Dave John

Interesting. Half of me rather fancies working point rodding. Like a lot of modelling, knowing that it does is a personal satisfaction, the fact you can't see it moving from a foot away is not the real issue. I can see it being a bit of a nightmare given that the metal expands with heat and the baseboards expand with humidity. The other half of me fumbles for my specs and feels rather relieved that the Caledonian boarded it all in. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/2091/entry-19050-of-elbows-and-rodding/

I keep popping in for an inspirational look. I really fancy the idea in the long term of doing a similar exercise; running a full weeks wtt with all the correct stock. In practice it just won't happen, I just won't have the time to build it all. On the other hand seeing what you are doing is moving my thoughts towards realistic running sessions based on heavily edited wtt. Either way, I am enjoying the pics.

Hmm, sorry to have opened a bit of a can of worms Mikkel. Looking again at the postcard it might be a sheeted wagon or indeed a shed. Odd place to build a shed though. Some good comments on quicklime and limestone. I can see that if needed for local rural use then local limekilns were probably the solution. I however model urban Edwardian Glasgow and the amount used particularly in construction was considerable. Of course I may be looking at the wrong sort of transport. Perhaps the reason for the relatively low numbers of specialist lime wagons was that many limekilns were close to canal or seaports and that the major method of transport was barge or ship. Indeed there is a woodcut showing such a kiln at Dumbarton here ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_kiln I will do a bit more research.

Interesting pics. I would agree with taking the colours in tinted postcards with a lot of salt, my own observations indicate they are very hit and miss. Now the pic of Launceston triggered what is a long running thought in my head. Next to the cattle wagons is what appears to me to be a peaked roof lime wagon. GWR experts will probably identify it accurately, but all the pre grouping companies had similar wagons, essentially an open wagon with a peaked roof. The fact that it is next to the cattle wagons might indicate that the lime it contains is intended for use as a limewash disinfectant and therefore that is a sensible place to put it. Now, lime was used extensively ( still is really ) in the Victorian era for washes , in construction , soap making and a whole variety of industrial processes. The Caledonian had 40 to D25, I'm sure the numbers for the GWR are available. Which makes me wonder how much bagged lime was carried in ordinary vans rather than purpose built lime wagons. Sorry to wander off with odd thoughts Mikkel, but it is one on those historical things that I can't explain well. I have worked with quicklime on a few projects, it is vicious stuff. Maybe I'm completely wrong, but the number of purpose built lime wagons seems to be very low for the amount of the stuff that must have been transported across the railway network as a whole. Anyway any light shed on the subject ( oh limelight) would be welcome.

Very impressive 2mm modelling Ian. I intend to treat myself to some modelU ones at some point. I keep looking at magnets Mikkel. Smallest seem to be 1 mm Dia, really needs something at 0.5 mm for people. Then you would need a steel layer in the platform. Kelvinbank mk 3 perhaps.

I too used the H type insulated fishplates, in my case from C+L. In most cases they tended to snap or end up )-( shaped. In the end I just used half of one superglued to the outside of the rail and a short length of plastic strip on the inside. Good luck with the DCC.

It's ok, I haven’t suddenly decided to start a revolution, tempting though the idea is. I am of course referring to the figures for the layout. These are a mix, mostly from Andy Stadden with some from Prieser and a few older ones in places they can only be glimpsed at. The men are the problem. Most of the Edwardian ladies have wide skirts and so stand up without too much of a problem, though the ones with the hemline daringly 3 inches off the floor do tend to tip up. The men will too but the smallest disturbance and they all fall over. Hmm, fine if you are modelling a Glasgow Friday night. So, how to make them stand up? The obvious answer is glue but it is rather a permanent solution. Done it in the past, if you want to move a figure for variety or to add detail it tends to take a lump of the scenery out stuck to the feet. So I bought some “Tacky wax”. Maybe its just me but I didn’t really like it. Doesn’t seem to stay tacky enough to hold someone up unless you put a fair sized blob on the feet. Then they just look like a figure stuck in a big blob of wax. I tried a few things, such as warming it first, but to no avail. Still didn’t like it somehow. I did have a play with magnets, but getting ones tiny enough is not a practical proposition. Finally I decided to go for the wire in the foot method. I’m sure its not new, but very few good ideas are. Drill a 0.4 hole up through the foot. Superglue in a short length of 11 thou piano wire. When set grind it back to about 5 mm. Drill a 0.4 hole in the place when you want a figure and plant them. Advantage is that you can take them out and swap them round easily. The hole is tiny and easy to fill if you don’t want it there but from normal viewing distances it vanishes anyway. Some pictures to give an idea. A man thinking about some work. But he went off for tea, leaving just a hole. His mate turned up for the back shift. How many ? Well that many for a start.

