ColinK

Yes you can find out about an individual train, but Northern used to list all the cancellations for each line.

Up here in North Lancs/South Cumbria we simply don’t have a useable rail network. As mentioned above Avanti have lots of cancellations, as do TPE although they don’t seem quite as bad at the moment, while Northern have so many cancellations - over 100 so far today - that it just isn’t sensible to use them. The Morecambe line services are decimated daily, while the Barrow and Windermere lines have daily cancellations. What is really annoying is that Northern are now hiding cancellations from the public. Until recently all the cancelations were listed on their website on a line by line basis, so you could get the whole picture before deciding whether or not to travel. That has gone and been replaced by see journey check or National Rail.

Judith Edge makes a 4mm kit, although the handrails look different. If you don’t fancy kit building you could use a Hornby Sentinel or the forthcoming RTR BoBo.

That would have been perfect for the job I was struggling to do yesterday.

I agree with much of what the OP said. After one young rivet counter (probably aged about 10) shouted out at an exhibition ‘hey mister, your model of 33008 is wrong, it should have miniature snowploughs’, I switched to modelling 0-16.5 narrow gauge where anything goes and you can have lots of fun. Strange though, that I exhibited my last 00 layout for 10 years and nobody mentioned that I had used Peco foam underlay for ballast. It was well disguised and bedded into the scenery. Still had fun though with a Lima deltic repainted in large logo livery, a Regional Railways Co-bo and a German 232 painted in BR livery.

Interesting to see what you are thinking of doing. I really like the coastal section, such an iconic part of the Cumbrian Coast line. What is really important is for you to decide what you want from the layout, do you want to sit watch trains go round’ if so, what you are planning fits the bill nicely. If you want lots of shunting or compkex operations it probably needs some changes. If it was my layout just for watching trains I would probably change the turnback sidings, for example, bottom right could become quite like Whitehaven with a almost triangular platform between the straight line (which in reality us a bay) and the curved line which immediatly vanished into a tunnel. Somewhere on opposite side I would have a station with passing loop and sidings, this could be ‘Sellafield’ with a siding in the corner for the nuclear works. While not quite accurate, a couple of sidings here could be used to stable stock, some sense in that operationally as a few passenger and many freight trains do/did terminate at Sellafield. With these suggestions it would probably be better to turn the whole layout by 90 degress so the sidings etc are not on the doorway hatch. But - it is your layout, so the plan needs to reflect what you want from it.

Less than a week and you’ve already got them in primer. Amazing.

It might be easier if you used the non-digital point motors. Suggest you contact DCC Concepts.

A slide, like what you find in playgrounds 😀. Or maybe a pole as in a fire station.

Did they run as block trains, or in mixed freight trains?

Werid, I’ve just tried both links and they worked. You should be able to watch my vidros without a Vimeo account, but you need one to download them. I’ll raise the problem with Vimeo just to check. DVDs are on their way to Jools1959.

Looking at that Ferry CCT I’m amazed how you’ve got the sides so smooth with the detail undamaged.

And a few ferries

From the other side.

Same place, cruise ships.

Taken earlier this year.

Hi, well I’m laid low with a nasty virus and have to take things very easy. To break up the tedium of just sitting, I’ve had a go at building the Cambrian OBA using all the bits recommended above. I took it very slowly, just 30 minutes or so when I felt like it. I have to admit it has not been a success, perhaps partly because of my health and partly because I’ve not attempted anything like this before. The extra parts themselves are superb, just my skills that wern’t up to the job. While I managed to fold and make the suspension units, I managed to detach three little, but vital tiny details, including one of the vital bearing plate guides (knocked another one off later). On one of the actual bearings, the rim came off. At the end of the day, only one of the actual bearings was able to move. Rather than throw them away, I decided to try and complete a wagon, even if it only gets dumped as a scrapper on my layout. I used a 25w soldering iron, wonder if it would have been better to use my 40w one - I bought it for constructing a O gauge etched brass wagon kit, which I successfully made. As I had already built the Cambrian body and the suspension unit instructions say they need fitting to an unbuilt kit, I had bought a second kit so they could be built into the wagon as I made the kit. However, having made a bit of a mess of the suspension units, rather than ‘waste’ the new kit, I bodged the part built kit to accept them. I also used some cheap buffer heads from my bits box instead of ‘wasting’ the really nice Lanarkshire Models ones. The end result is that I’ve got a wagon that will never be a runner, but could become a scenic item. I’m not sure though if I want the expense of buying transfers (my wagon is of the Redland version) to finish it off. Now I understand how the etched suspension units work, I could probably build a second set successfully.

Jools, it shouldn’t need payment, I don’t understand that. I actually pay to keep my videos on Vimeo so others can watch them for nothing and without adverts.

Here is a bit more from 2018, this time between Drigg and St Bees. Of interest is a train with three 37scon the front, in three different liveries. The RAF 156 and a two flask waggons being hauled by 2 x 68 plus 2 x 88. There is a bit of the Ratty in the middle. Fast forward to 28 minutes. https://vimeo.com/329435355

There may be a tiny bit of action, clearing any stockpiles and lifting the track, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Perhaps this video of mine may give you some help, it was filmed in 2018 and includes two sections on the Cumbrian Coast, one at the start and another after 21 minutes. Traction on the line includes DRS 37s, 68s and 88s, note the flask trains often have a mix of 68 88, 153 and 156 dmus. At the end of the video is a Network Rail test train top and tailed by Colas 37s, adding a bit of colour to the line. https://vimeo.com/328272710

From all the reports and photos, it seems to have been a great show, gutted that I missed it due to being ill.

The RAF liveried 156 was a regular performer on the line. You can always add railtours (steam & diesel), the low level nuclear waste (very short train), plus there has been the occasional freight train diverted round the coast (the Tesco train did at least once). Workington docks still has the occasional freight plus the oil trains to Dalston, but these usually go north to Carlisle. If you really want to push the boat out there are the nuclear loads that come in and out of Barrow very occasionally.

You can buy wire strippers for very fine wire. Mine came from DCC Convepts and work well. Well worth the investment.

Brilliant, one of the best jokes on RMweb. You’ve got my warped mind working overtime. While I do build serious layouts, as an antidote I also build ‘fun’ layouts, so ideas for a mattress or sleeper factory are developing Menwhile back to wagons …