Dave Searle

Hi, We're looking forward to bringing Hinksey Yard to the show. Cheers, Dave

Hi Jeremy, Probably not helpful for you, but in the end we decided to move the point motor to the other end of the tie bar (where the hole was still usable). This involved some careful drilling and cutting through the board, but we were lucky there were no obstacles in the way. Cheers, Dave

Hi, That would be my interpretation of West Wittering in the 1880s. Originally built by members of the South London Area Group of the Scalefour Society, it passed though other hands and I ended up with it in 2002. I am not aware of any connection to Keith Smith. The layout is currently in storage as I am involved in a new 2mmFS layout of Lewes Cheers, Dave

Hi, A big thank you to the Spalding Club from the Hinksey Yard team for making us very welcome and looking after us so well during the weekend. We had an enjoyable time and, from some of the comments we got from visitors, were appreciated. Lots of great layouts there and we had problems decided who to vote for as best layout. We are a little unusual in that, if we spot a responsible looking young person watching intently or asking sensible questions, then they will often get a chance to drive some trains (with their responsible adult's permission). They are generally very careful and respond well to instructions. One dad even brought his second son back on Sunday to have a go. Hopefully they will go home encouraged and get more into the hobby. Again, from out perspective, behind a layout, a good, busy and well organised show. Many thanks. Cheers, Dave

I have two perspectives on this. Firstly, at our club's show, we invite the best layouts we can, each at the top of their game. These try to show a variety of modelling interests and styles - so how do you compare them?. Inevitably, different layouts will appeal to different people - which is what we are trying to achieve. Secondly, as exhibitors 1, we know our layout is good (we wouldn't take it out otherwise) but we are very aware that it doesn't appeal to everyone ("wrong" scale, era, style...). We do find that people who do like it, and interact with us, are appreciative and that is very rewarding. We see ourselves as there to entertain the visitors, whatever their interests, not to compete against other layouts. How do you define the criteria for judging - Fidelity to a prototype? Running quality? Scenic effect? Audience enjoyment? In our new layout 2, we are aiming for the best we can do, fully aware that it will be dismissed by some exhibition visitors because it's not their "thing". That won't stop us Cheers, Dave 1 Hinksey Yard is appearing at Spalding this coming weekend. 2 Lewes has had 18 months of prototype research put into it so far.

We're taking Hinksey to the Spalding show this coming weekend. Should be another good show. Cheers, Dave

We'll be there with Hinksey Yard Cheers, Dave

This appeared in the tree in our garden yesterday. Cheers, Dave

Hi, Some LB&SCR examples that I can think of: Terriers: No.36 Bramley sold to Pauling in 1902 No.39 Denmark sold to Pauling in 1902 No.43 Gipsyhill sold the the WC&PR in 1925 No.49 Bishopsgate sold to Pauling in 1902 No.52 Surrey sold to Pauling in 1902 No.57 Thames sold to Pauling in 1902 No.70 Poplar sold to K&ESR in 1901 No.71 Wapping sold to K&ESR in 1905 No.72 Fenchurch sold to Newhaven Harbour Co in 1913 No.73 Deptford sold to Edge Hill Light Railway in 1920 No.74 Shadwell sold to Edge Hill Light Railway in 1920 Craven 0-6-0Ts No.228 & 229 sold to Alexandra Docks Railway in 1882 D1 No.357 Riddlesdown sold to the Whittingham Hospital Railway in 1947 E1 No.110 Burgundy sold to the Cannock & Rugeley Colliery in 1927 I think the "P" class were SE&CR not LB&SCR. Cheers, Dave

Ballasting experiments continue, with Chinchilla Dust and Aquarium Sand loosely poured over some Easitrac. Chinchilla dust: Aquarium sand (slightly finer) Together (Aquarium sand at bottom) Next step is to try some Road Stone and Scenic Dust from Attwood Aggregates. Cheers, Dave

