Jump to content
 

andyram

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    3,171

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    2

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by andyram

  1. andyram
    My half term break has allowed me to make more progress with the scenics and also to run some trains. In my earlier post I outlined how I had built the embankments and cuttings around the road over bridge at the "Pickering end" of the station scene. Beyond the road bridge the line is due to enter a further short cutting before entering the fiddle yard through a tunnel.
    The embankments for the cutting at the rear of the layout will hide a hidden siding which will add extra storage space to the fiddle yard. It is this area that I have turned my attention to.
     
    Starting the hidden sidings and tunnel cutting.
    The top of this embankment will feature one or two country cottages, one of which is the Skaledale "Yew Tree" cottage as I feel it fits in with the Yorkshire Moors element of the layout. I started by gluing down further polysterene blocks to act as a base, ensuring the blocks are large enough to fit the cottage on top. The hidden siding track was then laid up to the polysterene.
    In time this siding will be hidden underneath the cutting so strips of foam board were cut and glued either side of the siding. Eventually a "roof" will be built above these foamboard sides to fully enclose the siding, and the cutting detail will be added on top.
    The progress so far can be seen in these photographs:

    In this picture you can see the siding, complete with foam board sides. You may be able to see the location of Yew Tree Cottage too.

    The second picture gives an overview of the fiddle yard area. The coal drop scenic break can be seen at the front of the picture. In front of this will be the main engine shed scene. You will see how limited the fiddle yard space is hence the need for the hidden siding!
     
    Running trains
    Half term has also allowed me to spend some time running trains. My Hornby Railroad Jinty, pictured in an earlier entry has taken a bit of a break this week. Train services have been worked by a Hornby A1x "Terrier" numbered 32636 and an ex Great Western Auto Coach giving things a branch line feel.
    I have included a picture of the combination, taken in front of the previously completed Darnholm embankment.

  2. andyram
    I have only been a member of RM Web for a few days, but I thought that I would get started with a blog about the construction of my first solo model railway. I have had no previous modelling experience other than helping my dad build his, never finished, layout when I was a child. This is definitely going to be a learning process.
     
    Today I thought I would introduce my layout and hopefully I'll get round to adding some photos of my efforts in due course.
     
    My layout, named Skaleby (a combination of Skaledale and Hornby as I will be mainly using off the shelf products) is a shelf layout measuring some 12 feet in length. It incorporates a small, two platform station, with a small goods yard and coal merchants area as well as a single road locomotive shed. The station is loosely based on Goathland on the preserved North Yorkshire Moors Railway, with some serious pieces of artistic license. My station is not a through station, but a terminus on a severed branch line.
    For those that know Goathland, the Grosmont end of the line is the severed end with all departures heading in the Pickering direction. Once the train passes under the road over bridge all links to Goathland end there. The line is planned to pass through a short cutting before entering the fiddle yard via a tunnel. One line will deviate off onto a wider section of baseboard in front of the fiddle yard. Here a larger locomotive shed has been planned which will incorporate the Hornby Coal Drop structure as a scenic break between shed and fiddle yard. I hope that makes things clear to everyone.
     
    As I am a steam enthusiast, it is steam that will be the focus of my layout. At 36, I am too young to remember steam working on the national network and so my interest has come from the preservation era. Therefore my layout will be that of a preserved line. This allows me to run a wide variety of locomotives in whichever livery I desire. My collection is very mixed although the majority of engines carry B.R livery. I do not favour any particular area. I have examples of locos from all Big Four groups.
     
    So far
    The track into the station has been laid onto the Gaugemaster pre ballested underlay. All platforms have been checked and placed and the scenery has been built up to allow the buildings to be placed onto the layout. I used cut off polysterene pieces from Skaledale boxes, glued down and covered with plaster bandage to act as a base.
    My biggest success so far has been the construction of the large embankment at the back of the baseboard to the left of the station platform. If anyone knows Goathland, this is the embankment which includes the steep footpath to Darnholm.
    I built this up using more polysterene blocks, with screwed up newspaper added to create a rough shape. I then cut thin pieces of card and glued these down to provide a flat base for the footpath before everything was covered in plaster bandage. After drying I painted the whole structure with brown poster paint and covered it with dark green scatter from the Woodland Scenics range. When this was dry I added tufts of hanging basket liner to create the look of rough grass, and then used clumps of Woodland Scenics dark folaige to represent plants. These then had assorted colours added to the top to create the look of flowers. Some trees from the Skale Scenics range have been added which completes a scene that I am very pleased with. I used Metcalfe stone sheets to build the retaining wall at the front.
    I am quite pleased with the result so far. It provides a back drop to the one picture I do have. It shows my Hornby Railroad Jinty standing in front of the embankment and retaining wall. This cheap engine is perfect for test running to avoid spoiling my more expensive models.

  3. andyram
    It has been a few weeks since I have last posted. Work has been very hectic with loads of management issues to deal with. One student teacher has departed, and another one has now arrived. A round of interviews and new teaching assistant appointments have been completed and shortlisting for a new teacher is taking place. All of this, alongside, the day to day teaching has understandably taken my focus away from the Weston on Trent Model Railway Show.
    That does not mean that there has not been progress however. The show has started to take shape. More of the layout information forms have started to drift back in with 7 having now arrived. Another two emails were received to confirm layout bookings and the forms should arrive soon. These, along with the other verbal agreements I have received, mean I reckon that the provisional layout total has risen to 15. There are couple of layouts, discussed at exhibitions, that have gone worryingly quiet - but there is still a time to go before the show so plenty of opportunity to secure other exhibits.
    RMWeb has come up trumps again. One member has contacted me and offered to bring their layout. They have a fair journey but have offered to pay their own travel and accommodation. I feel humbled by such an offer. Another member has put me in touch with a friend who may be interested in bringing their layout. Once again I am indebted to this site.
     
    Another demonstration has been agreed, and this could possibly bring huge benefits to the show. Details of this are still to be confirmed so I cannot share, what could be exciting news, just yet. As soon as I can, I will!
     
