Manxcat

I'm really hoping, Tony, that I know exactly which show that is. Archie

Tony, Several years ago, before we became friends, I heard you saying virtually everything you have mentioned above when looking at a layout. I had been planning a wedding cameo at the church on Fairhaven Road. Your words made me decide not to follow the norm and instead I just placed a few clergy outside having a chat. I have to admit though that, having spent a fair bit on some specialist wedding figures, a carriage and a photographer whose camera flashed at the push of a button, I moved them to the reception at the main hotel on the layout, far from the church! Archie

I couldn't agree more. Here are a couple of shots of the church on my Fairhaven Road layout. A friend built it many years ago and the spire was removable to save it from damage when being moved for exhibitions. Almost inevitably, the spire was lost. I took the main building and made a new spire, added the representation of stained glass and added interior lighting.

A few months ago Tony constructed a Class A7 4-6-2 for me. Inspired by the "have-a-go, you might be surprised" encouragement I have so often seen on these pages I decided to paint and weather it myself. I also coaled it and added a ModelU 3D printed crew. I took the photograph below and showed it to Tony first. He kindly suggested I should also weather the motion, which I have now done, and post the photo here. I promised Tony I would take a video of the loco in action and, after posting it on YouTube, I would also add it here. It is just a short 3 minute video of the loco running on our club layout which is still under construction. I absolutely adore the design of the prototype and I am so pleased to have added this superbly built model to my fleet. Thank you Tony. The eagle eyed amongst you may note a raging continuity error in the video. Enjoy it anyway.

Tony, Thank you for posting these photos. What a wealth of diverse information one can find here. The platforms are not proprietary. They are made from sheets of MDF and I think I know what might have happened. The baseboards are all covered entirely in 6mm thick cork underlay. This should have been cut away when the completed platforms were installed so that the top of the platforms would have been 6mm less than they are now. Too late to alter now but hopefully not too distracting to the majority of show visitors. Regarding the Deltic, it was just on the layout to test and video. The layout is not based on an ECML location. Regards, Archie

Thank you Tony. The tension lock couplings will be removed in due course and all the wiggly pipes will be added when I get the time. I am doing so much building work for the layout between our Sunday club days that I have very little time for personal projects. That is however my choice for the time being because the layout is, we hope, to be exhibited at Model Rail Scotland 2020. I will check the platform heights on Sunday but given the stage the layout has reached in that respect it would be very difficult to do anything about their height now without a great deal of work which would possibly mean we could not meet the show deadline. Archie

Tony, Given your comment above, I thought you might like to see a short video of my DCC sound equipped Deltic which I filmed on our club layout yesterday. The layout is still under construction and the fiddle yard has not yet been completed so I could only run the loco up and down the scenic section. The sound chip is an ESU Loksound Version 4 with a sound file recorded from the real thing by Legomanbiffo. To get that distinctive Napier engine rumble I used an "Earthmover" speaker which, because of its size, required the chassis milled away to create a hollow in which it sits. I am grateful to my fellow club member Andrew Campbell who did that work for me. The chip is programmed with numerous sounds ancillary to the engine noises but I have only included the start up and horns. Regards, Archie

Last weekend I helped one of my fellow club members operate his layout at the Great Central Railway model railway show. Tony had very kindly offered me the chance to visit his home and see Little Bytham first hand. This was great because living in Scotland meant a visit to see the layout would be a very long journey. Since I was already at Quorn for the show it was therefore the perfect opportunity to stay over until the Monday after the show and make the short hop to Tony and Mo's to spend a delightful morning there. Tony very kindly allowed me to video the layout and was happy to run my choice of trains. He also gave me permission to upload the video to YouTube and to post a link here as well. I should say that I am by no means a professional videographer so this is not the most broadcast quality of videos, far from it in fact. I do hope that you enjoy it anyway and that it inspires you. There are several shots where the sounds of the 12 inches to the foot real thing passing at speed on the main line behind the train shed encroaches on the video. Please look out in particular for the penultimate train shown in the video. I think Tony was trying to better, in model form, Joe Duddington's speed record with Mallard just past Little Bytham. The train, with 13 cars on, traverses the layout twice and the second circuit looks as though there is a devil holding the regulator wide open and breathing into the firebox! Several of you have recently commented very favourably on the Princess Coronation loco which Tony has been building and the photograph of it which he posted here. The final train in the video is pulled by that loco. It is still unpainted but is a superb mover. To you and Mo Tony, thank you for such a great time which I thoroughly enjoyed. Archie

If you have never seen a steam loco being derailed by a set of trap points then you need look no further than this video.

