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In some places I’ll trim the underlay to where I want the ballast shoulder, in others I’ll spread the ballast wide. In most places the ballast will be quite wide as it’s all station area. I want to put some signalling troughing down before I ballast, so I need to layout the likely cable runs to get it in the right place.

Time for a long overdue update! I have been somewhat distracted by various other activities. That said, there’s actually a little bit of progress to report. The new Crewe end fiddle yard points have been built and endlessly tested. After a couple of false starts I eventually ended up making the crossing noses swing. A bit of a faff but the running is much smoother. It’s temporarily worked by friction on the tie bars, however 8 new point motors are sat waiting to be fitted. The electric stabling roads may need to be shortened, or curved. The double junction is in the foreground and the curved double slip to the rear. I’ve also been busy painting rails, sleepers and generally getting closer to ballasting. The platform structures have been added, although they still need a lot of work doing to them. They make a huge difference to the appearance of the layout. I also bought some of the new superquick retaining arches to see how they will look. I’m quite happy with them, but they are very tedious to make and still require a lot of finishing. The brick colour is more pleasing than the Metcalfe bridge I built for comparison. Food for thought at this stage. The first proper photo sees a Peak arriving from the North East with a trans-pennine set. This rake is close coupled and it definitely improves the look. Following soon after it from the coast is a 47 on a service in the other direction. Suitably inspired by a post on Llanbourne, I swapped the FK for an aircon FO; something fairly common in my time period. Both locos are seen on the blocks at the other end of the station. This will be fully undercover eventually with a road and station building above to hide the fire surround. Meanwhile another 45 has come off shed and is seen from the platform end stood on the holding road waiting to set back onto the service for the North East. The next road to the left is the fuelling point. With the 45 hooked up, new addition ‘generator’ 47 (soon to be 402) is just buffering up to the set for the coast as an 85 pulls in with a Birmingham to Glasgow relief service. A view over the platforms into the area known locally as the quad at Bluebeck depot. I’ve knocked up a light maintenance shed from Wills sheet, based loosely on the fuelling shed at Holbeck. Finally, just before the 85 gets away, a look down the station throat from the junction. I’m pleased with how this is looking now! I want to get the new fiddle yard points motorised and then it’s time to really focus on putting off ballasting! Meanwhile, I think a few trains will be running.

Absolutely love the shot of the peak on the mixed rake! I remember the photo too - it was one of the ones that made me want to model the transpennine services. The intercity air con first looks like it was quite common in one of the Heaton formations in the mid 80’s, I think because they were short of a pressure ventilated first corridor. By the late 80’s the BGs can be seen in all sorts of liveries, but the rest of the coaches seemed to be all blue grey or transpennine. By then the rakes seemed pretty fixed and the inclusion of a mk I was very rare. It’s a great shot which really captures the time for me - makes me want a bottle of Tizer and a KitKat!

So something interesting has arrived in the electronic post, which after a week of trying I have managed to print out. I have forgotten the golden rule of iphones and taken the shot portrait...sorry. Anyway, you should be able to see the lovely lines of a templot curved double junction and a curved double slip. It’s been a while since I made my own track so this should be a gentle entry back into the business! I always suspected I would have to hand build the fiddle yard throats, but hoped to put it off for a few years whilst I got on with the scenic side. The reality is that the settrack points used as a temporary measure just don’t allow enough stock to run on them. I figure I may as well have a go and see what happens, it is after all, just filing and soldering. I told you so vouchers are available in the gift shop! I have also very reluctantly decided that 3 link couplings aren’t the way forward. My pin in the corridor connection is a terrible solution. But that can wait until I have sorted the track. Meanwhile I have a brief little staycation to Cardiff to look forward to, with I believe 3 model shops worth investigating. Hopefully they have something nice to buy, as I am trying to limit my purchases by only buying in actual shops. Unlike Chester though, I think you need a car to get to all of them which does limit the wallet lubrication somewhat.

Wow. That’s really impressive. It certainly makes me think about station and signal box possibilities. On a one-man home layout when you have a job and a family, you do have to be realistic about what you can achieve and I think you’ve just opened up a whole new world of achievable for me.

That’s an interesting reference. I have been thinking about the download and print option, but I hadn’t considered the design yourself possibility. I’d like to build a small running shed next, which I’m planning to do in plasticard. After that it’s platforms and then the quick job of ballasting. Until then all other thoughts are having to be restrained!

