Julian

Sorry folks, just got back into RM Web after a bit of a hiatus (=house move now to Axminster area). Am I correct that the next annual SWAG bash will definitely be at Staplegrove village hall, Taunton, on Sunday 29 April? If so, I'll be there. Thanks muchly to all.

Really like this, Jerry - well done indeed! Very, very inspirational to those of us who love micros - thank you. I'd scoped out something similar in a box-file, as an Inglenook 3-2-2. Do hope you have a nice break away and are on the mend, health-wise For d&h, 'twas me who built the 2-in-1 layout featured in RM many years ago: a mini-modern era warehouse scene one one end (using a Lima 08 and a couple of lwb vans) and a light railway branch terminus on the other end (Dapol Terrier and a Ratio 4-wheeler coach). I think the whole thing was about a metre long with a scenic divide in the centre. The concept was not original - I nicked it off Dave Carson from an article he had in Scale Model Trains in the 1980s, I think. Very limited in operation though! All the best guys . Julian (Andrews)

Hi Luke. Yes, I operated MicrO exactly as you have suggested. I used S&W couplings because I already had them and I knew they worked well if set up correctly. Good luck with this project - I'm sure it will be fun. I think one of my biggest gripes (self-induced) was that the black mdf frame I put around the front of MicrO and the high backscene/end boards rendered it hard to see what I was doing when it came to lining up the traverser and spotting the wagons - the whole visual element of the layout seemed a bit claustrophobic, if you see what I mean. Had it been more "open", it would have been more successful I reckon. Whatever loco you use to shunt the layout, it needs to be a good slow runner, that's a given. Best of luck!

I'm the bloke who built "MicrO", which was in that issue of RM. It was exhibited just the once, at the RM Web show near Taunton. The traverser held a loco and one wagon. Each of the 3 tracks on the scenic section held two wagons. I put a black-painted mdf frame around the front of the layout to give the appearance of looking into a TV set or a fish tank; not one of my better ideas, in hindsight! I used Spratt and Winkle auto-couplings and they worked a treat. Good luck with this project, Luke. I'm afraid I became a bit bored with the limitations of shunting this wee layout quite quickly and it was soon sold on to someone who wanted it as an O gauge test track.

Lovely loco, very tempting..... but I actually want a Caley "Standard Goods" 294 class for my Killin-inspired layout. I have piccies of 57246 and 57324 working the branch in the late 1950s. How much of a compromise is a BR-era renumbered version of this "Rails"/Bachmann 812 going to be then, folks? Essential (= obvious) differences? Apologies for my ignorance - no offence intended to any rivett-counters reading this. And yes, I know I could probably justify one under Rule 1! Thanks muchly.

Many thanks for helpful replies. Yes, I've done some testing ad my Bachman Pannier does not stall on the dead frogs but you're quite right, the points do need to be absolutely flat to the board, with no hint of "bowing". Thanks again.

Thanks folks. Yes, I normaily use Code 75 with live frog points but just happen to have a few set-track ones and they seem to save the odd inch of two, which I wanted for this wee micro. Having done some tests, my Bachmann Pannier seems to cope with the dead frogs but maybe that's more luck than anything else!

Has anyone had any experience of running a Hornby Sentinel on Peco's Set-track turnouts and crossing - both dead frog? With that short a wheelbase, I wonder if it will stall on the frogs?

I'm planing a new (very) micro layout, based on Jack Trollope's "Jaxcilli Industries", as per one of the late Carl Arendt plan books. To save space, I'm thinking of using a new Hornby Sentinel diesel shunter and Peco's Set-Track points and diamond crossing, both "dead frog". Has anyone had experience of using this loco on dead-frog turnouts/crossings as the short wheelbase of the loco leads me to think it may stall on them. Thanks for any advice offered.

I'm planing a new micro layout. To save space, I'm thinking of using a Hornby Sentinel diesel shunter and Peco's Set-TRack points and diamond crossing, both "dead frog". Has anyone had experience of using this loco on dead-frog turnouts/crossings as the short wheelbase of the loco leads me to think it may stall on them. Thanks for any advice offered.

Nice one, Dave! Saw a pic of it in the Scottish Exhibition guide this year, although I didn't get up there this year, sadly. Keep micro-ing, mate! Looks good and a really nice concept. you need a 73 on it, I reckon - single newspaper van trains to the south coast resorts? Didn't Weymouth get a service like this in the 1980s? Will get in touch with you shortly, now we've moved house. All the best, as ever. Jules

No damage at all. BTW, the layout may not appear in RM until the Spring of 2016, I'm told, and it is has been sold, prior to a house move!

Yes it is, mounted very crudely on a block of wood, with just the extended throw passing through the backscene. How basic is that?!

Hi Dave. No haven't seen that one - will look though!

The layout measures 4 feet long, 11 inches at the widest end (left) and 7 inches at the narrow end (right). Feel free to copy the trackplan if you like!