Tony Teague

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

After posting pics of some weathered wagons, I was also asked whether I had managed to migrate through coaches to locomotives, so here as a partial response are pictures of a couple of bogie luggage vans and an 'ironclad' coach: These are from the long-available Hornby BLV which I upgraded using the Roxey Mouldings detailing kit, prior to a complete re-paint, re-number, and finally, weathering. The 'ironclad' is one of a rake of 6 which forms an 'ocean liner' special and these are from Phoenix kits. I regard the weathering as "work in progress" so any observations are welcome. Tony

Jack P. who follows this thread has asked if I would post some pictures of the coaching stock that operates on the Churminster & Stowe Magna Railway; this is a big topic, so I will try to weave some of these in with the progress updates. As with locos, what I found when I started to get stock together for my "major project" was that not much was available RTR - obviously since then the Hornby Maunsells have filled a big gap - but at that stage I had to really look around. So I have built up quite a collection of kit built stuff by Adrian Rowlands / Northstar, Phoenix, Ian Kirk, Roxey, Alan Gibson, Marc Models & Comet - many of which are no longer available. I had to choose to start somewhere, so here are some SR "Pull-Push" sets with a run down of each of their progeny; my apologies for the quality of some of the images which were from 'stock': 1. Set No.660 This is an SR, P-P set comprising driving 3rd class coach No.3505 and composite trailer No.5473, both of which were converted in 1942 from former SECR non-corridoer 'Birdcage' set No.600. The model was made for me from Roxey Moundlings kits, by Ian Willetts & painted by Larry Goddard. 2. Set No.36 This Set was created in 1939 from former non-corridor LSWR stock & comprises 56' driving brake 3rd No.3070, plus 58' trailer composite No.4749. The model is a limited run RTR production by Adrian Rowlands under his now defunct Northstar range. 3. Set No.2 This set was converted by the Southern Railway from ex-LSWR non-corridor stock in 1937; it consists of 3rd class 58' trailer brake No.2604, and 56' composite driving brake No.6487. Although I did not take a close up of it, this set is seen running with one of four 'air-control vans' No.2002 which was an ex-SECR 4 wheel utility van that had been fitted with air control equipment so that it could work within a PP train. The van was made by me from a Parkside Dundas kit. The model is again a limited run RTR production by Adrian Rowlands under his now defunct Northstar range. OK, just in case people are getting bored with PP Sets (yes, there are more!), I thought that I might throw in some non-passenger carrying stock: 4. Bulleid Cinema Coach No.1308s & generator van No.1309s These were constructed by the SR in 1939, the Cinema Coach being capable of seating 60 on 15 bench seats and was used for staff training & instruction. The model was available from the now defunct Marc Models range I'll post pictures of more of my coaching & NPCS in due course. Tony

Jack Have you seen this thread? http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/81877-new-motor-needed-for-Bachmann-wd-2-8-0/ I might try some switchcleaner around the motor to see if it helps. Tony

Hi Jack It may be an odd coincidence, but my Bachmann WD, also picked up 2nd hand and fairly cheaply runs so slowly and draws so much current that it might as well be seized up. Perhaps they were from the same batch! Mine did not have the air pumps on the front so I had these 3D printed; I am not at all sure about the WD logos and if I ever get around to changing the motor, then it certainly needs some heavy weathering. I like your boldness with the new gate stock; I shall need to do the same, but I was worried about the precedent of putting people inside as I don't have passengers anywhere else (well except inside my Pullman Observation coach, which like the Gate Stock is very open to view. Tony

Having been recently on the Missenden Abbey course I can thoroughly recommend it. Prior to that I had tried a little dry-brush weathering but despite owning an airbrush for over 10 years I had never used it. I can honestly say that the course made a massive difference and I am now building my experience. (No connection etc!). Tony

Certainly did! - Mortified is the right term. Tony

I'm probably thick, but even after reading the advice above, I have no idea how I can add some further tags to my thread. Can somebody explain please? Many thanks Tony

