Orange Cat

More likely it's because you don't have the same rtr stock circling endlessly past the same card kit buildings and the same diecast road vehicles that the 'entertaining' layouts have. I mean, just look at that photo, you haven't got a church with a wedding, there's no house on fire with "realistic" flickering flames and fire engines with flashing blue lights. Heck you haven't even got that bloke arc welding.

I was at Manchester when Heckmondwyke ran to a prototypical timetable and there was no shortage of interest there. Quite the contrary, people waited for ages to see a train appear. Often it was timetabled half an hour away. Folks were checking the timetable and coming back when the next train was due. I don't think they ever repeated the experiment and ran to a sequence at subsequent exhibitions but it showed that a well modelled layout does not necessarily need trains running continuously to attract viewers, (Or they didn't 40 years ago, maybe attitudes have changed). One of the things that always puzzles me with this argument about always having something moving is the case of the ever popular model subject, the single-line branch terminus. How often do we see layouts where the train departs up the single line and no sooner has the brake van disappeared through the hole in the sky than the next arrival pops up, ignoring the fact that in reality there would be several miles at least before those two trains could pass each other. Should there be a break to represent that fact or not? I suppose some would call such a break as "nothing running" and say, "No" whereas I would consider it a part of realistic operation.

Funny, isn't it? Given the comments about people wanting to see trains moving, that one of the favourite layouts at the show appears to have been Leysdown which, according to its operator, only had three trains altogether. I can't imagine there was a constant furry of movement on there.

I didn't go as I am at the opposite end of the country but from the photos and videos I have seen I think it looks to have been an excellent exhibition. Even if there's nothing running on a layout I would hope that fellow modellers are able to appreciate layouts for more than "Ooh look, it moves."

I have long thought Leysdown would make an attractive subject for a model. It seems I was right.

What ever is the chassis made of? It looks like sandstone.

That third shot, looking along the track into the terminus, really shows the improvement in appearance of 2mm FS over N.

And the plan for the next layout.

Is there a reason why the surface appears to be unsupported between the cross members? Unless you are building a roller-coaster? I wouldn't like to trust that ply to stay level without some vertical supports along its length.

I don't think I ever managed a curved roof cab and sides in one piece. I make an overlap and taper the edge of the lower one, filing the thing smooth after it's soldered together.

Or maybe you need a finer blade. That Vale of Penwall layout was rather good. The early years of 2mm modelling, when you not only made your own wheels and motors, you drew your own rail too.

Round, perhaps? They usually are.

You probably know but office labels come in two types, peelable and non-peelable. The peelable ones should come away without leaving a residue.

How about placing the platform on a sheet of card, marking the legs at either side, cut holes for them out of the card, being careful not to make the holes too big, then stick the gravel to the card and then the card and the platform to the baseboard?

Thanks for that costing. I must admit I hadn't worked it out, rather I had the thought that there didn't seem many chairs on each sprue so it would inevitably be expensive. Current very small layout/scenic test track is having pcb sleepers as I found a lot of code 40 flatbottom rail and though I would go for a light railway kind of look, but I will give some thought to the future plan. I don't mind the time. One of my favourite aspects of railway modelling is building track. I can get really absorbed in something that most people would regard as monotonous.

That ply sleepered track looks stunning. I hope the committee decides in favour of 7mm wagon wheels (9-spoke ones please, )

I didn't think it was likely. We could do everything if cost didn't enter into it. I can't see 7mm, 9-spoke wagon wheels ever being reality either. Although there does seem to be a few HR and GNoSR modellers in 2mm so there might be demand on that one.

I love the old ones with the domeless boilers and the round-topped cabs. I am getting more and more tempted to model the G&SWR.

I wish there were bulk packs of the plastic chairs available so we could build ply-slepered track such as the P4 stuff. I like that way of making track, both from the point of view of building it and its finished appearance, but it is expensive when you only get 8 plain chairs on a sprue along with slide and check rail chairs you don't need. A "plain track" sprue of say 24 plain chairs would be great. But then I also would like to see 9-spoke 7mm wagon wheels and I don't suppose I will get them either.

A 7mm motor will fit within the back-to-back of 2mm FS wheelsets. The tender wheels are 3'9" on that loco, are they not? Used with the 2.3mm muffs that gives a height of 4.9mm to clear the muffs. Add your 7mm for the motor to that and you get 11.9mm. Add in a millimetre for clearance and unless the top of the tender is less than 6' 6" from the top of the rail there's loads of room for the motor.

Number 2, which is the house next door, also had an application to install new windows which only has details of the replacement window units. The size of the ones for the lounge is given as 1300w x 1800h while those for the front bedroom are 1350w x 1700h. http://www.westdevon.gov.uk/planningdoc?DocNo=160769 It seems you might be fractionally on the large size with your model but not by very much.

To save all this brick counting malarky, how about a nice scale drawing of the building concerned? http://www.westdevon.gov.uk/planningdoc?DocNo=117550

A common depth for old bricks was 21/2 inches. How does that work out? (Remember to allow for the mortar)

I think that, above any other, is the layout I would love to have seen but never did.

Mine comes from my near constant modelling companion. As he takes up most of workbench, "sunbathing" under the daylight lamp, while I work away on a small corner, I figured he ought to get the recognition.