DavidBird

Thanks very much for your comments, Danny. There's much to consider there. I've made a start with a Tim Horn laser cut baseboard. I can thoroughly recommend them. All the pieces went together very well and I had a very strong baseboard very quickly. Which is where I've made my 1st mistake! I went for a single 2x3 board with backscene, thinking that this would be relatively easy to carry single-handed. But with the backscene boards, it turns out to be just about on the limits of what I can carry easily. In hindsight, I should have gone for a 3ft x 18" board, with a separate 6" extension behind it. But that's what I've got, so that's what I will use.

Thanks "009MM". I had actully considered most of these points! The standard gauge line to Waterhouses was closed to passengers in 1935, following the L&MVR closure the previous year, and to goods in 1943. But rail freight from Cauldon Lowe Quarry - cement for Blue Circle (now LafargeHolcim) continued to 1989. If the narrow gauge had continued to dipatch std gauge milk tanks and metal and receive coal, it's not too much of a stretch to imagine that the short section from Caldon Jct to Waterhouses would have remained open, and possibly even for a basic tourist passenger service. I had wondered about a diesel loco for the remaining commercial freight services and I like the look of the 6-coupled jackshaft drive like the Rheidol No 10., although Peveril Castle may be more appropriate for a Peak District layout. Back in the real world, does anybody know what designs of NG diesels were in UK commercial service in the 1960/70s? As to the gauge question, OO9 is spot on for 2ft 3", for the Tallyllyn Railway. If us modellers are quite happy to accept OO9 as 3 inches less on the Ffestiniog or VoR, then why not also and at the same time use it for 3 inches more on the 2ft 6"? I will be quite happy to overlook the gauge differences... Actually the mine branch would probably have been a cable-worked incline from the mine workings on the hill down to the main line, but then I wouln't have the excuse to run "Britomart". I had briefly considered EM for the short standard gauge on the siding, but I've rejected that. Because 9mm gauge is narrower than a scale 2ft 6", the ratio of 4ft 8.5" to 2ft 6" is closer to 16.5/9 than it is to 18.2/9, so the use of 00 will look closer than EM when next to the 009. Plus I can still use the wagons on my other layout. On my model, I'm intending being rather flexible on the time period, transporter wagons still in use, and privatisation-era loco exchanges at the same time! Thanks very much for your interest, more updates to follow soon.

I made an impulse purchase at the Glasgow show back in February 2023, of the Bachmann Quarry Hunslet "Britomart". Even my wife thought it was really cute, so I now need a layout for it. Rather than the obvious North Wales slate quarry, for something a little different, I've decided on a Manifold Valley based layout. I'm originally from near Nottingham and as a child spent many day trips, weekends and longer trips in the Derbyshire Peak District to places like Matlock, Elton, Hartington and Dovedale, and Ilam in the Manifold Valley. The history of the short-lived railway is well documented, but in our world of "what ifs" I've come up with an alternative history. 1. The Ecton copper ore body (mainly chalcopyrite, with lesser amounts of cuprite and malachite and increasing amounts of sphalerite zinc ore at greater depths) was not worked out and the building of the railway reinvigorated the copper mining. This received a boost with the Second World War, and continued sporadically into the 1970s. The Railway was used to transport ore to the smelter and to ship out copper ingots. 2. Express Dairies did not close their Ecton Creamery and continued to ship out milk via the railway. 3. The railway managed to survive commercially into the 1960s, by which time it had become a tourist attraction in its own right, as well as a popular means for accessing the valleys. 4. The railway acquired a lot of the stock and a Baldwin loco from the Ashover Light Railway (as I can't afford £425 for a Fourdees rtr Kitson L&M 2-6-4T loco!), as well as a Quarry Hunslet fron North Wales for the branch between the mines and the smelter. 5. As the railway was formerly operated by the LMS it became part of the BR(LMR) Stoke Division. As discussed in another thread on RMWeb about the Vale of Rheidol Railway, the attitude of the Divisional Manager seems to have been "as long as it's not losing money, we're happy to keep it." The line was subsequently sold by BR to a local company backed by the Peak District National Park, and operated and developed along similar lines to the Tallyllyn and Ffestiniog railways and is still operating successfully into the 21st century. 6. I the BR era, there were occasional exchanges of locos with the VoR, and after the sale, the line formalised that policy and so locos from other narrow gauge lines are often seen visiting. So that's a revised history of the Leek and Manifold Valley Light Railway. The purpose of starting this thread on RMWeb is to seek advice from those of you out there that have far more experience than I have of modelling in OO9. It's also, by needing to provide regular updates here, to keep my interest focused.

