aac

9mm ply is quite substantial, so aim off for heavy, and awkward to manoeuvre. Ìf you are buying in the boards as kits, ask your suppliers. They will know the weight because of shipping costs. You could attach two drawer handles, about 70 cm apart, to the front of each of the boards so that you carry them two-handed from A to B with the board hanging like you're carrying a mattress (but far less flexible!). aac

I like the baseboard concept. What is the track plan going to be? aac

The nub of the problem is that we can wait forever, or adapt, or scratch build. I first bought Ratio 4 wheelers in 1980, so I'm glad I didn't wait for the improvement that has yet to materialise. I built the Airfix Park Royal railbus in about 1963, but it took a lifetime for Heljan to clock the idea that it would be a good piece of kit for a compact layout. For years, GWR branch line termini featured Triang cleresory coaches and kit-built Dean Goods locos, but how long did it take for a company to jump on that paricular combination? I chase atmosphere more than the rivets, but fully understand and admire those who work from the other end of the telescope. We're all trying our best, but, goodness me, it's hard for the industry to come up with the perfect solution that satisfies all of the people all of the time. aac

I absolutely agree on the matter of livery variants. No company will ever produce every thing we want, and scratch build as you might, that level of laser printed livery work is not easily equalled by the human hand. These would be great coaches to do a Genesis job. Imagine the LNWR panelled lining, and many others similarly, etc, etc. Come on Dapol!! Exploit your triumph. aac

That's it. Google "Hemyock LNER coaches" for the evidence. aac

Hemyock did have the ex-Barry stock, and Paul Karau's Great Western Branch Line Termini (Wild Swan Publications) shows W263 in the charactersitic formation of a single coach plus milk tanks. Apparently, right at the end of the branch's life, some ex-LNER stock was used briefly. It was said that having old stock upcycled to the branch kept open the passenger service that might otherwise have been withdrawn sooner. aac

I have taken some shots of my BR toplights on my Liverpool Hanover Street to show the coaches in a layout setting as someone requested. Rule 1 applies - an Ivatt 2-6-4T is in charge of a stopping train to Warrington. My buying these coaches was aimed at being able to portray an older style coach hanging onto life in a lower level of utilisation than it had previously enjoyed. A bit of weathering will be required, but then I hope to have grubby stock in an early-60s scenario before Dr Beeching gets his hands on the place. I'm also pleased that they are such good, compact models: the overall roof under which they sit is 44 inches from the end window with the (Birmingham Snow Hill-style) staircase to the end with the (Liverpool Lime Street-style) clock, so they give the impression that the station is longer than it is, hence a greater sense of space. I have included a shot with a long CCT to show how the roof height differs, and also a shot of the underframe detail showing the rods going under the bogies from their attachment points. As an aside, I too have received upside-down hook and bar couplings, so that the hooks are on the wrong side. Someone on the couplings building bench needs a bit of re-training! - but actually it takes seconds to get the hook out, and turn the bar over. You can see they are wrong because the bar's lip is uppermost initially. You only get hook and bars (one) with brake ends: the internal end of the brakes and all coaches internal to the rake come with straight-bar close couplers,presumably to leave them in a fixed rake. The coupling is articulated and sprung off the bogie assembly - very neat. Hope this helps. I'll repeat my earlier verdict that these are great, solid, chunky coaches that just feel right as soon as they come out of the box. aac

Because minories plans are not generally based on large stations, constricted as we are by space limitations, a simple rule in creating your design could be described as "Tracks IN to all platforms, and platforms OUT to all tracks." Hope that helps. aac

Ordered two BR crimson brakes and a composite from RoS 48 hours ago, and they were here today at midday. First time I've taken a coach out of a box and thought it's got mass, substance and a quality finish. Really very pleased with the result.

This planned closure has opened a debate. I simply wrote to my Salsibury MP. Dear Mr Glen, I wish to draw your attention to the forthcoming closure of a company that has long produced excellent service to UK customers and many overseas. Admittedly, it is hardly a key element in one of our nation's major strategic industries, but I fear it reflects many of the troubles businesses experience dealing with bureaucratic complication and the cost of living. The company has thrived and expanded since 1946, and only now has it tripped up. The company concerned is Hatton's Model Railways, established originally in Liverpool, and latterly, with a distribution facility in Widnes. I would draw your attention to the four factors outlined by Hatton's in their notice to customers that they are planning an orderly closure; it will result in loss of employment for a strong, dedicated staff: 1. The company is NOT insolvent. The company is being wound down in an orderly fashion, leaving no outstanding debts. 2. Changing market conditions have had a large impact on the business, we have seen this in declining customer numbers, changing customer demographics and supply chain disruption. 3. Increased cost of compliance has become a large factor. Brexit, GST and other operational costs of running an international business have all increased dramatically over the past few years. 4. We do not have an exact date for closing down as of yet. We will be communicating this in the coming weeks. I do hope you will view this situation, not as an unimportant niche market that has experienced a failure, but as a very well-established company that has sunk under the stresses of bureaucracy, the increased costs of living that limit the funds available for pastimes, and the general malaise to which the national economy is exposed. As Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office I hope you will pass my message to the Business Secretary to share a small glimpse of how our economy is suffering slow death by a thousand cuts. Yours faithfully

Thanks, Coromar. This has been a really interesting thread to follow. We have heard about the various technologies from very early attempts to get steam sounds, right up to the point where the genuinely useful discussion covered really good sound decoders that might usefully be installed in an analogue model, but won't perform to the full range of their capabilities. Funds, space, and time always conspire to derail our modelling ambitions; they can hold us back. It's the improving technologies - those that have given us better quality mouldings, exceptional printed liveries and paint finishes, finer detail, and the many elements of finer control - that pull us forward and keep us going. Earlier attempts at sound, smoke, lights and other effects failed for a reason, and I suspect that analogue control will go the same way in years to come. 35 years ago I messed about with the alarm from an electric alarm clock, stuck it in a tunnel and kidded myself it might represent the sound of an approaching diesel loco horn. It was discarded in minutes. If sound is needed - perhaps expected - in a loco nowadays, it seems logical to embrace the best technology we can afford and install a system that, from the outset, simply does everything that it says on the tin. That's why I think using DCC is ultimately the fairest answer to Coromar's question. Postscript - Just a thought. I first received a Triang Princess with two blood and custard coaches for Christmas 1956. My passengers had to jump the gap between fixed, inflexible corridor connections. In 2023, at fifty or sixty quid a coach, they still do. Now there's a manufacturers' techno-challenge to update the fleet!

I don't want to divert your question, as I'm not aware of sound for analogue locos. But as far as the DCC rabbit hole is concerned, I will assure you that DCC, and DCC Sound transform operation with smooth movement, braking and acceleration, all sorts of secondary sounds like brakes, whistles, squealing wheels on curves, and plenty more. Yes, it's an initial outlay, but if you are shunting especially, it's great fun.

Lovely shades of Morfa in EM on this site, lamented by many when it had to be dismantled for a house move. Congrats on a nice piece of work. aac

You can have fun with something this size, but I do recommend bracing the board. The ply (?) looks quite substantial, but even lengths of 2x1 under the front and back lengths would protect the integrity of the flat plane of the board. Sorry if this is teaching granny, but if the temptation were to store this on end against a wall, it would soon gently bow out of shape and you will have derailments on curves and points. Good luck. aac

Good question, but no idea. Any increase in gauge requires an increase in minimum radius on curves, but at that scale it must be negligible. aac