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andyram

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Blog Entries posted by andyram

  1. andyram
    Has another week passed by already? Time really is flying at the moment and that is more than a little scary. As I drove out of school on Friday night, and headed off towards a half term break, I reflected that the next time I would be making the same Friday journey it would be on the eve of the model railway event. By then the hall will need to have been cleared, tables set up and there may well be some layouts already on site. The event really is that close now. Without doubt I am approaching the home straight.
     
    The week gone by has seen me re-measuring parts of the school and some of the tables as I try to finalise the floor plan. Following this I was able to confirm the latest layout which will be appearing. Rolleston on Dove is now booked to attend and will join:
     
    Darley Green, Skaleby West, Moxley Heath, Pending, Waterfall Junction, The Works, The Suitcase Layout, Belper Modular layout, Summat Colliery, Irton Road, Guy's Cuttings, Friarsgate, Layout in a tv, Thomas the Tank Engine and Board Lane.
     
    That is quite a pleasing line up of layouts. And to think that back in February I was stressing that I would not find enough layouts to make it worthwhile! One of the pupils also approached me on Friday and is desperate to bring his layout too. That caused even more measuring on the Friday evening. I think I can squeeze him in and I still have space for the vanishing layout from Butterley. I really wish I had taken the gentleman's details on the day. He took mine and promised to be in touch. I have heard nothing since so I assume he is not coming. A real shame that he couldn't at least contact me and let me know this!
     
    On a more positive note I received a further raffle prize. Stand up and take a bow the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. They have become the third preserved line to offer a prize and they are not even a local one. I take back all my summer criticisms of their diesel hauled train! Mind you as a working member of one local line I feel a little embarassed by their lack of response so far!
     
    With more layout descriptions now received the show guide is starting to come together. My target is to have it finished by the end of half term week so that I can tackle the printing during the week leading up to the event.
     
    And so from the show organising to the layout building....
     
    I now have just 2 weeks left to complete Skaleby West, or at least have it ready for showing. After a visit to the Wirksworth exhibition I finally sat down and began tackling the card goods shed kit. This was a free kit from the first issue of the Hornby magazine. As I did not want to wreck the issue, I used the school's photocopier to make a colour copy onto card. Shhh don't tell the headteacher about the use of the school's ink and card for my modelling purposes!!! (She doesn't read RMWeb thankfully!!).
    Unfortunately the quality of the copy wasn't that great and some of the detail has actually smudged during the construction process. I was a little disappointed with the look of the model once I had assembled the intial structure. I know I am a kit building virgin and my attempts were not all that accurate, but the whole thing really does not reach the standards I want. Sadly there is no turning back now. I haven't the time. The kit is my only option as no off the shelf product will fit the small space I have on the layout. I will just have to perserve, finish the kit and hope that with some weathering and additional detailing it will become just about passable. Maybe I can hide some of the worst bits with other scenery once it is added to the layout. At least it does fit the space.

    The incomplete goods shed kit can be seen here, posed on the platform of my home layout - Skaleby.
     
    And so as I look ahead to the half term week I now have a plan of action I must:
    * finish the kit and place onto the layout.
    * build up the end enbankment to the height of the goods shed.
    * add trees and scenic scatter to the area.
    * add flowers, people and detail to the rest of the layout.
     
    Oh - and build the fiddle yard!!!
     
    A busy week ahead then - until next time...
  2. andyram

    A time for reflection!

    By andyram,

    As I write this it is just over a week since the Weston on Trent model railway show. The school has returned to normal with all trace of the exhibition now removed. The road signs have been returned, with thanks, to the Mickleover Model Railway Club and all the other signs and posters have been taken down. Now is the time to look back, reflect, and assess whether we achieved what we wanted to achieve with the show - just as we have to do with all other fundraising events!
     
    Once again it is pleasing to report that the show was, in general, a success. We managed to put on a bigger event this year with 3 more layouts and 2 more trade stands when compared to last year. We also had our first demonstrations too.
    The attendance this year was certainly significantly up on our first show last year. We almost doubled our takings on the door. This contributed to a total profit of £954 which has pretty much paid for a desperately needed new school server computer. The headteacher was certainly happy with that!
    Feedback from our visitors was once again positive. Many praised the quality and variety of layouts on display and once again there was plenty of praise for the quality of the catering and the friendliness of the staff.
    It also appears that we managed to deal with those areas of the show which came in for criticism last year. The road signs, borrowed from Mickleover, were certainly a huge improvement on our home made efforts last year. Many praised the quality of them and at least one person turned up on the day purely because they saw the road signs!
     
    I did say prior to the show that we wouldn't get everything right, and we didn't! Car parking was clearly the major issue this time around. The school does have limited parking. All the spaces had been taken by 10.25am and there was nowhere at all to park by 10.40am. This led to some complaints and some people turning around and heading for home. Clearly we needed better stewarding of the car park. The staff members who were supposed to be doing it were, for one reason or another, unavailable. We were thankful to members of the Ilkeston Group who stepped in to run the car park. Their members reported 15 cars which remained in the car park all day. This means that some of our exhibitors did not follow the request to move their vehicles to the nearby pub car park. This is something which we will need to deal with for future shows. Both Ilkeston and Mickleover clubs have offered help with car park stewarding in the future!
     
    Whilst the refreshments worked well and were praised, we are aware that drinks and bacon cobs were needed much earlier. This would have given the exhibitors and traders more time to be fed and watered before the doors opened. Again, we will need to deal with this in the future!
     
    Now I have mentioned "the future" twice. The fact is that we have now done two Weston shows. The Weston 2012 event was due to be a one off as part of a special year of fundraising. Weston 2013 took place following the success of the previous year. The headteacher then planned to make the show a bi-annual event to avoid over burdening the staff as the show falls just a few weeks before the annual Christmas fair. The success of Weston 2013 and the comments made by many on the way out has led to a change of heart. Many visitors felt it would be unwise to wait two years for another event. As a result there will be a Weston 2014 show. The provisional date is Saturday 15th November 2014.
     
    Thanks to everyone for making this happen!
     
    So "here we go again"!!
     
     
    As for my layout.
     
    Skaleby West performed fairly well during the day with only a few stalling issues and I was fairly happy with it. I was quite surprised that it finished joint 2nd in the "Best in Show" vote as I know it is not that great. I am not an experienced modeller by any means and I know the layout has plenty of faults:
    - the goods shed remains a mess.
    - the points are still not wired up.
    - the gap in the scenery remains at the front near the tunnel.
    - there were stalling issues on the goods yard points and one of the points did not change fully.
    - the fiddle yards remain "ad-hoc".
     
    Despite all of that I am proud of the layout and intend to tackle all of the above areas in the future. A double house move planned for 2014 will affect my modelling time. It will mean that my home layout will be dismantled in January / February and will not be re-erected until July at the earliest. This may mean that I will have no time for modelling, but if I do Skaleby West will be the only layout I can work on. Hopefully I can deal with some of these issues and maybe work on the planned scenic extension. That way it will look different when it is exhibited at Weston 2014. At present that is its next show booking. It remains available for exhibitions, but is probably below the standard required for other shows at this moment in time.
     
    At the Weston show I was lucky enough to add a new loco to the layout's roster with the purchase of Bachmann Ivatt tank 41250. It made a brief appearance at the end of the Weston show. Yesterday I ran it on the layout at home whilst at home ill with flu. No room for the fiddle yards so Skaleby West ran as a shunting puzzle.
    Here are some pics to finish with.

    Ivatt tank 41250 arrives at Skaleby West during the closing stages of the Weston 2013 show.

    The Ivatt tank backs into the tunnel ready to begin shunting the yard yesterday.

    The loco stands by the signal box.

    Shunting the goods yard.

