Manxcat

Tony, Could I ask please, how do you attach etched nameplates to your loco kits? Do you solder them in place or are they too fragile to make that a viable option? If glued, what kind of adhesive do you use? Thanks. Archie

I purchased a copy of Tony's book "Modelling the East Coast Main Line in the British Railways Era" the day it was published. It is the best modelling book I have ever purchased. I do not say that lightly and in 45 years of modelling I have an extensive library of modelling publications. I absolutely love the format. For those of you who don't yet have a copy, a brief introduction to each chapter is followed by a detailed explanation of the construction of a particular element, or elements, of Little Bytham. Those explanations are in the form of several pages of absolutely superb photographs of those elements with brief but highly informative explanations of the techniques and materials used. In my humble opinion this book suits both those who might wish to read a lot of it in chapter order as well as those who might like to dip in and out of it over a longer period. I have read it from cover to cover several times and keep going back to it to remind myself of some of the modelling techniques used and to just savour the fantastic photos. Thank you Tony. It should not come as a surprise to you to learn that Tony credits his many modelling friends who have contributed to the construction of the layout, throughout the book. If you do not already have a copy you should buy one now. Archie

I have not seen any criticism of delivery promises on this subject yet but,unfortunately, I think I am going to be the first. I ordered mine 18 months ago, a 6 foot OO version, and paid my 50% deposit at that time, as required by the company. So well over £500 which I paid has been in the company's coffers for all that time. My order number is less than 30 so clearly I was one of the first to order. I get the newsletter and the most recent indication was I might hope for May or June delivery. I was at the Ally Pally show and listened as a prospective customer asked when delivery might be expected if he ordered within a few days. The owner told him about 6 weeks. I was really tempted to talk to him as he walked away and enlighten him as to my experience and let him decide if he would get his within the promised time. I chose not to do so but I did speak to the owner and was promised I would get mine around June or so. That deadline has come and gone and now we are told if you don't have your layout set up and ready to have the product installed you will have to wait. I can appreciate that this is so club's with working layouts can use it a lot and report back on any problems which can then be engineered out. I am currently not in a position to have it installed but was when I ordered it. If I did not still want what is clearly a well engineered, innovative and unique product I promise you I would have cancelled my order and demanded my money back a long time ago. I despair because I seriously doubt if mine is going to arrive before the end of the year. As time goes on I try to remain positive but often get very angry. I imagine I am not alone.

Tony, Looking forward to welcoming you to your demonstration stand at Model Rail Scotland 2017 once again. Thank you for your kind words in the past on the friendly nature of the show. See you in just over 3 weeks. Archie

No matter how often I try, the Ticket Factory site will not accept my BRM subscriber code, even though I have entered it in exactly the format shown, with the L17 prefix. When I hit Enter the webpage simply shows a message saying "This promotional code is no longer valid". Someone really needs to sort this out.

Here's a photo I took of Max in the middle of his layout today before Model Rail Scotland 2015 opened to the public. He was in early doing some scenic work and none of the other club members had arrived before us early birds. You can get an idea of the large size of the whole extended version of the layout from this shot.

Here is a photo I took at the show today of a cameo scene on Max's layout. It is not one I have ever seen on another layout at a show - level crossing gates being replaced by modern day half barriers. Great job Max.

Those of you who follow this topic and enjoy Max's layout should come to Model Rail Scotland this weekend where you will see a much extended version on show. Max is kindly exhibiting this latest version of his layout on behalf of our club Glasgow & West of Scotland MRC. The stand number is C16 and it is towards the back wall of the hall. Archie

Hey, I remember you and your wife! It was me that you spoke to and I lifted the footbridge off the layout to let you both examine it in more detail. As you say, I had completed construction and installed it on the branch line station just before we took the layout to the show. The first loco through the station on setting up at the SECC on the Thursday fouled the underside. So we had to then prise it off and add a millimetre or so of packing under the supports so that all the stock cleared it. I'm so glad you found our layout to be the highlight of the show. It is a real bonus when someone shows their appreciation of our efforts.

Here is Glenburn, the latest N gauge Scottish based layout of the Glasgow & West of Scotland MRC. Work to get it running finished at 10pm the night before its first exhibition, namely Model Rail Scotland 2013. Designed with 4 feet width of scenery at either end because we wanted scenery to dominate the rails and not the other way around.

Here are few photos which I took at the show. They are as follows. 1. A shot along the line from just inside the fiddle yard entrance. Layout lights glaring a bit unfortunately. 2. Max giving me a look that says "Is the next train ready yet"? 3. Now whatever you do don't touch this button. 4. Max with two RM Webbers. Absolute concentration on getting the flow rate of the coal just right.