Edwardian

You're are on fire, storming through this. All excellent developments, though if I had to choose particular highlights, the feeding pigs and chickens and that convincingly scabby Gents.

Meanwhile, since last posting on 28th, I donned my Brave Pants, and without any idea of what I was doing, beyond the brief tutorial on soldering from RAR David, I fired up the iron and took the express to the Land of Bitter Experience, via Plenty of Mistakes on the Way (which, I was delighted to discover recently, is a real place, in the Cotswolds, I believe). Now, advice has been to use at least a 25W iron for track. RAR David has most kindly donated a 30W iron to the WNR's Permanent Way Department, so that bit I got right. I am also the grateful recipient of Carr's 224 General Purpose Solder and Templer's telux soldering fluid (which isn't fluid, I notice. Think "ear wax", and you've got a pretty good idea of it). So, without a baseboard I thought the best thing to do was build a jig to lay the sleepers in. Then, as advised, I could solder one rail and then bend to suit, stick down to the required curvature and add the second rail. You know when, in the school holidays you let your children do "baking" - hugely messy and results, if you are lucky, in something almost resembling a cake? Well, turns out, that's me building track. Here is the progress so far: 1. Built a "jig". Given that I was using intense heat, I thought it best to use something flammable, so chose cardboard. This was the longest part of the job by far. 2. Checked the sleepers fitted. 3. Attacked the sleepers with A Big File. The raggedness is, believe me, deliberate. I read something somewhere about electricity and the need to isolate the rails from each other. Never sure about electricity; missed that day at school, I suspect. 4. Attacked the sleepers with a little carbon brush thingy (also from RAR David) on the basis that this might make the surface clean. 5. Tinned the sleepers. Appear to have used far too much solder. Worked out that I could transfer it to the other side of the sleepers using the iron, thus resulting in slightly less far too much solder. Tinned the bottom of the rails whilst I was about it. 6. Soldered rail to sleepers. 7. Removed from jig. 4 sleepers had not been soldered. 4 more were weak joins that broke on removing the cardboard. 8 failed joins out of 102. Can live with that. 8. Attached the 8 recalcitrant sleepers. 9. Have a yard of sleepers with one rail, all ready for bending to shape to form a siding at Castle Aching. Only the hard bit left to do. Yay!

"I may have mentioned track gauge, but I think I got away with it"

Weathered. Seriously. By the time it's been high-lighted and shaded to give definition, bleached and peeled and covered in track dust and soot, it will be the weathered shades of green and cream! Me being me I'd spray it with Halfords grey primer. I could then brush paint in either water-based acrylics or enamels. I would use for the former, but either would work, it depends what you like working with. Good progress!

Thanks. A big pop-up popped up blocking my view but on closer inspection there was some small print allowing me to get rid of it! Mind you, if the Chap who can't spell and who thinks the Dean Goods is "proper smart" despite not being a Great Eastern fan is anything to go by, I don't think I shall bother with Facetube!

And for those of us who don't do Facetube?

Inspirational stuff (not least to someone with scenery but no track or rolling stock!)

Is it safe to come out from behind the sofa yet? Oh for goodness sake, I'm not the Daleks or the Cybermen!;

Well, to paraphrase Rev. Awdry's 'Duck', that paragon of Western engines: There are only two ways of doing things; the West Norfolk way and the right way.

Great job; tell us how you did it!

Take some shots like that from a slightly lower view-point and you'll have us believing it's the real thing!

Crudest likely to be14Xx

Indeed, but l would trust that modern RTR locos have reasonable wheels and for a layout set c.1905 rolling stock will have to be kit or scratch-built allowing me to standardise with Gibson wheels. I hope this would not be too demanding on the Code 75 track planned. . Only if you reject the self-evident truth that announcing Code 75 BH PO plain track (a product already available) without committing to turnouts/slips (not so readily available RTL at accessible prices) is the non-event of the decade is there any scope for controversy!

Thanks, Gary. Oak Hill is getting quite exciting too, what with signalling. It was suggested to me that I was being all modern with a semaphore signal! However, the one I have in mind is of 1850 vintage, and is also slot in post, so we are embarking upon similar journeys it seems! Excellent tip! Excellent tip! As ever, Simon, much knowledge and wisdom. My rather make do and mend philosophy is to try to keep things relatively simple at this stage. For a first layout, the aim of which was to learn some absolute basics, I am already heading for a fall with track that has to be built and rolling stock that requires mastery of advanced software! So, I will stick with universal OO and see how it looks. Frankly, as I have a fairly catholic collection of stuff, all OO, future layouts are also likely to be to this gauge. I know the Dark Side of Finescale is more powerful than I can possibly imagine, but it's still the Dark Side!