  3. andyram
    Part 1 – George Pepper

    George, a retired widower, is the lone resident of “Yew Tree Cottage” – the thatched dwelling which peeps its way through the trees at the top of the embankment next to the tunnel.
    A keen gardener, George bought Yew Tree cottage following the death of his wife, Mary, last year. At the time the cottage was in quite a state of disrepair. Throughout last summer George was often seen out in the warm sunshine, clad in his overalls, bringing the building back to its former glory. He repainted the doors and windows and trimmed back the various ivy plants which had threatened to engulf the walls. Rumours have suggested that the back garden is immaculate too. Not that many people can confirm the statement. The cottage’s rear is well hidden and very few people have ventured inside the cottage since its new owner arrived.
    George is a quiet fellow who keeps himself to himself. You would think that he would not upset many people, but sadly that is not true. Aside from gardening, George has another passion – bees! He has several bee hives at the rear of the house, and has recently added a further hive at the side of the house. The bees often have a habit of venturing down to the station to frequent the stationmaster’s developing station garden. This does not go down well with the passengers.
    Here George can be seen attending to his newest hive, appropriately clad in his immaculate beekeeper’s overalls. No wonder he has gained the local nickname of “The Spaceman”.

     
     
    In truth George is nothing more than the latest figure added onto my Skaleby West exhibition layout. He is a Harburn Hamlet figure, purchased from the Bakewell exhibition recently.
    This has been the only development on the layout of late. A few problems at work have taken up a fair amount of my time and so I have not been able to turn my attention to any serious modelling of late. The extension remains un-started and I am beginning to wonder if it will ever get done.
    I have continued to operate trains on my home layout, Skaleby, throughout. Here is a shot of my Standard 3 tank arriving with a passenger train.

    Planning for this year’s Weston show continues though. Although, after such a stressful week, the last thing I needed was the school summer fair, it did give me chance to have a few leaflets and posters on display. I keep printing these out and dropping them off at every show I visit so hopefully it will produce a decent crowd.
    This year I have also written off to two of the four major modelling magazines. I plan to do the others in the next month or so. Not only am I trying to get a free advert in each magazine’s event diary, I am also trying to get a small feature on the show or even one on the layout. Sadly I have heard nothing back yet.
    I am reaching that crucial point though where I need to discuss the accommodation with the headteacher. I will need an extra room in order to fit all the layouts in. Hopefully this will not be a problem as I will be taking out one of the attractions from last year’s show. The crèche / children’s room which was dreamt up by one of the other members of staff did not receive enough support so will be dropped this year. The member of staff is leaving the school in July anyway so someone else would have had to run it. Removing this should allow me the chance to have an extra room for exhibits. Fingers crossed!
     
    Until next time…
  4. andyram

    Fiddling around

    By andyram,

    An update on Skaleby West
     
    This week has been the school's half term holidays and I had hoped to get cracking with the Skaleby West extension. Sadly one or two family issues have prevented the development of the additional board. But I have managed to make progress elsewhere!
     
    Today I had a free afternoon whilst my wife was visiting her mother, so I turned my attention to the fiddle yard for the layout. This was built in a bit of a rush prior to last year's show and appeared with the facia board only painted in a white undercoat.
    After a look around the tester pots in B & Q I found a nice maroon shade and used this to paint the board in something resembling Midland Railway colours. Although Skaleby West's location is vague, I did run the layout with Midland region stock at the show so decided to lean this way for the colour scheme.
    Whilst painting the board I took the chance to erect the whole layout in our front room. This is the first time the whole layout has been erected since the Weston show last year. Even at only 8ft in length it certainly filled a good proportion of our front room. I am not so sure what my wife would have made it!

    Skaleby West invading our front room today. Note the newly painted fiddle yard.
     
    With the layout up, and a few hours of freedom it would have been rude not to have a little play! I connected up the controller, placed a short train in the fiddle yard - turned the control knob and....nothing! This was a sense of de-ja vu! The same thing happened during the set up at Weston. I fiddled around with a few things, but got no luck. Upon further investigation I soon discovered the reason. The cable from the adaptor was almost completely broken! I am not sure how that happened - but clearly the controller would not be any good without a new adaptor.
    I connected up my spare controller. That didn't work either. This was becoming the Weston show all over again.
    Now both controllers are former train set models. One of the old black and red type, and one the newer version. Both are fairly lightweight and so I was not too concerned by their failures. They were going to be replaced anyway.
     
    A few months ago I had been gifted a Gaugemaster controller by my father in law. He has been developing his own layout and has a habit of buying things before he has completed his plans. The controller was one of two purchased and became surplus to requirements once he had finalised his plan. I duely received it, and this was always earmarked for use on Skaleby West. I decided to have a go at wiring this up today.
     
    I connected the wires to the controller and then used crocodile clips to make a temporary connection to the track at the tunnel end. I powered up again and the Bachmann "Jinty" 47279 duely moved! Success? Actually no! The engine moved a short distance forward, then the controller cut out and the engine stopped. This was the pattern for the next half an hour or so. When travelling towards the controller the engine would move slightly, then stall as the controller cut out. Yet when travelling in reverse, away from the powerpoint it ran sweet as a nut!
    I fiddled around again.
    I then;
    - switched the connectors over.
    - turned the loco around.
    - checked the connections on the controller.
    - disconnected and re-connected all wiring.
     
    Nothing seemed to work. I was beginning to despair!!
     
    Finally I swapped the loco for my Standard 4 tank 80120. This ran smoothly in both directions both as a light engine and with a short freight! I then tried the Jinty again and it ran perfectly too! I was totally bemused at that point, and still am! What on earth happened there??
     
    At least the layout was running and inbetween my planned job of track cleaning I was able to enjoy half an hour running some trains - my first proper operating session since the show last November. Sadly after the half hour my wife text to say she was on her way home - cue a mad clear up to return the lounge to its proper condition before she arrived home.
    I did at least take a few shots during the short operating session. I hope you like them!

    Skaleby West station is seen through the tunnel. The troublesome "Jinty" can be seen in the distance.

    47279 is posed in the platform at Skaleby West.

    Finally working 47279 arrives with a passenger train.

    The Jinty passes the signal box as it runs round its train.

    Ivatt 4 number 43160 arrives with another passenger train.

    The Ivatt runs round its train.

    Ready to depart.
     
    And so the layout is safely packed away. I'm not sure when I will get to operate it again. Apart from the obvious need to get on with constructing the extension board, I do need to solder permenant wire connections for the Gaugemaster controller. That should be fun. The last time I used a soldering iron was at secondary school.
     
    As far as the second Weston show is concerned I have not done too much. The main work has been on publicity. I have contacted various publications and another website to try and get adverts in the events diaries. I know it now appears on another prominent website which is good news. Leaflets were out on both days at the Derby show and quite a few appeared to have been picked up. I aim to put some more out at Bakewell next week.
     
    Until next time...
  5. andyram

    Burton 2014

    By andyram,

    Today was the day of the annual Burton Model Railex, the exhibition organised by members of the Burton Railway Society. For the third year the event was held at the National Brewery Centre (former Bass Museum) site. The show is split between the museum's event marquee and the Worthington Suite in one of the buildings. The admission price also allows visitors access to the museum which includes heavy horses, fire brigade vehicles and some full size railway exhibits. If thirsty there is also the "Brewery Tap" bar on site which sells a selection of real ales. With so much to see the £4.00 admission price is a real bargain.
     
