ben pez

Bad luck with the new loco mike,maybe try another supplier/shop? Cracking photos of dent,stunning layout Cheers Ben

Fantastic looking layout Really enjoy the youtube videos,great work. Cheers Ben

Nice trackwork jeff,coming along a treat! Cheers Ben

As usual great old photos dave,thanks for sharing Just out of intrest,roughly how many is in your collection?... Must be hundreds if not a thousands?!!! Cheers Ben

Hi jock The interior is just the ratio kit one pal. I bought it from peters spares in middlesbrough,only because its local & i was in there anyway! You'll find it anywhere though mate,ebay,other modelshops etc. Cheers Ben

Cheers jeff A rare very early sunny morning then! Ha ha

Done a bit on the signal box this week... Made some name boards for it,then weathered it,complete with moss & lichen growing on the tiled roof. Added an interior to it... Couple of shots through the grubby windows... Back on the layout,although under the spot lights in the loft its not the best lighting for photos. Cheers Ben

Simply stunning layout!

Whilst looking through some old slides my late grandfather had took came across these he had taken at ais gill in the 1960s. Suppose from a time when you could walkaround the tracks within reason and nobody said anything! Thought id share on here.. Jubilee on a goods passing the box The scotsman on a late 1960s rail tour 9f nearly at the summit... 8f on a mixed freight.. Cheers

Amazing work,very realistic! Cheers Ben

Looking good jeff & very strong! It'll last a lifetime your layout! I have a lift out section on ais gill to gain access to the central heating boiler which is behind a cupboard door. At the moment its just bare basboard frame with track,often thought should i make it a scenic section but wasnt sure exactly how? As not to damage scenery like 'fells' etc when lifting it out to gain access to the boiler. Which to be fair isnt that often anyway! Cheers Ben

The overview shots of the bunker really show its going to be a nice large spacious layout jeff. Great work & coming along at a nice steady rate Cheers Ben

Lovely looking engine mike When your sorted with the camera,lets see it doing some work through dent! Cheers Ben

Cheers jock Dont worry steam will always have priority over diesels on ais gill! Cheers Ben

Hangmans bridge now painted & brickwork toned down... Then plonked on the layout with a loco to see how it looks... This part of the layout still needs the ballasting to be finished then the scenery can start around the bridge,about another 6 foot of scenery to do. Cheers Ben

Really starting to look like a very impressive bit of the s&c jeff! The large space,height & depth of the fell/scenery really do make all the difference. Looking fantastic at such an early stage in the build can only be a good sign! Cheers Ben

Those through the grimey window shots look amazing dave Cracking work! Cheers Ben

Cheers lads I should have pointed out that the pic of the jubilee taken in 1990 obvouisly on a steam tour is a photo kindly borrowed from flickr. Not my photo,copyright belongs to the owner! Was actually very difficult as you have both said to try and find a decent photo of the bridge,but got there in the end! Cheers Ben

Latest update... Over the last week ive been scratch building the last bridge for the layout. Hangmans bridge as it was nicknamed,apprentley someone once hung themselves off it years ago. About 10 years ago it got demolished as it was probably rotten. Due to where the stairs come up in the loft the baseboard at that point is only 12 inches wide due to space to access the top of the flight of stairs. The real bridge had 4 brick pillars,two either side of the tracks and two built into the embankment. As i simply dont have the space at this part of the baseboard ive had to build a smaller representation of it and leave out the end two pillars that were built into the embankment. Photo of the real bridge that ive been working from.. Brick pillars from 12mm ply then the usual plasticard. Then for the timber handrails... All done just needs painting and weathering,especially the brickwork. The deck of the bridge,the whole thing should hopefully look a lot better when painted. Cheers Ben

I completey agree with you jeff about the layout being based on kirkby stephen and not a carbon copy. I have the same sort of approch with ais gill,i simply dont have the room in the loft to get it to 00 gauge scale and every part of whats at the real location exactly right. On the layout ive missed out the "small" curved viaduct with a couple of houses below it because i just havent got the space for it. For me the important part of building a layout based on somewhere or just made up is enjoying it. A couple of years ago i popped over to middlesbroughs exhibition and seen huddersfields club layout of kirkby stephen. Very impressive but its absolutley huge! And thats without those big fells your planning on building again with KL2! Anyway Looks like your enjoying and making good progress jeff with the layout. Cheers Ben

Nice sweeping curve towards the viaduct. Looking good jeff Cheers Ben

As above! That shot of the class 20 sticking out the shed is unreal! Cracking work! Cheers Ben

Truly amazing looking layout,the weathering and attention to detail is great. Surely railway modelling at its very best?!! Cheers Ben

Lovely photos mike Always a nice batch of varied locos to look at,that a3 looks a nice weathered detailed example. The pic of the jubilee leaning into the curve looks great,didnt realise you had put a banking on the trackwork there and it looks very impressive. Cheers Ben

Amazing work and photos! Thanks for sharing. Cheers Ben