Border Counties

Back to circular layouts. I too made a full size jig in order to construct the curved baseboards. Even when constructing regular size baseboards, I have an adjustable jig in order to ensure they remain square. It is so easy to build in faults to a baseboard which rarely can be rectified afterwards. I also utilise birch plywood nowadays having sourced an excellent timber merchant in rustic Norfolk. Good old EMGS pattern makers dowels allow correct alignment coupled with a 6mm bolt and wing nut to bring the baseboards together. Has worked for forty years..............................................

Hi Dave The Lady Anne Middleton Hotel - a blast from the past indeed. I too remember saying 'rude' things to a well known wagon modeller at that hotel. Terry Onslow (remember him) and I were a little worse for wear that year and I havn't touched a drop since and that is the truth. Looking forward to exhibiting at Stafford soon ('Fisherrow Yard') and the new train set has its first outing at Biggleswade in February. It looks quite like 'Burnfoot' but in S7

Greetings All I constructed four circular layouts in the 1970s-80s. The first was in 'Glen Douglas' was a OO layout based on the actual location along the West Highland line. Strange enough, I have just recently completed a 4mm scale plans of the signal cabin and cottage. The second layout was in EM - 'Longwitton'. A next attempt was 'Deadwater' also in EM. Finally in 1985 I produced a 'might have been layout' called 'Glen Falloch'. The final two circular layouts were never written up and only had a couple of shows. No photographs exist either (at least by me). Would love to have a 7mm circular layout, but the spare room is too small ! ! Mr F.

Interesting to see the comments relating to Czech Railways. I visited and stayed with a friend in Louny (NW of Prague) between 1995-2005 and we still keep in contact, he visited me last year. As he works for CD he would take me to many depots and interesting locations. As a result I have amassed a huge selection of mainly locomotive prints from that period. I was particularly interested in rural backwaters of which there were plenty and we travelled the length and breadth of that country. Somewhere lurking in my shed I have resin and plastic locomotive bodies of 810 DMU and Bridgets. They are fairly crude but could be made into a reasonable HO model. This was before the advent of Roco models. A fascinating country regarding railways and unlike Britain, lines although closed, would not be lifted, the infrastructure seemed to be left in place.