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Thanks John for the kind words. I have one more, a Gresley suburban to make over the winter to bring my tally to 2 x LMS period 2 Suburbans, 5 x Gresley suburbans, and 2 x Collett suburbans. The I can start on the Connoisseur Brass 6 wheelers I bought 10 years ago.

I have finally got around to putting some paint on the second D98 brake compo. The cream was enamel and air brushed, the brown was acrylic and brushed on. The lining is beige enamel applied with a bow pen, and the black was a 0.2mm permenant fine liner. The grab handles are from bent staples. I now have to cut out about 42 windows and glue them in. The coach is a Ian Kirk kit. The trouble is, I keep playing trains, and then I don't get much construction done!

Sandy Bay is now tucked up, safe under a sheet in the shed, and the beach donkeys are having a welcome rest.

Sunday was just as intense as Saturday, with many favourable comments. Maggie managed to take a couple of photos just before the doors opened!

Maggie and I have had a fantastic 1st day at Tings with the layout, which has performed perfectly. We have not had a break due to the continuous request for info ref the build and location. I hope we have increased people's interest in the North Yorkshire coastal region. Tomorrow is another day, so we will vary the stock a bit.

Hi Kevin, if you have the hook protruding past the buffer face you will find the loop on the mating coupling will bottom out when propelling so it won't lift out onto the latch when using a magnet under the track. I know, I have made hundreds of these things. The couplings make life much easier for shunting. I also fix them rigidly to the buffer beam as this allows better alignment.

Hi Hal, I usually take an old shoe box with me containing a scalpel or knife, a pack of swiss files, a razor saw, a sheet of sand paper, a small brush, a container of solvent, some superglue, tweezers, and these days a magnifier! I also have an off cut of hard board in the van so I don't mark the table. I have a small stone holder, meant to hold a night light candle, which is ideal for keeping the solvent bottle upright. A selection of pin vices and a range of drills from 0.5mm up to 2mm seem to do most jobs. This might sound like a lot, but they all fit in the shoebox, so keeping the van tidy. The Kirk kits are ideal if you don't mind the cutting and filing, and you can add as much or as little extra detail as you want.

Recently Maggie and I went away to Flamborough for a few days in the motorhome, and I always take something model railway oriented with me to assemble in the evenings. This time it was an Ian Kirk Collett suburban. I use a gig made from some wooden offcuts to align the side sections. Once I got home, I completed the bogies and most of the body details. So shortly I should finally have my B set complete.

I am flattered that my little layout is still creating a stir. It still gives me pleasure to set it up and run a few trains over that viaduct. Kevin.

Thanks very much, this will be the first layout I have built where the ballast will be reasonably clean, except where the engines will stand.

Three boards down, one more to go. I must be a glutton for punishment as we are ballasting the o gauge layout at the club as well.

I have used 10 thou plasticard inserted in the board joints to allow them to be separated.

After a long gap so I could fine tune the layout, I have started ballasting using medium granite ballast from a guy on Ebay. The particles are around 2mm which is about right for 3-4" lumps of ballast. It is stuck down with the usual pva/water/washing up liquid mix. Only 4 more boards to go then it will be lightly weathered with the airbrush.

Sandy Bay will be making an appearance at TINGS on the 11/12th Sept 2021. We are looking forward so seeing everyone.

I suppose I am going to have to get on with the ballasting next. I also want to scratch build one of these at some point.