People who buy the Preserved LSWR version must think it has! Nothing here for me, either, but that does not matter. I am more than content with the 4-plank, LNER cattle wagon and 2 of the Dean Goods. What matters is that Oxford goes from strength to strength and continues to fill some interesting gaps.

Right-Ho. This morning I have found time to drill through the chassis block of the 14XX and now have lead poisoning and about a month's worth of filing to do, all so that I will be able to see daylight under the boiler of my Not-Quite-A-T7 tank engine. Of course, whether the chassis still works after my assault upon it with power tools is anyone's guess. I have now proceeded to finish unpacking the box. Underneath the Code 75 FB and the PCB sleepers was a box of SMP's "Scaleway" Flexi-track. For those, like me, not hitherto having first-hand knowledge of this product, see picture below. I note that it represents BH rail with 3-bolt chairs, so that is obviously what the WNR must have used. You will recall that the chaired BH was for the running lines and the If-I-Can-Make-It FB was for sidings. I now have the plain track. Turnouts are a nightmare for another time. The main reason I purchased the flexi-track at this stage was so that I could take the sleeper spacings from this track for the FB. Note that the SMP PCB "OO" Gauge are the same size as the plastic ones. One of the problems is that I cannot exactly manufacture the FB track as flexi-track, so I need to know the path my sidings will follow before construction is attempted. At present I might struggle to find space to lay out the track plan for the station, but we'll see. Pictured below are the FB rails, below that the Code 75 OO SMP flexi-track and below that some Code 100 childhood train-set track that had oddly found itself in one of the boxes when we moved. Not wishing to court controversy, but the picture to my mind illustrates the false dichotomy that I have seen "Gauge" societies present to Ignoramuses like me, whereby a horrible bit of Code 100 OO set-track is nailed on a plank next to a graceful piece of EM, or whatever, gauge track and the punter is invited to accept the superiority of the latter. On looking at my two lengths of track in the flesh, my brain would not accept that the SMP track was the same gauge as the set-track. I had to get a piece of rolling stock out to place on it before I finally accepted that they had sent me OO track. The point of compromise - Peco Code 75 - SMP/C&L OO track, EM or P4 - is a very subjective area and must be left to personal preference and I feel we should respect each other's choices, however, I find my first sight of SMP OO track reassuringly persuasive.

Not in this universe!

Thanks. That's a lost sale then, Hornby.

Yes EDIT: Actually, is that a trick question?

Those pictures are of a great prototype. Thank you for the links. I can imagine them beautifully rendered in card and paper by CourthsVeil of this Parish: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/78502-pappendeckel-buildings-–-something-new/

OO, so I should have 200 PCB OO gauge sleepers, 2 OO track gauges and some Code 75 FB rail.

Thank you, Christian, for your kind interest and, indeed, your perseverance in reading the topic through. Thank you also for taking the trouble to rate the posts as you went along; it is always appreciated, and it is encouraging for me as I stumble over my first layout. I followed your links with much interest. Castle Aching is in part inspired by my own IoW-inspired Isle of Eldernell plans, only my idea is to use the TTs to turn locos, not just as a traverser. CA is influenced by other prototypes, too, not least of which is Rothbury, the NBR terminus in Northumberland; but you know all this, of course! The arrangement at Klütz, to which you link, reminds me particularly of Rothbury. Generally I think you have come to a good place, because this topic is really made by the kind, interesting, helpful and knowledgeable people who frequent it (for reasons best known to themselves, I might add!). They have made my modelling life a pleasure and I owe them a lot in terms of both advice and practical assistance, as well as moral support; for instance, when I started this topic I did not expect to have a line with a proper history going back to the 1850s, or to be about to build my own track, or to be attempting Silhouette or Photoshop, and drawings, photographs and information has flooded in. So, I hope you continue to find something of interest here and that you stick around. All the best James

There's a topic? Now you tell me! Superb pictures of a layout that looks stunning from every angle. All that Stone Nos 1 & 3 brightens my soul, even when there is nothing Great Western running past it. The essence of Glorious Devon.

Me too. Here we go then: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oEsWi88Qv0 Now that box; shall we see what's inside? (whilst listening to the theme from The Third Man) EDIT: (several times)

Quite correct, because he is The Third Dog The dog thinks everything is for him. He communicates chiefly via licking (ugh!), but does not require a tongue extension kit.