Philou

Evening everyone, I'm back. Keeping myself busy whilst waiting for things to dry on the other layout, I started drawing some longitudinal and cross-sections of 'Dymented' and I have run into a possible problem in the area of Ledbury station. My original plan had been to construct the layout in modules so that I could build them indoors and then mount them in the barn as and when completed - probably in groups of three so that track passing over joints could be aligned correctly - so far so good. In order that the modules were then aligned to each other (and assuming all the modules are to the same depth), apart from bolting them together, I was intending to set out a pair of parallel beams in softwood (nothing too big - 75 x 25mm say) supported and levelled and then simply place the modules on the beams and rebolt together - sounds OK? These beams would have been at datum level of -100mm, the board tops being 0mm datum. The problem is this: At one end of Ledbury (the west side) the Leadon River over which is constructed the Ledbury Viaduct lies 450mm below the track - not too bad - but at the other end over the Ledbury tunnel are part of the Malvern Hills rising 700mm above the track - on it's own that's OK too. What it does mean however, is, if I follow the plan in my head I'm going to end up with modules that are going to be 1300mm (over 4ft) high and 900mm wide. The hills are not going to be heavy in themselves as they'll be in polystyrene (expanded or extruded), it's the weight of the 10mm ply construction that concerns me. I can lighten it of course by cutting out 100mm diameter holes - but that seems to me rather wasteful. I would rather avoid stepping the modules, as laying them on a known datum (the parallel beams) seems attractive as there is less room for error when it comes to joining them together. Any ideas? Cheers, Philip Edit: I'll post up the longitudinal section and some cross-sections tomorrow. I need to ink over what I have drawn in order that the scanner can do its job.

Hello chums, Nothing much to show yesterday - trimming some thin sheets of polystyrene to make some contoured pieces to smooth out the rather large steps that I had created. Then it was off into the wood pile to strip some oak bark that was then cut up into lengths of about 60mm to match the polystyrene 'steps'. This I did deliberately in order that the 'rock' formation would give an impression of stratum once painted. So, without further ado here are a couple of pictures from yesterday and a few of today's glueing and plastering: Contouring added Bark cut to length A soft (not too soft) mix of plaster ready to apply with a 'langue de chat' (lit: cat's tongue) trowel (I don't know if they exist in the UK). First few pieces glued Oooops! Buttery fingers AND butter side down (SWMBO saw that!). One tunnel entrance nearly done. One side completed and plastering of the contours started. Second entrance done. Polystyrene being carved to follow the top of the 'rock' formation. Tomorrow will be a quick clean up as there is a bit of 'snow' on the track and then continuing with the plastering of the mountain top. If the plaster has dried off by the afternoon, I shall then give everything a coating of undercoat in preparation of some basic colouring. Cheers, Philip

@Harlequin, @AndyY, Ah ....... I hadn't realised the subtle difference - no problems if AndyY can move it across. Cheers, Philip

Hello chums, Reporting back with another day's exciting news - not. As the weather was dry and mild, I did go into the forest to start cutting wood into lengths for eventual splitting. Egad, the brambles were just about EVERYWHERE! Took a while to find the timber and it's wet so it doesn't cut as quickly. Some of the trunks are BIG - 700mm diameter. Another downside was I didn't do any oak today, so there was no bark readily available for my rock faces. Not to worry though, I found some bits in the barn this morning that I shall trim to size tomorrow. I did also go get some dob'n'dab plaster this evening as I had run out. All being well there'll be some progress tomorrow and photos in the evening. I did tape up the joints of the 'mountain' and clean all the railheads before setting off to the woods so something was done. Cheers, Philip

@Chimer Unfortunately I did think of t'internet as I saw mention by others of the Ch5 catch-up - they must know from my IP that I'm abroad - and as I don't go through a VPN, I got the out zone/area message. I understand the BBC are looking to filter out connections via VPN anyway - iPlayer is already verboten outside of the UK. Bit of a bummer - I'll just have to get a satellite dish and decoder to get UKTV - maybe in time for the next series . Cheers, Philip