    Finally there is an update on my layout building plans. As described in my last post - I had decided that Skaleby West should not be shown for a fifth successive year. Work has begun on Skaleby North Yard which, hopefully, will be debuting at the show. The layout has its own thread in the layout topics section. However here is a picture preview.
     
    Until next time..
  4. andyram

    Springing forward

    By andyram,

    February half term has been and gone and, unbelievably, the Easter holiday is now less than three weeks away. The changeable nature of this particular Christian festival means that the school Spring term is often ridiculously short. This year there is just 24 teaching days between the February half term and the Easter break!
    Whilst the term length is always unpredictable, the Spring term always represents an important time in the planning of the Weston on Trent Model Railway Show. It is unbelievable to think that it is exactly five years since I first embarked on the journey of organising this particular event. Then I started out with a blank canvass, unsure of whether I would get enough layouts to fill the event. Many of the staff present at the first meeting have since moved on, but one thing remains, the yearly worries over whether I can get the enough exhibits. To the outsider this may seem a strange worry. After all, the show has grown year on year. Last year it filled 4 of the school's 5 classrooms as well as both main corridors. A total of 20 layouts was the highest I had ever achieved and I continue to use that as the target number for each event.
    One of my big worries concerns managing the finances. The Weston show operates with a "zero budget". Therefore any money I spend on layout expenses has to be generated by selling tables to the trade. We may have made £1000 profit last year, but none of that was carried forward to help with funding this event - it all went into the school funds for the new library area. This means I start again, and have to manage those expenses very carefully. I cannot let them mount up if I want to maximise the benefit to the school. It is a careful balancing act.
    In the past we have benefitted from a lot of goodwill from exhibitors. As we are effectively a charity show, raising money for the school, some have waived their expenses or even massively reduced them. In return we do make sure that we look after our exhibitors by providing free drinks all day and a decent hot meal. My on-going worry is whether that goodwill will continue to last for ever, after all exhibitors do have to cover their costs as well. Time will tell I suppose.
     
    The money raised last year was a huge help in the developing of the new library area. This is now well underway and should be completely stocked and computerised by the time the 2016 show comes around. This year the fundraising focus returns to the school's computing curriculum. We are looking to purchase more IPads and laptops for use in the classrooms. All money raised will go towards this.
     
    In my last blog I reported that I had begun to send out the layout information forms to those exhibitors who had expressed an interest about this year's show or whose details remained on file. Things have started to come back and the show is slowly beginning to take shape. Five forms have been returned whilst I have verbal confirmation that 8 more will be attending. Three of these have just received their forms so hopefully they will be back soon. That makes a tentative total of 13 layouts so far. There are other forms still to be returned so the total may still grow during the next couple of months.
    Recently I have been out on the layout hunt at the Sileby and Trowell shows. I handed out details to a couple of layout owners, but have had no reply yet. I also have another interested trader who I need to contact. This will give us someone who sells scenic items - this is something we were missing last year after Derby Trees dropped out. They are also double booked this year and so will not be returning.
    I suffered a little set back today. There were a couple of people I wanted to speak to you about possible exhibits. Sadly, due to a combination of "Mother's Day" and a poorly daughter it looks certain that I will miss out on the show. These things can't be helped of course, but it is still frustrating.
     
    I also mentioned in my last blog about my dilemma over "Skaleby West's" participation. I have pretty much decided that it will not be at the show this year. The next project, Skaleby Quay, will be nowhere near ready either. After giving it some thought my mind is turning towards building another layout specifically for the show. Given a working title of "Skaleby North Yard" the new project will be a quick build shunting puzzle type layout using the classic Inglenook 5, 3, 3 layout. I have a spare 4ft x 1ft baseboard doing nothing so that is likely to be used. If and when progress is made I will post details either on here, or via a specific layout thread.
     
    Until next time..
  5. andyram

    Here to stay!

    By andyram,

    What a difference a few days make. Since my last post a few layout confirmations have started to come in, and there have been one or two more layouts offered. If all confirm then the layout count will grow to about 16 so I am beginning to panic less. 7 layouts are definitely signed and sealed, and many of them include RMWeb members. Without a doubt the Weston 2015 event could well prove to be something of an RMWeb social. At the moment there could be up to 10 RMWeb members exhibiting this year. Now whose for the pub after the event???
    If anyone else wants to add to our number there are still spaces to fill! The school is undergoing some building work in the summer which will change the make up of some of the rooms we use, but space should not greatly suffer.
    This week has also seen my search for new trade stands prove fruitful with one new trader agreeing to attend, replacing one of our long standing traders who has been forced to pull out.
     
    But the biggest news of all can be revealed today. The Weston on Trent Exhibition has been run on a year to year basis since its birth in 2012. Initially it was planned as a one off event as part of a special year of school fundraising. Its success resulted in the event being repeated in 2013 and again in 2014. The new head teacher was happy enough with the funds raised last year to sanction this year's event. But that has pretty much been how its been, we have worked from year to year with layouts having to be booked in just an 11 month time span.
    But following a meeting with the head teacher today I can confirm that this uncertainty is no more. The new boss has given the go ahead for us to set dates for future years too. We are definitely here to stay and that means I can start long term planning and layout booking:
     
    And so the events are as follows:
    2015: Saturday 14th November.
    2016: Saturday 12th November.
     
    Come and join our friendly little show.
  6. andyram

    Sileby 2015

    By andyram,

    Another weekend and another model railway event. I stumbled on the Sileby show by accident a few years ago when I was idling my way through the show diary in the "Hornby Magazine". My first visit was very enjoyable and I have returned every year since, always enjoying my visits.
    Last year I was a little bit critical of the show due to the lack of 00 gauge steam layouts and the concentration of more modern based layouts. There can be no such complaints this time around. This year's event had a much better mix of eras and gauges and the quality of layouts on display were of very high quality. Whoever was in charge of booking the layouts for this year's show deserves a huge pat on the back. To get so many outstanding models in one moderately sized show is some achievement.
     
