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andyram

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  1. andyram

    Challenge Anneka!

    By andyram,

    RMWeb uses of a certain age will probably remember a television programme by the name of "Challenge Anneka." Anneka Rice, fresh from leaving Treasure Hunt, squeezed her then shapely rear end back into a jumpsuit to race around the country. Instead of looking for clues she attempted to help different good causes by attempting to complete projects in a seemingly impossible time.
    This week I felt like I was facing a similar impossible task. The model railway show is now just a few days away and Skaleby West still needed a lot of work. That gap remained as I turned the calendar over to the month of November. I knew that time was running out and I needed to get the job done. The early days of half term had been blighted by household chores and a baby daughter who would not sleep. The half made kit of the good's shed was still on the desk, gradually falling apart. But time was running out and any hope of starting from scratch seemed to be out of the question.
    On the Thursday of half term I set myself the task of filling the gap and finishing the job. I set to work at 1pm, with a target of finishing the job by the time my wife arrived home at 9pm. This really was a "Challenge Anneka" moment.
     
    1.00pm. I set to work repairing the good's shed kit and adding some interior detail. I added some "goods" to the interior including some barrels and sacks.

     
    2.00pm. I test fitted the building into the gap. A cork base was laid to raise the building's height to the correct level for the track. Cork was also laid behind the good's siding as I had to extend the siding slightly in order for a wagon to reach the unloading platform.

     
    3.00pm. I cut polystyrene blocks to the height of the unloading platform and glued these on both sides of the building to provide a larger platform. Rolled up pieces of newspaper were then glued around the rear of the sidings and across the front to form the base for a small embankment.

     
    4.00pm. Plaster bandage was laid over the top of the polystyrene and the newspaper. I used some Metcalfe stone sheets to form the platform edges.

     
    5.00pm. The building was removed from the layout and the bandage was then painted in brown poster paint to provide a base for scenic work. This was left to dry.

     
    7.00pm. A layer of hanging basket liner was then glued over the top of the dry poster paint. This was covered in a generous amount of Noch static grass. A thin layer of Noch rock compound was mixed and then brushed over the platform area to represent a concrete base.

     
    8.00pm I then attempted to finish building the kit. I cut and added the roof and guttering. This did not work well at all. I now realise the card I used was far too thin. It just absorbed the glue, became soggy and would not fit together at all. When I finally placed the building back onto the layout I have to admit my heart sank. It looked awful! The print was fading, the building would not stand straight, the walls sagged and the roof would not stay attached to the walls. It looked a wreck. I decided to try and develop the scene to make the building look like it was supposed to be run down. I added plenty of lichen and scenic flock materials to try and represent an overgrown and run down good's building. This was the finished effect. I am sure you will agree that it looks dreadful. By now my 9pm deadline had been reached so I had to admit that I had failed in my challenge.

     
    But what to do?
    The show was just over a week away and I was not sure what time I had to put things right. It gave me a few sleepless moments that night. I still had to tackle the additional detail for the rest of the layout and complete the fiddle yard. But I could not leave it like that.
     
    The following day after a night in the pub had been cancelled I embarked on a scratch building project. I used the kit as a template and then cut new walls from a sheet of Metcalfe stone. Glued onto some thicker card I gradually built a replacement shed. This took me a couple of hours. It is not great, but after some detailing I think it looks a little better. I still need to finish and attach the roof.

     
    Until next time...
  2. 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...
  3. andyram

    3 weeks to go!

    By andyram,

    Another update on progress with the Weston show and some more layout pictures!
     
     
     
     
     
    At the end of last week I sat in my classroom enjoying a rare moment of peace whilst the children worked quietly on a writing task. The tranquillity did not last long. All of a sudden the silence was shattered by loud music drifting through the wall from the adjourning infant classroom. My class’ concentration was shattered by the strains of the Hokey Cokey! I sat there, cursing my inconsiderate colleague, as the children were instructed to put their right arm in, and right arm out etc. As I sat and listened I felt that it did rather mirror my recent work on the model railway exhibition. As I worked on finalising the floor plan I have constantly been putting layouts in, taking layouts out and moving them all about!
     
    It had all been going so well. Everything seemed to fit perfectly. Well it did on paper! I just had a few small gaps to fill. Then a couple of people pulled out and things became complicated. Although, thanks to RM Web, I managed to replace the lost exhibits very quickly; the replacements were not an exact match. They didn’t quite fill the new spaces exactly, and so I have had to juggle things around. In fact I spent several days juggling things around and still I couldn’t get everything to fit. I have had so many kind offers of exhibits, the last thing I wanted to do was to let somebody down. I went to bed on Wednesday night with serious “brain ache” and with the problem still not sorted. Then as I opened my eyes on Thursday morning I had one of those Eureka moments, and the solution suddenly came to me. Problem solved and everything is now in place. There is also still space for the layout I provisionally booked at Butterley, should its owner actually get back to me before the event! So things have now been sorted and the floor plan is almost finished. Now I just have one recent layout offer to sort. I would really like to incorporate it into the show, it is just whether or not I can shoe-horn it into the remaining space I have available.
     
    The week has seen one or two more positive developments. After moaning about the lack of response from local preserved lines, I received a raffle prize from the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. Their kind offer of two free adult tickets is much appreciated. A big thank you to them, and the Midland Railway Centre for their kind response. Now what about the rest of you?????
    We have also, this week, reached an agreement with the local pub for the use of their car park. On the day we will ask all exhibitors to move their vehicles up to the car park after unloading. This will allow us to free up the school car park for the general public. The pub agreed, in exchange for a free advert in the show guide, so if any helpers fancy a good pub meal after they’ve loaded up at the end of the night – I will certainly recommend the carvary at the Coopers Arms. You may want to book in advance to guarantee a table. Anyone who needs the contact details can message me.
     
    And so as I write this, with just three weeks to go, I do feel things are coming together with the show. Now we just need the people through the door. More leaflets have gone out, and there is also a poster in the local branch of Modelzone. If I can sort out publicity via the local newspaper and radio station I am not sure I can do much more.
     