The buildings are pretty much a collection of every Metcalfe factory that there is. There’s one each of PO282, 283 and 284, plus the now discontinued PO229 which is the brewery. PO229 is clearly an earlier kit and isn’t to the same standard as the later ones, although it holds its own well as part of a 3D backscene. They are all getting quite hard to get hold of at the moment as Metcalfe aren’t yet back in production, but if you can get 282-4 you can make them up and play around with various configurations. I think with some basic modification you could make a really big factory just based on a few 282, something I may have a go at further down the layout.

Believe it or not, I think it’s a thin wash of frame dirt all over the coach including the frames. It doesn’t really show up on the underframe though. I probably need to get some sort of frame dirt spray given the number of coaches I have to do. I should get to visit an actual model shop fairly soon and collect a decent set of weathering tackle.

A bit more progress in the shed area, with the retaining walls weathered and fixed in place. The factory has been neatened up a bit and is starting to look the part. Whilst I had the paints out, I braved giving some stock a light weathering. First up were the 25 and a TTA. I’m quite happy with them, although they need a spray of matt varnish. Next job is to build a small two road maintenance shed for servicing the 25s and 31s allocated to Bluebeck. Feeling brave I then had a go at a parcels coach. These were always fairly dirty as they didn’t benefit from frequent trips to the carriage wash. This is quite a light wash of thinned dark rust, which I’m pleased with. It gives that grubby dark brown look that so many BGs had, which I assume is mainly brake dust. It makes an interesting comparison with an out of the box model. Again, a touch of matt varnish is required.

I made a list of all the jobs I could do in lockdown assuming no shops or deliveries were possible. It’s inconceivable that lockdown will last long enough! I am very happy to have my wiring done, but sorting fiddle yard pointwork is definitely going to go on hold until ebay prices are at least less than double the RRP...

All the DCC sound manufacturers make all the necessary combinations, and there’s definitely an 8 pin option for the 25, as mine is too. Speakers seem to be best mounted either under the fan or in the fuel tank. I’ll try and get some pictures of mine; I’ve had to reduce the volume on all of them to keep the “neighbours” happy! Given what else you’ve taken on a body shell and chassis is clearly within your capability. And if it all goes wrong there’s very little that can’t be fixed with superglue, solder or beer...

I’m inspired enough to go have a proper go at making some videos with the iphone now! I have both a biffo and a Howes fitted 47; not sure which I prefer and I can’t recall either making that thrumming noise that yours does! New sound units are about £110 from Howes and a doddle to fit, especially the 25. I can probably get you some fitting photos if you’re tempted to have a go.

My local model shop told me they’ve never sold anything like as much track as they have in the past few weeks. It seems that suddenly a lot of people found they had some time on their hands....

I’m really impressed with how you are coming along - definitely capturing some atmosphere! What are you using to record the videos - a phone or something more sophisticated? They certainly work very well. And what sound unit is in the 47? At low speed it seems to really capture one. Thanks - and great work!

Coaches are looking good - are you hand painting? Maroon looks a lot easier than blue and grey, but maybe I’m underestimating the lining! I was surprised to see you chose the Mainline RBR for conversion. I picked up a blue and grey one recently and I think it holds its own against the current Bachmann offerings. It would be interesting to compare before and after photos.

This is how I think of my approach, except in reality I really want the railway to work. I’m happy to take my time over the scenery, but I do like to run trains. I admire your ability to keep taking your time when you could be cutting a few corners and getting something moving. Period wise I thought I was flexible in saying September ‘86, without tying myself down to an actual day! But double headed Hymeks and LL56s...this is far too serious a hobby to enjoy yourself!

I’ve been meaning to comment on here for a while to say how much I admire the work so far, and having spent a happy couple of hours rewatching Bradfield on youtube I was delighted to find some Leeds Midland videos. When I dropped in to comment, I wasn’t expecting to be reminded of my days dancing on the podium in Planet Earth on 70’s nights, or indeed to ever mention it on this forum! Still, it opens up an interesting debate as to exactly which part of my youth was misspent. All that aside, I’m really impressed by progress. I find this such an inspirational layout, although unlike Bradfield it seems to have slipped out of my mental category of ‘I could achieve something like that’. The signalling is particularly impressive, and speaking as a career signal engineer, I can’t help wondering if it might actually work better than the real thing! Mechanical locking fitters are always hard to find, so if ever you need a job... I can only dream about eating an agreeable (alcoholic) lunch behind a peak pulling 10 or more coaches, but fortunately, I can look forward to the video. Luckily for you on the other hand, the Planet Earth videos are very well hidden...