    As a 00 gauge steam modeller these layouts are always the ones that interest me the most. "Forest Green" was a definite highlight for me. A through station, set in a cutting scene with a town back drop made up of many resin low relief buildings. Many of these featured lighting. I have assembled quite a collection of such buildings ahead of my next project and to see them used very well, as here, it has certainly inspired my new project even more.
    A further large 00 gauge layout was "Glenmore Parva" which featured a large terminus station, a goods yard, engine shed and turntable. There was so much operational interest built into this model. Sadly operation was not something that was happening here. On the three occasions I viewed this layout it seemed to suffer from many incidents of loco stallings, derailments and trains being wrongly routed. As someone who, whilst exhibiting a layout, has made many mistakes I can appreciate the frustration for operators. This is a nice model, but on this occasion the enjoyment was spoilt by the many errors. Perhaps I was just unlucky to appear at the wrong times.
    Another steam era model in this scale, Ashbrook Dale, also suffered some inconsistent running - so much so that I saw the operators attacking it with a soldering iron at one point in the morning. I hope that they got it fixed as this is a fine LMS era model.
    Without doubt Clive Baker's EM gauge "Rolleston on Dove" stole the steam era award. I have seen this model on many occasions. It is an accurate depiction of the station and Clive has gone to great lengths to research the model to get things right. It is a fine model and ran faultlessly throughout.
     
    There were a couple of fine N gauge steam offerings too. Hawthorn Dene was a wonderful model based around the old colliery of the same name. This, like Rolleston on Dove, had been accurately researched and the operators seemed to know their stuff. Pendlebury Parva was the hosting club's own layout. This featured plenty of passing trains and a rather unique depiction of the Hogwarts Express, complete with flying Ford Anglia which was quite clever and definitely pleased the younger viewers.
     
    Without doubt the model that most appealed to younger visitors was the 09 model of Ditchford Treacle Mine. Described as a light-hearted model, it certainly had plenty of amusing cameo scenes to appeal to the younger audience. On this subject it was very nice to see some operators willing to encourage younger modellers. One operator on the N gauge, modern image layout, Westbrook invited a couple of young boys around to the back of the layout to see how it works. The excitement on the youngsters face was clear for all to see and this young man may well inspired to develop their own layout.
    Another layout that welcomed children around to the operating side was the 00 gauge diesel shunting layout "Evington St John". This small, East Anglian based, shunting layout crammed a lot of detail into a small space. It featured a novel variation on the loco cassette fiddle yard system with upturned Hornby plastic platform pieces glued together with track attached. Always nice to see new ideas. Also nice to see the operator allowing a young man to operate the layout independently.
     
    Other highlights included the N gauge modern image layout "Loch Tat". This has been around many local shows in recent years. With the track curving around the back of a wonderfully modelled Scottish loch it always brings back memories of my honeymoon in the Highlands.
    Up N Back was a superb 009 model of a preserved narrow gauge line, the river bridge was a wonderful model.
     
    To be fair there was not a poor model in the show and this was supported by a good range of trade. The club's second hand sales stand is one of the most extensive I have seen whilst there is a good choice of new and second hand models and scenic items on other stands. The catering was as nice and as reasonably priced as last week's Allestree show.
     
    So congratulations to the organisers for a very enjoyable show.
     
    The light hearted awards:
    Best layout: A tough choice but I will choose Forest Green as it was the most inspiring for me. But it just pips Rolleston on Dove.
    Best model: Not a model as such - but the unique use of old Hornby platforms as loco cassettes on Evington St John. Alternatively the Hogwarts Express with flying Ford Anglia on Pendlebury Parva.
    Best scenics: The loch scene on Loch Tat.
  7. andyram

    Two weeks to go!

    By andyram,

    Almost a month on from my last blog and we are now a fortnight away from the third Weston show. Things are starting to come together, although maybe not as quick as I would like. What I can confirm is that we will have our largest ever show as we will be opening up a third classroom for this year's event in order to fit everything in.
    The layout list has now grown to 19 and I am hopeful of hitting the magic 20 mark before the show comes around. At least 7 of these layouts will be exhibited by RMWeb members which is not a bad representation for the site. A big thank you once again to everyone for their support. We are still short of a small shunting / shelf layout for the corridor space, so if anyone out there fancies adding themselves to the list then please get in touch as soon as possible.
     
    Since I last wrote a blog entry we have received confirmation from the local pub, the Cooper's Arms, that we can use their extensive car park for exhibitors. We will make sure everyone moves their cars this time too as we had problems with this last year. We have people ready to marshall the car park and direct visitors to alternative parking sites if the school car park becomes full. I will mention that the pub is well worth a visit and serves great food. Anyone planning to spend the day at the show could do worse than sample a beer before they go home.
     
    Sadly despite my best intentions Skaleby West remains untouched and time is ticking away. Next weekend will have to be spent working on the layout to ensure it is fit for its third outing. More updates soon!
  8. andyram

    Time has flown!

    By andyram,

    Was it really the beginning of June when I last posted on this blog?? How time does fly, and to be honest the lack of input on here has rather matched the progress with this year's show. A house move, a holiday and starting back at work under a new head teacher have rather taken over my time. Just a couple of weeks ago Chris, who runs the kitchen at the event, approached me to ask about lunch arrangements for the day. My reaction was "oh sh**, is it really that close?" Well yes it is. The third Weston on Trent show is only six weeks away and the fingers are well and truly out!
     
    To be honest, knowing of my impending house move, much of the work was done in the early part of the year so we are not behind by any means. This week has seen the new layout information forms sent out to gather up the final information from all our exhibitors. This will make sure nothing gets missed after my break from duties. A few phone calls this week has confirmed some other layouts and seen a couple of failures too. Despite this the show is filling up nicely. I do think we could have our best ever line up of layouts. That being said there is still one definite gap. We still need a narrow shelf layout, maybe operated from the front, which could fill the space in one of the corridors. Any offers considered!!!
     
