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andyram

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Blog Entries posted by andyram

  1. 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....


  2. 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.
  3. andyram

    Made to Measure

    By andyram,

    Another week has past since my last post about the show. The last seven days seem to have been spent with some kind of measuring implement or another in my hand. So here is the latest.
     
    The show
    This week I have raided the school's P.E store and blown the cobwebs off the long athletics tape measure that is only usually dragged out for the summer sporting events. I have measured the basic dimensions of the main hall and used this to create a "show plan" grid on my computer using scale "1 foot squares".
    Whilst my class were enjoying / enduring a session in the hall learning "first aid" from a visitor I was busy hunting for plug sockets and adding these to the plan. It beat getting bandaged up anyway!
    I have also started to measure the two long corridors in the school which are wide enough for some of the smaller layouts offered so far!
     
    November may seem a long way off, but I want to keep on top of things. Taking a little and often approach I hope to keep things ticking over and avoid a mad rush at the end of the year. With that in mind I have started to place some of the layouts on the floor plan already. Three of the seven layouts confirmed have been, provisonally, allocated space in the hall. The other four are all smaller layouts and should go in the corridors or a smaller room once I have finished the measuring up. I am sure the staff think I'm mad. Not a day seems to go by without me measuring up some part of the school!
     
    So 7 layouts confirmed so far! As it stands I am waiting on confirmation from three others who have previously expressed an interest. I have another exhibitior definitely coming after chatting to him at Mansfield. All I need to do is decide which of his show layouts I want. Even if all of these confirm I still think I could fit three or four more layouts in, possibly more so I will be continuing to keep an eye out during future shows.
    I also have a couple of other exhibitors on the possibles list and need to speak to them to confirm space. These include some practical demonstrations and at least one static diorama.
     
    As for trade stands I have two confirmed and contacted another today. I also have three others still to get back to me. Everyone stocks different stuff so it should give me a good range of products available if they all agree to come, and it will put some money in the kitty too!
     
    As someone who often distracts himself from the school paper work by messing around on dtp programmes, I have already made a start on designing a show guide. Some layout owners have kindly sent me some stuff and that has gone in already, photographs and all. I have sold one piece of advertising space and will be trying to sell more nearer the time.
     
    Phew! It's only when I sat down to write this blog that I realise just how much I have done this week! I really had better get back to writing those school reports!!!
    Just before I do I had better update on
     
    The layout
     
    My kind father took the baseboard away last weekend to begin work on the supports for underneath, allowing the board to be raised to accomodate the point motors. The supports have now been fitted and he is adding the side and backboards this week before he returns the boards to me. I will upload a photo once this has been done.
     
    Whilst at the Mansfield show I did purchase a couple of tunnel portals for each end of the layout and some ballast. I also bought a Gaugemaster backscene print. This was not quite in the plan, but I couldn't resist it.
     
    More updates soon!
  4. andyram
    I think the title of the blog sums things up at the moment. It does not seem that long ago that I was breaking up for the six week summer holiday and looking forward to a family break on the South coast. Now I am back at work, installed as part of the school's leadership team, and suddenly realising that the fourth Weston on Trent Model Railway show is now only a few weeks away. That is quite a frightening thought! In truth the show has been taking a back seat in my thoughts of late due to some building work taking place at the school. Due to an increase in school numbers the two large junior classrooms have had their sizes reduced so that the middle break out room can be made into a classroom. This has made three equal sized, but smaller, rooms. Whilst this work does not reduce the actual size available for the show, it does mean the footprint changes slightly. Until the building work was completed and the rooms fitted out I could not complete the floor plan to ensure everything fits. This will need to be done in the next couple of weeks.
    At present there are 13 layouts confirmed, with another 6 or 7 still to return their confirmation sheets. We should have a 20 layout show by the time it all comes together. This year one of the rooms will be billed as the "interactive room" and will feature layouts that are available for the general public to try if they wish. I am not sure if there are many other shows that give over a whole room in this way, but hopefully it will prove to be a success.
     
    Talking of the word "success" - I really hope the show proves to be so. The last three events have all been successful and well attended. They have also been a joy to organise. I have benefitted from so much goodwill and help. This has been the case again, with so many RMWeb members bringing their layouts and offering support. I really appreciate this help and support. Unfortunately there have been plenty of "speed bumps" along the way. No less than three traders have pulled out. All have been long serving supporters and their loss has made things difficult. One trader told me a while ago they were cutting down on the number of shows they were attending and ours, as a one day show, was part of the cull. This was disappointing, but understandable. The other two had double booked themselves which is very annoying, but happens I suppose. One of these traders decided to inform me of this decision by sending a message via my parents which offended me a little.
    Thankfully I have managed to replace two of the missing traders and I am close to agreeing a third new trader which will give us a full compliment. I am just waiting for this trader to get back to me. It is a frustrating wait, especially as they promised to contact me over a week ago. I do seem to have spent a while awaiting replies and chasing people up this year. I have also been let down a lot, and I am pretty certain one layout owner is going to pull out due to ill health - we lost another due to illness earlier in the year.
     
