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Thanks for trying Ade! I had a quick run of my new Cavalex 56 on the layout this week and couldn’t resist adding some PGAs even though they are not finished yet. The Redland wagon is acting as a barrier for the moment until I get compatible couplings on the 56. I need to take the layout to the storage locker this morning and swap it for Oldshaw which needs prepping ahead of its appearance at Calne show this weekend. Guy

In future hopefully yes. I have some family issues at the moment that mean I don't have time right now. Guy

Showcase 2027? Very excited to see this. Guy

Just checking, but you know the prototype mk2a is 8 inches shorter than the mk2b/2c? This would account for 3mm which is probably ‘within tolerance’ of your measurements. I have a good number of the new Mk2bs. They are very nice and I agree that the Bachmann Mk2a struggles to hold its own next to them. For me, the main issue is the roof differences though (primarily the rain strip height - Bachmann too low) and not the length difference. Guy

Regarding the Blue/Grey HST. Why have Hornby made power cars in 1970s condition (without the exhaust baffle that lasted until '79) but the trailer vehicles match a '1980s' rake (e.g. the TGS which I believe came in early 80s)? So baffle-less power cars never almost certainly never ran with a TGS. Also, is it just me or does the ride height of the coaches look lower than the power cars? Guy

You know that there is a post literally above your one with a photo of a Bachmann Mk2a and an Accurascale Mk2b right next to each other so that you can judge for yourself? From the photo, they look the same height to the roofline to me although the rain strip looks to be lower on the Bachmann? Guy

Maybe Mr Potatohead Assange got extradited to Bachmann? Secrets safe once again…

The 'Julian Assange' of the model railway world... ?

Thanks Ade for the kind comments. It's a little while until I do the culvert so plenty of time to snap me a pic! 😃 All the track is now painted so probably the next job will be to sort out the back scene and some landscaping before ballasting. Thanks, Guy

Slightly jaded after a late night last night so have been sorting pictures and working on a few areas that i have very little information about. One of them is the culvert through which Fordbury Water runs. I found this photograph on Flickr by Ian Purkess that I think shows the culvert's construction. I'm guessing a bit, but I think the concrete sections are sections of the culvert. This seems to correlate with the only picture that I have of the culvert opening (can't share here) that seems to show a side-on photo of the box-section protruding from the cut/covered landscape.

Oh gosh... it's a big subject and to make things worse there are many 'standards' (meaning there isn't really a standard). Whatley is built to DOGA intermediate to maximise the compatibility of stock on the layout and uses a mix of Peco Code 82 on the older boards (no longer available) and EMGS Code 83 on the newer ones. Suffice to say, I regret not building this in EM or P4 knowing what I know now and I'd strongly advise anyone wanting to build their own track to just bite the bullet and choose one of these two. It's so much better having a proper wheel/rail set of standards to work to and swapping wheels is actually very easy for diesel and electric stock (don't let it put you off!). Guy

The plain track is Exactoscale fast track bases (4FT106A) obtained from the EMGS stores. More details at: https://exactoscale.com/ If you attend either ExpoEM or Scaleforum I suspect you will be able to pick it up (or join either society - even if you don't model EM or P4 but are just interested in finescale). Guy

It's a 3D printed 'kit' of parts:

Great photos Andy and nice to see a Railtour appropriate to my period of 88-92! Maybe Mr Curtis can provide us a spoon to replicate it? Guy

Hi Will, I don’t think that Colin’s track components are available any more. Thanks all for the comments! I’ve got a couple more things to show at some point as I get them finished. Hoping to be at the Define show at Risley next weekend. Guy

Hi Keith, It’s Blender. Not really proper CAD and more for 3D graphics but it’s what I’m used to. I think if I were starting again I’d use one of the proper CAD packages like Solidworks or something. Guy

Yes, sorry… I saw your note and was busy writing up the next section so thought I’d just finish it!

The final track laying was then completed with the construction of the last two turnouts. Here you can see well how the whole vee is assembled before fitting: Colin Craig's cosmetic tie bars have been utilised on all of the points. Mechanical droppers also run from the blade tips to an under-baseboard copperclad sleeper that acts as a stronger mechanical tiebar. I'm experimenting with the control system and using Digikeijs and the WLAN multimaus as well as the Roco iPad app. These were first used successfully on Oldshaw at ExpoEM. And finally, painting the track. This was a case of airbrushing on the sleeper colour first - Tamiya Deck Tan for the concrete sleepers (1:1 with thinners), Railmatch Sleeper grime (1:1 again) with a light over-coat of dilute (1:5) Tamiya Medium Grey for the wooden sleepers. Rails and chairs were then painted using Tamiya flat earth with a brush by hand and finally the paint scraped off the rails with a wooden coffee stirrer (trying to keep anything too abrasive away). And that's it! I still have the last straight board to paint (maybe this weekend) and then it's on with the ballasting. Cheers! Guy

Very little then happened in 2022 as Oldshaw seemed to take centre stage for most of the year but I picked up work again at the end of the year and started making the final two turnouts as well as playing trains with the (then) new Dapol 59. The following shots are all of the new scenic boards. Sorry about the quality, they are all on my old iPhone. High time I took some better ones!

Track laying then progressed onto the two re-purposed scenic curved boards. Board joints use the same method of pins and copperclad for strength: I had a go at building the small sub-station(?) that is on site opposite the wagon repair shop. The transformer is one that I found as a 3-D print online, whilst the fencing is modified Wills. The final shots are from the first test run nearly two years ago. At this point, not all of the track was finished.

I've been going back through my photos over the past couple of years and uploading the best ones to my Flickr account. I've restored some of the pictures on the previous page from 2021 and have added a few more. Most of the activity seems to be track laying on the extension. I'm not sure how much of this I have described but it uses Jim Smith Wright's method of a mixture of Exactoscale parts and 1.6mm copperclad with brass pins pushed through 0.7mm holes drilled into the copperclad. Some of the photos below show the point that spans the board gap between the old and new scenic boards. This was made on a piece of scrap timber and then fitted in place after removing a section of plain track from the old board. The crossing vees use a brass shim of the right thickness underneath the vee to support it that is then cut away to size using a slitting disc in a mini drill. Pandrol clips are the over-scale Peco individulay ones.

Hi Will. Likely need around 50-60 PGAs total for the layout. I’m doing an initial batch of 11 wagons to PG013D. Guy

A bit of an update... I've been working on a 3D printed version of the ARC PGA build code PG013D (constructed as a kit of parts). Here is a picture of the first decorated wagon although I am working on a rake of these as well as other build codes that ARC used (there were a lot of different wagons that got used!). I'll let the pictures do the talking and I'll add a bit more about the layout shortly.

Something a bit like this perhaps? 😜

Yes!