Brian D

Morning Andy. I assume you've planned this out already but how will a back scene fit with those electric wall sockets? Just a thought. Regards, Brian.

Expert driving by your "guest" Dan Regards, Brian.

This afternoon I spent a fruitful couple of hours eradicating a couple of electrical gremlins on the layout. Followers of long standing might remember that the layout is traditional DC cab control. There are two cabs... ...served by the two separate controllers on the Morley transformer/controller unit. Twin cab control enables me to drive two trains at once (for example, one train arriving while another departs). This does of course require high levels of concentration my the Fat Controller! In the early days and in my relative naivety of wiring for cab control I opted to switch between cabs using the large rotary switches shown on the mimic diagram below. The switches have three positions - off (straight up) and the two controllers switched left or right. Two of these have lost one or other controller. Some time ago I decided (in time) to replace the rotary switches with micro on-off-on switches (3 pole?). These switches are so much smaller - see below. I had been getting round the problem by driving off one section using one controller and into the adjoining (faulty) section using the other controller set to a similar speed setting - not ideal but a quick get around the problem. The two faulty rotary switches have now been swapped out with new micro switches and every part of the layout can now be completely "driven" by either controller from section to section. The new micro switches are fitted sideways as it were so that the switch lever points either right or left indicating which controller the section is set for. You might just be able to see this in the pics below. In the upper pic both P1 and P2 sections are isolated (both switches are in the off position) whereas they are both set for controller two in the second pic. I will now replace all the rotary section switches with these micro switches before possibly rebuilding the panel to make it somewhat smaller - the existing panel being built to accommodate the large bulk of the rotary switches behind the mimic diagram panel top. Regards, Brian.

Certainly yes as I have a rake of cement wagons. Also a petroleum products depot would work with my oil tankers. Food for thought and thanks for your suggestion. Regards Brian

The latest video is available here... Regards, Brian.

A few days ago, elsewhere on RMWeb, I posted this image... ...entitled "Deltic Arrival at Twilight". Here is a another pic which I'm minded to call "A Double Dose of Deltics" . During the first lockdown I purchased this little travel camera on that well known auction site hoping to do some travelling after lockdown (we all know how that turned out). Despite not using it for its intended purpose, I have discovered that is is great at getting in close (as close as 75 mm) to take close ups. So, here are some close ups taken around the layout of details you may not have seen before. Unfortunately, these close ups are brutal and pick up some of the rougher edges of my modelling. Looks alright from "normal viewing distances" though Regards, Brian.

Thanks for your comment and I totally agree about swapping buildings etc to change location and era. I have a number of BR Eastern Region (former Great Eastern Railway area) locos that don't fit on the layout unless I "move" the whole thing south by about 200 miles. So tangerine station signs could be replaced by Eastern Region blue but what to do about the colliery? Maybe grain silos to replace the pithead buildings? Not sure, but something to think about. Regards Brian

The diesel shed is now complete, see below... ...and, on the layout. So I have replaced the steam traction depot.... ...with the diesel traction depot. So all the steam locos are off the layout and boxed away. Now for some diesel running sessions. Regards, Brian.

Thanks Andy. Hope you are taking it easy mate. Best Regards, Brian.

The various internal details and roller shutter doors have been added and the four main walls glued together. Next, the roof. Regards, Brian.

Please please please take care mate. All the very best regards, Brian.

Deltic arrival at twilight. Regards, Brian.

Part of the Scalescenes kit involves making these comb-like devices... ...which are then glued to the external wall profiles... ...which are then over laid with the "concrete" texture which, when everything is trimmed off,... ...produces a reasonable interpretation of corrugated concrete. I was a bit wary of this technique when I read the instructions but the final result was well worth the faff I think. Anyway, I now have the four completed main wall unts finished (but not yet glued together), see below. More pics to follow as the build progresses. Regards, Brian.

The Scalescenes Diesel depot should be the same size in plan as my steam shed so I have down loaded the textures and made a start. As a reminder, this is the steam shed... ...and here I am just checking that the diesel depot sides and front are indeed the same size... ...so that the two buildings will be interchangeable. Meanwhile, every platform at Deneside is full! More pics of the diesel depot construction in due course. Regards, Brian.

I am so sorry to hear about the abandonment of the loft space Andy (and the corresponding loss of the extra space to expand your layout) but you have certainly made the best and correct decision. This is not a good time to end up in hospital!!! I have always hankered for a garden big enough for a touch of "O gauge in the garden" - is this not an option for you in your new location down south? Just a thought. Best Regards, Brian.

Hi Dan, I've just had email from Rails of Sheffield to say they have Bachmann Jubilee "Madras" in early BR Black on offer for £99.50. Is this of interest to you. Regards, Brian

The latest video entitled "Big Diesels" can be seen below. Meanwhile, the postie delivered the latest addition to the diesel fleet, unfortunately too late to feature in the video. This is a dirty un-named Deltic, namely D9011 which was later named "The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers" which makes a good partner for my pristine D9017 "The Durham Light Infantry". It's a superb runner as are all Bachmann diesel locos it seems. I am thinking of building a Scalescenes diesel shed which has to be exactly the same size as the existing steam shed so that the buildings can be interchangeable. Off to the Scalescenes website now to compare dimensions (the existing building is a kit bashed Scalescenes gable ended shed). I love the idea of interchangeable buildings to change eras as it were. Regards, Brian.

Excellent debut video Dan. Keep them coming. Regards, Brian.

The Law of Unintended Consequences has been at work today! For a while I have been thinking that my Accurascale 21 ton hoppers fitted with their bespoke coal loads look a little under filled so I thought I would raise them up a touch by gluing some corrugated card to their bases as shown (apologies for dodgy phone pics). This seemed to have improved the appearance considerably. But, the top of the coal load now fouled the underside of the screens so I raised the screens a little to compensate by adding some plastic sections to simulate a concrete surround to the steel columns. But now the conveyor structure was levitating over its supports. So some cross trees were installed. This has solved the problem. Everything has been raised up - haleluyah. Regards, Brian.

Yes, that's the only way I know of doing it. You have to set up your own YouTube "channel" and make your videos public to share the link. Regards, Brian.

Dan, any chance of a video link. Your pics are just a bit of a tease me thinks. Great layout my friend. Regards, Brian

The latest video is available here... Regards, Brian.

Only just stumbled across your latest layout Dan. The old forum layout update way back when meant I lost track of your work, amongst others, but the new forum update has helped me find you again . Great work and very atmospheric. I'm especially jealous of the lengths of trains you can run. Now following. Regards, Brian.

The latest video can be seen here Enjoy or otherwise. Regards, Brian.

What's he doing fixing an old cycle mirror to the shed ceiling for??? The reason is that this will be an aid to the manual (by eye) indexing of the turntable. Hopefully, this will minimise derailments by giving a vertical view of the table rails alignment as below. Meanwhile, we have a visitor from 36A (Doncaster). A1 60156 "Great Central" stands alongside A3 60077 "The White Knight" of 56B (Ardsley). I've also been working on another coal train video. Stay tuned. Regards, Brian.