rlwynut Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Hi Rod. The tunnel looks excellent, you and Howard do nice work. The Jinty looks great. Cheers Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 There has not been very much to report on Ramchester just lately but we are still working on the layout. I feel that it has reached a stage where a lot of effort reveals little progress but I suppose that most layouts reach that stage sooner or later. Howard has continues to blend in the tunnel mouth so that it looks part of the scenery and he has nowhidden the tell tale gaps at the base of the tunnel mouth and added some bits of foliage around behind the wayside hut. In the meantime I have been painting the "tunnel darkener" black to make it look a bit neater. All for now. Rod 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxerbayrailway Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Looking good Rod, like the last shot with the Jinty by the platform, the overall scene is very realistic and pleasing to the eye. With Ramchester reaching a more finished stage, will you be starting your Lenz German O layout ? I've been very tempted by the Lenz equipment since seeing the BR 50, and the T3. An excuse for another railway is all I need, I'd better look away Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 (edited) Thanks for your kind comment Felix, it is nice to get some feedback and it is gratifying to know that our efforts are appreciated. I still have lots to do on Ramchester so at present the proposed German railway has had to be put back for a while. I also need a couple more locos for Ramchester (in hand) so expenditure on a new project will have to wait for a while. I have been very impressed with Lenz locos and stock and my DB class 50 is superb and deserves a "proper" DB layout on which to run. Still it is nice to have plans for the next layout. More soon. Rod Edited April 30, 2018 by railwayrod Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted May 7, 2018 Author Share Posted May 7, 2018 I took this picture of the tunnel mouth this afternoon:- 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted May 7, 2018 Share Posted May 7, 2018 Excellent finish to the tunnel mouth looking nice and dark inside too can almost smell the soot and dampness from here 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted May 8, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 8, 2018 I took this picture of the tunnel mouth this afternoon:- IMG_20180507_170032_2CS.jpg Certainly looks the part now Howard. Splendid. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Thanks guys for your comments on the tunnel mouth. I too feel that Howard has done a superb job on getting it "planted" and blended into the rock face so much so that it is difficult to realize that it has only been in place for a few weeks! He has also been busy adapting a Peco telephone pole to replace the one that got damaged during the tunnel replacement. Here is a picture of progress at the time of taking the photo last week. I decided that it was high time I got on with the goods shed crane and spent a pleasant ½ hour cleaning up the model before spraying it with car primer. A couple of days later I painted it black ready for weathering. Photo below. A bit more progress has been made but at this moment I have not taken the photos so you will have to wait till the next time to see what has been done. Rod 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Thought I would bring you up to date with the state of play on the telephone pole and other things. Howard has finished the pole and has "planted" it on top of the hill over the tunnel mouth where the original one was. Here are a couple of photos of the pole looking down majestically across the sweeping curve of the railway as it exits the tunnel. In the meantime I have made up a new sign board for the rear of the coal staithes which will eventually display the coal merchants name (as soon as I have decided upon one). More anon. Rod 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlwynut Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 Hi Rod and Howard The tunnel looks great now that Howard has finished it. The telegraph poles have reminded me I have to order some for my layout, Thank you. As for the coal merchants name, here is the one from my layout. Cheers Michael 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 Have just returned home from a fabulous week in Cornwall hence the lack of postings on my thread. The weather was really good except for Wednesday when we walked from Lelant Saltings to St Ives, returning by train. We had tickets for the Minack open air theatre to see the sea shanty group Fishermans Friends and as usual the show was excellent, a fine evening, and of course a fantastic atmosphere. Not much done on the Ramchester front as we have been busy putting all the furniture back following decorating while we were away but I did have a visit from my friend Peter who came over to give his new Dapol 64xx loco a run. This model looks good and having a metal body has plenty of power and added to its really good running qualities is good value for money. He brought along his auto coach as well and the following few pictures are attached to record the event. The pannier standing alongside Ramchester's platform. Arriving at the signal ready to enter the station. Passing the Jinty as it enters the platform. And finally comes to a halt ready to disgorge its passengers. we had a very pleasant afternoon which, as usual, passed far too quickly. Rod 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Have just returned home from a fabulous week in Cornwall hence the lack of postings on my thread. The weather was really good except for Wednesday when we walked from Lelant Saltings to St Ives, returning by train. We had tickets for the Minack open air theatre to see the sea shanty group Fishermans Friends and as usual the show was excellent, a fine evening, and of course a fantastic atmosphere. Not much done on the Ramchester front as we have been busy putting all the furniture back following decorating while we were away but I did have a visit from my friend Peter who came over to give his new Dapol 64xx loco a run. This model looks good and having a metal body has plenty of power and added to its really good running qualities is good value for money. He brought along his auto coach as well and the following few pictures are attached to record the event. DSC02743 (2).JPG The pannier standing alongside Ramchester's platform. DSC02747 (2).JPG Arriving at the signal ready to enter the station. DSC02748 (2).JPG Passing the Jinty as it enters the platform. DSC02750 (3).JPG And finally comes to a halt ready to disgorge its passengers. we had a very pleasant afternoon which, as usual, passed far too quickly. Rod Stunning pics Rod, the same combination as I ran on Pen Y Bont but my Coach came from Larry G / Coachman, and so it has been re painted. the combination looks so good on Ramchester Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Hi Andy. Thanks for your comments and I agree that the 64xx and auto coach look good. As nice as the