thegreenhowards

Indeed! Although that part of the plan is very much in the long term!

Thanks Rob, I don’t think any garden could do justice to Glenfinnan’s scenery! I don’t have enough level changes to really get the height right but I am planning a water feature giving a run alongside a ‘loch’. I’d love to do the viaduct but that would be over two feet tall, so quite a challenge to fit in! As for cost, I clearly couldn’t afford a fleet like yours but the track work is not too bad if bought secondhand. What you see in the photo cost under £200. And at least the prices of rolling stock are reasonably stable as economies of size from the growing market cancel out the prevailing price pressures. OO seems to be catching up fast! Andy

That SRPS train sounds like my sort of challenge! I was considering the Royal Scotsman, but that would be very tough Do you have any pictures of the SRPS train? Andy

Thanks David, What’s going on behind the box? Are they removing the last remnants of the old loading dock? I’m considering a trip up for the Jacobite in September or October giving me a chance to photograph the station and take some measurements. But Caledonian Sleeper seem to have priced themselves out of the market, so it makes a very long trip from deepest Surrey! Andy

Rob, I hope you don’t mind me hijacking your thread to mention that I have started a thread for my attempt at Glenfinnan in O gauge. As this seems to be the go to meeting place for WHL line modellers, I hope some of your readers will find this interesting. A link is below. Andy

This is a new thread which I’m starting to chart the progress of my attempt to build a dual purpose model of Glenfinnan station in O gauge. It will form the station area of my garden railway but will be kept inside and will also be transportable as an exhibition layout. I chose Glenfinnan because it is a favourite location of mine and the view from the viaduct captivated me when I first travelled the line in 1983 - long before it was popularised in a certain film! The thread will record progress on the layout and the stock to run on it. I’m keeping as close to scale as possible meaning the length of the layout will be c.7Metres. I have mocked up the track plan on some spare baseboards borrowed from a club friend. This is shown below (the lovely station building was built for me by Ed Hall). He is also building me a signal box - the one shown is just a placeholder. The key to the track plan is the station throat. I have built this using points from several different manufacturers, Marcway, Greenwood, Peco and an unknown Y point bought secondhand - possibly Waverley. This has enabled me to have a minimum radius of 8’6” apart from on the inner curve of the curved point where it drops to 6’. While tighter than scale, this was as close as I could get using proprietary products. I think it works well. This is what it should look like. And this is what I’ve achieved. My plan is to build the layout on trapezium style open plan baseboards of c.1.3m in length (on the long side) and 0.6-0.7m wide. I will need to allow for the ground dropping off in front of the station. The track plan and infrastructure at Glenfinnan didn’t change much from LNER days until RETB signalling was introduced in the late ‘80s, so my plan is to run a through the ages sequence starting in the 50s and ending in about 1986 with 37/4s but no ghastly sprinters. I may extend back to LNER days as I build up my stock. I will keep this thread updated as I make progress with the layout and stock. Any comments very welcome. Andy

Fantastic. I’m looking to do something similar to build Glenfinnan viaduct in my garden (subject to domestic authorities!). Do you know if the technique is written up anywhere?

Great photos. I love the concrete(?) viaduct. Andy

Thanks Rich, I see that the third class compartments are 6’1” wide. Do you have the equivalent diagram for the all third D419 to see how much they squeezed the poor third class passengers? Andy

Thanks Jonathan, Looks like I need to join the GER society! Andy

Thanks Steve. The Ellis Clark pair were buried at the back of two different pull out rummage drawers, so quite a satisfying find, especially when he knocked £20 off for taking the pair! I’ll look forward to following your progress.

Thanks for pointing that out Darryl - a black mark for my powers of observation! I just counted the compartments and noted that each coach had seven, but I can now see the spacing on the weathered one is different. I suppose the 3rd class must have been very cramped to give extra room for First. It doesn’t seem to match any of the diagrams shown in the Longworth book but is close to the most numerous D227-1E (just a couple of small panels different) so I’ll assume that’s what it is supposed to be. I'm rather pleased as it now makes a more balanced rake. Andy

Great to see the Howldens Rob. We must find a way to get more depth of field to do them justice. I suspect that means a better camera and/or more light.

