Hibelroad

Guilty as charged, I do have very little interest in continental layouts because I cannot relate to them. But I also have a very narrow field of interest when it comes to layouts and often would only take an interest in one or two layout at a show (probably something smallish and industrial). When I was a regular show visitor I would spend most of my time at trade stands. I think it takes all sorts so a good mix of scales and styles of layouts is likely to be the most interesting show.

Don’t be apologetic about your work bench, we cannot all be that neat and tidy.

Great work, I'm really enjoying this layout and I like the way you are prepared to change things around in order to make improvements. For such a small layout it has many inspirational view points and is a great reminder that railway modelling is supposed to be fun.

Curses, I’ve been rumbled.

In answer to the second question, no, looks like a 3d print job to me.

Hit and miss bond ?

I think you have answered your own question really, eBay best price but charges and post and packing to pay, possibly bad/fraudulent buyers causing hassle. Dealers give a fairly low price but quick and easy way to dispose of the lot, it’s really a trade off of going for an easy life against hard work giving the chance of a lot more money.

Indirectly associated with operations, they placed felt pads under rail chairs for smoother running, an early form of foam track underlay.

Finally found the instructions - this should make all clear Pentroller.pdf

The OP does not indicate his experience but I would say that building a layout that large in 2 mm scale was not a beginners project, more the layout of a lifetime. Normally such a large layout ( sounds like about 150 sq ft) would be a club project and could not be run easily by one person. Without doubt you could fit just about anything into that amount of real estate but the cost and time involved would be considerable. Personally I would look to build something more manageable or go for a larger scale.

The Angelsey line from Holland Arms to Red Wharf/Benllech was worked on a push pull basis. There is a picture of a train at Pentraeth which can be found on the internet and the engine appears to be a Webb 4ft 6ins tank (2-4-0). I have not been able to find any more details, there is also a picture of what could be the same train in LNWR Miscellany Vol 2, said to be taken at the terminus near Benllech but again nothing is too clear.

Bassenthwaite Lake (April 2007) was another one of my favourites, basically a simple roundy roundy but very well done and very atmospheric. I saw it at a few exhibitions and it never failed to impress me. As a bonus it is of course also the answer to the old trick question “how many lakes are there in the Lake District ?”

Great Moor street (April 2015). Compact, doable and operational potential.

It’s a shame that this collection is being broken up, it was my sole reason for visiting the castle. However it was a rather strange set up and it is in the nature of collecting for items to move on to other collections. Knowing some of the strange decisions of the National Trust in recent years perhaps we should be grateful that these items are not to meet a more grisly fate or be locked away out of public sight.

I have built and also failed to build a few white metal kits in the past, it’s rather a clunky material but does have its uses, DJH certainly produce some very fine castings in 7 mm kits which are made from an alloy similar to white metal. Etched brass is still the mainstay for kit building and I don’t see it being bettered any time soon. It’s true that it’s a bit compromised when laminated for motion parts or brake blocks, this is just the kit designer trying to produce a complete kit and such parts can be replaced with castings or home machined parts if desired. I have little experience of 3D printed parts but from what I have read they are far from a complete solution, the fact is that good models are constructed from several materials and each have their part to play when used correctly.

That’s very interesting but I think I might have to drag myself into the 21st century and get an instagram account in order to view it all properly. I often think that as railway modellers we are very insular and live in a tight knit circle and as a result we miss out on the work and inspiration of other crafters.

According to Iain Rice (Railway Modelling the realistic way) Germany in the 1890s disdained metric, possibly because it was too French. So I would think that they later rounded up to 7mm once they changed to metric. However a track gauge of an inch and a quarter works out as 31.75 mm so it’s not clear if the current 32mm was part of the same rounding exercise. This is mostly my guesses, I don’t have much in the way of contemporaneous material to support them.

4 mm to the foot, there is a good compromise for the metric v imperial debate.

Las Vegas (not to be confused with Staly Vegas). It’s an event sort of place, staff dress as Barbara Windsor style nurses and customers wear surgical gowns. OK for a one off bit of fun but having been poked and prodded on a coronary unit I wouldn’t recommend it as a lifestyle.

My driving instructor (1972) told me that I should only use indicators if there is someone (vehicle or pedestrian) around who would need to know what I was about to do. He advised that I did that on my test as it would show that I was aware of all other road users. I did and passed. These days the roads are so busy that you inevitably have to use them all the time.

If the sea is level how do you account for tides? Some bits are sometimes higher than others!

Is the current car a DeLorean? His wife was 23 years old 50 years ago but is now only 69. This is the sort of detail I worry about. Possibly he has remarried? I bet I’ve ruined it now.

It’s railway modelling Jim but not as we know it.

Great to see that Chris Pendlenton is up to his snowy antics again, its been too long. This is the time of year when I dig out MRJ 195, the classic Christmas issue.

I consider myself reasonably proficient at soldering after about 50 years practice but only “discovered” brass wool a few years ago, I found it to the best tip cleaner by far and thoroughly recommend it.