fishytrains

Glad the wiring is coming along well. Looking forward to seeing something moving very soon. Mike

Looking very good. Great eye for detail as always. Mike

Great photos. Wouldn't be allowed to do a trip like that now with all the rules and regulations! Mike

There is something extra special about night shots and those you have posted are great. Mike

Those extra trees enhance that road section. Looking really good. Mike

Amazing how much of a difference it makes. Mike

That looks very good. Mike

That looks fantastic. Well worth the wait. I will continue to watch with great interest. Mike

Great progress there. Looking forward to seeing the finished work. Mike

Great selection of photos, keeps bringing back a range of memories from travelling the railways at that time! Mike

Definitely worth the trauma you experienced in getting them on to RMWeb. I particularly like the last photo - very atmospheric. Mike

Andy Good luck with the suitable images. I am researching the drawing of perspectives on the internet at the moment, in the hope I can create something useful and usable. I can see what I want in my mind, just need to commit to paper! Mike

Whilst I am not able to work directly on the layout I still find time to think about various issues and try out different things. One thing I have been thinking about is the question of a back scene, or rather several different ones. At the moment I am considering creating something myself, for the town section I have thought about a High Street disappearing from view. The question is about getting the perspective right. For the country sections it is a case of having something that portrays countryside but sits behind what I model. Still plenty of time to think it through, but it will have to make a start at some point.

Lovely photos of the 37's, shows your scenic work to great effect too. Mike

Fantastic photos, especially the last few. Mike

Plenty of great photos Jeff. Very inspiring and informative stuff. Mike

Well I finally managed to spend sometime up in the loft today. Sorted a few things that needed attention. Also had one failure. My Class 37 has a short circuit somewhere. It might be to do with the DCC chip, but I am not sure. This will have to be sorted next time I am home. I also took some more photos. The first shows the area which will become Digby Junction. Platforms need to be made, as does a shelter for the right hand platform. In the station are the Class 108, the 3MT pulling three of the Hawksworth coaches and a Jinty on the freight in the goods yard. The mainline is to the right of the picture. The second picture shows the right hand side of the viaduct I was building whilst away. This is on the Walnut Grove side of the layout. The area under the arches will become a water feature of some sort. I am still deciding between a river and a canal. Obviously I also need to build the leg supports, instead of using bits of wood! The third picture shows the left hand side (Digby Junction) of the viaduct. This part will be fields. Underneath the arches can be seen the branchline - at the moment I am not sure whether to hide this from view or leave it as it is for ease of access. Behind is the other mainline track, which could be passing over the top of the branch - which could be in a tunnel. The most likely option, in which case there would be a hillside visible. Next up is Class A3 60043 "Brown Jack" trying out the viaduct. A bit of work is needed to make sure that the trains can cross freely and easily, but first will be the wiring, then the completion of the viaduct! It is likely that I will renumber and weather this loco at some point in the future. The screw and wooden block will need to be disguised at some point in the future as well. If I go down the tunnel route for the branchline this will be easy to do! Final photo for now is the rear of the train leaving the high level by Walnut Grove and moving onto the viaduct. Looks like some mighty big spiders have been at work on the rear coach! This is the progress for now. Next lot will be at the end of March when I will have to get the soldering iron out to wire up the track at this point. I will also need to invest in a booster, as the layout is now too large for the original power supply to cope on its own. If this is completed fairly quickly, then I should be able to complete the viaduct, just need to decide what to do with the branchline, which also needs to be wired at this point. As I only have a week at that point there may be no photos, but I will see. Mike

Finally made it home for Christmas. The arches are on the layout in their rough final position. However, I have found it rather too cold to go in the loft, not helped by the fact that I have been unwell for the past few days! If I can I will position the arches properly in the next two days, before returning to Kuwait for the next three month stint. If not, I will do this at the end of March, when I am next at home. I also now have 6 Hawksworth coaches, courtesy of an internet offer. My big problem is that I am now thinking of switching the main focus of the layout from steam to diesel around the 1970's. This is the period I became interested in trains and traveled a lot by train during this time. Having built up a large stock of steam related items I am considering keeping these and running them as steam specials. Possibly with the branch as still steam hauled. Decisions!!!! Part of my thinking here is that I have an mix of locos from different regions as I like a variety of steam locos and having a "preserved" part to the layout would cover this mix of brands. Plenty of time to think this all through though. My list for work on the layout keeps getting longer and working away from home doesn't help with this at all. Happy New Year to you all anyway. Mike

Fantastic photos as usual. The signal box by Crescent Bridge is great and I look forward to seeing how this area develops over the coming year. Mike

I would like to see more. I think the desire for photos of this era is that an increasing number of us grew up at that time and are now returning to modelling and considering this era. Mike

Thanks for sharing these. Mike

Very impressed with the track work. Mike

Those are some great shots and some real workhorses. More please! Mike

The buildings are looking great already. Seeing them in situ helps as well. Mike

Looking very good. Mike