Philou

A little update: This morning I undid the planks over the nest. Probably Social Services will be knocking at our door soon for having a HMO (House in Multiple Occupancy) - there are SIX eggs in the nest and she was very upset that I was that close. I quickly replaced the planks and laid some OSB as an extra layer and left them alone for today. I'll finish screwing down tomorrow early. I doubt if the six will develop into adults - I've only ever seen four fledglings at most in a swallows nest - but you never do know. Cheers, Philip

Allo, 'allo eet eez moi again. Is it already a month since I last posted here? Good heavens, I'll put that right straight away. Firstly, I have finished earlier this week the in-filling of joints where rainwater had washed out the original mortar and replaced missing stones from around where the purlins entered the walls. Secondly, two things happened whilst my back was turned - all my lovely planking has to be relaid due to excessive shrinkage. I have at least 10mm gaps between them: Bit fuzzy - sorry - but I think you get the general idea. It'll keep me busy until my metal studding and insulation arrives to dry-line the walls ......... and this arrived - not by post unfortunately so it can't be sent back - and I don't know if it's African or European: ..... one of a pair and they've set up home chez nous, right underneath where I want to shift the flooring: I shall have to work quickly and as quietly as possible as I think Mrs Swallow has already laid a clutch as she's more often in the nest rather than off out doing what swallows do. The cats have been taking great interest in their comings and goings - so another reason to work quickly whilst in the vicinity of the nest - that's for tomorrow. These swallows were the first to arrive in the village and decided they liked it chez nous - yay! There were two other pairs that came to see what I was doing earlier this week, but they just fluttered around a bit, made some noise, sh!t on my new flooring and fluttered off again - bit like manglement so I'm told! There won't be much to tell regarding the flooring as it's a case of unscrewing the screws, sliding across and re-screwing in place - all 1000+ screws. Should be finished by next Friday. Cheers everyone, Philip

I've gone for BIG (by my standards) the threads are on RMWeb. It's to be 7.85m x 6.2m (approx 25.75' x 20.3') in an old barn - the roof is sound having done it myself with help about 5 years ago. I started in September 2021 and I gave myself a year to get something up and running. Will I do it? I hope so! Having had delays in sourcing timber, the joists and beams were in place by October, then there were delays in getting flooring. I had wanted OSB panels or at a push T&G - OSB was not available in the thickness I wanted at the time and T&G was just too expensive to cover 52m² (approx 520sq ft). In then end PSE planking was readily(!) available and after a 4 week wait it arrived soaking wet. I waited a fortnight for it to dry off a tad and laid it before Christmas but had to abandon work for a couple of months due to it being very cold. I restarted at the beginning February in repointing some of the internal walls (the external faces were done some time ago) and filling some of the cavities caused by wash-out in some time past. I have, at the time of posting here, three days worth of jointing and filling to do and that phase is finished. HOWEVER, in the meantime, the flooring has completely dried out and I now have 10mm gaps along each plank and I have to now unscrew 1030 screws, shift the planks and then tighten down again BUT I now have a nesting pair of swallows immediately underneath where I want to work! Nil desperandum. Once retightened, I can get the studwalls and insulation in place. Onto practicalities: The layout is to be along all 4 sides of the new room with a peninsular fiddle/storage yard - all on view. As access is from below, there is no need for lifting sections or crawl-unders. The construction with be in 10mm ply on adjustable softwood legs and will be a psuedo-modular type (as per @The Johnster) Very cromulent! It means that if any electrical works needs doing, the modules can be slid out and placed on their sides and worked upon. All modules (excepting the fiddle yard, as it's accessible from both sides) will be no wider than 900mm and the corners curved accordingly (maximum reach, innit) and the emplacement of point work will determine their lengths - thus avoiding points on joints. It's to be a double track roundy-roundy but with a tunnelled single track section as per prototype as so trains will need to be driven and not set on their way going round and round in opposite directions. There are two main stations each with a branch and both branches end up at a third station (you will need to visit the thread to understand why). As I shall be on my own most of the time I will be operating under DCC but without any automation (save perhaps at the entrances to the single line section), or juicers as there are no return loops. The layout will be divided into areas so that I can operate in roundy-roundy mode or do some shunting at each of the stations or undertake branch line movements. The fiddle yard will also be self-contained and each area will have its own mimic panel for the pointwork (good old fashioned stuff mixed in with modern - what's not to like). This means then if club members come to operate (I nearly said 'play' - oops) at least 4 can be gainfully occupied within areas and the rest can run some stock. Seemingly it now seems you only need the one console (I have an ECoS II) and the rest operate 'their' train by means of an 'app' on their mobile phones - I make do with a dial-up phone and I haven't that tried yet! Is too big? Ask me in September! Cheers everyone, Philip Links if anyone wants to see the gestation of the plan and current building works:

