Black5

Some nice track work on there. Always interesting to see the work involved in getting the track right.

Cheers just now,

Jim.

A really nice looking loco. If the Jubilee looks like that you`ll have a nice pair of loco`s.

That`s some nice weathering on a great piece of work. I`d like to get mine as good as that.

That`s some high standard modelling. Great overall layout view.

What a terrific end to your work.

Superb construction, beautifully painted and lined, and now completed with great sound.

A prizewinner in any competition.

Totally agree with Midland Mole. All but two of my locos are  L M S  but i have to confess to owning a Bullied pacific and an A4, both gifts. I f i run them i tend to look the other way!!!!!

Good to see Foster Street on here again. Began to think you might be on a new project.

I think in any hobby you get times where things get a bit stale and you struggle for ideas, my current one being what to put on the front board edge to deter people from wanting to touch things. I was always told " look , but don`t touch "

I agree with the others regarding the chap at the exhibition. I often wonder what their hobby is. Be nice to see what they do. I bet they wouldn`t stand any suggestion that something might not be quite right.

Our hobby is full of compromise and modellers license, without it we`d have no layouts.

Cheers just now.

Have to agree with the others. The colours give it a very atmospheric look.

  Great modelling.

That`s an outstanding model for two months work and beautifully painted.

A real credit to your skill as a modeller.

Great to have a good space to work with. From your pictures you`re going to be kept busy for a while! Best of luck with the wiring. I think i`d have plumped for dcc but that depends on how many loco`s would need to be decoded amongst other things.

Will be watching with interest.

A nice bit of D I Y with a great end result. Certainly no bodge!

That`s a very nice piece of work.

Have to agree with trainfan4472 about your conversion production rate. (  and you're talking about another layout ).

Sounds like there's more conversions on the horizon!!

Will it be followed by blue ones after the green?

Cheers,

Jim.

Your loco improvement rate is pretty impressive. I wish my layout construction was as good. How many does the fleet consist of now?

As always, a good read from the Foster Street Gazette!

Cheers,

Jim.

I agree with Jock67B Andy, a great description of what was a good show from what you said.

Unfortunately Stafford would be a bit of a treck from Hampshire so not one i could visit easily.

At a recent local show i looked at one large layout and it made me wonder if the general visitor ( whose  never got into building a layout ) realises how much money there is running around on the tracks in front of them. 

The layout  i looked at had at least seven tracks in the fiddle yard, all full, and i know it was probably a combined effort to stock it but i bet people would get a shock if it was totalled up.

I agree with you about 82G, a stunning layout. I believe they were thinking of extending it at one time but i don`t know if that happened.

Thanks for your write up and pictures.

Cheers,

Jim.

Nice work Paul, always good to try and improve loco details. Makes them a much more interesting model, though on N gauge some of it must test the eyesight!!

I`m beginning to think you`ve aquired most of the L M S loco stock there is out there, you`ve got so many. ( Never a bad thing! ).

As always, an interesting blog

Best wishes ,

Jim..

Hi, welcome back to the world of model railways

You will most certainly see the difference from 20yrs ago especially on the dcc side of things.

As to which gauge to model is i`m afraid down to you and what you would like from the hobby. As we get older fingers are less nimble and eye sight isn`t what it was so very small things become a problem so some things will depend on your particular interest and skills.

As you`ve already seen Foster Street in N gauge take a look at Camden in 92220`s blog to see what can be achieved going next gauge up, then take a look at some of the O Gauge layouts, some really great ones to learn from.

At the end of the day it`s your choice but enjoy the challenge.

Best wishes,

Jim.

Three really nice locos.

Jim.

Thanks for that Focalplane. i`ve been reading some of the blogs on the dcc section and have also found some old cuttings from past BRM magazines relating to my question so at some point i`ll have go.

Many Thanks,

Jim.

Thanks for your interest. I agree with you about getting that track level.

With the experience gained up to now i would have done things a little differently. With my layout in an integral garage it`s open to changes in temperature etc every time the door is opened.

As you say, I need a lot more " rubbish " around but at the moment buildings are the priority. I did have plasticard point levers but as usual they got broken over time. Iv`e now got cast ones but they wont be put on yet. ( Track cleaning is where they get caught )

Next to build is a water tower and then to make or find suitable water columns.

I look forward to seeing your progress.

Jim.

Hi D49,

Welcome to the world of layout building. That`s a nice looking plan to start out on. As a first time builder myself i can say it will be fun but now and again frustrating. It`s surprising how quickly some skills improve while others take longer ( my problem was more an understanding of the electrical side of things at the start ).

If you can scratch build, that is even more rewarding but that depends on available modelling time.

Enjoy the challenge,

Best wishes

,Jim.

When building my points i bend the blade rail to the required curve, file one end to fit against the running rail and solder the rail at the other end to two or three sleepers from the isolation gap to the frog so the curve is maintained and a certain amount of springing occurs. At the blade end i used the idea shown in the Right Track dvd on tracklaying, that being a piece of nickel silver wire bent at right angles, soldered to the inside of the blade, the other leg of the bend fitted in an appropriate sized hole in the tie bar. Repeat for the other rail.

My own means of switching points is small brass rod inside brass tube running from the edge of the baseboard in a straight line to the point (in my case underneath the baseboard. With hindsight, i would do the same again but on top of the baseboard, between the sleepers and covered with ballast ) Inexperience at the time didn`t lead me down that path.

Obviously, after reading all this, buying a point to suit and save time would be much quicker but i just think designing and building your own points to suit your own track layout is very satisfying.

My problem was the electrical side of things but after gradually working that out the points have worked well for the last few years. In total i have 22 turnouts and 2 diamond crossings in an m p d layout.

I hope some of this might be of some use to you.

Happy New Year.

Jim.

Hi Dad 1, just seen your point made using copperclad for sleepers. That looks a pretty good effort to me.

My first attempt years ago certainly wasn`t as clean as yours, i used far too much solder.I drew all my points on waste off cuts of wallpaper using a pencil tied to a piece of string and a knot at the point of radius required.I wouldn`t build points any other way now, scratchbuilding is much more interesting and quite quick once your skills improve. keep it going, you wont regret it.

best wishes

Jim.

What a difference, well worth the effort.

Keep it going.

Jim.

Hi Paul, I like the idea of the office under the bridge but i should imagine the light bulb consumption is pretty high in that shady position! The stores manager would probably moan about his bill for the bulbs!!!

As for the green facia board, got to be maroon ( or close to it ), can`t have a GWR grass coloured one in LMS country!!!

Always a good read.

Jim.