Tony Teague

Smells like a plan!

Having mentioned "scenic activity", here is a quick update on what I have been up to. I am trying to get the area between Wadley's Brewery at the north end (left): and the Churminster Quarry to the south: including the town of Churminster, Churminster Station, loco shed and goods yard to a point where I could consider it "scenically complete" - although I suspect that tweaking and titivation might go on forever! The town, station, Wadleys Brewery & the Brewery Tap pub are reasonably complete: and so recent activity was around the loco shed, then the quarry area and most recently the goods yard: I have used some 'grass mat' from MBR, as well as adding some figures & vehicles - although I am keen not to overdo this: Currently visiting the yard are a pair of LMS Fish Vans (from Chivers kits), but I have had difficulty in sourcing suitable odours to spray them with! Tony

Congratulations Tony, on achieving 30,000 posts on this thread! A major achievement. Tony

Lovely stuff - looks like you have been busy! Tony

Dave May not look to different but having seen it move without being pushed, I know that it is a very different loco. A bit of weathering should hide the worst of the lining, so I am very happy. Thank you for your amazing efforts! Best wishes Tony

I have recently had this problem and bought replacements from Peter's Spares: https://www.petersspares.com/Hornby-x8849-idler-gear-set-for-china-built-locos.ir They currently show as having 67 in stock (no connection). Tony

Another busy week, including a most enjoyable visit to Little Bytham, and I'll provide a further update on progress with the layout within the next day or so. In the meantime, a parcel arrived today from Shapeways, enclosing the new E5-X print and she looks very good: The recently completed E6-X was printed in Shapeways "Smooth Fine Detail" plastic, but this is in "Smoothest Fine Detail" plastic - and so it was obviously more expensive! I look forward to finding out whether it actually delivers a smoother finish. The designer, Javier has included a cab interior as an option for this model and so I thought I would try it - whether the motor and gearbox will fit so easily remains to be seen: At the same time Javier has made the cab interior available separately and so I have acquired this to retro-fit to the E6-X. So when I get through the current scenic activity it will be straight back to chassis building! Tony

Yes thank you; 3 of the 4 that you attended to run perfectly, and although the 4th also runs well in a straight line, it still has difficulty with the over-tight curves on my layout - as we perhaps expected. So it looks like the solution might be as you suggested, to change the motor and gearbox - do you have a particular suggestion or would you need to look again to propose one? On the basis of your diagnosis for the 5th, completely dead loco, I have managed to order some replacement gears from Peter's Spares and so I also expect to be able to resolve this one and bring it back into service. Thanks again for your expertise! Tony

So, to play devils advocate, is it your view that if one has the means to invest heavily in a model railway, or to buy in help because we lack skills in all areas, and/or a large circle of skilled volunteers, then it is unlikely that the layout will attain "inspirational" or "iconic" status? Tony

Tony My thanks to you and to Mo for your usual generous hospitality, as well as the stimulating, if not always PC, conversations! I am also grateful for the (short) time spent by the 'loco doctor' in looking at my failed locos - so short in fact that I felt shamed that I had been unable to fix them myself in considerably more time! LB is always stimulating to look at and to run, an inspiration. Thanks Tony

Great looking scene, very atmospheric!

Dave I think you have already worked miracles, so what you are saying sounds perfectly acceptable to me. In due course perhaps I will weather it, which should hide whatever paint defects remain. Best wishes Tony

I have bought from him more than once within that timeframe so I am not sure what problem you are describing?

I think the saying is:"Holy moly!" - what a transformation. Tony

You'll still ned to keep it clean!

Notwithstanding the "adverse comments" that you may have received, I consider Lime Street to have been the best layout in the Show by a country mile. As to "lack of movement", which is a pet hate of mine for exhibition layouts, one key difference with Lime Street for me is that there is just so much amazing detail to take in that even if there were a gap - which I did not witness - then it would be easily filled by noticing and admiring some new detail. Tony

I admire your perseverance!

Nice, if a little late for me - but I am sure that the principles will work on similar pre-nationalisation stock.

Well last week was a good week! On Sunday I spent a most enjoyable day at Warley and met up with some old friends, as well as meeting new ones; for me the best layout in the show by a long distance was Liverpool Lime Street - it looks great and was running well. I'm afraid some others were suffering from either nothing moving, or from "the hand of god", neither of which attracts me. Nevertheless I always admire those who are prepared to put their work up for public scrutiny! My own highlight was that I was able to have conversations with a, for now, nameless modeller who has agreed to take on the last two items on my "missing" list, ex-KESR 'Hecate' and the Fowler shunters DS400 & 600 - so although I am a long way from saying that my project is complete, I now have solutions for every single loco - which is excellent news! The person concerned has is also interested in the ex-LSWR C14 which means that I may have an alternate, and perhaps more viable, solution for this locomotive! Excellent news! Back at home, the quarry area is all but scenically finished; I last showed it looking like this: Since when I have covered the area with plaster bandage and then a thin layer of polyfilla: Then yesterday, Mike the artist joined me to work on the quarry face whilst I distressed the quarry building, which together have now reached his point: I regard this as almost finished but not quite - but here are some further views: The dry stone walling along the top layer needs to be extended to reach the bridge. Here is the opposing view past Churminster South signal box towards the quarry and the overbridge: I regret that the area on this side of the tracks is not going to get attended to for a while yet - it is fast becoming the only place that there is to put anything! Tony

Me too!

That's looking nice Jack and good to know you are OK ! I am making progress but my priorities are constantly changing, from weathering locos, to building scenery, to finishing loco projects, to starting new carriage or rolling stock projects - and so on! There is just not enough time in the day! I spent today at the Warley Exhibition (about the UK's biggest), met up with old friends and found some solutions to current problems - so a great day but no actual modelling done. I'll post an update on my thread tomorrow, when I expect to have all but finished the scenic work around my quarry. Hope to hear more of your progress soon. Tony

Looking good! Tony

Whassup Jack? You OK? Missing your updates! Tony

Amazing! A transformation! Tony

Yes, that is what will or has happened for the E4-X, E5-X, E6-X, etc and seems the most likely route, although these 3 at least had chassis kits or RTR chassis available. I had not got as far as looking for plans of this one, so thanks for alerting me to them - I take it you mean those on the Col. Stephens Society webpage? I have checked the kit manufacturers and there is nothing out there so far as I can see, so I think that all that is stopping me is that I have far too many projects on the go at once! Need to finish a few and then ultimately, this one will get nearer to the top of the heap. Tony