HSB

Thanks. They look very nice but unfortunately the wrong era for me!

Can't see them on the website!

The layout is fairly high off the floor compared to many other layouts. We like things near eye-level so not too much danger of being knocked and anybody who does will immediately be marched round the back of the shed never to be seen again! 🙂

The platform now has a bit of paint on it though will need another coat on the columns and girders.

Those who want a GWR brake van could always buy the RTR one Osborn's Models are due to release shortly. They also do a growing range of wagon and coach kits with a strong GWR bias.

The main problem with using the ROCO chassis for an 08 or it's variants is the wheels are too small. The nearest match is the Class 11 which was an LMS design which BR continued to build until the introduction of the larger-wheeled 08.

Personally I find the J50 very good news and fits in with what I'd like to model in TT120. Whatever they produce won't please everybody!

I have now added some railings to the high level platform. While they are far from perfect they should look okay when painted and weathered. I've also started work on the gates for the oil depot loosely based on a couple of pictures I managed to find.

I think it would be a little out of period for this layout! And certainly no plans for a MuckDonalds or Kan't Find the Chicken either.

When I drew a station hotel for Ramchester some years ago I thought it would be appropriate to call it the Northwestern Hotel as it was supposed to have been built by the LNWR. At the weekend I discovered that the LNWR did actually have a Northwestern Hotel next to Liverpool Lime Street. There is now a Wetherspoons on the ground floor where I had some fish and chips and a pint of cider on Sunday evening after travelling up there on a London Northwestern train for an overnight stay in Liverpool. Here's my hotel (created using a drawing programme I had on my computer at the time):- The real one is a little more grandiose:-

All the supporting columns are now attached.

After a long hiatus Rod and I got back to work on Ramchester a couple of weeks ago and the high-level unloading platform is gradually taking shape. I have more supporting columns to make and attach but there are enough to stand it in position now. in

I like models of any prototype if they are modelled well and it's always nice to see something a bit different. Too many 00 and N layouts do tend to be glorified trainsets which doesn't really interest me very much!

I see that they will also be available without wheels and driving axles, with a choice of wheels sizes, will be available separately.

I'm afraid the link isn't working directly but it can be used to search for the site.

This has just come up on Facebook which may have uses for TT120. The 21mm wheelbase version scales out close to 8' 6" so could possibly be used to power 3D printed DMUs and some classes of diesels. At 8mm diameter the wheels are acceptably close for DMUs but 9mm ones would be closer for Class 20, 21/29 , 22 or 23 diesels. Frustratingly, they actually do 9mm wheels with a longer wheelbase! Halling, Ferro-Train, Stängl - News 2024.01 - The Game Changer

I've just been going through the NMRA Standards but can't find anything about the correct mounting height for TT couplers. Obviously, people using European stuff with NEM boxes will use the standard N scale height for those but North American models would look far better with couplers at the correct scale height.

I recently bought some MTB items which come fitted with Kadee H0n3 couplings which look rather overscale (rather giving the appearance of Lionel 0 gauge tinplate scaled down!). I have discovered that a number of manufacturers have introduced N scale knuckle couplings since some of the Kadee/Micro-Trains patents have elapsed. Using N gauge couplings will require the uncoupling pins to be altered if they are to mounted at the correct height. Has anybody done this? I have thought about the possibility of using the Dapol couplings but they would require the fitting of a NEM box.

There is also Bekra Models at Newton Abbot. While not primarily a model railway shop they do have a selection of railway stuff there along with brass, wood and plastic material for scratchbuilding and a wide range of paints and tools.

I hope the 18-pin socket is correct instead of the 6-pin they're offering at the moment!

No work on the layout for a couple of weeks or so (mainly due to Rod having a chest infection) but he invited a few of our modelling friends round for an operating session this afternoon. One brought along this class 45 for a run:- And here is our friend and fellow RMWebber Brian Harrap having a shunt:-

It's actually overscale in some dimensions as Playcraft were supposed to be H0 scale!

From those pictures appears to be 00 rather than H0!

Several weeks since we last posted something but things are slowly progressing and to prove it here's the high-level unloading dock taking shape.

Comparing it with photos of the real thing it looks pretty good to me! The hand grabs on the front are a bit thick but would probably be too fragile on a RTR model if made to scale thickness and will be less obvious in the flesh anyway.