fulton

9 hours ago, AyJay said:

 

I once had a low-paid friend refuse a pay increase, saying that it will push him out of the tax free band and he will have to start paying tax, which would leave him with less pay, not more.

Not just the tax implication, I had a spell working in a DWP office and a small increase can mean other benefits being reduced or stopped, then, if say your hours drop, you can be in a real mess sorting it out, if you are in a minimum wage job it can be a trap that's very difficult to get out of.

Must say I did not get on with foam board, many people have good results with it, my preferred material is mounting board, braced on the inside with more mounting board, glued with PVA, sealed all over, inside and out with Halfords spray primer, have constructed some quite large buildings with it, outside finished with Scalescenes downloads printed on thin card.

To me, less is more, try not to fill the space up with track, more sidings does not necessarily mean more car spots, I found the Lance Mindheim books to very helpful, my own layout based on a prototype location serves a pesticide distributors, tank cars, a potato and onion distributors, box cars and reefers, and a timber truss manufacturer, flat cars and centre beams.  I only have four points on the scenic area, serving the three customers, but it still provides plenty of enjoyable switching.

I suspect the Southern Railway fencers dug their post holes exactly the same way you would manually do it today, using a post hole digger, sort of two grafts fixed together, a graft is a type of spade/shovel for heavy digging and a post hole chisel bar, good for getting through rock, stone, light concrete, on site we called the post hole bar, a pin, they were 5' long and weighed at least 20kg.

I debated with myself for along time about including a cut through building on the front, as it is a real location, I decided I would never be happy omitting it, even if it does restrict viewing and maybe a bit ugly on the front, the layout width is scale, the length reduced by 40%, Florida Potato and Onion, Plant City, Florida.

5 hours ago, fulton said:

also if it is a show I would have been visiting anyway I do not ask for all expenses as I am getting in for free, as well as free teas and a meal. 

Having looked at my post again, I realized that when I exhibited at Tonbridge last Saturday, I asked for modest expenses, but it was a show me and my mate would have visited anyway, so we saved £7 entry each, plus we would have paid for parking, fuel, cups of tea and a sandwich, so Colin I think I owe you money, if you invite me back next year with my new layout, there will be no expenses.

Having exhibited various layouts for the last 50 years (that makes me feel so old!) I agree with the previous comments, I enjoy exhibiting and try not to be mercenary  on expenses, where I could have driven home on the Sunday night I have paid for an extra night to make the weekend more enjoyable, also if it is a show I would have been visiting anyway I do not ask for all expenses as I am getting in for free, as well as free teas and a meal. I do treat a commercial show differently to a amateur club show.

At least here in the UK once your pension is sorted you keep receiving it, my wife is in the German system, has just had one of her private pensions write to ask for a form to be signed my a doctor, to say she is still alive!!! she has only been retired a few years!!!

On 16/02/2024 at 23:08, Neils WRX said:

 

 

I was going to hire a van rather than use the family car. The view was using a car you’d be unlikely to get stopped but a van you might have issues.

I can understand people being nervous about a trip to mainland Europe, especially in a unfamiliar vehicle, driving on the other side, different driving rules and maybe a language problem, but I can only relate my personnel experience, I drive a van, personal use only, I travel every couple of months, last year drove in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Poland and Switzerland. When booking Eurotunnel I tick the box to confirm my van is not carrying commercial goods, it is then treated the same as a car, get checked maybe one in three trips, no questions about what I am carrying, ( part of my layout has travelled to our flat in Dusseldorf and back ) only seem interested in stowaways. As to a carnet, seek advise, I found HMRC help full, then act on the advise. Reminds me when back after Easter to swop my winter tyres, now a requirement in the whole of Germany, some French cities also require an Emissions sticker, easy and cheap to get on line.

38 minutes ago, Mol_PMB said:

 

But there are still some smaller docks in use in the UK, served by coasters of about 5000 tonnes and mostly travelling to/from Europe. 

 

Near me on the River Medway, timber is imported, unloading is done by modern large crawler cranes or road going mobile cranes, rather than a fixed or rail mounted crane, most days at least one ship in.

5 minutes ago, Andy Hayter said:

This is the one I have been using for probably over 4 years now.

 

The temperature control coupled with the high wattage means the iron temperature does not change perceptibly.  75W should be plenty for thick 0 gauge items.

 

It has changed my soldering enormously and soldering is now never a thing to be afraid of.

 

https://www.circuitspecialists.eu/csi-premier75w-digital-temperature-controlled-solder-station-with-75w-soldering-iron

 

When I got mine, they shipped from Manchester  to me in deepest France in 47 hours!  Even Amazon cannot match that most of the time.  

Out of interest, had a look at the link, does not appear to give the temperature range, what is it? 