    Yes there is just three weeks to go! I can’t quite believe that the event is that close. Of course I also have a layout to get ready for the show. What is worrying is that the last week has passed with no more scenic work at all. I really can’t leave it much longer! The card kit remains “flat packed” on the coffee table and that annoying “gap” is still there. At least the layout is now back in working order. Some vigorous work with the track cleaning rubber brought life back to the station area. I tested it with a small Hornby “Terrier” tank. It ran as sweet as a nut! If something so small can run smoothly over the points then surely anything else will! During the test running I took the opportunity to take a few more shots of Skaleby West. These are included below. If anyone is interested, the loco is an Isle of Wight, Southern liveried “Terrier”, number 13 “Ventnor”. I do have a soft spot for the Isle of Wight and although Skaleby West was not planned to run as an I-O-W line – you never know!

    "Ventnor" is glimpsed through the trees as it enters the station.

    "Ventnor" stands in front of the station building in a shot, taken through the gap between signal box and lamp hut.

    Departing the station past the incomplete goods yard.
     
    Hope you like them.
    Until next time….
  4. andyram
    Another week has passed and the show is now just one month away. Here is the latest update!
     
    This week has seen more changes to the show line up. Sadly the Hockley Goods diorama has had to withdraw from the event. A big thanks to its owner, Don, for giving me as much notice as he could. Nothing he could do and just one of these things. A big thanks to him as well for all of his help and advice over the last few months. Fortunately I have managed to secure a replacement exhibit with a small layout from the Mickleover show agreeing to attend. This will go nicely with some of the other smaller layouts in the show which seem to be forming a display all of their own. We now have a collection of layouts built in suitcases, box files and even a television - perfect inspiration for the space starved modeller. Now has anyone got anything just as "different" which could be displayed on November 10th???
     
    The week gone by has also seen the publication of a small advert in the Hornby Magazine which hopefully will attract some more interest. The headteacher was quite pleased to see that one. She then uttered those immortal words..."perhaps you will need to have an advert next year as well...." Let's not run before we can walk please boss!
     
    Work on the raffle has also begun. This had been passed onto others. Unfortunately the contacting of the local preserved railways for potential prizes came back to me. Last weekend I sent off emails to several railways asking for help. These included the GCR, Churnet Valley, Battlefield, Foxfield, Peak Rail, Midland Railway and even the SVR and NYMR. I didn't expect them all to respond with offers of help. and I was right. Sadly I have received only one response so far. At least this did herald the offer of a prize. A big salute of thanks to the Midland Railway Centre!
     
    Meanwhile back to my layout. Things have been a little quiet again on Skaleby West. Sadly it has been too quiet. The reason for this has been the arrival of the dreaded gremlins - or could that be very dirty track? I tried to use the layout last night to test run a loco which I intended to sell on EBay. Everything was connected up, the engine placed on the Peco loco lift ready to run onto the scenic section and.......nothing! I tried other locos and none of them breathed any life or movement at all. A quick check of the controller proves that it is working so there is something wrong with the layout. Not what I need at this stage! Now I admit I have been a little slack in protecting the track during much of my scenic work, and it has not had a clean with a track cleaning rubber for quite some time. Hopefully a good clean up of excess scatter with a hand held vacuum cleaner and a good dose of treatment with the track cleaning rubber will bring life back to the layout. If not then it may be time to panic.
    As for the scenics I have at least made a start on the Hornby magazine kit. I sneaked onto the school's colour photocopier on Friday and copied the kit onto card. This was then cut up over the weekend with the intention of starting the build. Unfortunately family commitments has prevented this, but hopefully I can get started during the week.
     
    Until next time...
  5. 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.
  6. andyram
    The first ever Weston-on-Trent model railway show is getting ever closer. Here is the latest update!
     
     
    I may have been a little worried as I approached the staff meeting last week. The Weston on Trent model railway show was the only item on the agenda, and I faced the task of persuading the female dominated staff of exhibition virgins to provide help on the day. Thankfully my worries proved unfounded. They seemed to get quite excited by the event and a few have got together to take on the organisation of catering. I had expected a few bacon butties, cakes, drinks and sandwiches. But they seem to be planning an even broader menu including jacket spuds and croissants (not on the same plate I hope!!). A few others have decided on a “children’s room” so parents can leave their kids with the staff whilst they go off and spend money. Colouring competitions, Thomas videos and even a Brio train set where mentioned.
     
    With the expected layouts having all confirmed things really are starting to take shape. I have now started the show guide, adding in those layout descriptions and photographs I have received so far. I aim to finish this during the school's October half term so that it can be printed in the week leading up to the show. Gradually I feel that things are "coming together"...now if only I could find a couple more small layouts for the second corridor I would feel like I have completed the job.
     
    Talking of completing the job; I need to really get stuck into Skaleby West and get my layout ready for its exhibition debut. I was back on task last weekend with a rather bizarre modelling day. As Sky Sports showed the Nottingham Forest V Derby County match; there I was dressed in my Rams shirt, working away on the layout, whilst trying not to smirk too much as my Forest supporting wife shouted abuse at the screen (1-0, 1-0, 1-0, 1-0).
    I started by completing the hedgerow at the rear of the layout after finally managing to acquire the final piece. I then added further layers of static grass to hide any gaps at the bottom of the hedge where it refused to stick flush to the top of the embankment. Next I turned my attention to the platform. A few weeks ago I acquired some station fencing from a local swapmeet. This was a nice style, but looked just too bright and white for my liking. It needed some kind of weathering.
     
    Now I admit I have never done any kind of weathering before. I have always been afraid to touch the expensive locomotives and carriages in my collection, preferring to buy factory weathered versions where possible. But as far as I know there does not seem to be factory weathered station fencing out there, so I had to take the plunge.
    First I used a modelling knife to cut the fencing from its plastic holder. Then, using some weathering powders acquired at the Loughborough show, I dry brushed some “muck brown” onto the rear of the fencing. I tried to ensure a good collection of dirt in the corners by the fence posts. I then turned the fencing over and dry brushed a covering onto this side as well. After shaking off the excess I gave each fence piece a generous coating of hair spray which I hoped would fix the powders in place. Everything seemed to remain in place when I glued the fence into position. Fuelled with a little more confidence I then tackled the telephone box. Unfortunately the powders didn’t seem to want to remain in place when treated with hair spray and so I will have to look at this again.