    I am sure many exhibition manager has had similar experiences over the years - this is my first experience of such hassles and problems. Hopefully I can bring things together in time. There is still so much to do, and my layout still needs a lot of work. I still need to find another layout, especially if my suspicions about the exhibitor prove to be correct.
     
    More updates soon!
  5. 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........
  6. andyram
    This week has been another busy week as my return to work saw the date of our show confirmed and a start made on booking layouts and exhibits for the event.
     
    The show
    The date has been confirmed as Saturday 10th November. A big thank you to those people who have got back to me already. So far I have confirmed 5 layouts for the show and reckon I have at least another 5 or 6 layouts as possibles as well as a couple of trade stands confirmed and a couple of other exhibits. Things are beginning to take shape and it is nice to see the show plan beginning to fill up. I have even gained permission to use a couple of other rooms in the school so I do have some more space available to me.
     
    The layout
    As mentioned previously, I have committed to building a layout for the show. This may be a big ask and things have moved rather slowly this week. "Skaleby West" will be a small 4 ft x 1 ft layout featuring a small single platform station, passing / run-round loop and a small goods facility.
    I showed a picture of the track plan in my last entry. I have now tested this, briefly, and things worked ok. Today I have laid the cork base for the track work. My home layout, Skaleby, uses the gaugemaster ballested foam underlay - but Skaleby West will be hand ballested. This will be my first attempt at this. I also plan to install point motors on this new layout, something which Skaleby also does not have.
    The next task will be to install the extension pieces under the baseboard in order to lift the baseboards to allow the point motors to be installed underneath. The back board will then be fitted before I turn my attention to permenant track laying and the installation of point motors.
    One small bit of luck is the offer from my father to take on the woodwork. As someone who is a bit of a DIY "duffer" this will be most helpful.
  7. 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......
  8. 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..
  9. 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…..
  10. andyram

    And so we go on...

    By andyram,

    We are now half way through the current academic year and 3 months on from the fourth Weston on Trent show. Skaleby West and the troublesome extension are back in situ in the spare room and, apart from the occasional loco test, it has hardly been used. Some small work has been carried out on the next project, Skaleby Quay, but the creative modelling juices have been but a trickle of late. There is a very good reason for that of course. Staff changes at school have taken up a lot of additional time and there is an assignment for my leadership qualification still hanging around my neck. Work has certainly been busy and that is before family life is also taken into account. Juggling everything has been very difficult and I am not exaggerating when I claim to have had many sleepless nights recently. My average sleep is down to four hours per night although daughters and cats can be blamed for some disturbed nights.
    We are currently in the midst of the February half term when it hit me. I have another show to organise. Yes, after the success of last year, we are doing it all again. To be fair, after raising over £1000 last year, I really do not have much choice. The Weston on Trent Model Railway Show has become the school's third biggest fundraiser after the traditional Christmas and summer fairs. In fact the only reason they outdo the show is due to the revenue generated by two large raffles held during those events.
     
    But the fact is there is to be a fifth Weston event. The date is confirmed as Saturday 12th November. I really need to get my finger out and do something!
    To be fair, although I have neglected the show, I have not ignored it completely. Whilst out and about I have been chatting to different people. Three of our stall holders from last year have all but guaranteed that they will return so that is one less worry.
    On the final day of term I managed to print off a good supply of the 2016 leaflets. These should be out and about at some upcoming local shows - look out for them at Sileby and Trowell in the next few weeks.
     
    What about the layouts? I always worry About whether I can scrape together enough exhibits to make the show work. Last year we hit the magic 20 mark and I will feel that I have failed if we don't reach that again. Tonight I have sent out a multitude of emails to previous exhibitors who have expressed an interest in returning with something else. I also have contacted the owners whose details have been kept on file after they were unable to attend last year. I do have a couple of others still to contact as their details are saved on my RMWeb message box and the site decided to go offline at the time I was on my email. I will contact those people later in the week. If all come back positively then I will have made a good start. I do have a couple of other "target" exhibits and those layout owners may find a surprise message dropping into their inbox before the week is out. Hopefully I can bring some positive news in the next blog entry.
     
