Northroader

I'm afraid it went in 1951, before diesels had been invented (tongue in cheek, here) however, if it gives you nspiration, it's never stopped anyone yet from tailoring things to suit their needs. Googling tollesbury images, that big red lightship plonked in the salt marsh takes some beating. Looks as if you've got the usual suspects to aid and abet you.

http://lowres-picturecabinet.com.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/43/main/60/374760.jpg This sort of thing? (Tollesbury Pier)

Didn't he offer a free trip to America for a young lady provided she ..er.. looked after him, and a few weeks, still not in America, on she discovered he actually worked for the ferry company? or is that another joke?

Bootiful

The GWR trains would leave Paddington with a King or a Castle and get as far as Wolverhampton L.L. where they'd shed a few coaches like the diner, as well as the train engine, and on with any sort of 460, Counties were quite common. Then off for a tour of Welsh borderland to get to Chester, where they terminated in the bay. For the last leg to Birkenhead another engine came on the back, maybe a GWR prairie, but just as possibly a LMS 264T, all highly scruffy.The GWR trains terminated at the old Woodside station, a neat station square on to the Mersey with arched roof. (Good contender for the Minories title) out of the doorway in the concourse, turn right, and down the covered bridge way on to the pontoon for the ferry service. These were really frequent, no hanging about, and over to the Pier Head. Off the pontoon bridge, turn left and along the quay road for several hundred yards, where you'd find the IoM boat. (If you were a Boy Scout lugging a big kitbag for summer camp it seemed a hell of a way) Beyond that there were the moorings for the big stuff, Cunarders for Canada up the St. Lawrence- possibly they did Boston from there? (For New York you went from Southampton) and the lovely white Canadian Pacific "Empresses" going the same way. For interest it was quite a good journey. As mike says there was also the through set Birkenhead Bournemouth, via Oxford,( tuppeny hapenny - very cruel) As I said I liked it for the immaculate green turnout, three years after nationalisation I got to observe goings on at Charing Cross, and found the Kent Coast trains with Bulleid Pacifics just as scruffy as everybody else. Robs LMS set on a PLymouth Manchester train was another interesting through working, when you get to the top of Filton bank, turn left, not right like today's cross country's, and off through the Tunnel for Pontypool Road, Shrewsbury and Crewe.

Does that centre wheelset on the beetle have any downward springing applied, or does it just float freely? ( six wheelers drive me doo-ally)

Got to the alsrm show at Reading today, and found a line which would have your breath coming in short pants. Trowland by Mr. Trevor Nunn. I've put in a link to the S scale society's gallery, which seems the best place for pictures. East Lynn, another of his, is also in the gallery, which does have a variety of beautiful modelling.http://www.s-scale.org.uk/gallery27.htm

Coalbrookdale, the "coke hearth" end. Tight curve and steep gradient here as well.

Where's the muddy puddles?

The colour scheme is faux Highland Railway. I've made the green a bit lighter than it should be, actually I'm quite fond of the br dmu green, it gets used on other jobs where really it shouldn't be, mainly to add a bit of brightness, where the proper green would look a bit dark on a model. The Arriva cream I like for not being too yellow.

Here's one picture, warts and all. I'm using a bow pen, (right handed) supported against a steel set square straight edge. Normally left hand would be holding this steady instead of clicking the camera. The upper half of the coach is painted cream, the mouldings done "gold", then the tops picked out in the green body colour, the corners done with the pen. You are allowed to go around again, and again, when dry, touching up the edges where one colour has blobbed over another. Paint is Phoenix enamel, BR multiple unit green and Arriva cream, gold a concoction. Just keep on practising.

Jolly hockey sticks, eh, Watson?

Age is on my profile. Afraid I didn't do pictures then. We're talking east Shropshire, and the thing I do remember is the SR set was always turned out in immaculate condition, as postwar most of the trains coming through were nowhere near as clean, even the Cambrian Coast. I'm sorry to say locos in particular were quite grimy, only some of the Castles were what you'd call creditable, it was hard to tell if most GWR locos were even green or not.

Ahh, you naughty Engleesh!!http://jaquo.com/king-edward-7-biarritz/

Correct, it was very nice to see a full set of malachite green stock coming through, contrasting with the GWR and LMS stuff. You had to go up to Wrexham to see any LNER, but there wasn't the LMS there.

Today I had a "GON-FEST", celebrating the arrival of two new Atlas 50' gondolas I've picked up cheap on eBay. So far they've had proper profile wheels put on, kadees added, and lettering deleted. Next question is who are they going to be painted and lettered for, I'm just doing a stocktake to help me decide. Their mates already on the line turned out to cheer them on, CNR, PRR, WAB. Only the CNR has a load, so that's another thing to do. Then they all went together, and the beep hauled the five of them along, a great sight, but only having about two foot of track left for the run. There's something about the beep which really grabs me, it seems to do more running than the rest. Size? easy to place on the track? low cost? character? whatever it is, there's a second one taking shape, but not having an RMT body this time. More about that another day.

Interesting idea, good luck with this one.

I haven't messed with OO track for a very long time, so a bit out of touch with what's on offer these days. Some thoughts: A) at this stage of the proceedings buying points out of a box rather than trying to build them is sensible. You'll lose too much time and there's always the chance you won't get a perfect result. B) if you get hold of paper patterns for the full set of products, Peco always used to do them, you can play at fitting it in. Your original plan looks very expansive, does this tie in with the boards you've made? (I'm usually shoe horning items into a very cramped area.) C) when laying it out, avoid S bends, that is change of direction in curvature immediately on top of each other. Put a length of straight track in between the change of direction curves to get a reverse curve. D) Dons use of a flexible batten will give you a good approximation to a transition curve, so if you're trying out patterns along the length of a batten you shouldn't go far wrong. Transition helps with the sudden throw over between the couplings on long bogie stock, so it isn't so vital in station limits on a slow speed, short bodied operation. E) Model railway equipment is designed to be forgiving to less than ideal conditions, such as having oversize flanges. F)there's nearly always a box at a collectors fair close to you with old track and points which isn't irredeemable, at a fraction of the costs of some of the new stuff. you can always replace it later.

I thought Clifford was interesting, in that it had a very modellable water tank. It was the last stop on the line before the GVR joined the Midland, and I suppose the thinking was to save being billed by the MR for water.https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=clifford+railway+station&client=safari&hl=en-gb&prmd=minv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi5ypiT5cLTAhWqDsAKHc0qCnoQ_AUICigC&biw=1024&bih=704#imgrc=BejZSlHFc4__6M:

Why was that then??

Correct. You get the impression that if they can turn a tank engine, they do.

Bonjour, c'est Routier du Nord ici! Mon ami Kevin 'e say ze ideal Norfolk line ees at Mont St Michel, naughty boy! But 'e has raison, oui! Go to where ze createurs des chateaux com from, n'est ce pas? Forget you obsessions wiz Wells et 'Unstanton - pouf! I geef you Andelys, Entretat, Carteret - formidable! http://forum.e-train.fr/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=76745

Actually there's a pipe inside her trouser leg to do that.

Heading west on an HST accelerating through Tilehurst this afternoon just after four o'clock, and this vision in white tore past on the up relief. The penny was just dropping what it might be, and it was gone, and I hadn't even clocked whether it was functioning with the pans up.

That's a fantastic story, well worth telling. In the airship diorama, I think they'd need a few more people hanging on to the rope?