    A view of the newly added, and weathered, station fencing.
    So as the show gradually gets closer I look over the layout and begin to compile the final list of jobs for the big push to the end. I can feel satisfied that many of these jobs fall into the “would be nice to do” rather than the “must get done” category. Ok, the layout does not have any signals and the point motors are not wired yet. But they can be operated, by hand, from underneath the layout away from public view. The layout also needs the additional detail. The recent issue of the Hornby Magazine had some free Sankey Scenic signs which would look great on the station fence. The platform also needs some additional detail including benches, luggage, milk churns and people. I would also like to detail the inside of the signal box and coal merchant’s wagon.

    A low level view of Skaleby West station. It would definitely benefit from the addition of the extra detail described above.
    There is one area that falls into the “must get done” category however. That is the goods yard area. Whilst all sidings have been ballasted, I still need to fill in the gap between this and the main running line. I had planned to have some kind of goods building here, but can’t find one small enough. It looks like I may have to try my hand at kit building. There was a small kit in the first ever issue of the Hornby Magazine which may just do the trick.

    Two views of the unfinished goods yard, showing the gap that needs filling in.
     
    As this scenic work was finished there was just 6 weeks to go until the show. Now, as I write this update, there is only 5 and I have done nothing more to the layout. Time to panic again???
     
    Until next time....
  7. andyram

    The clock is ticking!

    By andyram,

    Back in February I uttered those immortal words during a school staff meeting...."perhaps we could have a model railway show to raise funds for the school". And so there was no backing out. The staff liked the idea and handed the organisation over to me. After all, I am sure that none of the female dominated staff had ever been to a model railway show, let alone realised such things existed!! I am not being sexist here you understand...there are some great blogs written by female modellers out there...they are just not part of our staff who see the token male and his interest in all things model railways to be a passing amusement! Mind you, I think they saw a great "get out clause". With the school celebrating its 5th anniversary in its new purpose built building, and needing to raise £5,000, the headteacher wanted the staff to run a fundraising event to contribute. So why not let the token male go away and do it all?? Perfect for them...not so for me!
     
    In February I was panicing. How on earth could I get this done. I have never been a member of a model railway club, and didn't know a thing about organising a show! What was I to do?? Thankfully many fellow RMWebbers came to my assistance and things began to move. Now the clock is ticking and there are just a few weeks to go until the day of the event finally arrives! It is amazing to look back and see how far things have come. From having no layouts and no idea how to get any..I now have several. Fellow bloggers have promised some layouts with Irton Road, Friarsgate, Guy's Cuttings and Summat Colliery all agreeing to attend for little or no expenses. A big thanks to these guys in advance and I can't wait to see all of these layouts on the day. I also have a demostrator and a diorama that I must confirm in the next few days.
     
    The organising of the show has also given me plenty of bargaining power with my wife. She has been very understanding as I have disappeared off to attend countless local shows in the hunt for more layouts. This has produced a display of micro layouts from Ken Jones and Malcolm Hughes as well as a commitment from the Famous Trains group to bring their "Darley Green" layout. Chris Trafford's "Board Lane" has also been promised and I await an email from a gentleman I saw at Butterley who also promised to attend with his foreign based layout. I also have some representatives from the Ilkeston group who are attending with their Thomas layout which the children can pay to drive - funds going to the school. Thanks in advance guys!!!
     
    I was flying even before a visiting teacher heard about the event and promised a rather large modular layout from the Belper group.
     
    And then of course there is my own layout, Skaleby West. I hadn't even thought of attempting a show layout before February, but now this is nearly finished. The fiddle yard board has been completed and one small area of scenery still needs to be attempted. Can I leave it until October half term??? Maybe not! That is just two weeks before the show.
     
    So as I take stock, and finalise the floor plan over a relaxing pint of "Flying Scotsman" real ale I can feel the panic subsiding a little. Lots of layouts and plenty of trade stands promised too! Hang on! There is still the catering to organise, the show guide to finish and the traders stall rents to collect. Oh and the hope that all my measurements are correct and everything fits where I intend it to go! Oh and that enough people respond to our adverts and turn up on the day...nothing worse than an exhibition with no punters! I can feel the panic returning. Maybe I need another pint!!!
     
    Actually what I do need is the staff to step forward and help out with the catering and the raffle. I had better hope that they step up during tomorrow night's fundraising meeting. The only thing on the agenda - the Weston-on-Trent Model Railway show. Oh and I have a couple of small gaps in corridors. Just right for a couple of small shelf layouts. Now then....if anyone is free on Saturday 10th November....................
     
     
    Until next time...
  8. andyram

    Summer's over!

    By andyram,

    As I get stuck into planning for the new school year the summer really is over for me. It is back to the constant slog of planning lessons, preparing resources, attending meetings and dealing with all kinds of hassles. Yes I really do love my job!
     
    And with the end of summer comes an end to my extended modelling time. One final fling last week saw more progress made on Skaleby West. Using some Gaugemaster materials I created a small rock face on the nearside of the embankment. This was then covered with some lichen material and hanging basket liner to represent plants and grass. Some rocks were glued at the foot of the embankment to represent a small rock fall. I then added the Woodland Scenics cinders to the baseboard to fill the gap between the bottom of the embankment and the start of the track ballast.
     
    I was still not happy with the final effect of the hanging basket liner for the embankment grass, and decided this needed some more texture. Some Gaugemaster scenic scatter was sprinkled on over the top and then a layer of static grass was roughly added on top of this. This seemed to make things look a little better. The static grass was also applied at the rear of the platform, and along the top of a small embankment which had been built a few weeks ago on the right hand side of the layout, leading from the platform to the fiddle yard entrance on this side of the board. Things really have started to take shape, and I have added a few more factory built trees to the scene.

    A view of the embankment scene following the addition of the additional scatter materials.
    Next I turned my attention to the front of the baseboard. I had planned for a signal box and a small coal merchant’s scene in this area. I played around with a few buildings until I was happy with the final effect. I then cut cork bases for the buildings, glued these down and covered them with a layer of plaster bandage which was painted grey when dry. More cinder scatter was then glued around the coal staithes and the grounded wagon body which will act as the coal merchant. This all looks a bit too clean at the moment so I may tackle some weathering once all of the other jobs are done.

    A general view of the front area of the board is seen in the first picture, with a close up of the coal merchants yard in the second shot.
    The signal box is the Skaledale “Magna” model, purchased this week. I had test fitted the old Skaledale “Goathland” signal box in this location, which I had bought a few years ago, but this did not seem to look quite right.
     
