Howard Smith

Incidentally, an article on such is due to appear in BRM soon...

Hello, The BRM DVDs have always consisted of a few 'sections' to break up content and give it more of a programme feel. Traditionally this is: - Layout of the month - Practical BRM or Tried and tested (usually Phil or me) - A third section (Heritage railway/retailer/artisan visit) Recently a 'decision' was made to experiment with a 'road-trip' style format which it was thought would help our video team time-wise. The first of these with Phil and Andy on the February DVD to Pendon might have included 'Real railways', but I think the main emphasis was on Pendon which continued through to March. Spring issue saw us explore the North Norfolk Railway, its on-site model railways and model 5 1/2 in gauge railway with some interesting facts on driving a DMU, artefacts from the line and more. And who wouldn't want to get a footplate experience? It has been realised that this different format is counter-productive time-wise as you'll see with the April DVD as we revert to the tradtitional format, a trailer for which you'll be able to see on our Youtube channel soon. This DVD will see Clydach as our layout of the month, applying water-slide transfers to an Oxford Diecast van with flashing lights to make it layout-ready, in sharp contrast to the excellent work of the staff at the Llanfair and Welsh Highland Railway who are carrying out some of their winter work - coach lining and track renewals inside a tunnel, details from which could be of use to modellers. Incidentally, it is on the Llanfair and Welsh Highland Railway where Baldwin 10-12-D No. 794 is located and being restored. A review of Bachmann's new 009 model will appear in the same issue. Future episodes will continue to see Practical BRM modelling by Phil and I - don't worry

Hello Simon, Thanks - 48cm width, around 70cm in depth (ideally 65), but I guess I could dry sump the engine if needs be... are they diesel?

Hi Nick, Not as yet I'm afraid...I've a little project on the go to finish yet...

Hello Ian, you might be surprised to read the Inbox section of the Feb issue which went to press last week then...

Yes, this is our current policy. Micro and small layouts won't be treated to a trackplan, however a raised 3/4 view shot showing more of the layout in its entirety where relevant is useful. Howard

Win a Bachmann 12 Ton pipe wagon OK folks, there are 30 layouts attending the show. Who's seen the most? List those you've seen and three things you like about each - no cheating now! The winner who has seen the most layouts wins this Bachmann 12 Ton pipe wagon in BR engineers olive green, to be collected from the BRM stand at the show. See you there! Howard

Hi Huw, The electrical side of things is kept simple, mainly because there's little deviation from the trackplan that you get with a train set box. As such, if you build it like it is, perhaps adding another siding, that's it. It's too easy to put people off and because different trackplans might be constructed, it's a bit like opening a can of worms. In fact, it's hardly mentionned because this guide is aimed at the ultimate beginner, by that, read someone who isn't D.I.Y. competent, electrically-savvy or handy at building anything. It's more about helping parents who'd like to build a train set for their kids at Christmas or those who'd like to give the hobby a try. Products used are largely sourced from Hornby and Gaugemaster to keep things simple. A shopping list ahead of each chapter allows you to buy ahead of each segment so you don't need to wait for things to arrive in the post. Even though this bookazine has a slightly longer shelf life at newsagents than the monthly magazine, just like most publications, it won't be around forever.

Stay tuned Phil - it's in the pipeline. Howard

The reason for this poll is that I was sent a letter that 'nobody' uses DCC and that we 'insist' on featuring DCC layouts in the magazine. I was curious to find out the split - it's not something we really do and I'm sure the adoption of DCC has changed considerably over the past decade. Granted, we're only polling the online community, but from the results thus far, it appears that more use DCC in one form or another than initially thought. We won't read too much into the results as we can't poll every modeller in the country, but running the same poll online every 5 years might indicate the changes within the online community.

Thanks for the link Giles, the standards will be very helpful - don't want it to be incompatible with track!

Thanks for this Jack - I'll try to make contact with the owner, unless he's already on here?

Thanks Huw - add brave/insane to the list too!

Hi Giles, I'm keeping things as close to scale as possible, working from the track gauge, so 1/5.51. I'm not a fan of oversized bodies on small wheelsets.

There's a reasonable list here, but speaking to a chap who makes castings for the 10.25in gauge 'brigade', there's over 100 around the country when you take into account private individuals...most of these are kept hidden out of the way - for obvious reasons such as this one (unfortunately now dismantled). Best one for it to stretch its legs is the Wells & Walsingham which runs along a former standard gauge trackbed. Upon speaking to many of these, they don't mind visiting locomotives, provided - if a diesel - they don't interfere with steam galas or special weekends.

