chris-shay

Spotted in Denmark a few years ago. Youngest was playing up at the time so it seemed appropriate to get it for her…

Just for a change from railway modelling I’ve recently been building this HO barge for the waterfront scene on my layout. It’s built from a Sheepscot Scale Models kit that I have had laying around for about 20 odd years, so I’m not sure if it is still available? I’ve modified it a bit to make it a steel hull rather than wood, with a diesel engine rather than the steam version in the kit. Plenty of places for deck details etc and still a few things to sort out. In a moment of madness I decided to make up some navigation lights out of micro LEDS but really pleased with how they came out!

For those interested in more info on Shay’s, there are a couple of good books… “Modeler’s Handbook - Shay “ by Single Shot Gallery publishers. ”The MDC Shay Handbook” by Jeff Johnston published by Oso Publishing. This second book is an excellent work on how to tune the model to get the gears all running as they should. well worth it!

Bryan Gloch campsite near Caernarfon has the Welsh Highland line running right through the grounds. Great site!

A couple of years back I was chaperoning my elderly Mum on holiday through Switzerland and as she’s not a fan of flying, we did the whole trip by train. The whole trip was very relaxed with only the bit crossing Paris in a taxi being slightly frantic! Starting in Interlaken, it was first class train all the way back to Inverness including some very quick TGV through France and stunning scenery throughout.

The film “October Sky” has some shots of coal trains in West VIrginia (I think) and even features the photographer WInston Link in a cameo role as the locomotive engineer. The film’s about a boy’s dream to be a rocket engineer and work for NASA in the fifties and sixties and is based on the book Rocket Boys. A great little film and worth a watch, with Jake Gyllenhal in one of his early roles.

Boy disappoints father, misses meeting his hero. But it is rocket science!

There is “Graffitti on the Train” by The Stereophonics. Also the band Train from San Francisco I think?

One of the main products supplied to the perfume industry is fusel oil, which is a by-product from the continuous distillation process of a grain distillery. I would guess that tanker delivery and onsite storage tanks would represent this in this instance but not sure what volumes would be typical?

Difficult one this, but narrowed it down a bit... Diesel - has to be the Deltics. Either the prototype or production in two-tone green. UK Steam - 2-6-4 Fairburn tanks RoW steam - Rio Grande K-36 2-8-2 Mikados Electric - Either Great Northern Cascade Y-1 electrics or any of the Swiss Crocodile variants. There's an odd beauty in any machine if you look hard enough!

There is a good book called “Animated Scale Models Handbook” by Adolf Frank that has lots of ideas. Some of its contents are a bit out of date as they would be easier to do with modern electronics and servos, however it’s a good read and has some fun projects. Used to be quite hard to find but a quick check out there showed several available at reasonable prices.

Some 20 years ago I was working at the Boeing factory in Renton. Having only been in the country about 48 hours, it was my first shift at work on a dark snowy November morning when driving through Renton, and not really 100% sure where I was going, one of these BN beasts came rumbling down the street towards me. Talk about a wake -up call!! Mind you, it did start my love of US railroads which continue to this day.

Very sad news indeed. I had the pleasure of meeting Jack many times at numerous Inverness shows and we’d always have a blether about ideas for our shared passion for little US layouts. He was always happy to help and overflowing with ideas - a true pillar of our hobby and a great loss. Sending thoughts and prayers to his family. RIP Jack. Chris

Whilst bimbling around the web I came across this site that might be good for reference. Whilst not specifically a railroad site, it has good pics of the more everyday side off American life from the 70s up to late 90s... http://gfellercollection.org/ I think that there will be more pictures uploaded over time. Enjoy... C.

Just for a change from HO railways , I thought I’d try something in a larger scale, so here’s my rather beat up Revell 1/24 Ford F-150...