vitalspark

Long Tall Sally - Little Richard

All the young dudes - Mott the Hoople

Well done..I thought that was the thread stuffed and was waiting for the flack.

Frayed…The Naked and Famous.

You buy a Macbook and wave goodbye to all this nonsense. Its cheaper in the long run as you will still be happy with it long after the next PC has bitten the dust or been binned in frustration. You will come too appreciate the reasoning behind the operating system being written by the same company that manufactures the hardware. It amazes me that people continue to put up with this. Dave.

Actually the problems invariably arise behind the scenes with fiddle operators falling asleep. I have a cracking pic of one which I will post if I hear any more of yer cheek! Dave.

As always looking forward to the show and especially so with Alloa to exhibit. Dave.

I'm sure we can top that if we try…it really needs to be journeying north at some stage though. Are you attending with a layout next month? Only demo tables this year for us..Alloa was there last year so obviously not involved and our other club member with his superb EM incarnation of the Wharfedale area has once again put back its unveiling..too much time spent on casting lamps and bufferstops! Actually thats unfair and we don't want to upset him..he's giving of his time building points on our humble new project Larbert.. like South Pelaw a proper size at 40ft..but a few years away from the exhibition circuit. Beautiful image of Stella Gill Flatts box and I would agree you are spot on..it is very likely Jan 10th 1955. Puts me in mind of the Ranch where I have been reliably informed its a certain date in August 1957..tied down by '27 on the up non stop. ….then 60701 comes along and blows that theory! Dave.

Paul superb doesn't say enough. The images on your South Pelaw link are stunning with incredible detail like the bridge with the pipework and the fabulous signals..who builds these? I take it this is an exhibition layout and hopefully will be out soon. With that in mind can we interest you in a trip north to Modelrail Scotland in Glasgow in the near future? Looking forward to seeing this large layout in the flesh..its what modelling is about. Dave.

Found a couple of pics showing Conflat fitted with hook one end only and showing the 3 link chain realistically hanging down. Not great pics but it gives you the idea and shows the imo..neater appearance. They also work which is the important thing. Demo bench at previous show..be there again at Modelrail Glasgow in Feb. Dave.

Andrew..you really posed me a problem there! I trawled through the many hundreds of images we have of the layout because although i must have looked at it hundreds of times I couldn't remember. The billboards on the opposite side at the garage always seem to be favoured in photographs. However..patience rewarded and found the answer! A few more from the garage side of the road. From the rear.. And front.. Dave.

We have decided on Spratt & Winkle but the 3mm frets not the 4mm ones which are over scale and look horrendous also don't attach a lump of wire across the buffers but use the mounting plate with a wire loop and attach to the underside of the wagon below the draw hook. A simple jig made up to check heights and shim if necessary with plasticard. Dont use hooks on both ends but a hook plus loop on one end and a loop only on the other. This aids their operation as with the conventional way of hooks both ends one is drawn to the magnet but the other is invariably not meaning a lot of to and fro to uncouple. Its not necessary just dispense with the hook on one end and apart from near perfect operation it looks neater too..plus a fret goes twice as far! If the height is uniform they are very reliable and won't uncouple even when abused by a sudden stop/start. As they propel on the lower area of the 'delay' hook they also can be confidently worked this way and we can propel 20 or more Bachmann minerals over reverse crossings without problems. They don't uncouple unless you pause over the magnet and ease back on the tension but of course you can then buffer up and continue to shunt and it wont recouple which is the whole point of the delay action. Dinghams were mentioned and I have purchased a fret of these and really like the look of them and of course the fact that they can be uncoupled on the move at the press of an electromagnet button is perfect but haven't built any so can't comment. We are often asked about building S&W couplings (simple) and fitting (same) so in recent past years on our demo stand at the Modelrail Scotland show in Glasgow we showed the procedure from start to finish..about 5 minutes.. along with a test track and there was a lot of interest so we are repeating this at this years show in Glasgow in February. If you are visiting the show please visit the Scottish Region Study group demo stand and I will happily build one for you to take home! We have also just finished installing 14 Heathcote IRDOT3 boards for train detection on our new project and looking good but will update later when fully tested. Couple of pics attached. Couplings made up and blackened but still await the three link chains. Comparison to tension lock. When blackened and the chain is fitted it looks very convincing. The S&W couplings are a lot neater than tension lock and when using the hook/bar with a hook at one end only there is one 3 link chain hanging down which looks very effective. They are also very cheap if you buy the frets and assemble them yourself. This is very straightforward and a little time making up a simple jig to hold the mounting plates and wire in place to solder up will reap dividends after which you should find the total time to produce one will be about 5 minutes. It takes me longer to fit the chain but thats probably more to do with my eyesight! The chain of course is vital as the last link is ferrous metal which is what attracts the coupling to the magnet but that adds to the pleasing appearance. As said though for scale appearance you must use 3mm not 4mm and wire loops on the wagons not strung across the buffers. Don't listen to rubbish about 3mm not negotiating tighter curves in yards because if fitted hook one end bar the other apart from auto uncoupling easier they run over shorter radius points in yards without issue. Hope this is of help. Dave.