Hi, Yes we used "weathered" paints at one end of Hinksey Yard: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/33440-hinksey-yard-c2010/page-10&do=findComment&comment=1678972 Cheers, Dave

We had a very good weekend at the show with lots of interest in the layout. We did have to explain that Banbury was round the corner and down some stairs (which confused a few people). We discussed with some of the Banbury team that we should co-ordinate some trains so that a train left us going north and then "appeared" on Banbury from the south. We also had several junior "assistants" having a go at the controls, all of whom picked up the controls quickly and enjoyed a few minutes behind the scenes. Hopefully they too will be inspired for the future. Many thanks to the REC for inviting us and looking after us during the show. Cheers, Dave

Getting ready to take the layout to the REC show at Woking this weekend. Should be a good show. Cheers, Dave

We shall be there with Hinksey Yard - looking forward to it. Cheers, Dave

I've been making up some test point work samples using copper-clad sleepers and Easitrac parts: First attempt with copper clad sleepers with Versaline chairplates on a Templot plan: [The eagle-eyed will see that not all the rails have been added] Then I tried an Easitrack point kit (with added brass sleepers for electrical connections): From directly above, the solid crossing is quite obvious, but, with some metal blacking and cosmetic chairs added, it is less so from an angle. Overall I'm very pleased with the Easitrac pegged point system and think we will be settling on this - possibly with some copper-clad parts for one or two of the more complex formations. I had a quick go at loose ballasting with Chinchilla dust, but that was clearly too coarse, so the hunt for suitable ballast continues. Progress on baseboards has slowed as we are waiting for room to become available in the clubs storage space. Nine club members visited the real Lewes last week and tried to visualise how the second station fitted into the modern landscape and see what buildings and infrastructure remain. Many of the buildings that will appear in the background are still there and will need to be modelled. After a good stroll round the railway end of the town we retired to one of the many remaining pubs in the town and sampled the local Harveys beer. Lewes as a town is very aware of its history and there are plaques on many buildings. We also managed to choose a day when the local photographic company (Reeves) had arranged a town-wide display of photographs (taken in the 1914-18 period) in house, shop and office windows showing local scenes and local people. Reeves started in the 1850s and has an amazing historical archive including many photographs of Lewes' railway stations. Cheers, Dave

Hi, Yes, they are still in business, but they are having problems with the web-site - they can be contacted via their advert (which I believe appears in the Gauge O Guild Gazette). UK Modelshops give a phone number which I understand is correct for their Mail Order contact (although you may need to leave a message). Regards, Dave

Hi, Some LB&SCR chairs, from right to left of 1862, 1876 and 1905 showing the increasing sizes. Cheers, Dave

Hi, I just happen to have scans of those pages on my computer They are actually part of a series of articles. I have a few more scanned, but not the whole series. P.126 P.127 Cheers, Dave

Hi, it was good to meet several of you at the show and talk about our plans. We had lots of interest and many helpful comments and suggestions both from people who know Lewes and from modellers. In particular, many 2mmFS modellers stopped to talk* and offer useful advice from their experience, which has been most encouraging. We were given lots of practical suggestions and offers of help which we will now explore. Many thanks, Cheers, Dave *on their way to the excellent 'Lighterman's Yard'

Thanks for the warning, I will need to try some experiments to see how this will affect us. Cheers, Dave

The wagons are complete with solebars and buffer beams. Eddie (the designer) recommends 2mm Association W-Irons. We need to add buffers, W-irons, springs, axle boxes and brake gear. We've sourced some etched LBSCR brass W-irons (with curved and straight side braces), and are working on springs, axle boxes, brake levers and blocks. There are some buffers from the 2mm Association which are quite close to the Stroudley design, but I keep forgetting which part number they are Cheers, Dave

