AJon30

Don. Ah...making my own trees? That's up there with hand-laid track and scratch built wagons - nice to have a go at if you have the time. I'm afraid I cheat and mainly buy mine from Ceynix. I tend to build up a stock of trees for a project over a period of time, not quite such a shock to the wallet! In fact she does some nice half relief trees which I use a lot and they don't work out that expensive. Although with trees, especially in O gauge, if you buy them to the correct size I think they overpower a layout - think a Mk1 coach on its end and you have an idea of the size of say an oak or ash tree (and not a big one at that!) Rgds Andrew

Well the gungy scenic filler was applied - I add some cheap brown ready mixed paint to the mix - it has slowed down the drying but it is a better colour. Some static grass and the first lot of track ballast has been laid this afternoon. Shortly off to set-up for the show at Edgware tomorrow with Treloar Sidings and the GTR. That should give time for the scenery to full set Rgds Andrew

Getting some "hard" scenery down before ballasting. Lots of old bits of foam insulation, once the PVA has set they will be roughly carved to shape then Sculptamold, mixed with sawdust to give a more "textured" finish, slapped on top, paint then static grass - simples! The trees have wooden block bases, as I found that the foam on its own did not provide a secure footing, especially when the boards are moved. Rgds Andrew

Another of my bargain purchases from Ally Pally was this little engine hoist. Although it is underscale, (believed it is to OO scale), with a bit or re-engineering to increase the width I think is is just about the right size. Whether I try and modify this or build a new one from scratch, I am not sure at the moment. Whatever I do it will be after the show, but I think it looks OK as a set piece with the old wagon with engine bits. Rgds Andrew

Hello Don. Yes I am well pleased with them, they have that "period" look with the straight sides and low roof, eking out the end of their life on a minor branch line. Rgds Andrew

Hello. Just under 2 weeks to go to our show at Hitchin so panic mode! I was showing Questa at Alexandra Palace on the 28-29th March (did you see it - comments please?) and on the MRC sales stand on Sunday morning was a delightful set of 4 4-wheel coaches, ideal for the SHLR, will form the Kimbolton branch set. These had been scratch built by an MRC Member, Alan Blackburn, and he had made an excellent job of them. On one side they were finished in a green & white scheme, while on the other side they were a mixture of blue & red. I decided to re-paint the red/blue side so that the green/white set remained in case I want to use them elsewhere. With the Dingham couplings they only run one way round so should not cause a problem. There is a brake 3rd, all 3rd, a small luggage/brake van (that can double up as a goods brake van) and a Milk van. They are photographed in front of the extension board between Pertenhall & Swineshead and Kimbolton Town, which will allow some space for easier shunting at Kimbolton. The signal marks the section break between the two stations. Rgds Andrew

Hello again Spent a few minutes looking at the existing body shell parts re the rough idea for the MSLR loco, but it would appear that the MSLR boiler is bigger. However I have noticed that on the Ixion HC Saddle tank the boiler diameter at the firebox end is much bigger than the smoke box end. I presume that this was a deliberate action to give more room around the motor as it is very tight? Also there is a plug in circuit board. If this was removed and the motor hard wired (for non DCC application) will there be any problems? Rgds Andrew Jones PS - Further to my comments above I have now had the chance to look at some other HC saddle tank loco's and they all exhibit the same difference in boiler diameters, with the top of the firebox section being much higher than the top of the smokebox. What sort of boiler did they use - haystack?

Hello Chris Yes that was the diagram I saw. The daylight under the boiler would go, but otherwise that would be a straight forward modification - use the cab and rear part of the tanks, the smokebox & chimney, then add a section of boiler with dome and extend the side tanks? I do have another spare chassis and body, need to look at that as a possibility. I was considering the HC 347 of 1892 but that would require David Smith levels of modification, which I am not sure I am up for at the moment! http://www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/21/Ironstone_7.htm It appears to be a smidge longer, different cab arrangement, no front underfootplate sand boxes and the modified connecting rods & wheel balance weights. Rgds Andrew Jones

Hello. You could try http://paperbrick.co.uk/ It is a free site but they accept donations if you are happy with the print-outs. Quality of course is in part down to the printer you are using. There is a variety of brick types, sizes and scales.. Rgds Andrew Jones Luton MRC PS Sorry just saw your last remark about the printer. You could try Howard Scenics brick paper from Freestone Models http://www.freestonemodel.co.uk/page19.htm The choice is embossed plain or printed smooth

