batrapyr

I am also looking at modelling a version of Midhurst (provisionally named 'Midhirst & Easebourne') and found this to be very interesting. I haven't conducted the in depth research that you appear to have done but have read the Various Middleton Press books that related to this location. Somewhere I managed to acquire an amazing book solely about Midhurst station, its people and infrastructure. 'Going off the rails. The Country Railway in West Sussex' by Bill Gage, Michael Harris & Tony Sullivan. It is an ex-library book published by West Sussex Papers (ISBN 0-86260-400-1). Apart from the usual pictures, found elsewhere, there are photos that I hadn't seen before - including a good shot of the approach Road and entrance to the 2nd LBSCR station. I particularly liked the images of pages from the West Sussex Gazette and and reproductions of various notices related to the lines into the town. I am considering a 'What if...' model and have found this oddball publication amazingly useful. The copy that I have is pretty tatty and has had at least one page removed - the one that had the library lending date stamps sheet attached. I have been unable to find a date of publication but it would appear to be somewhere around the 1980s. If you don't have a copy I can scan some pages and send them to you. Best regards Barry Denyer (Ex-Sussex resident)

Terry, I am really looking forward to seeing Neely, next weekend, at Peterborough. This an absolutely stunning model of a station that I visit every day. I will, of course, be bringing a high-powered microscope to see if I can spot Ely's unique feature - the overflow pipe in the shape of an eel's head! (Tongue firmly in cheek). Are you considering incorporating the new by-pass as a scenic break on the Cambridge end? Barry Denyer

What do I find annoying? My own indecision on what to model! I first started thinking about starting to build a model railway when my grandson was born (over a year ago). The room (front half of unused garage) was quickly identified but need ceiling (done) and then all of the junk removing,a task that remains incomplete because someone keeps finding urgent jobs that I need to do. Most of my 'free time' is the daily commute to the office. I spend this time leafing through old copies of RM, looking for inspiration.

I am one (of many?) who only post on RMWEB infrequently. Indeed there are times when the pressures of everyday life mean that I don't even get the opportunity to 'browse' through postings. However, when I do get time to flick through the latest posts, I am always delighted when I see that someone has posted something on 'Loftus Road'. I can certainly appreciate that other activities can preclude the posting of pictures of the latest developments on this wonderful layout. As an 'armchair' modeller (hopefully this is only temporary) I look to layouts, such as Loftus Road, for inspiration. I am deeply grateful for any updates that you manage to make available. I would really love to be able to see it 'in the flesh' but, so far, every outing has either been too far away or on a day when I am committed to doing something that can't be re-arranged. Please keep up the good work and I really look forward to the next batch of photos - whenever that might be.

Apologies if I have infringed anyone's copyright (the picture was lifted from a Facebook Group about Littlehampton). Can anyone provide more information on the loco? Exact date of the picture would be very useful. I know that it is pre-1938 because the engine shed (right) is still in use and there is no evidence of 3rd rail on this SR branch. The 'odd' building behind the cab is the local Police Station. Typical of local buildings, the walls are finished-off with mortared flints!

Allan, Those images are stunning and you seem to have got the colour balance (in the sky) just right. Had I not been aware that these were models, crafted by your own fair hand, I think that I could be forgiven for thinking that they were real life images. I have been following your exploits for about a year, ever since my 1st grandson was born and my interest in railway modelling was rekindled, and your handiwork has truly been an inspiration. I love all the comments and responses but, most of all, I adore seeing the amazing images of the stunning models that you have created. When I finally get to start my own modelling I will aspire to your standards. Now, if only someone would start a topic on the subject of how to convince the domestic authorities that the front of the garage would make an ideal location for a model railway and that it would be a good idea if she removed all of the 'stuff' that she had dumped there... Regards Barry (aka Batrapyr)

Wow, that sounds impressive! I would certainly be interested in a copy.

No updates for 11 months!! I have just acquired a collection of around 500 copies of back issues of RM, from a nice friendly chap, for a nominal donation. Now I need to work out what I am going to do with them all! I haven't read all of this thread so have a couple of questions... Has anyone created a database of all of the articles in back issues of RM? Are Peco Publications likely to have a computerised list of all articles and would they be prepared to make it available? Assuming that the collective answer is a big fat "No", I am considering the creation of such a database (using Microsoft Excel, because it is simple to use). As I have a rather long commute each day (Littleport to Kings Cross) I thought that I could make use of my time to enter details (on a laptop) of each reviewed layout, reviewed loco/carriage/wagon or piece of equipment, potential plans, techniques, etc. I would then like to scan each of the relevant pages but I suspect that this might be a task too far. Instead, I will remove all of the advertising and anything else that is time-limited. That will leave a core of relevant pages that I will file in ring binders (not sure how, yet). That should substantially reduce the amount of paper, if nothing else. I assume that, during the process of creating the database, I am going to get side-tracked into reading an article or two. That can only be a good thing as my modelling knowledge is severely limited and, for various reasons, I am unable to make an immediate start on my first layout. Would anyone else be interested in a database of articles that have appeared in RM over the last 25 - 30 years?