    The show itself is usually of a high standard and today's event did not disappoint with a good range of layouts, trade stands and other static exhibits and demonstrations. Amongst the 15 working layouts there were some real gems with very few falling below exhibition standards and others displaying some excellent modelling. In the marquee there was the atmospheric "Tom's Shed" a tiny OO gauge shed scene which crammed so much detail into such a small space. How he managed to get the Garratt model in there I do not know. Displayed at a low level it was the perfect height for children to see although it did mean the older visitors may have had some creaking bones to squat down to get a true ground level view of the scene.
    Broadwater Junction is the Warley Model Railway club's N gauge model. This featured in the latest issue of the Hornby Magazine and had a good procession of passing trains. A nice touch was the stabling of a model of a Burton Brewery loco on the branch line. This layout really captures a main line scene well with gradual curves through sweeping scenery. Excellent.
    Glen Uig is operated by one of RMWeb's own. I have seen this blue diesel era layout on many occasions. Although I am not a diesel fan I cannot fail to be impressed by the detail in the Distillery and the quayside. The sound fitted locos add to the scene and the layout is beautifully lit. The moving seagulls are a wonderfully different and clever touch.
    I mentioned "lighting" and this seemed to be a theme throughout the marquee with some wonderful lighting effects on several of the layouts. Glen Uig and Broadwater both fall into this category for me. The third well lit layout was "Worcester South Quay". This O gauge layout represented a GWR scene. The sound fitted Pannier tank was a wonderful model and the detailed buildings would have kept some people interested for quite a while.
    Remaining on the topic of "lighting" for a moment - I was pleased to see much improved lighting in the Worthington Suite compared to recent years when some layouts were difficult to see. This room featured more impressive layouts including the On30 model "Karolina Falls" which stands out due to its working real waterfall.
    The 009 layout "Old Mineral Line" showed just what could be achieved in a small space whilst the largest layout in the room "Rolleston-on-Dove" was an impressive EM gauge depiction of the station in 1948. This is a beautiful model which has been built after a lot of research.
     
    The static displays included some of John Fownes' cardboard 0 gauge locos. These detailed working models are very impressive and are often displayed on some of the Woodthorpe MRC's working layouts. I did like the model of the Great Central's red 8F although I am sure the purists would sniff at this. Just as impressive was P.R Marshall's large scale models, many also produced in cardboard. The model of Braunton in Barry Island condition was stunning.
     
    There was a good range of trade stands to tempt visitors from their cash including my Dad who was selling his model buses and did quite well by all accounts. The railway based stands provided a good range of used and new models and I did purchase a Bachmann weathered "Small Prairie".
     
    In the past there has been some negative comments from myself and others about the catering at some shows. The food today was very nice although the choice was a little limited. No complaints though; a generous helping of stew with stuffing and roll for £5.95 or a well crammed Pork roll for £3.00 was value for money and was better than some shows I have attended this year, although more expensive than others.
     
    All in all the Burton show lived up to its high standards and congratulations go to the organisers for another excellent event.
     
    Now the light-hearted awards:
     
    Best layout:
    A very tough choice this one as Glen Uig, Broadwater Junction, Tom's Shed, Rolleston on Dove and Worcester South Quay could all have a genuine claim on the title. My winner is going to be Glen Uig for its excellent scenics, sound fitted locos, perfect lighting and moving seagulls!
     
    Best model:
    Again a few contenders including the O gauge cardboard locos and the sound fitted Pannier. But my winner is the cardboard large scale model of Braunton in scrapyard condition. It really had to be seen!!
     
    Best scenic feature:
    For pure detail - Tom's Shed.
     
    And the others:
    The funniest: - My father in law lifting up a "do not touch" sign (written in comedy German) to read it more clearly and knocking it on the floor!
     
    The not so good: I can't really pick too much wrong with this event to be honest.
  6. andyram
    My blogs of my 2015 show visits never really got off the ground last year. Although I visited many events throughout the year I often did not get around to writing my comments. Perhaps some people are quite pleased about that!
    Anyway I am hoping to be a bit more consistent with my blogging this year.
     
     
    My show visits got off to an early start this year as I made my first ever visit to the 7mm Narrow Gauge event at the Mickleover Community Centre. Although this is advertised more as a club get together, it is open to all and on payment of a reasonable £3 entry fee. The event was held in the three rooms of the community centre that is also used for the October club show. It featured plenty of trade - although it was naturally geared towards 7mm NG modellers. For those looking for a bargain there was plenty of boxes to rummage in for bargains.
    Amongst the layouts there were a few gems including Port Wynstay Quay, Up the Line and Coxheath Sidings. Without doubt "Up the Line" was the stand out model. It is becoming an exhibition regular, winning best in show at our Weston 2014 event and being a close runner up the following year. I know Kevin has collected plenty of other awards along the way and they are well deserved. The quality of modelling is excellent with the bomb damaged buildings and excellent photo back scene being especially impressive. The scenics are supported by the sound fitted locos and the WW1 sound effects in the background. That being said, I did not hear much of the background sounds today - I wonder if they had been turned off.
    If you have not seen Up the Line yet, you should check out the layout blog here on RMWeb.
     
    It was also good to see another RMWeb featured layout - Dava's "Coxheath Sidings". This minimum space 0 gauge model uses a foam board baseboard. It has plenty of nice cameo scenes and shows you do not have to have lots of space to model in this scale.
     
    I didn't spend long at the show due to other commitments, but thoroughly enjoyed my visit. Congrats to the organisers. Here are my "light hearted" awards.
     
    BEST LAYOUT - "Up the Line" - without doubt the stand out model in the entire show.
    BEST MODEL - 0 gauge Terrier "Bodium" on Coxheath Sidings - excellently detailed and weathered by Dava!
  7. andyram

    Derby 2013

    By andyram,

    It has long been a tradition that my Dad and I always visit the Derby show on the Saturday. We have done so right back to the days of the Assembly Rooms, and the late opening until around 7pm. We always used to do the Darwin Suite first to get the foreign stuff "out of the way" (it is not our thing!). Then we would do the balcony, great hall and finish off in the foyer at the top of the stairs before a spot of lunch and a pint (when I was old enough) before going around our favourite exhibits again.
     
    These days the Assembly Rooms venue and the late opening have been condemned to history. But the Derby show remains a must visit date on our calendar.
     
    Today we were there not long after opening allowing me to drop off some leaflets for the Weston show. We then spent an enjoyable few hours at the event. It was nice to catch up with some fellow RMWeb users - seeing Don operating the "Layout in a T.V" and hearing an update on his Bridgnorth model. It was good to see Pete Harvey again and to not ignore him this time as I almost did at Mansfield. Nice to see a steam interloper on his mainly Diesel layout.
    The show was as enjoyable as ever and there were some excellent layouts. One of the highlights for me was the Taff Valley Railway model "Ynysybwl". The detail in the back gardens of the buildings were superb. It was interesting to see the fiddle yard on view, and it seemed to be partial scenic too. Without doubt this was my favourite layout in the show.
    The LNER layout "Fryupdale" brought back a few memories of holidays in North Yorkshire, taking inspiration from such locations as Sleights and Glaisdale. I loved the bridged section over the river, which really did remind me of a section of the NYMR.
    There did seem to be a lot of more modern D&E layouts this year including Meadow Lane TMD, Crimson Road, Oil Drum Lane and New Bryford. Despite favouring steam era models, I thoroughly enjoyed viewing these. New Bryford being the pick of them aided by the sound fitted models.
     
    Amongst the many trade stands I managed to pick up a Gaugemaster photo backscene for my, as yet unstarted, Skaleby West extension. There were a few other things to tempt me, but somehow I managed to keep my hands in my pocket.
     
    Still an excellent show and congrats to all concerned. I look forward to the next one...well actually the wife has told me she wants me to take our 17 month old daughter out for a couple of hours tomorrow whilst she does the cleaning. I wonder where I can take her..................
  8. andyram
    It has been sometime since my last entry on Skaleby, and things have rather ground to a halt, hit the buffers or any other phrase you can think of which means tools have been well and truely downed! Other things have rather taken over. Our first child, Amber, was born on the morning of the 13th December 2011. Therefore I have had rather more urgent priorities of late such as feeding, nappy changing, sleep and finding enough time for work as well. At times like this I rather wish the myth that teachers only work from 9am - 3.30pm was true!
     
    There has been no scenic progress on Skaleby to report. But rather like many others at the end of 2011, it has been a good time to reflect on the progress so far. It was only in April 2011 that the baseboards were installed in the spare bedroom so progress has been quite rapid. The track layout was finalised and track around the station area was pinned down. I have since built three embankments, added scenery to one of these and started the scenics around the rear of the main station building. I have started the scenery around the small engine shed and laid out track for the fiddle yard. I do now have one area where I can photograph trains and the scenery looks finished (see photos in the earlier posts). Not bad for just a few weeks work, spread over the last 8 months!
     