Well you learn something new every day, or so they say. Trap points, eh? I shall try to remember that for the future. The damage was very substantial and it was over a year before the clubroom was renovated by the landlord to a state where we could work there again. The fire service could find no evidence of foul play and the matter was never resolved in that respect. The part of the building where it started was a wooden floor and carpet specialist and it was very full of stock. Consequently, that part was almost razed to the ground. Remind me to tell you a little more about it when I see you at Quorn this coming weekend. Archie

Good evening Tony. The layout is not based on a particular prototype but follows ex-North British practice. As a club we apply some basic rules which I know from your posts that you entirely agree with. The track plan has to be prototypical and "look" right. There must be catch points protecting the main line or a set of points which would not allow a conflicting move to foul the main line. The layout will be fully signalled as per prototype practice and all signals will be operational, including the disks. Track in the scenic sections is all code 75 bullhead rail and the point rodding is already installed with some more distant points having model point motors beside their tie bars. Almost every building so far is scratch built. The work is progressing well and the layout will be ready for exhibition at Model Rail Scotland 2020. If you are there I hope you will enjoy watching it. It is called Phoenix Lane because it is our first layout to be nearing completion since the fire in another part of the building where our clubrooms are situated destroyed everything we owned as a club.

I just finished this Walthers kit for a gas holder which is actually just over half of the full kit. We wanted a gas works on a specific corner of the layout but the gas holder is so large, about 9 inches in diameter, that it would not fit. However, one bright spark had the idea of making a low relief version instead. Because the kit is manufactured in segments this made construction of just a part of it an absolute doddle. I painted and weathered it today and am very pleased with the result. With care as to which parts go what way round the kit goes together very well. Even though it is an American design of gas holder I think it really does look the part on a UK layout. The best thing is...….there are enough bits left over to make another, albeit slightly smaller, half relief version, this time with the gas holder at a lower level holding less gas. Archie

I have used Templot many times and have given demonstrations of its use and capabilities at some MERG meetings. It took me a long time to get to grips with how it works and its many capabilities but once well versed enough to really start using it I have not looked back. I find that one of the main benefits of using it is that one can quickly discover why the plan in your head will not actually fit the space available without looking rather stupid. It can be used to create plans in numerous gauges and the resulting track plan can be printed on A4 plain paper sheets which can then be spliced together with clear document tape for transfer of the plan to the baseboards. I use it a lot to make the templates for everything from single turnouts to complex curved junctions. The printout is then the exact template for cutting and laying the correct sleepers at the proper spacing and for soldering the rails to make my own turnouts. I have used it to plan three of our club layouts and two of my own. I have spoken to many people who have watched my presentations and decided then that it is not for them. To each his own. I am not here to force its use on anyone but if you persevere you might just surprise yourself. As if is often said on these pages, I recently looked at our latest club layout and thought "I designed that. I made the points. It all works and I am very pleased with that." Here is a photo of part of the plan for our current club layout and the Templot diagram for the same section with the points I made laid on it to get a feel for the overall look. Archie

BRM now has the video of the Hornby J36 uploaded for all to see on YouTube. I have to say mine is the smoothest running RTR loco, straight out of the box, that I have ever purchased.

If you can smell chicken cooking you know you are holding your soldering iron incorrectly !!

I wonder if I might take a moment of your time to glean some views on a particular question. I am about to start a selection of brick built buildings for our club layout. Some years ago I chose, for the first time ever for me, to make a couple of small terraces using card and brick paper. I usually build using a plain plasticard shell with brick embossed plasticard on the surface. I can get a nice weathered finish after painting embossed brick and can pick out the odd brick for a varied surface, using a bow pen. However I stumbled across a website where numerous variations of brick surfaces could be downloaded and printed on adhesive backed paper at quite an economical price. I attach a photo of the terrace I built and have to say I was very pleased with the result. So, should I make all the new ones with brick papers or embossed plasticard? If I mix them would one make the other look strange? When you look at a layout with brick papered buildings do you immediately think that takes something away from the buildings? I am aware I could "lay" paper bricks one at a time but I fear my eyesight might not be quite up to that now! The photo is by Nigel Burkin. Archie

Tony, I am seriously impressed by the Wright / Haynes skills partnership which has resulted in this exceptional loco. Archie

I've made use of a number of sources for coal for my loco tenders, all of them real coal but in different sizes. I've even used coal from a relative who has open coal fires. I bashed the lumps to pieces in a bag to get what seems to me to be a reasonable mix of lumps and dross. My question is this. What is the largest size of a single lump of coal you would expect to see in a tender? I would be interested to hear your views. P.S. I have a small lump of coal recovered from the wreck of the Titanic but that will not be used for a loco tender!