Personally, I thought that Neely was an absolutely superb model railway and Ely is a station that I pass though on a daily basis and, sometimes, alight at when I need to renew my season ticket. My only question about this layout is... have you managed to model the overflow pipe, shaped like an eel's head, by the ladies waiting room? Joking aside, I actually showed it to my brother, who was over from Australia, to demonstrate just how sophisticated model railways had become since we were lads (50 years ago)!

Just to clarify the situation at Littlehampton... lime, aggregates, coal, etc. were only ever unloaded. There was never any export of goods from the port. The only time that the Littlehampton wharves were used for loading anything (into ships) was during WWI and WWII, when tanks and artillery pieces were loaded on ships destined for France.

If the picture at #15 is, indeed, 1966 then the load is likely to be lime. As correctly pointed out, the ship at dockside isn't a dredger but they were frequent visitors. I can't remember the names of the vessels but they were owed by Penfolds of Chichester. The lime was frequently stored in huge mountains, between the dockside and the main roads into the station. I recall that a young lad (of limited intelligence) once tried to scramble to the top of one of the lime mountains. I believe that he still has scars on his legs to this day.

re Cranes at Littlehampton... In my youth (late 50s to early 60s) I used to 'play' around the wharves and whilst the photographic evidence shows them as curved my (faulty) memory says that they were straight. Thank goodness for the Middleton books that proved me wrong! The cranes that I remember were not as squat as the Airfix ones but, again, my memory may be defective. However, what I do remember, very clearly, is that the wharves were on the eastern side of the Arun and that just upstream from these working wharves there were some derelict ones where the tide had undercut the manmade structures. What remained were rusty rails on top of a wooden structure with a big drop to mud. Sadly I have no pictorial evidence of this and the whole area has changed from those halcyon days.

I think that members are reading for too much into Dapol's announcement about its new injection moulding machine. One piece of equipment is not going to make a substantial difference to the speed of production or the price of anything produced. It definitely doesn't constitute a full production line and, presumably, can only produce some plastic parts. Assembly and/or packaging of those parts is not included and, therefore, the production and delivery process won't change, materially. Whilst I agree that this is a step in the right direction, for Dapol, I very much doubt that we modellers will see much difference in the output from Chirk.

As residents of the Norfolk Fens (not far from the former Wisbech to Upwell branch) we also suffer rather badly when the old boiler breaks down (I don't mean the SWMBO). However 'water heaters' kind of depend on having electricity and in this neck of the woods, power outages are a frequent occurrence. Swans, from the local wildfowl reserve, frequently 'take out' the overhead power lines. We don't have mains gas in the village and/or mains drainage. What we do have is peace & quiet and enormous skies!

As a lifelong Brighton & Hove Albion supporter, I'm feeling pretty smug at the moment. However, you never know when the next relegation is going to come along. In my youth I followed them home and away for many seasons. Preston in August, Swindon on New Year's Eve, Aldershot in January. They only ever made it to the FA Cup Final once and they were the width of a goalpost of defeating Man Utd (And Smith must score!). Relegation from Division 1 (as it was) followed at the end of the season. Further relegations followed and they almost fell out of the League entirely. Only a last gasp draw, at Hereford, saved them. I wasn't able to be at that game although my son made the trip. Sadly, Hereford got relegated instead of Brighton and look what happened to them. So, I have every sympathy for Orient, this season, given the financial mess that they have got themselves into. That was Brighton a few years ago. The Chairman even sold the ground, to property developers, without identifying or building a new stadium. The Albion ended up ground sharing with various League clubs before kicking an amateur club off their mud patch (Withdean Athletics stadium). A new chairman (who was also a supporter) and a new board of directors plus a complete change in the running of the club sees them with a fantastic new, 30,000-seater stadium, a superb training facility and a realistic playing budget. They haven't splashed out lots of money on players (in comparison to others) yet have the Championship Player of The Season in Anthony Knockaert. When Knockaert's father died, earlier in the season, the whole squad and management team flew over France to support him at the funeral. A class act. As of today they sit top of the Championship and on course for promotion to the Premiership but it has been a long journey from those dark times at the foot of the English Football League. And still the refrain must be... "He shot, He Scored, It must be Peter Ward!" and he stopped playing for them years ago.