@johnhutnick I received from Hattons an email regarding the Dapol AND Accurascale Manor. They usefully drew up a comparison table of them both (and the former Mainline one (!)) indicating what each manufacturer was providing eg: Plus18 v. 21pin, removable smokebox door (yes/no) etc. You may wish to have a look on the Hattons' site and compare. Personally, I really couldn't see very much to choose from and the price difference is not large either. FWIW, I'm having one from each with sound, but I need to decide on the colours ....... decisions ....... decisions ....... Cheers, Philip

@AyJay Here are a couple of other photos that I took yesterday at the modelling day. The first is a bucket of goop that shows the slurry of carton boxes and water. Because it was a larger quantity they used a plasterer's whisk (it was mixed a few days ago so no photo of the whisk - sorry) The quantity of dob'n'dab powder was added to make a softish paste (they weren't ready to do that stage as yet as it will go off once the powder is added). If the mix is too stiff, you can add more water. The second photo shows the plaster mix in its natural unpainted colour - slightly off-white: The club uses this mix as it's relatively cheap (recycling carton egg boxes), the 'dob'n'dab plaster lasts forever in a dry place, and the fibre of the boxes in the mix makes the landscaping knock and crack resistant. Cheers, Philip

@Ravenser Not to drag the matter off-topic too much but to say thanks for the comprehensive overview. To add a bit of detail - as I bought so much stock I could just about cover any period from 1900 to 2010. However, having lurked on RMWeb for a long while I could see it wasn't a very sensible idea - too much spread - so I have more recently been concentrating on late GWR to early BR(W) stock. I shall keep the more modern stuff under Rule 1. I was aware about sleeper sizes and I HAVE in stock 175yds of FB wooden sleeper Code75 plus about 50 medium and large radius points so no going back I'm afraid - though I had considered cutting the webbing and teasing the sleepers apart on the plain track to reduce the 'continental' look - in fact I do have a sleeper spacing drawing somewhere for the GWR as they are not spaced evenly over the length of a panel. I shan't be able to do much about the sleeper dimensions though and once ballasted it'll take the eye away from it somewhat, I shall live. Here's a thought: As Peco has turned out to be the most popular trackage in the UK (and possibly the world), what if manufacturers of rolling stock had adjusted their B2Bs to Peco standards - truly universal eh? From an end user perspective, a standard for couplings would have been a good move (and not the continental hook'n'loop either!) For simplicity, the Peco Simplex (H/D type) couldn't be beaten, but that's now old hat. Cheers, Philip

