richard.h

Looks good, what colours have you used to get that effect?

I seem to remember reading that Cif was an attempt to make the product more saleable in europe, I know that the original name would be pronounced as a guttural Hif in Spanish as thought you were clearing your throat.

Another no, there are no sharp angles visible between the the different components of the train so the picture works well and just appears as a typical foreshortened view.

Nice to see your latest work, good pictures and great progress, especially the signals, you must have a great deal of patience to get all those working.

Good idea after you recent experience but I would keep a hoover handy as well as there are bound to be a few loose granules that go astray.

Those close up shots of the buildings really do highlight the quality of the structures on Peterborough North, its rare to be able to take such fine detail shots without exposing minor flaws and in these examples I just can't see imperfections at all, perfect!

Has anyone had any experience of the electrical continuity of the new bullhead rail joiners. I have recently been laying a new section to the layout using the bullhead rail and have connected droppers to every section of track, even the shortest ones as I was concerned about the loss of power to the rails in future with such a small contact area.

I was talking to someone earlier today who is a GWR fan about the excellent quality of the Night Owl models and he said that while 2-8-0s were originally designed for hauling freight during the night their performance proved so good that they were frequently used for hauling passenger stock particularly during the summer months.

That's a relief, I have recently been laying a new section using bullhead rail, (with stronger glasses for fitting the rail joiners) and it's quite a delicate job. My first point is in the post and it made me wonder how I was going to secure it with insulated rail joiners, now I know that they are not necessary.

If you are planning to stay with your NCE controllers then I would recommend the system I use at the moment. Tortoise point motors (100% reliable so far) controlled by Switch 8s. I then use NCEs macro system with routes for each area, Station, Fiddle Yard, Loco Shed etc, so with a combination of about three macros a train can be routed from any point A to B on the layout. With advances in technology there are lots of new systems coming on line such as the Z21 and Rocrail systems which can be used with smart phones and cable free but personally at the moment I am reluctant to ditch something that has worked so reliably for the past few years.

70 is an awful lot of roads, how big are the baseboards going to be. If you can't prewire the boards underneath before you lift them in place and are not bothered about appearance then why not wire everything including the bus rails on the surface where it will all be accessible.

The second photo is an interesting shot from a new angle that I haven't seen used before but if you are going to use it regularly I would consider adding some ballast. It is not apparent in the first photo but shows up in the second, maybe we have just been spoiled and we or not used to seeing bare track on Peterborough North running lines

On this thread nothing seems to be set in stone, things are constantly changing as new ideas surface. i don't know about anyone else but I find it fascinating to watch the continuous stream of new top quality models that are produced, every time I log on I am looking forward to see the latest developments.

Very sad to hear this news, I have used his website frequently over the years it has been an invaluable source of information. Lets just hope that the site can be kept running both as a reference work for railway enthusiasts and a tribute to David.

Great to see your progress on the engine shed, with regard to loco lamps i'm afraid I just glue mine on set for the most likely turn the loco would have been used for. I tried temporary fixing (too fiddly) and using tacky wax but some came loose and then of course you are thinking where did it go and has it done any damage.

Sad to see Bacup being dismantled I followed its progress with great interest especially the building of those northern streets and ginnels and learned a lot from it. However its obviously time to move on and I am sure your new layout will provide new challenges which again I can learn from.

I am running out of adjectives, that is one of your best pictures yet, a clever viewpoint and everything in focus. Did you use some form of photo processing to get that depth of field?

I used to buy from Track-Shack, their prices and delivery were excellent the suddenly orders were no longer accepted as you have a European address. This has also happened with some other companies I used to deal with, all without explanation, is it now to much trouble to post to Europe or are they just preparing for Brexit

Look forward to following this layout as it develops, quality modelling set in beautiful countryside and you don't even have to make your own location names up, Burthersett Bottoms indeed.

It's worth weathering as an individual item but then as you have done in the rake keep it away from that lovely new non corridor third (which I am sure you are not going to touch) otherwise the contrast could be too great

More stunning pictures you really have captured the Loco Shed atmosphere very well. As an aside could I just ask how you create the grassed areas, I bought one of the cheaper static applicators but it seems to struggle with 4mm and longer so its difficult to get the variation you would see in lineside situations.

Great set of layout pictures and a very interesting idea with the roller blind. Its annoyed me for a long time, how does the track get dirty in the fiddle yard when there are trains sat there most of the time which of course prevent you cleaning it.

Thank you everyone for your replies, I think the general consensus is they are quite good locos with exceptional haulage power and certainly at that price they are worth buying, so I think an order is due, having checked Hattons latest stock levels. It's just that it can be a bit of a hassle returning products from here so I usually try and sort out any minor problems myself which probably invalidates the guarantee anyway

I'm very tempted by Hattons offer on these locos but have previously kept away from them as I have seen reports of front bogies derailing and the valve gear coming adrift. Has anyone else had problems with the 02s or was it just a few of the earlier locos that suffered with teething problems.

I used the AK series fuel stains as well, this worked well on a porous surface where it could soak in but I found that on the concreted area (made from plasticard) it dried quite dark and thick and would probably looked better with a diluted mix.