That's the beauty of it at this stage - there's so much planning and measuring, CAD etc. That can happen in my office and doesn't require space. Here are the scale bogie plans I've been tinkering with... This one gives a rough idea of its width...

Seems like a nice place to start is with the nameplates. A quick call to a nameplate manufacturer revealed everything I needed to know about nameplates. Collaborating with Justin Noble from ScaleModelScenery.com, I downloaded the true Frutiger font, as used on Res Class 47 nameplates and with some photoshopping, measuring and tinkering, we came up with the following... ....OK, so this is just a bit of a drawing. I'll take a slitting disc to the gap between the 'c' and 't'... Now, all laser-cut and ready to be glued. Just like scrabble. Four laminations and patience - that's all. ...but this is more like it... And with that, it's off to the casters today. Here's to seeing them come back in aluminium. Whilst that's going on (it's only a namplate!) I'm starting with the bogies. These are big items, very big items...

I thought I'd heard about that - must have made a racket!

I'm on the hunt for a six cylinder turbo diesel - maybe something out of a 4x4... will run a generator which will power traction motors.

The idea of building a model in 10.25in gauge came as I wondered around an engineering exhibition. Being a diesel fan and seeing a wealth of steam locomotives on display made me wonder why diesel electrics seemed so thin on the ground - especially given that radio control and battery power is so widely available now. So, choosing a prototype wasn't hard - it had to be something different. And, by different, I mean popular. It seems like diesel fans are interested in building more obscure yet iconic locomotives like LMS 10000/10001 or 'Deltics' in 5 1/2in or 7 1/4in gauges. I want something different - a real showstopper, something that'll draw the crowds in, yet represent a mundane workhorse. It also has to be noisy too - by that, read 'turbo diesel powered'. Hence, a RES 47/7 prototype has been chosen and upon looking through the various names - it had to have 'Res' in it! - I settled on 'Respected', a name worn by 47776. The livery is my favourite to have been carried by the 47s. Seen passing through Penmaenmawr on September 6, 2003, Respected hauls the 1D67 10.07 Birmingham New Street-Holyhead. JOHN EYRES Seen at 'The Cross' 14/5/2003, with paintwork looking pretty shabby A close up of the Highland Terrier applied above the nameplate in 2003 So, with prototype chosen, it was time to choose a scale. It's got to be something you can see, so, no messing - 10.25in gauge it is! Wary of its size when complete - 3.5m x 0.5m x 0.7m, it's not a project for the faint-hearted. Hopefully, over the next few years, bit by bit, it'll materialise. And, once complete and if you're interested and following this, you can bet your bottom dollar you'll be offered a ride on it as it tours the 10.25in gauge railways of the country!

The number of those who model steam still outnumbers diesel and electric modellers. Steam is still the largest market and despite a tendency for more diesel-era layouts arriving on scene, they still have to catch up with the number of steam layouts.

The cover gives the list of layouts on video, as does the digital description, plus those within the digital magazine - it's not hidden. If you've forgotten you've previously seen them, you'll be able to enjoy them again.

The layout articles and those featured on the DVD have previously featured in BRM, but unless you've bought every copy you might easily have missed some. Diesels and electrics are on the cards if it makes sense to produce, we just need enough interest. Howard

Season's greetings RMwebbers, Look what has just gone live! This new digital video download features a great selection of steam era layouts, and given it's Christmas, we've thrown in some great heritage railway content too! ***10 Great steam era layouts inside*** ***1 hour + of steam era action*** WATCH THESE FIVE LAYOUTS: Liverpool Lime Street (OO) Loughborough Road (OO) Garsdale (O) Horfield (OO) Kingswear (2FS) 6 GREAT LAYOUT ARTICLES: Much Murkle (OO) East Wheal Dream (O) Halland (OO) Penmaenpool (OO) Wellbridge (OO) Kingswear (2FS) PLUS WATCH: How to clean wheels easily Scratchbuilt pioneering and pre-grouping locomotives on test A guided tour of Didcot Railway Centre, a leading heritage site A driver experience course on the Severn Valley Railway Get your copy today for just £4.99, whether you're on tablet, PC or MAC to watch and read it this Christmas. Preview and download your copy here

In the March 2016 issue of BRM I created a quick frost diorama to show that your layout needn't be set in the middle of Summer. You can download the issue here