One of the things I most like about our hobby is the great variety that it offers; if I get bored with weathering I can do some wiring, or if I have had enough of signalling, then I can work on the scenery. With Churminster Shed largely complete - OK except for the chimneys! - I have been spending time working over on Stowe Magna shed; although the buildings here were largely put together around 8 or 9 years ago, I had never ballasted or detailed the area, even though the running lines that pass it were long since completed. This picture was taken in 2009 and things had only changed marginally since then. Stowe Magna locoshed is made up of four main buildings, starting with a small 2-road, single length, running shed adjacent to the (Heljan) turntable, a large coaling tower, the main 3-road, triple depth maintenance shed, and a single loco repair shed. All of these except the running shed (which is a Scalescenes cast resin building) were made from Townstreet plaster castings and I mention this for a reason! The main shed was all but completed some years ago, although it lacked a floor and any detailing - this shot from 2015, but later that year disaster struck! The building was hit by a large ar$e which backed into it - and being made of plaster, the nearside wall shattered into 5 main and a number of smaller parts! (It's a war-time layout and so we refer to it as 'bum-damage'!) As a result, the shed looked like this until very recently: Fortunately, I had retained all of the bits, but I was reluctant to re-build it in case it befell the same fate again, especially since it is close to the narrowest access point between this and the adjacent baseboard. More recently, however, I have acquired some "low-rise" clear perspex sheets and have started to fit these along that edge of the baseboard to provide protection for both rolling stock and fragile buildings; so I live in hope! And so, having finally got around to ballasting and detailing the shed area, I have finally fitted the shed floor and rebuilt the side wall, with just the end and the roof remaining to be refitted. At present the cracks where the building was damaged are visible, but these areas will soon be repainted. So overall Stowe Magna shed is beginning to look a bit more businesslike and more like it would have been "back in the day": A few jobs remain, aside from finishing the re-build; I need to add lighting to the main and repair sheds, plus a floor in the repair shed. There is more detailing to do, and I really must do something about that awful coaling tower! I have considered throwing it in the bin (or getting an ar$e to sit on it), but I now think that I will finish building it properly, weather it and see if I can make it blend in. More pictures to follow once it is done. Looking at the pictures really makes me want to get this area completed. Tony

John Thanks - you are very kind, but its good to know that it might give some inspiration to others! I am just enjoying myself! Tony

What a crazy sign! Wouldn't it be better to mark the doors that are unavailable - or are there more of them than are available??? Tony

Andy Your suggestion is a good one which I will explore. I haven't yet looked too hard at the S11 as I have been focussing on the L12, but I have a 2nd set of etches and parts for the L12 so I need to explore what else, other than the wheels, needs to be changed. It may not be very much. One interesting point is that the differences in size between these models in 4mm is so marginal that unless they are standing next to each other it may be difficult to spot the differences! Tony

Andy A good question - could it be over exposure to Tony Wright's anti-RTR crusade perhaps? - No, it is because if I want to move on to build the S11, then I will need smaller wheels with different spacings, set lower within the frames (to achieve the same height), and I could not do this with the Hornby chassis. So, there is madness in my method! Tony

Scarey!! - you must be a bit of a coffee stirrer connoisseur to spot them! - but can you identify which branch of Costa??? Tony

Longer term followers of this thread may recall my preoccupation with adding to my fleet at least one of every class of loco that the Southern Railway owned at nationalisation; although I have seemingly exhausted all known kits and RTR classes I have not been idel in terms of securing the last few classes that remain. A while ago I persuaded my good friend Arun Sharma to get involved in producing a 3D printed body for an LSWR Drummond L12 - which is a T9 variant, having a larger boiler but identical wheelsets to a T9. Our aim was to produce a body that could directly replace the Hornby model, so that the loco would run on the Hornby chassis. The first print looked good and proved that it could be done, but we quickly realised that the Hornby T9 boiler was metal and that without significant weight our loco would not be balanced - so we changed tack. Arun then used the 3D print to develop white metal castings for key components such as the firebox and smokebox, some brass castings for splashers etc, and nickel silver etches for the footplate and cabsides. Whilst this is a far more complex approach, it is also much more robust. I have now commenced building the "Mk.2" L12 and will post updates as the build progresses, but in the meantime I have also decided to look at whether the new body can be mounted on a SEF T9 chassis, so I shall be exploring this at the same time. Incidentally, if this all works, then the LSWR Drummond S11 is next - same boiler as the L12 but smaller driving wheels! Tony

Adrian Fabulous modelling as ever. You might like to consider something like this "coaling stage" that I built from coffee stirrers about a year ago - it was inspired directly by your own efforts on this thread! Tony

Chris / Dave That's very helpful; I doubt that many of us know much about the difference between WTF WSF and FUD and I probably would have paid the extra for a FUD model had I known - or had it been available. Tony