    As for my contribution, there is no decision. For the last four shows Skaleby West has been displayed in various guises. Although the extension board needs finishing there is other repair work to do if I want to make it presentable for Weston 2016. Then there is the question of whether I want to do so. I am not sure the layout will warrant a fifth successive outing. If I get the extension board finished and I complete the various repairs then it is a possibility I could justify showing it again.
    Right now I feel that having Skaleby West at Weston 2016 would be a show too far. I think it has outstayed its welcome and needs a break from the event. I don't want people to think our event is becoming "samey" and I don't want people to be bored by the event or my layout. It was noticeable that the layout attracted less attention last year, even with the extension board. So that is a sign that the visitors are tired of seeing it.
    So that means something new. At present there is no chance of layout number 2, "Skaleby Quay," being ready for November. It is just too much of a complicated build. So that means a different project. Thinking cap is now on!
     
    Until next time.....
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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….
  14. 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.
  15. 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.

  16. 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...
  17. andyram

    10 days to go!

    By andyram,

    As I wrote the date on the board in the classroom this morning I realised that there are only 10 days to go until the Weston on Trent show. A slight panic set in. There is still lots to do before the day. At least it is not just me flying around like a maniac though. A fellow staff member seemed to appear at my door every five minutes today to discuss the rota for the day. There is the kitchen to organise, ensuring we have enough people to cook the food for the public, lunch for the exhibitors and serve the hungry masses. Then there is the washing up to do and also the door and car park duties to organise. Trying to get enough people can become a bit of a job at times. Thankfully it looks like there are plenty of people willing to help out this year. Once again members of the Ilkeston Woodside group will help out with the car park and we are very thankful to them for that.
    This evening I have completed the draft floor plan and have made some progress on the show guide. After sending the confirmation letters out I have received some replies further confirming the attendance of the layouts. One reply came from my one major doubt. With that layout confirmed I feel confident that we will have 21 layouts. That is a record for the show. A full layout list now appears on the show's RMWeb thread. Amongst those layouts there are some I am really looking forward to seeing. Last year's best in show winner "Up the Line" is always worth a look and I can't wait to see it in its extended form. I am also looking forward to seeing the developments on Foster Street, as well as counting the number of Jubilees that Paul has managed to sneak onto the roster. I didn't get enough chance to view this layout last year so I will make an extra effort this time around. Both of these layouts are exhibited by RMWeb members.
    Other RMWeb member layouts look set to be show highlights. Steam on the Cambrian is an outstanding model and one I was so pleased to add to the show line up. I was so impressed when I saw it at Butterley last year. I can't wait to see it again.
    The one layout I really want to see is "Victoria Bridge". It is one of the smallest models in this year's show, but after following the blog for the model, it is one that I eagerly anticipate seeing.
    Of course I hope these, and other layouts, bring enjoyment to our visitors. I hope we will have plenty of people through the door. This is the time my fingers start to cross that our publicity has drawn enough people in. Have we reached enough people? Time will tell. But, as one person has already told me, a £3.50 entry fee for 21 layouts is pretty good value for money.
     
    More updates soon...
  18. andyram
    I always said it would happen! Half term holiday over, back to work, and the progress on Skaleby has slowed to an almost standstill. There has simply been too much paperwork to catch up during the evenings and with the birth of our first child also immenent, my weekends have been taken up with decorating!
     
    I have, at least, managed to sneak out to the occasional model railway show. I visited the recent Burton Rail Fayre which took place at Burton Albion Fc's "Pirelli Stadium". Quite a nice morning out, even if the room was a little cramped. I did manage to purchase a couple of items for the layout. Firstly I acquired a set of Noch tunnel portals. One of these has been placed in-situ to represent the entrance to the fiddle yard. This will allow me to build up the scenic area around this location. I have plans for a second cottage which will be located above the "hidden siding". Before I consider purchasing the cottage however, I need to check that it will fit! Therefore, building up this area is one of the next items on the jobs to do list.

    The location of the tunnel opening can be seen in this picture.
     
    The second purchase from Burton was a little bit of a disaster! I purchased a Bachmann model of Ivatt class 4 number 43160. Unfortunately my memory seems to be fading. I have this model already. Doh!!!! I have tested the engine on the layout (see picture below) and have placed it on EBay! Perhaps I should keep a record of my collection! You live and learn I suppose.

     
    And so the progress has come to a standstill. I have managed to run some trains though. The trusty Railroad SDJR "Jinty" has operated each day with a couple of surburban coaches. I have usually managed to sneak in to run the train out to the fiddle yard before I leave for work, and return it in the evening. It may be simple, but it keeps me happy!
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