    Of course I have managed to run trains. Even in the last few weeks I have stolen a few minutes to keep trains running. It does help that the layout shares the spare room with the family's house rabbit, who just happens to need his exercise each day. As supervising the rabbit comes down to me, I do manage to sneak a few train movements each day whilst also catching up with work on my laptop. Who says men can't multi-task!!!
    The down side of this room sharing arrangement is that the rabbit fur seems to have a nasty habit of flying up and settling in all areas of the layout. I seem to be forever tackling the cleaning of stock with small tweasers and a paint brush! At present it is keeping the trains running and the trusty SDJR "Jinty" has made many return trips with the Standard 3 82020 substituting when the Jinty is "in the works" for de-furring!!!!
     
    With half term approaching I have received "permission" from the transport minister (aka the wife!!) to resume scenic work. At present I am not quite sure what I am going to do next as there are so many half finished areas. At present my mind is drifting towards working on the rear of the rear platform with the idea of working on the scenery from the back of the layout to the front. I will need some stone walled sections in order to do this though as I know that at Goathland dry stone walls stand at the rear of this platform. I do not have any yet so I will have to keep my eyes open over the next few weeks.
    I do have a busy few weeks of shows to visit. This weekend sees the new Derby "trains only" swapmeet which has moved from West Bridgford. Much better for me!! Who wants to go over to Nottingham (except to see the Rams pick up three points with only ten men!!). Then I have Stafford Model Railway show before half term. With the Leicester show at Syston also falling around half term I have three chances to get what I need. Mind you the last two events will probably also serve to re-ignite my dreams of building a layout for displaying at a show - Skaleby is strictly a home only layout!! I think that dream may have to remain on hold for a few more years...unless those 6 lotto balls drop for me of course!!
     
    I will post pictures and updates as and when!
  9. andyram

    A good start!

    By andyram,

    The new year is only a few days old but there has already been a good start made to planning the Weston 2014 show. Since my last blog enteries I have received two offers of layouts from RMWeb members. Both of these will be new exhibitors at the Weston event. It is great to attract new people and I look forward to seeing both layouts in November. One layout is U.S based whilst another represents WW1 which already gives some interesting diversity to the event.
    A third layout has been promised from the Ilkeston Woodside group. They have kindly supported both of our events - providing their Thomas layout in 2012 and "Fenby" last year. It will be great to welcome them back as they always go the extra mile to help. They shared the proceeds from the "pay to operate" Thomas model in 2012 and provided valuable assistance on the car park last year. I believe they will also be offering some car park marshalls for this year's event.
    Three of the traders from last year have already rebooked and I am confident that the others will return as well. Another new trader has enquired about attending. Sadly I doubt I will have space as I think that, if all the current traders rebook, we will have enough trade. We don't want to overload on the trade stands.
     
    I am fairly confident that a couple of other exhibitors, who appeared last year, will return with different displays and models I just need to contact them to confirm arrangements. All in all it is a good start the plans for Weston 2014. Anyone else who is interested in attending please get in touch!
     
    Skaleby West
    At present the plan is to include my layout in the exhibition again. However this rather depends on whether I can make progress with developing the layout. During the first year Skaleby West was displayed as a temporary terminus station with just one adjoining fiddle yard. Last year I managed to throw together a third board to act as a temporary second fiddle yard. As a result Skaleby West became a through station. My plan is to develop this board into a second scenic board. Currently the model is stored in our spare bedroom as we begin to pack up for a house move. We are due to move out at the end of January and will spend six months living in my late Grandad's bungalow prior to moving into our new build property in June or July.
    I hope to work on Skaleby West once we get into the bungalow although other modelling plans are bubbling under behind the scenes. Watch this space....
  10. andyram
    As anybody who has read my other blogs will know, I already have two model railway projects ongoing at present. My permanent home based layout, Skaleby, is a 00 gauge shelf layout currently undergoing a protracted construction in our spare room. Its little brother, Skaleby West, is a micro layout, built for my Weston-on-Trent exhibition last year. This has an extension in the advanced planning stage.
     
    So the last thing I really need is another model railway project!
     
    The fact is, I had never really considered starting another project. My main aim was to make progress on the Skaleby West extension - but one innocent comment changed all of that.
     
    A recent trip out saw my eyes fall upon a Bachmann G gauge "Thomas" set. This contained Percy, two troublesome trucks and an oval of track + controller at a much reduced price. Now I am quite fond of those original characters from the Island of Sodor. I was brought up on a diet of Rev Awdry stories. It is what got me interested in steam and model railways. My 20 month old daughter is developing a similar interest (perhaps aided by a few preserved railway and model railway visits with daddy!!). She can already control my father in law's "track mat" layout, asks for the "choo-choos" everytime she visits there and can name a number of the Thomas characters - including shouting out "That's right" everytime she sees Ferdinand - one of the awful new characters added by the vandals that currently own the franchise. Her favourite character is Percy.
     
    Upon arrival home I happened to mention this "bargain" set to my wife, expecting her to produce the sort of usual stock wife answer we hear all the time eg "that's nice" / eyes roll upwards etc. Did she? No! What she said was - "why don't you buy it for the garden?". Even an excuse of lack of funds from me did not produce the sensible response from her. Instead I got "why not use your credit card!".
    Up until that point a G gauge garden layout had only been a distant dream - something that would be nice to have but never likely. Up until that point I have never really liked the SWMBO tag that many RMWeb users give their spouses. But on this occasion I am happy to adopt it.
     
    And so I have my third model railway project.
     
    Since that fateful day I managed to dig out an old Hornby magazine "Garden Railway" supplement. This gave guidance as to how to build a semi-permanent G gauge layout. This is what I am planning at present. For the time being the track plan will make use of the basic oval from a, soon to be purchased, set. It will give my daughter the chance to control a train on a continous run - something that is not possible on Skaleby or Skaleby West. There will be scope to expand the set some time in the future if and when funds permit as I have to be honest money is not readily available at present!
     
    Getting started
    During the last year I have gradually been extending the flower bed which runs down one side of our back lawn. The plan had been to extend this to the rear of the garden and further widen it at the far corner so that we got rid of some of the poorly laid areas of lawn around our bird table. This area we planned to cover in plastic sheeting, before adding a layer of decorative stones / gravel. Work commitments had rather halted progress during the last 12 months. But after identifying this decorative area as a perfect place for the initial starter oval of track I had renewed motivation. I dug the whole thing out this afternoon! The accompanying picture shows the progress made so far - amazing what the promise of a layout can do!!!

  11. andyram

    Bakewell 2013

    By andyram,

    Yesterday I spent an enjoyable few hours at the Peak Model Railway Show at Bakewell. I visited the show for the first time last year, and was looking forward to this year's event.
    The venue is very nice - a spacious and well lit hall with plenty of room to walk round and view the exhibits. There is a well priced cafe too with some very nice bacon rolls!
     
