Phil Copleston

Just in case anyone missed it over on the other SWAG page http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/120694-swag-2017-lineup-details-catering-all-you-need-to-know/page-2&do=findComment&comment=2678289. Here is my post from 6th April (post #31): Hello fellow RMwebers, Roll up, roll up - announcing the SWAG 'BRING & BUY' STAND will be at the forthcoming RMweb SWAG Taunton meeting, Sunday, 30th April 2017. Turn all your unwanted goodies into dosh (so you can spend it on other stuff!). 10% of all sales will go to our supported charity. There will be at least a 3m long table at the venue - so plenty of room to display and sell all that stuff lurking at the bottom of your gloat boxes, or tools, modelling equipment, or part-built or finished models. Please bring along whatever you can. And to prospective purchasers - here's your chance to rummage and pick up a bargain! Attached is the Bring & Buy form (as a pdf) for you to download, print off and complete if you have things to sell. If you need more forms on the day, I shall have spare copies and additional labels just in case. Please read the instructions on the back of the form. See you on the day! RMweb SWAG Taunton Meeting, 30 Apr 2017 - Bring & Buy Form.pdf

Hello fellow RMwebers, Roll up, roll up - announcing the SWAG 'BRING & BUY' STAND will be at the forthcoming RMweb SWAG Taunton meeting, Sunday, 30th April 2017. Turn all your unwanted goodies into dosh (so you can spend it on other stuff!). 10% of all sales will go to our supported charity. There will be at least a 3m long table at the venue - so plenty of room to display and sell all that stuff lurking at the bottom of your gloat boxes, or tools, modelling equipment, or part-built or finished models. Please bring along whatever you can. And to prospective purchasers - here's your chance to rummage and pick up a bargain! Attached is the Bring & Buy form (as a pdf) for you to download, print off and complete if you have things to sell. If you need more forms on the day, I shall have spare copies and additional labels just in case. Please read the instructions on the back of the form. See you on the day! RMweb SWAG Taunton Meeting, 30 Apr 2017 - Bring & Buy Form.pdf

Me! I have two lockable metal cash boxes. Though I shall need one for the Bring & Buy stall.

How useful! Is there a possibility for a mount for 6mm diameter motors too?

Wonderful news, Jerry - the day of "The Great Leap Forward" hath cometh at last! I can't wait for your first running session (all round). Oh, but I shouldn't worry about the lack of pilot: the loco is clearly a runaway without crew... And it looks like the heat and fury of Coombe Down Tunnel has stripped off the paint too... Good progress, my man. Now you deserve a glass of your favourite amber liquid!

Hi Andy, Thanks. Yes, a good idea to create a separate thread (or blog) about my layout, if you think people will be interested. I had sort of wondered whether that might be a better place for it. I shall look into it and post a link on here. Good call! You are quite right about only utilising good quality materials - more expensive, but well worth it. My ply is top-quality Russian birch ply obtained from Timber Cut, Marsh Barton Industrial Estate, Exeter https://www.roachcarpenters.co.uk/timber-cut The ply is so smooth and creamy it cuts like cheese (no ragging), which is a pleasure to work with. Timber Cut will accurately slice up the 8' x 4' ply sheets into three managable bits (for a reasonable sum) so I can get them into the back of my car. Very handy. All gluing is done using industrial strength 'Titebond Original Wood Glue' (much stronger than Resin W) available from Axminster Tools, Axminster, Devon http://www.axminster.co.uk/titebond A few panel pins are added to hold the trackbed down while the glue sets, but nothing more. These are the same suppliers my baseboard mentor and good friend Maurice Hopper uses. So highly recommended. Well observed about the side profiles. Indeed, by the time I've added the inner and outer scenic profiles to the three boards they will be even stronger and stable. So I am having no worries there.

Thank you both for your concern and advice. Much appreciated. I spent quite a lot of time considering how these support structures will function, including seeking advice from those with considerable experience with plywood baseboard construction. No doubts were expressed that this might not work. The horizontal spans of 6mm ply between the uprights are 27cm (10½") on the inner curve, with 34cm (13¼") on the outer face. The upper surface is dead level, well on a designed continuous 1:127 gradient anyway. However, should it prove neccessary I can always add a spline beam later, as John suggests. We shall see. But at the moment all seems well. Don't forget, this is not a passive deck of ply between uprights as on a normal baseboard. But instead is a stressed integral structural member of the 'semi-monocoque' design. Each monocoque compartment is a very ridgid 'box-like' structure, similar to Telford's once famous 'Britannia Bridge' over the Menai. I shall keep an eye on it anyway. So, as long as I don't deliberately set it on fire (like the bridge), I shall be alright!

