George Hudson

Stupidly I dropped my BR L1 and broke the 4 wheel rear bogie. One side is broken and hence bogie appears curved and derails of course. I asked Hornby if I could get a replacement as I couldn't see it on the list of spares. Unfortunately I got the rather unhelpful/automaton response from Hornby below (!). Could anyone suggest a replacement from another manufacturer/supplier or another solution. I don't mind a bit of "fettling" but a scratch build is probably beyond me. Many thanks Andrew ..." Hello Andrew, Thank you for your email, I have spoken with the spares team, unfortunately they have informed me that the part you have requested is not listed as a replacement part. Yours sincerely.."

Guys, I've looked at the manual and googled it but have to admit that I can't restore factory settings. Could you give me a tip/link to the answer? Thanks in advance.

Great, thanks for the tips. I should have known it would be a variant of "switch it off and on again". :-) Strange how this digital stuff should be a mystery at times. I still have a decoder which stubbornly refuses to be readdressed from 03. I did two locos, one after the other on the programming track; one worked and the other didn't even though I did the same procedure, got the same noises etc... what do I know, I'm only following instructions.

Sorry for the clickbait title but couldn't find my problem wading through the forum. Actually the title says it all! One of my Hornby locos with Hornby decoder was going along merrily under control through gauge master but I caused a short on the track and the loco which had just stopped shot off for an impromptu 30cm drive then stopped. Now I find that this loco will start fine but turning the speed down to zero results in the speed dropping very slowly and comes to a halt 5-10 seconds after instruction depending on speed. The emergency stop button on the controller still works fine in bringing the engine to an immediate stop. Any ideas before I simply put in a new chip and write it off to experience? Thanks in advance Andrew

Needs a lot of dirty white spirit to take it back to the 1950s!

Some activity at the Flying Horse too! (Covered in Card Structures Forum)

So following the burial ground I was looking for something low and typical. Of course a market! I bought a couple of ready made stalls (Wills?) and although they are good kits for sure, they didn't have the scruffiness that I was looking for. Knocked up an extra 8 therefore from scraps and white metal wheels. Also produced a tea caravan from scrap plastic. Again looks authenticly like it could poison you if you bought a sausage roll there! I am still filling up the stalls but here's the work in progress.

That looks excellent, very crisp and good proportions!

Just needs a weathering with a spot of black paint in a lot of white spirit! Time to move on to other buildings. Thank you to everyone for all the likes and comments. Andrew

Marvellous work, really crisp! Colours spot on too! I'll be following this. Is there a track plan or plan of what you are going to cover with the layout? Best Andrew

apologies for self indulgence, nearly finished now, just waiting for the cafe's tables and chairs to come from China

finished article

perfect subject for scalescenes tiles....

Hi, yes you guessed correctly. That's exactly how I do it and the rest of the woodwork is achieved following "Stubby's" method, which I learnt on this forum, of using sticky lables. The labels have a drawing of the window on them and you cut away and peel off the lable where the panes of glass are positioned. If the window frames are coloured then you can paint them and buff up the panes whilst wet. This will spread the paint into any scratched-in glazing bars and edges of the lable. Don't be too rough and use cotton buds. Regards Andrew I think I show this in detail in my Aldersgate layout thread, quite where I don't know. It's bee going for a decade or so!!

I'm not big on interiors but since this is at the very front of the layout, at least something simple I thought...

Awful lighting but seems to fit in well to the general scene ........

more cruel close ups of weekend progress...

Moving on at, for me, a record pace........

With Scalescenes I always score between paving slabs and stick on a few at random so that they are factionally proud of the surface to give some texture. Otherwise, they look awfully flat. I don't have the same perception problem with bricks so leave them as is. Just a thought. Andrew

After many hours on the NatWest Bank (Aldersgate buildings 11), I needed something more in my comfort zone. To fill the gap between Booth's Distillery and the Flying Horse pub (no I don't expect anyone to know what I am talking about but I will add pictures later!), I am using a building which still stands and seemed to have been a wholesaler of peanuts opposite Spitalfields market. Following redevelopment it's now the English Restaurant. It's quite smart and I've dined there several times over the recent years and is probably in marked contrast to Dino's cafe which was next door in the 1950s! Here are photos of the original and current sites of the prototype. I am changing the colour of the woodwork from green to BR maroon because it will be near the Flying Horse which is already green. I think the BR maroon is also a good 50s colour. As can also been seen, the model is more "inspired by" rather than a direct copy. Dino's cafe for instance has been move to the right from the left of the building. Thanks for your interest Andrew

Hi, I'm not much of an interiors person, yours are good, very atmospheric. I've posted a lot on here of my scratchbuilding work on my Aldersgate layout which is a part of a "might have been" GER terminus in 1956/7. If you search on Aldersgate in this forum I have detailed the builds somewhat. You might find some ideas there. I use almost exclusively Scalescenes but also rate superquick and if you can get any old Bilteazy (sp?) kits to chop about they're also good (have a look at my Stratham gallery which is a 2mm layout). As Col. Stephens above, I would also go for mounting board (best value at "The Range"). Good luck and I look forward to seeing more posts. Andrew