I, too, was at the East Anglian Exhibition, arriving mid-afternoon, and was very impressed with both the layouts and the friendliness of those working over the weekend. Walking though the main entrance and being 'hit' by Overlord was an experience I won't forget in a hurry. I am a definite newbie, so apologies if this layout is well-known on this Forum, however having not seen it before I was somewhat overwhelmed. Not just by the model itself but also by the information available to viewers. It was a credit to the Club members who had taken so much time and trouble build and maintain it. Having established something of a benchmark for the show I was really looking forward to what else was on offer. I wasn't disappointed. Both Port Chulllin and Grantham stood out (for me) - two excellent layouts. I took a few pictures but these were for my own benefit, mainly to remind me of features that I might like to steal for a future layout. I hope that, one day, I will be in a position to have a layout capable of being exhibited but, in the meantime, I am learning lots of lessons in terms of that to do and what not to do. It was great to see so many layouts with something happening all of the time. There was only one layout that seemed 'motionless' and, needless to say, there weren't too many people rushing to see it. Whilst it was great to see so many excellent layouts, I was also on a bit of a shopping spree and I was equally delighted with some of the trade stands. I managed to find the bits and pieces that I needed and all at remarkably competitive prices. I went home a happy bunny.

7/8. Have to disagree with the windmills. The only one that know of is at Denver. I had forgotten about the pillboxes but you are 100% spot on. One can be seen on the left-hand side of the A141 as you leave Chatteris, headed towards March. Also, the combination of 4 (abrupt turns) and 8 (hump-backed bridges) are a complete nightmare but very characteristic.

Steve, that is one impressive (and accurate) representation of The Fens. As pointed out (earlier) the silos do, indeed, look like Heygates at Downham Market and plans to add one or more (many) tractors would be fully justified. I have moved around over the years, from the Downs of Sussex, the mountains to the west of Wrexham (Bwlchgwyn), I now reside in Welney not far from the (in)famous Wisbech & Upwell Tramway and flatness of The Fens was a bit of a shock when I first arrived. I had become accustomed to sheep wandering everywhere and every other property seemed to have a JCB, of some sort, in the driveway. But The Fens also has its fair share of 'uniqueness' that makes it instantly recognisable. You have already captured some of the essence of the region but there are a couple of things that, as an outsider, I identified as being NFN (Normal For Norfolk).... Nissan Huts - These leftovers from WWII airbases seem to have been repurposed as worksheds on many properties, even in residential areas. Often painted a dull green to blend in with the background. Potholes - With a peat everywhere, roads frequently 'breakup' and are in a constant state of disrepair. I suspect that this would be true regardless of what era was being modelled. Black fields - If not covered by a crop, every field appears to be almost black Hedges - Noticeable by their absence. Irrigation systems - Every field (in crop) seems to have machinery to deliver vast jets of water - that would be a modelling challenge! Possibly a modern practice but fields would have needed some form of irrigation from shortly after The Fens were first drained. Horses - A distinct lack of commercial livestock (cows/sheep) but lots and lots of pastures set out for equine activities. Wind - With nothing to stop it, wind plays a major role in the landscape. Everywhere you turn there is evidence of trees that have fallen during past storms. Drains - Not you household waste water system. This is the name given to those long, straight waterways, each of which seems to have an odd name that may refer to its depth or width (i.e. Forty Foot Drain, Hundred Foot Drain). I hope that some of the above suggestions might help :-)