    As with the last two shows I plan to exhibit my own "Skaleby West" layout. This remains stored out of use in our spare room at present. The plan is to update the goods shed area for this year's event, replacing the poor scratch built building that has never looked quite right. I bought an off the shelf Bachmann building during the summer which will fit the space so now it is just a case of getting down to work. This may be the layout's last outing. It will have attended three Weston shows in a row, all be it with some amendments each time. The goods shed is the last area to be dealt with so there will be no changes for next year. With that in mind I am planning to start something new - more on that soon. Skaleby West will remain available for other exhibitions.
     
    More updates soon.
  9. andyram

    A RMWeb festival?

    By andyram,

    It has been quite a while since I posted anything in this blog. Things have not been good at present. The new house is still not ready and we have found major damp in two rooms of our temporary accommodation (my late grandfather's bungalow). Stress levels are at an all time high and have led to some careless and costly errors which readers of the Early Riser's thread will be well aware of. I don't want to repeat myself but will say that all the trouble has kept me away from working too much on the show. I have even struggled to get leaflets out to some events.
     
    However during the recent half term holiday I have managed to sit down and start to piece together the Weston 2014 show. At present the layout count stands at 14 with several of these having featured on RMWeb, or are owned by RMWeb members. With "Up the Line", "Wheel lock Mill", "Weyburn Road", "Forster Street" and "Skaleby West" all definitely attending along with one of Jim Read's layouts the show is already set to feature 6 RMWeb layouts. Not quite a second RMWeb Live event but we are certainly are doing the website proud! I am waiting to hear from another member who I contacted recently. Anyone else up for it?
     
    One disappointment was the news that the Belper Modular layout has had to pull out. Its owner has decided to dismantle his modules and start a new retirement project. He is still going to help out on the day and is likely to be deployed on car park duties and as a relief operator on Skaleby West.
     
    Recently I joined the Mickleover Model Railway Group and at least one fellow member has put their layout forward and another is keen to attend so that should help push the layout total towards my target of 20 layouts.
     
    The layout
    I have now started a separate Skaleby West layout thread in the layout's section as I want to separate the layout from the show. Currently the model remains stored until our house move. It is due to attend Weston 2014 and is available for other events.
     
    Until next time...
  10. andyram

    A rollercoaster ride!

    By andyram,

    It has been a few weeks since I posted an update about the Weston 2014 event. It has definitely been a busy time. The show has started to take shape with a number of RMWeb users set to attend. "Up the Line", "Wheelock Mill" and "Werrington Road" will all be representing this website at the event in November. A further RMWeb layout could be confirmed within the next few days. I also have one or two other layouts on the "probable" list that just need final confirmation and I hope to do this soon.
     
    Things have rather been on hold though. The first house move finally took place at the end of February and we are now residing in my Grandfather's bungalow until the end of May. Following the move we had a couple of weeks without the internet which did hold things up. Since the move things have got hectic at work. We returned after the half term break to an announcement from our head teacher that she is to retire in July. Over the last few weeks we have all been nervously checking out the applicants who have been touring the school. After a lot of soul searching I put in an application for the job. Sadly I was not shortlisted!
    If that was not enough Ofsted landed on our doorstep for two days earlier in the week. We seem to have done ok but we await the final report after a stressful time.
    With all that in mind it is no wonder I have not had time to chase layouts or follow up earlier enquiries. Hopefully with the Easter holiday just around the corner I can find some time to catch up.
    What I do know is that we still need some more layouts, especially some smaller micro layouts which would suit the corridors. If there is anyone out there......
     
    The layout:
    Following the move Skaleby West is stored in the spare bedroom. It is behind a large pile of storage boxes and so is not accessible. There is simply no chance of any modelling work during our stay here. At least the new house will be ready a month early so fingers crossed I can crack on with the layout extension during the June half term and the summer break. There may still be a chance that I can unveil an extended Skaleby West at this year's event.
     
    Until next time..
  11. andyram
    Another weekend and another show. After Allestree and Sileby last week I headed off, with daughter in tow, to the 12th annual show at Trowell. This is run by the Ilkeston Woodside Model Railway club and is always an enjoyable event.
    With 10 layouts, 7 trade stands and a couple of demonstrations the show is a nice size. It can all be seen in an hour, but has plenty to keep people there for a lot longer. It certainly seems popular and there was a good crowd throughout the time I was there. This does provide one issue, the room does get quite cramped, and the amount of people generated a lot of heat inside the room. I was certainly sweating a lot by the time I left. This is only a very minor criticism though.
    Amongst the layouts were a couple of well known layouts from the local (and not so local) show circuit. "Aberdeen Kirkhill" has been around for many years and models a large Scotrail servicing depot. Its frosty, winter scenics are superb and there is always plenty of movement. In addition John Huddlestone's tram layout set around "Elstree" studios has been seen at many shows in the local area. This is also an excellent model, and was set at a perfect level for children to view without the need for standing on steps. My two year old daughter certainly appreciated it!
     
    With the Weston-on-Trent show in mind I was on the look out for further layouts to add to this year's roster. The small shunting layout "Tom's Sidings" impressed me. So much detail packed into a small space, and a lovely use of photographs built up to create a 3D back scene. Sadly the operator is not available for this year's Weston show!
    Newton East provided a lovely view of the 1950's and 1960's B.R scene. Today it was representing the southern region. The scenics looked superb with an excellent card station building and very nice canal scene added at the front. This layout is a possible for Weston 2014.
    The group's own "Fenby Quay" also featured a canal scene with a raised quay in front of the station. This model came to Weston last year, but I never really got to view it properly. It is an excellent model enhanced today by the sound fitted locos, complete with flashing red lights in the steam loco cabs to represent the firebox flicker. The sound fitted City of Truro once again looked fantastic.
     
    N gauge interests were covered by "Bitsand" and "Lagganmoor", both were very nice models with lots of passing trains.
     
