), who supported the programme, the S/Fs were somewhat indulgent on the part of the programme developers.

Well done to all the teams that made the final and no doubt the behind the scenes work by the production teams required real commitment. Personally, I thought the semi-final challenges, placed on the teams, somewhat trivialised the hobby - I would have expected the later stages to have focused more on actual railway modelling. Still, the two series have no doubt been useful in exposing the hobby to more interest. Overall, I have enjoyed watching the episodes. It will be interesting to see if the programme endures.

Well, an excellent weekend's exhibiting with US HO 29th Street Wharf. Thoroughly enjoyable and made all the more so, by the freindly Farnham team and very interested public. Well done to Noel and all. Here's a picture of the layout:

Looking forward to bringing Arcadia Pennsylvania Terminal. Louisville & Nashville SDP35 #1700 stands at one of the freight bays, ready to depart!

Went on Sunday and thought the exhibition provided an excellent range of layouts. Thoroughly enjoyed the show. Well done to the Wigan FS team!

I have just acquired one (D8574) in mint condition. Chassis is fine but was, understandably slow and croaky! I removed the PCB, which was held in place by 4 screws at the centre of the chassis and checked the drivetrain worm gear - it was already well lubricated. The bogie gears, had hardly any grease on them, so applied a modest amount. I separated the motor from the universal couplings and then ran it for about 20 mins each way, half and full speed. Re-assembled, and it ran much better. The loco is still bit noisier than would be ideal, but at low to medium speed it is quite good. I would expect 2-3 hours running will further improve matters. I bought it to give it a home on Clayton End Signalman! Hope that helps.

John, From what I understand, the they remained decidedly either side of the pond, with parts of EE being subsumed within both BAE but mainly GEC? I agree about the sounds, elements of Alco, Napier Deltics, and Class 40s have that distinctive ‘ringing’ to them. Something that European diesels don’t seem to have (may be a little bit with the Voith Maxima or the DRS class 68s?).

Hi Jason Sorry for the late response, I have only just read the latest comments. Your detective work has proved correct, inspite of the novel spelling of Pennsylvania by MIOG! Our Atlas O RS1#5633 will indeed be making an appearance with APT at Rawtenstall! So, given that you sound like you may be attracted to the exhibition, do say hello. That includes any other Alco aficionados on here (Allegheny1600 ? :-) ) Safe journey.

What an excellent portrayal of the Redditch weekend. It was great to see the layouts in a bit more detail in your video and there were clearly some really good displays on show. For our part, we enjoyed bringing 29th Street Wharf to the show and were grateful for the kind comments about the layout. Last, but not least, many thanks to Guy and the team for putting on a really enjoyable exhibition. We had a great weekend and enjoyed the company of the modellers and traders. A picture of some of the locos, stabled at the end of day.

Good to see you and have a chat. I hope you (both) enjoyed the rest of your weekend.

Really enjoyed the show. Thanks to Mark and the team for all their hard work.

Always a good and friendly show and one not to miss. Looking forward to being there next year.

Looking forward to bringing 29th Street Wharf to Redditch next weekend.

Looking forward to bringing GB OO Clayton End Signalman. View towards Travellers Rest and shed. Anyone looking at this picture, spot the difference at the show next weekend!

What a great day it was today - lots of freindly faces, good banter, and a really enjoyable blend of layouts. Well done Nick and everyone who helped to put it together. Already looking forward to next year's event.

Looks intriguing that does - Nice laser jobbie!

Hopefully, will be making a visit on Saturday - looks a good and interesting mix!

Well, for those that were unable to visit, you missed an excellent show, with some really fine layouts. Unfortunately, I only managed to have a couple of brief opportuniites to view some of them; it sounds daft, but If anyone has some shots, I would love to see them! Thanks to Chris, Jean, and the team for all their hard work, which made it another memorable weekend on the circuit.

Looking forward to the weekend, with "Clayton End".