    This year's event featured a number of impressive layouts. The Lancashire and Yorkshire layout "Calderwood" has a number of impressive cameo scenes along its length. The station is very detailed in particular. It also features working signals and they are operated realistically with communication between fiddle yards via a series of bell codes. When I saw this layout at Derby a year or so ago there was lots of bells, but no train movements in five minutes. I was pleased to see a much more frequent service this time - with three passing freight trains in a similar time.
    Mentioning cameo scenes - there were lots on the impressive P4 layout Cheddar S & DJR. This contained descriptions of the scenes printed on the front in order to bring the layout to life. The model ran well, and the Prussian blue engines looked superb under the lights.
    There was also plenty to see on the "Museum of transport" layout. This attended the show last year. It may not be one for the purists perhaps, but I do like it. It is something different with the wonderfully modelled exhibition buildings, a superb harbour complete with an excellent model lifeboat, and the canal with the operating boat is a feature not seen on many other layouts. How many others have an operating hot air balloon! The model also features two "demonstration tracks" in OO gauge. At the front the automated GWR railcar operated to and fro, while at the rear, sound fitted DCC steam outline models operated a shuttle service. The museum demonstration line feel was represented by a Castle class loco' hauling a single GWR auto coach. Elsewhere on the model a 009 track also ran constantly with many superb models on show. I recently purchased, on a whim, a 009 model from EBay. It was painted in the Rev W Awdry Skarloey Railway livery and represents "Duncan", minus the smokebox face. I have considered a small 009 layout for this to run on, but not being experienced in this scale I need to research more as to how to go about it.
    Back to the show and there was another layout which was returning for a further year. Glen Gillie was this year presented with its "Loch Inch" extension. I was very impressed with this model last year. It also features lots of great scenics and cameos. The distillery is a superb model, complete with an air freshner filled with whisky to give off the appropriate smell! The extension features a detailed loch scene, a small halt serving a camping coach and a ruined castle which was thronged with little visitors. This really is an excellent model with lots to see.
     
    Other impressive models were the Scottish layout "Glen Roy" and the model of Idridgehay. There was also plenty of trade stands, although I was a little short of the "folding stuff". I did pick up a Harburn Hamlet model of a beekeeper - complete with an open hive. It made me smile and I decided that this figure would become the resident of the cottage on my show layout Skaleby West.
     
    An enjoyable show and a perfect escape from my paperwork for a few hours.
  12. andyram

    Belper

    By andyram,

    An 8th show in 10 weekends and another new one for me. A colleague of mine is a member of the Belper Model Railway Group and had told me about this show. So after being kind to the wife I was able to sneak out this morning to make it over to the Strutt's Centre, Belper for this event.
     
    This is another small local show, very similar to the Mansfield event earlier in the month. It featured a number of small layouts, many of which I have seen before. Many of these layouts represented the later eras with the B.R Blue "Church Lane Sidings", privatisation era "Bucknell Lane TMD" and the N gauge "Just Four". The latter features modern image alongside a "preserved" branch which runs from the front of the layout, and climbing to a raised terminus at the back of the layout. I saw this layout at the Midland Railex event at Butterley last year and really enjoyed the constant stream of trains, with the operation on the branch adding interest. Today the branch was operated by an automated DMU. Whilst this "hands free" operation was good, seeing the DMU arrive at a station and immediately reverse without pausing did detract from the "realism" a little. Only a slight criticism though as I did enjoy this layout again.
     
    It was good to see Malcolm's "Bygone Model Railways" display once again. He certainly has a good collection of old Hornby clockwork O gauge. I may be too young to remember it, but its great to see these models doing what they were built for. I look forward to welcoming him with another of his layout's to our show in November.
    Next to this display was a small TT gauge layout. It certainly was packed full of things to see. I do like the TT gauge, amazing how this size isn't more popular than it is.
     
    The Belper Group were showing off the progress on their "modular" project. I have heard a lot about this from my colleague, Tom. Each member has a 1100mm x 400mm module to develop as they wish. The only specification being that the track needs to enter / exit at a specific point. This allows the group to build up a very impressive and different layout as each member develops their own section. The modules on show today ranged from bare boards, to fully scenic sections complete with stations. I certainly enjoyed seeing the progress on these. The brewery module looks an interesting one.
     
    I also enjoyed seeing the "What a load of rubbish" display, where the husband and wife team displayed how to make all kinds of scenic items from household junk. It gave me some ideas. This is another display set to attend our show and it was great to have a chat with the people involved.
     
    I did get a brief chance to catch up with my colleague whilst he was supervising the "drive Thomas" layout. I know he was quite pleased with the crowd. There certainly seemed a few people walking around.
     
    I definitely enjoyed the show. It seemed to have a friendly atmosphere again and it was great to catch up with a few people.
     
    Now where is the next one????
  13. andyram

    Sileby 2013

    By andyram,

    After a particularly long and frustrating INSET day I have broken up for the much needed half term holiday and what better way to celebrate than by visiting a model railway event.
    This is the third successive year I have visited the Sileby event and I have always enjoyed it - this year was no exception. For a relatively small location, the Syston Model Railway society always manage to pack in lots to see, and there is always some excellent layouts on show. This year the stand out layout was the N gauge model of "Melton Mowbray (North). I have seen this featured in a prevous issue of the Hornby magazine, but had never seen it "in the flash". What an excellent model, packed full of detail which accurately represents the location. A big well done to those involved.
    Once again there were some old favourites on show. For the second show in succession I was able to view Mike Kelly's "Everbury". This was at the Stafford event two weeks ago. An excellent model and my 14 month old daughter certainly enjoyed the action!
    Other familiar layouts included the Soar Valley club's "Aylett End". This Southern region model features DCC control and many sound fitted locos. The scenics are excellent and I always enjoy seeing this model.
    Godric's Hollow is a OO gauge layout based on a SDJR branch. I believe it is fairly new to the exhibition circuit. I have seen previously it at last year's Loughborough and Burton events. Each viewing sees more and more progress made. For a "minimum space" layout it certainly has lots of operational interest with passenger services, general freight and services to the local dairy.
    Board Lane was also present. Chris Trafford's shunting layout, built on an ironing board, visited my own show last November. It was nice to see him and the layout once more.
     
    Amongst the layouts I was seeing for the first time was the O gauge model "Trebudoc". This small country branch station is just 9ft in length. In such a small space there was lots of operational interest and the ex GWR models looked superb.
    Alston was another superb N gauge layout, complete with an excellent viaduct model. Sadly my daughter decided to get hungry at that point and so I did not get enough time to view it. I hope I will get to see it again sometime in the future.
     
    During my visit I did get to chat to one or two layout owners about them potentially exhibiting their layouts at the Weston on Trent show in November. These are useful contacts and hopefully will lead to me adding more layouts to the show before too much longer.
     
    With wife and daughter hungry I took a detour on the way home, treating them to lunch in the Butler Henderson's cafe at Quorn and Woodhouse station on the GCR. During our visit I glimpsed two Leicester bound services through the window. The first was the DMU passenger, the second the diner which was hauled by Ivatt 46521. I also got the briefest glimpse of 6023 King Edward II on a Loughborough bound service.
    Incidently the food was very nice, the service not so good. Quite slow with not all meals served at the same time. As a GCR working member I was a little disappointed.
  14. andyram

    More ups and downs

    By andyram,

    Well another week and yet more ups and downs. First the good news. The layout forms are starting to come back in greater numbers. At present the confirmed layouts have hit double figures which is pleasing. I know of a couple more that are definitely coming but are yet to confirm their forms and two that are awaiting confirmation from me.
    The progress has seen me come up with a plan for a new feature at the show. Two of our exhibits have confirmed that they will be made available for visitors to use. Therefore I have hit upon a plan of creating an "interactive" room which will be solely made up of layouts that visitors can try. Not sure whether this is a new idea or not, but it will be new for us. It does mean I will need to find one or two more models that can be exhibited in this way. It is possible I will turn to a local model railway group for help in this matter - but if anyone else is willing to exhibit in this way then please get in touch!
    I mentioned in a previous post that a couple of traders had let me down. I think I have got one replacement, but my search for a second has thus far proved unsuccessful. Sadly a further trader has "double booked" themselves and will not be attending. That is another blow so I will have to redouble my efforts to find replacements.
  15. andyram

    The hunt has begun

    By andyram,

    Now I appreciate that winter services into Skaleby West are rather infrequent, but is that really an excuse for a couple of members of the local gentry to use the track bed to exercise their steads? I wonder what those passengers, sat on the platform waiting for the next service, thought about the arrival of a couple of members of the Skaleby Hunt as they passed through the station in the "four foot".
    Considering Skaleby West station is built on land within the estate of Skaleby Manor, perhaps Lord and Lady Skaleby feel that they are within their rights to use the line in this way.
     
