ruggedpeak

I think there should be some limit on size to avoid disputes later, or clear judging rules that ensure size does not confer any advantage There was suggestion earlier of 7 feet, which strikes me as enormous! Sadly I don't model anywhere near finescale so won't be entering, but will be interested to see the results. I do have a OO micro/cameo layout under way that is about 4 foot including fiddle yard and 10 inches wide, which seems about right.

I'd question the sanity of anyone proposing to repeat the car crash of the last few years. Younger people and a more consumer orientated approach are precisely not where the market is, as the last managment regime proved comprehensively and beyond any reasonable doubt. If this Anton fella is spouting this sort of nonsense then I fear for the company and the progress it has made. And that's the polite version!

Photographic note to self - next time I use a Mk3 as my longest rail vehicle don't use an ex-Virgin one in black and red, nightmare to photograph! Something brighter next time.

Late last night I took the scalpel and sprue snips to the Metcalfe viaduct I'd already made up and reduced its height to 110mm by trimming off the bottom. Fortunately I managed to do it without completely butchering it and it now sits at a similar height to the retaining wall. Looks OK, pleased with it. Shows the strength of the Metcalfe kits if well glued as it was very awkward cutting through the bottom of the walls with right angles and reinforced sections without crushing it. Will trim the other viaduct before I build it so should be easier.

Indeed, and their prices have gone up quite a bit recently, some partially hidden by 'extras' such as fitted passengers. £140 for the Highlander coach set? 2 coaches at £70 each. Even discounted it's still nearly £60 a coach. That is seriously expensive for a model that is essentially just a relivery.

Having been slightly hung over this morning the best thing to get over it was to sit and glue the various components of the retaining wall together. Having got each section made they were placed on the board, as below. Looking more like a layout now A few things arose: there is a gap at one end between the wall and viaduct but I have brick material that matches it so will fill it the viaduct brickwork pattern is not the same as the retaining wall I will need to widen the baseboard by 2cm or so as the wall is quite deep due to the abutments another realisation - the short platform '2' will have to be shorter as the viaduct blocks it off, but a 153 will just fit so passengers can alight at each end I also considered installing another retaining wall section and pushing the station end tunnel mouth to the edge of the board, as set out below. However I feel this makes the station scenic end more difficult and less flexible. With the full width the viaduct on the board the station can either be a terminus or a through station, and I don't have to worry so much about the end scenery as it is concealed under the viaduct. The layout can potentially be a through layout (sort of modular) for much longer trains if the fiddle yard is extended and another fiddle yard put behind the station end. This is quite appealing to have a much longer train, say an ATW DVT sitting at the platform and then pulling away and the whole train emerging. The lower height viaduct is much better, and can't be any lower or train roofs will catch. I just need to carefully cut down the viaduct section I've built and trim the one that is still in the packet before I make it. Hopefully a new blade on the knife and some care will mean that works out OK. Next job is to mark the approximate position of the points and think about widening and strengthening the board before it warps.

I have mocked up a viaduct at a reduced height of about 110mm, which is just about the height of the retaining wall kit I am building at the moment. At that height the tunnels still look quite high, however I won't cut down the mockup further until the retaining walls are finished and can be positioned as if I cut down the viaduct there will a height difference at each end where they join. May take a while as there's a few repetitive bits in the kit to glue.

Voted H, was also going to vote for D but realistically its only H that I'd end up buying. Highland version is a definite

Oh, you've really done it now. Given the global disaster that is the non-availability of Dodo's and Pecketts generally, suggesting something involving 2 Dodo's is just cruel. Nice image btw

Stop taking credit for stuff you didn't do. We all know it was the Russians and North Koreans

Thanks Greg, yours look good too. Rails certainly have Hornby 153's inexpensive prices. Tony

That's why its £125, it has bluetooth connection to an app on your phone giving real time performance data. The electronics just fit into the enclosed area so won't be visible. Looks like this will be a fantastic model.

