Rich Papper

Fantastic work on the track - the spacing is definitely worth the extra time. Very excited for the next bit, but don't rush on our account we'll all wait patiently! Rich

Looking good already - and always room for more NSE. Good luck with it. Rich

Good Evening, A small update of progress on the left hand side of the room this evening. First - Model Rail binders doing what they seem to spend most of their time in use doing - weighing down glued cork. Have decided it would make much more sense to get the track down on the bit that's hard to reach before putting something in front of it! The area where the earlier modified Y points will go is all ready, also have the switches, wire, DCC concepts decoders and frog juicer - but need to get the alignment of the front platform in place first. Struggling here slightly - aim is to make it look rationalised used to be two lines serving, now only one so track to this platform has to look like a junction has been removed and it's been slewed towards the front. Hopefully will make sense when I've done it. Talking of Model Rail binders - what on earth am I going to do with them all? I have them all since issue 2. I'd love to spend the time to sit down and flick through them. I used to have time, now I have children. Second. A bit of plywood fettled to make the control panel for this bit (will look neater when facia is on). On this layout I decided to try small local panels built in to the front of the layout itself. This means that everything is fairly self contained, there are no trailing umbilical wires for small people to swing on, and I can operate from pretty much anywhere. All the points will have decoders and I could use the NCE ProCab to set up 'macros' and programme set routes to change etc, but again that would rely on me having time to read the instructions. Also - might just be me - I like changing them myself! And finally - more help. 'Help' perhaps not the right word. Have a good evening. Rich

Good luck with the move. Never a fun thing to do, but new lofts = new opportunities! Rich

Good Evening Everyone. Bricks, bricks, bricks. Some progress on lower level area that will be a DMU depot, but gone totally cross-eyed with bricks. Actually, it could be the MekPak. A few views. 33/1 in the middle shot is roughly along the line of where platform 1 will be on upper level station. Like the shot under the bridge. Starting to think about angles I want for photography to make the stock look like it's in the right setting. And on that level of pretentiousness I'm off to bed! Rich

Hi Martin, Thanks for pointing me at this - looking good already. My plan is to use some cut and shut Hornby 110 bodies (as I happen to have some). Will need to make the windows a bit shallower which might be a bit of a pain but not the stupidest thing I've ever attempted. For the distinctive and quite luxurious seats I have picked up some from Southern Pride. Also picked up some mk1 coach ends as these looked a good shape although will need to file the steps off. Good luck with yours, mine is about third in the queue of jobs at the moment. Rich

Hi MJI - what are you using to do the 119? I've got a pile of Hornby 110 bodies I'm wondering could be used (OK with a lot of fiddling but...) Sorry for hijacking Clive, but all those 110 bodies from ebay are also technically your fault! Rich

Good Evening I've spent the last couple of nights hurting my hand with a razor saw. Just for fun obviously. Fancied a change from having styrofoam dist stuck to my socks so modified some of the points for the upper level with much swearing and fiddling. And all because Peco seem to have forgotten about Y points. It seems about seven or eight years ago Peco looked at all the streamline points and decided to modify the pivots of the point blades to be smaller and the springs less obtrusive. With the electrofrog versions they even created a small cut in the two rails approaching the frog so that one could simply remove the jumpers and wire the frog straight to a switch or frog juicer. This seems to have coincided with the change of packaging from boxes to plastic sleeves. All good. When I switched (ha ha) over to electrofrog points about five years ago it was easy to add the frog juicer and they've all been working perfectly ever since. Only for some reason, Peco simply didn't bother with the Y points. No idea why. I ordered some from Track Shack (just as I never had before and wasn't going to be near a shop for a while) and was slightly confused when they arrived in new packaging looking like the older model. I then picked up a couple more at my local (Cheltenham Model Centre - lovely place) that were the same. Bemused I compared them with the staff there to all the others in the range. I then came home and phoned Peco. They are well aware of the difference but apparently have no plans to change them. Not sure why Y points have ended up the poor relation here, but have planned it now so I'm doing it. Sorry, waffling, too much tea today. To the pictures. Stage 1. Need to tiny cuts separating the rails before the frog. A bit of experimentation with a broken pair from the spares box found that an Expo razor saw with incredibly tiny teeth would do it neatest. Didn't trust myself at all with the Dremel and would have been a bigger gap anyway. But couldn't use the handle as needed more control, and of course could only go backwards and forwards about 6mm, hence the sore hand. Then turn over and wire a couple of jumpers between the rails to allow better continuity to the blades. And fingers crossed they should now work like the newer ones when all is connected. Pain in the bum though. Rich

