Rammstein2609

Hi All, I thought it was worth showing some photos of a small rake of weathered Alcan tanks as I'm quite pleased with how they've turned out. Taken today on Tulloch Bridge during setup for Model Rail Scotland 2024 at the Glasgow SEC: These wagons really are fantastic and fill a huge gap (for me and WHL modelling). Thanks RevolutioN! Martin

Hi All, I'm surprised there hasn't been more action on this thread stating just how good the new Alcan PCA's are. They've been the missing wagon type for my West Highland Line layout plans so after pestering Mike and Ben for a few years on these, I put my money where my mouth is and bought 3 rakes of them for different running time periods: De-branded Alcan (early 2000's) Rio Tinto (2012-2014) Liberty (Current day). It seems a shame to have to weather these but it must be done. I'm hoping to have the Rio Tinto set weathered and ready to run on Tulloch Bridge at Model Rail Scotland at the end of the month. Thanks, Martin

Hi Meanach, Thanks for your kind comments and that's a great photo. I was amazed by how busy the show was as the layout seemed to always be at least 2 or 3 deep at the front. As we were exposed on the sides, the fiddle yard seemed to attract quite a lot of attention too which was nice. I unfortunately lost track of everyone I spoke to over the weekend, I was the one with the Scottish accent and Tom was helping me operate and kept the layout moving while I was off chatting. Thanks, Martin

Hi All, Tulloch Bridge will be appearing at the Great Electric Train Show this weekend so if you are attending, pop by for a quick chat. I have ripped out some of the rubbish looking trees along the back of the layout and added some much better looking spruce and larch trees from the Primo Models range which are excellent. I've invested in some decent photography lighting so hoping to take a series of high res photos once the layout has been set up. Thanks Martin

I had the chance to look at these kits built and painted on the Peco stand at Stafford last weekend. While I welcome the news that a company like Peco are looking at the WHL for model subjects, I have a few observations as there are a few niggles with these kits: Station Building Bay windows are too wide and don't protrude far enough. I suspect these have been lifted from the Arisaig station kit but is wrong for this building type. Chimneys don't resemble the real thing. Ridge tiles also don't resemble the real thing as they typically use bitumen shingles. Lack of scalloped wall texture (could have been engraved on panels in between windows and doors) The proportions look good (apart from the bay windows) I think if greater care is taken while building the kits, there will be a lot less panel gaps resulting in a more pleasing model. Signal Box The proportions look quite good on the photos but in the flesh the whole thing looks too big to my eye. These are quite small signal boxes in real life. I'm not knocking Peco (even if it sounds like I am), but if you want these kits to 'look right' then a few modifications will need to be made. Modern architectural drawings are available online (if you look on the local council planning portal) so all dimensions can be gathered for the real thing to avoid these little mistakes. Thanks, Martin

Hi All I hope you don't mind me posting this here but since we're on the topic of RNAD items, I've just started work on a small L shaped OO9 layout inspired by Dean Hill. I really wanted to incorporate a portion of the light traverse laboratories but due to the size of my baseboards, I can only fit 3 of the 6 bays. I've used 9.5mm plywood for the main structure of the blast walls and developed my own laser cut buildings. The ply blast walls will receive a suitable texture coat to disguise the fact they're a timber product before everything gets painted. I want to detail the building interiors so plan on modelling removable painted roof sections along with transparent removable sections. Here is the progress I made over the weekend at the St Andrews Model Railway show: I would love to post a photo of the real thing for comparison but can't for copyright reasons, instead some images can be viewed at this website: https://www.subbrit.org.uk/sites/dean-hill-royal-naval-armaments-depot/ Thanks Martin

Hi All Further to my findings above regarding the couplings, I have been looking at what's available to allow me to easily couple/uncouple on a small shunting style layout and remembered I had a batch of Dapol N gauge magnetic couplers (similar to Kadees) which I pulled out to look at fitting to the RNAD wagons. To my surprise, these have the N gauge style NEM coupler pocket so the Dapol couplings were a direct replacement for the OO9 couplings. The couple well, reduce the gap between wagons slightly, go round tight bends and the height different between the box and flat wagons is minimal now. I can only assume the OO9 couplings are a little heavier causing the drawbar to droop on its mounting. Hopefully this is useful to someone. Thanks Martin

Hi All Tulloch Bridge had a great weekend at DEMU Showcase in Sutton Coldfield. Once a couple of issues with Hattons class 66's and Kadee couplings were sorted the layout ran well all weekend. There was a bit of new operator training at times whereby the layout perhaps wasn't run properly (scale 100mph trains through the station!) but it seemed to be well received by the public. The layout is booked for another 4 shows in 2023 and 2 so far in 2024. I'll post details on here soon. Thanks Martin

Hi All Tulloch Bridge has been loaded into the car for the trip South to DEMU Showcase this weekend. If you're attending pop by for a chat or just to have a look. Thanks Martin

Hi All Some work has taken place on the layout in preparation for this weekends DEMU ShowCase where Tulloch Bridge will be appearing. A couple of new control panels have been made since the original was a little too large. These have used the same construction methods as before, custom PCB built into a box with laser engraved front panel and 0.8mm plywood veneer. These only require a LocoNet cable and 12V DC power cable, everything else is handled by the onboard microcontroller. I also like the idea of having information boards on either side of the layout so have drawn up the below in Photoshop and had them professionally printed onto 5mm foamex. These have been attached to a plywood frame which simply screws/unscrews onto either side of the layout. They also act as a small scenic break from the fiddle yard so the next train passing through is a surprise. Lastly, most of the work has taken place on the rolling stock. I have been weathering everything, cleaning wheels and changing speed tables to allow me to thrash the locos which have sound fitted. The below shot is a favourite of mine since these autoballasters took two days to weather and I thought I had ruined them half way through. I've got them to a point I'm really pleased with. As mentioned above, Tulloch Bridge will be at DEMU Showcase this weekend so pop by for a chat and a look at the layout. Thanks Martin

A rather dirty Autoballaster train slowly runs through Tulloch Bridge on the wrong line due to engineering works. Tulloch Bridge will be on show at DEMU ShowCase this weekend too. Thanks Martin

I’m looking forward to seeing some Alcan PCA samples 😉 Tulloch Bridge is crying out for them. Really looking forward to next weekend, Showcase is always a great and friendly show. Cheers Martin

Here are a few more photos from tonight: Here is a sneak peak at the MK2's I've been converting for the sleeper train: These are almost ready for paint, they just require a few more spots of filler and sanding. Thanks Martin

Hi All It's been a while since I've updated this topic but I have been slowly working away on some rolling stock in preparation for several shows this year. I had a quick photo session outside in the garden tonight before the light disappeared and thought I would share them to show some work is happening behind the scenes. The layout still needs parts finished before everything will be weathered together. Not all of the rolling stock is ready for photos yet so I've borrowed a rake of TTA's and OTA's from @MRDBLUE17 for these photos.

I don't have any other brand of OO9 product yet but found the Bachmann flat planked wagon won't easily connect to the box van due to a difference in coupler heights. The box van seems to have a lot of downward slop in the coupling whereas the flat wagon seems quite rigid. Other than the couplings, these are cracking little wagons and have tempted me to have a go at OO9. I've just placed an order for several of the RNAD products from Rainbow Railways so I'd better get planning my layout for it all. Thanks Martin