josh_will

Yes that’s definitely Port Talbot. Just down the road from me.

Two more pics.

The layout is now finished.

Also, I can’t quite believe this but I sent a speculative email to the editor of Continental Modeller and I may be able to get this layout featured in it. I guess some readers of that magazine might not be too enthusiastic about this prospect of seeing this tiny thing published but I suppose if you don’t ask, you don’t get!

Not much left to do now.

Having a go at backscene painting for the first time.

Very interesting F-Unit, thanks for sharing. I’m going to make mine look a bit derelict with faded paintwork etc. This would be pretty much what I’m going for: https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=montana+grain+elevators&client=safari&hl=en-gb&prmd=msivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjrioq-tcbsAhWytXEKHSINDd0Q_AUoA3oECAwQAw&biw=375&bih=553#imgrc=FJthC1YYqp2IFM

Thanks! It’s quite an imposing building, a scale 70 feet high, but it fills up the corner quite nicely.

I’ve also started work on this grain elevator - I think that’s what they’re called.

Thanks for the replies, yes I will probably keep having a go at the rocks to get the effect right, having said that I do think I’ve overdone it with the rock faces. The more I research the features of the Montana and wider North-Western landscape the more it looks like great big cliffs and canyons like I’ve created here aren’t really commonplace. But it’s still been something interesting to model and something I haven’t done before. I’ve also created a kind of production line for my trees. It can get quite addictive once you get fairly good at doing them.

And a couple more.

Some picture updates of my progress.

Making a Milliput railroad crossing. A good way to spend an hour.

Yes, it is a little strange as I'm sure the Post Office restrictions apply to enamel paints too but I'm sure many retailers don't follow these rules at times. Of interest also is the fact that this paint arrived in a cardboard box, with newspaper wrapped around it to protect it. The PO guidelines state that you must seal the paint jar/tin inside an air-tight container or bag, and this refers only to acrylics because it is only water-based based paint that can be posted. The seller I bought from seems genuine enough but I have not seen it advertised in the press at all.

Thanks for the replies. I’m not going to sell it now. I’ll just keep hold of it.

Hello all, I recently received an order for Tru-Color paint in the post from a UK-based online retailer. It is an acetone-based, flammable acrylic paint. I realised that I don’t need it, so I was considering trying to sell it. However, I looked into it and Royal Mail state that paints like these cannot be sent in the post. I’m slightly confused as the paint originally came from the US. Can anyone shed any light on this?

I’ve used insulation board for the first time to create the landscape and it’s very easy to use. It’s also my first go at making rock faces out of filler and I’m very pleased so far.

Building the tunnel and backscene. This section of backscene has an access hole cut out of it to help with maintenance or derailments.

The rolling stock seems to deal with the Peco 2nd radius curves quite well. Everything has got Micro Trains couplers.

Great pictures long island jack, thanks. I’m thinking of maybe getting an Atlas GP38 or similar as well, maybe in BNSF livery.

Thanks for all the replies. The locomotive is a Rail Link model, painted as such by the previous owner, so my time frame is somewhere within the last 30 years. The railroad I would aim to model would be part of or joined to the BNSF then I guess. Of course on such a small layout I can’t have anything that resembles the huge trains that I’ve been looking at in videos, and I can’t really fit any multiple loco trains in, so how common is it to find shorter trains with just one loco? I’m aware that the SD-45 is considered a “road switcher” so does this mean it could carry out operations such as short “trips” between yards? I’m thinking of making the industry just a small generic warehouse, just a a corner filler more than anything but I could also try some experiments with uncoupling having using Kadees in 00 successfully in the past. I’m using peco 2nd radius curves, so that’s just over 10 inches I believe, I’ve already tested the loco out on these with no problems. I will also use a medium radius point for the siding. The next test is to see how wagons get on with these curves and whether the micro trains couples tolerate them. I’ve got some on the way so I should be able to experiment later this week.

Hi all, after getting a Kato SD-45 and having been very impressed with the running qualities, I've decided to have a go at American modelling for the first time. I've built a board 700mm x 600mm, which fits nicely on a side table. I know nothing about American railroads in truth, so I'd like to ask some layout planning advice if I may. I'm thinking of making this a 2-in-1 layout, with two different scenes, separated by a central backscene. One side could just be the line running through scenery, and the other could include station and maybe a siding serving an industry. I want to set this layout in somewhere like Montana, so what would a typical station look like in this region? And what sort of small industries might you find along the line? Any help would be much appreciated.

Yep! That’s the one. Thanks guys.

I’m doing some serving work on my growing collection of old Hornby diesels. My latest addition to the collection is this Class 47 47 480 ‘Robin Hood’. I can’t find any reference to it online, so I’m wondering if this is a renumbering job? There’s 2 or 3 different R numbers on various parts of the model too, so I’m thinking this could be something that’s been cobbled together from a few separate sources. It came unboxed so there’s no clues there. To me it looks like (mostly?) an 80s model with the tapered coupling hooks. Could anyone shed any light on this?

Great weathering work on the locos.