Thanks. Ahhh, but there is a reason for that extra depth. More will be revealed later...

Hi Andy, No, all made by me. The shapes were cut out using a pillar drill (for the corners), a band saw, a hand-held jig saw and by hand using a fret saw. Then the edges cleaned up using glass paper. The rest is all about careful marking out, accurate working, and attention to finish. Having access to a decent wood workshop and tools helps too. The resulting 'semi-monocoque' baseboards are immensely strong, ridgid and light. For this form of circular layout they are ideal. The only tricky thing was setting up the 120 degree joints to be spot on otherwise the whole thing won't work. But I made sure I carefully marked it all out on a full sized cartidge paper masterplan using my own made 60cm diameter protractor and then carefully measuring the resultant chords. From the masterplan were derived the tracing paper cutting templates which I then used to prick through the shapes onto sheets of ply, then I drew it all back in again. Long-winded, but pretty straightforward really. The paper masterplan was then used to draw out the complete track plan (there are three through stations based on actual prototypes) and associated scenic features (bridges, etc.). From this was derived the cork cutting templates, which is where I am at now. Here are a couple of extra close-ups of one of the 'semi-monocoque' baseboards: Hi Douglas (and Jerry), I wouldn't use evostick. I stick down the cork with good quality wood (white) glue. After initial gluing, the boards are inverted onto a nice flat workbench surface and plenty of weight applied. Works a treat, resulting in a lovely flat surface. I like to work with a cork trackbed because, a) I believe it has some useful sound deadening qualities, b) I like the natural texture to work onto, and c) I like the smell! As for wiring and cutting slots etc., as this layout will be DCC operated with mechanically controlled turnouts, apart from vertical dropper wires from the track to the bus wires underneath there will be hardly any wiring required. Keep it simple, I say! Thank you all for your kind and encouraging comments. More anon...

Hello all, Following on from my post #1434 (25th October 2016) about the three baseplates for my new 2mm finescale standard gauge circular layout, after a long gap here is a construction update from the workbench: 6mm ply risers push-fitted into slots in one of the three 9mm ply curved baseplates, but not yet glued in place. The risers now glued in and the lower cross-strengtheners attached and clamped. I'm not sure these latter are really needed but they may help make the baseplates and the riser joints more rigid. Two more baseplates awaiting risers can be seen stacked in the background. More clamping to hold the outer end-plates in place (now double thickness) as the wood glue sets. More fretted-out risers lie on the bench ready for the next baseplate. The top 6mm ply decks (where the scenery will be!) now attached to two of the boards and stacked together. As the daylight fades, this was the end of another day's hard baseboard building! Three photos taken on Sunday, 5th March. These last two photos show the complete circular layout of all three baseboards temporarily clamped together to see how it looks. The inner, lower, fiddleyard strips are also now in place. Photos taken last Saturday, 11th March. The three board joints are set exactly 120 degrees apart, and have an overall diameter of 1,676mm (5' 6"). There is a constant falling (or rising) gradient throughout the scenic section (to and from the two inner fiddleyards) of 1:127. Track viewing level will eventually be at chest height, 1,372mm (54"). These boards are to my own design of 'semi-monocoque' construction. Almost complete with just the cross-over "flyover" to install (will eventually be hidden), the river bridges drop-sections (and a couple of other side bits) to cut out, and the inner and outer 4mm ply scenic side-profiles to attach. Nearly there. Thereafter, I have the three ply leg units and curved ply separation beams to fabricate, plus a couple of transport carry boxes to take the boards, legs and (eventually) the parasol-like suspended catenary lighting spider. So, now that the "principal baseboard building" (to paraphrase a term from the film industry) is complete, let cork laying, track building and actual model-making commence. Hurrah! As I said in my earlier post, further updates will follow as construction proceeds...

Will this be with pickets, banners and placards? I'm sure they will be working themselves up into a frenzy. Should be most entertaining!

Me too. Updates on your modelling progress continue to impress me. Well done. Absolutely superb!