Only a short term problem, as vaping customers will only have a limited lifespan. Would be interesting to see the accounts, as if the business has not had to carry current market rents or a mortgage based on current property prices then it may be a different proposition for a new owner taking on a tenancy. I would guess the building may be Mr Grain's pension fund. Interestingly Google Maps allows you to look inside the shop. The blurb above refers to 1152sq but doesn't say feet or metres, but I'm guessing its the latter? Seems to be all the ground floor but it extends up High Cross Street, with the upper floors being offices that have 'To let' boards on. It is a nice looking shop from the photos. There will be a lot of stock to buy as well. Can the business sustain full rental and other costs is my first question. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.9545438,-1.1432391,3a,75y,276.11h,95.86t/data=!3m9!1e1!3m7!1sbU-6zprwN0aBd3JiTaQ3CA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!9m2!1b1!2i21 https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@52.954528,-1.143345,3a,75y,253.62h,76.5t/data=!3m9!1e1!3m7!1sauyNPpaGC4HwNuZuVrOTbA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!9m2!1b1!2i21

The next activity has been to build a Metcalfe viaduct to form the scenic break. This double arched viaduct becomes a key limitation on the track layout, but having it built gave me something tangible to play with. I did consider a single span girder bridge or similar but would like the try and get the layout to fit the viaduct kit. After a lot of playing around with the track plans I have come up with the following which seems to quiet well: The main change is the move to use a Hornby Y point on the lower fiddle yard entrance. I then found that normal Hornby points don't fit well with the Y point in terms of geometry but an old Peco Streamline LH point fits almost perfectly. This means I can retain 3 roads in the fiddle yard - using Hornby points back to back was too wide to have double tracks through the viaduct, hence switchingto the Y. This means there can be shunting moves independent of trains going in and out of both platforms at the station. A Mk3 passing into the viaduct at this point does get quite close to the brick pier but fits: The Metcalfe viaduct kit has two double arch sections to it, and one is almost the perfect width for the board. It then dawned on me that the other section would be ideal as the scenic end for the station: The platform will still sit between the Pacer and Mk3, but with the viaduct sitting on top of it. I have a Metcalfe retaining wall kit to run alng the back which was slightly too short for the original backscene gap, but with both viaducts it may now fit. This has several advantages: 1) I don't have to figure out how to model a 'flat' end of platform/station scene 2) It gives the impression of being a through line 3) I could use this layout as a through station as part of a large layout in the future This is the approximate track layout now: This leaves one key question, are the viaducts too high for the setting? They are a lot taller than the trains - is this prototypical or do they need cutting down. Will need to plough through books and magazines to see if there are similar prototypes. I think it works at the station end with the extra height but am going to do a cardboard model of reduced height at the other end to see how it looks to make it more like a tunnel entrace.

The link takes me straight to issu.com. As a windows 2 in 1 user this is no use as I can't pre-download the mag. Hopefully in future it will be in PDF format so I can download it to read on the train the next day or when I've got wifi access.

Copy of post I put into the 68 thread showing detail of red stripes Just watched these two videos (not mine). EDIT the red strips over the doors as continuation of the body markings are on the new 88's, not 68's. Slight variation in livery presumably to reflect them being part leccy.

Some close ups. Note the tiny DRS logo in white on the dark area below the windscreen - Dapol have got this on their model

Just watched these two videos (not mine). EDIT the red strips over the doors as continuation of the body markings are on the new 88's, not 68's. Slight variation in livery presumably to reflect them being part leccy.

Caught a glimpse of a Balfour Beatty SPA 461071 at the Balfour depot behind Colchester Station from the train yesterday. Went back and after some clambering around got these pictures (see gallery for the rest) as I have only found 1 other photo of a BB SPA on the web. Not great as I had to climb over a large concrete ditch and up a bank to get to the fence(!) but some detail including electrical box (?) on the end. Bushes prevent decent side photo.