Moggs Eye

Despite the snow the layout, my operators and I had a great weekend at the Nottingham show. Th only downside were a few more errors (derailments mainly) than I'm comfortable with which meant the layout, in my opinion, didn't really look its best. That said, we had plenty of positive comments, a fair amount of interest and I enjoyed driving the thing again for the first time in ages. I really must get the garage cleaned out so I can get it set up properly at home. However, it has given food for thought on changes to the way it's operated to improve reliability and presentation by the time it goes out In June for its next outing the whole thing will be working much better. I did find time for a few pictures to add here to make up for all the ones hidden by photo bucket. Here is a fine selection of luxury passenger transport lined up the fiddle yard on the Friday evening. Defence Logistics Organisation Thomas Hill Steelman Royale shunter number 657 "Amazon" in-between duties in the exchange sidings. It's a Judith Edge kit that regularly gets mistaken for a Hornby Sentinel like I didn't keep burning my fingers soldering it together! A Central Trains class 153 held at signal 43 before it can trundle into the station. The shunting signal in the foreground is 'off' meaning the signaller has let a freight train cross in front of the DMU - not sure the passengers will appreciate that. Looking along platform 1 from the buffers. The odd tint to the DMU is from the stop lights. Happily the only driver to collide with them during the weekend was me - I had a long chat with myself over it. The armoured vehicle train sitting in the exchange sidings while the ever popular Police liveried 47 waits in the loco siding for its next service. The station car park where the musician sit patiently with her cello on the Land Rover waiting for her ride home. A view along Crow Lane that the visitors don't normally get with the disused level crossing, boarded up signal box and war memorial. Finally for now, my second oldest 153 and the first one I converted and repainted from a Dapol 155. It doesn't really stand up to the RTR Hornby product, but I'm too fond of it to not bring it out.

I can only add my thanks for the efforts the exhibition team went to hosting us over the weekend. For a big club show the level of cheerful hospitality was very impressive and I enjoyed the mix of layouts. As impressive as the larger ones were, I do find myself drawn to more compact layouts and Caradon Junction was my favourite. Thanks again. Ben.

Happily, despite too long in the garage, the layout still works. As does my latest class 153, which still awaits weathering and application of Central Trains branding over its Regional Railways livery.

I was surprised to see a picture of Cottleston in the last edition of the Railway Modeller promoting the Nottingham show. It was a useful reminder that time was running short before the layout got it's first dusting down and outing since Sleaford last June. It's good to have got the boards up again after so long. Happily the spiders haven't been too busy and there isn't too much damage from a garage disaster late last year, so I've spent a pleasant couple of hours this afternoon fettling signals, replacing faded signage and having a general tidy up. It has quite a busy year ahead and two bookings for 2019, which will be its tenth year of exhibitions - not bad for something cobbled together from a couple of old wardrobe doors. Hope to see some of you at Nottingham, come and say hello. Cheers, Ben.

Sorry I wasn't able to get over and see the layout over the weekend. It looks great in the pictures, the award was well deserved.

Well done to Webbo and the Lincoln team. We had a great weekend and were well looked after. Cheers, Ben.

Revenger by Alistair Reynolds was excellent, but the series I have enjoyed the most of late is by Anne Leckie starting with Ancillary Justice.

Work progressing on Station Road level crossing.

Hi, Again, forgive my ignorance, but what does that mean in simple terms? I'm operating my signals/servos via an analogue system. Thanks, Ben.

At last! 60065 Spirit of Jaguar was the first locomotive to run under its own power on Holland Beck this morning. Closely followed by the first of many 153s that was pass along the branch line in the next couple of years. I had hoped to have had the signals working to, but I broke the power supply. What a pudding!

Having just taken the plunge to use servos to operate three semaphore signals on my new layout I was interested to see this topic. When I first connected the servos, and signals, to the megapoints controller for testing I was a little surprised by the twitching from the servos. They were set up on my kitchen table, under fluorescent lights with a CD player working in the background and my bluetooth enabled phone close by and powered by a supply system recommended by Megapoints Controllers. As I have never had an interest in electronics I'm afraid I didn't understand many of the concepts being discussed, though I did pick up on the potential for twisting the wires, so please excuse my ignorance and the following question; Is there anything I can do (as a relative simpleton) to prevent/reduce the twitching? Thanks for your help. Cheers, Ben.

I'm usually in trouble for forgetting chocolate biscuits!

I love to have a chat with people looking at my layout at exhibitions; I'll politely discuss any aspect of the layout they're interested in, debate their opinion of any faults they might pick up and point them in the direction of traders to find a particular kit or detail they like the look of. If I get the chance I'll say hello to anybody I can make eye contact with, I like kids to come around the back and have a drive if it's reasonably quiet. I also like to have a chat with my fellow operators, who I might not see from one exhibition to the next. I like to have some banter with them, particularly if they (or me) make a mistake - some of the banter might get a bit lively (though always appropriate for before the watershed) and some of the spectators seem to enjoy it. I'll be self-deprecating about derailments, accidents and problems. I might even light heartedly ask people to look away or look at a different part of the layout while I right a problem. If I'm away for the weekend I like to text my wife periodically or I might have a chat about something unrelated to railways with a friend visiting the show who I might not have seen for a year or two. I appreciate people have paid to come to the exhibition and I will always do my best to entertain them with my offering, but I don't think I have a duty to be utterly focussed on the layout and model railways while I'm operating. I'm there to enjoy myself as well.

