simon b

It's update time! The reason for a lack of progress is that I just wasn't happy with the layout, the short platform length and cramped trackwork seemed to get worse the more I looked at it. Also the base board wasn't the best constructed idea, so a few weeks ago I decided to have a redesign. A new bigger, better, baseboard was constructed entirely from 12mm ply. This being a much better design than the 2x1 framing the old board had, feels much more solid too. A size comparison between old and new. The old board was 5.5ft x 16", the new is 6ft x 20". The concept of the layout has remained the same, though with a few small changes. Here is an overview of how things are now. Trains enter the layout from behind the DMU depot as they did before, though this time access to the depot is only from the fiddle yard. The building itself is an old Hornby hst depot, and each road can hold a 3 car dmu on the scenic section. The station platform itself has been lengthened, each road can now easily take a 4 car dmu and looks much more realistic than before. I can now couple dmu's together in the platform to form a peak hour service. The siding at the rear of the layout is a new addition. This serves a print works of some sort, and allows me to do a little shunting giving more operational interest to the layout. Trains of pallet vans or parcel coaches serve the loading dock here, normally hauled by 73's but anything can turn up. There is no runaround loop at the station so trains are top and tailed along the branch, which means a bit of shunting is involved. The station is still elevated above the streets below, although there are a few extra buildings going in now. The yellow looking office building will gain a few extra floors to act as a veiw blocker, this preventing a direct veiw looking along the tracks exiting the layout. And finally an over view from the other end. This new setup looks a lot more realistic to me, much less awkward than before but with more operational interest. Hope you all like the changes I've made,

I'm sure I've seen that marker before, I could be wrong but I think that one is located in the tunnels under smithfeild market.

Far from abandoned I'm pleased to say, just not had time to do a proper update. I'll post some pics of progress soon.

Hi all, I've seen a few of the old wrenn pullman coaches for sale in the blue and grey "Golden arrow" livery, I quite like the look of these for running behind my 71. Obviously being 20+yrs old they are not going to be as accurate as the latest Hornby offerings, but how bad are they? Are the body shells reasonably correct in dimensions?, window placement?, ect, or are they more like the old Hornby "shortie" coaches? Cheers, Simon.

Hi all. I'm looking for a spare Hornby 2hal DMBS bodyshell, preferably complete with glazing. Color dosent matter as it's needed for a conversion. Please get in touch if you can help. Simon.

A little early for the time I'm modeling but I couldn't resist adding a baby deltic to the fleet. I have a class 15 in green with small yellow ends somewhere at home, so I could operate the layout in a late 60's guise should it take my fancy.

I quite fancy repainting one of these into "Jean", resident shunter at the paddock wood Transfesea terminal back in the 90's. Link to a pic on flikr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/36034969@N08/8469292980 Looks like british steel blue would be a good match, the wasp stripes being white instead of yellow is quite interesting.

For the siding at the rear of the layout (market siding), I now have a Walthers kit to create a basement level loading dock underneath the building. The kit itself only builds a small building so I'm going to use the side walls to extend the front, then build new side walls out of embossed brick sheet. This should look quite good with the Transfesea van's shunted underneath. My thanks go to Graham for sending me this kit, as well as another that will make an appearance in the future. The original kit should build into this:

A small update on this layout... After quite a search I now have an LT pannier to work the occasional engineers train into the station, this and the brake van are from Bachmann, possibly from the "Midnight Metropolitan" train set. I'm now looking to either repaint a few Heljan dogfish wagons to run with this, or build up a few of the cambrian kits. A representation of a hurst nelson brake van is on the wish list to complete the rake.

I've just read the article in model rail, which has lead me to this thread. How I had not seen this layout before is beyond me. So refreshing to see something other than a green fields BLT, the buildings frame the scene well. I reckon a couple of the big sheerness steel jxa open wagons would look right at home on Rosamund street.

Looking good, the staggered entrance/exit to the lower level is particularly effective. Is the rearmost tunnel the br line and the line the tanks are on private?

The layout's looking great, would love to see this in person when it's up and running. What's the building next to the flats going to be?

The disused low-level station is a good idea, I thought about doing similar based on Holborn viaduct low level.

Any recent pictures of the layout? I was looking on the Redditch mrc website and this looks just my sort of thing.

A small update... Ordered a few detailing kits via the website back in august, nothing ever delivered and no response via phone or email, so in the end I had to get paypal to refund the money. Refund received last week. So it seems the situation remains unchanged.

A pair of new arrivals, a lima 33 and 73 in ews livery. These will be detailed up at some point, need to finish the dmu's first though.

So the platform road's have been extended to take 3 car dmu's in both platforms. I really need to start getting the buildings in place now, I plan to build the terminus end of the layout first and work my way out to the other board.

A quick overveiw of the dmu fleet on the garden table, still need to make time to fit the craftsman detail kits to the 121.s and 117's.

The length of the platforms has been bugging me this week. Platform 1 which is to the rear of the layout will easily take a 3 car dmu, but platform 2 can only take 2 cars because of the point for the depot kickback. I've ordered a medium radius y point which will allow me to move the depot point further out, and should give just enough room for 3 cars in the platform road. I've also started construction of the fiddle yard / dmu depot board, should be interesting to see what I can fit on that. The lima nse 117 has gained a center car, and also I have another 3 car nse 117 in the post from ebay. SE flush glazing kit's, and craftsman detailing packs are waiting for these two.

Your right Dave, that I should as they are not mine. These were the first ones that popped up in a google image search, so I've found and posted a link to which website they are linked to. As it turn's out 3 of them are your own!, I hope you didn't take offense to my borrowing of them? Simon.

David, do you know what wheels your's has fitted? Are they the ones listed on ebay?

Love to see it guy's, the more pics the better! Now a de-icing or stores unit is something I hadn't thought of, that would be a good excuse to blank various windows out ect. Perhaps use the center car to make the driving ends nearer the correct length. A quick google come's up with a few 2 hal departmental units, so something along these lines could work. Pic borrowed from: http://www.bloodandcustard.com/HAL001.html Above 3 pics from: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/39263-2-hal/page-4 Pic from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/74009/4920893989

Hi all, has anyone ever converted the old Triang emu into something more realistic? I was tempted to make a single car motor luggage van to run alongside the Hornby emu's, but interested to see what people have done with the old girl? I'd quite like to build something to run with this lot.

Sorry guy's I've been so tied up with life and the other layout I had forgotten about this one! The 116 isn't a Bachmann model but a modified lima 117, that's what come's of typing away at midnight. I'll get a few pics for you, but using a few cut and shut bodyshells I've removed the toilet from the center car, shortened the guards compartment on the dmbs, and removed it completely on the other to make a dms. The gangway connections have also been filled. I still need to find time to fit the flush glaze kit's into them, I did that to a nse liveried one a while back as well as painting the inside of the window edges black. That improved them alot. Though I do think they sit a little high on their bogies. The Hornby class 31's are the super detailed jobs, the main reason for buying these was for the smooth running of them. But I'm told the ex-lima railroad 31 has a new motor setup which performs quite well. I always thought the lima body was a good molding, but I could never get the old pancake motor's to run smoothly at low speed's. I think one of the railroad 31's detailed up will make a good model so I might try that in the future. The Hornby super detailed pair haven't had any problem's with chassis cracking yet, and are as smooth a you like through point work, very impressive to watch with the suburbans in tow. Simon.

I think a Costa coffee will look good in the corner building, as you say they are everywhere you look in London. Put the first coat of paint on the sainsbury's frontage today, helps me picture what it will all look like.