Tony, Thank you for once again being the judge of the AMRSS layouts at the show. As Chairman of the Association it is my delight to present the winning layout builder with the trophy at the award ceremony. I was delighted you chose United Mills since it would certainly have been my choice had I been the judge. And yes, "Robert The Bruce" was still running very well when I tested the loco at home. My wife is not a modeller but she was very impressed with your workmanship and the professional paint job. I cannot wait to see the K3 painted. Archie

Good luck with the Glasgow accents this weekend at Model Rail Scotland Tony. I'll be available as an interpreter in case of an emergency, should the need arise! Archie

In clearing some of the accumulation of less than useful bits and pieces from my railway room today I stumbled across the first photo below and thought some of you might like to see it and know the back story, so to speak. I started modelling railways when I was in my teens, which is over 40 years ago now. This is an image of my first attempt at a layout. It was in N gauge and, since I was a dyed-in-the-wool GWR enthusiast at that time, the loco is a Graham Farish GWR pannier tank; one of only a very small handful of ready to run N gauge locos at that time. There are a lot of things about this layout which were, shall we say, less than satisfactory. Notice the lengths of piano wire bent to an L shape at the edge of the baseboard used to change the points. There is no fascia to the layout, just the bare chipboard edge. There is a backscene for only part of the layout. The cattle dock was made using a proprietary rustic fencing and there are no gates on it for the livestock to get on or off the dock! On the other hand, there are elements which made me happy at the time. There are working lights, even though the grain of wheat bulbs are grossly overscale. I was an avid signalling fan and added representations of the proper signals. I scratch-built the water tower and the terrace of houses. I also stuck a bit of cotton wool in the GWR pannier tank’s chimney and blew it about a bit while I took a long exposure, to represent steam. At that time there were few types of plasticard other than plain available but there was 4mm scale brick. I decided it would do and inspired by the terraces on Eastbourne, built by Vivien Thompson and in the Railway Modeller at that time. I made the terrace. A fellow modeller called at my house to see the layout and said "Those houses must have taken an age to build.". I asked why he thought that and he said "Scribing all those bricks and so perfectly too.". I didn't enlighten him for a few days but eventually confessed! Looking back today I thought about how my modelling skills have developed. Even at the time of the photo my skill at making buildings was ahead of my other modelling skills. Have a look at the second photo, taken by Nigel Burkin, which I hope will show how they have developed. My desire to properly signal all my layouts stays with me to this day and I now use MSE signal kits to make them. The layout gave me great enjoyment and railway modelling has always been a passion of mine. As has been said so many times on this wonderful thread, give it a go, you might surprise yourself.

Tony, When you build a loco for yourself what criteria determine the gear ratio you use? Do you always stick with one particular ratio for particular types of loco? Do you ever have problems meshing them to your satisfaction? Many years ago I heard a suggestion that a tiny bit of toothpaste helped them mesh well but from what I have heard you say, some mechanisms are excellent from the start and need no such attention. Archie

No, I am in the "Cannot stand Thomas" camp as well. One of our club's members is a volunteer at a local preserved railway. He tells me that when they have a Thomas day at the railway their licensing agreement requires that anyone playing The Fat Controller actually has to be sufficiently rotund.

A photo of Little Bytham, surely? How about this one?

We are delighted to tell you that this year we have two layouts at Model Rail Scotland which featured in The Great Model Railway Challenge. These are Clucas Bay and City of Tiers, both by Aberdeen Model Railway Club. Clucas Bay won their initial stage in the competition for the club and City of Tiers was the overall winner of the challenge. The members of Aberdeen MRC will be operating the layouts and will be very pleased to answer any questions you may have about the construction of the layouts. Steve Flint, the editor of Railway Modeller magazine, who was one of the judges, will be on the Peco stand. The Peco stand, Clucas Bay, City of Tiers and an Aberdeen MRC stand all form a single island with the Peco stand, visible almost immediately you enter the hall by the main door. Archie