loco and coach look I am not quite tempted to go GW as my allegiance lies with the ex LMS system and it previous companies. Sorry GWR fans but this man is not for turning lol!! Not yet at least but who knows..... Rod 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted May 26, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 26, 2018 (edited) Sorry GWR fans but this man is not for turning lol!! Not yet at least but who knows..... Rod Oh go on Rod....you know that you want to....! Edited May 26, 2018 by Re6/6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 (edited) Not a lot of work has been done on Ramchester over the last few weeks with either Rod or I being away on holiday or tied up with other things. I've just returned from a trip to the North East with a group of friends, staying in Newcastle with visits to Beamish, Durham and Hartlepool Royal Naval Museum. Here are a few pics of railway interest:- Edited June 9, 2018 by HSB 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 Some more pics from my visit to Beamish:- North Eastern rather than LNWR but some pointers for when we get around to properly detail the inside of Ramchester signal box:- 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted June 10, 2018 Author Share Posted June 10, 2018 Just a few more shots from my hols:- 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 For some time now I have not been fully happy with the layout of the fiddle yard and this week Howard and I have had some discussions about possible changes to the point work. The problem lies with the 3-way point which I find difficult to see which way is set. Yes I have DCC in the locos so if the point is set correctly the loco emits its sound but the reverse curve set up by the 3-way limits the stock which needs to negotiate its left hand siding to 4 wheel wagons and small locos. By carrying out some fairly limited relaying and eliminating the 3-way I think that the situation could be improved considerably. It would mean the purchase of three points and disposing of the 3-way (Marceay) but the result would be much better. This will not be undertaken immediately as I have more visitors coming to see the layout very soon but I want to get the job done at the earliest possible date. Watch this space. Rod 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Rod Have you thought about setting up a cheap video feed to a monitor near the control panel.? Just a thought to stop you having to rip up the tracks Paul R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 For some time now I have not been fully happy with the layout of the fiddle yard and this week Howard and I have had some discussions about possible changes to the point work. The problem lies with the 3-way point which I find difficult to see which way is set. Yes I have DCC in the locos so if the point is set correctly the loco emits its sound but the reverse curve set up by the 3-way limits the stock which needs to negotiate its left hand siding to 4 wheel wagons and small locos. By carrying out some fairly limited relaying and eliminating the 3-way I think that the situation could be improved considerably. It would mean the purchase of three points and disposing of the 3-way (Marceay) but the result would be much better. This will not be undertaken immediately as I have more visitors coming to see the layout very soon but I want to get the job done at the earliest possible date. Watch this space. Rod It should be possible to make a simple LED panel indicator which will light to show the road that is set. Of course that will do nothing to alleviate the limitations imposed by the reverse curve... Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Thank you for your comments Paul and Chaz. I agree that in normal circumstances a simple video link would enable me to check that the points were set in the right direction. However I can do the same thing by listening to the loco in the FY, if the sound is on then the route is correctly set (the FY has not been rewired for DCC so still has "dead" sidings until the points are correctly set). As Chaz has reiterated above the problem really lies with the 3-way point which has a bit too sharp a radius branching off to the left. As this leads to the second longest siding in the FY I do not want to put in a small freight train where a second long passenger train could and eventually will be accommodated. This is the main reason that I feel I need to re-lay part of the FY. Taking a good look at the situation both Howard and I feel that the improvement which will result following the re-laying will more than justify the temporary disruption. I still have a little bit of time before making the decision which in any case will not be done until after my next group of visitors have gone. Rod Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 What with this superb weather, sailing and the World Cup little has been done to Ramchester just lately. I have3 entertained some visitors which are always welcome and my friend Peter called in earlier this week to "show off" his latest loco - a Peckett - and to give it a run. Here are a few photos of it at Ramchester station. All for now. Rod 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Well the FIFA World Cup is over and Wimbledon has reached its climax so maybe I will get my mojo working again and get some modelling dane. The problem is that this lovely weather makes we want to go out sailing rather than being cooped up down in Platform 2. Still with some important visitors due to see Ramchester on Thursday afternoon I must make sure that all is ready and ship shape for their visit. This afternoon Howard and Peter dropped in for a chat and Peter brought along his latest project - an ex MR brake van which he has built from a Slater's kit. I have attached some photos of Peter's work for your perusal. Nice work me thinks Peter Rod 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Have been cleaning up Platform 2 this afternoon and vacuuming the carpet etc ready for tomorrows visit of a few visitors. I must make sure that the track is nice and clean for the session as I hate stuttering locos and poor running especially when I have people round. Maggie had been busy making cakes etc so we should have a very enjoyable afternoon. Photos next post. Rod 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 What a great day we had yesterday with my band of merry visitors, Martyn Welch, Vic Burles, Mike Calvert, and of course Howard and myself. Here, as promised, are some pictures of the day. Martyn at the controls bringing a train into Ramchester. The Class 20 awaits for the signal before departing from Ramchester Jinty 47357 rounds the curve towards Ramchester hauling a freight trip working. It arrives and.... ,,,with driver Martyn shunts its train. And is ready to depart. Later Mike took over the controls and gave my DB class 50 loco a run. Finally Black5 is seen from the air approaching the tunnel. The afternoon was completed with cake (made by Maggie( and biscuits with tea and coffee. Rod 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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