railwayrod Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I have not posted anything on this site for some time but thought I would let you know that her Christmas Day Special did run this year after its absence last year. As usual negotiations with the union paid dividends and the train completed its journey into Ramchester carrying Maggie's gift and of course tucked away in the van was the areas Christmas booze! Here are a few photos of the event. The Christmas Day Special emerges from the tunnel to round the curve into Ramchester. Rounding the final part of the curve at the entrance to the station. And comes to a halt in the goods yard. A Happy New Year to all the followers of this thread. Rod 13 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hal Nail Posted January 9 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 9 17 hours ago, railwayrod said: the train completed its journey into Ramchester carrying Maggie's gift I appreciate size isn't everything, but I think by now I'd have persuaded you to move up to 2 foot gauge :) 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted February 14 Author Share Posted February 14 (edited) After a long hiatus Rod and I got back to work on Ramchester a couple of weeks ago and the high-level unloading platform is gradually taking shape. I have more supporting columns to make and attach but there are enough to stand it in position now. in Edited February 14 by HSB 12 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted February 15 Author Share Posted February 15 All the supporting columns are now attached. 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 When I drew a station hotel for Ramchester some years ago I thought it would be appropriate to call it the Northwestern Hotel as it was supposed to have been built by the LNWR. At the weekend I discovered that the LNWR did actually have a Northwestern Hotel next to Liverpool Lime Street. There is now a Wetherspoons on the ground floor where I had some fish and chips and a pint of cider on Sunday evening after travelling up there on a London Northwestern train for an overnight stay in Liverpool. Here's my hotel (created using a drawing programme I had on my computer at the time):- The real one is a little more grandiose:- 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I do hope you are not going to convert your model to a Weatherspoons! Paul R 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 (edited) 2 hours ago, pwr said: I do hope you are not going to convert your model to a Weatherspoons! Paul R I think it would be a little out of period for this layout! And certainly no plans for a MuckDonalds or Kan't Find the Chicken either. Edited February 22 by HSB 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Yesterday my friend Peter Martin popped in to show Howard and I his new loco. This was a Class 25 Helhan diesel which had been sound fitted with a Paul Chette? file but Peter still has to number and weather it. The loco ran very well with a smooth acceleration and the stay alive facility made the driving of it a real pleasure. Once moving and the throttle shut down it was nice to be able to use the F2 key to bring it to a smooth stop. Here are some photos taken of the event for you to see. The Class 26 leans into the approach curve before slowing down for the signal gantry at the entrance into Ramchester. It waits while the driver changes end before getting the signal to move off to where its train awaits. Backing onto its 5 coach train of ex LMS coaches it prepares to leave as the signal is pulled to give him the right of way. A final check and she is ready to go. I was very impressed with this loco and the sound unit was superb giving an atmospheric impression that one was standing by the track side taking it all in. Rod 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 Some nice pictures of the Class 25 and I would agree that the Paul Chetter sound file is the best on the market of all Loco types 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted February 29 Share Posted February 29 If you want some exceptional modelling, the Lime St crew created an outstanding model of the North Western Hotel in 4mm (EM). do go look! 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted March 21 Author Share Posted March 21 I have now added some railings to the high level platform. While they are far from perfect they should look okay when painted and weathered. I've also started work on the gates for the oil depot loosely based on a couple of pictures I managed to find. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted March 22 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 22 (edited) All looking good Howard! Edited March 22 by Re6/6 spelling! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Always good to see further progress on this master piece I’m sure H&S will be happy to see that you have the safety of the brewery staff as a top priority 👍👍👍👍 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 The platform now has a bit of paint on it though will need another coat on the columns and girders. 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John R Smith Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 It does look really nice, Howard. There is one thing bothering me, and has been from the outset of this project - is it terribly wise to have such a tall structure at the very front of the layout? It does look so vulnerable to a careless impact from a distracted operator / onlooker . . . Let us hope I am being an over-cautious killjoy. It is now a very impressive brewery! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 The layout is fairly high off the floor compared to many other layouts. We like things near eye-level so not too much danger of being knocked and anybody who does will immediately be marched round the back of the shed never to be seen again! 🙂 1 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 (edited) I go back to my younger, and not so younger, days when trying to take a photo of some passing train only to find something (building or otherwise) in the way. I take your point John but we like to see the layout from a position closer to eye level than normal and if you look at most of my photographs they are taken from a lowish level as if we were standing at the line side. Putting the brewery at the rear of the layout would not have been practical without major rebuilding of the layout before the recent alterations took place. At that time I wanted to increase traffic potential to Ramchester and for a long time I debated what industry did I feel appropriate to Ramchester. In the end we settled for a brewery and had to extend the width of the baseboard to accommodate this. It was not possible to build a complete brewery complex so we had to compromise by imagining that the rest of the brewery was "off stage" Having a tall building at the front also helps to form a scenic break making the layout look bigger than it actually is. It also helps to block the view so that the layout cannot be seen in its entirety at a glance; visitors have to move around to see it all. One of our pet "hates" is a flat baseboard and Ramchester is built as if on sloping ground which the railway engineers had to build up to provide a firm foundation for the station resulting in the front lower than the back, hence the need for a retaining wall behind the brewery building and the need for a high level rail connection and loading/unloading facility. Howard has done a fantastic job of the brewery and I am proud to have it on my layout in a prominent position at the front so that visitors can peer into its windows to see the interior details which we have included. Rod Edited April 4 by railwayrod 4 3 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now