“ROUTE OF THE SHORTYS”

[Northroader]

Thanks for that, praise indeed coming from you! There’s probably too much “dead” space to “scenic” space, but that’s a price to pay as you go smaller, particularly when I’m hell bent on running passenger trains. No, there’s no room-filler, that’s done by another four/ five? lines that are on the go. (No more American, though, I’m afraid.)

Edited December 10, 2017 by Northroader

[JAMO]

Nice to see the whole layout.

[Northroader]

 

Well, coming to the end of another year, so a big thank you to everyone who looks in on the thread, especially with their views and comments. Have a happy festive season with your folks, and hoping that next year brings enjoyable modelling for you all.

Edited July 3, 2023 by Northroader

[Northroader]

Sorry that there’s nothing been happening here for some time, I haven’t fallen down the plug hole or anything, but all my modelling effort has been going on the other lines I have. There’s a few jobs staring me in the face on Englefield, must try and square these up. Occasionally I run something through, I suppose I’m more of a builder than an operator. Some time back my five year old granddaughter had a session, but just messed about with some erratic driving. When she’s laughing and enjoying herself, what do you do? I ought to have given her the Atlas Beep, which would have stood up better, but one of my GPs caught it. Another job, now, so far I’ve reglued the support for a bogie centre on it, and that end bogie is slowly getting stripped down for a fault check. It all builds up your experience, so can’t be bad.

Edited April 10, 2018 by Northroader

[JAMO]

Ah young drivers!

 

Happy to have news from you! You'll find more motivation soon. I hope!

[Northroader]

Thanks, Jacky, I am busy, but afraid to admit to you that the energy is being aimed in other directions than North America, mainly old English, but also a bit of old French, might be able to start a thread on that soon. My oldest granddaughter (eight) loves to make things, particularly trees, so I got her a woodland scenics kit for her visit over Easter, but the glue wasn’t the best choice, although the model shop guy recommended it, —- how to get a kid totally sticky!!! The little one (five) was in on the edge of that, as I was keeping her away from the controller. Her other trick is playing with the people dotted around the line, and posting them inside the diesel for a ride. (Part of the repair is disentangling them out of the bogie belt drive!)

[JAMO]

No problem, I understand you like to change of direction and subjects. I'm like this too.

 

I like a lot of different subject for trains. I can switch from narrow gauge to standard gauge and from Frenchy to US trains, from time to time, English trains and in various scales. I can't stzy for a few years on the same theme.

 

The most important thing is to have pleasure with our hobby.

 

What kind of old french railway do you like?

Edited April 12, 2018 by JAMO

[Northroader]

Glad to hear I’m not the only one to switch about. I’m working on 1900 EST, with some OUEST coming along afterwards. I’ll start a thread when I get trains running, hopefully in a month or so.

[warb]

cracker of a layout

regards

warb

[Northroader]

Looking out of my loft window this afternoon, and not doing much modelling, as it’s too hot. It struck me how the cloud formations looked, big blue sky, and much smaller clouds than the lumpy great things we’re used to. Turn to your favourite pictures of a line in the American Mid West, and you’re looking at just the same background, isn’t that so?

 

[Northroader]

You can go to model shows and trade fairs, but I’ve never found a dealer selling modelling time, which is the thing I really need more of. This year my priority has been on my Washbourne line again, so there’s just the odd run up and down on Englefield, the Beep being the loco of choice, more often than not.

So, best wishes to the folks who have looked in before now, hope you have a pleasant Country Christmas with someone you’re fond of, and lots of useful modelling in 2019.

 

Edited July 3, 2023 by Northroader

[Regularity]

Funny how the rifle points out towards the reindeer.

I always wondered how Santa motivated them to fly so fast...

[F-UnitMad]

Funny how the rifle points out towards the reindeer.

I always wondered how Santa motivated them to fly so fast...

There's a rifle in the picture..??

 

Oh yes, so there is!!

[Donw]

rather nice. A good example of less is more.

 

BTW THe ALSRM Reading SHow is always early May usually the second Saturday. This year it is one the 11th. I hope to be there will look out for you.

 

Don

[Northroader]

Thanks, Don, I’ll do a post on here soon describing the goings on. I do like the ALRSM show, they seem to have an inspired choice with what appears. It usually works that I do the Saturday shop, climb on a bus to Swindon station, and take pot luck with whatever is going to Reading, even occasionally replacement coach service, so getting there is always a bit elastic. I’ll stick my tee shirt on.

[Northroader]

There’s some intensive work going on to get Englefield up to shape, but just for now I want to do a post to comment on the sad news that Jack Trollope (Shortliner) has passed on. If you were into microlayouts builds, you would have heard of Jack, he was a great inspiration to all of us. Over a year back, he was kind enough to post some appreciative comments on this thread, and it really made me feel good when a guy of his stature did that. There’s an obituary running here:

 

[Northroader]

On 10/12/2017 at 09:29, shortliner said:

I'm absolutely astonished, nay, astounded - in a good way - to see the layout - from the photos posted previously I was expecting a HUGE railway-room filler like some we see in US mags , and even some of the UK publications.  Very well done indeed - the proof that a room-filler is NOT needed to have a great layout that you can have fun with.  MR< take note!

 

EDITED to add :-  When I looked at the design drawing and the photos, I initially read it as "4 boards each side" and was thinking ""Another 4 x 48" boards and 4 x21" boards - by heck , he's got lots of room!  I wonder where the other boards are?" Then I looked a second time and realised that the pictures showed the complete layout - I really am impressed

 

It just crossed my mind that if Jacks posts should be closed, I might lose this post, and I really do want to keep this one to remember him by, and if it’s a quote, it won’t go with the rest, will it?