Mark doesn't do "fake posts"... But he does do alternative humour!

Having just caught up with this thread again, I am very pleased to hear the Captain's "do" is continuing this year. Thank you Stu for co-ordinating all this. And it looks like muggins here has "volunteered" himself to organise the Bring & Buy stall! Oh well. I shall post more details about this in the next few days. But in the mean time, dig out your unwanted modelling stuff for the stall. You will raise some extra modelling cash from your old stuff and, via a "modest stall commission", help contribute to our worthy charity cause. As I say... more details to follow v. soon!

In my humble opinion, Trevor Nunn's 'East Lynn & Nunstanton' layout is truly one of the best model-railways (in any scale) ever built. Period. Not just that it is entirely scratchbuilt by one man, nor that is works beautifully and prototypically, but also that it is great fun to operate. This is a good old fashioned model railway! For me, it also illustrates the point that backscenes are not de rigueur, nor is a proscenium arch presentation. It looks and works absolutely fine as it is. It also depicts a long portion of railway with three distinct scenes (quayside scene, East Lynn station and Nunstanton station) and a minimum of hidden fiddleyard trackage (three short traintables). All too often in this country we see layouts limited to depicting an individual station rather than sweeping portions of a railway (as our North American cousins do). The fact that the locations of 'East Lynn & Nunstanton' are entirely fictitious is quite incidental! It may no longer be on the exhibition circuit, but if you are a member of the S Scale MRS the opportunity occasionally arises to play with 'East Lynn & Nunstanton' at Trevor's home-meetings now and again. Thank you Trevor for all the years of enjoyable watching and operating your train set!

Of course it is! The whole character can be changed. It's about relative proportion, not absolute dimensions. Look at the Bachmann 'Rat' - the front-end look (and thus the roof curve) is quite spoiled by getting the cab width wrong in relation to the main carbody.

Eddie, The what? The 2mm Handbook has not been around for seemingly decades now. And newer Association members will not be aware of its contents. Fortunately, I have copies of both the blue and green covered versions. For sure, still an interesting read, but more of an historical snapshot of 2mm modelling in the 1970s and '80s. In practice, I find that for a lot of the techniques and guidance required for 2mm finescale modelling (or any finescale modelling for that matter, including S scale), the Scalefour Society's publications and data sheets are far more relevant and practical - and better produced. Good ideas and inspiration travels across the scales!

And as John crouched down, impishly peeping from behind the backscene, there were cries from us of "Kilroy!" (An American popular culture expression during World War II, typically seen in graffiti.)

Hi Spams, We had so many conversations with locals and heard lots of anecdotes from ex-drivers and staff last Saturday - which was exactly what we were hoping for. But it was Jerry and John who mainly talked with the former railwaymen - so I will leave that to Jerry to recount. But I do recall that at one point we had four or five ex-railway staff posed in front of the layout for a group portrait. Hopefully, Jerry can post that photo for you on this thread. As you can imagine, one of the great rewards of displaying a prototype-based layout in its locale is the positive feedback and pleasure it gives to so many. Not just a nostalgia trip, but the good memories it invokes in local folks. This is particularly true of ex-railwaymen. I remember helping Keith Gowen with his 3mm 'Helston' layout at the Cambourne show a few years ago and the positive feedback we had from local people was tremendous. http://www.uckfieldmrc.co.uk/exhib03/helston.html It works several ways: we bring pleasure to local people; they give us an opportunity to explain about the prototype and 2mm modelling; and local people bring us their anecdotes and new information. Last Saturday, for instance, several folks very kindly donated to John their treasured snaps taken when the line was still open. Not great photos, but it makes for good interactions and everyone was happy! The organisers also gave John some prints of the rare archive photos that were on display. The other thing was, most people hadn't realised that nearly everything they saw on John's 'Wadebridge' layout is scratchbuilt (or "handmade", as I explained to them) - from the track, locos and rolling stock, to the scenery, structures and buildings. They were quite amazed! This is not just a collection of commercial train set items arranged to look a bit like the real Wadebridge, but the product of years of focused research and dedicated scratchbuilding, and the application of real model-making skills. Such "expertise" is not something you hear extolled much these days or see a lot of or appreciated in the wider world of 'instant gratification' anymore. I like to think this type of explanation of our hobby helps spread a positive impression of railway modelling and of modellers. So it's a win-win when exhibiting locally!

