Wayne 37901 Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Thanks Paul, Here's a couple I took of Blowers Green at Swansea. I did take more but wont post them all on here, don't want to clog up the thread. Good show chaps. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldworseandworse Posted October 19, 2017 Author Share Posted October 19, 2017 Thanks Paul, Here's a couple I took of Blowers Green at Swansea. DSCF1370.JPG DSCF1372.JPG DSCF1398.JPG DSCF1375.JPG I did take more but wont post them all on here, don't want to clog up the thread. Good show chaps. Hi Wayne, Thanks for sharing some of the images you took at Swansea Show. I was away when you asked if we would mind you posting some images and asked Paul to reply on my behalf. Thanks for that Paul and for posting some of the images you took at the show. My thanks also to Kier for his magic with paintshop. I have not added much to the layout over the last 12 months due to a medical condition affecting both my eyes. Despite the frustration of having blurred vision I have, with the assistance of Paul, added a number of road vehicles, an industrial building and some trees, images of which i post below. Cheers, Bill. 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted November 26, 2017 Share Posted November 26, 2017 I saw this fantastic layout at the Burnham and District show at Highbridge yesterday. As good as the photos are this layout is even better when seen for real, the attention to detail is superb. The way the fiddle yards are arranged means that each approaching train is a surprise and it is just like standing by the lineside back in 1970s, and the shunting of the cripple sidings kept me entertained between passing trains on the main line. Thanks guys for taking the time to talk about the layout and the marvellous collection of wagonry. I definitely recommend this layout as one to look out for, cheers Kevin 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danstercivicman Posted November 26, 2017 Share Posted November 26, 2017 If only they could sort the real Blowers Greem out if it was done to the standards of this layout it would be excellent! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldworseandworse Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 Hi Kevin and Danstercivicman, thanks for your kind comments about the layout. We had a good time at Burnham and the layout ran faultlessly. We had a lot of good feedback from those that visited the show, although it was sad that so few attended. Perhaps the Christmas show should not be held on the same weekend as Warley. My thanks to Norman for inviting us and making sure we were looked after; the catering arrangements were splendid. We hope the attendance at next years show is much better. Our next show will be Exeter 2018 followed by Lydney in September 2018. We have just received an invitation to Weston Super Mare - January 2019 and have a yet to be confirmed invitation to Wimborne in September 2019. I did not take any photos this time but I know that Swindon 123 and Steve did so perhaps they can post one or two when they get time. We are now embarking on a major change to the operating system, it will remain analogue, but will have new control panels which i am building to a design borrowed from Hornsey Broadway. My thanks to Kier for his assistance with this and Paul for producing the wiring diagrams and for designing and printing off the panel track plans. I also plan to increase the number of loco and stock cassettes so that the ever growing stock list can be accommodated and fiddle-yard operators no longer need go hunting for empty cassettes to enable them to receive arriving trains. So, lots to do and plenty to look forward to. Cheers for now, Bill. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
37114 Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 Looks a great layout, anymore shows in the pipeline? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindon 123 Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 (edited) Looks a great layout, anymore shows in the pipeline? As Bill mentioned in the post before yours, there is Exeter at the end of June and Lydney at the end of September booked for 2018 so far. Back to Burnham, which was a very relaxed exhibition operationally, with everything going or running well, from the set up and dismantling, to the loco running and operation. An excellent venue with a nice big, well lit school hall. This enabled me to take some good pics, some of which I will share with you below. 08083 makes a move. A renumbered Dapol loco. 08111 at rest. A renumbered Dapol loco. 08555 on the block. An Oakville Kit. 25213 waiting. Bachmann loco. 47499 on vans. Heljan. Cl 116, TY 539, heading for Stourbridge. Easybuild kit. Fowler No5 sidelined. Ixion. Until the next exhibition. Enjoy. Paul J. Edited to correct manufacturer of 08555. Edited December 8, 2017 by Swindon 123 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forest2807 Posted April 12, 2018 Share Posted April 12, 2018 Can’t believe I’ve missed this until now. Lovely layout, deserves a higher profile. Much, much more please! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindon 123 Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 The last few months on Blowers Green, have been spent under the baseboards,(mainly by Bill) adding all the new wiring for the new control panels, (as mentioned in post 55. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/109556-blowers-green-7mm-1970s-blue-diesel-layout-now-with-added-stock/?p=2947512 ). The idea for this revamp came from experiance gained at exhibitions. The layout originally was designed with a single control panel mounted in the middle of the layout controlling all points, signals and power. This proved to be unwealdy at exhibitions, with a fair bit of shouting between operators to get the right bit of track energised or point/signal changed. Having seen the control panels built by Mr Wibble for Hornsey Broadway, the idea was duly copied, with Bill building the control panel, and myself designing the wiring. The new set up has 3 control panels, one at each end for the fiddle yards, and a central one for the yard. They have been designed to communicate with each other to a degree so that when certain points/crossovers are reversed, the relavent operators know. Control of signals and points/crossovers, is now done from the relavent panel needing to control them, rather than one central one. The past 4 months have been dedicated to completing the panels and the wiring and hooking it all up to the existing wiring, most of which remained untouched. The end of May saw the new system plugged in and tested, and after a couple of days de-bugging and sorting out the crossed wires, the three new panels where finally working as they should. Now comes a period of intensive testing and making sure that we haven't any rogue feeds or crossed connections, before the layout, and new control panels, make their 1st appearence at Exe MRS Exhibition, Sat 30th June& Sun 1st July. Below are a couple of views of the new control panels. Yard control panel. Bridge control panel. Tunnel control panel. Hopefully all this work will result in a better operation of the layout, but only time spent exhibiting will prove that. Also one cannot factor in the human element into layout operation? Paul J. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
