Bogie

Indeed we do but we are as passionate about curtains as we are about model trains. Some good folks of Queensland are so worried about curtain fading that we do not have daylight saving in summer! Not sure why I got such a reaction - the current discussion about pies on Seaton Junction(ish) and Honiton Incline seems as related to train modelling as - well - curtains. Each to their own as they say.

Obviously touched a nerve - did not mean to. My apologies. All I was trying to convey was the only criticism one could have with this layout was the curtains - which when you think about it is not a criticism of the layout at all!

I have no right to comment on another person's modelling ability (as mine is not very good) but I am very sensitive about interior decorating and I really do defy any rational person to defend the curtains as seen in post #203. What character are you trying to convey with those curtains?

I think you are right - I am subconsciously modelling Hornby catalogues from the 1970's. In honour of my grandmother's birthday - 22 September - I decided something special needed to be added to Doriston. As I already have the Doris Pullman coach, I have used the fact that my grandmother's father was named Claude to purchase a Hornby D16 in LNER livery. Attached are some photo's of the new guy showing off around town. I have read some criticisms of this model on this forum but I am impressed. Looks and runs great. My layout is not and never will be perfect - so I have a rather relaxed attitude to attention to every detail. Don't get me wrong I won't buy crap but sometimes allowances have to be made. Life is too short to get worked up about a 1/76 model of a steam engine. Others are of course entitled to their views.

I am new to this and know that people in glass houses should not throw stones but really those curtains in the background are hideous! I prefer the mess on the floor. Otherwise looks great.

Whoops the "arty" photo seems to have avoided take off.

In my first post I said I was no modeller. That is as true today as it was when I first posted. I am also no photographer. However, having viewed dozens of great layouts on this forum and read the tips and advice of some very experienced modellers I decided another attempt must be made to bring some shape to my layout and to share the outcome. I opted to embellish the top layer as any disasters could easily be removed and I could pretend it never happened. Below are some photos of the new section. Like the rest of the layout it is not based on a real location or even a region. I am not sure how realistic it is but you have to start somewhere. Looking at it I get this overwhelming sense that I have subconsciously modelled someone else’s model railway - rather than a real location. I have also included a rather "arty" photo that resulted form the sun coming into the room at just the right moment. Still a lot of work to do I know but as I said before - what a great hobby!!

You are forgiven. The water effect is just fantastic!

I live in Brisbane Australia and like a lot of boys in the 1970's I received a Hornby train set for Christmas one year. I am the eldest of four boys so my mother used to discourage me from setting it up so as to avoid younger brothers damaging it. That defeated the whole purpose of having a train set if you ask me. My late grandmother (Doris) was far more accommodating and used to let me set it up in her lounge room every school holidays even though it got bigger and bigger every holiday. University studies, marriage and career meant the train set got packed up in boxes and put away but not entirely forgotten or hidden. A few years back my then six year old son got a glimpse and subsequently wrote a letter to Santa asking for a train set like dad's. Santa delivered on the request and provided the Hornby diesel shunter set. The next thing you know dad says lets get out some of his old train stuff and the whole thing spiralled out of control from there. I took over the spare bedroom and my son's engine never got another look in - it was too modern and only seemed to know full throttle! I quickly filled the room and made an adjoining room useless. That would not have been so bad if my son and I did not also share a passion for Lego. A Lego medieval village had taken over the dining room. My wife - not as hostile to trains as my mother - decided the boys had to put all their toys in the one room and opted to build an extension to the house. I would have been happy with the back of the garage but once an architect got involved I ended up with another storey above the garage with great views and plenty of natural light. The extension was completed in January this year and I have slowly been assembling Doriston - a fictional layout set just before nationalisation so I can run GWR, LMS and LNER. In no way does this layout purport to be authentic. Although I have travelled to the UK I simply do not have the feel for UK railways to presume to model a real location I have no illusions about being a modeller either - my attempts at landscapes look childish and my buildings never look like the photos. As Dirty Harry once observed "a man's got to know his limitations." I am in awe of some of the efforts on this site - especially the bridges. The constant assembling and dismantling of my train set each holiday has made me a bit of a plonk it and see type. That means the layout looks a bit cluttered - engine sheds, signal boxes and water towers seem to be a recurring theme. I can't seem to embrace the less is more philosophy. The layout is also very neat and that reflects my personality more then a real town or railway. The track layout is two outside loops and three internal loops. Simple - but I just like to sit and watch trains go by. Every now and then I move stuff around. It still needs a lot of work with the scenery. There are dozens of Doriston citizens lying around in little containers not to mention a forest of trees. I know nothing about wiring, engineering, timetables, yard operations but I like what I like. Apart from one wagon from the 1970's everything of my childhood set has been replaced. However, every now and then like some streaker at the football a naughty Class 37 goes for a frolic. It would be fair to say that this layout demonstrates what happens if you let someone with a flexible (my wife would say non-existent) budget buy anything he likes on line without any great forward plan. But what a great hobby though!!