Hi, Here are some photos of progress so far. In the tradition of Blue Peter, it does start off with 'here's one that I prepared earlier'. I understand that was allowed in the GMRC too! Monday 26th November - Here's one I prepared earlier: In not too bad state after 18 months in the barn - ballast and paintwork in very good condition. The lost-but-found polystyrene for the tunnel just loose laid for the moment. Ah ... the Tunnelling Operation Unit supervisor has come to have a look. Tuesday 27th November - The station area ballast oversprayed with grey acrylic. No fancy rattle can or airbrush - just a plastic eye wash spray bottle with a screw cap and press-to-spray nozzle. The polystyrene jumble being retrimmed for final placement. Track in the tunnel area painted and thoroughly cleaned prior to the final placing of the polystyrene tomorrow. Wednesday, 28th November - Dobs (or dabs?) of PVA glue ready for the first piece of polystyrene. First layer in place. Getting ready for the second layer and so forth until ....... the top layer was reached - not forgetting to paint the inside of the tunnel black before closing. Whilst waiting for the glue to dry, the station area track was painted in 'rust'...... .... and the railhead cleaned off with a track rubber. More tomorrow. Cheers, Philip

Right ho, I'm back. Bit of a frustrating start to the day as two model shops to whom I wanted to give some money both had non-working sites that would fall over at the crucial point of giving card details and saying 'Yes, please' AND neither would take a 'phone call. Had to send and e-mail asking to get back to me - ho-hum. I forgot to say yesterday when detailing the track construction that I have connected both circuits via separate buses using domestic 2.5mm² sheathed copper cable with a couple of droppers as necessary. These two buses have been brought back to the operator well and are connected into terminals. By means of jumpers the tracks can be run off one or two controllers. Today, the polystyrene blocks to form the mountain and tunnel were PVA glued into place. For those that may not know - polystyrene is not absorbent and it will take some time for the PVA to 'go-off'. I have weighed the blocks down with a few dozen railway modelling magazines to make sure that it all dries flat. The unpainted lengths of track are now completed. A quick skim with a track rubber will get the railheads clean again. I did mention a massive fail on my part regarding the trackwork as now laid. You will see from the plan below that the station has a bay. This bay is served by a point at the end of the station platform - so far, so good. However, as a space saving measure I put the crossover beyond the bay point instead of the normal ladder. That in itself is not an issue as the grandson won't be into prototypical shunting and the like just yet. What I hadn't thought through was the fact that any long bogied stock - especially the like of a HST coach (or indeed the Class 800/2 coaches that are even longer) takes a heck of a bite out of the platform edge when using the cross-over. I shall just commence the start of the platform further away from the junction - again not something that's going take any fun element away for the grandson - but nonetheless ....................... What I should have was to put the station on the opposite side with a bay and leave the crossover as a ladder into a siding. The original intention had been to have the station as it is on the plan with the sidings serving a quayside scene - I had even downloaded a ship off the Scalescene site for that purpose but there won't be time I don't think. I shall be insetting the bay and goods shed siding so if ever I want to change the layout a bit I can so do without any changes to the trackwork. The station will be modern image - I have one to do from Scalescenes with an underpass so no need for an overbridge. I MAY have a Superquick goods shed in stock - if I do it'll still have a price ticket of 35p on it - if I have one so much the better as I'll have that done in an evening or two. For the rest of the layout though it looks stark, it is intended that way as I have observed that the grandsons like to set out 'their' town as they see fit. I have a load of Faller plastic buildings passed to me by a neighbour (frankly I would have binned them but the boys wanted them) so they can use those for now. The 'mountain' will also have a flat top as that too will be 'populated' as well. I'll just mark out some rudimentary roads out and as I have been asked for a level crossing that too will go on the side opposite to the station. But could I 'pretty please' make one with 'wig-wags' and the 'whee-whaa' sound? 'Oh pleeeease Pappy!' I'm drawing the line at operating booms though as I don't even know if they're available - and besides which the layout is for THIS Christmas. They also have an uninterrupted section of straight track so their trains can pass at speed. Tomorrow, I was intending to start preparing the tunnel by dressing the mountain with some rock faces and then grassed on the top. What I did last time I used some oak bark that I stripped off some of our wood burning supply, cut it to length and then split into pieces about 25mm wide - the width wasn't too important - just to take the natural curve out. Making up a small quantity of dob and dab plaster, some was applied to the back side of the bark and then 'glued' onto the polystyrene. Dob and dab was then worked into the larger cracks between the pieces of bark. Any large gaps I worked with a putty knife to recreate any missing 'rock'. The same plaster was used as a thinner coat over all the polystyrene to take off the 'bubbly' look. I gave an overall plaster wash over the bark and this was left to dry. You can use any filling plaster you like - it's what I had after doing some work in the house. Once dry, everything regarding the mountain, bark included, was painted in a white flat undercoat - I used some Dulux Trade white emulsion - other brands are available. The bark was then painted to represent rock - I used light colours which were quite pleasant to the eye but they could have been darker. The other areas were painted with green for areas that were to be flocked and others with brown patches to represent bare earth. Flock was applied (I only had one colour at the time ) using an electrostatic tea-strainer onto wet, slightly diluted, PVA. The effect was quite good but after three years, the flock is wearing thin especially as the cats thought it comfortable to sleep upon. That's the proposal, however, the weather is going to be dry and mild tomorrow so I shall have to go to the forest and continue cutting my allocation of wood - most of it is on the ground but in quite big lengths and yuuuuuge girths. I may come back with rather more oak bark than I thought - so there's always a plus side. Here's the plan and a 3D view: Edited to add: The layout was based solely on what track I had at hand - which wasn't much - and it had been intended to be just a 'quicky'. Had i known that I was going to take 18 months ................................................... Cheers Philip PS: Photos of progress to be added in the next reply that follows .................