    So things have moved on so here is a bit of a before and after comparison.

     
    The Show
    I continue to work on the advertising. There were leaflets present on a trade stand during the Midland Rail-ex show and other traders have had their leaflet supplies restocked. I have also contacted a couple of model magazines about having the show included in their diary pages.
    During the Midland Rail-ex show I spoke to a couple of layout owners and may have secured a couple more layouts for the show. One has confirmed, the other is still to get back to me. I am also awaiting replies from a couple of trade stands who may offer something different should they agree to attend.
    Recently I have also received some more details from exhibitors for the show guide. I had better get back onto this soon.
     
    Until next time….
  9. andyram

    Severn Valley Railway

    By andyram,

    I thought some of you may be interested in some of the pictures taken during my visit to the SVR today. 4 engines in steam with on loan Pannier Tank 3650 in service alongside the 2-8-0 number 2857 and Ivatt 4 number 43106. The fourth engine was the Bulleid "Sir Keith Park" which made a light engine run from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster. It is seen here at Highley.


     
    According to the railway's website it will run on the rear of the first Bridgnorth departure tomorrow top and tailing with 2857.
     

    2857 is seen here arriving at Highley.
     
    The remaining shots show 3650 and 43106 passing the Engine House.

  10. andyram

    Midland Railex

    By andyram,

    This is another show I have been looking forward to. I visited the first Midland Railex show last year and thoroughly enjoyed it with the chance to ride on the full sized trains as well as seeing the model ones aswell.
     
    This year the model railway show did not disappoint. There were lots of excellent layouts, many seen in the modelling press in recent months. Derek Gelsthorpe's "Idle Way" is a superb shunting layout in such a small space. I had seen this featured in its original form in the book "Layouts in Small Spaces" which I purchased at the beginning of the year. Set on a 4ft x 1ft baseboard it helped inspire my own similar sized layout which remains under construction at present.
    The expanded version of this layout was seen in a recent issue of Hornby magazine and it was nice to see it in the flesh and to chat to its owner.
     
    Another excellent layout was the Cambrian Coast inspired Rhyd-y-Clafdy. This was also featured in a recent issue of the Hornby magazine and is truely superb. A lovely, spacious layout with rolling fields and authentic trains. I could have watched it for hours.
     
    The show also featured a few layouts I had seen before. This included the exceptional O gauge "Hospital Gates". I always see something new amongst the detailed scenery. Another superb O gauge model was "St Marnock Shed" which featured smoke and sound fitted models. The Jubilee model was particularly impressive.
    In 00 gauge there was "Skip Hill". A model based on the Cromford and High Peak Line. I had to admire the skill of the operators as they worked the mineral wagons up and down the severe gradients. The scenery included a wonderfully detailed wharf and a moving water crane arm.
     
    There really was plenty to see spread across several buildings around the Swanick Junction site. It was great to meet people from this very website, including Andy. There was also plenty of trade stands, selling a range of goods. Sadly the scenic elements I had been looking for, including some Gaugemaster hedging was not available and the Bachmann "returns" stand was looking rather bare. I guess the latter had rather been picked over on the Saturday. I did manage to pick up a nice weathered loco from "Grimy Times". The Fairburn tank will provide perfect branch line motive power for Skaleby West when it attends its first show at the end of the year.
     
    The show was excellent and I really did enjoy it. My only critcism would be directed at the Midland Railway Centre itself. I do feel that they were not as well organised as they could have been on some occasions. The first train was advertised as being 9.30, but it did not arrive into Butterley platform until about 9.55am. This proceeded to travel onto the causeway towards Hammersmith first, before returning to Butterley for a second stop prior to travelling to Swanick. I guess this may have been to "kill time" prior to the show's 10am start time and avoid the events of last year when the first train arrived at Swanick at 9.35 and deposited visitors well before show exhibitors had even finished setting up! Fair enough if this was the reason, but why advertise the first train at 9.30???
    The second criticism I have of them was with the advertised "Real Ale Bar". This was not very well signposted, not easy to find and featured only ONE cask real ale!
     
    The show also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the class 47 diesel. Now, as anyone who has read my "summer of steam" blog will know, I am not a diesel fan. For those that are however, the railway did put on a display of a number of class 47's. There were several full sized versions on display, and three in service on one of the trains. There was a large display of 00 gauge model 47's and the Swanick Junction model railway also featured such locos operating.
    Sadly, as a steam fan, the only loco in operation on the service trains was the Caprotti 5 number 73129 which was top and tailing with a class 20. Oh dear!
     
    Whilst I did not get any steam mileage in. I did enjoy the show, and apart from a couple of criticism I really could not fault the day. I hope that this event runs again next year and would recommend it to anyone.
  11. andyram

    3 months to go

    By andyram,

    Where did the last month go? All of a sudden there is just 3 months left until the model railway show and the alarm bells were beginning to sound. I have been off work for almost 3 weeks and there had been no further progress on Skaleby West. True enough I was away on holiday for one of those weeks, but I really needed to get things moving.
     
    With my wife visiting her mother’s today I had a day to myself and really got stuck into things. I used hanging basket liner to cover the embankments to act as long grass. I then added a large Gaugemaster backscene to the layout, and glued some hedging material from the same company in front of this. It provided a nice link between the layout and the backscene, and also hides those areas which weren’t cut as neatly as they could have been.
     
    I also purchased a Woodland Scenics “Forest canopy” kit, and used this to construct some trees which were planted at the rear of the layout alongside some ready made trees that I had bought a while a go. As this was my first attempt at making my own trees I was quite pleased with the effects although I probably should have waited for them to dry before planting them! I then used a variety of Woodland Scenics scatter material to add texture to the ground cover around the base of each tree.
     
    After a good five hour modelling session things really have started to come together. My final job of the day was to glue down the cottage after I had detailed the outside with some Noch laser cut plants.

     
    Now all I have to do is leave everything to dry before I detail the rest of the rear of the platform. At present the layout resembles a “before and after” scene with one side scenic and the other rather barren and empty. But with 3 weeks left before I return to work I hope to get this sorted too. If I do I will feel more confident that the layout will be ready for the show.