Hello. Very interested in this little thread, as I have had a similar idea, spurred on by a random purchase at a show a while ago of an Agenoria HC Sweden/Canal loco. The kit had been half completed, the main body & parts are OK but there were no wheels, gears, motor etc, so it had been slumbering in my "to do" pile. However after the purchase and running of a couple of the Ixion HC's, I saw some chassis being sold off. Virtually for the price of wheels, motor, gears and pick-ups I could have one of the very nicely running HC chassis. A quick compare of the Ixion against the plan showed that it should be possible to show horn the chassis into the body, if you accept the slight difference in the wheelbase. The chassis will require the large casting that sits in the Ixion HC smokebox to be removed and the forward sand=boxes will also need to be removed but other wise appers to fit, including the location of the flywheel should just fit nicely into the dock tanks firebox. Hopefully the photo's should make this clear. I have also come across a drawing of the MSLR HC No.2 with the Ixion chassis superimposed but I think the flywheel projected too far into the cab? Rgds Andrew Jones Luton MRC

Hello. Just a quick update. The backscene's are now more or less complete, and the basic carcass of the old engine shed/carriage shed is coming along. As Questa will be at Ally Pally next weekend, will need to check that out next week, & only 4 weeks to our show in Hitchin. No pressure! Rgds Andrew

Hello Don The main blue colour is called (surprisingly) Sky which i paint the top part of the backscene. Then I work in lighter colours (all with a blue theme) like Clear Sky, Ciel Matt, Oxygen (they go under all sorts of names) as i move down so that you get the effect of colour change but without a noticeable line. I dab away like this until I am happy. There is no right or wrong, it is up to what you feel works. The clouds I do similarly, with a base light grey, then white on the top and perhaps a little darker grey underneath. I rummage through the matchpots at my local DIY store, and they are quite good value at around a pound a pot. For ground cover I go for the Sandtex colours which are not so smooth & more "earthy" shades My backscenes (in my opinion) always come out like a nice summers day, but then the sun always shines on the SHLR! Rgds Andrew

Out with the match pots yesterday to paint the backscene. Starting to look like a railway. Only a little but more to do! Rgds Andrew

Hi. We run a 24v truck bulb on our DCC layout (which has a 5amp power supply). It is useful because it not only gives a highly visual clue that a point is wrongly set but also can indicate intermittent problems like a temporary pick up short that is not enough to trigger a full shutdown. Rgds Andrew Luton MRC

Thanks for the info Don. I should think that is going to be very popular, what with the GWR connection and all. Rgds Andrew

Thanks. I did start off with this being something simple & small that I can show to people who say "Oh I would love to model in O but don't have the space". However as this layout seems to have developed a live of its own and has expanded from 9 feet to 34 feet and shows no sign of stopping, I'm sure I'm going to be at this for a while yet! On a another front "Queen Mary" performed very well today on her first outing, the 0-6-0ST runs better but still needs the gear meshing to be looked at and longer Dinghams fitted. A good day at the March show. Rgds Andrew PS Was there an Ixion announcement at Kettering?

Hello David and thanks for your kind comment. The brickworks & coal yard is on a board that is 3 feet long. The main board, which includes all the point work is 5 feet long and the original station building end was 1 foot, making a total length of 9 feet. There was a spacer board of 1 foot to enable the whole lot to be crated. The station board & spacer is replaced with a 2 foot board when the layout is shown in its longer version with Kimbolton Town. I decided to finish this board to a high level of detail so that I could show what could be done while I work on the rest of the layout. It does attract a lot of attention, with many nice comments, including, at the March show today, from someone who seemed to be very knowable about brickworks and he seemed to think it really captured the feel of a small brickworks, with the horse drawn train, piles of finished pipes & bricks etc. Regards Andrew

As a diversion from baseboards, building, track etc I made a small purchase on Ebay for a dedicated loco for the brickworks. A whitemetal Springside kit of a Neilson Coffee Pot, finished in a garish scheme and with sundry bits knocked off courtesy of Royal Mail has been "through the shops" and is now Brickworks No.1 "Queen Mary" The name is thought to be a reference to the a previous brickworks owners wife, who had airs and graces "above her station". Irony was also not her strong point so she was very pleased when they named the locomotive after her. These Coffee Pots were bought by the GER as their class 209 in 1874, believed to be no. 210 that is erroneously shown as being scrapped in 1914 when in fact it was sold to the brickworks as their No.1, as the brickworks were fed up waiting for the SHLR to provide a locomotive to shunt their yard and decided to get their own loco. As it sits outside all day long (in fact it hides under the road bridge - shades of the Edge Hill Light Railway) it is much too clean and shiny - but a job for another day. See you at March tomorrow, where (hopefully) this and the 0-6-0ST which has had a re-work to fit plunger pick-ups all round should be working Rgds Andrew