Introduction Following on from our successful build of Hinksey Yard, the “little people” of the Epsom & Ewell Club decided to stretch ourselves and build a 2mmFS layout. We had enjoyed building a model of a real place, so looked for something similar. I have always had an interest in the LB&SCR and Andy had been fascinated by Lewes since he was a lad. So we looked at the plans and came up with the idea of building the second Lewes station as it was in 1886, just before it was rebuilt into its more familiar current form. Why Lewes? Interesting arrangement of lines Multiple routes Good combination of express, local & goods It’s a challenge! Why 1886? Last year before rebuilding work on the "modern station" started Allows a good mix of modern (Stroudley) and earlier (Craven) stock Short train lengths Public and Working timetables are available (National Archives) It’s a challenge! Why 2mmFS? Consistent wheel/track standards The club hasn’t done 2mmFS before Team want to develop their skills It’s a challenge! Research We have spent some considerable effort researching Lewes and its railways over the last year or so and have probably found all the easily available (and some not so easily available) information. This has included: Visits to the National Archives and The Keep (the East Sussex Records office) The Brighton Circle Holman’s 1886 directory of Lewes and census returns for 1881 & 1891 Site visits (to check the location of the various pubs we will need to model) Collecting books and photographs. Scouring the internet Brief history of Lewes Station 8 June 1846: Line from Brighton to first (terminus) station. 27 June 1846: Line extends west to Hastings, but bypasses the terminus station! Trains reverse out of Lewes to continue to Hastings (or reverse into if going towards Brighton) 1 October 1847: Line from London arrives and joins just before the junction to the terminus station, trains still need to reverse in/out of the terminus to continue. 1 November 1857: Second station opens in the angle between the London and Brighton Lines. [Railway Magazine, January 1950] 1 October 1868: Line to Uckfield opens on a rising viaduct to the north east. 1878/9: Re-signalled 1887: Building work starts on third station. 17 June 1889: Third station opens. [Railway Magazine, January 1950] Other layouts There are/have been several models of Lewes in various scales and eras, including some on RMWeb. There is also a 1:150 model of the town as it was in the 1880s in the Barbican Museum in Lewes, showing a bit of the goods yard and there is a model of the third Lewes station in the Science Museum. Plans We obtained 1:500 plans of the town drawn up in 1873 which shows the layout of the station and surrounding area. We had these blown up to 1:152.4 for 2mm scale and stuck them to the baseboards. It was initially decide to build the main station area and then as a second phase build the goods yard and river. Baseboards Base boards are from 6mm ply and feature a "jigsaw" board joint. The Fiddle yards are still to be designed Track Tests are underway with the various track building methods. We are currently looking at a mixture of 9’ copper clad sleepers and Versaline chair plates (for electrical connections and ease of adjustment) as well as wooden 9’ sleepers and Easitrack plastic chairs. Although the overall ballasting will hide much of the trackwork it is very exposed in some areas around pointwork, There is also the continuous check rail on both the London lines due to the sharp curvature (10 chains). A Templot plan is being prepared from the original 1879 re-signalling plans Stock We will need to build all the stock since only Terriers available commercially in N. We are working on a couple of 2mm Association replacement chassis for those. We have made a start on some etched brass Stroudley coach kits from Etched Pixels and a number of 3D printed wagons from Stockprints on Shapeways (in FXD) If you are in the Epsom area and are interested in this project come and see us on the club's information desk at our show on 22-23 April Cheers, Dave

Hi Sam, many thanks for that - we'll try it out. Cheers, Dave

Hi, We operate our Peco code 55 points using SEEP point motors acting via the small hole in the end of the tiebar. One of the tiebars seems to have suffered from too much activity and the end has split off. Does anyone have a method of repairing the end of the tie bar to replace the hole and surround. We have several others that are looking a bit delicate. We were thinking of a small washer (plastic or metal) attached below the tie bar end. Would this work? Does anyone have suggestions how to attach it, i.e. what sort of glue would work with the Peco point plastic and provide a strong enough bond for solenoid operation? Many thanks, Cheers, Dave