railwayrod

Hello Duncan. The ivy was a Mini nature product (not sure of the spelling but well known) which Howard has skillfully applied. This is not cheap but in my opinion a very good item. Hope this is useful to you. Rod

Howard has continued his work on the back scene and has today added a 2D printed building to the panel which forms the background. He then set about hiding the fact that it is 2D by adding foliage etc to the sides/front of the building so that it is now difficult to detect as "flat". Here are a couple of pictures in the form of before and after. See what you think. Before. After. In close up. Rod

I have not visited this site for quite a while which is very remiss of me considering than I was the one who started it way back in 2012. I am still using Bachmann TL couplings with much success and feel that a programme to change over to something else is somewhat daunting. However I like the idea of the swing couplings mentioned above. I may well give them a try in the not too distant future but in the meantime I will watch closely how you all get on with them. Some of my trains are run in "set rakes" like my empty coan wagons and my full coal wagons and of course my rake of Sideline LMS coaches (all fitted with magnetic M & M couplings as mentioned earlier in this thread). It would seem to be a nice idea to have swing couplers which do the job that my eyesight cannot do. I will follow progress closely before I commit to a major change. Incidentally my Ramchester layout is scheduled to appear in the April edition of Railway Modeller if anyone is interested. Rod

Hi Brian. Good to see the old layout being refurbished and from some of the suggestions above you have a range of options. However knowing you and how you work you will come up with something special and uniquely ZOB. It is always nice to start a new layout with a clean canvas but refurbishing an existing one is a challenge which I know you will relish. Looking forward to seeing progress. By the way (and off topic) my layout will be in Railway Modeller April edition probably as "Railway of the Month" but we will see. Rod

Thanks for your kind thoughts. Your vehicle's look good are they made from kits or modified RTR models? Looks as though you have got some of your mojo back! Rod

Hello CME. It is a little time since I looked at your thread and I am sorry that you have lost your mojo. Perhaps a visit to Ramchester might help - you are always welcome. I cant make the Bristol show this year as first thing tomorrow (Friday) I am due for a minor op on my leg. The mole I had cut out before Christmas has to be redone in order to ensure that they have hot it all. Derrrrr... Still better safe than sorry. Rod

If all else fails you might try contacting somebody like the editor of Model Railroader magazine to enquire if he is aware of Sunsets current email address. If they are not replying to you I can only think that it has changed fairly recently or maybe changed hands. Rod

Hello Nick. Thanks for the picture which clearly shows foot boards covering the rods as they exit the signal box. As I write this I have not had time to investigate my photos taken during the 50's and 60's but you photo is invaluable. Thanks for your efforts on my behalf which is greatly appreciated. If you are ever down this way and would like to visit the layout PM me. Rod

We will deep trying to find an lNWR box with foot boards. They must have had them or something to prevent permanent way staff form walking on them I would think. The trouble is that I am unable to recall during my early days at Rugby station what was built in front of Rugby's No 5 box which was virtually opposite where we used to "train spot". Must see if I have any old photographs taken during those halcyon days. Rod

Thank you Chris for your kind comments. Weathering will be done in due course but thinking about it makes me realize that bedding the box in needs to be done AFTER the weathering is complete. Thanks for pointing this out . Rod

Last week Howard received a package containing nameplates for my signal box. This afternoon he attached these to the front and the incoming end of the box which I feel can now be considered complete. One thing we MUST do is to bed the box into the ground and doubtless Howard can be persuaded to do this for me in the near future. Having fixed the plates into position he spent a little time on repainting part of the back scede, of which more anon. My afternoon, apart from making cups of tea, was spent getting two TL couplings mounted on their blocks ready for fitting onto a mineral wagon. This has come about as my empty v full coal train was unbalanced i.e. 7 empties v 5 full, so I decided to have six of each. My empty wagons are fitted with B & B couplings as these are what I intended to use on all my stock before I changed my mind and adopted Bachmann 00 tension lock as my standard. So when I decided to exchange an empty wagon to to the full ones the couplings did not match hence my work today. With hindsight (what a wonderful thing this is) I would have left 3 links in the whole lot except for the outer ends of the first and last wagons as I now run these as a rake. One day perhaps when I get a bit of spare time I will refit the 3 links on the intervening ones as I feel they look better especially when the loco pulls slowly away and picks up one wagon at a time until the whole train is on the move. More soon. Rod

I too have a Bachmann brass class 04 which has been weathered, numbered, crewed and sound fitted by Jintyman. Mine runs very well, smooth, quiet and powerful. It is used to bring tank wagons into Ramchester. I purchased it from Tower Models at an exhibition - a bit of an impulse buy even though it was on at a very special offer. I am so glad that I took the plunge and flashed my plastic as it looks really nice on the layout. Rod

Well it looks like it will happen! Earlier this week I had a visit from Steve Flint - editor of Railway Modeller - who came down from Beer to take a few pictures of the layout to supplement the ones I had previously left with him. It was very interesting to see how he worked with his still camera and later his movie camera, the later just like the a big movie with several "takes". He says that Ramchester will appear in the April edition of the magazine hopefully as Railway of the Month - fame at last!! Just to keep you going here are a few pictures taken on my phone the following day. Hope you enjoy them. Rod

