theplasticbrummy

That is one massive lump, Dick! The wagon that is! We'll have to give it a run on Wednesday if you come up - I can give that 31 of Ady's a good thrashing! Now then, I can finally say that the control panel is now.............FINISHED!!! It was one hell of a job but very much worth it in my opinion. It looks massively over the top, but when I build the other boards to complete the layout, it will be more in keeping. I suppose I could claim that my self-imposed deadline of "Tuesday" referred to tomorrow (11/07) but alas, it was last Tuesday! Again, I find myself a week behind to where I wanted to be. This was due to supplies not being delivered on time and ultimately, a shear underestimation on my part of just how much wiring there was to do - BUT ITS DONE NOW!!! You'll note that there are some switches still not connected and some empty breakout boards in the base. The switches are for the semaphore signals of which there is only one on this board (Not made yet). The breakouts are there to cater for the numerous future boards that may or may not get built. The layout itself already has the point motors wired in to a connector so it should just be a case of dropping the leads on and giving it a whirl. The sections are still yet to be put in but, that is it. Definitely, most certainly and without any doubt whatsoever, It will be running this week, giving me four days to get some green on, fit a backscene and get it stocked and packed for departure on Monday, *Sorry*, Wednesday morning. Oh yeah, after a loud pop and a flash, I also need another transformer - Timing at its best. Cheers All, Andy.

Thank you p***-taking b******s

I bet the electricity is arcing across because the rails are too close together. Open them out to the correct gauge and all will be fine. Cheers, Andy.

Well, all appears to be quiet on the Lydd Rail Standard Gauge Challenge front. Either people have finished their layouts or so much modelling is being done that no one has the time to do some RMWebbing. I shall break the silence! Good morning/afternoon/evening/etc/etc. With SF315 and carlw effectively finished, Mr. Wide just starting out, DoMH going to lots of trouble building track that isn't quite (YOU'RE MISSING 0.63mm DAVE!) wide enough, and Clive complaining about rules (or rather the lack people conforming to them), I thought that I had better write a post updating you all of my progress with Staythorpe Crossing - No body else is! So, this last week, I have been very busy in the New-Ivanhoe Workshop. With my safety glasses adorned, and all safety guards removed (for filming purposes only), I have completed the housing for my control panel and have also made a good start on forming the contours of the scenery - There will be at least some green stuff to be seen in a fortnight's time. The control box has been made out of off-cuts of ply and various X x 1 timber (what ever was to hand..... and free of course). Amongst the usual tools, I made a point of putting the new band saw to work. What an incredible piece of kit. It has opened up so many new techniques for construction and has made life so much easier. Half-lap joints combined with some polyurethane glue has meant that I've been able to construct a strong yet light-weight frame and retainer, that houses the actual panel - You just have to remember to remove your framing square when you've clamped the pieces together to set overnight, otherwise you end up with things glued together that you don't want glued together, like this: With all of the pieces cut and test-fitted, normal woodworking glue was applied and screws were fitted to created a good, strong box. It was then time to make it look pretty, so out came the filler, followed a day later by some sanding and a coat of primer, followed another day later by a coat of gloss black. Yesterday, with the paint dry (almost), a piano hinge was fitted, the panel was located into its rebate (or should that be rabbit in Norm parlance?), the retainer was fitted to keep the panel in place and everything was screwed together. Tada! I wish I could say that it was finished but I've still got to sort out the rat's nest inside..... It will work soon enough. Moving on from all of this woodwork and decorating, I also managed to do some modelling (either side of eating the regular Friday night chips at the club that is)! I was mostly cutting up card to form the contours of the scenery, bringing the embankments from base-level to track-level, showing the "man-made" track bed cutting through the once open fields of Nottinghamshire. I have also made a start on modifying the ratio level crossing gates from a narrow, four-gate setup, to a wide, two-gate affair. The gates will be operational (when ARTY has pulled his finger out and repaired a redundant mechanism from an old layout (after returning from multiple holidays)) and also interlocked with the sections so "run-throughs" can be avoided (unless someone decides to propel a train of MGRs through them of course). The mesh, as per the prototype, was added on to the backs of each gate - This is from the inside of a smoke alarm and is quite fine. It also has the added benefit of being rigid, thus strengthening the modified, lengthened gates. NB ***Please don't go taking your smoke alarms down though, these were wastage from a building refit!*** And to finish off this post, I couldn't resist a quick shot of a 31 on passenger duties passing Staythorpe, with a couple of period vehicles, making up a 70s scene. I'm quietly confident that trains should be running by Tuesday, so tune in Tuesday evening for another update - If no update, then I didn't manage it. Cheers, Andy.