Good Evening All, Time for an update. This week has seen a bit of progress on the left hand side of the room. Boards here are about 3ft deep. As always, pictures are better than my waffle. So, first picture below shows the state of play as it was. I had built the upper level, accessed by a ramp across the end of the room and had originally envisaged, and got as far as laying, a 5 platform terminus. Too big basically, and all lines parallel to the boards just looked wrong. Also didn't give me much room at the front of the board at the lower level. So out it came about two years ago and it has been a dumping ground since. Plan then is to trim a bit of the upper layer back and create a smaller station and more space below. Marking out first. Then out with the jigsaw. This one shows the new line of the upper level and where supports have had to be moved. Also slightly scuppered myself as there were access holes from beneath which are now exposed, so have to plate over them and come up with a plan B. Next shows it taking a bit more shape. Styrofoam starting to end up the shape I want and in the right place. The single platform of the upper level station will be parallel with the new upper edge roughly where the set square is. The card template on the lower level shows roughly the dimensions of the DMU shed that will go in there. Should fit three tracks with room on each to fit a three car 117. These are all parallel to the board edge and very straight, but not so worried about this. Most depots I've seen are unless there is some large geographical barrier that causes them to be otherwise. For something to aim at, there is an excellent layout called Aberdeen Kirkhill on here (found here) - all lines straight and parallel - looks great. Of course wouldn't get anything done without the project management skills of this gentleman. He says he can fit new windows to this DMU faster than me with his screwdriver. Given my previous experience with laserglaze I'm minded to let him have a go.... Have a good weekend. Rich

Hello All Just spotted another YouTube review of the show here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc34KFKlKkI OR from about 8 minutes. Genuinely didn't notice anyone filming at all, so thank you to those that did and apologies if you were trying to get a shot and I was oblivious. In my defence I was wearing a sleeping baby for a large part of the morning! Rich

Just spotted this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gpZcbCT4ZSc OR about 17 mins in. Nothing to do with me, don't even remember anyone filming it! Thank you to whoever. Rich

Thank you. It's no North Street but people seem to like it at shows. It was nice getting it out yesterday after so long, but there are lots of bits that I would do quite differently now. The upper level has no alignment dowels, just one M8 bolt between each one, so if the floor is uneven it is a bit of a fiddle. There are also no copper sleepers at the board joins so I have to be a bit careful taking it apart at the end of a show. I think I would use something other than 12mm MDF for tops next time too so it would weigh less than my car. Electrically it seems pretty resilient. Really do need to plan the stock more carefully for shows - took far too much yesterday. Would love to see North Street again sometime. All the best. Rich

Thank you. I went through the whole show without noticing that chap! Don't think anyone else saw it as you can only see the inside outward facing wall from the front so it's the only bit I really detailed. that is one issue of the camtruck - it does show you all those things you thought you'd painted but haven't. Funnily enough the layout was mostly built in Lancashire. I lived for 5 years in Lytham near Blackpool and found myself in a very small house with need for a bookshelf. Based near Gloucester now, but I do miss having gravy with every meal. Rich

Good Evening, Fantastic day out with Oxford Road at the Sodbury Vale Model Railway Club exhibition in Yate. A thoroughly nice group of people and a lovely venue - strongly recommended if you can make it next year. Was quite busy so didn't manage many photos, but did manage to get the camtruck going for a quick tour. Lots if interest in this van. Think it was a Kernow comission but can't remember. Some very kind gentleman asked me how I had a Bachmann 117 already. Still looks like a Lima to me but very kind nevertheless. These two performed faultlessly on their debut. And footage from the camtruck. Apologies for the slapdash editing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PaJXPsrYGI&feature=youtu.be Has to be said that this wouldn't be possible without the help of my glamorous assistant (who did occasionally stop eating the backscene). Very handy to have around though - her fingers are the right size for the buttons on the Powercab. Have a good evening, Rich Edited to try to figure out how to embed a little video window to make it easier to see - still no idea how!

