Dava

Last news on the Cape Breton rail line? You never know! Plug for the Orangedale station museum too. http://bit.ly/1UaVugC Dava

Looks like the vociferous Dapol critics should finally acknowledge that a good model has resulted here at a very good value price for the first batch, albeit several years later than promised. I await my blue one.No reason why the 08 should not be as good. The Gauge 0 loco kit industry is already in decline. I don't know if there is a connection but why would you build one of these? Dava

So did it arrive? Here in Terrier-free Canada we're all agog to know - share your photos!

Who will be first to post a photo of theirs?

Thanks Daniel I used very dilute Daler/Rowney gouache but any cheapo poster paint should do. The wood is surprisingly ok to work with. Don't over-stain! Dava

The land is the former Goods Yard, anticipated this would happen but means the GCR loses any prospects of regaining access to the goods shed itself & storage space it could have provided. Dava

Be prepared that a lot of people are going to like this, there is so much in the picture. It will have influence beyond its tiny size! Like me, you have some ballasting to do. Interesting that the stone colour varies between the photos with the lighting, from 'stone' to pinkish. Dava

Not much progress on this layout in the last week. Hot & thundery weather and a trip round the Island being two reasons. The next project is the long-planned timberyard. I made a start on that with the office hut. Bear in mind finding modelling supplies here is hard, so I recycle materials. The shell for this was from a card whisky box, cut & folded to shape. Then scrap wood from strawberry punnets was cut, scored for planking, stained with water-based paints (both sides, it warps as you work), pressed flat & dried, then glued on with plenty of dilute pva. I'm quite pleased with the planked wood effect on the sides. The roof simulates wood shingles, these have bowed quite a lot. They do that here with the weight of snow.... A few evenings went into this. As with everything else its an experiment in using these materials. A few detailing touches are needed, it needs a gutter & downpipe. I have what I need for the rest of the timber yard. I bought a pack of wood lolly sticks which are sold for crafters...so I have to use them. They will form the planked deck of the yard. They've all been cut ready to go. Dava

This news about vandal damage to the GCR North coaching stock is tough on them. They are at their best running a two train operation with lots of diesels & steam. http://www.gcrn.co.uk/news/incident-06-08-15/ Dava

The site was on an ex Council refuse tip and the ground was too soft to support the construction of the Workington MPD. So we won't see that one anytime soon. Personally I think Ruddington could be developed as a restoration & maintenance centre for all the diesel power, leaving the steam at Loughborough. Dava

Hoping to be at Wakefield this year to see this layout, whatever its state of completeness. It is a wonderful project. Remember seeing the station building displayed 4-5 years ago. Dava

So here's the weekly update from Cape Breton...the week which saw definitely the final loco movement on our full size railway linking this bit of Canada to the mainland - see separate thread. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/88033-cape-breton-nova-scotia/page-2&do=findComment&comment=1985380 Meanwhile we've been trying some options for a passenger service for the workers at Coxheath Sidings.The first attempt was our little Peckett and the Midland 4-wheel coach. However this does not like the track over the baseboard and sector table joints, so the workers will be denied such comfort! Instead we repaired the brake van with drover's compartment, trimmed the footboards and this runs more reliably, so workers will now have the advantage of rail transport to their employment....in the background is the Peco hand crane I built this week, which actually works. Dava

Good luck Robin The track layout on the micro I'm building is quite similar but I have included a second track on the sector plate and this works quite well, giving extra storage and operating capacity, though it has limited clearance. You can see it here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/96750-easy-low-cost-micro-layout-baseboard-ideas/page-3&do=findComment&comment=1978558 Small diesels ideal for this size of line, I have a Tower 02 which is very chunky and an Ixion Fowler, so far. Enjoy! Dava

Your use of ripped hanging basket liner for rough grass heathland is interesting & effective. Is it a natural product or synthetic like car carpet insulation? I've often used dried moss effectively. Dava

