westernviscount

This image shows almost the extent of one of the baseboards. The station is inspired by a number of Western stations including Tysley (in terms of architecture of the station building) and Uxbridge Vine Street which inspired the idea of a urban terminus. I accept the layout is not prototypical but I have attempted to model to a standard which makes the concept less questionable (I hope). The elevated station building is inspired by an Iain Rice Scheme and is purely to extend the track to the end of the end of the board.

Here are some photos of my 6ft by 1ft layout, Templefield. It was started in 2014 which marks my "return" to the hobby and is my first and only layout built from scratch. I employed methods I remember from my first experiences of the hobby with my Dad in the 80s and 90s. Although uni and work distracted me for a number of years, the pressures of work were the main catalyst for my needing a meaningful creative outlet and safe mental distraction(my work as a secondary art teacher was taking it's toll). The restrictions of modern living in the guise of space and finance defined the parameters of the project i.e. small and cheap. The hobby is most absorbing to me when items are hand made. As I get older, concentration is not as easy to come by, be it due to responsibilities or mental load but I find myself most focused by making buildings and other items. All structures and building are scratchbuilt from plastikard. Bigger items were built from cardboard recycled from old sketchbooks (if my job rewarded me with nothing more...) which I used to construct the platform and form the carcus of the road bridge.

It does look that way, however, is that a green streak on the second row of cladding? So very heavy weathering? What would have caused this if it is indeed weathering?

Hi Mike, What do you use to strip the old Lima coaches? I commonly use brake fluid on my models, having success with bachman and Hornby coaches (all with caution). However, it didn't really do much on my Lima LMS Cct. This was the result after several days (body only). Happily, It wasn't essential to remove entirely and I ended up with something I am rather happy with, having copied Brossard's "extreme" upgrade... Incidentally, to reflect on the topic title, I have taken to using halfords red primer for most finishes... I find it helps the coverage when using rail match BR Blue and also precision tinlets which I brush painted the LMS cct with. Cheers Dave

That is an excellent bit of footage.

Yes and also, when watching a dvd of 50s/60s steam for instance, I find myself saying aloud "don't cut away!" As a 9f steams past with an assortment of wagons. We are lucky if we get 4 or 5 wagons into the train before the next footage kicks in.

Thanks Headstock, I will take it that a bailey's is in order either way.

I recently made the bolster variant which to my untrained eye is basically the same thing. I am experimenting in upgrading my efforts with 51L etched brake levers, hangers and guards. Having gone to such efforts I was furious with myself for putting the brake gear on the wrong way around!! Before I pour another bailey's to celebrate the fact that I am indeed only human and that Tony has made the same error, could someone confirm whether the arrangement is wrong or right in this picture? Either way it is a win win for me as if I am wrong about Tony's error, it means my brake gear is correct after all!!

Away from the wagon topic slightly, here are a couple of my latest efforts. It has been a while since I went near the models but was sifting through some photos and decided to share. A lima upgrade finished with a humbrol matt varnish and carrs weathering powders. And a van which was a slightly different approach to my norm. This involved priming with halfords red, dry brushed humbrol oranges, brown and reds and then another spray of halfords red then soaking of thinners and scratching with a cocktail stick to reveal the layers. And finally an old pic of a van i finished using powders and humbrol decalfix. Finished with white pencil legends.

Interesting points AndrueC. The work smart not hard platitude is something I have deployed myself in work which curiously and joyously for me has led to me not working and someone else working hard ;-). I am being facetious of course but i find the celebration of this type of management/life coach stuff difficult. Perhaps because I know it is the way things are, but I find it so depressing. The high flyer CEO boardroom speak seems to permeate into all manner of workplace. Thus spake the dinosaur ;-)

A few more from a visit in either 1970 or 1971 to Templefield. A couple of pre-nationalisation parcels coaches were in attendence... Along with a Stanier reverse brake on a ballast train... And a quiet moment prior to unloading. No one to be seen but a kettle is whistling somewhere so that explains it...

I suppose the idea that making money from what you love doing is pretty rare. The idea of making money from what is essentially hobbying and of limited value on a societal level is even rarer and very hard for some to accept. Of course, given the contemporary craze of framing criticism and scepticism as envy and negativity means it is hard to explain why youtube and modern approaches to hobbying as shown in the Hornby show are problematic to some. It just always sounds like sour grapes. It seems the form itself is dictating the direction of the hobby or at least the perception of the hobby. There is an emergent celebrity class who appear to be the go to people to exemplify the hobby, where as in reality they are far from representative of the vast majority who still pursue railway modelling as escapism and leisure away from their day to day work. Work unlikely to consist of the receipt of "donations" (the bare faced cheek of calling it that) for running a toy train on camera.