A staggering effort on the baseboards! I really admire the workmanship and the patience. Far too many layouts like this don’t make the final journey to become a model railway, so really nice to see so much progress. I’m looking forward to seeing some blue and grey trains in the not too distant future!

A fiddle yard update. With the lockdown easing, the possibility of multiple operators means that the fiddle yards need to be upgraded from stop-gap to temporary status! First job on the list is to bridge the gap. There’s a 1200mm hole to get across to allow continuous running: A quick bit of woodwork, best admired from a distance. A simple hinged structure. I’ve used a slightly thicker 12mm ply for the top and a chunky bit of 68 x 44 mm timber underneath to give it strength. Experience has shown that this part will take some hammer. An 85 becomes the first revenue earning service across the bridge. The door can just open, allowing small children, yoga experts and those truely desperate for the loo to squeeze through with the bridge lowered. The fixed upright to the left prevents the board folding on to the Chester fiddle yard (again). A look at the fiddle yards as they stand then. First is the Chester yard, currently 4 roads which will be expanded to 6. This is a single lead entrance which will become a double track scissors. To the right are the Warrington lines; there is a temporary crossover which will be moved to the lifting section when I get some straight points. These lines will be scenic for the whole length seen here, with just the Chester yard hidden. Here’s a long view over the lifting section. The Warrington terminal sidings (2) are to the right, with 4 terminal sidings for the Crewe yard to the left. There are currently two through lines in the middle, which will become 4. This means I have 12 storage roads to call on, with future potential to increase that to 16 or 17. I can barely fill what I have as things stand, so there’s no rush! A closer view of the Crewe and Warrington yards A final shot that I can’t get to display the right way up, so focus your inner question of sport! The set track points have allowed a compact double junction and a single lead into the Crewe yard. But - 440mm is far too tight in reality, although most things will get round it’s not pretty. I’m going to try doing the double junction with the 600mm radius streamline points, which should sort the through lines. The curved point into the Crewe yard is probably going to need a handbuilt solution, there doesn’t seem to be anyone that makes a 600mm radius curved point. Even with the not-even-temporary fiddle yard entrance to be resolved, running the layout is definitely getting more enjoyable and the niggles are rapidly decreasing.

That’s a definite possibility for the ‘couplings trial’ - coming up as soon as I’ve sorted the track geometry in the fiddle yards.

Interesting question. I doubt any of the diesels will lift as they are all quite heavy, but the 03's match truck may do. That will be the one to try next I think. I have come up with another possible solution, which is to remove the footplate from the gangway, so that the coupling hook is accessible in the right position. I think it may spoil the look of the back of the train though, so an old Airfix mk2d coach may find itself as the trial vehicle. Spare corridor connections don't seem to be readily available. I have also found that GUVs were only ever fitted with screw couplings, so they should be straightforward once I work out how to couple them to a BG.

Reversing with 3 links is definitely part of the appeal, fortunately I don't have the space to run 30 truck trains, but even propelling 10 back needs the weights to be right. I note uneven loading of freight trucks is in the top 12 issues of this year's RSSB report, so we're dealing with the same reality in modern form, albeit differences in weight makes a more significant difference. I have noticed that some longer 4-wheel trucks (VGA type) don't reverse so well with 3 link couplings, because the tension lock provides some of the steering around unprototypically tight curves. I can't see a solution to that at the moment. The pin in the corridor connection looks like it is worth investigating further at the moment. Of course this is only a problem with modern buckeye fitted stock (or as in Coronach's case in choosing the only pre-nationalisation company to have auto couplers instead of screwcouplings!). I like the Bachmann vac-pipes, but a shorter length version would be useful to tighten the gap on some coaches.