Thank you all for your suggestions which are much appreciated so please keep them coming. Howard and I will consider the matter very carefully before any decision is made as we do not want to dismantle anything without a firm plan in place. I like the spaciousness which the layout portrays and I do not want to cram extra facilities into the station if it means destroying this important aspect. Much thought is required - me thinks! Rod

Howard and I have been looking at the possibility of altering some of the features of Ramchester to make room for other facilities. This could mean the addition of a loco shed or an extra carriage siding or whatever. For example the coal yard could go down to the station goods yard but this would mean doing away with the cattle dock. This would create a bit of space at the tunnel end to do something else which would mean perhaps widening the baseboard at this point. That would not be too difficult at the baseboard is built on the L girder principle which would simply involve inserting longer cross pieces across the L girders. These are just a few thoughts that have been tossed around this afternoon but nothing has been decided yet. In any case nothing will be done until the layout has made its debut in Railway Modeller in the next two or three months. Watch this space. Rod

Not much progress to report this week although I have done a tiny bit of work on the station trolleys but not enough to make it worthwhile photographing at present. However today Howard and I were joined by our friend Peter Martin who popped in to show us his latest creation - a 6 wheel coach built from a Slater's kit. He has made a superb job of this as the photos show and although it is not quite finished I am sure you will all agree with my assessment of his model. He wants this coach to put behind his Manning Wardle or Peckett loco to form a "preserved train". Rod

Well Christmas is about over for another year but the Christmas Day Special did run into Ramchester on time. This came about after extensive negotiations with the unions who agreed to supply appropriate staff to allow the train to use the main line. This year the stock involved came from Germany for a change and as you will see from the photos the stock had been thoroughly cleaned so the whole train sparkled - just right for a Christmas Day. Hope you enjoy the photos. The DB Class 64 leaves the tunnel on its way to Ramchester. The train approaches the signal. It negotiates the cross over to enter the loop.... ...and glides to a halt ready for Maggie to come and unload her present. Rod.

Today Howard and I had a session in Platform 2 - the last before Christmas. Howard continued to work on my BG van while I launched into my next little project. At Telford I had purchased a Skytrex kit for station hand carts so I thought it was time to make a start on them. This afternoon I cleaned off some of the flash but did not have time to finish the task as we were too busy talking and drinking tea!! The kit looks fairly simple to build and so far all seems well. May I take this opportunity to wish everyone who follows this thread a very happy Christmas and a prosperous 2020. Rod

We had our usual Christmas meet in Platform 2 this afternoon for a get together and an operating session. I am pleased to say that operation went well, and a convivial and pleasant afternoon it was too. Jon, who used to be the proprietor of Torbay Model Supplies, looks into the signal box to admire the internal detail therein. John Farmer takes a turn at the controls. A busy scene at Ramchester as John F controls the departure of the Black 5. A bit later we sat and chatted with drinks. From left to right ; John Farmer, Brian Harrap, Howard Brooking, and Peter Martin. Still later Jon Drummond Smith shunts a freight train. Rod

Nice pictures Howard. Are the trams in Liverpool or Manchester? Rod

Over the last few days I have more or less completed the goods shed crane and put it in place on the platform. Not a perfect model but it looks fine positioned on the platform inside the shed. Here are a couple of pictures which I hope you will like. The first picture is a view from the loading door where vehicles would pull up to load or deposit goods for onward transit. The next picture shows the inside the shed from the door where the wagons are shunted into. Note the area between the rails is dished as per the drawing in Jack Nelson's book The LNWR Portrayed. The crane still needs to be finally fitted in place as at present it is only wedged in position. Rod

Howard is away this week"up north" on a tinsel and turkey break and I have been getting organized in officially picking up the reigns of Torbay Rambling Club as the newly elected Chairman.However today I entertained 4 members of the Torbay Model Railway Club based in the Shiphay are of the Bay. I managed to persuade them to take their eyes off the layout for a few seconds while I took their photo attached below. From left to right are; John, Hugh,Charlie and Mike. Ramchester experienced heavy traffic during their visit and here 4F waits to depart with a train of Mk1 coaches bound for the East Coast. Rod

I had a visit from my friend Tony who was accompanied by his daughter and son in law. It was impossible to stop myself taking a photo of Sharon (hope you don't mind Sharon) operating Ramchester with a great deal of interest and concentration. Here she is shunting a freight train into the goods shed. Very sorry about the photo quality as it was a snatched shot on my phone. Rod

A little progress this afternoon with Howard working on my BG - something I have abandoned for a while and me getting the hood on the goods shed crane (picture soon). However I thought you might like to see Daisy Mai the station cat who has taken to sitting on the platform of Ramchester's sometimes very busy station watching the trains come and go. Here is a photo of her just minding her own business. A short time later she sits quite contentedly as 4F No 44360 arrives with through coaches from Carlisle. I have a feeling that she will turn out to be a "character" but we will have to wait and see. Rod

Here is a couple of my pictures of the signal box interior. Rod