I was just watching the uktv Hornby:a model world programme and was reminded of this thread. I am quite enjoying the show but was thinking about the different ways the hobbies covered by Hornby are presented. The plastic aircraft are covered in what seems to be a more mature way, looking at box art and the prototypes etc and little else is needed. Model railways however are covered with some maturity but there is an over-representation of gimmickery, supplied by some notable youtubers. I wondered if what is seen on the show is representative of how anyone here enjoys the hobby i.e. breaking speed records at oo scale, creating upside down mirror image layouts using magnets (and reverse proportioned light houses;-)) or razor sawing pugs in the name of steam punk?

Personal inspirational layouts which I dont believe have any fame but... Challow by the Wrexham and district model railway club in the 1980s. Edinburgh Waverley in n gauge by Martin Wild early 90s Bala town by me Dad!! A handbuilt point from this layout survives on my layout. Late 80s early 90s. Blanau Ffestiniog by a gentleman whose name I am unsure of but was asscoiated with the Colwyn Bay club. Early 90s There was also a modern image layout shown in the early 90s at the widnes or warrington show whose name I am never likely to recall but I do remember the operator very patiently listening to 9 or 10 year old me talking about diesels and my favourites etc. I recall i was never patronised or dismissed at all and taken very seriously which stuck with me.

This is refreshingly humane in the age of unrelenting personal responsibility zealots.

I stumbled on this at WH smith and it is excellent.

The guard's sliding door does have a window and there is also a small window to the right of the sliding door where there should be a shelf for a bucket of sand and fire extinguisher. The sliding door between passenger saloon and guard's area also has a window.

As I say, having a very small layout with limited potential for action I do take criticism and understand it. Using the TV and film analogy, some enjoy star wars, others love 2001: a space odyssey. Some enjoy both. I dont equate my modelling with either btw!!

Perhaps augmented reality with a head set or holding a mobile phone in front of the scene with people moving etc. Not so far fetched. Also, as commented above, perhaps a commentary on the layout picked up by the audience via bluetooth!!

I am wary of over stating the role of railway modelling but perhaps your explanation of shunting is interesting to lots of people and in model form could be informative. A chance for a discussion with the viewers or a commentary (a bit like the great train robbery). I understand with or without commentary 5 mins might be excessive but this is a judgement call. I have at exhibitions commentated on what is happening if it felt appropriate (as operator of course ;-)). I am no expert and the assumption you either know about railways or you dont care is not the case and personally I would enjoy watching a railway person like you discussing their trade in model form.

Yes Paul I understand your point and of course agree, busy scenes on railways happen. My point is all track is the majority of the time empty. Operators feel undue pressure to have things moving all the time, a pressure I think imposed by a minority of folk whose demands of model railways are not reasonable. Constant, non-stop entertainment is not possible. Yes understood, but I am talking in scale terms, if the model were real. I realise models cannot defie physics but they can appear to as a model of the real thing. What is interesting is that the attempt to operate close to reality causes more irritation that approaching operation in a more unrealistic fashion. As per Phil's observation of the rude audience member. The most likely comment is a complaint of boredom rather than lack of realism.

Yes Phil it does sound that way but believe me, I have experienced this. Always a grown up!! I am generally unmoved by it but I can see why it causes annoyance. As the exhibitor of a very small, br blue diesels layout I have made my peace that most folk may well not be interested. What I dont understand is why it might cause irritation!

No, in my experience niether have I. But I did not invent the fictional person leaving the show to illustrate my point. Personally I vote with my feet and move on to something else. The greatest offence does seem to be felt when operators are trying to demonstrate a real railway. I am puzzled why.

Very true but instantaneous movement defies physics to the point that might confuse even the least railway minded audience. Probably not but i don't think anyone has proposed that. If you found a piece of track anywhere in Britain the time it spends empty outweighs the time it is used by many factors. This does not mean I suggest an hour or more of no movement. I simply suggest that audiences can bare less "action" and can understand why. The child waiting for the train to storm out of the tunnel is a lot to do with anticipation as well as gratification. Don't underestimate your audience wherever you may be exhibiting and however young. Or perhaps dont underestimate everyone ;-) I just thought there might be a difference in power draw, perhaps with sound and lights and the amount of movement of multiple locos at once...but thank you professor for your illuminating explanation. :-0

In my experience most DCC layouts seem to be operated at a tediously slow pace. "Express" trains often seem to crawl along and some shunting can be painfully slow. Is this a limit of the system? What is most jarring is the overly fast hooking on and moving off which I think is a sign of frustration or boredom of the operator. Some exhibitors might underestimate their audience's attention span by rattling through movements or lack faith in their layouts ability to hold attention without continual movement. Most of the time real railways have little movement and most people who go to exhibitions are real railway enthusiasts so I dont understand what the panic is