The classic "Bus on a bridge' shot..no self respecting layout should be without one! And the real thing ..a visitor last summer.

Few more of the train set. WD at the Junction General view of the station yard From the Devon Valley branch looking towards the station..realistic shot..no traffic! Dave.

Same embankment but a bit busier this time. More of the same.. ..and from the top of the embankment Other end of the layout and on a similar theme although WD 2-10-0 has managed to photobomb the shot. Dave.

Andy I have not been in touch with my friend whos dad was stationmaster at yoker. He has had a few health problems but I believe is on the mend now and I received a xmas card so I will drop him a mail and ask regards any info he might have. Keep us all posted. Dave.

As always stunning pictures that really hit the spot. A superb layout and we need to be organising a visit to the Modelrail Scotland show for you. On a serious note if this is of interest please pm me. Thanks Dave.

Not a train in sight. Dave,

Looks superb and puts me in mind of the Caley down at Scotstoun with the elevated stations. We have been discussing if we should buy a silhouette cutter for our new project and probably will as there will be a large number of 'repeat' on the station frontage apart from the many other details. Still to decide which is best suited as regards the thickness of card it cuts and blade life etc. Then theres the issue of who in the group will sit down and digest the programme needed to operate it!! What did you purchase and whats your findings re above? Dave / ScRSG

Like the triple ground discs..are they Palatine?..nicely built. Will be building these for the new layout which require doubles triples and even a quad stack plus three side by side on a lattice.

D&F were excellent as regards all the bits and pieces as it was run by experienced modellers..think Alloa..however even they had to retail die cast and dolls houses to bolster the railway side of the shop. When you hear of the likes of Hattons giving up the established city centre shop.. likely because of overheads.. what chance does a small independent have. Many modellers now buy online and pick up the specialised stuff at the shows available to them which is likely to increase and sadly paints a bleak picture for the small independent. Dave.

Agree but if your only stock was the accessories that you usually need to pick up at a show its unlikely a shop could survive. What is the mark up on a bag of ballast or even Gibson wheels and how many do you need to sell to pay the rent let alone give you a wage? Dave

Lets hope its planned to be a 'proper' model shop with all the bits and pieces stocked. If this might be the case then all strength to the owner and he would deserve to do well as the city of Glasgow is still without a specialist model shop. We complain of course that we don't have such shops in the west of Scotland but we are probably all guilty of buying online either for convenience or to save a few pounds but the guy on the high st deserves to have your custom even if its a bit more expensive as indeed it needs to be to cover his overheads. I know from a friend who was in the trade that he had to diversify into other aspects like dolls houses etc as the railway side of the shop hardly covered itself and of course the amount of cash tied up in stock on the shelves was incredible..think over £1k for 10 Hornby locos then multiply that by all the other loco boxes not to mention coaches and wagons that your are expecting to see there. A fully stocked shop apart from the rent and rates and utilities must require huge capital and of course the danger is that if you intend to build and start off with little to offer you are often quickly dismissed. Be watching with interest and will certainly patronise if its going in the right direction. Dave.

I wouldn't hold my breath ScRSG if some of the previous Glasgow recommendations are anything to go by! After D & F closed that was it in Glasgow I'm afraid. Dave.

No your right lets not but the strength of the Mac is the fact that the hardware and software would appear to be controlled by the same company and as such are much less prone to compatibility issues. Thats not to say that theres not frustration when after an update you realise that to benefit you might need a faster processor or the like..and its not usually possible then to reload the original. Apple are particularly bad for this so I agree they're not perfect by a long way but most users know this now and if this would be the case and their Mac is running faultlessly they leave well alone. After many PCs the Mac is simply better..reliability literally 100% and has never crashed in 3 years..also silent with no fans or the like and runs cool plus starts in seconds..whats not to like. Yes the price is higher but like quality cars you get what you pay for and hopefully enjoy a long and trouble free relationship. Thats it..apologies in advance for stirring up a possible debate..never intended. Happy Xmas to all Dave.