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south_tyne

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Everything posted by south_tyne

  1. I have had some thoughts but it is a job for this weekend. I'll get my pencils and doodling pad out! Some creativity is necessary
  2. Ha ha great and nice and healthy too. I will convert all these folk yet!
  3. That is a great start. Pleased to hear that those devious diesels have been chugging backwards and forwards already. I think that's a fantastic idea with the interchangeable buildings for 4mm and then 7mm scale narrow gauge. I have always been fascinated with multi-era and multi-location layouts with the clever use of different structures, vehicles and other scenic items, it can be a really good idea. It can hugely increase the flexibility and operational potential of even the smallest layout and I think it works best for micro-layouts where you could model multiple eras/settings using minimal stock. Your idea takes this concept one step further and it will be fascinating to see how you approach the idea! Really looking forward to following your progress. Dave
  4. Thanks Rob, you're right there. I just wish I could be as productive as yourself! Ah you see, that is the power of the BCC's subliminal advertising!!
  5. Thanks! You're right, getting track down feels like a real positive and I always think that getting a little bit of greenery planted and some buildings mocked up quickly starts to bring a scene to life.
  6. Excellent start Johna. These kind of projects are great - low cost, compact, manageable and achievable - and are also a way of practising skills and techniques. I will be following your progress with interest! Dave
  7. Made some canny progress over the last week or so. The track has now been laid, wired, painted, ballasted and weathered. I've strengthened around the hinged baseboard joint by adding PCB sleepers and soldering the rails to it. I might hide this with some kind of barrow crossing to make it a little more inconspicuous. Also been experimenting with the traverser/cassette contraption. It is not the most highly engineered piece of kit - bit of a bodge to be honest from ply, foamboard, aluminium angle and a some small offcuts of other wood - but it seems like it might do the job. Need to have a think about the buildings next. I have explained a little more about the basis/setting for the layout and there will be a few factory buildings needing to be constructed. The use of a pipe gantry for a scenic break seems to have got the thumbs up, so I think I will run with that idea.
  8. Definitely! My thoughts have been preoccupied with ideas about logos and branding!
  9. Rob/Mike, Great to hear that Sheep Lane is going to a new home and even better that it is going to be residing with Mike and will be doing the rounds in the North East. It is in a very safe pair of hands and I am really pleased that I will get to see it now without travelling to the deep south! As I have said before, your wonderful work has inspired me to get back into modelling, and for that I am very grateful. Looking forward to seeing the layout later in the year. David
  10. Thanks for you kind comments guys. It's all a flight of fancy and a product of my overactive imagination but there's nowt wrong with a little dreaming after all! Rob, the jokes write themselves! Hopefully my 'history' will pull the wool over some people's eyes (see what I did there!!)
  11. I said I would explain a little more about the background and premise for this diorama and the proposed 'proper' layout to follow. So welcome to my fantasy world...... In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Labour government was keen to promote the health and well-being of the country by ensuring that the population was eating well. Years of rationing were gradually coming to an end and the politicians wanted to improve the diet and nutrition of the nation, particularly for children and young people. As part of this, it is a little known fact that amongst the various organisations nationalised in the late 1940s, Clement Attlees' Labour government set up the British Cereal Corporation (or BCC) in 1948. This brought together numerous organisations into a collective nationalised group, providing cereals to the nation and promoting the importance of breakfast as a start to the day. Factories were established in County Durham and Suffolk, to serve the north and south of the UK, with a number of regional distribution depots also being set up across the country. The BCC gradually grew and expanded with significant investment again being pumped into the collective by the Labour administration of the mid-1960s under Harold Wilson. The factories had their own internal rail systems and each of the distribution depots were served by private sidings. A number of second-hand locomotives were acquired by the BCC when it was established, mainly ex-WD austerity tank locomotives but also some locos of earlier vintage from various sources. In the early 1960s, a handful of new Ruston diesel shunters were bought to supplement and gradually replace the steam locomotives as and when they became life-expired. Despite this, many of the sites continued to operate steam locomotives into the early 1970s, with the last examples only being withdrawn in 1977 after spending the last couple of years as spare locomotives. Some internal user rolling stock was used at various locations, assisting with the day-to-day operation of the sites. The finished cereal products were usually loaded into standard BR vans and transported to exchange sidings for onward distribution throughout the UK. As I said, it is this concept that will provide the basis for my layout. I intend to model one of the distribution depots on a larger scale in due course; the timeframe for modelling will be the late 1960s and early 1970s, after the end of mainline steam but with industrial steam still being very much in evidence. At the moment I am I drawing up ideas for that, as well as very slowly building and acquiring stock for the project. However, for the time being, this micro-layout will capture a tiny corner of one depot and allow me to practice my skills and modelling techniques. The working title at the moment is 'Cereal Sidings'
  12. Absolutely stunning photos as ever Rob! As ever I look on with awe at your ability
  13. I know nothing of this new fangled contraption of which you speak! A coat is considered a depths of winter luxury in these here parts...