That's some good work with the transfers, Carl. I know what you mean, I started a rake of 27 BSC blue JTA/JUAs and made the mistake of counting how many transfers I'd got to put on, it was circa 1000! I've done nine wagons on wide side so far . Looking great so far mate - Looking forward to playing at LR in for weeks! Cheers, Andy.

Paul, I agree with Carl, those buildings look great, craftsmanship at its finest - I wish I looked that good for 30 odd years old. Just think, I was one when you built them - Just saying like........... Oh dear, I can hear the cries of "Ageism" being bandied about again already. Cheers, Andy.

And I dared to mention DCC ............ You probably will receive a fine now Clive - You know Mr. Wide's stance on "Toy-like features"! Cheers, Andy P. (another one of us!)

Hello Clive. I really don't know where Paul is going to put all of these layouts. At least you should be safe from being put outside given that I think you are the only person who has obeyed the "rules" - No fines here! It's all looking good so far, plenty of locos to be shunted about. Have you started on the scenery yet or are you in the same boat as me? - I've still got my wiring to do! All the best, Cheers, Andy.

I think there should also be a fine for people from Market Harborough. Just because......................

I thought all of the entrants were Judges, or has the Exhibition Dictator decided otherwise?

Morning Paul, This is looking like a cracking plan! The photos being shared are great and I can see why you've chosen this location to model with the variety of wagons you will be able to use. Your base boards look like a good start (I'm glad to see that you've built your own). I would just have the whole thing up Paul, as it will be more interesting to operate - Don't take any notice of Peter Perfect of Market Harborough, after all "Size doesn't matter" eh? Now I've had a dig back at Tailby, I have a question................................................... Is it DCC? Good luck. Cheers, Andy.

Why is there not an, "Up Yours" button? And anyway, the scenic section is exactly 12" by 4' 8 1/2" although the transgression is actually much worse if you look at the 288sq." rule which is the one I have actually broken! Cheers, Andy.

Evenin' all. Well, this afternoon I have finally completed track laying. This has taken longer than I wanted mainly due to not being a***d to go up the club - You do need a break away from it every now and then. So, here we have it: The four roads on the narrow "Link-Span" will hold 6 trains and the two loops at the end will hold another 6 (two on the A sidings and 4 on the B sidings) Due to the extra track on the outside curves, I'll also run 2 trains of 20t mineral wagons alongside the HTVs and HTOs. The plan is: Before you send a coal train in or out (to or from either A or B sidings), the long freight that occupies the through line in the fiddle yard will be run first and then held on the mains between the A & B storage lines, freeing up the road to run the coal train back to its home on the end board - Hopefully it will work and also make operating more interesting. Cheers for now, Andy.

I can't remember the peaks - a little before my time, although, I can remember the remnants of BR Blue in the late 80s and early 90s, mainly 20s and 37s on the MML if my mind recalls correctly. The HST thing comes from days out with my Dad on the line side, being deafened by the screaming Valentas! - I really ought to get a couple of sound chips. And yes, The Jolly fisherman, a train that my dad and I intend to portray on our larger n gauge layout and like the Lincoln Market Special, again, now an HST. Here is 1S01, Derby to Skegness, taken at Bottesford West Junction on 31st of May 2014 Cheers, Andy.

Now that's a challenge! Up for a flutter? £100 its done by LR..........

That is a very good point GC, and I don't mind in the slightest - I'd rather be right in what I'm doing. I believe it's me that's mistaken. I think Jez mentioned HSTs passing through Lincoln, which is entirely correct, but as you suggest, they would then leave the Lincoln to Nottingham line at Crankley point, re-joining the ECML at Northgate - I just got excited, any excuse for an HST! The only HST that I ever encountered on that line was the Lincoln Christmas Market Special. - Now when did that start? Cheers, Andy.

Looks like the N gauge contingent will be getting wet then.