"Phil will post some people shots later" promised Jerry (queensquare) earlier, and here they are! And what a wonderful and unusual day we had last Saturday, 21st January, down at The John Betjeman Centre, Wadebridge, Cornwall - converted from the former Wadebridge station buildings. For most of the day it was packed with enthusiastic local visitors eager to learn about their erstwhile railway line. And a number of notable modellers also made the trip to see us. We were busy the whole time, operating and taling about the real railway and the model, so we hardly had a breather all day! What made the day extra special was that this was not a model railway event as such, but a community local history gathering themed on the railway. As well as John's 2mm layout there also were extensive photo displays depicting the North Cornwall and Bodmin & Wadebridge lines, maps and texts and static models, a small OO gauge layout, and a continuously running large-screen video showing archive film of the lines west of Exeter. Cakes, teas and coffees were available from the former station booking hall. And everyone seemed to have a great time! Anyway, here's a selection of my photos Jerry mentioned. These commemorate a most enjoyable day for us playing trains and to meet so many lovely local people who remembered, rode on, and in some instances used to work for the railway in Wadebridge: Jerry Clifford with a captivated audience as he points out the salient features of a 'Spam Can'! Maurice Hopper enjoying an amusing anecdote with some of our audience. Some of the many photographic displays - with more displays illustrating the history of the line, as well as some 4mm and 7mm static models, on show in the room beyond, while various railway archive films of the line played on a large-format video display screen just to the left of camera, out of shot, next to a seating area. This drew quite a crowd! Notable visitors - Iain Rice on far right, chatting with John Greenwood who is holding a mug of tea. Edna Greenwood sizing things up... but Matthew Wald looks somewhat sceptical! Jerry at work - here taking some 'studio shots' of the trains. (The photo he is taking here appears as the fouth photo in his post #230 above.) This photo gives a good impression of the public presentation of the layout. Matthew Wald feeding his lunch to Iain Rice's sweet little Jack Russell, Lexi. Lexi, wondering what the fuss is all about! Mr Rice looking on, making some encouraging remark no doubt. Mr Rice again, inspecting John's scratchbuilt ex-LSWR T9 4-4-0 halted at the down platform (one of a pair of T9s built by John) on a Padstow train. The end of the line - literally! We had no fiddle yard at the Bodmin/North Cornwall end of the line that day to save us having to transport the Boscarne Junction and St Blazey Shed boards as well. You can just about see the blanking board under Jerry's arm, which handily prevented the trains over-running and taking a terminal plunge! Actually, this arrangement worked out fine (with a bit of hand shunting) and saved us a lot of humping and shifting, and provided much more operator space behind the layout. So John has now resolved to 'knock up' (as he puts it) a temporary fiddle yard for use at this end when we take 'Wadebridge' out on its own (the Padstow end already has a similar temporary fiddle yard, pending completion of that end of The Grand Plan). Good idea, John! That's it! I hope you enjoyed this more people (and doggy) orientated photo selection of our fun away-day with John's 2mm 'Wadebridge' layout. My thanks to John Greenwood for kindly inviting me to help, to Jerry Clifford for all the good-humoured banter, and to Edna Greenwood for such scrummy meals and homely hospitality. And a thank you to Maurice Hopper for coming all the way from Exeter for the day to kindly 'volunteer' himself as an operator! Can't wait to do it all again soon!

Heyyyy, I'm attending just on the prospects of these two alone - a second-hand bargain AND a cake? What's not to like!!! Oh, and there's some spiffing train sets too. Excellent.

Rab, Not quite sure what Maurice was refering to. But the Warminster Show is on 17th June 2017 - "An Exhibition of Fine Scale Modelling" organised by Mr Queensquare himself (Jerry Clifford) of this parish, and not to be missed! Includes 2mm finescale and S scale modelling, amongst other delights. Jerry tells me I must abandon 2mm for the day and get on with an S scale demo at his "do". Seems I must obay! More details here: http://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/events/14095-MendipModelRailwayGroupExhibition

Photos of the event to follow...

Oh what a pity, Dave. But be sure to come and see us next time. You will be very welcome.

Nicely done so far. Is it an LSWR M7 0-4-4T, perchance? ...Is there a prize?