Owd Bob

Not much to report on any railway progress this week, only the brilliant 'Narrow Planet' name and works plates arrived and have been fixed on and weathered a bit.

Really nice to hear from you young Man I do hope you'll post a few bits and bobs and all your great stuff on here now that you've found us .... and most of the old forum members are here nowadays as well.

The Blue sounds just right mi Dad had a MK3 Cortina GT back in the '70's and it was the same colour as my old bike was....cheers! For the weathering i mix Humbrol satin Black (85)and Humbrol track colour matt Brown (173) together 50-50 and then thin it down really watery with turps' or White spirit, wash it all over from the top and let it run down, let it sit or wipe off the excess with tissues and cotton buds from any area you feel is over-done, you can always remove more areas with T-cut on a bud later.

Due to recent ill health issues i've realised that i'll have to simplify and make my garden line a bit more easy for me to use and especially the access to certain areas, so i had my mate around last week and over the weekend to do a bit of demolishing, the drift mine/pit area on the lower level has now gone and will be fake grassed over, Hoghton Chapel station and the engine shed will move onto the back fence on the recent siding i put in. A new drift mine/tunnel is being constructed on the old incline to make sense of the coal yard.

Thanks Dava some great info' for me there, cheers it is hard trying to keep the strength in the layout without adding too much weight at the same time, but i'm sure i'll get somebody else to carry it all for me in the long term as long as it's portable and will fit through a door hole and can fit in the car with the back seats folded down I'm hoping to get the whole thing boxed together and in place in the bedroom before the dark nights come back then i can happily fettle away at leisure over the long dark Winter days & nights.

I think it was a ship canal loco' Matthew i'll have to go through my old albums for you later, if there's any loco' or any class you need a pic' of just let me know and i'll have a sken to see if i have one, not that they'll be of a great quality as my parents would'nt buy me a decent camera in the '70's as they did'nt class it as being a toy like they do nowadays and i had to use an old Kodak instamatic hand-mi-down. I've strengthened the whole table by putting extra battens under it now, i changed my mind about using the foam insulation sheeting and i'll cover the hardboard over with a thick cork sheet instead now. I'm hoping my mate can come and help me again this week with the cutting and fixing on of the backboard and ends. I have drawn a rough track plan on the board with a Sharpie. The underside extra battens

Superb Idris! Great job on the stripes, but can you tell me where and what shade and make is the Blue spray please, I've just got another MK1 Raleigh Chopper bike to restore into a similar Blue like the one i had as a kid.

I agree Dawg, it seems to me that Wigan MBC have deliberately done everything they could over the last 40 plus years to rid Leigh of any trace of its history and all its old railways, bridges destroyed and removed, embankments and viaducts demolished and now the bus-way is using the one decent route that would have been ideal for the metro-link. I don't think we'll ever get the link we badly need as it would have to be a complete new line. Are we still the largest town in the UK without a rail line (link)?

Thanks SunVI, i'm not much cop on a computer or drawing track plans but my track layout and the railway will be roughly based on the area on the E.L.R at Bury between Bolton St. Station, and the concrete flyover in the old goods yard area. This way i can have a stone tunnel and a two road engine shed to the right of the base board, and have the concrete flyover to the left, with the high stone wall and grass bank all along the back scene, i hope these old and now fading early '80's pics' show what i mean? There is plenty of scope with at least four sets of points fitted to create plenty of play value in the short space. Although i only have room for one hidden fiddle yard at the concrete fly-over end on the left hand side at the moment, there is scope for fitting another add on/extension at the stone tunnel end later....that's if i can secure more room from swmbo The layout could serve a dual purpose either by setting it in the BR '70's era as a small Stabling Point or as a preserved railway with the chance of running more unusual and even steam locos'

Any progress on the track cleaner yet Matthew?

Please be gentle with me folks as i'm new to all this indoor modeling lark, as i'm usually sent outside to play trains in the garden, recent ill health has finally gained me enough sympathy from swmbo that i needed to sway her , and i've finally been given permission to have a go indoors in the small spare bedroom. Having had a real good trawl around this site i have seen so many excellent layouts, and in all scales, that have given me the strength and ideas that i needed to carry on and make a start I bought my first two 'O' Gauge locos' last weekend ..both my favourite classes i remember from my teenage school 'wagging days' whilst hanging around Ince Moss sidings and Springs Branch Depot and hiding out in the old disused brake vans from the 'wag man' I made a start on the weathering by spraying the roofs with a light misting of Barby' paint, the rest i'll be doing and finishing by hand brushing. With only an 8.ft. width of wall and a two foot depth of room to fit it in, i made a start by buying this cheap £9.95p wallpaper pasting table, which when is fully opened out and the two halves are bolted & glued together measures just short of 6ft. long and it is 22 inches deep. I will remove the wooden batten legs which can be re-used as framework for the 2ft square plywood sheet i also got for a few quid to make a fiddle yard which i'll add on to one end later. The inside of the tables frame will be filled level to the side tops with inch thick polystyrene insulation sheet onto which the track etc will be fixed. Please bare with me and don't expect exact detail and postings every day, i've made a good start by buying two loco's, two lengths of track and some rail joiners and some wood to stick it all on. Cheers Mark.

