David Siddall

That is excellent news :-) It would be great if you could share Richard's contact details so I can order some ASAP... 'Lincs' are (IMO) the least intrusive auto-couplings I've seen for 7mm scale, work brilliantly on Factory Lane Sidings and for that reason I really want to use them on on my layout. I've been putting off of fixing the track and starting ballasting because I want to get the magnets in place to test them with my chosen auto-couplings first. Ahhhh, the joys of depositing a hopper wagon on my coal-drops without having to deploy the hand of (insert deity of choice here) to release pesky three-links chains (its an eyesight thing ;-) David

Difficult to measure precisely whilst they're still in the packet Chris – the header card says "to suit all fixing requirements" ;-) D

And unless you're going for all glued construction I can let you have a couple of packets of left-over holes... ;-) David

I'm liking that! Inspiration for a ancient grounded North Eastern van body I think :-) David

When the infrastructure catches up with your superbly modelled locos, stock and buildings that's going to be one awesome layout Chris :-) David

I have to say, cheaper ply has its time and place, although, as Chaz says, it may involve compromises... Another anti-splintering trick when cutting plywoods is to paint thinned PVA, proprietary wood hardener; or best of all (IMO) thinned Expoxy Resin along the line you want to cut on both sides of the sheet. Whatever 'hardener' you use it needs to be thinned sufficiently to ensure it soaks through the outer ply's and bonds them thoroughly. Finally to protect edges from moisture and splintering as a result of accidental knocks give them a further couple of coats. David

One way to minimise splinters when cutting plywood (or any laminated material for that matter) is to run some masking tape along both sides of the sheet along the line you intend to cut, rub it down firmly, draw the line you want to follow onto the masking tape and off you go. Jigsaws (manual or powered) are best at cutting curved shapes not straight lines and its difficult to avoid shaggy edges as the blade flails about when attempting a straight cut. A hand-held circular saw is probably the best tool for square-cutting sheet of any description, or failing that a nice new rip saw held at about 10-15 degrees from the timber and used gently (allowing the saw to do the work). How do I know this... ownership of a woodworking shop as part of a sign business and two narrow boats fitted out from bare steel shells. Both used ply in various forms (shuttering, marine, faced, etc) in prodigious quantities and in niether application were splintered edges an option... David

David, your craftsmanship and vision has resulted in another outstanding model. However, with this one, I think you've moved on to capturing something that's much harder to invoke... character and presence. :-) David

My suggestion was based on a piece of advice you yourself gave me several years ago Mike. I'd mentioned that I'd been reading Paul Karau's 'Great Western Branchline Termini Vol 2' in which he states that Hemyock lost its 'home' and 'starter' signals as early as 1912. Another contributor suggested: "...one engine in steam lines had their signalling removed in the 1920s/30s e.g. Watlington?" Your reply included the following on which I based my understanding... "Some places, especially those with developing traffic in the 1930s were fairly comprehensively signalled, as were places where the signalling was renewed, while some others which were 'reduced' (usually to One Engine In Steam) never had their signalling updated or sometimes had most of it removed". David

Bin there.... bought kits for a post mounted starter and a couple of ground signals for my layout's initial geographic location and time-line only for someone to mention that West Country branches with limited traffic started to have much (if not all) of their signalling removed and the 'one-engine-in-steam' rule applied 'before' nationalisation. Not totally though... the Fairford branch retained both ground and post signals long after all about it were losing theirs (still in place and fully operational at the end of passenger traffic in June 1962) so a Rule 1 based scenario might be in order? David

I reckon that's one of those things that only you as the builder might notice Rod... the rest of us wouldn't see it (...being otherwise engaged admiring the overall impression given by your superb modelling :-) David

Just caught up with this thread again Don, what superb trackwork! David

Does brickwork get better than that? I don't think so :-) David

Did you order what I think are called bridge chairs? They used to be in the Exactoscale range now owned by C&L. They have a smaller (square) base than the standard chair and are handy around the 'vee' and where the blades sit close to the outer rails and space is tight. Saves a lot of fiddly chopping of C&L's standard sized item. You can see examples in this photo of my second turnout, they are (were) a lighter brown (toffee-colour) D

And the result will be worth everything you put into it! There would have to be an incredibly good reason for me to revert to ready-to-plonk track and turnouts now I've had a go at building my own. Well, apart that is from fiddle yards and the bit in the scenic section of my current layout that's going to be buried apart from the railheads which it would be a shame to waste timber sleepers. Go Chris... (uh oh, sorry... sad old bloke trying to sound street ;-) D

Cor...that's one impressive display of joinery skills Martyn! If I was looking for a word ending in 'ery' to describe my little rectangular whimsey it would have to be 'bodgery' by comparison ;-) What with all the other refinements you're planning (and having seen some of your previous work on here) I have a feeling there's one rather awesome layout in the offing. D