    The show
     
    On the subject of the show here is a quick update! Over the last couple of weeks I have suffered a little bit of a blow. One of the layouts has had to pull out. I understand the owner’s reasons for withdrawing and I am thankful to him for giving me plenty of notice. It does leave a space to fill….better get on the look out for a shelf type layout to fill the space then!
    On the plus side all of the leaflets which were left out at the Ruddington show seemed to have been taken. I hope these people all turn up on the day.
  12. andyram
    I remember visiting a local model railway show a few years ago, I can't remember where, and seeing a young lad displaying his first ever show layout. For someone of probably no more than ten years of age the scenic detail was excellent. I do not remember the name of the layout, but what I do remember is my father's criticism as we walked away. He was less than impressed with the "authenticity" of the trains the lad was running. During our time watching the layout I recall that we saw two trains pass through his station. One was made up of British Railways maroon Mk 1 coaches, hauled by a Regional Railways liveried diesel. The second was made up of "blood and custard" Mk 1's, hauled by a blue and yellow liveried diesel. My dad was less than impressed feeling that this would "never happen!"
     
    After the last ten days or so, I can tell my father that yes it does. I guess this lad was modelling a preserved railway where, let's be fair, anything goes! A recent visit to Peak Rail provided an example of the first of those particular trains. I have not visited for a while, and had never travelled on the newly extended line into Matlock Network Rail station. Sat at Rowsley Station I observed the train of maroon Mk 1's arrive, hauled by a Regional Railways liveried class diesel loco. At the rear an Austerity 0-6-0 in pseudo J94 livery followed quietly. The train was top and tailed with steam and diesel traction. The reason? The extension into the network rail station has taken away the line's run round loop. The old "Matlock Riverside" station retains this facility for services in January and February, but the network rail station has no run round facility.
    It seems a strange decision to me. Why extend a line a few hundred yards, but then have to use two locos and therefore double the fuel on services. Surely that does not make financial sense? Maybe I was just feeling sore as this meant my train was only steam hauled one way.
     
    The following week I visited the North Yorkshire Moors Railway where Sir Nigel Gresley was in steam. I hope you enjoy some of the shots I have taken of this wonderful loco.

    Arriving at Levisham

    Arriving at Pickering

    Departing Grosmont.
     
    Now after travelling behind the A4 from Levisham - Pickering and back to Grosmont, we broke our journey in order to take the above picture and visit the loco sheds. Sadly, the following departure was made up of blood and custard mk 1's and a blue and yellow liveried class 37 diesel! Gutted!! The 1 in 49 "Goathland bank" is not quite as appealing when all you can hear is a lawn mower growling in front and smell the stench of diesel oil and blue smoke!
    Now I appreciate that a lot of people are fans of diesel locomotives. I have enjoyed many excellent modern image layouts at exhibitions, and I liked this lad's particular layout even with the diesel models, but I am not a fan of the real thing and when I visit a steam railway I expect to travel behind steam so this turn of events was very disappointing, especially when the same locomotive took charge of my second Grosmont - Levisham journey later in the week.
    It seems that the diesels are gradually becoming more common on our heritage lines. Are we seeing dieselisation all over again?? Last weekend I visited the GCR where half of the departures for the day were diesel hauled. A "period" notice in the waiting room at Loughborough stated that due to the "current modernisation the following departures will be hauled by modern diesels". Following this I drove to the model railway exhibition at the GCR's Nottingham site. All trains here were diesel hauled!! I didn't travel on either line! Today's midweek GCR services saw 3 / 6 trains diesel hauled again! At least my daughter and I managed to get some steam hauled miles in today. I reckon, against the odds, I have managed over 100 steam hauled miles during the last 3 weeks. But I'd better watch out for those diesels.
    Hang on...what is that entering my Skaleby West station this evening....

     
    It seems that I can't escape the curse of the diesels. Even my model railway has succumbed!
     
    I'd better finish with a steam shot!!!

  13. andyram

    Foxfield

    By andyram,

    And so the school summer holidays are finally here, and whilst many parents are dreading the next six weeks, this particular teaching parent is relishing the time to spend it with wife, new daughter and also on some serious model railway work. For me there is my home layout, Skaleby, to continue with and also my show layout, Skaleby West. Lots to do. On top of this I always try to make the most of the summer break and visit as many preserved railways as I can, and get in as many steam hauled miles as possible.
    It may not be strictly a model railway theme, but I thought some people out there may find an interest in the photos taken during my trips out. Some may provide some modelling inspiration - you never know!
     
    This weekend I began my summer of steam with a trip to the Foxfield Steam gala. It has been four years since my one and only previous visit. I was a little disappointed by the line on that occasion, but not this time. The line put on an excellent show with seven engines in steam, six of them taking turns on the passenger and freight services and the Dubs Crane Tank 4101 on duty at Foxfield Colliery.
    The railway put on a free bus service from Caverswall Road to the colliery site and, having missed the first train of the day, I made use of this. I was delighted to see areas opened up for photographers with signs into the nearby fields and the footpath to Dilhorne Park station clearly signed. Makes a change from some lines!
    Whilst at the colliery I photographed the vintage well tank "Bellerophon" which was paired with the little 0-4-0 Bagnall No.2. The first picture shows the pair at the colliery, whilst the next two are shots of the first freight of the day to ascend the 1 in 19 Foxfield Bank. Hope you like them! The Bagnall was a "cop" for me. Yes I do actually have a small preserved steam loco spotters book. I am that sad! During the weekend I also "copped" the visiting "Ugly" and resident "Lewisham No.2"

     
    The railway followed the usual gala routine of swapping engines at all stations. The passenger train loco would bring the freight back down the bank, whilst the freight engines would take the passenger train back from Dilhorne Park to Caverswall Road where they would be swapped again. The Bagnall and the Well tank relieved the Austerity "Whiston" for my first passenger run. Whiston is seen here at Dilhorne Park after I had safely navigated the muddy footpath!!


     
    I managed to get a few rides in during the day, and successfully managed to be hauled by all locos except Whiston, seen above leaving Dilhorne Park, and the Dubs which was not on passenger duty. Mind you I was a bit gutted to miss its impromptu ascent of the bank with a brake van moments after I had left the location from which I took the picture below!

    This picture shows Lewisham No.2 and Austerity "Wimblebury".
     