Well! having read through the thread that I thought was fascinating regarding the various standards out there, plus the right amount of froth to keep it bubbling away. I don't really have a dog in this fight but I will set out my stall. I have had an interest in model railways since the mid-1950s and my first real awakening to track standards was when I moved from the TrixTwin bakelite/fibre based track to Peco Streamline - everything just worked (excluding my pre-1960s Trix and I never had Tri-ang). Fast forward to around 2005 after a break of 35 years from model railways, I started to collect more modern-built models to start 'that' layout as retirement was fast approaching (my layout threads are elsewhere on RMWeb). Because Peco, for me, was the de facto 'standard', in a leap of faith I have decided to lay everything in Code75 FB - I should have perhaps considered some BH too as even today there are parts of the prototype rail network that still has BH. The questions that follow from reading all before are: 1. Should I have not bought into Code75 and perhaps built my own? My answer to that is 'no' as I want to lay 150yds of it quickly once the boards are in place. 2. Can I expect that everything I've bought to date (about £40ks worth - and shhhh don't tell Mrs Philou) will run upon it? I hope it will and it should - shouldn't it, despite not having an official standards body? And a final question for 10, where do I buy a B2B gauge and to which 'standard'? One thing I have noted, is that when I see EM layouts in the flesh or in photos, they just look wrong, as I've been too used to seeing 00 gauge track! (I shall be giving British Finescale points a whirl due to their apparent flexibility that will be useful in places where Peco points just won't give the track formation required.) Very interesting thread and much food for thought, Cheers, Philip

@SR71 I went to the club on Saturday, but unfortunately there were no modules under construction (those that were had gone beyond the landscaping stage), but I have been promised that they will make up a bucket of goop next time I'm there. Next Saturday will probably quite opportune as it will be an all day modelling day - landscaping included. I did re-ask what the recipe was just to check - they do use carton egg-boxes that are softened in hot water and then a plunger whisk is used to make a slurry. (I shall get the proportions next time). Over here they use a product called MAP which is then added to the slurry to make a softish mix. Its equivalent what is used in the UK for 'dob and dab' when dry-lining a wall, which is a gypsum based bonding compound that probably has a retardant in it so that the drying process is slowed - it is NOT thistle finishing plaster nor browning plaster. The mix can be spread with a putty knife/spatula/trowel over stretched jute/hessian sacking (being an agricultural area it's plentiful around here). It can also be used to sculpt rock faces - I haven't tried but it could well be used in foil moulds too! Anyway, here a few photos that I took showing general landscaping and sculpting: Hope it's of use, Cheers, Philip

Ooooh, it does look rather good. @adb968008 How does it run?

The filmette was of the construction of the line southwards towards Marseilles (again IIRC) that was on YouTube showing some rather steep gradients with the tractors really grunting along with ballast hoppers (top'n'tailed too). Not sure if there wasn't one on the Belfort - Dijon section but I might be confusing/conflating with the newspaper item regarding the construction - but comeback what I just wrote - I remember now, there was a TV programme on the construction of the Belfort - Dijon leg that included the drivers' wedding. It was possibly on FR3 which is regional (as ITV used to be) covering the Bourgogne/Franche-Comté area. I don't remember how long ago though - probably over 5 years ago. Cheers, Philip

@Rhys Underwood I think you may receive some information from Lord and Butler very soon. Cheers, Philip

'Le' tracteur, le ........................ it's a French thing. I did see some filmettes (probably YouTube) regarding them. I think they were well regarded in that they were reliable plodders. They were, insofar as I remember, in use our way on the Belfort - Dijon section of the LGV, when one of the drivers got married at Villersexel (again IIRC) about 40 miles away. Cheers, Philip

OK chums, Goods sheds - that's the next area of modelling that I'm starting. With three stations I'm having three different styles - the one at Ledbury appears to be a big glass and brick affair, big enough for two cranes inside, Pontrilas is an all wooden shiplap construction (lots and lots of trees are loaded onto bolster wagons there) and I'm basing the one at Dymented on one at Colwall that seems to be mainly brick with at least 4 windows station side. I don't have many pictures of Colwall, so it'll be guesswork. I will also do a PO loading dock and building there, too. There are, in the one photo, about 13 coaches (perhaps NPCCs) that seem to waiting to be loaded or just parked there. I shall assume that they're taking the 'waters'. When I have something to show, I'll post up (probably Ledbury first). Cheers, Philip