Evening all. It's been a little while since I last posted regarding SX - This is again, because of the on-going spring clean at the Ivanhoe clubrooms (which has been overdue for about a decade). After clearing out I don't know how much junk from all of the other rooms, we've finally managed to clear the main layout room which now has 5 layouts up in various stages of completion, and fortunately, Staythorpe is one of them! YAY! Anyway, this week, I chose to break rule #2 (NB: I'm not the first to do this - FARMER!). Binning the fiddle yard restrictions was really a must if I want anything like proper length trains running and will also mean that the layout will be viable to take to proper exhibitions (No offence Paul ) in its current format. As I'm sure I've said before, I would eventually like SX to go out on the front of a common fiddle yard that is currently shared by two other layouts. This meaning that I've got another 11' 3 1/2" to build after Lydd Rail, however, in the mean time, I've constructed some basic baseboards that will suffice for now. Here is the layout in its entirety; A pair of standard 2'x4' ply tops with 2"x1" softwood frames for the end boards and a 4' 8 1/2" link span with only a single piece of softwood running down the middle of the board. You'll probably note the diamond crossing on the closest board. This is to allow the loaded A-Sidings coal train and the unloaded B-Sidings coal train to return to the correct line "on scene" due to the prototypical crossing over movements - It will cause havoc in the fiddle but unfortunately, it is completely unavoidable. There will be room for 10 trains in total (five in each direction), probably consisting of: 2x rakes of HTOs/HTVs (1x loaded and 1x unloaded) - Serving Staythorpe A-Sidings 2x rakes of HAAs (1x loaded and 1x unloaded) - Serving Staythorpe B-Sidings 2x Swindon 120s - Crewe-Lincoln Service Loco-hauled passenger HST - Special ! Immingham tanks - (As per Dave F's photo) Mixed Engineers And a few others off the track dotted about the board for some variation. I'll decide on train lengths once I've got the rest of the track laid - I'm just awaiting another 9 lengths of flexi-track to arrive from the IOM. If anyone is at DEMU, come and say hello - I'll be knocking around the S-Kits stand for most of the weekend. Cheers, Andy.

Thought it was Monday...................

Paul, Glad to hear that you will be popping up t' midlands again, duck. Looks like there's going to be plenty of talking to do. I might come round for a play on Sheepcroft if Stu will let me loose on it again - The momentum settings caught me out the last time and some buffer stops were tested out - I'm getting more and more like my dad everyday . Still, running in to buffer stops doesn't beat knocking TWY's footbridge off with an uncoupler attached to a moving Crompton! It's all this 4mm stuff you see, I should probably stick to N gauge. Keep an eye on the classifieds chaps: ***Unfinished P4 layout for sale*** - Operator incapable of carrying out simple hand-eye co-ordination tasks. I'll go and bother Mr. Farmer and see if I can play with his train set instead then! Moving on, the Early Arrivals' (freeloaders') Abode is looking smashing, stunning even, and I'm sure that Mr. Ansell will be looking forward to being munched on by the entire marsh mosquito population whilst sleeping in it again - The mozzies do love a bit of George! I think I'll have to bring the spray again and nuke the place before bedtime. See you all in a week. Cheers, Andy.

That R/R dumper is looking STUNNING, Carl. Have you scratch-built it as I don't recognise it as an available kit? Pipe trucks coming along nicely too. Good to see you progressing with stock for your LRSGCL and I'll look forward to seeing you at Showcase - Don't expect their to be any bargains left though as Farmer will have snaffled them all first - I'm out of the bargain hunting at the moment since receiving a bill from Revolution trains that would probably make the Treasury splutter! Hopefully see you in a couple of weeks mate. Cheers, Andy.

Always one of my favourite shows and this year looks to be up to the usual standard. I'm looking forward to talking too much, eating too much and spending far too much - I just hope RT aren't announcing anything else, again! Sorry to hear about the loss of a room, especially with it having an RTC based layout booked to be in it. I was really looking forward to seeing Deadman's Lane. *Got space for an N gauge RTC layout, Nobby? I know where there is one - I only need 9'..... * As good as the line-up is though, I feel the true highlight of the event will be seeing the world renowned, Dutch, layout converbelt, Van-Der-Tripod! I hope he brings some more Edam - I've got a box of stock for him for his latest project! Cheers gents and I hope it goes well for you. Andy.

Do Dave and his layouts ever appear together? Cheers, Andy.

Hi Paul, looks like another good line up with respect to both model and 1:1 forms. "BR Green livery BR mainline Diesel locomotive" ??? - Let us in on the secret! The "arrive'n'drive" a Peckett is an excellent addition to the event's line-up and I hope it goes ahead. I'll certainly have to make sure I get relief sometime during the weekend so I can have a go and to also get round the entire site for once! You really ought to do a two day ticket! Looking forward to the show as usual - I can only be grateful that I persuaded you to let me bring New Dalby this year so I can enjoy an entire weekend of it all! See you all soon. Cheers, Andy.

Reverting back to the puerile now, I remember "re-illustrating" this book with a friend whilst at school. - "Gruff" is a hilarious word when you're 8! Cheers, Andy.