Well done for sorting that out, have not come across those switches before, something for me to consider for the future.

My experience is that the PVA effect, can persist for a few months, maybe down to where the layout normally lives, in my case unheated garage and shed, the up side is that it encourages me to use my polishing block (from the EM society) more often, resulting in a nice smooth polished rail head. (This is my view, others may have very strong alternative views on rail cleaning)

25 minutes ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

 

Has anyone had (recent) experience of taking a layout over to the EU in a van - the first problem I've discovered being that most big renters charge a supplement if the van is taken abroad - £300 in the case of Enterprise!! 

The last time I hired a van to Poland and Germany, I now have my own van and make a trip every couple of months, the hire company were helpful in letting me arrange my own breakdown/recovery insurance, which is what that £300 is basically for, for a fraction of their cost, just had to give them a copy, could be worth asking.

7 hours ago, hayfield said:

 

Dave

 

What the government or any pressure group says means nothing to me, when we brought this house we saw 2 new houses, parking put us off. There was no way we would have brought either of these two houses. The government/planners state a minimum, not maximum, housing targets are different. I can understand builders wanting to maximize profits though

 

There are a couple of estates in the Maldon area where now parking is much better where at least 1 but normally 2 car parking spaces per house are provided plus off street, seems the developer(s) are starting to realize to get a premium they must consider parking 

When I worked for a developer, the density was stipulated, hence the growth of three story properties on small plots, and one off road parking space per property was a maximum, it was not what we wanted to build, to maximize returns, (I use returns because not all developments make a profit, sometimes it is keeping the loss down), but it was what we were allowed to build, making some sites unviable.

I use an ANTEX 690D, heats up/ cools down quickly when building a mixed white metal, brass kit, only really suitable at a work bench, I use another iron when working on the layout. Have had to replace the iron element a couple of times, available as a spare.

15 hours ago, stewartingram said:

Our local PC (over 20 years since I moved away from there) was old school, and used to enforce it on our estate. Seen him issue tickets. Also cars parked on the wrong side of the road (facing traffic). Sadly he retired shortly before I moved. That's how it used to be, but times have changed.

I remember my Dad being very annoyed getting a fine because his parking light was not working, I think the car battery had gone flat, it was normally a bump start, you used to have to display a light at night, which normally clipped on the drivers window, displaying red to rear, white to front.

Being a plain black livery, I think I would try soaking then off first with water, but would probably end up rubbing them off and repainting using a rattle can.

19 minutes ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

Just watched a couple of videos of the layout at the Erith 2024 show (thank you for the pointer).  Absolutely loved the way the layout comes across - the videos really capture the spaciousness of the model*.  Some brilliant detailed modelling too, a lot to see around the tracks.  Very impressed.  Thanks, Keith.

 

(* I note in the audio I can hear an explanation that even still there had to be length compression of this US prototype to fit)

Thank you, yes the width is scale, but the length has been compressed by about 40%, the layout is 16' 8" by 2' 6" plus 6" for staging, all my layouts must be able to be erected in my garage and fit in my van, which means it is OK for two people to move around, set up and operate.

13 hours ago, Keith Addenbrooke said:

 

 

 

Must admit, your HO Florida switching layout is one I would love to have the chance to see - looks excellent in the photos here on RMweb.  Certainly the sort of layout I’d expect to happily spend a long time watching, Keith.

 There are some video clips on Youtube taken at the recent Erith clubs Longfield exhibition, and a short interview on Dawn Quests video of the show out again next Saturday at the Tonbridge exhibition.

2 hours ago, Captain Kernow said:

I think that kind of mindset is actively encouraged by certain sections of the media and political fraternity, too.

 

My knowledge of the hobby outside of the UK is limited to North America and Germany, modellers there, in my experience are just as parochial as here in the UK, they mostly like what they can see around them or have a personal connection to. I exhibit both UK and American layouts, some enthusiasts can be rude, but the general public seem to appreciate both layouts.

So sad, I remember sitting upstairs in his house watching him line out , with a brush, some of my SECR coaches.

The OP has not said which scale is required?, or did I miss it. hats off to  Darius43 for the work above, yes therapeutic laying bricks, model and the real thing, have used Scale Model Scenery 4mm laser cut bricks to make this load. Where would this bond be used? I assume to allow ventilation, to relive wind pressure or something like a compost heap that requires air. 

11 hours ago, philsandy said:

 

Point rodding.

I would add the bases first, then the rodding after, probably not so relevant in N scale, more so 4mm or 7mm, in an earlier period posts for signal cables also, I  also try to add bases for buildings etc. before ballasting to get away from the stuck on top look. Have used block sand here as ballast to represent shingle.

Yes I had that as well at different times, but my next order goes back to the one month trail.