David41283 Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 I thought it was odd that I hadn't updated this thread since July. I had posted photos onto my workbench thread, which I thought had been here. Route Learning at Poldeen sees a variety of traction.... 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanks522 Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 hi David, congratulations on your first exhibition, first of many i'm sure, nice photo's to in your latest updates. cheers Graham. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonseasider Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 David - your visit to Thorncombe will be fine, don't worry. (besides, any problems during the morning & you will get neither lunchtime pasty nor travelling expenses and there'll be no-one available to run you to A & E) See you in a week or so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 David - your visit to Thorncombe will be fine, don't worry. (besides, any problems during the morning & you will get neither lunchtime pasty nor travelling expenses and there'll be no-one available to run you to A & E) See you in a week or so. Cheers Graham I'm looking forward to it. It gives me the excuse to spend most of the next week playing testing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 Just a few pics taken at the Thorncombe exhibition today... The layout performed faultlessly which was great. I added a very quick screen to the fiddle yard to make some effort to hide the next train coming - this was simply a piece of foamboard cut to shape. It was an interesting experience sitting on the operators side of the table for the first time, I have a renewed perspective for the role of the operators now! It sounds anti-social to say, but I have rarely spoken to operators when attending exhibitions in the past, instead just watching the trains - it was weird how uncomfortable this felt as an operator having someone silently watching your every move! It was much nicer when people chatted. Given my own approach it amazed me how I was talking to someone 90% of the time, however this made it really difficult to keep things moving - I discovered I cannot drive trains and chat at the same time, and I became aware that some people moved on as nothing was moving while I was talking to another visitor. Finally there really is a unique sense of nervousness as an enthusiastic 3 year old runs towards your layout! What was interesting was that I found myself using the class 20's more than any other loco while exhibiting.They are nice and short so look the part on a small layout, but the bo-bo arrangement makes them smoother through the points than a shunter. This got me thinking how I could maximise the use of small bo-bo diesels on the layout....... A few scenic tweaks, some pale blue paint and a change of name...... Inverdeen? Class 20, 25, 26 & 27, single coach trains in the Highlands in the early 80's? hmmmm........... not yet maybe.. Cheers David 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steadfast Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Really nice little layout there David, glad the first exhibition went well! Just a pity the real Cornwall isn't that busy, traffic wise! The moss you bought in hobby craft, can you remember the type it is? It makes really convincing looking bushes so I'll have to have a look on eBay for some! Jo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shreives Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 (edited) Hi David I have only just come across this great layout you have built a new favorite of mine will keep watching for more updates and pictures Stuart Edited November 8, 2015 by shreives Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 A few scenic tweaks, some pale blue paint and a change of name...... Inverdeen? Class 20, 25, 26 & 27, single coach trains in the Highlands in the early 80's? hmmmm........... not yet maybe.. Do it, do it, do it, do it.... :yes: Cracking layout & concept/presentation! N scale has really come on leaps & bounds in recent years - I still marvel at seperate handrails, & buffer beam pipes - such a level of detail in R-T-R was unheard of years ago, when I had a little dabble with N. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Really nice little layout there David, glad the first exhibition went well! Just a pity the real Cornwall isn't that busy, traffic wise! The moss you bought in hobby craft, can you remember the type it is? It makes really convincing looking bushes so I'll have to have a look on eBay for some! Jo Hi Jo, I recall there were loads of little packs of mossy stuff - all pretty cheap, including the "lichen" sold by model railway suppliers, but much cheaper here in a bit of a rougher state. A word of warning - the bits I used were the best bits of the pack, which included a fair bit of mud too! The flower arranging area of Hobbycraft is worth a look - lots of foliage and florists wire which is useful. Sorry I'm a bit vague! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steadfast Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Thanks David, I'll have a look at their website and see what I can find! jo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 Poldeen (Polness/Inverdeen?) c. 1984 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanks522 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Hi David, Love the Black and white photo's, very atmospheric! Graham. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
south_tyne Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Hi David, Sorry for another simple 'like it' post but those black and white photos are fantastic! As I've said before, I love the layout... the design, execution and portability is just superb! Highlights the benefits of N Gauge and how much the scale has come on in recent years. Cheer and keep the photos coming! David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted January 9, 2016 Author Share Posted January 9, 2016 Evening everyone, I am going to continue my field trip down a remote branch somewhere in Scotland in the early 1980s (or thereabouts, with a bit of license!). The station is at the end of a very short branch from a main line, hence most services are just a single coach which is attached or removed from the main line service at the junction. There is a further line to the docks which sees some freight traffic, but most of the goods are transported in NPCCs vehicles added to the passenger services. A brand new station building has just been built in the BR corporate 1980s 'modern' style! A morning of trainspotting on the bank above the station follows: A class 20 trips a couple of steel wagons up from the docks. A class 26 arrives with a typical train, a BCK and a CCT, the loco pulls right to the buffer stops to allow the passengers to alight, and the van to be unloaded. After a short time, the loco propels the train slowly back to clear the run-round loop. The 26 runs