Tony Teague

15 hours ago, Sidecar Racer said:

Very similar to most humans then..........

2 hours ago, chris45lsw said:

 

Small point.  GWR Bananas had a white disc.  The yellow spot was a BR innovation which only came in after steam heating Banana vans was discontinued from around 1959, I think.

 

Thanks Chris

I followed the instructions with the kit in decorating it - which are quite specific about the yellow spot; I did wonder because the recently issued Rapido van (of which I have one, illustrated on the page before this, has a white disc - so I felt that one of us would be wrong!

Glad you like the coach series; there are a small number left to post when I get around to finding and photographing them.

Tony

4 hours ago, manna said:

 

Could have put it down to 'Bomb' damage, circa 1940.

 

Indeed it could - especially as the nearby Stowe Magna locoshed had also suffered bomb damage as reported back in about 2018, when it's entire west wall was demolished:

Locally, however, this is referred to as 'bum damage' as it was the result of an impact with a large ar$e - subsequently perspex screens were installed along this strtch to protect the layout and its buildings from such incursions!

Tony

Whilst Steve has been grassing away to his heart's content, there has also been progress elsewhere.

Sinkholes seem to be a current fad and as my layout is supposed to mimic reality, it came as no surprise that one had appeared under Stow Magna goods yard - well it could just be subsidence; you can see the result here:

It is actually the result of a baseboard construction fault, in that the left hand board has a leg under it, whilst the right hand one was simply screwed to the left one and whatever was used has slipped over the 15+ years since they were made (not by me I hasten to add!).

With Giles' help we put in an extra support, and with the careful use of an Irish screwdriver (hammer) we persuaded the right hand board upwards:

Sadly, the cork underlay, ballast and the track itself did not appreciate this degree of adjustment and so I have since had to take more radical action, this time involving the use of a Dremel & cutting disc:

On a brighter note, it appeared that only the front reception siding was seriously affected & requiring replacement:

(Now looks bowed upwards but it isn't); fishplates soldered in place & electrical continuity tested

Ballasted, only some serious weathering now needed before traffic can resume!

Meanwhile, on the recent arrival of the excellent Accurascle banana vans I may have mentioned that in my drawer-full of unmade kits there were two Parkside GWR banans vans & so I prioritsed their building so as to give the train a bit more length:

They will get some weathering with the rest of the train, which now at 16 vans has reached a reasonably acceptable length; I'll post another pic when these are back in the consist.

Tony

11 hours ago, TrevorP1 said:

Road overbridges can be a problem. To fix or not to fix! If all goes to plan I will need to face that problem this summer.

Yes, in this case it crosses over two narrow gauge and the twin standard gauge tracks and would have been easier to construct as a fixed installation, however, the decider was that there is wiring underneath it that just might need to be accessed - so that determined that it must be removable.

A short update today to cover further scenic progress on the Churminster cutting.

When last shown in early March it was simply looking a dirty brown colour, but since then it has had a couple of visits from my friend Steve Povey, the 'grassmeister'; after several layers involving many different lengths & shades of grass, this is where it has got to - looking south:

At the far end / bottom of the incline, I am now committed to a re-build of the 'chalk' cutting face which I think will improve things and so this area has not been touched.

There are some bigger, shrubby things still to be added but there is already a massive improvement; looking north:

The bridge at the top of the incline did cause a couple of problems - in that, although it is removable, Steve managed to glue it in place.................

After much cursing I managed to extract it unscathed 🤬

Meanwhile there has also been more progress on the semaphore signals.....................

Tony

1 hour ago, 5944 said:

There's also 73082 and 80151 as well, so 5 big locos with 30541 expected back at some point. Does seem a bit of overkill but if the owners and the railway are happy, then it's all good.

i suppose.

I'm just not a fan of anything GWR!

7 hours ago, 5944 said:

6989 is staying for the 2025 season as well.

If that is right it would be very odd, with Sir Archie out, the Atlantic expected and the Q on fast overhaul.

I hope you are wrong!

Tony

Those trains look like they bought them from NSE !

I hope they have retention toilets..................😝

Tony

Having visited the layout in the past, I have to say that this is absoultely the best way to see it - without crowds and with the opportunity to talk with the modellers and operators.

Whilst it moves most of the cost of a visit to the visitor, John and his team still have to put themselves out to host each visit and deal withour inane questions - for which we must all be hugely grateful.

I for one will want to make a re-visit just as soon as the gates re-open!

Tony

12 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Or one of those children's wooden whistles that the preservation groups sell (just kidding).

 

An egg timer (Easter egg, of course, at York) would do nicely. You/Mo could adjust the setting according to whether you thought the next protagonist was or was not likely to be worth spending time with...

A former boss of mine, who had a sense of humour, had a timer that resembled a small model of a friesian cow; he would set it at say, 10 minutes, at which point it would "moo" so loudly that everyone forgot what they were saying or thinking, and meetings ended or were moved on as he determinded.

Thoroughly recommended!

Tony

Superb work Iain!

Dave

I am of course delighted that construction of the C3 is underway - and I'd be equally happy if my thread were 'cluttered' with the sort of discussion you have requested; I'm unfortunately not able to answer your questions myself and so I am hopeful that others more knowledgaeble than I will have something to say!

Thanks for what you are undertaking.

Tony

2 hours ago, Chuffer Davies said:

I too have experienced the ‘Sir’ effect when operating exhibition layouts.  As soon as Sir appears you can be sure chaos in one form or another will ensue. 

#Me too#

On 21/03/2024 at 12:33, thegreenhowards said:

 Anyone know where I can source the ‘passengers must not cross the line’ sign? Sankey scenics do the lower half with ‘Warning….£200’ but I can’t find the upper bit anywhere.

 

https://www.sankeyscenics.co.uk/o-7mm-modern

Andy

Just worked through your thread and was especially impressed with the results of your "weedifying" of certain baseboards - they look most impressive.

This is a major project which I shall follow with great interest.

Tony

Yes, and always whilst a visitor is watching!

Andy

Thanks

A great pleasure to have you here and I'm only sorry that the train set did not behave at all times! - Sod's Law.

The good thing is that as the more major works get ticked off, it will allow time for snagging faults and issues that have accumulated over the many years that the layout has been in build.

Tony

Graham

Was much involved in modifying the vehicles running on your Faller Road system?

I have installed the system on my train set but have only been able to source HO modern image vehicles, whilst the layout is UK (SR) 1938 - 48, and as a result the roads don't get run very often.

My intention is to convert some vehicles of the correct era and outline but with plenty else to do, this is some way down my list of priorities, so any advice would be most welcome.

Tony