SteveyDee68

A few days later and I’m not seeing anything that offends me, so this track plan may be the final one. What was to be a siding running into a shed (with a closed door across the tracks) has now transformed into a loco shed at the front right of the board, acting as a sight blocker for the exit to the fiddle stick. The original plan was to use a cut down version of the Scalescenes modern industrial unit as a maintenance shed, but now thinking that the Diesel loco shed would work better (and provide a different roof level to the Hornby maintenance shed or the Scalescenes Loco Works low relief building I am using at the rear). Wondering whether a vertical fuel storage tank might work on the other side of the “hole in the sky” to act as a view blocker - and could a pipe bridge run across the top edge of the “hole” from the shed to the tank? Answers on a postcard or better yet, here! HOURS OF FUN!

Crikey - is it really so long ago that I did anything at all with DRS Engineering?! Actually, I purchased a second Hornby Diesel Maintenance Shed kit from eBay (paying slightly more than my original purchase but still way less than half the current RRP) and sent it to a local(ish) producer of lasercut building kits and parts (such as doors and windows) in the hopes that he might produce some lasercut replacement windows to upgrade the kit. That was actually some months ago, and I’ve heard nothing, so … Admiring the micro layouts at the York show at Easter, I took another look at my existing trackplan and decided that having a siding running behind the maintenance shed might be a tad tricky to shunt, given that the intention is to operate the layout from the front at eye height. Cue a rethink to move the depot building to the rear of the board. Using the existing points makes for some unprototypical wiggles through the pointwork but it means the building is at a slight angle across the board, with a kickback siding into a loco shed to act as a view blocker to the exit/fiddle stick extension at the front. Annoyingly, after heavily modifying a Scale Model Scenery low relief modern office block to turn it into a 3D building, I spotted that I had glued a set of windows on upside down! 🫢 The building fits well with the maintenance depot building, but now a scratch built version will be required (having b*gg*r*d up this version - far too well glued together to be able to rescue it). What was it James said earlier about such micro layouts being opportunities to learn by making mistakes (or something similar)? Called in at the LocoShed yesterday and purchased a PECO inspection pit kit. Yes, I know it isn’t really deep enough but there’s enough there to provide a long pit in the wagon maintenance shed and also in the loco shed siding - result!! Looking forward to progressing the layout - the plan is to be able to take it over to my mate’s next time I visit (so a self imposed deadline!) HOURS OF FUN!

Now, if you (as a politician) wanted to run down an organisation to the point where you (as a politician) can “justify” privatisation and more likely than not making yourself/relatives/friends lots of money in the process, couldn’t this be one of those subtle nails in the coffin dreamt up by some secretive politically/ideologically driven “think tank”? ”How do we make this job so miserable that people end up hating it and leaving?” asks a government minister of a particular political ideology. ”Well, Minister,” replies the civil service mandarin with an obsequious smile, “How about we make the paperwork so onerous that nobody can stand being in the job very long?” “I like your thinking,” replies the minister, “But will it work?” ”Ah, here’s your despatch box with today’s briefing notes, Minister - shall we sit down and read through them together?” ”Good Lord, is that the time? I think we need to break for a spot of (tax payer subsidised) lunch in the member’s bar, leave those until this afternoon, or maybe even just give me the main points later, in bullet point form, say three maximum? Jolly good.” Exit minister stage right (pursued - if there was any justice in the world - by a bear) Steve S

Back in the late 1980s, the Head of the School of Music at my College drove one of those - but an orangey yellow shade, difficult to describe. He said he owed Saab his life - involved in a head-on collision with an articulated lorry on the A1 … his car ended up in the tractor unit … lorry driver didn’t survive, fire crew cut him out with a few scratches and told him that if he had been driving any other car … Accepted a lift up the College drive from him once … closest I have ever been to experiencing the type of G force acceleration more typically experienced by fighter pilots in jets!! I’d barely got my seatbelt on when I was taking it off again! Only found out on Sunday that Saab have long driven off into the history books… Steve S