    All in all a very nice show once again and congratulations go to the organisers. For me the show was further enhanced by an unexpected incident. Whilst walking around I bumped into someone who has been a regular visitor to the Weston shows. We stopped to chat and during this he told me about his own layout which he had just started constructing. He told me that he had been inspired by my own "Skaleby West" model - stating that my layout showed what could be achieved, in a small space, from off the shelf materials.
    Now I am fully aware of Skaleby West's limitations. I do not confess to being an experienced modeller, and I do not believe my skills are comparable to those I see at many shows. But it was very nice, and very humbling to hear someone speak so highly of my model and that they have taken inspiration from my work. A proud moment!
     
    And so the "lighthearted" awards:
     
    Best layout:
    3rd: Newton East: A superb 00 gauge model of the 50's and 60's B.R era.
    2nd: Fenby Quay: A very close second - great scenics and lots of operational interest.
    1st: Tom's Sidings: Such detail in a small space both myself and daughter spent a long time viewing it at close quarters. It just pips Fenby Quay as I went back to this one slightly more.
     
    Best scenic item:
    The 3d photo back scene on Tom's Sidings was a clear winner for me.
     
    Best model loco:
    Sound and light fitted models on Fenby Quay - not often you see the firebox flicker represented. City of Truro was the pick again for me - that is twice this loco has featured in my "awards" on two different layouts. I think I need to add it to my wish list.
     
    And finally:
    The nice surprise:
    Kind comments about my layout and the thought that it has inspired someone - a proud and humbling moment.
     
    And the not so good!
    One incident on a layout where the uncoupling ramp failed and the operator resorted to picking up the brake van to uncouple by hand. At least use an un-coupling hook!
  12. andyram

    Doubling Up

    By andyram,

    Last weekend my wife Sarah had a little moan about how she had not had much of a break recently. With my school workload and the recent house move pressures she was becoming very tired due to constantly looking after our 2 year old girl. She, quite clearly, needed a break - a few hours on her own to wind down and have some peace and quiet.
    After breaking up for the half term holiday yesterday I promised to take the little one out for a "daddy and daughter" day today. As it happened this weekend has not one, but two local model railway exhibitions and I managed to visit them both today.
    The day started at Allestree in Derby. This "trains day" has been running for a number of years. In the past it has been an amateur run event to raise money for the local church. The exhibitors were made up of local enthusiasts who came along and set up their displays on the morning of the show. Many would never exhibit at any other events. That being said the show was always worth a visit with many displays showing off collections of older models providing a sense of nostalga. Almost all had something moving all of the time which was perfect for the children.
    This year's event represented a change of organiser. The local "Famous Trains" charity having taken on the event. This change has produced a larger show with two rooms being used this year. The other change saw a few more professional show layouts in attendance. The "Famous Trains" own Darley Factory layout provided plenty of shunting action. David Lenton's "Linton Yard" was a work in progress minimum space diesel model complete with sound fitted locos.
    The show had not forgotten its roots. In the original main hall there was once again plenty of vintage displays with Lone Star and Triang models. There was also a G Scale display on the stage with a Toby style tram engine shunting some stock. Once again there was always something moving on many layouts which kept the children thoroughly entertained.
    For me it was great to catch up with some friends from the Mickleover club and some exhibitors from last year's Weston show. I have also got to know some Famous Trains members and it was great to chat to some of them, even if I could have landed another modelling job as a result.
     
    After a nice lunch at Allestree we headed over to Sileby in Leicestershire for the annual Syston Model Railway Exhibition. This is always an enjoyable show although parking is often a problem. The signs direct visitors to the car park for the local supermarket, but this is quite small and on a Saturday spaces are like rocking horse manure!! There was already three or four cars circling the car park when I got there. Luckily I managed to park in the nearby housing estate although this meant a five minute walk in the rain.
    The show featured 14 layouts with this year's event seeming to be heavily weighted towards the more modern image. Of the 14 layouts, 8 of them represented various periods of the diesel era. This did spoil my enjoyment a little as I am more a steam era 00 gauge modeller. Only 3 layouts represented steam. Of these the 0 gauge model on show was a long way from being finished. The other two were both N gauge meaning there were no layouts to fit my style of modelling. That was disappointing!
    Of the layouts that were there I enjoyed Mike Kelly's "Cromer". I have seen this many a time before and always admire the quality of the scenic modelling. It also brings back memories of some recent holidays. Brenton Midland also featured plenty of sound fitted models and had a constant procession of trains. Midchester City also provided the flavour of a inner city terminus station with plenty of DMU's.
    The N gauge Nunbrook and Loxley also provided plenty of modern image action on the main line. The branch did provide "something for kids" as a Thomas the tank engine shuffled back and forth with Annie and Clarabel - no wonder my daughter kept dragging me back there!
    As for steam models there were two N gauge layouts which provided scenic branch line action. Whatton Parva, based on Tenterden, represented the Colonel Stephens light railways. The pick of layouts for me was "Elmfield" which represented the station in the final years of its life.
     
    The lack of steam era layouts coupled with a tired daughter meant my stay at Sileby was briefer than usual. We left and drove to Quorn and Woodhouse Station on the G.C. Sadly a heavy rain shower along with a 45 minute wait for the final steam hauled train of the day had us heading for home.
     
    And so the "awards"
     
    Best layout (across both events):
    3rd Darley Factory (at Allestree) - a rare 00 gauge steam model today. Plenty of Austerity shunting in a well modelled industrial environment.
    2nd Cromer (at Sileby) - always a favourite as it is well modelled and brings back good memories.
    1st Elmfield (at Sileby) - a tough call, but the fact it was a rare steam model at the show helped. Lovely modelled scenics and accurate shunting in N gauge which is never easy.
     
    Best model loco
    Runner Up: An N gauge Stroudley Terrier on the Whatton Parva layout at Sileby. A lovely model of a diminutive loco in a small gauge.
     
    Winner: The 0 gauge Ivatt Class 2 on the unfinished layout at Sileby. I like this class of loco and this model was superb.
     