@NittenDormer I just thought I'd mention dinosaurs (though there aren't any) as they appeared in the GMRC and were the cause of much comment elsewhere. The TGV belongs to the elder grandson and he has asked for a Ouigo TGV this Christmas - there yougo . The GWR Holden belongs to the younger one - he has taste as he has asked for a steam loco this Christmas. I did order some in the Hatton's sale but I remembered I have a brand new Airfix/GMR Castle in stock - I might give him that and upgrade to a more 'modern' Castle later. Cheers, Philip

Hello chums, I've started a new topic as means of setting myself a challenge - I'm not into blogs though this may very well turn out to be one. I already have a topic regarding a proposed 7.5m x 5.5m layout in a barn to which many have kindly made suggestions. All I await is milder weather to enable a start in the barn. Here's the link if you should like to have a look. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/130391-painted-myself-into-a-corner/ So what about this challenge? I have a younger grandson who is now 7 to whom I promised TWO birthdays and one Christmas ago that I would build him a layout. As he asked for a steam loco this Christmas then I feel I should strike while the iron is hot and get it done for THIS Christmas. Though I haven't seen any of the GMRC episodes (out of zone) the comments I read here on RMWeb did make me sit up and review things somewhat. I know I'm probably leaving myself wide open by 'going public', but if I don't, I'm sure I shall get waylaid again - so here goes. The layout is a double track 'roundy-roundy' with one cross-over and a siding with a headshunt. I'll do a plan on SCARM and post it up tomorrow. The layout will not now be changed - it's far too late for that - as it was laid and ballasted last year. It is a 'roundy-roundy' as it would seem that younger children prefer to see things whizz around and not care two hoots about prototypical running and stock. (See below for a picture I took this weekend after he and the elder grandson had finished playing on the other layout - no dinosaurs were harmed in the running of the trains). This topic is not intended to be an instruction manual on how to build a layout (probably quite the opposite ), more a case of what I have managed to do in three weeks or so, but if there are things that I do/did that can help .................... The layout measures 1180mm x 1980mm (approx 4ft x 6ft 6ins) on a frame using 45mm x 26mm (approx 2" x 1" softwood PSE). There is a small operators well in the middle. The frame was skinned with a sheet of 10mm ply (probably 9.5mm in the UK). All the softwood joints were made as half-joints that were then glued with external grade PVA and screwed. The plywood was then screwed to the frame using 40mm Torx screws (it's what I had at hand). The plywood surface was given a coat of white emulsion - simply to better see when drawing out lines in pencil. The track is a mix of sectional Peco and Hornby 2nd and 3rd radius curves - Hornby points (I think) and a tiny bit of Peco flexi that I had in hand. The track has been laid to sectional track centres of 67mm. The track was pinned onto woodfibre underlay (the green material under laminate flooring) that was suitably cut to width and chamfered along the edges to represent the ballast shoulder. The underlay was glued using PVA along previously marked out track centrelines. Most of the track was ballasted last year using builders' coarse sand sieved using various strainers ... err ... 