round it's train. The rear vehicle is a very grubby ex-southern van, seeing out it's last days in Scotland. A class 37/4 arrives with a Speedlink service, in a couple of years these locos will displace the class 26's. A train arrives with fuel for the ferries, this will head down to the docks once it has run-round. Later in the day a class 26 is ready to depart. Looking along the train as it leaves. I have recently purchased my first DSLR camera, and I am slowly just discovering the tip of the iceberg with it! Any pointers welcome! Cheers David 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonas Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 Wow! Great layout, looks much bigger than it really is in the latest pictures. I see you are using the Dapol magnetic couplers - do you have magnets positioned around the layout or do you use another method for coupling and uncoupling? I tried them ages ago when they first came out and didn't get on with them, but I'm thinking of trying again on my modern stock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Boco_D1 Posted January 10, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 10, 2016 This is a great layout and always seems to be the way in rmweb I've only just discovered your thread. I'm wondering what is the wagon next to the 153 in the 8th picture of post 37. It looks very similar to the ones I occasionally see behind a colas 60 heading for Wales (IHA?) and wouldn't mind a few myself. Thanks Jimmy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 Wow! Great layout, looks much bigger than it really is in the latest pictures. I see you are using the Dapol magnetic couplers - do you have magnets positioned around the layout or do you use another method for coupling and uncoupling? I tried them ages ago when they first came out and didn't get on with them, but I'm thinking of trying again on my modern stock. Thanks for the comment. I find the Dapol couplings excellent - they look much better than a rapido and they are pretty forgiving when fitting them to non-NEM stock. In terms of operation they do the basics faultlessly - they couple and uncouple really well. I have really successful hands-free running round on this layout. HOWEVER - despite no end of fettling and checking I have never managed to get the "delayed action" (i.e. when you uncouple over a magnet then you can push the wagons without re-coupling like you can with Kaydees in 4mm) to work at all. I just don't think that they can physically open far enough in 2mm scale. This means I can only reliably uncouple over the magnet - but they are excellent at this. I also find the Dapol coupler allows you to fit more of the detailing parts as they move less than a rapido. As for the magnets - the Dapol ones are excellent, but I would recommend cutting them in half - they work just as well and a far less obtrusive when cut-down - and you get twice as many for your money! Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted January 10, 2016 Author Share Posted January 10, 2016 This is a great layout and always seems to be the way in rmweb I've only just discovered your thread. I'm wondering what is the wagon next to the 153 in the 8th picture of post 37. It looks very similar to the ones I occasionally see behind a colas 60 heading for Wales (IHA?) and wouldn't mind a few myself. Thanks Jimmy Hi Jimmy, Thanks for the comment. Have a look at my workbench thread (link at the bottom of my posts). I have 3 of these wagons - based upon the ones used in the Colas steel trains to Boston Docks and to South Wales. They are foreign models picked up from Ebay, two are Fleischmann and one is a limited edition from Modellbahn Union. They were all bright red when I got them and have all been re-sprayed. Being European N scale they are slightly the wrong scale. I know the chaps who operate Horsely Fields have changed the bogies on theirs to make them an even better likeness. Cheers David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy stroud Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 What a lovely little layout. Only just discovered it. The close up pictures seem to work well too. Often in N gauge, things dont look good when you go in close with the camera but no such issues here! Very nice indeed. andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted February 10, 2016 Author Share Posted February 10, 2016 Hi everyone, I am off to have photos taken for a magazine article about Poldeen tomorrow, so this evening I have given the layout a hoover, cleaned the tracks and had a test run. I'm really looking forward to the experience and seeing the results. Having been playing 1980's for the last few months it was nice to get the EWS/DBS china clay stock out and move the layout from Scotland in 1986 "back to the future" to Cornwall in 2014 as it was built! It also looks like I've got my second exhibition booked in August this year too. Cheers David 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonseasider Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 David - congratulations on both counts. It really is a nice little layout. Roger (who relieved you for a while at Thorncombe) was very complimentary about it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 David - congratulations on both counts. It really is a nice little layout. Roger (who relieved you for a while at Thorncombe) was very complimentary about it. Thanks Graham, it was the Thorncombe invite from you, and locating me next to the Peco/RM stand which lead to the magazine article and the other exhibition invite! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Just opened my post today and received confirmation that I will be taking Poldeen and Tavistock Road (see the link below) to Exmoor Rail 2016, in Minehead on 6th August. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold jamest Posted February 12, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 12, 2016 Hi, I have followed this thread from the start, as this layout ticks a lot of boxes for me, and you have executed the build to a very high standard. Great to know that you will be visiting an exhibition near to me - I will definitely be at Minehead this year. I was there last year with Bratton Lane - it is a great venue. And congrats on the magazine article too. All the best, James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David41283 Posted March 14, 2016 Author Share Posted March 14, 2016 Hi everyone, Here's a photo courtesy of Railway Modeller. It looks as though it will be well into 2017 before Poldeen is featured in the magazine, but Peco are also planning to use it in a forthcoming book on N gauge modelling in the Autumn. Having watched the photography process at first hand, it is amazing to see the final result, although my eye cannot help but be drawn to the slightly open paper seam just in front of the loco! Cheers David 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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