leopardml2341 Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Also one cannot factor in the human element into layout operation? Paul J. Indeed, cos even with a timetable to work to, it doesn't mitigate against things like this...... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/64065-leeds-city-the-midland-side-in-4mm/page-32&do=findComment&comment=3143424 Guilty, M'lud Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivercider Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 It was good to see Blowers Green again today at Exeter. I thought the light in the hall showed the layout off to good effect, though I understand the heat did cause a problem or two. Thanks guys for taking me back to the 'blue' era cheers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 This looks great. I’d love to see it at a show Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold mudmagnet Posted July 1, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 1, 2018 Thoroughly enjoyed spending a long while watching the shunting moves and studying the layout at the Exeter show on Saturday. A few of my photos. 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold jamest Posted July 2, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 2, 2018 Hi, I too enjoyed a few minutes watching your efforts on Sunday. A very nice layout with loads of operational potential in a relatively small space for O gauge. Lots of lovely detail scattered around the yard too. Thanks for making the trip. Regards, James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldworseandworse Posted July 2, 2018 Author Share Posted July 2, 2018 EXETER SHOW 2018 Thanks for the posts guys, particularly the pictures from mudmagnet. What a great weekend. My thanks go to Dave and the EXE MRS team for putting on a fantastic show and inviting Blowers Green to exhibit this year. We would love to come back in 2020 Dave - you have just got to keep drawing breath!! This was the first outing for the layout since the major overhaul of the operating system, which for various reasons has taken over 12 months to complete. The system is still analogue but there are now 3 control panels instead of the large single central panel that I put in when the layout was first built (see swindon123's earlier post). This has made operating at exhibitions so much better for the operators and it seemed to draw a lot of interest from the show visitors on both days. It certainly made up for Paul's hard work in the system design and for the many hours that yours truly spent building the panels, soldering more than 2000 joints (not smoking them!) and laying in several hundred metres of equipment wire. The heat on Saturday, particularly the sun through the glass panels in the roof, did cause us one or two problems when the curved stock rails on a couple of turnouts decided they wanted to be much longer than the available space allowed, preventing the switch blades from closing snugly against them. Our next show is Lydney which will take place on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th September 2018. This will be followed by Weston-super-Mare in January 2019, Burnham- on-Sea in August 2019 and Taunton (not yet confirmed) in October 2019. So, plenty of exposure in the West Country but nothing in the Black Country as yet. I have enjoyed talking to quite a few Black Country men at the various exhibitions we have attended and they have all said how much we capture the 'feeling' of that region and the small part of Dudley that we portray with Blowers Green. So if you want to see Blowers Green at an exhibition near you, wind up your club's exhibition manager to send us an invitation for 2020 or beyond. I didn't get the chance to take any images at Exeter, but Paul did, so keep watching this space for his next post. Cheers for now. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 I’m that keen , I’ve requested this dates off for Lydney... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindon 123 Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 As Bill had eluded to in his post 65 above, Exeter was a very enjoyable exhibition, with the layout performing the best it ever has, helped in some part by the new control panels, which resulted in smooth and efficient operation of the layout, hopefully resulting in a better viewing experience for the watching public. The weather did cause some problems, especially the strong sunlight on the Saturday, which meandered across the layout with the passage of the sun, as it shon through various skylights,during the day. This caused havoc with some of the track, and at one point it became impossible to run through one point, that had been operational 10 minutes before. 10 minutes later when the sun had passed, the point returned to normal. This strong sunlight also caused some problems when it came to taking photos, as will be see in the first photo below, so I didn't take many photos on the Saturday. The Sunday proved to be the opposite, with some nice light to take photos in, mainly due to the overcast weather. It was raining stair-rods from around 10.00 to 13.30. Below are some of the photos I took, inbetween bouts of operating. This first photo shows the major problem with the contrasting strong sunlight and shade encountered on the Saturday. When the light was right, it was possible to get a nice shot. In this case of the Dudley Tunnel end of the layout. The rest of the photos below, were taken on the Sunday. A very enjoyable weekend operating and I'm now looking forward to the next outing. But first a few tweaks to the control panels need to be sorted out. Paul J. 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne 37901 Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 Hi Paul, Some excellent photos despite the strong sun. Would it be possible to see some photos of sectorisation stock on Blowers Green? Cheers Wayne Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindon 123 Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 Hi Paul, Some excellent photos despite the strong sun. Would it be possible to see some photos of sectorisation stock on Blowers Green? Cheers Wayne Sorry Wayne, as the stock used at exhibitions is predominently pre 1980 short wheelbase, I haven't got any. Paul J. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne 37901 Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 Hi Paul, Was worth a shot. Who wad the owner of 47575 further back in the thread? Cheers Wayne Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindon 123 Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 Hi Paul, Was worth a shot. Who wad the owner of 47575 further back in the thread? Cheers Wayne Bill does Wayne. He owns nearly all the stock that runs on the layout. My tiny contribution is Dapol 08083, and an Ixion fowler 0-4-0DM. Paul J. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamworthbull Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 (edited) Hi Bill, Paul just remembered me RMWeb login! So to celebrate one of my photos of Blowers Green. More to follow, regards Steve. (Note second photo and that jammed mineral end door at Exeter!) Edited August 9, 2018 by Tamworthbull 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forest2807 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 Yes please Steve, loads more! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindon 123 Posted August 9, 2018 Share Posted August 9, 2018 Hi Bill, Paul just remembered me RMWeb login! So to celebrate one of my photos of Blowers Green. More to follow, regards Steve. (Note second photo and that jammed mineral end door at Exeter!) Some nice shots there Steve. look forward to seeing some more. Paul J. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy stroud Posted September 27, 2018 Share Posted September 27, 2018 Is this Layout still going to Lydney at the weekend? I would like to see it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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