I have a contact in the Visitor Centre of the Ben Nevis Distillery. He's sent me these two photos, hope they are of use. Tanker of spirit loading up, Ben Nevis Distillery Nevis/Lochaber distillery and maltings with the railway crossing. Distillery siding from the main line enteres from the left between the buildings, to a wagon turntable. 2 sidings lead away from the turntable. The crossing gates are a road crossing over the main line. The levelcrossing today, looking NW towards what was the distillery on google maps.

Article 339.1b7?? Any officer caught sniffing the saddle of the exercise bicycle in the women's gym will be discharged without trial. Hmm, I'm sorry sir but that doesn't quite get to the nub of the matter for me.

It's not, believe me. Even with the large 2nd car park, there were still vehicles parked on the main road up the hill on Friday, effectively reducing it to a single lane. There was no noticeable difference to the usual chaos in Glenfinnan when the "Hogwarts Express" (yes, I know!) was off and now that it's back on. Most seem to come just to see the "Harry Potter Bridge". There is also now a very obvious muddy scar of a path through the heather to a point overlooking Eileann na Moine in Loch Eilt, where Ralph Fiennes played a character in great triumph at stealing from a dead man something that wasn't his anyway. The background of these scenes were digitally altered to avoid seeing a ScotRail Sprinter going past the magical location! Car parking on the verge at this location is starting to get problematic too.

It's back in action today (Wednesday) Based only on a casual observation and nothing else, the only difference that I could note is now the stewards are not releasing the secondary door locks until they have been given a positive instruction to do so from the guard after the train has come to a halt.

Post deleted, sorry.

Scotrail have "stepped into the breach", almost, with an out-and-back train leaving Ft William at 12:48, arriving Mallaig 14:15, returing at 14:37, back in FTW at 16:03. Today (Saturday) it was to be operated by the "overnight" train - the train that berths in Mallaig overnight - with the 3 car 156/153 combination. https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:M45489/2023-08-05/detailed#allox_id=0 https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:M45490/2023-08-05/detailed#allox_id=0 Really confused me when I heard it leave (late) at 3 o'clock, I thought I'd lost an hour...

When were you last up here? The number of stewards is obviously higher this year than previously, and there appears (I've not counted them) to be one per vestibule.

Thanks very much, just the sort of anecdote I was looking for. When I was watching trains in the mid 70s and later, it was all about what was on the front, never what was happening at the back. As a further question, did TPO trains ever drop off vehicles at intermediate stations on their routes?

Thanks Jim. That is almost what I expected, "it depends" I was thinking of a large-ish station in a fair sized town with it's own GPO sorting depot adjacent to the station. In the absence of an "approved" method of working, I'll have a look at the layout of the ststion and see what works best.

When detatching vehicles, such as parcels vans, from a through train, was it normal practice to detach vans and leave them to be collected by a shunting loco after the main train had departed, or to detach vans and shunt them away before the train departed? I'm thinking BR/LMR (ex-Midland) around 1970s if that is relevant. Thanks.

The position for the previous 30 years (or so) of steam train operation on the Mallaig line was to arrive in P1, run round and then shunt over to P2. Last year (or maybe evn the year before!) the ground frame and signalling were altered to make P2 the main line. Now the Jacobite arrives, pauses for the fireman to change the points, arrives in P1, runs round and then stays and departs from P1. Every other train (Scotrail, Royal Scotsman, LSL Blue Pullman, SRPS, NR survey trains, etc) arrive and depart P2. The Jacobite is the only train that requires to run round at Mallaig, everything else is either MU or TnT. This work was apparently carried out at the request of WCR, and presumably at their cost. Does the exemption of "delay minutes" compensation for charter trains also apply to the Jacobite?