Hello chums, Having posted up the previous two pictures, I found that SketchUp wouldn't save what I had done, not much was lost but the landscape had no longer the 'box. Having done the exercise once, I went for broke and re-did the emplacement of the 'box and also the occupational bridge that lay between the 'box and the tunnel. There is a colour picture of the bridge, but I think it may be copyrighted. Here are the results, with a bit of added colour; Overview of the section of layout concerned: View of the 'box trackside: and a view from inside the 'box looking at the tunnel mouth: Cheers everyone and have good weekend. Philip

Having done the 'box, I thought I should take the time to put it in place on the layout and here it is: Looking towards the tunnel mouth (Ledbury direction): and looking towards Pontrilas: Eventually all the landscaping will be coloured in, but I'm avoiding it for the moment so as not to consume too much computing power! Cheers everyone, Philip

Hello chaps and chapesses, Despite having visitors over the Easter weekend and gardening duties, I have been able to do the signal box for the eastern portal to Ledbury tunnel. I still haven't found the original picture that I thought I had so this time I chose to base my model on the one that used to be at Claverdon. It seems that it was re-built in the 1930s but it still was based on the traditional half-timbered ones. In this particular case, there was neither outside toilet, outside stairs nor finials - access to the levers (is there a name for the ops room?) was via an internal stairs with the loo downstairs. Though not shown in the shot below, I have given the bobby a stove and I replaced the rather austere 2 + 2 windows of the prototype with traditional 3 + 2 s. I shall place it on the layout later: Cheers, Philip

I would like to add that in terms of spending , I used to buy a lot on the basis of 'Cor, look at that!' but I was rather unfocussed in what I wanted out of my planned model railway. Having decided that I shall have two prototype stations, it seemed logical that I should pay lip-service to running locos and stock that would have appeared (or possibly appeared) on the lines concerned. Being incorrigible, I shall be running from oooh, I dunno, 1900 to 2012 but concentrating mainly on GWR/BR(W) between 1930 and 1955. The end result is that my spending has been greatly reduced as I'm not now buying modern block trains with 15 - 20 bogied wagons - Hornby or otherwise. Will the hike in energy prices further reduce my spending? We'll just have to wait and see. Cheers, Philip

@AyJay Having taken the photos of your trees, if you go out again in a week or so, you should be able to identify your trees from their leaves as around here, they're in full bud and should be in leaf in a few days. You could also try and identify them from their bark, though I have difficulty distinguishing between beech and hornbeam from their bark alone (even their leaves are similar). Cheers, Philip

Hello chums, No real works done in the barn as due to the mild sunny spell that has arrived with swallows - all two of them that seemed to be taking an interest in the new floor upon which to 'hang' their nest. Our youngest cat was taking a great interest in them, too!! The fine weather meant mowing the lawn (first hair-cut this year) and starting to pressure-wash the decking - it's become a three-day job unfortunately. I have done some walling work in the barn - rebuilding a corner and some more pointing. I'll post up a photo or two when there will be something decent to show. I restarted the 3D work and completed the signal box for Dymented. I need to look at its location carefully for at the moment I've plonked it on the end of the platform so that the bobby can see right inside the tunnel-bridge on approach from Ledbury. The downside is that it has eaten a chunk of my platform that I may need to modify by adding the now used part at the other end - but I don't like things that are asymmetrical, it just doesn't sit right in my head - but then just look at the barn and the house we're in, nothing is square or symmetrical!! The 'box has raised a couple of questions in my head such as (a) does it need to be just 'there' or could it go elsewhere and (b) would the builders of the line have constructed a tunnel-bridge to overcome the skew? In the case of (b), my thinking was that (i) I could do it just because but (ii) would have short straight girders been cheaper to buy and easier to put into place rather than much longer ones to form the skew - any thoughts? Here are a couple of pictures showing the 'box: In place on the platform, platform to be modified to suit; and: View from inside the box looking into the skew bridge on the Ledbury approach: I have say that on my earlier plan, that was lost in a harddrive failure, the configuration of the track was slightly different and consequently the juxtaposition of the signal box and platform was different. I just couldn't recreate it as it was this time round. Lastly, an overview of Dymented station from the Ledbury direction: If anyone would like to know, the signal box is based on the one that used to be at Hall Green. I've modified it by adding a toilet externally as I think the one at Hall Green must have been inside, possibly downstairs, as there is no evidence of one on the photos that I have seen. I thought I'd go more 'traditional'. Perhaps the original had a stove rather than a fireplace - the chimney looks a tad ostentatious. Next 'box I hope will be a smaller affair to control the Ledbury Tunnel eastern portal and the loops there. I haven't found a photo of the one that used to be there - might have been too remote from a photographer's perspective, though there a few shots of trains coming out of the tunnel, one complete with assisting engine and in colour too! Cheers, Philip