    In truth the errant horse riders are actually a pair of pre-painted Langley Models figures - purchased from the Stafford show last weekend. I just could not resist them. I do like the Langley Models goods and was looking for some figures to add a little more life and interest to my exhibition layout. Their presence on the track was actually because I had just glued the riders onto their horses and wanted to keep them upright whilst the glue dried. They have now taken up residence in their planned location - on the dirt track which crosses the top of the tunnel - see the pictures below.

     
    The Stafford exhibition began a run of show visits with Allestree, Sileby, Trowell, Mansfield and Nottingham all coming up in the next few weeks. This will begin my own hunt - a hunt for layouts for this year's Weston on Trent show.
    In my last post I appealed for layouts, sadly no offers came. I am not worried however. After all I did not start planning the 2012 show until February anyway. This year I do have a number of things sorted for the show already.
    6 traders have confirmed their intention to attend. I just need one more and I am looking into that.
     
    Several layouts have already been sorted with several exhibitors from last year agreeing to return with other models. This week I have confirmed another layout. At the latest count I have organised 8 exhibitors bringing up to 10 layouts. This still leaves space for 7 or 8 more. During my upcoming show visits I will be on the lookout for a few more layouts for the show - and if there are any RMWeb users out there who are interested in attending please get in touch.
    Meanwhile I am still working on the planning consent for the extension to Skaleby West - will the powers that be (the wife) pass the application?? With half term approaching I am hoping to finish the repair work to the layout and add some more detail. I have a few more Langley items awaiting attention.
     
    Until next time...
  16. andyram

    Advice? Me? Really?

    By andyram,

    The countdown to the 2015 Weston show is very much on. We have now entered the final month and the show has even started to creep up the events bar on the main forum page. The hurdles continue to be placed in front of me. A very busy work situation has prevented me from measuring up those newly altered classrooms and has meant I am still to complete the floor plan. With next week being half term I know that I will really have to get things sorted during my time away from the classroom. Two parents evenings this week does restrict my time for carrying out the task, but I will get there - I have to!
    The ladies in the office have worked tirelessly to send out requests for raffle prizes. As yet the responses have been slow, but stand up and take a bow the Crich Tramway Village who have kindly donated some tickets. We have a couple of DVD's, some chocolates and the usual offers of wine so we will not be short.
    At the weekend I was out and about at the Wirksworth show ensuring a plentiful supply of leaflets were distributed. Requests have been sent off to three of the main model publications for show guide listings and the UK Model Shop entry has been updated. Over half term I plan to place a list of layouts on the show's RMWeb thread. I have hung back on this thus far due to the ever changing nature of this year's line up.
     
    This week has brought an interesting development, namely an email from a fellow show manager asking me for advice. I was happy to help the person in question and passed on as much as I could, but it did strike me as a rather interesting development. It does not seem that long ago that I was begging people for help and advice when starting to organise our first Weston event. Do I really fall into the experienced organiser category now??
  17. andyram
    It has been a few weeks since I last posted in this blog and that rather reflects the lack of progress on Skaleby West recently. At every turn work seems to get in the way. First it was school report writing. Then it was parent’s evenings and more recently it has been SATs marking. If that was not enough the local authority have chosen our school for moderation this year, resulting in yet more work as I compiled the evidence for the “dragon†of a moderator who will be visiting me just after half term.

    The half term holiday did give me some modelling time, in fact more than I originally expected as the bad weather caused several cancelled trips out. On the first Friday I had planned a trip to the Severn Valley Railway whilst my wife was visiting her mum, only to postpone the trip due to bad weather. So a full day’s modelling then!

    First I tackled that troublesome final point motor. I finished filing the hole to open it out, and test fitted the new motor. Thankfully the arm moved freely, and after a large amount of “jiggling†I managed to get the motor to fully change the point in both directions. New screw holes were drilled and with a real sense of achievement I screwed the last motor into place. I couldn’t resist a quick picture. The fitting of that motor has been a long time in coming!


    No sooner had I fitted the motor I moved onto the station platforms. These were placed in-situ and then clearances were tested with a Hornby coach, initially propelled by finger power, and then by my recently purchased Bachmann 3F. I couldn’t resist running it! Once everything was in the correct place I marked this on the baseboard before marking and cutting out the cork base. This was then glued down, with the platforms placed on top, with tools on top of them to weigh down the cork whilst it dried. Things were then left overnight to dry.

    * Gluing down the cork base for the station. My home layout, Skaleby, can be seen in the background.
     

    * Checking the clearances for the station.
     

    * My Bachmann 3F on test. The rough floor plan for the show can be seen in the background.
     
    During the following week I moved back to the track. I painted the sleepers and the track sides with “Deck Brown†acrylic paint to provide some form of weathering. Although at first things looked a little bit messy, the result was quite effective once the paint had dried.

    On the final Thursday my wife was off to visit her mum again and I had once more planned a trip to the Severn Valley Railway. Sadly the weather beat me yet again. Even heavier rain forced me to cancel my trip for a second time and so I was left with a second full day of modelling. This time I finally turned my attention to the ballasting.

    For the ballast I mixed some Woodland Scenics medium and fine grade grey ballast with some coarser material purchased from “Brickyard Modelsâ€. To this mix I added a sprinkle of Woodland Scenics medium brown gravel. This was applied to the main running line and brushed into place. More brown was added to the mix before I repeated the process for the run round loop. A sprinkling of Woodland Scenics “fine cinders†was added to small patches of the main running line to indicate where a steam engine may stand when trains pause at the station. The cinder ballast was mixed with the brown and a small amount of grey and this was then added to the sidings. I was quite pleased with the effect, especially for a first attempt. My final job was to glue the ballast down. I followed the instructions given in many issues of the Hornby Magazine. I made up a 50 / 50 mix of PVA glue and water, with a few drops of washing up liquid. This was then dropped onto the ballast via a pipette. Prior to this I wet the ballast with water from a Woodlands Scenics “Scenic Sprayerâ€.
    I found the water / glue mix didn’t cover well out of the pipette, but patiently covered the whole layout. After leaving for a couple of hours to dry, I then mixed a second batch of glue, water and washing up liquid. This was then added over the top from the spray bottle. Things covered much better this time and the ballast looked very similar to those shown in the magazine’s “How to†guides.
     
    * Unfortunately things have not run quite as smoothly as I had hoped. Once the glue had dried I found that the points had also stuck fast. I know I should have covered them when spraying the second coat of glue, but never thought that the weak glue would stick them!! Looks like I have to get my "problem solving hat" back on to try and sort this out!
     
    The show

    After a quiet spell things have also moved forward with the show. I have begun the advertising for the event. I updated the leaflets to include directions to the school. These have been sent out to some of the traders who have already booked their tables. A supply of leaflets was also left at the Derby show last month. My mother and father have also been displaying leaflets and posters on their stall at various local toy fairs. These have proved useful already, as it jogged the memory of one of the model groups who had yet to get back to me. A quick phone conversation and I have now been able to add another layout and a trade stand to the list. The layout is a Thomas the Tank Engine one which will cost the children 50p for a chance to control the engines. The group have promised to contribute all money raised from this to the school funds. Great news indeed!
    With these additional attractions I have now filled the main hall and reckon the corridor areas have now been filled as well. This means I do need to measure up that classroom to see how much I can fit in there.

    Until next time…..
  18. andyram

    Mickleover

    By andyram,

    Another blog entry!
     
     
    It has been a few weeks since I last posted in the "show visits" blog. Last week I visited the Loughborough show, thoroughly enjoyed it, but never got the chance to write an entry. This weekend saw me visit the Mickleover show. This is one of my local shows, held at the Mickleover Community Centre, home of the club that runs this and the Moorways show.
     
    My visit spanned both the Saturday and Sunday. On the first day I managed a brief visit to drop some leaflets off for the Weston-on-Trent show. Family commitments meant that I couldn't stay long. With my wife feeling ill and in need of a break from mummy duty, I was able to return on the Sunday with my baby daughter in tow again as we gave mum some much needed peace and quiet.
     