Duplicate post deleted. RMWeb not playing ball!

Would love to but probably a bit far for me with these little people still (+ used up all my husband points this month now!). Thanks though, I will get to see it one day. Rich

All packed up and ready for the Sodbury Vale MRC show in Yate tomorrow. Do pop by and say hello if you're around, particularly if you know how my camera truck works because I've lost the instructions! Very excited although the usual paranoia about forgetting something is creeping up now. Last booking for Oxford Road so not sure what happens next. Probably just stash it for now and work on the home one until my son is old enough to help (and I mean the level of help where I can turn my back on him!) Have a good weekend. Rich

Very kind of you to say, but I'm sure like everyone else I have those that haven't turned out exactly as planned. My nemesis is pictured below. Got it out for a tinker this evening to see if I could coax it into life. Hornby 110 to 104 conversion, NSE of course. Others have written much better how to articles on this conversion on here so I'll spare you the details. Mine is mounted on a Bachmann 108 chassis, so should run like a Rolls Royce, but has never actually moved. I completed it before exhibiting at the Redditch show many years ago - very much a last minute job to get it complete. Got to the show, placed it on track and it immediately kangaroo'd across the layout and smashed into the buffers. Have taken it apart countless times, been through it with a multimeter until the air around me turns blue and rebuilt the circuit board twice but haven't yet won. In 10 years DCC I've only ever blown up 5 decoders, 4 of them have been in this beast! One day DMU... Rich

Good Evening, Been putting Oxford Road together this evening for a quick test ahead of the Sodbury Vale Model Railway Club show at Yate next weekend (details here). A bit of a mad rush as had to get it up and down again in one evening to keep it out of the way. Everything seems to be working as expected. A bit of a strange experience to be honest as it has been a long time since it's been out and about - nearly two years. I had to give a lot of thought as to how to put the frame it sits on together. Took a few photos. First a couple of the underground station building that you can't see into from normal angles (unless you happen to have a neck like a giraffe), but just to prove it has an interior: Then a few bits of stock out for a test. L207 and L211 rattling around in the shed. These have now gained windscreen wipers. Badly. Been dreading trying to put them on - anyone have any tips for next time? And the other ends. Finally 47602 Glorious Devon rumbling around testing all the points and sidings. One good use of a Heljan 47 - you can be sure that if anything is in the way it will hit it. As usual, seeing the layout is equal measures of 'ooo I'd forgotten about that' and 'good grief, that bit looks terrible I could do that better now'. Will probably always be the way. Sleep well. Rich

I was planning to tonight, but it wasn't light enough where I had the bits out. Hopefully at the show next weekend (assuming I can find the instructions!). Rich

Good Evening, A small, fiddly, but altogether satisfying bit of updating this evening. A solution to the hidden sidings issue from post #42 above. As usual better explained in pictures. Picture below shows the original supports, knocked up from wood offcuts which were found to be causing issues to a couple of pieces of stock. Replacement is in front: a 100mm M8 bolt. Nuts and washers above and below. I know what you're thinking, it's lower that the old one... ... but that's because it is going to have one of these above it attached to the underside of the upper level. A countersunk neodymium magnet. If you've never come across these, for goodness sake be careful they are astonishingly strong. These were very cheap from e-bay and come in all different shapes and sizes, but the warning paperwork that came with them is two sides of A4. These are only 12mm diameter and you can apparently hang 6kg on each one. And then finally a shot of it all together (apologies for poor quality, poked phone camera down a hole I couldn't see into). Beauty of this is that the bolts have rounded heads, and by using quite a small screw the countersunk surface of the magnet sort of allows it to 'self centre' on the top of the bolt so it seems to end up in the same place each time. Probably wouldn't be good enough to align tracks, but for scenic upper layers I'm happy. Sleep well. Rich

