RJS1977

Given the number of livery variations, I still think it's a pity you can't buy rolling stock unpainted. Seems a waste to pay for Hornby to paint it, only to then strip it all off and repaint! Ideally I'd want one in NSE colours on one side and SWT colours on the other! Richard

How about a multi-storey car park? As these are usually somewhat modular in design, it would enable a large structure to be constructed with relatively few parts to design.

I remember hearing a story about a steam special that made a water stop at Port Talbot. Whilst the train was stopped, one of the passengers spotted the chippy across the road, and realising the train would be stopping there again on the returned journey, walked down the train taking orders and phoned them through to the chippy "500 cod and chips please, to be delivered to the station at 5:30 this evening," which the chippy agreed to do. On the return journey, though, there was no sign of the food, so he rang the chippy again to find out where it had got to. "Oh," said the owner. "We thought you were joking."

Michael Schumacher.

But the phones are a mile apart..... Richard

I seem to remember seeing a model of Midford in N gauge a few years ago, but with the Camerton branch slewed at more of an angle to enable continuous running on that line as well. 'Thunderbolt' was known to put in appearances! In fact, for a space-starved location, it might be easier to model the Camerton branch with Midford viaduct as a scenic break (complete with Dapol Bulleid Pacific!)...... Ironically when I first started in the mapping department of my current employer, the first map to cross my desk was of Midford! Richard

I can't remember where it is, but I know there is a national boundary in that part of Europe which has a major road running along it. All the filling stations on that road are on the same side, because the tax is cheaper! Richard

How about some Portakabins? To my mind Scalescenes are at their most economical when the model's something you can use a lot of, like the terraced houses and the containers, rather than the more one-off type of buildings. How about some Portakabins? To my mind Scalescenes are at their most economical when the model's something you can use a lot of, like the terraced houses and the containers, rather than the more one-off type of buildings.

Lancaster Gate

My boss's name is Neville Lane - always thought that sounded like a good name for a loco depot layout - elements of Neville Hill (Leeds) and Ripple Lane (East London)......

Trouble with the DoH film was it wasn't done in the spirit of the original - the original series was a family series, the recent film had a lot of strong language. The 1990s 'Reunion' movies were much better.

Thinking more about the mirrors - even if you can't use them at the back, should work as endscenes where they won't be viewed square-on.

Even on 11" wide, you should be able to get 4 or 5 tracks, depending on how much space you want between them. And this is probably one of the few places where you can realisitically extend the scene using mirrors (not usually a big fan of mirror backscenes as it tends to end up with odd things like vehicles on the wrong side of the rod or trains having near head-on collisons, but should work here provided you can stop viewers seeing themselves in the mirrors!) . You might also be able to find some models you can adapt on a second hand stall/shop/ebay.

As someone who does quite a bit of browsing/purchasing on the 2nd hand market I'd say: HST power cars £20/pair Mk 3 coach with bogies £8 Mk3 coach body only £2 Pannier tanks @ £15 each: £30 0-4-0 tanks @ £10 each: £30 Other wagons/coaches 30 @ £2:50-£3 each say £80 Controller £10 Points 4@£4 each £16 Other track sections 30 @ £1 each £30 Baseboard with track say £80 So in theory probably about £300 worth. However I doubt many enthusiasts would buy all that in one go and he'd almost certainly be better off selling it in smaller lots. Richard

Looking at some of the photos I took at Fawley last w/e, it should be possible to convert the body of SJ into a Hudswell Clarke saddle tank and put it on one of the smaller Bachmann 0-6-0 chassis.....

Simon I run another show in Reading that I'd be interested in having Hythe for sometime. We're pretty much full for 2012 - but if it's still in existence in Feb 2013 (or its replacement is ready) - would be glad to have it! Richard

Isn't there a case for the manufacturers to make models available unpainted/undercoated for modellers to add their own liveries? (Particularly for classes that had lots of livery variations, like the 47s - well over 300!). I believe Dapol did this some years ago with certain of the 00 items. Richard