With the layout running and being able to see trains moving for the first time in 2 years, most of the time I find to spend with the railway is spent operating it. At heart I'm much more of an operator than a modeller I think! In between trains I am tinkering around with various bits whilst I work out a plan for which jobs I'm going to put off next; platforms and ballasting really ought to be up there. Meanwhile I have several other little things going on at the moment. Firstly the yard area is progressing, mainly everything is loosely placed whilst I figure out what I want it to look like. I have got a 'box of bits' donated to me by my father and I've placed a couple of lamps and accessories in the brewery yard. It's amazing how a couple of little touches changes the whole feel of the place. A couple of pictures of the brewery: handily I found some lamps in North Eastern blue, which exactly match the Metcalfe brewery paintwork (I doubt that this is a coincidence), but it does point to a nice little colour scheme that I can use to hark back to my routes I really need to paint the handful of shiny soldered joints that seem to glare so much stronger in a photo! The wooden upright has been disguised with some white hardboard and looks a lot neater. Next job in this area is to weather the walls before gluing them in place. I am trying to find some scale floodlights to help illuminate the dark corners, ideally they need to be 300mm high or so (I did wonder about the old subbuteo ones, but they are far from scale and now fetch a king's ransom on the auction site). The ongoing debate about DMU stabling continues, with the photo below showing an alternative option, which will hold 4 cars, so about the same as down at White Land Sidings. I have also realised where I left my track rubber! A better weight is required for the match truck... My next little project is back to the old subject of couplings. Having run the layout for a while I still like the use of 3 link couplings; they work really well for the freight and the locos look a world better with a proper screw coupling hanging down. I've been playing with fitting coaching stock for a while and I have one Mk1 set with a hook at each end. They look good, particularly at the back of a train with a dummy buckeye hanging down, but they come with two drawbacks, coupling and the gap. To enable the hooks to be useful they have to stick out so far beyond the corridor connection that the resulting gap is bigger than with tension locks, which results in a lot of slack between loco and stock. I could put a screw coupling on the coach and always use the coach's coupling onto the loco, but that's not a great solution as it spoils the look of them. If I could find a way of compressing the spring behind the buffer beam, such that the hook protrudes forward for coupling up, that might work, although I can't come up with a working mechanism for this. The latest effort is a simple pin protruding through the coach's corridor connection, the close up photo shows how it looks. Painted the same colour as the door it will be almost invisible at any kind of distance. There are then two photos to show a close up of the different appearances. The corridor pin is definitely closer, but looks a little odd close up. I need to get my regular operators to have a go and see what they think. It is fairly easy to couple up and importantly a doddle to unhook, which is always tricky at the ends of platforms 3 and 4. It seems to work better with the class 25 and class 37 which have Smith's screw couplings on them; the 33 was bought second hand and whatever make of coupling it has on has a smaller loop on the shackle making it more awkward to hook up. This was followed by something I haven't yet tried, coupling a 3 link over the top of a tension lock. The 37 took a turn on the liners and it works without issue. This could help as an interim solution whilst all the loco fleet are fitted with screw couplings. Fitting all the coach ends with a pin should be cheap and easy. I hope it means in the future that stock such as BGs can be dual fitted with both pin and kadee. GUVs can have a kadee and proper hook, as they don't have a corridor connection in the way (I am now wondering if GUVs were buckeye fitted...). Finally, a couple of pictures from last night's running session. A stabled 85 sits on the electric siding whilst a 25 runs around a speedlink service. The bridge mock up is probably too high, although I do like high buildings on a railway, I think they make the trains look smaller and therefore less dominant. The bridge will have quite a sweep on it to avoid the road ending in a cliff edge and may not even feature a bus. Looking back from the 25 to the platform ends, where a 47/4 has just brought in a transpennine service. I really like the large logo livery, it's such a shame the 45's didn't last long enough to wear it (someone must have done a model version?). The 03 has brought a parcels set into platform 4, having been shunting down at White Lane, it will wait here for a while until shunt released later. The driver has shut the loco down and popped off to the Quicksnax for a Maxpak coffee; apparently poor spelling made instant coffee taste better in the 80s, before someone thought of putting it in a corrugated cup and charging you a fiver for it. Looking at this picture shows that the brewery chimney needs to sit against the backscene to reduce the shadow.

That's where the raised Chester lines meet the Warrington lines viaduct. Should be easy to model (!).

A slightly better view of the yard. Amazing the difference natural light makes. And a photo of the 03s new pick ups on its match truck. Quite a simple job and a world of difference to its performance. The wires are quite simple to route from the wagon, through the buffer beams and on to the existing copper strip.