    I have to say I really enjoyed my visits. There were some excellent layouts on show. In the club room it was great to see the latest developments on the group's "Duffield" layout. This has been a long term project and looks very nice indeed. There is a long scenic run and there was plenty of action as a procession of long trains past in each directions.
    A second 00 gauge layout was "Everywhere" which is the new club running layout. This has five tracks and is made to allow a wide variety of stock to run, something that is important to cater for the wide interests within such a large club. Whilst watching the action I saw everything from a Black 5 hauled passenger train to a motorised "hand cart" and an American diesel express.
    The final layout in this room was the group's 0 gauge "Warner Street". On the Sunday this was being run with a variety DMU's whilst there was a mix of steam and diesel in action on the Saturday.
     
    In the Community Centre there were some more club layouts. I am not a diesel fan, but the club's modern image layout "Farkham" is excellent. Set in the suburbs of Stoke on Trent it gives a good impression of a railway passing through a city area. The tower blocks are nicely modelled and I loved the Del Boy cameo.
    Other layouts on show included the Famous Train's group's "Darley Green" layout. This was making its exhibition debut and was quite impressive too. There was also plenty of action on this layout with a good procession of passenger trains arriving and departing and freight being shunted. My daughter also seemed to enjoy the action. She was also very interested in club's N gauge "Derwent Valley". On Saturday this was being operated as a preserved railway's gala. On the Sunday modern traction was the order of the day with lots of EWS and Scot Rail liveried stock. Thomas the Tank Engine also made an appearence now and again. He was also present on the club's Thomas layout of course. 10 months old and already my daughter seems to have a taste for the little blue tank engine and his friends. She was captivated by the procession of trains on this particular model.
     
    To be honest all the layouts were excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition. It was also made by the many friendly people I met. I have often considered becoming a member of this group and / or the Famous Trains charity. The friendly nature of the people from both groups continue to make this a tempting option. They all helped make the visit very enjoyable.
    It was also nice to chat to fellow RM Web member Don and to view his Hockley Goods diorama which is excellent. No wonder it was voted into the top 10 of a competition on this website. I look forward to seeing the model again at our show in November.
     
    An enjoyable visit and a big thanks to all involved.
  19. andyram

    The last week!

    By andyram,

    As I sit and write this entry there is less than a week to go until the Weston on Trent model railway exhibition. Things are slowly coming together, but there is still so much to do in the next five days.
     
    At present I am working on putting the show guide together. It is almost finished, but still requires information from one layout owner. My aim is to get the guide finished by Wednesday so that it can be printed on Thursday and Friday. This year's guide will run to 12 pages compared to 8 last year.
     
    The raffle still needs sorting. So far we have the usual array of wine and biscuits promised and the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway and Midland Railway have replied to my request with the promise of raffle prizes. Hopefully they will arrive in time. Sadly a number of local preserved lines have ignored the request. I am sure that they receive many requests, but a reply to say no would not go amiss. I have to say the lack of any response from the Great Central is especially disappointing considering I am a working member there! Time yet I suppose. The raffle has been boosted by some railway DVD's which have been donated for this year.
     
    Tomorrow sees the final planning meeting. Hopefully the rest of the staff will provide the same commitment as last year. They did a cracking job on the refreshments and have set high standards for this year.
     
    Finally I still have Skaleby West to finish. Still no final loco roster yet, and still some last minute scenic work to complete. Update to follow on this later in the week.
     
    Until next time...
  20. andyram
    It has been quite a few months since I posted anything on my Skaleby blog. With my attention firmly focused on the organising of the school's model railway show, and on the building of my show layout "Skaleby West", the larger layout has had to take a back seat modelling wise. There has been no progress on the scenics whatsoever, and even the tidying up of the board has not happened. That does not mean that the layout has been ignored however.
     
    Sharing the spare room with the pet house rabbit may have its problems. The national network may have leaves on the line, the wrong kind of snow and even recently a guard taking a statutory break but these pale into insignificance next to Skaleby's challenge of rabbit fur. The little feller's white hairs get everywhere! Much of my time is spent "defurring" the layout and the locos which run on it.
    But it is not all bad. The need to give the rabbit his daily exercise does give me an excuse to play trains. And so whilst the scenic work has taken a back seat I have enjoyed a daily bout of playing trains and Skaleby has seen a regular service.
    As Skaleby is essentially modelled as a preserved line, passenger trains are very much in the majority. Up until recently these have been operated using a pair of midland surburban coaches. Now these trains operated using an ex GWR autocoach as this prevents the need to run the loco round the train, important time saving when I am combining my railway operating with rabbit watching and paper work. A three coach B.R Eastern region set of Mark 1's is also used and often visits during busier days hauled by a larger loco from my collection.
    At present the operation of the line is shared by a fleet of three locomotives. These are:
     
    Hornby Railroad SDJR "Jinty" 3F number 24

     
    This is the workhorse of the fleet. It was bought for Skaleby's previous incarnation at our old house when the line was plagued by "cat attack" as our pet cat delighted on jumping onto the layout. It is robust and easy to maintain. Despite some problems in February it still gives good service on the two coach surburban set and is seen here on shed at Skaleby.
     
     
    Bachmann B.R Standard class 3 number 82020

     
    My favourite loco of the current fleet. It also runs with the two coach surburban set. It is seen here on shed outside Skaleby goods shed. This is being used to temporarily house locos whilst the main shed ares is under construction. Locos are moved out when freight trains run. In this picture you can see the rabbit hair problem!
     
    Bacmann B.R Ivatt tank number 41324

     
    This loco is currently in service on the autocoach trains. It runs well although sometimes doesn't like travelling forwards over the point work. Care is needed when driving it. It is seen here in the goods yard at Skaleby.
     
     
    Up until recently a fourth loco was part of the fleet.
     
    Hornby B.R "Terrier" number 32636

     
    This loco was also used on the autocoach trains and has been in regular service over the last three weeks. It is seen here with the autocoach in a photograph which is being used on the publicity material for my school's model railway show.
    The loco has just been taken out of service for "defluffing!!!".
  21. andyram

    Weston 2014 is go!

    By andyram,

    The school holidays may be half over and the Christmas festivities may now be over, but with the New Year around the corner I can now confirm that there WILL be a Weston-on-Trent Model Railway exhibition in 2014.
     
    Actually the decision was an easy one. With almost £1000 raised for school funds and plenty of positive comments received, the headteacher seemed to nervously ask me if I would be prepared to run another event. Answer..of course I would.
     
    The date is Saturday 15th November.
     
    As a result I am on the look out for layouts again. Can anyone help??
     
    Meanwhile:
    Skaleby West
    The layout is in store awaiting our double house move next year. We will leave our current home in January and move around the corner to my late Grandfather's bungalow. We will stay here for 6 months until our new build is ready.
    No work will be carried out on the layout until we move out of our current home. Then I hope to get cracking on some of the outstanding jobs on the current scenic section and also consider building the scenic extension.
    In its current form the layout is available for exhibitions should anyone want it. At present its only 2014 booking is the Weston show, and that depends on whether or not I complete the extension.
  22. andyram
    In my last blog entry a month ago I mentioned that I had begun the hunt for layouts to make up the 2013 Weston on Trent model railway show. With plenty of time until the November date I was expecting things to move slowly! I was wrong! The period around the school's half term break produced a rather manic spell when everything seemed to happen at once!
     
    It all started with a visit to the Sileby show where I had discussed the show with three layout owners. One of these was booked and another is on the reserve list. Then I went to Trowell and was offered the chance to have the Moxley Heath O gauge layout again. This was duely booked and things started to take shape. And then it happened - my email went into meltdown. Not a day went by without at least one show related email and some came completely out of the blue - like the message from the owners of last year's exhibit - Guy's Cuttings, offerring to return with one of their other layouts. These were N gauge monsters and led to some hasty remeasuring of the hall before I could finally feel confident that I can squeeze their 21 foot long Watts Crossing layout into the show.
    Other emails brought even more exhibits. One owner responded to my request for his layout, agreeing to come and offerring to bring his mate with him, complete with an additional 009 model. The offers just kept on coming.
     