An update for @AY Mod: Andy I logged in just now using the upper R/H log-in and it worked. Just for information, in the browser tab it marked something on the lines of 'RMWeb accessing Login#1' and I was in. Anyway, whatever you did, it worked and thanks for the hard work you've put into getting the site up and running again. Like many, I shall wait until things settle down and if needs be, I'll upload any missing pictures (some I can't do due a harddrive failure - so we'll be where we'll be at that moment). Cheers, Philip

@AY Mod I, too, am having the same - 'oops Euston we have a problem' with an added 'you do not have permission to access this page' showing in the browser tab whilst the secondary log-in screen loads. I had cleared my cache and browsing history (on auto-clear when ending my browser session) and got rid of the old /community/ link ages ago - the new shortcut is definitely directing towards https://rmweb.co.uk/. It worked two days ago but back to the double logging-in. Snot an issue for me - I'll live ;). The error code, if it can be of use, is 2S119/1 . Cheers, Philip

@SR71 Ooooh, I haven't any photos, but I'm due over to the club sooner rather than later and I'll ask if they can make me up a mix and I'll take some shots. I can probably take photos of the jute/hessian sacking and WiP as there's always a module or two under construction. I tried the eggbox mix at home but I had no success as I dissolved in cold water and it didn't soften enough. A plunger-type electric mixer half-hinched - ahem - borrowed from the kitchen is useful too. Cheers, Philip

Our club uses discarded carton egg boxes dissolved in warm water and then mixed with plaster (Polyfilla-type YMMV) and trowelled into place over jute sacking that has been hot-glued into place - lightweight and solid.

Well! After an unexpected interlude of no RMWeb AND Mrs Philou having gone to see her newest granddaughter, I decided to 'do other things' which didn't include railway stuff, unfortunately. I finished my stairs which were greeted by 'Oh, bit steep?' 'Persaxctly the same as my new stairs in the barn, dear'. 'Must have some handrails, then'. That'll be another small job to be tackled. What i did manage to do, again on my own, was to replace the welded-steel burner that was in our lounge with a smaller cast-iron one. Gosh, they were heavy to manhandle! I found on dismantling the steel chimney, that there was an extensible pipe inside and so that saved me cutting a new one, just slid it out to its new length, tighten a joint and job jobbed! Brownie points all round! I said no railway stuff, but I did manage to fabricate a door frame, a sub-frame and panel the frame to create the folding attic floor access door. Now that did take a little while and by the time I'd finished, Mrs Philou was back and I'd run out of puff - still haven't got my enthusiasm to go a restart the repointing and repair of the wall. The weather is set mild for the next few days so I expect I'll out there tomorrow. I just need a kick up the whotsit and I'll be underway again. Here are some pictures: Pointing and repairs of wall underway a couple of weeks ago; before: and after: The door frame pre-assembled: Dropped in place on its sub-frame: Partially panelled: Rinse and repeat and voila! a pair of cellar doors: I used some heavy duty cord off-cuts as handles - seems to work quite well too! Nice to be back, Cheers everyone, Philip

@97406 In the light of what has been said in the Site Information thread, it seems you will need to alter your link in the footer as the /community/ bit will point to a non-existant page - or so I understand. Cheers, Philip