Since Exported to Martin Hartley in New South Wales! Dava

If we cannot keep the Cape Breton line operating then it must be retained as a cycleway, the waterside stretches along Sydney harbour & Bras D'Or are amazing and would be the best train ride in Eastern Canada. Dava

Today was the final loco movement on the Sydney Subdivision of the CB&NSR. The operator Genesee Wyoming has not reinspected the line on which they ended freight services last December. So no further movements after today. Locos 1504 (hauling) & 3366 were returning from maintenance in Sydney at (we think) the Victoria Junction depot of the Sydney Coal Railway. The convoy snuck out of town at 8am without a train whistle. So that's it folks, the last train really has left town on the old Intercolonial Railway. The campaign to retain the line will continue and politics will drag on but its rumoured that GW will sever the line. Dirty tricks a distinct possibility. Thanks to Jason Morrison for the photo at George's River. Dava

Tower Models updated Terrier delivery to 3rd week August with 2nd batch & sound fitted in September. So now you know! Dava

So, back to rail modelling in the near-railless land of Cape Breton...no point whinging about non-delivery of your Dapol locos here. Just getting on with resource-constrained thrifty modelling as therapy from the ennui of it all. Thanks to suggestions that the foamboard bases needed painting, after diagonal bracing was fitted they got a coat of paint underneath and on the sides. That was last weekend and the work rather delayed the building program. I had been doing (or aiming to do) about one structure a week. I decided to build a loading dock on the other siding. This was created quite quickly out of foamboard and the outline structure is in the first photo. You can also see the wall added at the end of the sidings which helps close off the yard. To the left beside the warehouse is a mockup of the timber yard which will be the next project. This is based on photos of the timber drying sheds which used to be on Baltic Wharf in Bristol Docks.I have lots of wood bits to use. Even strawberry punnets have their uses! Forgive the domestic & lawn mower stuff in the background. The next photo shows the dock infilled with foamboard and a scribed flagged top ready to go on after initial painting. The final view is the dock after finishing with DAS modelling clay and wet paint drying. A Peco crane will be mounted on the dock which can be used for timber and general traffic. More on the timber yard next time. Dava

A bit galling for those with one or more ordered from the first batch....after the other delays. Presumably there are some lightly injured Terriers either in China or UK. Having received Ixion and Heljan locos from China tightly packed in 4 piece foam inserts in stout card boxes, packing them is not rocket science as they say. No update yet from Tower Models who may be more definitive. Dava

Yes that is actually the GW line to Canons Marsh goods station, serving other industries along the way. I recall the swing bridge site was a Naval Cadets base last time I was there, a few years back. The dock railway system was fascinating in its own right. Dava

Looks like I've answered my own question about the Baltic Wharf timber yards in Bristol, here with a visit to Paul Townsend's 'brizzle born & bred' Flickr album on the docks. https://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/ These are marked as being on a Creative Commons licence so I'm assuming they are good to share. It would be interesting to know who the original photographers were. First a wonderful aerial view from 1929 of the Underfall yard, Baltic wharf & more, showing timber yards under the ownership of May & Hassell. Next a view from across the harbour of Taylor & Low Brothers on Canada Wharf Which tell us that there were multiple timber merchants, and the proprietorship changed from time to time...I dont know when Bamberger's came in on this site. These tell me what I need to know for now about the timber wharfs and yards, but are both fascinating photos of the docks in their inter-war period. Dava

Does anyone know of photos of Bamberger's timber yard on Cumberland Rd & Baltic Wharf? There are a couple in Jem Southam's 1983 book on The Floating Harbour but I could do with some close ups for a modelling project. It was a classic industrial location I recall before it was all demolished for flats..... Dava

Dave is right Parcels trains did run into platforms 12, sometimes 11 at Picc but unlikely they would be shunted to Mayfield. His WTT may show departing parcels from Picc unless they left ECS? Dava

I'd think a Combo will be fine for the Terrier, I use one for Ixion locos & my own builds with Mashima motors. I've yet to see how the Heljan railcar will get on as mine is in the UK. Dava