mullie

Rob I don't paint the mount board, leave it a neutral colour. I fix with PVA aided by blobs of hot glue to hold it in place while it dries. As my layouts are small with relatively low back scenes I seem to get away with it. I have painted back scenes in the past but now prefer not to. Martyn

We 'ad a terrier when I was growing up, it would sit on its hind legs begging for food, fall asleep and fall over! Very passive for a Jack Russell.

That sounds like an adventure! We haven't even got as far as deciding where to live, to stay here or move closer to where our children live which is also closer to where we are from. South Dorset is a stunning place to live but can be frustrating to get anywhere else as connections are not good. Everything is good while I am able to drive long distances. Needless to say our children don't want us to move, we were the same about our parents moving house from where we grew up. We still have time to ponder as we both have a few more years at work.

My train tickets from Weymouth have long been booked, always a good show. Martyn

Real progress today. Through a bit of experimentation I managed to ascertain that the no smoking signs were definitely on the outside, which was always most likely. I had experimented with this stuff and cocktail stick. Working slowly I have managed to remove the signs on one side, a great result. How long did it take? The whole of Fleetwood Mac's 'Tango in the Night' album on vinyl and the first three songs of David Grey's 'White Ladder' album on CD. The advantage of working upstairs is access to my large vinyl and CD collection along with a half decent sound system. Why do I own scratch remover I hear you ask! I used to put our car in the garage every night and every so often would clip the door post as it was a tight fit, the scratch remover made it easy to polish out. A mid 90s garage doesn't hold a modern car so the cars (we now have two) live outside. It has crossed my mind to extend the layout but as we will downsize in the not too distant future I don't want to push my luck, I know the current layout will fit pretty much anywhere and the narrow gauge module (yes it still exists and will be developed this year) lives above it so vertical extension has already happened.

The cold weather has slowed progress recently. I even started building a very basic Airfix ME 109 kit I had been given as I could do that in a warm part of the house. Aircraft modelling is not really my bag as it requires too much precision, no slopping paint, talc and chalks around. It was a good exercise in masking techniques and brush painting which was the point. I have painted the interior and added just a few passengers and a driver at one end. Not many as the line only has a few more years. Researching the interior has proved surprisingly difficult, not helped by the fact that preservation lines don't always restore interiors to original colours. The Mangapps Farm Railbus has blue seats, the originals were green apparently. I assume the grey things sticking out above the buffers are lamp irons I assume, there is nothing like them on the prototype so they will have to come off. Silver Tay make nice etched replacements. Painting was made difficult because the four screws holding the top plate wouldn't budge so I had to paint through the gaps. I used Humbrol paints and a Vallejo wash on the floor. yes there is a loose wire that needs re attaching, a common problem apparently. When the garage comes up above freezing, I still haven't found a reliable source for the colours of the curtains, does anyone know what colour they were? Again, I have only seen one Railbus with curtains in colour and that too is preserved so I can't be sure the curtains are in fact blue, does anyone know what colour the originals were? Next problem, this model is based on a preserved example so has no smoking signs, I've yet to find a way to remove them as they seem to be printed on. I've tried IPA alcohol, decal softening fluid and T Cut so far to no avail. It might need new glazing if it's even available?

Good to have you back. Martyn

Just found this thread, very sad news, a great modeller. Martyn

The wooden back boards on my layouts are square. Artists mount board is glued to it and curved just tight enough so it doesn't crease. Martyn

I've heard Polyfilla works well on Wills sheets where the mortar course is deeper though I haven't tried it as theses days I mainly use Slaters plasticard. I think I have tried most of the techniques you have tried and had many of the problems. I think current favourite is a coat of matt grey primer to start off with, often from a rattle can, then lightly sand the brick work to remove paint from the brick faces which also adds texture. I then dry brush a variety of colours, usually using artists acrylics and talc for matting effect. The new station building is looking excellent . Always good to see a new post. Martyn

