Roger Sunderland

Yeah as I said above Ed, Peterborough 2018.

Very nice Paul, both the model and the sound scheme make we want to go 0 gauge!

3 foot high? Isn't that on the low side?

That's right Paul, they're going for 2 days

Hi David Regrettably we haven't been invited to any shows in the South West - yet, although we have already taken bookings up to 2021. We will be supporting some of our local shows, if that helps, and we are booked to appear at Wimborne 2019 and Poole next year. Hope this helps.

Many thanks for all your comments, and indeed for all the wonderful feedback we got at the show. We (the operators) all had a brilliant time and, apart from a few niggles, probably to be expected on its first showing, the layout ran very well. Particularly pleased with the performance of the auto uncoupling system fitted to the station pilot which worked faultlessly for 2 days. Work to do before its next outing, which is scheduled to be the BRM show in Peterborough, October 2018. This will include, finishing the signal box, revising the sequence and tweaking the fiddle yard, but most importantly to get those signals all working.

There are some great ideas here and many thanks Jim for the superb photos. I'm not ruling this out as a layout, it could be very atmospheric.

Michael you are a star, just what I was looking for. Sadly you are right though, difficult to model accurately because of the overall roof and the deep cutting. I initially thought of cutting back the roof and only modelling one side of the cutting but you would loose a lot. Ideal use though for the N5 I purchased from you at Railex last May. Maybe back to the drawing board. Still looking for a suitable Merseyside prototype to fit 17'x11'.

The signalling plan is great but I'd love to have some idea of platform lengths/widths and general overall area of the station. Also loco hauled trains around the early 60's. I'm aware that the Manchester services were early converts to DMUs. Information seems hard to come by, this was definitely the Cinderella of the Liverpool termini. I have David Bryant and John Bannons book "steam on Merseyside and beyond" but there is precious little mention of Central.

Thanks for this Apollo, very helpful. I wonder do any of the contributors have further info?. If you have please get in touch. I love cramped city terminuses, and this fits the bill perfectly. Only exploring the possibilities at this stage for a possible layout. With the space I have available even this would need some rationalisation but you neve know.

Hi all Can anybody help me with a track layout plan for Liverpool Central station C1959/60 (that's the high level one ex CLC) even a drawing would help.

Please please put a list of the kits on here, I'm sure you would have many takers, not least me if they are something I'd need. Most of these manufacturers are no longer in existence.

Try DCC Concepts track cleaner. Not a coarse rubber it cleans by polishing the surface of the rails. Very little debris and made from rubber impregnated with - I think - aluminium oxide. I just push it around, no heavy rubbing, and it does the job without scratching the rail surface. Not cheap at around £10 but big enough to do dual tracks at the same time. It can also be cleaned by washing.

A brave attempt by the Johnster but as said above a very complex subject. There are a few signalling experts on here and maybe, if in doubt, it may be better to post a diagram of your set up, asking for advice, as I've seen done a few times. There were lots of anomalies relating to different situations and within regions.

Have used the Sharpie method on over 20 locos now, Bachy, Hornby and Heljan. Clean up with Railmatch acrylic thinners. Works a treat, so much quicker and more accurate than Tcut or any other method I've tried. Doesn't half go through the Sharpies though. I've started using the small ones (lot cheaper) they have the same size point. I wonder though if any marker pen with a suitable point and ink containing some form of chemical agent would do.

Only if you've got thumbnails!

I've followed your work since the 70s Allan, always an inspiration. They say every picture tells a story. In this case a story of a master craftsman, in a league of his own. As others have said, impossible to distinguish real from model, truly amazing.

It's truly amazing just how many things need to be done prior to the layouts first outing at Swindon in 3 weeks time. But we are almost there now. One of the tasks has been to bring the loco fleet up to scratch, involving a lot of tweaking and detailing. Just thought I'd share a couple of pics of locos. The weathering is the work of the "Master" Mr Steve Knight.

Yep I agree with all your comments and I wasn't meaning to be contentious, there is room in the hobby for everyone, however I'm sure none of us, including the "greats" we're born being good or even adequate modellers but as Orfords heart warming story about the guy in his club shows, it's the trying that matters, irrespective of the results, and quite often the more you try the better you get.

That's why it's called railway MODELLING and not collecting or buying models of trains, isn't it?

Ronson lighter fuel.

There isn't a factory default 3 it's 8 in CV 8 for Zimo decoders. Start voltage CV 2 can have an effect on the time taken to start. There would only be a time delay on starting if there was a much higher value in CV 3 than you say. Try resetting all to factory default by CV8 with a value of 8 and work from there.

Expert friend of mine who is the best weatherer of stock I know, uses nothing but lighter fluid. However he has had to give up on Humbrol paints are the quality is now so poor.

Don't know how it compares price wise but Model Railway Solutions sell rubberised cork track underlay, in a variety of styles. It's self adhesive an d very easy to use. Product is on their website.

Not sure he's seen the light entirely Paul, still wittering on about green engines with shiny chimneys. Even managed to sneak in a Hall or two on the York service!