Hi Happy New Year. Having just got home from seeing the progress that has been made on the building so far I'm pleased to say I am happily amazed by the quality of the modelling. Words fail - see pictures... In the background to this shot you can just see the breathtaking and almost complete model of Lincoln Central Station being built for this layout - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/4887-lincoln-central-station/page-18&do=findComment&comment=2969655 It looks very impressive to see two quality models of iconic Great Northern Railway stations on the same work bench. No pressure, but I really am going to have to build this layout now! Cheers, Ben.

After some fettling here are Holland Beck's three semaphores with their freshly programmed servo motors. From left to right there is the Up Main Home, Yard Starter and Down Main Home. Once the ladders and balance weights are fitted they can be painted, weathered and fitted to the layout. Cheers, Ben.

Not a massive amount of modelling today, there were Christmas decorations to help put up, but I have nailed one of the jobs I was a little unsure of ready for wiring to start; namely learning how to connect up my Megapoints controller to the servos mounted on my three semaphore signals. I now have the know how to achieve realistic bouncing semaphore signal arms! It does look very impressive. Let the wiring commence...

The layout that provided the inspiration for the class 153 stub fiddle yard is Polhendra Clay Works which is featured in the 2018 Railway Modeller Special. It's a cracking layout which almost spurred me to make Holland Beck into something Cornish. It's going to stay firmly in Lincolnshire though, I don't have any stock for the South West - yet... My version of the stub fiddle yard. This is where Barton bound services will go to when they pass through the scenic break which will run along the end of the baseboard. When the track is laid to the end it will have the same operating potential as the current Barton upon Humber station!The cork strip marks the road where the Automatic Open Crossing will be. This sign, from Ferry Meadows on the Nene Valley Railway, will be reduced to go onto the end of Holland Beck's platform. Having discovered Scalescenes kits with Emsworth I plan to use a couple for Holland Beck. The building shown above, concealing the small control panel, is the workshops for S&G Oliver Motor Engineers - Specialists in Classics and Vintage Tractors. There may be more than a few Land Rovers around the layout! Another view along the layout towards Barton. Now that track laying, except a bit on the stub fiddle yard, is complete, work can begin on the electrics. There is going to be much more scenics than I'm used to, which I find a little daunting. A view looking towards Grimsby. I deliberately built the platform to be very low so I can model the way that some platforms are raised to comply with modern standards and the beams along the platform surface are for this work. The heightened section won't extend the full length of the available platform and while there will just be room for a 2 car sprinter to berth, the planned 153s will look nicely short when they are pausing for passengers. Ho ho ho.

Thanks. Having seen the stub fiddle yard for 153s on a Cornish set layout in the Modeller, I can have another level crossing at the Barton end just by the scenic break. The plan is for this one to be AOCL with a Stop board and driver operated plunger modelled on the end of the platform. I fancy one of those Traintech modules to operate the flashing lights with an extra white LED to give the driver's indication that the crossing is operating. Beyond that pipe dream, track laying is all but complete and wiring has started - hopefully I'll have something moving before Christmas. Cheers, Ben.

Hi, First time I've seen this layout, it's very impressive and captures the look of the line very well. Having been impressed by the goods shed use at Mansfield Woodhouse myself, I used a similar arrangement for Cottleston and never get tired of seeing a 153 under it. I think I'll have to come over to Mansfield next spring to have a look at the layout. Cheers, Ben.

The rail joiners for the new Peco bullhead track are not for the faint hearted, or short sighted!

Weston on Trent was the last show of the year for the Emsworth team, with a notable couple of firsts; 1 - Nobody commented on the real Emsworth being in Hampshire, 2 - We had a rather nice compliment from a visitor who liked it despite their being only diesels on it. Happily the timetable had a Britannia moving with it's support coach to Wansford coming into the platform at that moment. It was a really friendly show and I'm pleased to report they made £900 for the school funds. We donated our time and transport costs and would happily do so again if they run another show. A view under the Hope Street bridge along the Up Main Line with a couple of locomotives awaiting attention in the inspection bay and some passengers waiting hopefully for a Leeds train. Looking in the opposite direction, under the signal box. The 60 in platform 1 has a ballast train for Derby, the 150 in platform 2 is waiting for its crew to change ends so it can head to Sheffield while the Pacer in platform 3 will soon be squealing through the junction curves for a bouncy trip to Doncaster. Different generations of BR traction in between jobs at Emsworth. Our next expedition will be to the Lincoln Club's show in Newark in February. Where did 2017 go? Cheers, Ben.

The Emsworth team had a great time today. Thanks very much to Andy and his team at the school, particularly the ladies doing the food. I'm glad the day was a success and we were pleased to help with the fund raising. Cheers, Ben.

Looking forward to it, Andy.

It was best if both legs of the journey were on a Pacer, but sometimes a 150 would appear between Sheffield and the Hope Valley. The view was better in the Pacer.

Though I empathise strongly with the sentiments behind this, I am going to stand up and say, I think Pacers are amazing! They are proper, muddled British make-do-and-mend engineering that have kept some provincial train services running long past when the derided units should have been quietly retired. I haven't yet had a journey on one I didn't enjoy. However, I am not a regular commuter - my Pacer expeditions were always between Lincoln and Edale as a prelude to a good day's walking. I'm sure if I had been enduring them every working day, particularly on a service like Worksop to Sheffield where demand outstrips capacity by a long way, I'd be salivating with anticipation at the thought of their demise. I hope I will always have at least one Pacer on my layouts.