    With several of my trips being on trains from Dilhorne Park, and therefore downhill, I didn't really get too many decent runs. The best was behind the Bagnall and Bellerophon on a train from Caverswall Road later in the day. They did make some nice noise on some of the steeper sections of the passenger line.
    Star guest was the "Ugly" class so I suppose I had better include a shot of that. Not a great pic, but I never seemed to catch it at a decent location. Would have loved to have seen that go up Foxfield Bank. Sadly I was rather limited with time and only had four hours there. I did enjoy it, and would recommend a visit to next year's gala. In such a small space of time I still got a few pictures, and covered 12 and a half miles behind steam. Oh and the colliery did give me a fledgling idea for an extension to Skaleby West in the future.

     
    So there it is. Like I said, not especially a model railway entry, but I hope the pictures at least provide some interest.
     
    Peak Rail next I think!
  14. andyram

    4 months to go

    By andyram,

    July brings many things including, it seems, lots of rain! The bad weather has allowed more time to get stuck into the scenery on Skaleby West. The time has been most welcome, as July sees us enter the final four months before the model railway show. The show is beginning to appear on the horizon and I really need to get things done!
     
    During the last few weeks I managed to further develop the fiddle yard entrance on the left side of Skaleby West. The cutting was built up at the front of the layout with further layers of screwed up newspaper, with a small embankment also built up across the top of the tunnel in the same way. All of this was then given a generous covering of plaster bandage. This was then painted with brown poster paint, with the footpath and farm track painted in grey to provide a base for the scatter material etc.

    The painted scenery can be seen here with LNER J72 no.9819 on test prior to sale.

    The top of the tunnel seen here, with a Skaledale cottage test fitted on the top of the enbankment.
    I like to build the scenery up in layers. Once the paint had dried I covered the brown with a sprinkling of some dark green scatter material. A mixture of grey and cinders was added to the footpath, whilst a mix containing mainly cinders was then sprinkled on the farm track.

    Following the scatter application, compare this picture with the first shot.

    The farm track and cottage viewed after the scatter has been added.
     
    July also brings the start of the six week school summer break. This should give me some serious modelling time. I will need to make use of it too. I really need to get the main scenic detail close to finished before I return to work in September. I will also need to make a start on the show guide, sort out advertising and finalise any further layout bookings. This week I have sent off details to the Hornby magazine for their "Show Diary" section and with leaflets sent out I have at least made a start on publicity,
     
    Until next time......
  15. andyram

    Setting the scene

    By andyram,

    I had expected that the return to work would bring the progress on Skaleby West to a grinding halt. Not so! This week has seen more work, and the layout is now really beginning to take shape.
     
    Of course, my first job of the week has been to tackle the jammed points. Using a combination of cocktail sticks and a small screwdriver, I worked through the inside of each point, removing all stray ballast which I thought may have caused them to jam. This did at least start to loosen them a little and all four points did begin to move once again. I still have an issue with one of the points not changing fully, and none of them run smoothly so it looks like I will have more work to do here.
     
    Next I started work on some of the scenic items. The station building was put in place to check its location. Polystyrene was then cut to size and glued behind the platforms to build the baseboard level up to platform height, allowing the building to sit in place. Further polystyrene blocks were then glued in place around the sides of the fiddle yard entrance on the left side of the layout. These will form the sides of the tunnel which provides the scenic break. One of the blocks has a recess on the inside which is perfect for hiding the wires from the set track power clip. This method is being used to power the layout at present and, due to its hidden location, will be kept in place as a spare power source once the wires for my main controller are soldered in place.
     
    Once the glue had dried the tunnel sides were painted in black poster paint. The tunnel entrance was then super-glued in place and a cardboard was then glued across the top of the tunnel. This will provide the base for the farm track which will run across the top of the front of the tunnel. Further polystyrene blocks were then stuck down at the rear of the layout and screwed up newspaper added to create the cutting side which runs from the tunnel mouth down to the platform. A small strip of cardboard was then shaped and glued on top to provide a base for a footpath.

     
    The show
     
    Not much to report in the last week. A couple of traders have reported that their supply of leaflets is starting to run out. That is encouraging. I had better get some more done.
  16. 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…..
  17. 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.
  18. 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!!!".
  19. andyram
    It has been a couple of weeks since my last blog entry, and progress has, to coin a phrase from a previous entry, been back on the slow line. The post school report round of parent's evenings have led to some very long working days, and much reduced time to work on Skaleby West.
     
    I did find some time to finish pinning down the last few lengths of track which I did not have time to do before the layout's public outing at the school's birthday event a couple of weeks ago. These particular lengths had moved in transit and led to some stalling problems when the railway was tested upon arrival back at home. A quick relay, test and these final pieces were pinned down and things ran smoothly. Sadly things were not so smooth with the final point motor! The hole has been drilled slightly in the wrong place and I could not get the extended arm to switch the point fully in both directions. A large amount of filing managed to open up the hole and the motor was test fitted again. This still would not work properly. Although the arm could move freely, it still would not switch the point. It proved to be a very frustrating Saturday afternoon. After several attempts and a lot of cursing I decided that the small joining piece was faulty, and would not hold the two halves together strongly enough to allow it to switch the point. It looks like I will need to buy a new one!
     
    The need for a new point motor has meant that the next job has been put on hold. I had planned to get stuck into ballasting the track. My home layout, Skaleby, is ballasted using the Gaugemaster ballasted foam underlay. This gives a fairly good effect, but I had found it difficult to cut and shape the underlay to fit underneath the points. I had not been too happy with the final effect of this. With Skaleby being a home layout I can rather live with it. As Skaleby West is being built for exhibiting this "make do" attitude would not do, and I have decided to hand ballast this layout using Woodland Scenics materials. As I have never ballasted a layout like this before I have dug out some old Hornby magazines for bedtime reading and have read up on the method. Once the problem with the final point motor is sorted I hope to have a good idea how to tackle the ballasting!
     
    The show
    There seemed to be a good response to the posters and leaflets during the school's open day. A few people were also interested by the floor plan which was attached to the layout's backboard. This remains in place at the moment, and the couple of gaps give me a constant reminder that I need to find a couple more layouts for the main hall. The list of smaller layouts also need to be placed, which reminds me that I need to measure the other rooms.
    This week has also seen me update the posters and leaflets to include directions to the show. This will allow them to be sent out to traders and distributed around local events.
     
