Redford73

Slightly off the recent threads on this topic has anyone got the Engineer's Yellow QQX version? Though the BR Blues are excellent I have a few Hornby and Lima ones which I'm quite happy with and would rather pay the extra for a more 'unusual' version. Do the Invicta ones run better than the Hornby/ex-Lima when used with other rolling stock? I have had a few derailing issues with them (possibly the 'loose' bogie/wheel sets but more likely the fault of the larger coupling fittings)?

Excellent micro layout! The Lima Class 13 conversion is great. I understand a limited edition Class 13 is being commissioned by Olivia's Trains with Bachmann 08s but unfortunately (for me) it is to be priced at

Hi Clive (and others), I have almost finished my layout of part of Tinsley's main shed entitled 'Tinsley TMD'. There is a blog under my name with a few pics and I started a thread on it a year or so ago. Having seen some of your work and posts on this and other sites I suspect your layout will be far more advanced than mine but you might want to look at my effort. I have only modelled half the depot owing to space restrictions as it is in my loft. A useful book you may like to obtain is 'Life and Times of a Railway Fitter' by Phil Hodgkiss which has numerous photos and a reprint of the plan of the yard and the Rail Express article from (93 I think). Who made the depot yard light in the pic above - it is excellent.

Also 'Diesels and Electrics on Shed' - there are 5 volumes and very useful for depot pics. A two road shed would be pretty easy to build. I used wood for the base and gables on Tinsley, acetate sheets for the glass and plastikard (both smooth pieces of 40 and 60 thou and embossed sheets for the corrugated outer panels) for the removable roof panels. On the inside I used Plastruct 'H' and 'I' lengths for the girders. Believe it or not the gantry steps on the roof are actually Hornby fencing trimmed and sprayed grey. For a two road shed I would use foamboard for the walls and roof panels with Plastikard for the detail or you could use Scalescenes printed paper.

Okay here's some more; Temperatures have been a problem but more in terms of running trains and progressing my layouts as it was just too darn cold in the long winters. Summer's not to bad as is rarely very hot and I use a fan. I made sure I left mm gaps in track connections to allow for expansion and so far have had no problems. As for the layout it is 7 foot by 3 and a half foot and made of 4 boards which I have overlapped and screwed together. I had to do it in 4 pieces so I could get it into the loft hatch! Trackwork is Peco Setrack with a few Hornby pieces. I used the trackplan as per prototype except I had to miss off two of the loco sidings because of space restrictions. The depot is not a scale replica as I had no plans only photos but it hopefully captures the feel of the main shed. Also I have only modelled about two thirds of it (again space restrictions). It is right up against the side of the roof and was made to fill in a corner/side so is in fact on 1' legs which was stupid when it came to wiring. I painted the backscene myself with some photo printouts of pylons and the water tower at the rear. It is DC and I know it's screaming for DCC but I have too many locos and would rather spend the money on extra stock and scenic than new controllers and decoders. More later!

This is my recent loft layout of part of Tinsley TMD modelling the south east/east end of the main shed circa mid/late 1970s. I have almost completed it and started it in late 2011 as a corner/side filler for my loft. I would have finished it much earlier but for the two long winters (and sprinters) that we have had 2012 and this year. I know there are better layouts out there but I hope it captures the flavour of Tinsley TMD and the entrance roads at the east end. If enough folk are interested I'll post some retrospective pics of the layout in build/progress.

Will put some on when I can work out how to put photos on this site. The instructions I've found so far haven't worked! Had the same problem on ModelRailForum.

Hi Ian, Just seen your thread and great to see you are taking on the challenge. I am modelling Tinsley depot and have completed most of my intended project. I have because of space restrictions only modelled two thirds of the depot building. I had a track plan of the yard and numerous photos together with a book by Phil Hodgkiss, a fitter at Tinsley until it closed down, but did not have the plans of the depot buildings like you. I wish I had as my model is an approximation at best. What did you use for the glazing on the front entrance? It looks great. I had to make do with pencilling acetate for all the glass sections. I will try to add some images but have had problems before using URLs. How is the layout going so far? Alistair.