[jasond]

Hmmm, ALSRM Reading, I may try that again.  Short drive up to Bedwyn and train into Reading.  I'll be the tallish old boy with grey hair and preoccupied look.  Hang on, that's about 70% of us attendees isn't it?  Maybe I should look about and talk to old mates I haven't seen for a while!

 

Went to the Chicago Meet mid-March.  Being surrounded by O-scale and other old mates I haven't seen for a while was good.  I made sure a long-standing friend starting dementia was having a good, if final, USA visit, then found my memory was good enough to remember all most of the half-finished projects waiting back home.  So no more unneeded parts ... OK, just that nice Atlas Dash8-40BW at a good price from Norm at Norm's O-scale. 

Jason

[Northroader]

The ALSRM Reading show on 11th is one I do try to get to, they always manage to get a decent cross section of layouts, and I’m short of parts and materials for various jobs. OK, it ain’t Chicago, I’m sure if I could go there I’d be blown away by the cheaper items available round the fringe. There was another meeting featured in the most recent Oscale Resource online magazine you link into on your Facebook thread that looked very tasty, Jason. Anyhow, I’ll look out for a tall, distinguished gentleman as described. The American interest is a bit limited, the Cheyenne folks are there with the Big Boys, and what looks to be a Maine two footer. Then there’s what odds to give if one of the traders who goes has managed to offload a USRA 0-6-0 switcher yet, I’ve seen it at shows for around four years now. I reckon if you showed an interest in it he’d hug you and burst into tears.

The one layout that’s coming which always fascinates me is Hambleden Valley, large scale British outline steam radio controlled, with operation totally hands off, the nearest thing yet to realism.

Edited April 28, 2019 by Northroader

[jasond]

'distinguished'?? - oh, that's where I have to be grandpa and lift them out of their cots in the middle of a baby-sitting night ... stiff upper lip you know ... back pain's still there in the morning - you must remember all that!

 

That is a nice little 0-6-0 ... luckily the D&H switchers were different.  You're right though, he's had it long enough to get our interest sympathy!

Jason

[Donw]

Hambleden Valley uses what are called SLo-Mo devices to make the small live steamers run slowly and be more controlable it includes a flywheel.  Not tried one as my Roundhouse KAtie will run reasonably slow and Taliesin which does go fast would be very difficult to modify ( the steam bogie is quite packed). It is a lovely layout to watch trains terminating locos running round rather than the whizzing round and round seen on a lot of 16mm layouts.

 

I should be there by midday as I usually get the train from Taunton and then walk to the venue ( back way out of the station down to the river then along quite pleasant).

 

Don

[Northroader]

Well, it’s been quiet on this thread for far too long, but the last three months or so I’ve been really busy trying to get things up to scratch, and I think I should just first go over why I am where I am.

Firstly, I’m lucky enough to do my modelling in a converted loft, and I could manage to fit a decent oval layout in, and I did try this way back. It didn’t come off, partly the material and effort that was needed, and probably I hadn’t really got a good enough plan to get me fired up. Instead I enjoy doing small layouts of lines that take my interest, and these fit round the loft in various stages of progress.

Second, I’m really hooked on O gauge, I just like the bulk of individual models. There’s a huge range of RTR HO models available which would give me a layout much quicker, with far less time and expense involved, but I wouldn’t be as happy handling the models.

Lastly, I like to have passenger trains running as well as freight, and set my layout in the 1950s, when such goings on were common. The trouble then is having a small line of the tuning fork/ inglenook  type doesn’t really work, as it would if it was a freight only nature.

Last March, I did a post on my other Washbourne thread looking at the idea of having a small layout which was built round a “run through” station, rather than the popular terminus to fiddle yard arrangement.

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/107190-washbourne/page/40/&tab=comments#comment-3501098

Its not something I wanted for my Washbourne line, but it struck me as a good move for Englefield, mainly from the consideration that American trains tend to be made up for a direction of travel, (diesels with a cab only at one end, hardly any steam tank engines or tender first running, passenger “head end” cars leading, freight caboose trailing) so after due thought I started a rebuild. When I get track down and trains running, I tend to drift off to something else, but this time I made the stern decision to stick at it, and get all the detailing done.

Heres a plan giving dimensions for the rebuild, and also the fiddle yards needed:

 

The main baseboard lost around six inches from the right hand end, and narrowed down at the back. You’ll see that the widths are unequal, with hindsight another inch on the right hand depth would have been useful. There was no need for runround  or passing moves, so I lifted the main track through the platform, and just kept the old loop with the front siding entry, tightening up the reverse curves a touch. A new short siding went in at the back of the right hand end, so I could do a pickup and  set down for a train going in either direction. The platform, depot, and train order board were all moved forward. The timber processing plant has appeared early on in this thread, and has now been rebuilt, with a new “flat” representing a supply warehouse for the back siding. Then it was just a case of padding out all the scenic details, and this is how it’s now looking. First the passenger end, then the freight end, then an overall view. The other thing that’s been done, by the way, is that the view blocking screens at each end have been resized from A3 to A4, partly because of printer problems, partly to keep in proportion with the reduced size.

(sorry, no pictures)

 

 

 

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by Northroader

[Donw]

Looks delightful,  they only thing that puzzles me is why you have a pice of ply across the front of the scenic bit cutting off any view at track level.

 

Don

[Northroader]

Thanks, the ply just forms a safety fence to stop trains dropping off the front of the line. I’ll have to study just how high I really need.

[Donw]

2 hours ago, Northroader said:

Thanks, the ply just forms a safety fence to stop trains dropping off the front of the line. I’ll have to study just how high I really need.

 

If it is just a safety fence perhaps a piece of perspex/acrilic sheet would do the job. I seem to remember the US didn't go in for fencing all the track.