Chris M

I think the answer to the opening question is largely a resounding yes. Modern loco models are very close to the real thing and finely detailed but far too many layouts are built using techniques and standards from 30 or more years ago. I acknowledge 3D printed items and laser cut kits are welcome advances. Nearly all layouts even today are still built with track on a flat baseboard and then scenery built up around it. Surely it’s time layout building caught up with the excellent models that are availble. Another thing is that these excellent models often come with accessory bags and in pristine condition. Now I can understand folk being reluctant to weather a £200+ loco but it really won’t look right without at least a modicum of weathering especially on the plastic looking roof. Maybe cheaper, less detailed locos that people weren’t afraid to weather might end up looking more realistic than highly detailed expensive but unweathered ones. I can’t understand why so many locos, even in layout photos for magazines don’t have details added. In conclusion, I do believe today’s high spec locos are more advanced than most folks layouts. What’s more these expensive beasts have stopped the fine tradition of trying to improve the breed by working on them.

Another ordinary bit of running with a Farish Warship and a train of Peco 5 plank wagons all with their standard plastic wheels. These wagon kits cost less than £5 each at the time. I have had this loco apart. It was passed on to me for £20 because it would only run in one direction. I stripped it down and carefully rebuilt it. It now goes both ways and doesn’t seem to run too badly. By the way I just run plain old DC.

I spent most of my life as an 00 modeller. I sold the whole lot in the 1990s and eventually moved on the G scale in the garden. After 7 or 8 years I realised it was uncomfortably cold in the winter so I built a nice little N gauge layout . That was in 2012. Since then I have built 3 N gauge layouts and somehow acquired circa 60 locos. I have to say I don’t recognise many of the problems mentioned. I do have one loco that is annoyingly wobbly, it’s not that bad and it never derails but it is still annoying. I think it might be to do with the traction tyres. It was ok when I bought it but is seems to have got worse, or maybe once I spotted it I couldn’t unspot it. I have used code 80 and now I use Peco code 55. I really don’t clean it very often. At exhibitions I clean the track on Friday afternoon and it is still running fine at close of play Sunday. All my locos, coaches and wagons run well through all my points although I don’t have any double slips. A lot of care is required when laying N gauge track. My wagons are a mixture of Farish, Peco and Revolution. The only grief I get is the Revolution wagons like to come uncoupled. That can be fixed. One method is to put a bit of nail varnish on the inside of the coupling. For me N gauge has been a most satisfying experience in terms of results. I have never returned a new loco because, apart from the one wobbler, they have all been fine. I’ve had to replace 3 motors but that’s just something that happens. One of those was caused by an old Triang controller which wasn’t really suitable for N. I have found that pick up contacts can get quite cruddy and need to be checked and cleaned from time to time. This video shows what I consider to be ordinary everyday running on my N gauge layout.

The Dapol 66 is fine in evdery way except that it is a bit light so won't pull long trains. If anything Farish locos are more likely to have split gear issues but in my experience split gears are very very rare indeed on modern Farish stock. Items released by either Dapol or Farish over the last ten years or so are likely to be very good, reliable models.

Steve Flint has just made an excellent trailer for the Warley exhibition. Please feel free to share.

Just prove I'm no luddite here is a little vid I made showing how useful DCC can be when banking is required.

Here's a vid I made a few years back regarding double heading and banking with DC

So long as the speed of the locos is somewhere near double heading works very well with DC. You can even put a helper in the middle because the drag of the wagons effectively keeps the speed of the helper down.

Although not connected to Warley Club, don't forget the BRM subscription offer - just 10 days left to take advantage of this.

Another narrow gauge layout at our show will be Garreg Wen. Garreg Wen (‘White Rock’) was built to satisfy two aims – to practice and develop new skills, and to provide somewhere to run models of older stock from a number of lines. The layout has been extended twice since construction to allow more scenery, including a new section (2022) extending around the corner. The model is set in Snowdonia in the Victorian period (approximately 1880) and represents the modest upper terminus for passenger working of a former horse tramway, converted to steam a few years previously. The quarry extension leaves the back of the station to the foot of an incline located ‘off set’, but due to the gradient and the threat of runaway slate wagons, the passenger platform is on a separate line, as also happened at Bryngwyn on the NWNGR for example. The quarryman’s terrace at the rear has been built with individual slate rubble walls, while there are a number of vertical slate slab fences typical of the Corris area as well as older dry stone walls. Track is ballasted above the rail base in contemporary Victorian fashion. The intention was to produce a freelance model, but which remained credible to the period and general location. Sometimes this is called an ‘album layout’ allowing us to run models from a variety of real lines in the area. Prototypes from the Festiniog, Corris, Talyllyn, Penrhyn and Glyn Valley may be seen amongst others. Victorian train arriving at Garreg Wen station. This is an early condition Festiniog Railway train dating to about 1865. Note the disc signal allowing entry to the platform road. A view over the fields showing a Festiniog & Blaenau Railway train at Garreg Wen. The sheep seem unbothered by the newly intruding railway Old Tom brings his carriage down from the station having dropped the master off to catch the train to the harbour. A Corris Railway locomotive in original conditions passes the back of Railway Terrace with a train of slate slabs for their onward journey Dolgoch pauses while running round the train at Garreg Wen station. Note the slate slab fencing. Dolgoch has arrived at Garreg Wen station with a train of Talyllyn coaches. This is an unusual ‘reverse’ view from the driving side of the layout. Corris Railway loco number 1 has arrived down the mineral line and is awaiting the signal to proceed at Garreg Wen Festiniog & Blaenau Railway train arrived at Garreg Wen station. The passengers in the foreground are presumably travelling first class Festiniog Railway No. “The Prince” pauses while shunting the tiny goods yard at Garreg Wen. The goods shed is a converted and expanded stable block, as can be seen in the traces of the original.