    Best scenic item
     
    The factory complex on Darley Factory a very large card model.
     
    And the not so good:
    The lack of 00 gauge steam at Sileby was very disappointing. Other than that there was nothing "bad" that stood out.
     
    Finally, the humourous:
    The motorised "mouse" on a layout at Allestree raised a smile and had my daughter coming back time and time again!
  13. andyram

    Progress continues!

    By andyram,

    Another month down and I am pleased to report more progress with the Weston on Trent 2014 show. Following the announcement in the last entry of two new exhibitors for this year's event, I can confirm that further layouts have now been booked. Ken Jones is one exhibitor who has agreed to return for a third year with more of his micro layouts whilst another third time returnee, Malcolm Hughes, has agreed to bring some more of his heritage collection. For this year it looks likely that he will provide a display of Lone Star models. John Bottomley who attended the 2013 show with his 00 gauge layout, Torridge, has agreed to return with his N gauge model this year. That already makes a total of 6 or 7 layouts. Last year I reached 20 and hope to do so once again. There are a couple of other returnees I need to confirm soon which will hopefully take the layout total into double figures.
     
    Recently I have joined the Mickleover Model Railway group. Apart from some very enjoyable evenings it has also opened up some other possible new exhibitors. Hopefully these can be sorted soon. One established member has already expressed an interest in attending for the first time. A good start then, but I still need more exhibtors. If any other RMWeb member is interested please send me a message.
     
    It now looks certain that we have sold all of our trade stands already. Only one of last year's traders is still to confirm their availability and I am confident that they will be joining us. If not we do have two other traders waiting in the wings to step in. It is a nice position to be in!
     
    The first set of leaflets were distributed around the recent Burton swapmeet and some were left at the Stafford show so the publicity has already begun. Hopefully this will help to bring in another good crowd. At this point it is worth stating that admission fees will be the same as last year.
     
    As for
     
    The layout
    Our house move has still not happened as my solicitors have decided the end of January was a good time to go AWOL. As a result we are still packing up our current house with no date set for the move into my late Grandad's bungalow. Skaleby West remains stored in the spare room and no work has been done yet. The planned scenic extension is currently on hold as another project has emerged. I have been involved with the planning of the "Beyond the Train Set" project for the September RMWeb Live event. This could mean that I will be involved with the construction of the group's Ffarquhar layout as well as planning some of the other displays. I have also volunteered to build the "shunting puzzle" layout for the display. At one point my spare Skaleby West board looked like it may be used for this, now it looks like a seperate board is to be constructed for me so the board can be reallocated to Skaleby West. Whether I will find time to develop it is another matter. It may be that, for 2014, Skaleby West's space in the show will be taken by the "Beyond the train set" display. Time will tell.
     
    Until next time....
  14. andyram
    In a recent "Hornby Magazine" interview Simon Kohler came out and said that he believed that much of Hornby's recent supply problems were behind them, and that he hoped all of the items listed in the 2014 catalogue would be released during the forthcoming year. This means that 2014 should see a lot of exciting models appearing in the shops. The long awaited P2 should finally arrive and should be joined by the new GWR "Hall" as well as many new models announced in the new catalogue.
    For me personally the announcement of the K1 was particularly exciting. As my home layout is based loosely on Goathland this will fit perfectly, especially if they produce a model of 62005. The new, affordable, TSO mark 1 coaches will not go amiss either!
     
    This weekend, however, I read some disturbing news in the business section of a tabloid daily newspaper. The brief article claimed that
    "shares in the company had slid on Friday, after it said that problems with a Chinese supplier would lead to a £1 million loss this year".
    Does this represent further problems for the company, or is it a result of the supply problems from last year? The article also claimed that shares had "fallen by 9%, but recovered to finish the day's trading 3% down". It also claimed that it will cost Hornby "£600,000 to pull out of the supply contract."
     
    I wonder if this perceived loss has been caused by the fact Hornby have decided to cut their losses and pull out of the contract with the supplier who has caused the delays. This outlay could contribute to such a loss. If this is the case, hopefully a new supplier will provide a better service and get Hornby back "on track" by meeting their promise of releasing all items during 2014. If this is not the case then we could be facing another frustrating year of delays.
     
    I really hope that Hornby's promise of a better year is true. It certainly needs a good year, and some good publicity. I would hate to see it lose its way. Perhaps another James May's Toy Stories programme featuring another madcap Hornby challenge would not go amiss!!!
  15. 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.

  16. andyram
    The Weston show is creeping ever closer and thinks are beginning to take shape. Here is an update:
     
    The Show
    The number of layouts is growing steadily. After a phonecall last week I have provisionally booked the 18th layout for the show. This will nicely fill another hole in one of the corridors. I can also confirm that the Meccano display will return for a second year, with different exhibits to last year. I still have a couple of other layouts I would like, and once I have measured up the second classroom I will know how much space I have left.
    We have once again reached an agreement with the local pub, allowing exhibitors to use the Coopers Arms car park for the day allowing us to keep the school car park clear for the general public. The pub is about a five minute walk from the school and provides a hot carvary, although booking for evening tables is highly recommended.
     
    The Layout
    The extension board remains in the garage with no progress made. To be fair there hasn't been much time for any modelling. The house remains on the market, and we have seen a procession of viewings. Sadly we have not had an acceptable offer yet. Until the house is sold I will not be able to get the extension board or my modelling materials out of their various hiding places.
     
    The Rant!!!!
    This morning I picked up the latest copy of the Railway Modeller magazine from my local supermarket. I was pleased to see the Weston show listed amongst the magazine's exhibition guide. My early email request was certainly worth it. Hopefully this may encourage a few more people to come over and visit this year. So why am I about to have a rant I hear you ask?
    Answer!
     