    I was feeling fairly settled that things were progressing well...then I went to the Mansfield show. I had always intended to visit, and also wanted to chat to another exhibitor as well as having a first look at their layout. Not only did I do that, I came away with other potential exhibits too. During the day I spoke to a couple of other layout owners, both were keen to attend this year's Weston show. Apologies to them that I haven't yet been in touch. I will be soon!
     
    Following the Mansfield show I was finally able to sit down and take a breath. All of a sudden the floor plan was looking a lot more full. In fact my problem could now be fitting everyone in. I was speaking to our headteacher's husband at a school social the other night. He suggested I look at trying to blag another classroom. He may have a point - especially as offers kept on coming. I arranged the final trade stand for the event - they offered to bring their layout too! Then I was walking around Burton toy fair. My dad, who was standing the event, called me over. A gentleman had picked up a leaflet for the Weston show and was wanting to bring his minic motorway layout!!! I really could not believe it!
     
    So as I write this blog I have 16 layouts as good as booked. If I add those from the Mansfield show I will have 19, and I could push the total up to 21 with those two recent offers. Things really have come together, and it has definitely all happened at once.......
     
    The layout
    If the progress on the show was not enough - the same period brought a significant development with my show layout. The Skaleby and District council have formally passed the planning consent for the extension to the line. In real terms my wife has given me permission to construct the second scenic board. The wood is on order and so I can start to develop my plans. At present I plan to build the second board to fit at the goods shed end of Skaleby West, providing an extra run from station to fiddle yard. I plan to represent a little more of Skaleby village on this board, and have bought a couple more Skaledale buildings for this purpose. More updates soon.
     
    Until next time....
  23. andyram

    Derby

    By andyram,

    Well it has been that time of year again - the Derby show at Moorways. I always look forward to this event as it is practically on my doorstep. I have been visiting each year since I was knee high to a grasshopper and the show was at the Assembly Rooms. It is a little smaller these days since the switch to the new venue, but at least it does have a free on-site car park which is an improvement. The new date (May instead of April) also ensures that it avoids clashing with any Rams home games and this year it avoided clashing with the FA Cup Final too!
     
    The show did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a good mix of layouts and trade stands and was able to pick up a few items for my ongoing modelling projects, acquiring a point motor and some more ballast material which should allow me to get back to work on Skaleby West. Time is ticking towards our show in November!! On the subject of which I did drop off a large pile of advertising leaflets for this event, fingers crossed a few of them went during the weekend!
     
    Onto the layouts and I was pleased to see again three excellent layouts which I had first seen at previous shows. The 009 gauge layout "Crumley" is superb. Dad thought the scenics were a bit too "brown" for his liking - but he is notoriously picky!! To me it gave the perfect impression of a day during a long hot summer (I believe we used to have a few of those). The layout has a strange view. You sort of look at it from one end, at an angle, allowing you to look up (or down) the valley as the trains make their way from one station to another. Excellent!
     
    The other two layouts have also appeared in the Hornby Magazine. The 00 gauge "Kirkby Stephen West" is an excellent model of the S&C. It has a constant stream of trains and lots of great detail. I love the tv detector (Rivett Counter detector van!!) and the bonfire. They are nice touches. The O gauge "Hospital Gates" is also truely superb.
     
    There were many other excellent models, including a lovely micro GWR branch line station which I think was called Aylett End! This gave me plenty of inspiration for my own modelling project.
     
    Sadly during my time there I did see a number of layouts which seemed to be static displays. I am all for realistic operation, but people do need to see something move from time to time. One layout in particular had nothing moving (other than a few bells) for five minutes!
    Despite this I really I did enjoy the show, and even considered making a second visit the following day. My wallet won the argument though.
     
    Congrats to all involved.
  24. andyram

    2013 Here we go again!

    By andyram,

    More details on the Weston-on-Trent, South Derbyshire model railway show!
     
    Here we go again!!!!
     
    2012 did not exactly have the most optomistic of starts. I saw the year in, practically on my own, whilst watching the BBC's "New Year Live" coverage on the lowest possible volume setting in order to avoid awaking my sleeping wife. My 2 week old daughter sucked away on her late night bottle before bed and I made do with a small glass of celebratory wine. I did wonder how much time I would find to indulge in railway modelling. At the time I thought that there would not be much.
     
    How wrong I was!
     
    During 2012 I managed to visit approximately 15 model railway exhibitions, built my first ever exhibition layout and displayed it for the first time at Weston-on-Trent model railway show. This was an event I suggested to my school's headteacher as a fundraising idea and promptly landed the job of organising it. Having had no previous experience of organising a show - no wonder I titled this blog "What have I let myself in for?"
     
    Well guess what?
     
    It is happening again! The Weston-on-Trent show will take place on Saturday 16th November 2013 and I have the organising role again and so here we go once again!
     
    The show
    As mentioned above, the date for the show will be Saturday 16th November (10.30 - 4,30). I have begun the search for layouts once again. Last year I did not start the planning until February, this time I have something of a head start. Several of the trade stands who attended in 2012 have rebooked for this year. One trader is not returning so I will be on the look out for a replacement. I have an idea, but need to check their availability.
    A number of exhibitors from 2012 own more than one layout and several have already confirmed that they will attend this year with something different. At the last count I have 6 layouts booked with four more in the pipeline. Last year we had 17 layouts attend and I hope to reach that total again. Once again I am appealing for help. If any local RMWeb user has a layout they would be interested in bringing to the Weston show then please do get in touch. The event is being held to raise funds for the school so we are looking to keep our expenses down as much as we can but we can pay small amounts in some cases as we did last year. I am keeping my fingers crossed!!!
     
    Skaleby West
    Skaleby West is the name of my exhibition layout. It has a scenic section of four feet x one foot with a fiddle yard of equal length. This was built from February 2012 and debuted at the Weston show last year. Technically it is available for other exhibitions and I am planning to exhibit at the Weston 2013 show again and so I plan to further develop the layout during the year. But what is there to do?
    I outlined in an earlier entry that there are a few jobs to finish on the original scenic section. This includes wiring the points, hiding the underneath of the cutting by adding a front to the layout, replacing the goods shed and undertaking some repair work. With the latter job in mind I have moved the layout back into the lounge and plan to tackle this over the next few weeks. I have already given the track a thorough clean in order to get the trains running again. The layout was tested with my Bachmann "Jinty" which was used a lot to test the layout during last year's build.
     
    The testing showed up an issue with the points. One or two do not seem to be making a good electrical contact so I will need to look at these to try and solve the problem.
     
    The thing is - even if I complete these jobs it may improve, but not really change the look of the layout. I feel like I want to do something else to make Skaleby West look different for the next Weston show. In my mind I am thinking of an extension to the scenic section, possibly by adding a second scenic board. The current layout has a three sided back board. I am not sure I want to cut this to fit in a second board so I may build the second board in a similair way, effectively making Skaleby West a modular layout. I have not got a final plan for any extension yet - mind you I have not gained planning consent from the wife yet!
     
    Until next time.....
  25. andyram
    With the month of January, and with it the new year, now in full swing my mind has turned towards my possible modelling projects for 2014. Due to the house moves planned for this year, developments on both my layouts are on hold until next month at least.
    In the short term I have thought about embarking on one small project which I have had at the "back of mind" for some time. I have a Skaledale model of a terraced shop, which bares a little resemblance to Arkwright's store from the famous BBC sitcom "Open All Hours". It is my long held plan to use this model to replicate the shop complete with shop bike, Arkwright and Granville and a few other items to depict a scene from the show.
     
    This project may become my stop gap project for the next month or so. The trouble is, I need figures to represent the main characters. A quick look through the internet last night has, as yet, failed to produce anything suitable. I am sure there won't be actual 00 gauge models of these characters produced but can anyone suggest figures which may suffice??
     
    Am I seeking the impossible??
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