Top class. They really were a most elegant design.

I do like the little culvert under the bridge, reminds me of somewhere years back, but I can't remember where.

Very fine track laying.

Looks very good. I tend to touch in the buckles and ring bits ( er, they probably have more technical names ) with a spot of metal/light grey mix just for a bit of effect.

Thanks Clydebridge. I do have some early pictures looking east but I might go for the mirror at the end trick to give perspective. I am working on a tenement backscene for the rest, slow progress. I know its technically swapping the river and the street round but its the only way I could get the railway to fit in the room. A case of trying to get a feel for the place rather than geographical correctness.

Very good scratchbuilding, I like the proportions of the warehouse. Just out of interest this is one of the few brick industrial buildings close to the canal that is still about A few miles up from bowling basin at Firhill. Might help with local brick colours.

Fair comment, maybe a brush of a brown over the coal would help and looking at photos the track, particularly the chairs would accumulate more dust. The colours do seem a bit stark, but its the general problem of needing more light for photography than you would use for general viewing. Maybe time to revisit layout lighting.

It has taken a while but I now feel that the overall scene is looking a bit more like a busy urban coal yard. Details and carts are from langley or dart, most figures are Andy Staddens. Anyway, pictures speak louder than words so I’ll shut up. Something missing though……. Oh yes, the stock. So just for fun. Perhaps a lot of pictures, as ever helps me to see stuff this way.

Well, it can wander a bit as it expands and contracts, but since all the boards are connected together it tends to just sit. I can lean on it, it won't move. I got the castors from an online firm that just sells castors, well made and relatively inexpensive

I actually have no idea. But a thought occurs to me. The more unusual the subject of a layout is the more time a modeller will spend on research and gathering the information to make that layout and associated buildings and stock. Does that make it more valuable? I doubt it, it probably makes it less valuable since the number of people who would be interested in buying such models is a small number who are probably already making them for themselves. Regularity makes the point that a less popular scale reduces the sellable value, I would argue that that is true of subject too. Anyway, how do you explain to an insurance company that you have spent a lifetime accumulating information and that part of the model you have made is probably beyond price ? Er, sorry to the op for drifting off a bit.

Well, baseboards on castors which hinge up. Just an idea. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/2091/entry-19250-the-baseboard-waltz/ I think you could use kitchen cupboards as the trolley part, but I'd agree they would need strengthening.

I purchased some direct from the redutex site using paypal a few months ago. http://tienda.redutex.com/en/ Delivery was prompt and I rather like the product.

Useful period pictures. I was interested to see the gateposts have a different style of gas lamp on each. Odd, but one for the "prototype for everything" file.

Looks good. Just an idea for the electrics, you may already be thinking this way but it might help others. The garage is 2 zones, the utility bit and the railway bit. You have a decent consumer unit , 5+5 twin RCD , looks like a wylex so breakers are readily available. Put in a 32 A ring for the utility bit. For the railway bit come off a 20 A mcb and go via a 20 A switch by the door to a 4 mm radial set of a lot of model railway sockets. That way you can switch on and off all the railway stuff easily so you don't wake up in the middle of the night panicking that you have left the soldering iron on ...... If you need an anti frost heater in the railway section put in on a separate circuit, easy to do at this stage. Sorry if its what you already intended, but might help.

Heh, well, approximately Sir Topham. However you can add into that list; Do lots of prototype research. Make the track. Do more research. Make the rolling stock. A bit more prototype research. Buy some good books on say, signalling. Build the signals. Make some buildings. Do more research into what it was actually like. Realise that you got bits wrong. Rebuild them. Do some more research. Refine what you have built on the basis of what you now know but didn't when you built it. Ok, its a tongue in cheek reply, a bit naughty of me. However the point I'm trying to make is that it is an iterative process, but you have to start somewhere. There isn't a rulebook, we all do things in different ways. Part of the whole fun of modelling is improving on what you have done and what you know. Of course its a personal thing, Rule 1 always comes first but trying to push my knowledge and abilities is the most satisfying part of it all for me.

It is a fine view Marly, myself and the pup spend many hours walking the kelvin valley.

Some very good points, thanks all. The figure of 1 ton per person is interesting, the population of Glasgow was about a million people at the time I'm modelling, so about a million tons for domestic use. The overall population of Scotland from the 1911 census comes in at 4.7 million, but the figure for coal production in Scotland in 1907 is a huge 40 million tons. So roughly 90 % of coal production was being using directly by industry and transport or being shipped out for export. That is an excellent picture Compound, I will have a go at modelling something like that too.

Really excellent modelling.