1860 Munchen is the other Munich team. Back in the 1990s a firm called Debonair used to do cheap flights from Luton to Munich with an intermediate stop at Munchengladbach. This was quite an exciting stop because the Munchengladbach airfield (which is close to Dusseldorf) was right on the limits for the plane they used. I don't think any of us users were too upset when Debonair went belly up.

I’m very much looking forward to being part of the N gauge section of the NEC show. I reckon I will be running in 1980s mode at the NEC. It will make a nice change to be running these little beauties rather than the usual oil sloshers. The hydraulics remain my favourites though. I have been told that the Warley club N gauge layout, Hawes Junction, is running and ready for the NEC show.

Advance tickets are also on sale at the Blackheath show that is on today. See the club members layout that looks Like this:

Advance tickets for the Warley show will be on sale next Saturday at the Solihull exhibition. They will be available from the Burford layout. I'm planning to put the stand numbers and floor plan for thew NEC show onto RMWeb next week.

Here's another one of the over 80 layouts that will be at the Warley NEC show. Bron Hebog (009 / 4mm) shows the modern day Welsh Highland Railway at Beddgelert. As well as the station and passing loop - built to accommodate an authentic 10 carriage train - this large scenic layout shows the long climb up the steep S-bend to the north, and the line passing through the rocky Goat Tunnel on its way into the Aberglaslyn Pass. The Garratts were made from the Backwoods Miniatures brass kits - we have five of them running on the layout - and most of the rolling stock is scratch built. We also run a full range of Ffestiniog Railway locomotives and trains which may occasional appearances on the connected Welsh Highland line.

Careful discussion with children should be all that is required. If the boundaries are carefully and gently explained in very simple terms there should not be a problem. Ok - a one year old will need physical control but a three year old should be able to understand. I’ve had two children and now have four grandchildren and none of them have caused any significant damage. The same can’t be said about a friend’s kids who had not been taught how to behave. The grandchildren are allowed to touch the static grass occasionally. They know not to touch any of the fragile details. The grandchildren know they have a freer hand with the garden railway which can provide some interesting results. One grandson got banned from operating the garden railway at age 6 for a while due to his liking of speed.

I see 50s regularly on the SVR and this model looks like a 50 to me. If I was going to get into TT:120, which I am not, I would most definitely buy both a 50 and a HST. This is based on the models I saw at Gaydon.

The new class 50 looks great without that hideous snow plough. I thought the HST looked great as well. For me the size difference between British N and TT:120 is not sufficient to make me consider a change but then I am not the main target for TT:120 sales.

I will be with my layout at the NEC this year. I can promise that there will be absolutely nothing that anyone has mentioned here (except the odd unintentional slip coach). There will however be a constant procession if different trains, all from the same era, all very slightly weathered and with front end details added. The train formations will be reasonable so far as my research can make out with 10/11 coach express trains and 7+2 HSTs. A few of the trains will be slightly unusual to add interest but nevertheless authentic for the location and era. I accept that most of the visitors won't appreciate this but I know. Operators are not allowed to bring their stock unless it fits into the location, era and slightly weathered rule. The semaphore signals will be in full use. My operators are drilled to do points-signal-manoeuvre-signal but I doubt many visitors will notice. Again I know and that's what makes it important. So nothing special or fancy but hopefully a good, entertaining layout that is also quite authentic. That in itself as actually fairly rare at many exhibitions.

The Warley NEC show is less than a month away! Don't forget that advance tickets will get you into the show a bit earlier than tickets bought on the day. \You can buy advance tickets from The Ticket Factory or the Warley Clubrooms on a Tuesday afternoon/evening. Also its worth carefully considering the BRM subscription offer that includes tickets to the Warley NEC show. I reckon that's a good offer. Here is another fine layout that will be at the Warley NEC show - Freshwater in 2mm scale. I thought my N gauge layout was pretty good until I saw this!

Or the people on the Hornby stand running the TT layout with trains going in the wrong direction for UK tracks. Looks like they have sales people who know nothing about trains again.

And another one - Shillingsford Shillingsford is a fictional branch station, loosely based on Shillingstone on the Somerset and Dorset Railway, set in the early sixties, but as a terminus rather than a through station. The layout is DCC controlled using a Digitrax radio controlled system, and all of the locos are DCC sound fitted. Most have firebox glow and working lights. The layout consists of a three platform station and a goods yard that contains a fairly large cattle dock. The layout is kept very busy with passenger trains, goods trains, and various shunting movements. There is rarely a moment when something isn’t moving! All rolling stock is fitted with Kadee couplings, giving a very pleasing operating and viewing experience. The fiddle yard is a double rotating sector plate that allows locomotives to be uncoupled and run around trains.

While I'm on, here are some photos of Ballyconnel Road which will also be at the exhibition.

And a few more photos of Barnwood

In an attempt to get back on track here is a bit about one of the over 80 layouts that will be at the Warley NEC show on 25th & 26th November. Barnwood is an N gauge layout set in the early 1990's in a fictional location in northwest England on a loop line off the West Coast Mainline between Preston and Lancaster. The town is busy with passing freight as it acts as a second route between Preston and Lancaster relieving pressure on this two track section of West Coast Mainline. Passenger services are worked by Regional Railways trains running to and from Preston and Barrow in Furness. There is a short branch line to Glasson on the estuary of the River Lune. The port features a container terminal, a grain terminal and a steel terminal. Other freight terminals in the town are an oil terminal, cement terminal, a large warehouse, a siding for the transhipment of logs and a Royal Mail terminal. Along side the station is a small loco depot.