  14. Hey, steady on fella, we can't all live in the bucolic south! Congratulations and no more than you deserve. Your amazing modelling has inspired so many around here, myself firmly included, and I look on what you do with awe! No doubt the layouts look even better in real life, as confirmed by your award. I just look forward to the day when I get to see your work in the flesh! Keep up the good work!
  15. Thanks Pete, it really looks the part! The derelict house is fantastic too.
  16. You're right, it quickly helps to bring it to life. Track is not properly down at the moment. Below is an photo (before I painted the backscene) with some cereal packet buildings to try and give an impression of how the 3d scene could look. The scenic break is a bit of a puzzler - current thinking is maybe a pipe gantry or footbridge as a view blocker.
  17. Pete, Great to see you starting this thread. I will be using your photos showing the build as advice and reference for my own pointless project. What is the origin of the little diesel loco? Cheers and looking forward to seeing more.
  18. That prototype in Yarmouth has always been one of my favourites. It would be great if you started a thread as I would love to see more
  19. Next jobs are to look at painting the track, wiring and having more of a think about the traverser. The successful operation of that is going to be key to the diorama being effective.
  20. Thanks Mr Fogeyman! As one of the masters of the micro-layout I have found your work inspirational over the years. Saxlingham and Snape were particular favourites of mine; most of my family live in East Anglia and I had a spell working down in Suffolk, living in the metropolis that is Campsea Ashe of all places! First to the important matters...... Yes I am a Heed season ticket holder and all-round fanatic for my sins! Looking forward to playing Kettering again, I have a lot of empathy for the club as you have also been through the mill in recent years, to a greater extent than our recent tribulations. I'm thinking about making the away trip in a couple of weeks, as it'll be another new ground to tick of the list. Back to the trivial matters of toy trains... made a little more progress yesterday and got the fascias and endboards painted. It is a joy of these small projects that progress is so rapid. Twenty minutes last night and it is really starting to move forward.
  21. Thanks very much for sharing Pete, your diorama looks cracking. If I can do something to anything like that standard then I will be very happy. I love the scenic work and those buildings, particularly the derelict house; great modelling and shows what can be done in such a tight space. I just want to say a general thank you for the kind words and encouragement guys, I really appreciate it. I must admit, I was in two minds as to whether to post anything about the layout at all, given that it is so small and with my very questionable abilities, but it has really given my self-confidence a boost to get a few nice constructive comments. I've made a little more progress today - painted the backscenes a simple pale blue colour, using one of those little 'tester pots' from Wilko. Couple of coats this afternoon have helped to get rid of that bare timber look. I also got a black pit too to do the endboards and facias - maybe a job for tomorrow if I have time. One of the reasons I love micro-layouts is because you can quickly make progress in small manageable chunks. It also allows you to practice the full range of skills and techniques requires for building a layout in a short space of time. I'm finding this very useful after such a long period of stagnation. My proposed 'proper' layout to follow is to be based around an agricultural tramway - think Wissington for inspiration. This little snaphot may become a tiny cameo of that idea, but I need to give some really careful thought as to how that would look. Dave
  22. That's the idea - basically that it can be set up in any environment, on a desk, a kitchen table or even a bed. That reflects my own rather transient existence at present but I hope it can be useful for others too. I'm glad my little project has providing a little inspiration for you. Economical is good, as another stingey fellow I'm always looking for ways to save a bit of money! If you saw it close up you wouldn't be saying that! It's definitely a bodge job!!
  23. Thanks guys. Honestly, making the move to 0 gauge is the best decision I ever made. I have one loco and about half a dozen wagons but it suffices for my needs. Ultimately 7mm scale need not be expensive, Ixion/Minerva have done wonderful things producing locos at a very affordable price, not that much more than 4mm scale locos. There are some great kids available and plenty of second-hand goodies to be picked up cheaply. It's an age-old cliche, but one which I have found to be very true, that for a similar space you may need 5 or 6 locos and 25 wagons in 4mm scale but only 2 locos and a dozen wagons in 7mm scale. Therefore the financial outlay won't be any greater. The scale and mass of 0 gauge is simply wonderful too. Actually I find all jobs, even the most mundane of tasks, far more enjoyable in the larger scale. It obviously just suits me far better! Anyway, don't waste time procrastinating like me, just give it a go! I want down the road of trading-in my stuff and I am still 'in the black', so the outlay on my 0 gauge adventure is currently actually negative! Dave
  24. So the initial graft has been done. A baseboard of 116cm by 26cm has been knocked together from various offcuts and remains of abandoned projects. I've actually split it into two but have added some hinges so that it folds down into a more manageable size. Backscene, end-boards and fascias have been cut from the remains of an old desk. The diorama will consist of two sidings hidden by a short traverser. Literally pointless, the idea is that it will be operated as a shunting puzzle, with a set number of wagons needing to be shuffled and rearranged into an order, randomly determined by some cards. So here is the current state of play. Track and wagons placed to provide context and some temporary cereal packet buildings knocked together to give and example of how the scene is intended to develop. You should now understand why I am reluctant to call this a layout! Current cost is nill..... everything being recycled.
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