2nd weekend in March and time for the St Neots' exhibition at The Woodgreen Animal Sanctuary at Godmanchester. I am still looking for inspiration as my own layout which is still some way in the future. The biggest problem that I have (and I guess that this applies to many modellers) is the restricted space available. Sadly, for me, most of the reasonably-sized layouts are long and slim. Exhibitions don't seem to cater for modellers who are restricted in the length of the main, scenic section. My model space is limited to (roughly) 2.70 m x 2.78 m. I want to model a 4 platform terminus and have already realised that having platforms capable of holding 12 coach EMUs is totally impractical. So a bit of modeller's license reduces these to 6 coaches with the other 2 platforms holding 4- and 2-coach formations. Even with these reduced dimensions it is still going to be a bit of a tight fit, in and around the 'station throat'. Obviously the off-scene fiddleyard will have to run along another wall - this will be disguised as a train shed (built in the 1930s). I am also thinking of including a siding between the shed and the front of the baseboard. More modeller's license as, prototypically, there were up and down mainlines, 3 roads in the shed and 2 sidings on the viewing side of the shed. Having a baseboard capable of holding 7 roads may not be achievable. My biggest concern is how can I accomplish a 90 degree turn (where the walls meet). I think that he maximum number of lines that I can use would be restricted to 3. That would mean using 2nd, 3rd & 4th radius curves. I assume that I will have to use a curved back scene, with a narrow road and fence, between it and the railway itself. But should I do with the part closest to the front of this part of the layout. Prototypically, railway lines do not turn through 90 degrees in a very short space. So what could I put there? The 'End Plan' is to insert another scenic section between the terminus and the engine shed, so that the layout will go round 3 walls of the room. If the two connecting sections (turning through 90 degrees) are carefully planned and built, I am hoping that it will be possible to remove then and simply join the 3 main sections to form a single, reasonably long, run (5 m +). If I ever reach that point I may consider putting on the exhibition circuit. Alternatively, I am dismantle it and re-erect it in another part of the house. I then want to start on a more ambitious layout (in N gauge). However, that is all part of the dream and, for now, I need to get on with making the model room suitable for working in - that means installing a stud wall to stop the wind and rain coming in from around the main garage door.

Time out from doing prep work in the modelling room (aka the front of the garage). Took the short journey into March this morning and called in at the March & District MRC's show. Plenty of people about but I was a little disappointed at the number of layouts and trade stands. However, a couple of the layouts were really quite nice and my favourite had to be "Spilsby", a Great Northern Railway scene by Mike & Andrew Sharpe. Surprisingly, I didn't actually spend any money but, somehow, I don't think that that will be the case when I head to the East Anglian Model Railway Exhibition, run by St Neots MRC, at The Wood Green Animal Centre near Huntingdon, next weekend.

Although I am not a member I thought that I would pay a visit to my local Model Railway Club's exhibition, tomorrow. March & District MRC is much smaller than Leamington & Warwick which is on at the same time, so I am hoping that I might get an opportunity to natter with a few of the locals. Unfortunately, I don't speak the Fenland language so I am hoping that there might be some translators available. http://www.mdmrc.co.uk/ I might try and take a few photos while I am there.

A day at home presented an opportunity to make a start on preparations however SWMBO had other ideas. She wanted some shelving (in the model 'room') to accommodate a couple of small, plastic crates full of Disney-themed cake making materials. Please don't laugh. She is a fully trained chef and loves making cakes for her grand daughter but for most of the time the moulds etc. In their crates) clutter up the utility room. And so to the work... Shelves up and loaded. I even managed to make provision for some smaller shelves to be added underneath. Not sure exactly how that carrier bag, from a well-known Model Shop, crept in to the picture. As for the rest of the room... Much work still to do. Some of the clutter needs to go into the loft above the garage, some needs to go into the shed and some needs to make its way to the local community tip! The 'up & over' door is, currently, covered by a tarpaulin in an attempt to eliminate draughts. This is going to be replaced by an insulated stud wall. I will lose about 5 inches in the length of the Model Room but at least it will be draught free and (hopefully) shower-proof. The 'rat' at the bottom of the picture is actually a Pyrenean Sheepdog (not a Mountain Dog) and is the smallest of 5 canines in residence. Next step will be to remove the detritus and lay two rows of breeze blocks and install the stud wall. Maybe then I can make a start on creating the baseboards.