Good Evening, Well after what seems like an eternity, Oxford Road has been dug out and I'm beginning to dust it off. It hasn't had many bookings to be honest, and I'm not really sure how many it will get, but I quite like taking it out. I really would like to start thinking about a replacement, but the home layout is keeping me happy enough at the moment. As it is, I was asked to the Yate show (3rd February if anyone is nearby) about two years ago, but then missed one due to ill health and the next due to the imminent arrival of my daughter, so really looking forward to it. It usually lives here underneath the home layout: This is built on Ikea Ivar frames so it was easy just to leave a bigger gap at one point to slot it underneath. First problem encountered. The glue has gone where the retaining wall meets the baseboard and it has sort of leaned back on itself. There is actually a hidden siding under here which fits a two car DMU and a point allowing attachment of a small shelf with one track to take things on and off behind the scenes. This was a last minute addition before it's first show where I didn't have a fiddle yard! Soon became apparent that I needed one. Didn't want to take everything apart so drilled holes in upper level (hidden under houses anyway) and screwed some small blocks of wood behind to brace. Not brilliant, and it isn't quite vertical but you can't really tell from the front. Problem two. The platform edge seems to have lifted ever so slightly away from the baseboard surface. If you push on the front of the platform there is a little give in it. The ballast hides it and, again, from the front I don't think you can tell. Lucky really as I'm not at all sure how I'd sort this. Going to set the whole thing up next weekend and power up the Underground too to test the shuttle. Will make a decision then. Couldn't resist a quick photo opportunity. 50032 Courageous and 47602 Glorious Devon. The 47 rarely comes out. A Heljan repaint, I was really pleased with it until I put it next to a Bachmann one and then it just looks fat! Hopefully get some pictures at the show with better lighting and more space. Also intending to run the Camtruck around as never have on here. Have a good weekend. Rich

Very kind, thank you. Just a small update on here with the 115. As shown above I'd had a bit of a varnish disaster with this one. Not sure why (OK, probably not stiffing varnish enough) but ended up with a very chalky finish on these two bodies. After much head scratching decided to give them a quick once over with some Humbrol gloss acrylic varnish that I'd bought for fitting laserglaze. These (apologies for picture quality) are the results after five coats brush painted. Much happier with how they look. Going to weather them anyway but at least now they are starting the colour I intended them to be! As for the rest, L207 and L211 are awaiting windscreen wipers and a quick weathering before Yate show in a fortnight's time. These arrived from Dart Castings this morning and have had a first coat of black on the fret. Really not looking forward to trying to stick them on! L131 is awaiting a dusting of matt varnish, reglazing (at least this one will be quick - using original Hornby glazing) and then interior lighting and destination blinds. Probably not going to make it to Yate but will try. Have a good weekend folks. Rich PS Also received an ebay bargain DMU today. Thought so anyway, turns out to be in a right state. Only wanted it for parts so will use some bits. My son was running around with a bodyshell earlier that I haven't found again yet. Made him happy anyway, he's probably taken it in his cot for the night.

Hi Mick, Just spent a very happy few hours (OK, days!) catching up with this. Fantastic as always, thank you in particular for showing the various stages of the techniques you use to get them looking so good. I'm very tempted by a few test coaches after my current dmu binge, but I'm afraid yellow is a bit too contemporary for me. Thanks again, Rich

Good Evening, OK, a bit more head-scratching, but I think this is it. Looking down the layout towards the station (marked by batten). Island platform with additional stabling siding to right, and a couple of sidings kicking back to the left foreground which will help disguise the falling gradient of the line in as it disappears. To the left of the signal box (too big probably but I like it) is a piece of track representing the second closed line. Don't think I will include the track, but it will be obvious where it was and there will be a disused bridge over the entrance lines to the DMU depot below. Original plan had two tracks arriving on this level via a cunningly hidden set of points in the tunnel. Station throat would then have been Minories-esque, but it really didn't fit. This bit will be third rail with station building beyond the buffers something vaguely in the style of Caterham. Open to any and all suggestions if there is a better way though. Have a good evening. Rich