Tony Teague

Great discussion on backscenes Tony; convinces me of what I already know, that one part of mine - the first area that was painted - is way too bright and must be toned down. Like Andy / thegreenhowards, my favourites were Annan Road and Totnes, plus Pendon, although having photographed the latter myself, I found the ceiling panels a massive distraction that really have to be taken out to do justice to the excellence of the layout. Taking these 'favourites' into account, I consider that your point, that "the eye is not sure exactly where the 3D work ends and the backscene begins" is critical, plus a palette that matches the 3-D part of the layout is very important. Overall I feel that backscenes are of great benefit; if well done they can add huge depth to the 3D layout. Tony PS. Well done on your sudden health kick; I am feeling guilty and inadequate!

Sounds like something by E.S. Posthumus (or similar) but I can't identify the track (E.g. see: )

Many congratulations! You're going to find yourself busy now!! (Speaking as an already retired person). Tony

What an interesting thread Andy, and such an eclectic mix of other hobbies! Mine seem relatively tame by comparison with some, but I have been researching my family history for many years - its not the basic logic and data of the tree, but the stories that go with it that fascinate me; I am back to around 1630 on many of my lines and in touch with many distant 'rellies' in far flung parts - including those descended from one ancestor who was sent to Australia compulsorily and on a one way ticket! At present genealogy is probably in third place to photography in 2nd - I have some lineside passes and do a lot of steam charters: as well as landscapes [more on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/97159430@N05/ Since retirement, the model railway is probably at No.1. Tony

I think Phoenix Precision now have the ex-Kirk Maunsell's; they are selling sides and other parts separately as well as full kits. Tony

I may have missed this, but what did you use for water, and how did you make it look cloudy? Tony

I was intrigued to see that you had built a 6-car Bulleid Bournemouth Dining Set, as I was not aware that Comet had produced the longer sides that came down to cover parts of the solebar; do they in fact do these, or did you find a way to extend the sides? In any event, I'd certainly be interested in your sriting up the Bulleid 2-car build as I have one waiting in a drawer! Tony

There is a pretty full listing of these Engine Working numbers in "Southern Region Engine Workings" by C.J. Gammell (OPC) ISBN 0-86093-510-8; it is long out of print but good copies are easily obtainable. In addition many of the appropriate EW numbers and duties are listed within various volumes of the Irwell Press Main Line to the West series. (However, neither of these has served to ensure that my locos carry the correct numbers - or any numbers for the most part ! - A job for the roundtuit list). Tony

Over breakfast, the other half mentioned that she would really like to be doing some gardening, but since it was freezing and there was snow on the ground, that was not possible. Seizing the opportunity, and knowing that I had the materials to hand, I cunningly mentioned that the Station Master at Churminster needed his garden laying out, and that this could be done in the warmth of the kitchen - or indeed the railway room. So after about 4 or 5 hours work, I was presented this afternoon with the completed garden with which I am certain the Station Master (as yet, he has no name!) will be very happy! It looks pretty good to me, especially for a very first attempt at any 4mm modelling. The garden occupies a very odd shaped plot alongside the station, and is completely enclosed between a substantial retaining wall, the forecourt car park, and the rear of platform 2: I will post some further pictures just as soon as it installed in its proper location. Tony

Taken during coal-burning trials of the '80's... (seemed to fit here!) Tony

I don't disagree with anything you say, but there are always compromises; as you suggest, I install the uncouplers in all the predictable places, and beyond that, I just have quite a number of them (12 so far with 10 more waiting to go in) - but that does not give total flexibility. That's my rationale for installing the couplers - furthermore, a slightly shaky hand on the "uncoupling stick" can cause unintended derailments as well as uncoupling! Tony

I think you mean Heathcote Electronics. After much research and trying everything from 3-link to Kadees I have standardised on small tension locks and Heathcote uncouplers (of which I have 12 fitted so far). They are totally reliable, whereas I found Kadees tended to come apart on changes in gradient, of which I have several. I also feel that kadees look plain wrong when fitted to wagons (except perhaps the most modern image). Of course, you only need to standardise those rakes that you intend to shunt; where you run fixed formations, anything that works is fine! Tony

Just to maintain the focus on rolling stock, here is the up Dorchester TPO having just passed through Stowe Magna: It seems to be headed today by an alien LMS sorting van, probably added somewhere in the West Country to cope with the Christmas rush: I am unsure of the provenance of this vehicle as I picked it up 2nd hand, however, I believe it was painted by Dave Studley. Behind it sit two Bulleid storage vans, with a single sorting van between them: These are by Marc Models; bringing up the rear are some CCT's and a bogie luggage van. Whilst we are on Royal Mail vans, and just for completeness, the fleet also includes ex-SECR P.O. Stowage Van No.4954 (d.1207) by Marc Models, which is currently "in works": Tony