This blog is being created to track my progress from being a complete 'newbie' with almost zero knowledge of model railways or railways, generally. Why pick on railway modelling as a hobby? Well, like many of my generation (post WWII baby boomers) I was given a second hand train set when I was very young and played with it to the point of destruction. There wasn't much to the set, just an oval of track, a single locomotive (American) and a handful of coaches. Pocket money didn't really stretch to expanding into a model layout and so my interest waned. By contrast an uncle had a layout in his loft and every time that we visited I couldn't wait to go and see it. Things like girlfriends, football, music, etc. quickly replaced my interest in trains, during my teens and twenties. Along came marriage and serious responsibilities, like children and the mortgage. For some time we seemed to move house (and location) at frequent intervals and it wasn't until I had reached my 50s that 'home life' became more settled. My interest in trains (in general) remained throughout the years when I moved around the country. I enjoyed visiting places such as The Bluebell Line, Llangollen, Sherringham, etc. and would often gaze in the window of a Model shop, enviously gazing at the trans and ancillary models. Even then I was determined that, one day, I would have a model railway of my own. Unfortunately, it always remained a pipe dream. I had neither the time, money or space to do anything about it. For the past 20 years I have been pre-occupied with showing dogs (Crufts and all that). As we had chosen one of the biggest and hairiest breeds (Pyrenean Mountain Dogs) we needed somewhere, warm and dry, to groom these enormous beasts and it was at that point that we installed a wall across the garage (with a door in it). The rear part contained an oil-fired boiler, a grooming table and all of the materials required to primp and preen five of this breed, The front part was, effectively, a dumping ground for all sorts of things (bicycles, ladders, bins of dog food, etc.). For various reasons (many down to back problems) I had to curtail the showing side of the dog world, taking up judging, stewarding and administration, instead. Having acquired a number of children over the years (currently running at 6!) it wasn't going to be too long before grandchildren started to arrive. Two lovely granddaughters first but then, in July 2016, a first grandson put in an appearance. The catalyst for reviving an interest in model railways. What could be better than having a model railway to enjoy with my grandson as he started to grow up! Before embarking on my first layout I needed to determine where it was going to go. It couldn't be in the main part of the house as we still have the dogs (now supplemented by several smaller ones) and the loeft, whilst offering the greatest square footage had the major disadvantage of having very restricted headroom. A quick consultation with SWMBO and I had the front part of the garage to play with - 2.78 metres by 2.70 metres. Unfortunately, there was no ceiling and the 'up & over' door let in the elements (wind and rain) and both of these needed fixing before I could consider starting 'the build'. The ceiling came first. I have installed plasterboard (with some difficulty) and even managed to include a removable hatch into the loft. What surprised me the most was the fact that a 15 year old house didn't come with rafters and joists that could be considered 'square', by any means. As a result the plasterboarding is a bit of a patchwork and there remains plenty of 'gap filling' to do. The next step will be to install insulation in the newly created loft. If I am going to be working in the Model Room, I do want it to be reasonably comfortable and draft-free. With the ceiling done the next major job will be to box-in the 'up & over' door in order to stop the howling draughts that seem to penetrate every single gap. At the same time I want to make sure that rain water can't enter under the door. I would love to be able to say that this is going to happen in the next few days or weeks but reality has to kick in at some point. As I am still working, my free time is pretty restricted. I am based in north west Norfolk and have to commute to London (Hammersmith) and by the time that I get home, in the evening, I am pretty much too tired to start building work. Any work is likely to take place at weekends but has to fit in around the usual household chores, visiting family & friends and my (many) continuing commitments to dog showing etc. As for boxing in the big door... I intend to build a base of 2 rows of breeze blocks, across the door, then install heavy duty plastic sheeting running along the top of the bricks, down to floor level then under the door, finally ending up buried in the gravel outside. On top of the bricks I am going to build a stud wall, in 3 vertical pieces (to accommodate the metal rails for the door). I am going to tack plastic sheeting to these stud wall sections, on the door side, in-fill with insulation then finish off the inside with plasterboard. That should leave me with a comfortable and draught-free room complete with power points and lighting. More on this project (with photos?) next time around!

Allan - I have to take my hat off to you. Those cottages are absolutely stunning. I had to look twice because I thought that you might have 'snuck' in a picture of real cottages.

Confession time precedes this response to one of the longest threads that I have ever tried to read from beginning to end. I haven't modelled anything in the past 44 years. I am only returning to model railways as retirement approaches and first grandson has arrived. However, I started reading this thread as it looked like a good source of inspiration. It didn't disappoint, although I have to say that I haven't read every single one of the 6,000+ replies!!! Allan - your most recent posts indicate that you are modelling something in the Southern region but all of the images that I have seen only show buildings/walls as plain brick (forgive me if I am wrong on this). Have you considered that most boundary walls and some building walls included large areas of flint & mortar? I am not sure about the techie term for this method of building is but I do recall that, in Sussex at least, walls invariably consisted of brick piers with rows of bricks at the bottom and top and the middle part was flint and mortar. I assume that this was because flint was freely available anywhere near the South Downs. I am also planning a Southern layout (in 4mm) so any hints or tips as to where I can source materials to model 'flint' walls would be appreciated. Also, is there anywhere that I can go to view some of your amazing handiwork?