Easingwold...? No... don't know that one, the North West is all a bit new to me! Ah... he returns after a spot of Googling and fifteen minutes distracted by this delightfully esoteric light railway. Some serious food for thought – thanks Andrew. David PS: If you haven't sampled the delights of Easingwold Railway try this Google image search – you could end up caught by the Hudswell Clarkes ;-)

I'm well impressed that you got as far as you did with Templot... despite my respect for those who've mastered it, and for Martin Wynne who created it, I just cannot get my head around the complexity of it all. And it's not like I'm a computer-illiterate either... I've been earning a living (ish) using complex software like Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Dreamweaver since they were invented. I have heard however that graphic designers don't necessarily make good CAD draftsmen (draftspersons?) and vice verse – a psychologist will probably tell you that our respective brains are wired up differently ;-) David

Hi Andrew... your superbly weathered Ixion HC has me wondering precisely why I'm exercising so much effort pursuing my ambition of building an industrial 0-4-0 from a kit. Bon voyage :-) David Footnote: Other contributors please refrain from a chorus of 'We told you so!' in response to my admiration of Andrew's weathering of an r-t-r product. Mr Klein, feel free to have a well earned chuckle ;-)

Really appreciate that Chris... life is just beginning to show signs some kind of something (not quite sure what though) and as a result my much abbreviated project is now reborn and slowly gathering momentum. Couldn't possibly comment on the intrusion of things Swindon-style into north Cornwall bearing in mind I have at least two photos of a 'pannier' heading up a Maunsell set at Wadebridge! I've resolved the conundrum by abandoning my Western roots and moving my focus 'oop norf' (the North East to be precise) where I can happily take my pick of any number of small 'industrials', J72s and J94s without so much as a whiff of Rule 1. TTFN.... David

The Eric Underhill (formerly Vulcan) range is now with ABS Models and includes (from time to time as the proprietor determines) an 8750 and a 57xx pannier. At one point I was thinking that I might try an ABS 57xx and got so excited about the whole thing I started a thread about them: ABS 57xx and 8750 pannier tanks (formerly Vulcan/Eric Underhill). As is recorded elsewhere 'life'* then intervened but hey ho... the thread generated some stunning images of models produced from these kits and some useful advice. David * 'Life, something that happens despite the fact you've made other plans' (variously attributed to John Lennon and numerous others ;-)

As I dig ever deeper into the wonderful world of things 'industrial' all sorts of questions arise... ...such as, what's the difference between a pony-engine and a donkey-engine (apart obviously from breeding)? David

'Nut', I'm sorry that your O Gauge experience hasn't gone quite as you originally planned it but that statement paints a somewhat gloomy and potentially misleading picture... I'm not a Guild member (I tried it but decided to let my membership lapse) and so far I've only been to two shows. Everything else I've needed, including my C&L track and turnout components, has been being bought via websites and without exception it's turned up within no more than a couple of days. I'm sure that if you want some of the more esoteric bits from one of the ultra-specialist suppliers you might have to phone them up or send a quaintly old-fashioned cheque but I wouldn't call that 'difficult', would you? I would also debate the need make so much yourself. An individual modeler might choose to take that route but these days I don't think you actually 'have' to? David

I'm certainly no expert Howard (indeed I'm a bit of a beginner when it comes to coal drops) but my research suggests that the Croft branch drops were still in use right up to the line's closure in the early 1964 and that Piercy Models produce kits for four North Eastern hopper wagons (two wooden bodied, two steel). Parkside also do the steel-bodied hopper. Here's a link to another photo of a wooden bodied coal hopper at Croft, it's being propelled on to the coal-drop spur by J94 68060 (a Darlington-based loco which wasn't withdrawn until May 1965 according to: www.railuk.info/steam). www.disused-stations.org.uk also features a photo of both wooden and steel-bodied coal hoppers together on the Croft branch captioned as being taken in 1960. I have a feeling I've also read somewhere in the course of my research that the coal drops at Bridgnorth on the Severn Valley were still in use up to closure however I can't offer you any evidence so maybe you could still justify drops on your larger layout after all? D

Much as the drawing of plans is an enjoyable part of our hobby I have found that ultimately it's about getting something (even if its paper templates) onto a baseboard to see if it looks and feels right. For me, two-dimensional plans don't really take into account three-dimensional proportions and whether something's pleasing on the eye. I can't help thinking, bearing in mind this is 7mm scale, that reducing the trackwork by about 50% would still produce a totally rewarding layout in the space available. It would also give trains time to travel from A to B and allow you to incorporate some scenery. Just a thought... D PS: 'East Dean' gets the balance pretty well spot on IMO