Happy Christmas to all who follow this thread! "HO, HO, HO!" "OO, OO, OO!" [Edited as Father Christmas was out of gauge!] Tony

Excellent work Dave, I would not have known where to begin! Tony

I would think that spraying paint with either an air-brush or rattle cans without a filtered spray booth was potentially quite dangerous to health. I have used a spray booth with filters and an extractor to the outside for several years but I could only put it in a place that was cold and potentially damp, so not good for spraying paint. Recently I have acquired a better booth with twin filters that can be used indoors and without an external air pipe, so I can use it comfortably indoors. https://www.benchvent.com/art-graphics/bv300s-a3-glue-booth These things are not cheap, but then one's health is somewhat important! Tony

Excellent video - and of course, great layout! Looks better every time. Tony

Gosh Tony, the questions you pose really make one think - and perhaps that is what I didn't do enough of when I started out on the road to building what has become my own "project of a lifetime"! If I look back, then the journey to what I have now is really quite complex and not at all thought out in the way that you have developed LB over a long period. This means that things have evolved and not all of the decisions I have made were good - some based on ignorance and others on simple lack of experience, for example, I went with 30" radius curves (probably the decision I most regret) which has caused me no end of problems later. I chose OO ( the decision that worries me least) because I really didn't know what either P4 or EM was, and I had neither the time nor the inclination to build my own track; I re-laid my main fiddle yard three times because I had not planned it properly and then saw how much better LB looked than what I had created, and so on. Conversely, I made a conscious decision not to model a prototype, because once I reached the point where I had the time and space to start building my layout I had amassed such a collection of Southern Railway locomotives that there was no real location at which they might all have appeared! Nevertheless, I want the viewer to see immediately that it is Southern, for the train formations to be prototypical and for signalling & operations to be both realistic & reliable - but as has been observed before, this is actually more difficult in an imaginary scenario than for a real place. I also chose to include the possibility of "watching the trains go by", as well as shunting the yard, and equally being loco shedmaster - so yes, I may have tried to get a bit too much into the available space - and yes, it is complex! I like running the trains and reliability is paramount, but I also enjoy photographing the layout, which I find is cruel, but drives improvement. During the 15 or so years that the layout has been in development my knowledge has increased vastly, my skills developed a bit - with help from people like yourself - and the availability of my time has grown immensely, such that the standard of modelling has gone up, whilst the pace has also quickened; I now make much more and buy-in much less, but since I don't want to rip things up and start again, I do have to live with the consequences of some of my early / questionable decisions. So, returning to your questions - I feel that I have answered all of them and yet answered none of them! My experience has been one of chaotic development, yet I suspect that many modellers follow a similar path, and probably fewer have thought things out so well as to have such a clear goal as to produce an LB. Tony (Sorry if I have rambled!)

Delighted to have helped someone see the "Southern light"! Tony

As I am not an LNER aficianado, I am pretty sure that I followed the Chivers instructions as to where things should go, and my steps are at the opposite ends to the battery boxes: - so who knows what is right! Tony [pls excuse poor pic!]

Looks good; certainly interested to see more. Tony

Yes, I think that it's a shame that his range was not sold on to someone else; I have quite a lot of his stuff and it is all really good. Tony

OK, so here is the 2nd episode of the coaching stock story - yet another P-P set: This is Set No.733, an ex-LSWR 'Emigrant stock' gangwayed pair, and both are really short! Both coaches measure just 46' 6"; here is the driving brake 3rd: And the trailer composite: These coaches must be the shortest that I have and were originally built by the LSWR in 1907 and 1901 respectively, and were converted for pull-push operation by the Southern Railway in 1943. The models are again by Adrian Rowlands / Northstar. Tony

Hi Graham May I draw your attention to a serious SR layout thread that I have only just discovered: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/113725-basingstoke-1958-67-layout-and-stock/ Simply stunning! Tony

Hi Duke I just discovered your amazing layout & thread, thanks to a reference to it by Jack P. Having worked all the way through it I am just stunned by the scale of the ambition, as well as by the speed with which you work through detailed loco and coach modifications. My biggest regret with my own layout has been my decision to go for 2'6" radius curves which has seriously compromised my ability to add certain details below the footplate of locos, so I especially admire what you have been doing in this area. By coincidence I am also currently building (rather slowly) a Bournemouth 6 car dining set and so I have found your recent posts particularly interesting. I shall now continue to watch and follow with great interest. Tony