TomE

Hi Missy I'm giving serious thought about switching to 2mm totally, especially with the drop in wheel sets becoming available. Hopefully they will be produced for Dapol stuff as well as Farish. Cheers, Tom.

I really should sort out a macro lens for this! Thanks to all for the comments on the previous entry. Tom.

Hi David The grass is Woodland Scenics field grass. If you grab a small clump between your fingers then cut it into short strands you can sprinkle it between the tracks or onto an embankment. I'm using Johnson's Kleer floor polish to fix the ballast and if you apply the grass at the same time it fixes in place nicely. Once dried you can trim any overly long strands down with scissors. Cheers, Tom.

Ok, maybe not so slight! The Somerleyton project is still on the cards but more research is needed into the structure of the bridge and box, so a site visit is planed for later in the year. In the meantime, some experimentation with the 2mm Scale Association Easitrac has led to another small project, this time a fictional stretch of Midland Mainline. With the forthcoming Meridian from Farish and new HST from Dapol, the Midland Mainline will be easy to model from a stock point of view! After using Easitrac, I don't think I'll ever go back to Peco again. The latest Farish & Dapol stock runs without a problem and the appearance is a world apart. I've also been trying out a few different products for producing trees, with those in the photos above being made from seamoss with a mix of the supplied Anita Decor foliage and Noch leaves. I'm quite pleased with the results, although the Noch leaves are perhaps a little on the large side. I'll try and get some better pics as things progress but here are a couple to start with: Tom.

I'm really curious to see how your laser cutting works out Will. It may be the way forward for some of the bridge components for my project!

A scale plan has now been produced to see what can be squeezed into the area available. As hoped the whole bridge will fit onto the 4'6" long board without any compression being needed: I'm still undecided whether to have fiddle yards at each end or to make it a continuous run with loops. The latter would allow for some of the longer loco hauled services seen occasionally on this stretch to be modelled, however I was hoping to leave the main scenic section viewable from either side. Some more thought required on this I think! Following the thread on the old RMweb about using 2mm scale easitrack I've decided to go down this route for the scenic part so the next step is to send off the membership form & order! Tom.

I'm undecided at the moment whether to allow for swinging or not. I believe the prototype not only swings but is lifted by means of hydraulic jacks! Cheers, Tom.

Hi Will The red flags indicate the operational status of the bridge. 2 red flags mean the bridge will not open, 1 flag means it is in operation and will open. Most broads holiday boats will fit under it without it needing to be opened, although as I found out, it can be a bit tight if the tide is in The flag indicated the maximum hight of the boat btw.. Cheers, Tom.

A few years ago I spent some time on the Norfolk Broads. Not somewhere you might immediately associate with any modeling potential but one particular stretch of the River Waveny offered up a surprise in the form of Somerleyton & Reedham Swing bridges on the Norwich - Lowestoft line. Somerleyton in particular always stuck with me as a project and I've now decided to do something about it. So, this blog will track my attempts to model this unusual feature of the network in N gauge. Here is what we are talking about: The bridge looking North: The bridge looking South: The whole bridge will fit onto the 4ft 6" board being constructed without being condensed, although the two signals which control the approach will need to be brought slightly closer to the bridge ends. Despite appearing to be a fairly simple project, I think there will be some interesting challenges ahead, but hopefully the end result will be worth it! So, on wards & upwards.... Tom.