I'll deffo' be going as it is my home town Phil' and i'll no doubt catch you there as i do need a lot of help and info' myself now for a '0' gauge indoor 1970's diesel based diorama type layout i have planned.

Superb layout Phil' Are you doing the Leigh show this year?

Hoping to get the Timpdon type remote units inside them and a 12v battery pack one day. I think the '40' will struggle with all those wheels on the garden line but the '25' should be ok...i hope Making an indoor module/micro display layout for them soon....not that big mind you Matthew as i have'nt the room indoors really I've yet to think up a theme in this size/scale. It's just something to store them on and run them probably just a few feet Buying these takes me back to my teens in the mid '70;s, its retail therapy Got a deposit put down on a new Dapol 08 as well which is due out Aug/Sept. Then that's the lot for now I'll have to start another topic in the 7mm thread one day soon

Not quite live steam but something i've fancied having for a few years now, and why not spend it whilst you still can etc, so a Sunny Saturday morning trip out to nearby Blackpool taken by my youngest saw me purchase these two quite modern loco's, so i've plenty weathering and loads of stuff to keep me busy indoors hopefully for a long while yet.

Got the mags' yesterday and both are full of great articles and inspiration, not as much as your superb 'O' gauge diesel loco's though Phill'

Here! Here! It's nice to see you back NM I hope you are ok?

Only just found this thread Matthew! It looks like a really great place to visit, there's plenty of modeling ideas amongst all these lovely pics' Thanks for sharing

Cheers Jon i'll try and get out to Tesco today and grab a copy, i'm thinking of doing a smaller indoor 'inglenook' type layout now, the BRM issue might give me some idea's, although i'm deffo' thinking 'O' gauge '70's diesel era ....then i can also run them outside on the garden line.

It is my fave' loco' and all Jon I'm hoping to make another similar body shell/saddle tank to swap over onto the latest Green Caradoc loco' this coming Autumn/Winter time. Ian i can't blame you for not wanting to muck up your lovely Lady Anne

Great to see it again Matthew, i'd forgot all about it, but now i can't wait to see it up and running again, might be ideal for the track cleaning duties

Had great Sunday morn' instead of a full fry up i now have to settle for a full steam up, 'Bess' the 'Jack' ran the best followed by the Caradoc and the converted katie 'Warrior' came in last and needs its regulator fettling and re-setting for a lower speed control, never mind it's another excuse for a steam up this week

I've a feeling that once any of the new steamers i've got are connected up to the coaches it'll be the opposite way around Kilian The plywood made coaches are an odd ball make and were bought off e-bay and not all at once, i have five of them now but i know nowt about the original makers of 'em, they're ok for what i want them for but i really do fancy a few more for another rake, and the new swb Timpdon ones look really nice and ideal for my small line I'm hoping to get the Green steamer out tomorrow and hooked up to the coaches.. it's had a good weatherin' now and the body is back on the chassis for good

You did help me Matthew ​ as i referred back and made notes on the excellent posting you made on fitting remote stuff After a couple of steam-ups...well its a bloody good excuse i got the linkage bar and the arms adjusted just as i want them, the top link i made myself a few weeks ago from brass sheet which i soldered to the existing knob after removing the original knurled plastic cover, now all runs fine, so the bits were painted up Black and now i can bolt the body back on and order a few add-ons...like that better looking brass valve cover you gave me a link to Matthew....just for starters

Yes Matthew! Those Binnie kits..they are really easy to put together, so i did my best on the painting last eve' after the daughter gave them a waft over with Grey etch primer for me. I'm actually outside this morn' trying to run my coaches but they are too heavy for the diesels since i put better wheels and lights in some of em, what i need is a bit more power like a steam loco' on the go I'm trying to fathom out the Caradoc linkages for the new servo' etc. today whilst sat out in the Sun.