    I am a subscriber to the Hornby Magazine having purchased every issue since it began. At the same time I wrote off to the Railway Modeller I sent my ad request to the Hornby Magazine too. Last year they included our details for two months. This year..nothing. Have they ignored us? Possibly not! You see the show guide in HM ends on 9th / 10th November so it seems our date has missed the boat. I had no problem with that until I checked the release date of the next issue. The next publication date is the 14th November - two days before our show. Even if the ad makes next month's issue, what is the point? Many purchasers may buy on or after the date of our show. This is a complete joke. Surely editors should consider publication dates when putting a guide together and ensure those that fall so close to the next issue are included the previous month. The Railway Modeller has done this (its next issue is also the 14th November) so why can't the Hornby Magazine. What a waste of an email!!! I am fuming at present!!!
  17. andyram

    Progress in to the buffers!

    By andyram,

    As the final weeks of the summer holiday slipped by I was able to make further progress on the garden railway project. The flower bed, which I dug out before the last entry, was covered in the frost proof sheeting before a good layer of decorative stone was added. I then edged the front with some cheap (£1 shop!!!), but decent looking white plastic picket fencing. All looked very nice and I was ready to head out, purchase the set and get the track temporarily placed down. I also had a helpful message from another member of this site passing on the details of the owner of a local garden railway who was willing to offer advice. Thanks Don!
     
    Sadly it all hit the buffers at that point!
     
    My wife and I had been casting an envious eye over the new housing development on the edge of our estate. Last week we made the mistake of attending the show home opening. That was it! We are now in the process of selling up ready to move. As a result "Project 3G" is on hold. However it will be revived at some point should we complete the move and I have the planning permission from my beloved for that. So this is not the end of the project, just a siesta. Perhaps it can be viewed as a few steps back in order to make more forward!
     
    The move will also mean my home layout, Skaleby, will also have to be taken out. However its planned new home will potentially provide more running space so there is a positive there too. Meanwhile I hope to continue with the Skaleby West extension and I will update that blog in the near future.
  18. 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.
  19. 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...
  20. andyram
    It has been a while since I updated this blog. But a few hours spent on Skaleby West has prompted me to provide the latest news on progress / lack of progress on the layout and on the second Weston on Trent show.
     
    Skaleby West was constructed last year. It took me nine months from starting it at the end of February, to completion for its debut at the first Weston show last November. Now my plans are to extend the scenic section by constructing a second 4ft x 1ft scenic board. Unfortunately the extension remains at the planning stage. Heavy work commitments have prevented me from making a physical start. The baseboards have not even been built. There are now just 6 months until the second Weston show. At this point last year the baseboards for the original Skaleby West had been built, painted and the track had been laid on the cork base. The holes had been drilled for the point motors and three of the four motors had been fitted. Should I be worried??
     
    My heavy workload should ease soon, and with a half term holiday just a week or so away I may just still manage it. My Dad has been primed to help out with the baseboard construction so that should help things along. There is less track to lay on the new board and no point motors to fit. Should I get the board constructed and track laid before the 6 week summer holiday then I may have a fighting chance.
     
    The modelling has been restricted to more repair work on the original Skaleby West. A couple of station lamps and one of the figures were re-glued onto the board and the track has received a thorough clean. A few trains have been run today.
     
    At least the Weston model railway show is not similarly stuck in the starting blocks! In fact it is bursting at the seams. I am still tying to juggle the 20 layouts which are on my confirmed / provisional list in order to try and fit them in. That extra room looks like it will be needed. I also have another trade stand to fit in. I am sure it will all turn out in the wash!
    During the last few weeks I have worked hard on publicity. Adverts have been sent to several magazines and websites. Leaflets have also been taken to many local shows. It was quite encouraging when I made a second visit to the Derby show last Sunday. All of the leaflets I had dropped off on Saturday had gone! I'm glad I had taken some more! Let's hope all those people come.
     
    Until next time...
  21. 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..................
  22. andyram

    WestonRail 2013

    By andyram,

    I wonder how many small villages can boast two different model railway exhibitions a year, in two different locations, organised by two different groups of people. I doubt there are many. In fact Weston-on-Trent in South Derbyshire may just be unique in that sense.
    Last year I organised our first ever exhibition, located in the village school. This was successful enough for a repeat to be planned for this year (Saturday 16th November). This weekend sees another event in the village. WestonRail takes place on the Ukrainian camp on the edge of the village and is organised by the NMRA.
     
    Now I have been working in the village for 13 - 14 years and I have only recently found out about this show, which I believe has been running for several years. The first I heard about WestonRail was when speaking to someone at our event last year, who claimed to have visited this show in the past. The second time I heard about it was from a trader who booked a stall for our event for this year. Apparantly they had stood a previous WestonRail event.
     
    For the first time I actually saw an advert for the show. It featured in the "show diary" in the last two issues of the Hornby Magazine and as it fell on a weekend I was free I thought I would go along - take a look, and also try and leave a few publicity leaflets for our event.
     
    Now I will be honest at this stage. My expectations for the show were very low. Both the people who I had spoken to previously had rather negative things to say about their experiences. I was also aware that the show catered for people with an interest in modelling American railroads - something which is not necessarily my cup of tea.
     
    I am pleased to report that the show more than exceeded my expectations. I was made very welcome at the door and there was plenty of space to walk around the two halls of exhibits. To be fair, the show is mainly aimed at members of the NMRA, but non-members are more than welcome. It is described as a "modular meet" and many layouts were of the modular type. There were certainly some very large models. The N gauge modular layout was huge, almost an entire model railway system in miniture. This allowed for some rather lengthy train formations, and I happily watched the action for quite some time. It was very entertaining.
    There was a very nice model of "lumber company" layout in the second hall - complete with a barge being loaded and unloaded by rail. The name of the model escapes me, but it featured some very impressive scenics.
    The event featured a number of specialist trade stands as well as the Bachmann stand which sold spares and returns from their international range. I did hang my nose over one of their 00 gauge tramcars, but resisted the temptation to buy.
     