    Until next time........
  20. andyram
    Due to a heavy work load since February, progress on Skaleby West has rather resembled that of a steam age freight train – slow, plodding progress interrupted by lots of signal checked periods of inactivity. As I left school on the Friday evening at the start of the Easter break I felt like I was receiving clear signals onto the fast line. This was the chance to speed up progress during the two weeks away from work.

    Things started very well too. During the first week the layout was moved from its home in the small, spare bedroom and taken outdoors to have the backboard painted. A coat of grey / blue matt emulsion left over from a previous decorating job gave a reasonable impression of a clear sky. Not that the Easter skies in Derby looked like that very often. Before the paint was dry I was swiftly moving the layout back inside as the latest wave of dark, black clouds rolled in. I only just got the layout back under cover before the latest April shower was deposited on us.

    When my very understanding wife arrived home that evening, she only raised a slight eyebrow at the sight of Skaleby West, residing on a pair of kitchen stools across the front of the French doors in our lounge. And she has not raised the slightest complaint that the layout has remained there for the subsequent three weeks! During this time I did undertake some test running. A Bachmann “Jinty†was used to shunt a small collection of wagons. I was pleased to see that everything ran smoothly, with none of the stalling issues of the previous test sessions.

    The poor Easter weather meant that it was another week before I found a dry window to take the layout back outside again. This time, with the help of my father, we drilled the holes for, and fitted, the four Hornby point motors to the underside of the board. I had chosen to use the under-board motors with the extended arm attached. Unfortunately these seem to give me a lot of trouble. It took a lot of “playing around†before the motors were aligned correctly, and even then the arm seemed rather fragile and kept “popping out†of the joining piece. I have super-glued all and hope that this solves the problem. Three of the four motors have now been treated in such a way, with arms also cut down to size and track pinned down. The points change fully when the motor is operated by hand, so fingers crossed it will work just as well when they are wired to the power switches. I just have one more point motor to sort out and the final pieces of track to pin down before I can move onto the ballasting of the track.

    In the meantime the layout has made an unexpected first public appearance. As mentioned in previous blog entries, I am constructing Skaleby West for display at the model railway show which I am organising at my school on November 10th. This event is part of the school’s fifth birthday year of fundraising. The weekend just passed has seen the official fifth birthday date and was celebrated with a Saturday open day. This featured various stalls and displays including, at the headteacher’s request, Skaleby West. The layout acted as publicity for the event complete with posters and leaflets.
    With no scenery, no fiddle yard and hand operated points things were very much “work in progressâ€. But it seemed to be well received and provoked some interest in the event. Once again the layout ran smoothly with no stalling issues. The Jinty once again deployed on shunting a few wagons and provided my first experience of operating the layout from the rear! Just a shame a left the uncoupling hook at home! But at least the event proved I could fit it in the car!

    The show itself has seen very little progress since my last entry. But that may have been down to some signal problems, namely a phone line fault that led to a fortnight without the internet. A visit to the Belper show did allow me to confirm the possible attendance of someone to provide some scenic demonstrations. A recent toy fair visit has also seen another trade stand booking. I have produced some posters and leaflets which were displayed at the school event, but these will need to be altered for the wider public as I need to add directions to the school. That will probably be my next job.

    Until next time…..
  21. andyram
    The last week has been something of a landmark for both the show and the layout as things move forward once more!
     
    The first train has now pulled into Skaleby West as some serious testing began to take place. A Bachmann 57xx, hauling two wagons was run onto the layout from a Peco loco lift, which acted as a temporary fiddle yard! The short train was then run over all track on the board to test that everything was running as it should be.....sadly it wasn't! The loco seemed to stall on a few areas which was rather worrying! Considering that all track is brand new this is not likely to be caused by dirty track so I will have to look at this a bit more closely before I lay the track permenantly.
     
    Having looked over the layout I can see that in a couple of places the cork base has started to lift and thus some areas of track have raised slightly. This could have caused the stalling problems so one of my next jobs will be to re-glue this area.
     
    These pictures show the test train during the first run.

     
    The first shot sees the train in the station area. Whilst the second shows it in the goods yard area.

     
    With the two week Easter break now upon us I am hoping that I can really move things on with the layout.
     
    The show
     
    The last week has seen the gaps on the revised floor plan begin to fill up quickly. Confirmation from another RMWeb user has allowed me to add another layout to the list. This sizeable model will pretty much take up one end of the main hall and that has filled one big gap. Other gaps have been filled too with three traders confirming their attendance. The middle of the hall is now full as well. In fact in this room I only have two or three small spaces to fill, room for a couple of smaller layouts perhaps!
    I have confirmed with another exhibitor which of their layouts I want and this will help me to put together a display of small / micro layouts in one of the school's wide corridors. With a demonstrator also confirming this week and a diorama likely to attend alongside this stall, I may well have filled one of the corridors too! This is very encouraging news.
     
    I have got permission to expand into some of the classrooms so I can still accomodate a few more people. A good job really as I will need the space if the 3 layouts and 3 traders who are still to confirm all reply in the positive.
     
    So with gaps being filled I am starting to breathe a bit more easily. Now all I have to do is start on the posters, leaflets and other forms of advertising.
  22. 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????
  23. andyram
    The sun is shining, the weather is getting warmer and the clocks have gone forward. For some the better weather may actually bring their modelling time to an end, not for me! For me it is likely to be the beginning!
     
    I admit it. I hate the start of the year. Not that I hate winter you understand, let's face it we hardly saw much winter this year. But once Christmas has gone and the schools go back I end up extremely busy. Our headteacher, in her great wisdom, decided that our school reports to parents should be sent out as the children break up for Easter. Most schools wait until the summer, not ours! So on top of the usual day to day teaching jobs, for me, the report writing marathon begins in January and runs until March.
     
    Some people may wonder why it takes so long! Gone are the days when a single, handwritten page, giving an overview of progress would suffice. Now our reports run into 6 computerised pages with several paragraphs on EVERY subject of the National Curriculum. For 37 children it takes ages! And then you have to proof read them, hand them to the headteacher so that she can add her comments, proof read them again, print them off and then proof read them a THIRD time. Great stuff.
     
