irishmail

Hi all, I will be at the Ulster MRC show in Belfast on 26th and 27th August with Campbell Riverside. Look forward to seeing you. https://www.facebook.com/Ulster-Mode...7971310550421/ Regards John

I cant believe that it is now over two months since I started this! So a quick progress update on where I am at with this project. All track has now been laid and wired up, at this stage I will be operating the layout in analogue mode. I have 4 switched isolation sections if I need to park any locomotives. Platforms have been made and I am now in the process of ballasting the track. I hope to post some pics of the progress next time. Regards, John

I decided to go for it and ordered D400 from Bure Valley Models. Loco arrived well packed and there were no loose bits or any details fallen off. Gave it a quick test run and loco ran nice and smooth and directional lights working as they should. Very happy. . Regards, John

Looks like very poor QC from Hornby!! Are the model shop/ retailers entitled to send them back as not fit for purpose same as we would send them back to the shop where we purchased them from?, Likewise, Hornby should send them back to the factory as Hornby are customers of the manufacturing plant or is it a case of Hornby don't care? From the reports about the class 50 on here and else ware it is a very poor show for a loco with retail price of £170.00!!! I was going to purchase one myself as I like the class 50's but looks like I will give this one a miss.

That don't look good at all. Was going to order one myself but think will put on hold for the time being. Got to agree QC is very poor especially with a loco for RRP tag of £170.00

I had the same email too. Still waiting for the July 236 Issue!!

I too remember having that book many years ago, not sure what happened to it. I think I first saw that layout in Model Railway Constructor, was a good representation of Birmingham NS with extensive fiddle yard as shown in the pic on post 1. There was also a good bit of garden running too.

You should see the weather forecast on RTE then. I find the BBC NI seem to be reasonably accurate with their forecasting. As they say over here in Ireland, stick you head out the door and see if its raining. lol...

Hi Kevin, I too keep looking at my OS map No. 165 for plausible routes. It will definitely be short trains, two 43' coaches and a box van maximum. . I think it must be over 10 years ago since I visited the Swanbourne area (was living in Bedfordshire at the time). One of the reasons for choosing the Swanbourne and surrounding area is that I have a lot of family ancestors from that area some of whom were involved with the Swanbourne Methodist Church. I'm hoping to have a representation of this Church which I plan to use as one of the view blockers to the fiddle yard entry/exit.

Hi Edwardian, For the shuttle I will be using a 64XX Panier tank and Auto Coach ( Currently on order from Tower Models). Probably a bit OTT for a light railway but I like the look of it. It does save on space and point work having the bay platform separate, you have to imagine that the point work it a bit further down the line. I got the idea for having the bay platform independent from other small 0 gauge layouts that I have seen in the modelling press over the years.

Hi Duncan, Good choice and welcome to the Gauge 0 Guild, I re-joined the guild in 2014, their quarterly journal/magazine is very good and their website is excellent too. I do hope that you enjoy modelling in 0 gauge. I have finally made a start on my first 0 gauge layout, http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/123311-swanbourne-vale-light-railway/&do=findComment&comment=2745564 Never been to the Telford show but hope to make it at some stage, however I have been to the spring show at Kettering a couple of times. Regards. John

I'm gong to use the siding for mixed use, so will be goods and coal and some livestock traffic.

A little update on the progress so far. Cork tiles have been glued to the baseboards with PVA ( not worried about sound deadening as the trains will be running at low speed). First pic is an overall view of the scenic section. I have used a few boxes and off cuts of wood as 'props' to see what the scenic effect would give. The second pic is the end which will run into the fiddle yard. I will be using buildings and tress for the 'view block' from the fiddle yard. I have amassed quite a few items of rolling stock over the years, mainly Parkside and Slater's kits, so I need to go through them and decide what I need to run on the Swanbourne Vale Light Railway (SVLR). Regards, John

Here is the track plan for my Swanbourne Vale Light Railway. Train lengths will be a maximum of 2 x 43' coaches plus a box van, ( I have allowed for this with the run-round loop). Locos will be either 0-4-0's or 0-6-0's and the timespan/ era will be looslely 1950's to early 60's. The next two pics show a mock up of the proposed plan to check operating potential and clearances for the run-round. The three baseboards that I made up today.

After sometime planning and thinking about various ideas I have finally come up with a concept that I am happy with. This will be my first attempt at an 0 gauge layout. I have called it the Swanbourne Vale Light Railway. It is a freelance railway and is imagined to be in the Vale of Alysebury and the line ran from the villlage of Swanboure to Linslade. The size of the layout will be 10'6" x 2" on 3 borads each 42" long consisting of two scenic boards and one fiddle board. I Would have prefered a bit more on the length but I am tied by the size of car available for transport to exhibitions and also majority of the time I will be operating the layout by myself. Today work has started on the baseboards, 3" x1" for the framework and 6mm ply for the top. This will in due course be covered with cork tiles. I will post pics and updates as work progress's. Regards, John

I too am im the process of planning my first 0 gauge layout, Hope to have something ready for Enniskillen in September. I will start a new thread about it in due course. Looking foward to seeing your progress Duncan. Regards John

I have only just recieved the June No. 235 Issue today!! Will be sending yet another email to Bauer media.

Had a great two days in Bangor (Co. Down) with Campbell Riverside at the First Bangor MRC Show. All set up ready for action (operation) The sector plate fiddle yard made operating the layout much easier A trio of Norfolk and Southern EMD's waiting their next duty Canadian Pacific EMD's GP 35 and BC Rail Dash-8 awaiting service

Here are my EMD's that I use on my Campbell Riverside layout. I have just recently acquired a GP-35 Canadian Pacific and GP-50 Norfolk and Southern. also have Irish 3x 141/181 class, IE 071 & NIR 111. *Edited to remove 2 pics of GE locos uploaded in error. (Dash-8's SP & BC Rail).

That will be great, Hope you can make it. Look forward to meeting you. Regards John

I will be attending the first Bangor MRC show with Campbell Riverside on 26th & 27th May. The show boasts a great collection of various model layout and gauges spread across the church buildings. Public transport is in close proximity with Bangor train / bus station situated within a five minute walk from the show. http://firstbangormrc.co.uk/exhibitions

Campbell Riverside's fiddle yard improvements are now almost complete. I used brass tube and some copper wire to make the locking mechanism to keep the tracks aligned. Today I wired up the track feeds and then tested the sector plate with a Bachmann 08. Am pleased to report that the testing went well with the loco running to and from the sector plate with no problems.

Update on Tower Models website, Jinty expected September.

Work as continued on the fiddle yard improvements. The sector plate has been cut from 5mm ply and the track glued on, the ends of the rails soldered to copper clad sleepers. The sector board is held place with an M4 bolt. The next job is to wire up some electrical feeds to the sector rails, and to sort out a securing/locking bolt to keep the tracks aligned.