This is my next O gauge project. It is a rake of four ex GER 50’ Holden corridor coaches built in 1907-1920. They were LNER diagrams 419E and 541E and are built from D&S kits. I acquired two which are beautifully made from a friend 3 weeks ago. And then I saw two more which were reasonably priced whilst at the Ellis Clark Summer Exhibition on Saturday. I knew they were similar but it turns out they are identical, so I think it makes quite a nice rake. The rake is lacking any First Class and needs a second brake. So I may add a standard Gresley BCK which I have spare to finish it off. Some shots of the individual coaches are below. The brake third is nicely finished. …as is this TK which came in the original pair from my friend. I think this ones needs some more torpedo vents. The two Ellis Clark coaches are less well painted. This one is OK but a slightly different shade to the first two and is lacking any decals. It also needs some vents. The final ones has been weathered but I don’t like the washed out look it has given the coach brown. It also needs vents…there must have been a shortage! I’m now trying to decide how to finish the rake off. If any of the GER experts out there could help me with any of these questions, I’d be very grateful: 1. What sort of service would these have worked on in the 20’s and 30’s? In particular would they have strayed away from the ex GER patch at all? 2. If they stayed on the GER patch what would have hauled them - a D16 or B12, or maybe an N7 on outer suburban? 3. Would they have run mixed with Gresley coaches . I.e. can I use Gresley coaches to provide First Class? 4. I’m considering painting the weathered one in lined GER crimson gold to represent one yet to be re-liveried in early LNER days. Are there any good reference photos to show where the lining went? 5. Have I got too many TKs - should I sell one on to fund a composite or FK? Thanks in advance for any help. Andy

Thanks Ian, I’m glad they’re only see in small numbers as at £150 a wagon I won’t be buying many!

800 grit wet and dry very gently rubbed on, then another coat of Matt lacquer as per your first option. They’re still visible if you know they're there, but I don’t think you’d notice otherwise.

The Q is now just about finished. Thanks to Mick for the suggestion about sorting out the crinkles in my decals which worked well. They’re now very minor. The only thing I’m aware of that I need to finish her off is the cab number plate which I’ve ordered from Narrow Planet, but they’re specially etched so take a few weeks to come. In the meantime, I thought I’d show her here in case anyone spots any other things I’ve forgotten. Andy

Hi Rob, I’m getting interested in Sealions following Ellis Clark’s announcement of a 7mm version yesterday and have been going back through your excellent selection of photos. What livery do you think those wagons are in? It looks like ‘engineers’ grime’ (!) but I presume there must be a livery underneath. It doesn’t look like Dutch, so I’m assuming olive green. Does that sound right? Cheers Andy

Great video Rob. I hope you agree that the tripod was a good investment.

These mini tripods (used with the device I showed yesterday) work well for on baseboard shots. Although you can’t get quite as low as you did for today’s video. The only problem I find is that they can transmit baseboard shake if videoing trains at speed. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ailun-Compact-Compatible-s10plus-Cellphone-Black/dp/B01N6713N8/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=Tripod+for+iPhone&qid=1660721088&sr=8-5

Hi Rob, I’m loving the videos. I don’t generally bother with iMovie- just crop them and load straight onto YouTube. iMovie is however useful if you want to splice a number together and/or add captions. To keep the camera still. I use a tripod with an attachment fir mobile phones like the one below. I find this enables me to set the video off then run the train . If I want to zoom or pan, I can do this one handed while holding the controller with the other. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165303382282?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=orbf6y1lrai&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=WFrUDIDERJy&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Regards Andy

I really like the aerial views of Tracery.

I didn’t spot that one was an RSP as I couldn’t see through the windows in the middle of the carriage I thought there was a kitchen there. But it’s obvious now you say it! I run my Norseman with an all Thompson catering core as per the 1956 MO formation. This also has a RSO/ RF included. It was an interesting train. Andy

I do now remember you told me that. What was inside the van to stop people seeing through?

Another finished vehicle today - the GCR milk van. Again I put the finished article on Wright Writes. If you want to see it please follow this link. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/64295-wright-writes/?do=findComment&comment=4900137