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We bought the CRT casting at Telford but I used some ABS bits on my LIMA Mk1s which were quite nice castings . I received my Xmas present to myself today in the form of a Heljan Class 20 which I'm hoping to give a test run on Ramchester tomorrow. The layout only needs a couple of people to actually operate at one time - one to drive and change the points and one to uncouple. Everybody else was busy drinking tea and yapping!

Hi CME, The MTH BGs are really excellent models - especially at the price. The only obvious fault I have found is in the shape of the electricity regulator box which I am going to replace. You might like to consider blanking off the corridor connections on your blue one as was done on the prototype.

Thanks, John, another excellent set of shots. The MTH LMS coaches have been available for quite a while. The ones Rod and I bought at Guildex are actually from the second run.

Rod organised his annual pre-Christmas get-together in his shed this afternoon. Unfortunately three of our regulars were unable to attend due to health problems but John Farmer (Re 6//6) was able to make a second visit so with myself, Rod and Brian Harrap there were four RMWebbers there altogether. John took a few pics with his camera phone which he is planning to post on here and which we look forward to seeing. Here are a couple of shots I took of this suspicious occasion:-

They would also be very welcome on 0!

I wasn't really being defensive, Chris. My main interest is in building layouts rather than operating them so if and when I build this it will indeed only get run "occasionally"! Usually when I invite friends round.

I've done some further tweaking to the last plan. I have got rid of the coal siding at the front to reduce the depth of the baseboard and added a new industrial siding coming off the headshunt. I have now got the continuous run connection disappearing between some warehouse rather than into a tunnel and this will normally just be used as just another siding. The continuous run facility will just be used for testing and running in (or just for playing trains occasionally!). The bay road was longer than I need so I have shortened it slightly which has allowed me to slew the platform back slightly as I hate having tracks and buildings dead parallel with the backscene. As on Ramchester the station building will be in part relief.

And don't forget S Scale!

Hi, I'm afraid I've been fiddling again! I rejected a previous plan with a continuous run as it would have meant a very long stretch to reach the end of the platform, however, a few days ago I began wondering if I could tweak my last plan by curving the platform round a bit more and incorporate a continuous run after all. I have also tried to give a better impression of how I visualise the scenery with the station perched on a hillside.

I was pleasantly surprised a few days ago to find that a new smaller version of one of my favourite US layouts The Virginian & Ohio has now been built and appears in Great Model Railroads 2014

As long as it isn't OFF QUAI!

In 0 gauge I would like to see reasonably priced RTR models of a few fairly common and widespread smaller mainline locos such as a Jinty or Fowler 4F. Also the J50 which has been rather overlooked in all three scales.

Rod and I have spent the last two afternoons working on Ramchester and I took along my LMS Utility Van today to photograph on the layout. It has acquired bogies and buffers since I posted the earlier snap. Unfortunately, when buffering up to other stock on the layout, I discovered it is sitting too high on its bogies which I will now have to sort out somehow.

Another souce for LIMA remotoring kits is:- http://www.diesel-trains.co.uk

Well, as Rod posted this morning, I did finish glazing the doors and installed them this afternoon although, contrary to what he said, I still have a few windows to glaze. I intend to have the door to the Gents supposedly fastened back to the inside wall but I shall have to put a frame around the opening.

Hi Martin, I called it wire but I should probably have described it as brass bar. It can be obtained from traders such as Squires, Eileens Emporium and Expo (some model shops stock Expo items). Piano wire might also be suitable.

We used 1/16th inch wire to match the rebate in the tension hook. My original thought was to use square wire but we are now using the more easily sourced round wire and squaring up the end of the loop slightly with a file. The main potential problem with uncoupling is where the stock is on the far side of a platform or hidden behind other stock on an adjacent track although an uncoupling spade with a vertical handle might help there. My one reservation about using NEM mounts is the fact that 0 gauge stuff can be quite heavy and the couplers can be pulled out of their mounts with a sharp pull. (By coincidence somebody has recently started a thread on the subject of using 00 couplings in 0 on the GOG Forum)

As promised by Rod last week here are a couple of pics of the loops on the 47 and the Jinty. As you can see they are not very obtrusive amongst the pipes and screw couplers, especially on the 47. The top and bottom of the loop have been flattened slightly with a file to more closely match the shape of the hook.

We don't use the couplings on locos - just a simple wire loop set at the appropriate height.

As requested here are some pictures of the couplers in use on the layout along with the uncoupling 'spades' Rod made:- Thanks for sharing your alternative approach, Mike. Very ingenious.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back on RMWeb.........! Although it is several weeks since posting the last plan I have still been playing around with alternative ideas. While I quite like the last plan and the idea of not having to have a duck-under it doesn't quite give me what I want so I have gone back to variations on the first plan in post #30. Last week I acquired three second-hand Marcway curved points and have tried to work these into the plan. Anyway, here are my latest thoughts:-

Further to Rod's post I should, perhaps, point out that the couplers are not mounted at normal 00 height. The inspiration came from a French layout we saw at Southampton a few years ago which used Fleischmann H0 couplers mounted directly under the bufferbeams. Before Rod decided to try them I fitted Bachmann mini-couplers to my LIMA Mk1s but decided they needed to be a few millimetres below the bufferbeam to avoid the hooks hitting the bottom of the corridor connections when uncoupling. The height ended up at 16.5mm to the top of the loop from the top of the rail and this has been adopted as our standard height. The advantages of these couplings are that they are easy to get hold of, are not very expensive and locos just need a simple loop fitting (unless, of course, you want to double head!). We use the 'long' version and cut away the sides of the T. We then extend the shaft with some 6mm wide plastic strip glued and screwed above it and then mount them so the front of the loop is more-or-less level with the buffers.

Hi All, A little bit more progress this week. Rod is still working on the fencing for the cattle dock while I have been mainly reworking the backscene but I have also now stuck the windows in the station building and started glazing them (in retrospect I should probably have glazed them before I stuck them in but I was impatient to see them finally in place!). The paint on the doors is still being touched up (and I will glaze them before I stick them in).

Hi CME, I'm afraid Rod doesn't look at RMWeb as often as I do. I'll try to remember to tell him he has a PM when I see him tomorrow. Not much progress to report as we have only spent a couple of hours working on the layout this week!

You could possibly turn the chimney approximately 45 degrees across the corner. This would solve the problem of seeing a flat chimney end. Excellent layout, by the way, and it's always nice to see something a little different from the norm.