I remember reading somewhere that their boilers were no longer certified for mainline use, of course I could be wrong. I think the example in the Ian Allen photo I've seen has had its couplings removed. Martyn

According to Dr Ian Allen B1s were used for steam heating at Yarmouth Vauxhall, Norwich, Lowestoft and Ipswich during the winter of 1962/63. They were given new numbers and their couplings removed so they couldn't be put back in traffic. A photo of such a B1 is featured in one of his excellent photo albums. A J15 was used as a stationary boiler at Melton Constable after its withdrawal. Martyn

Great set of photos, always enjoy your updates. I am very much a lurker having followed the thread for years, thanks for posting. Martyn

Looks great, the work done has made a real difference. Martyn

Progress on the railbus inevitably slowed over Christmas. As the garage is too cold today progress has resumed. I've currently de camped to my office space which is actually the third floor landing, it is a large space and gives me access to my CD and vinyl collection. Heljan spares are now managed by Gaugemaster, who once contacted very quickly provided a new set of drop in axles free of charge obviously 00 gauge. This has not been a straightforward conversion even though I thought it might be, quite frustrating at times. The EM Society information sheet made it seem easy but included some interesting comments. It refers to the wheels grinding against the sides, removing the paint and potential for a short. I didn't want that to happen so opened out the slots with the Dremel. The Gibson axles are very slightly thicker than the Heljan axles so didn't run smoothly in the axle slots. Therefore the Gibson wheels run on Heljan axles, initially the Gibson wheels wouldn't stay glued so I did put the Heljan wheels back, not happy with the look I persevered with the Gibsons and it now seems to run fine. One axle ran smoothly straight away but the main gear on the second axle kept riding up and jamming, I wonder if the previous owner had filed down the retaining guides. A tiny pice of foam on each end of the axle has cured that so all four wheels now drive and it is seen here working this afternoon. This thing weighs a ton, why does something that will never pull a load need to be so heavy, no wonder it has gear problems. I did look to see if weight can be removed but it doesn't seem possible. Here it is on test. The previous owner also threw away most of the under frame detail and all the axle guards so new ones have been ordered from Heljan spares, nice and cheap, waiting for them to arrive. Next job is to sort out the electrics, the wires from the pick ups are no longer routed properly so show through the glazing. I read somewhere there is a working light on the model (?), mine doesn't work which isn't an issue but there is a wire that needs resoldering and it can then have the Gaugemaster chip fitted. I'm sure more issues will arise but today feels like progress. Need to add a few passengers, driver and paint the interior. So far buying the railbus and parts excluding decoder which is optional has cost around £70, a lot less than they go for online.

I was hoping to get there last year and still didn't make it this year. Look forward to seeing the layout at SWAG. Martyn

When working on the project I came across no colour photos of Easton station when it was open for passenger services, not surprising as it closed during the early 50s though there are some taken after passenger services ceased. I would assume it remained in southern railway livery until final closure. There is the final video I produced at the end of the project that includes the 1965 final special. This shows a few shots of Melcombe Regis showing canopy colours and the Easton water tower is seen later in the video. Good luck with your model, I always planned to do it but did no more than renumber a few locos that are in Portland museum. Martyn

Some really stunning modelling going on here. Martyn

Bless you!

More than once!

It's hard to believe this wagon was shunted into position by state of the art motive power circa 1963.

This might be heresy and I will go and wash my mouth out but I do like the site of an A4 on an express goods but then I also like 4mts! Martyn

Well you did ask! Det hele er gået lidt kunst. Gjorde nogle fremskridt med skinnebussen i dag, forhåbentlig fotos snart. ( Insert favourite Skandi crime theme music here).

It's all gone a bit arty. Made some progress with the railbus today, hopefully photos soon .

They were shedded in East Anglia too, played their part in a temporary revival on certain lines. U.S. bases are still part of the economy. Martyn