    So my planned modelling weekend disappeared after a pile of printed reports were handed to me on Friday with the instruction to read and sign them! Lovely stuff! I am sure I will be dreaming such phrases as "could do better" and "needs to remember their full stops" for several weeks to come.
     
    But job done! I handed them back this morning and so the marathon is over and the light has appeared at the end of the tunnel! I can now seriously get down to working on Skaleby West and attempt to get it ready for the show in November.
     
    The show
    Talking of the show! After the recent frustration reported in the last blog I can see a little bit of light at the end of this tunnel too. The visit to Mickleover allowed me to chat to a couple of traders and both showed an interest in the show. One booked two tables there and then, and another was 99% certain he could attend. That's five traders sorted. I am already close to selling out the tables I have available from the school's store. I am still waiting on another 4 or 5 traders to get back to me. Then on Sunday my father, who deals in Corgi and Dinky toys, text me from the show he was attending to tell me a railway dealer friend of his had also displayed an interest. Looks like I may need to get hold of the spare tables from the scout hut after all!
    I have also had a few messages from another RMWeb user who thinks they may be able to bring their layout and a teaching colleague confirmed he would be able to attend. Perhaps I will have to measure up a classroom as well as the other rooms! I'd quite like that, it means the show will be growing and there will be plenty for visitors to see.
     
    The layout
    Obviously there hasn't been too much progress on Skaleby West. But, whilst trying to avoid that pile of reports, I did treat the baseboards to a coat of brown poster paint. I always do this so that I do not start scenic work on bare wood. The brown acts as a base colour.
    This evening I temporarily replaced the track and laid out the station platform pieces, using a Hornby brake coach to check clearances. These pics show the layout as it looks today. More to follow....


  24. andyram

    Frustration!

    By andyram,

    Another week and another update. Things had been going so well. I had those layouts booked, trade stands sold, measurements and floor plan well on the way. I had even made a start on the show guide. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself! In the last week I even had another RMWebber contact me with an expression of interest in bringing a layout to the show. Oh and Derby beat Forest 1-0. Things really were going so well!
    But they say pride comes before a fall don't they? Just as the machine is running well someone shoves a spanner in the works!
     
    Oh I love technology! No sooner had I digested the celebratory bottle of (Jake) Buxton mineral water, things began to go wrong. The connection between my laptop and its screen decided to die on me and the screen went blank. So a visit to the school's technician was in order. Fortunately, so I thought, I managed to do a temporary repair and removed all of the show files from the computer's hard drive onto a USB stick. What a relief!
     
    NO!!!!!!
     
    Two days later and, for no apparant reason, the school's computers decided to wipe the memory stick. All my work files....gone! This included all of the work I had done on the show, the floor plan, show guide, contact records everything!!! Have you ever seen a grown man cry?? You nearly did at this point!
     
    Fortunately I had some paper copies of the measurements and I have saved important emails so I did manage to start again and redo most of the stuff. As I redrew the floor plan I found that one of the layouts didn't fit in its original location! Why??? I have no clue. Did I make a mistake before or am I missing something? I have still not worked this one out so, for now, this particular layout has been relocated.
     
    And so I think I am almost back to where I was before the computers decided to have their teenage strop! I still have the show guide to restart but that is not a pressing problem at this stage.
     
    I remain on the lookout for more layouts and trade stands though. I asked a couple of people at the Nottingham show. Both layouts turned me down, but I did get one more trader showing an interest. I am still waiting on replies from all of those referred to last week and I still hope for a few more people. I hope to have more luck at Belper a week on Saturday.
     
    The layout
    Apart from the purchase of a few more items for Skaleby West there is no progress to report.
  25. andyram

    Nottingham

    By andyram,

    After a weekend off from show visits I managed to head over to the Nottingham event on Saturday. I really enjoyed this show when I visited for the first time last year and had been looking forward to it all week. (And that had nothing to do with the Rams win over Forest you understand!!)
     
    Perhaps the organisers needed to help fund some new players for the City Ground. I did think that the £8.00 entry fee was quite expensive. I know hiring the hall and bringing in layouts may not be cheap and that the organisers have to cover their costs somehow, but when compared to Stafford which was £7 for three halls and, I reckon, more exhibits it did seem a bit much. The show guide, at £1.50, was also 50p more than the Stafford one! That said, the show was excellent with plenty to see and some fantastic exhibits. I certainly enjoyed it once again and spent a long time there, so maybe I just about got my £8.00's worth.
    There were plenty of excellent layouts to see. The Scottish section was superb. Although not a diesel fan I did enjoy the B.R blue era Bannochbrae which ran with DCC sound locos. The scenics certainly brought back memories of my honeymoon in the Highlands of Scotland. Also reminding me of this particular holiday was the N gauge, Loch Oran which was based on the Crianlarich junction which I had travelled through on the way to Fort William. I also enjoyed the steam era Culreach which I think I have seen in the pages of Hornby Magazine.
     
    One layout which I had seen in the magazine was the GWR branch line terminus layout, Potterbourne. This too was excellent and showed just what operation can be realistically crammed into a small space. It ran very well too - unlike some layouts I saw on the day.
     
    My favourite layout, without doubt, was Stoke Summit. A huge model of the location of Mallard's record breaking run. This seemed to attract a huge crowd all day. It is a massive model, very impressive. I managed to squeeze into the crowd at one end of the scenic section, right by the tunnel mouth. Here I could look along the whole length of the layout to the curve under the bridge at the far end, straining to see if a train was approaching, whilst suddenly seeing another emerge from the tunnel beneath me. Above the tunnel a footpath was modelled about at my eyeline. As I stood there a constant stream of Eastern region locos passed by - A1, A3's and A4's on passenger trains, Austerity 2-8-0's on freights, a V2 on a parcels and a K3 on a shorter passenger train. For just a few minutes reality blurred and I got a sense of what trainspotting was like in those days when steam reigned supreme. As someone who was born in the 1970's this may be as close as I will ever get!!! Congrats to the owners and builders of this model. It truely was the highlight of the show for me.
     
    Although my wallet had been lightened considerably on entrance, I still managed to make some purchases. I am not a diesel fan, but I could not resist a Heljan model of the Railbus. This small model will go into the loco roster for my Skaleby West layout. I also picked up some point motors for this model too and a few trees. Now to get on with the modelling!!! Oh and I need to be nice to the wife...Belper in 2 weeks!!!
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