    All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and I certainly feel that those people who spoke to me in the past were unfair in their criticism of the event. If you like American layouts you will love this - and I recommend you get across to visit the second day tomorrow. As a non-American modeller I have to admit I did enjoy the event too. I would like to thank those people on the door for making me feel so welcome. The hall is very spacious and ideal for a model railway show with seemingly plenty of parking on site. My only criticism is one that I know our show suffered from - signage! I know where the Ukrainian club is - but others don't and it is easy to drive past. A couple of road signs would help others find the event.
  23. andyram
    The Easter holidays are here, and a break from the constant round of planning, marking, teaching and assessing student teachers. A chance to spend some time with the family and catch up with some modelling. Here is the latest update....
     
    The layout
    Despite the granting of planning permission for the extension to Skaleby West, and the placing of an order for the wood, there has been no physical progress as regards the second scenic board. That does not mean things have been at a standstill however. The early part of the Easter break has seen me tackling a few more jobs on the orginal board.
    Some of the scenics for Skaleby West were completed in a rush, in order to get the job done for last year's show. The buildings, with the exception of the cottage, were simply placed onto the layout with no additional detailing. They served their purpose, but I always felt that the Skaledale signal box looked a little too clean and fresh out of the box. So on Easter Monday, whilst watching the Rams record their ninth successive win over Leeds on Sky tv, I set about the model with the weathering powders. This was a little nerve wracking as the only item I had previously weathered was the station's red telephone box. Initially I used some "brown muck" and dry brushed this down the cream top of the 'box, ensuring the powders were worked into the corners and the recesses between each "plank of wood". The same colour was then dry brushed over the brick work, and lightly over the roof. Quite a bit of the powder did fall onto the cinder ground cover. I brushed this into the scatter material and it does seem to blend in like a "sandy soil". I am not sure yet whether to leave this or re-cover it with fresh scatter material as I am not sure about how effective the current look is.
    Once I had finished the brown I added a dry brush covering of "black muck" to the signal box. This blended in quite well. I then followed this up with a liberal covering of hairspray. I used this method on the telephone box and it seems to work well. The hairpsray does seem to fix the powders without leaving a "sheen".
    The completed signal box can be seen here. The weathering does appear subtle as the hairspray does remove some of the powders as it is sprayed.

     
    I then used the "black muck" powder to weather the grounded van body which acts as the office for the coal merchants. This can be seen here.

    I am quite pleased with the effect on both models, although I may add a touch more weathering to the signal box as I am not sure it is weathered enough. I still have plans to detail the interior of this model too.
     
    During the last few days I have taken advantage of the layout's "temporary" location in the lounge to run a few trains. I am not able to fit the fiddle yard board in, so the Peco loco lift has been used instead, meaning short trains only. For the benefit of my daughter, my 25 (ish) year old model of Thomas the Tank Engine visited Skaleby West complete with Annie and Clarabel. But recently it has been my large Prairie tank, number 6134 that has been used to shunt wagons in the goods yard. Here are a few pics of the locomotive stood at the platform.


     
    The poor scratchbuilt goods shed remains in-situ at present and can be seen here with the wagons awaiting their turn to be unloaded.

     
    And so with a week and a half of my break remaining I hope to make further progress. At the very least I want to have picked up the wood and made a start on finalising the plans for the second board. I do know that this will likely feature a single track running through, with the scenery depicting more of the village scene - beyond that my plans remain a little bit hazy.
     
    The show
    After a busy few weeks at work things have been a little bit quiet in terms of the show. Apologies to those people awaiting emails from me, I have not forgotten, I have just not got around to it yet. Expect to hear from me shortly.
    I have started sending out more publicity leaflets and I have finalised the final trade stand for the show. Things are continuing to take shape.
     
    Until next time....
  24. andyram

    Trowell 2013

    By andyram,

    My half term break ended as it began with a visit to a model railway exhibition. Like Sileby last week, the Trowell show packs a lot into a relatively small venue. It is always a good show and this year's was no different. I had been looking forward to the event all week, and it looks like I was not the only one. Throughout the morning the show was packed with a very good crowd.
    The show featured three very large layouts. The Ilkeston group's own layout "Kimberley" was on display on the stage. This is an excellent model of the through station in B.R days. The model was making its exhibition debut and it looked fantastic. I was particularly impressed by the detail in the gardens of the buildings near to my vantage point. There was plenty of action and both myself and my 14 month old daughter enjoyed watching the passing trains for quite some time.
    Kimberley was in contrast to Westwold. This 00 gauge 1950/60's model was being exhibited by the Caistor MRC. A spectacular model indeed with loads of detail - it was let down by a serious attack of Gremlins. Nothing seemed to be running well, and I never saw a train travel the entire length of the model untroubled. Such a shame and I really felt for the operators it must be terrible and very frustrating when things like that happen.
    The third large layout was "Tummel" an O gauge Scottish terminus which I have seen before. This is an excellent model with some lovely cameo scenes. O gauge models look great and I really admired their Standard 4 tank and Scottish Director as they entered the station.
    Another Scottish based model was Andy Peters' "Glen Roy" which features digital sound B.R blue diesels. This was also a lovely model and attracted a good crowd.
    The show gave me a chance to view Jim Read's "Moxley Heath" O gauge layout. This attended my Weston show last week. Despite being in the same room as Jim on the day I never got a good look at the model. It is amazing how he has managed to fit a working O gauge model in such a small space. It was nice to chat to Jim again and he has even suggested that I would like to attend Weston again this year if he is free. Fingers crossed!
    Opposite Jim was John Bottomley's "Torridge" layout. This features in the latest issue of Railway Modeller and depicts a West Country terminus complete with milk depot. This is also a lovely detailed model, with scenics achievable for all. Torridge is booked to attend the Weston 2013 show and I look forward to seeing it there.
    One other stand out model was "Tom's Shed" which was built for a recent Hornby Magazine 3ft challenge. What detail. This really depicted a working steam shed very well in such a small space. A real credit to its builders!
     
    There were other exhibits too, all excellent, which made this show another enjoyable event. I did manage to pick up a couple of things for my next modelling project....but that is for another blog!
  25. 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.
×
×
  • Create New...