Standard 2 aspect (Red-Green) colour light signals, which also protect the level crossing to the east of Banavie station. Morar crossing is AOCL(B), still has the white lights, as does Corpach crossing. Annat East & West crossings were formerly protected by semaphores, controlled from a crossing box. Several years ago now, the box was closed and the signals replaced by 2A LED colour light signals, controlled by Banavie Signalling Centre.

Whilst not wishing to challenge any of the points you're making Phil, but they DO allow this - and it runs on the route of "The Harry Potter Train" The Belmond Royal Scotsman also have modified Mk3a SLEPs, not only with opening hopper windows, but with two of the small windows opened out to a larger standard size hopper window. So the precident is certainly set for allowing modified Mk3s with opening windows. https://coaches-library.weebly.com/mk3a---royal-scotsman.html

Another idea is this. Think of the dog bone shape as a squashed oval, with the outside rail having the same polarity all the way round. The lower section of track through the station is completely isolated in both rails. All 4 points in both crossovers are operated from the same switch, (each with its own motor or a single motor for both points in each crossover, it doesn't matter). If you use a style of motor with auxiliary contacts, use these to drive a DPDT relay which switches the polarity of both rails in the lower section. In this setup a train will run round continuously without the need to change the direction switch on the controller. If you need to shunt a train from one line to the other in the station area, when the points are thrown the train can just be driven across. The train will swap direction when the points are switched back to normal (or continue in the same direction if the direction switch is changed). Diagram (very rough, sorry) attached. This method is a lot more involved to wire up than the "bridge rectifier" method, but more flexible.

Another method for DC/analogue control is this. Wire your reverse loops through a bridge rectifier. As the train travels around the loop, hit the reverse switch on the controller. The train will continue in the same direction. The disadvantage is that trains must always go round the loops in the same direction and you cannot reverse a train in a loop. I'll do a wiring diagram tomorrow.

My experience was with an older (split frame, I think) Bachmann A4. Although specified as "2nd radius of greater", it went round 1st radius curves quite happily. I later found that the front bogie wheels were rubbing on the inside of the cylinders, and wearing a groove in them. But as this was totally invisible from the outside, and didn't seem to affect the performance, I was quite happy with it.

Thanks Gordon. After much googling, I was coming to that conclusion myse!lf! I shall certainly look at the Sommerfeldt pantograph you've referenced, but as I'm going for a representation of a memory rather than an accurate model, the existing may be "good enough". I will dig through my spares pile and find a UK diesel detailing pack for the airbrake pipes. The screw coupling might be a bit overscale though!

I've recently acquired an old Lima Ae 6/6 "Kantonslok". I'm familiar with the Lima 37s and 47s, so it's reassuringly familiar inside. As well as replacement finer wheels, from Peter's Spares here https://www.petersspares.com/p/peters-spares-ps77-replacement-lima-large-wheel-gear-on-axle-pk2 and a CD drive motor conversion, are there any detailing parts, eg. flushglaze, metal buffers, etc. that are available in this country?

Well, it all looks reassuringly familiar inside. Edit: I've started a new thread, about detailing and improving this model. See here https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/179527-improving-detailing-an-old-lima-ae-66/

OK, I'll join in too. This has just become mine I know very little about Swiss railways and even less about the Lima recreations. I'm assuming that the Lima mechanism of this is the same as they used in their UK outline models, the good old class 37 and 47s, and as such will accept replacement finer wheels from Peter's Spares. It will remind me of a holiday with my parents, when I was aged about 14. It was a coach tour (If it's Friday, it must be Austria - again!) to visit the Oberammergauer Passionsspeile. One of the stops was at Sisikon on Lake Lucerne, on the northern part of the Gotthard Line, and my father and I spent a pleasant hour or so at the station. It didn't take us long to realise that the locos had names, and that some were named after Cantons. So, finally, 43 years later, here we are...

Flange lubricators.