Came looking for you @Clive Mortimoreon the Saturday, but both times my mate Dave and I called by you happened to be elsewhere! (First Aid station, perchance?) The show was a great day out, and we are already talking about doing it again next year! Steve S

My best mate Dave booked tickets for the show and we duly arrived yesterday ready to be inspired by the layouts and modelling on display and - maybe - pick up a few items. It was quite busy when we arrived, which meant we skipped anything overly crowded and returned to them later. The larger layouts were impressive - South Pelaw as has previously been mentioned was stunning, but we both felt it would have benefitted from not having to run its curved end boards behind another exhibitor. Having said that, we have never had to plan an exhibition and fit layouts etc into a fixed space, so hats off to @john new and team. What we both found, though, was although we found the larger layouts inspirational, it was the micro layouts which we spent longer at. Maybe, we reasoned, because those were both inspirational and achievable - whereas the behemoth “headliner” layouts are far less so to your “average” modeller. All in all, a terrific show with lots of scales, gauges and locations (UK, USA, Australia, Japan, European) catering to all tastes. Comparing 3mm/foot to Hornby’s TT:120 was a revelation; the fact both of us were sorely tempted by O gauge is also a testament both to the layouts on display and the growth in O gauge RTR - only our previous investment in OO gauge held us back! 🤣 Best of all, I sourced appropriate nameplates for my mate’s new loco! Once again, a massive thank you to the organisers, exhibitors and traders that made the show such a great day out. Steve S

Whoops! 😆 Definitely guilty as charged, but done completely innocently! The crazy thing is, I am well aware of the Timesaver plan so it is a bit embarrassing to find I’ve unknowingly recreated it! 🤣 Steve S

Yes! Phew!! 🤣

Hornby high detail Pullman coach “Minerva” Current high bid is £21 - what a bargain! So why “madness”? Well, I put a bid of £22 in a while back not realising that I already have two “Minerva” coaches (one awaiting renaming, obviously) so don’t actually want it now … Except I am winning it with only 30 minutes left and I have a feeling I will win it… 🙄 Just when I made a promise to myself to stop buying stuff off eBay! Anybody after a high detail Pullman coach for £23? (Reckon that should win the auction!!) Steve S

It’s just occurred to me that all these layouts built on what IKEA originally intended to be household furniture (or shelving) all fall under the general banner of being IKEA hacks! Who is going to be brave enough to post a layout picture on the website dedicated to suchlike?! It might make a pleasant change from examples of turning a lampshade into a salad strainer or a bedhead into a bookcase* - and if posted on 1st April would fool a lot of the site’s usual readers into thinking it was a joke! As Mrs Doyle would say, “Go on. Go on. Go on go on go on go on go on!” Steve S * I know, it does beg the question “why?” when IKEA are quite well known for selling bookcases!

I can only imagine Health & Safety issuing instructions that PPE when working with the above is to include darkened eye protection (sunglasses)! I know that such liveries were applied in real life, but I find myself admiring the modelling skills required to produce such a livery whilst at the same time wishing I’d never seen it! Hats off to @Ruston for modelling industrial railways in all their colours and hues! Steve S

Would you care to reveal from whence budget storage was acquired? I’ve been hanging around the middle aisles of Lidl for nearly two years now hoping against hope they repeat their £50 display cases… 🙄 Steve S

My ‘take homes’ from the video were (in no particular order): (a) the incredibly slow running achieved by fitting a decoder and a stay alive (b) the uninterrupted sound through fitting a stay alive to iron out any current flow issues due to dirty track (c) the excellent flicker-free (thank you again, stay alive) lights added to both models. I think the author’s intention was to demonstrate the three things above, and he succeeded. If you want to see similar locos doing things like pulling massive weights or being driven underwater, check out Sam’s Trains on YouTube. Steve S

Rule #1 of Mendacious Chiselling Ensure your photographs have a contrasting background busier than Kings Cross Station Junk for sale 🙄

I have no idea why, but these remind me of the B4 0-4-0 shunter - it’s like they are a grown up cousin, or something. At which point someone will inform me that they were both designed by the same locomotive builder! 🙄😆 But I do like them… Steve S