Leaderboard

Welcome to the backstreet world of Wolverhampton's foundries. Qualcast was just the other side of the steel mill sitting beneath both sides of the Stour Valley line. The lineage of the business is well described here http://www.historywebsite.co.uk/Museum/OtherTrades/CraneFoundry/Foundry.htm and it's then apparent it's more to do with safes, stoves and tractor bits than cutting grass. And all that got flattened just over ten years ago. A shame.

I'll clear something up this is a commission for a client. So throwing spanners is ill advised. My client's layout hasn't been built yet, the rear won't be visible, I'm aware of the buttresses. I know he's not particulary worried about the accuracy of the interior either.

Excellent choice, should be good! Why is that local road named after a lawnmower, by the way?

I like the idea.

Will follow with interest....

Thank goodness it's not 'Avocado'

I'm pretty sure my grandmother used to have a 3 piece bathroom suite in the darker shade of brown... Just came across this: Completely forgot I had this photo, but it's one my Dad took on one of our trips up to Imperial dry, and it shows the brake van I was talking about earlier.

Don’t want to throw a spanner in the works here, but this kit has a couple of problems - the floor on which the tracks run should be a foot or so below the floor on which the coal trucks are manoeuvred - and it is also on a slope - a shallow ramp extends through the stage and onto the full wagon storage siding beyond. I discovered the height difference on a visit to Didcot. I was pleased to amend my (7mm) one as this lowered the rather extreme ramp that my layout required, if you have more room, you may not need to do so. the other deficiency is that there are MASSIVE buttresses at the back, and inside, to hold up the water tank. I didn’t model these, but may do so in the future. If you can’t see the back, they may not be obvious on your model. Theres a small plan that shows these in the GW sheds book. sorry to bear ill news simon

Hi Pete, that looks good. I like the kit colours, very 1970s interior decoration! Do you ever find it confusing to work in 2mm and 7mm 'simultaneously'?

It's good to be finally building something after all these years. Actually you're partly to blame/thank for it. We moved house last November and that gave us cause to visit Ikea, where I noticed the "Lack" shelves. This of course prompted memories of "Coombe Junction", which caused me to visit RMweb for the first time in a long time. It also confused the wife as we started talking at crossed purposes about why certain shelving would be a "good candidate" - I only realised when I told her that I'm just not sure if I want to go N scale again... "...what does that have to do with my books?"... oh....

Hi Steve, Depression is a real bummer mate and in my case it comes and goes. Like you, I sometimes hit a bit of a problem and then feel perhaps I am attempting too much. I have two such modelling problems right now and forcing myself to deal with them ain’t easy. I have a variety of other interests too, not of which I particularly excel at, and so with those and some of the superb modelling on show here, it is easy to slip into a depressive state. I find that breaking down issues into small chunks makes them more manageable and I hope you have a supportive partner. If you need to take a break, that is understandable but have you thought of building rolling stock / buildings / signals / locos etc as a way of doing smaller projects to get over your personal hump? Perhaps a shelf layout on which to test anything you make? Good luck anyway. Tony

I think you've put the main reason for your lack of motivation third on the list - depression, you can find away around the other reasons if the motivation was there. I've always struggled when it comes to the scenery - I would begin my layout enthusiastically and then reach the scenic stage where my confidence would wain and before I knew it a new idea for a new layout took hold and off I went in a new direction. It was only last year that I finally accepted that I couldn't keep buying stuff for each new project and then see myself with too much stock and no railway to run it, then I sold off a good proportion of my stock. During some counselling last summer I had an epiphany - my incessant need to purchase was dopamine driven, it was the thrill of the finding and making the purchase - once I got the item it lacked any thrill and then made me feel bad that I had bought something I didn't really need - it's a sign of an addiction. I've also accepted that when I become obsessed with a new layout plan it is probably a sign that I am depressed and this is how I look inward into myself, falling back onto a comfortable pattern of behaviours. What's changed in the past few months is that knowing why I purchase stuff and why I make plans that I wont actually deliver is part of repeating patterns of behaviour that do more harm than good. I've not purchased any railway stock since last summer, what I am buying in limited amounts are scenic items - paints, gravel etc and I am working towards finishing a railway and only once it is finished can I think about my next railway which will utilise some of my N stock. Take the rest you owe yourself, sort out your head and then come back to modelling but pick something small and achievable, look at the Billy Bookcase threads - simple baseboard, simple track. I typically use NHY581's Mutton as what can be achieved with simple track and baseboards, but I've also been looking a Ladmanlow sidings (Mutton inspired actually) as well Can I also recommend you find yourself a local mindfulness or Buddhist group - those groups can transform people's lives.

A later entry will explain a bit more why not; not just Taunton.

Far smaller and lighter but not necessarily quicker. The boards will not be measured in chains nor hundredweights.

Well I do need somewhere for the ever-increasing fleet of "that's cute" purchases to stretch their little legs, this is true.