One job that, although essential, can be very time consuming is painting track, especially rusty rails. One of my pet hates (amongst many!) is otherwise nicely sceniced layouts with bright & shiny track. I have already sprayed all the track with sleeper grime to get a coordinated finish across the plastic and copper clad sleepers. Now with the application of masking tape it is ready for rail painting. I use masking tape 25mm wide which exactly fits between the chairs in the middle of the track. I place additional pieces of tape over the moving parts of points Now taking your favourite (damn US spell check!) rust colour (again!) - I use Rain Match Dark Rust or Halfords Red Oxide primer as the mood takes me, spray away When finished remove the masking tape, and voi la - painted track and sanity intact. Any under or overspray can be touched up when you go round to complete the paint work round the points. I have tried removing the web between the sleepers on the viewing side to tray and get "air" between the bottom on the rail and ballast. With the web in-place when you pack ballast in it tends to be very close to the underneath of the rail and you loose some of the visual effect. Rgds Andrew

Hello Don. Yes they are interesting, the slope roofed building should have a chimney attached and I suppose the open area at the end was some form of coal yard? Unfortunately, while the main station building has survived, and looks little changed from its railway days, the ancillary buildings were all demolished. I can recommend the Booking Hall cafe as they did some super bacon butties when I went exploring. Needed a walk after finishing them off! Shame about all the cars Rgds Andrew

The final lot of mock-ups have just been completed - the platform and station building at Great Barford and a small coal office. The station building is based closely on the ex GER station at Rayne, which is still used as a cafe on the a walking route. The GER society published dimensioned drawings of the station building and its ancillary structures. The main building is limited because it has to fit over the control panel cut out. Initial reactions are that the out-buildings perhaps need to be reduced in size. These are standard GER structures and other stations have different layouts. Out with the SHLR at the March show this weekend Rgds Andrew

Moving onto the next baseboard, we have (at the back) the Old Forge Garage, which will have a brick/stone main building (the brown bit) with probably some form of chimney, and the garage extension (the white bit) in wood planking with corrugated iron roof. The boundary fence (old sleepers) will run tight behind the building as there is not a lot of clearance there. At the front are some small buildings - a small paint / oil store, a building for the PW department and a building which covers the point motor (the only one that I could not get fitted underneath - good planning NOT) which I am a little uncertain of its function, it may well be outside the railway boundary, maybe a meeting room for the local Temperance Society - it doesn't have to be big as they don't have many members around here! The signal box is from Kimbolton, I've taken it off the other board for the moment so that I can remember how I built it (!) so that I can do the Great Barford one in the same style - this will be slightly bigger with windows on the rear face as well. Rgds Andrew

Thanks to Dave Coasby, who lent me his model of the shear (sic) legs from Ryde St Johns I was able to see what they looked like on the layout. My initial reaction is that they are too big for the location. I will have to reduce the size of the workshops on the back building anyway but think they are just too big. I think something much simpler is called for. Picture from the Bowes Railway (I hope they don't mind me using their photo) Rgds Andrew

Good show at Syston with QUESTA at the weekend. The last few evenings I have been preparing some mock-ups for the works complex (!) at Great Barford. There is the old contractors wooden engine shed which, after being rebuilt a couple of times because it kept burning down, is now the carriage & wagon shed. Some brick workshops have been built on one side and a wooden extension to cover the carriages (as per Bishops Castle) has been built. The main engine shed was based very loosely on Saffron Walden shed (one of my all time favorites) but very compressed. I wanted to get a variety of roof profiles but without being too "messy" One thing reason I have built the mock-ups is to ensure that the scenery sections "interlock" as there is not a lot of clearance when the sections are crated up. All that is missing now is a set of sheerlegs over the end of the siding. Rgds Andrew

Thanks Yes I did consider Tortoise (we are using them on the club layout which is under construction) but i was concerned at the depth of baseboard required if they are mounted vertically or the additional costs if they are mounted horizontally.. Like you I also acquired a box of Fulgurex motors cheap and thought I would give them a try. I did look at the Conrad motors but they look a little flimsy. Having worked out a mounting strategy, they do seem to be performing OK, but the built-in switches seem a little fragile with the curved bits of spring steel easily lost. I am thinking about getting some cheap micro-switches and fitting them as "belt & braces". Anyway, an improvement on the H & M's I am currently using which have a tendency to destroy tie bars on copper clad points, and the throw can be a bit marginal for O gauge points. Rgds Andrew