'borrowed' - ahem - from the kitchen to recreate the 1/2" to 3" (as was - maybe still is) actual size. Before ballasting, the 'cess' was marked out in pencil along both side of the tracks and given a dark reddy-brown wash before glueing fine sand along the cess. The method used was dry sand spread over the now dry wash evened out with a soft brush then wetted using a fine spray of water with a drop of washing up liquid (essential as the sand will otherwise float on the water - I know - it happened) followed by diluted PVA glue (50:50 with water) put into place with a dropper. I did add a drop of liquid soap to this mix too. When the sand had dried, ballast was then spread along the tracks using a soft brush to form the shoulders and a finger to tamp the ballast between the sleepers within the rails and outer edges. This did take some time to get looking right. I preferred to do the double tracks in three goes: Firstly, by placing the ballast in between the rails and using brush and finger ensuring the ballast was even and packed and then wetted and glued, as for the sand above, but really flooding the ballast with PVA. Secondly, once the 'centre' ballast was dry, then doing the two outer shoulders using the finger to tamp along the top edge of the sleepers and the brush to form the slope. By using the sand to form the cess, this held the ballast in place as the surface of the sand is rough. Once happy that this looked right, this too was wetted as above. Without waiting for the outer edges to dry, the area between the parallel tracks was tackled. As the width is quite substantial I treated this area as two shoulders with a dip in between and again once happy, wetted and glued. Once all the ballasting was done, I then set out adding some colour to the track. The ballast, and the rails, was given a spray coat of light grey acrylic to reduce a little the browness of the sand. The grey also served to 'weather' the sleepers. Lastly, the rails were painted in brown-red to represent rust. This same colour was also washed over the cess to highlight it from the ballast. I have a reason to have gone into detail: for one some readers may not have done much ballasting and I'm just repeating what worked for me but more importantly, when SWMBO and I brought the layout indoors yesterday from the barn nothing but nothing had moved. Despite being placed in a vertical position, in a less than perfect environment, the ballast was absolutely sound and the board and frame were still as square as when originally constructed. The time spent in preparation was well worth it. Where am I now? The board is indoors and yesterday was a general dusting and hoovering to remove as much dust as possible. A HST coach was used to remark overhangs around the curves and pointwork as we must have a tunnel. I like a tunnel. I like a tunnel that looks as if it has reason to be a tunnel. Not a tunnel for the sake of a tunnel, but a tunnel that tunnels through a mountain - oh yes! A real tunnel. This too, I had prepared last year using polystyrene off-cuts and yesterday afternoon was spent looking for all the zillions of pieces that I had soooooo carefully numbered and put away. Well I found the pieces (most) but the numbers had faded so it was a case of recreating the 3D jigsaw. Today was trimming the polystyrene to make sure there was plenty of sideplay for the HST coach (the last iteration will permit HO stuff to go through but not my OO Class 66 or Class 158) and then finishing the painting of the ballast and rails - more 'rusting' to be done tomorrow. Tomorrow will be the glueing of the polystyrene mountain. This will be problematic as I will NOT be allowed to shape the contours afterwards in the house due to the 'snow' this will create. I shall have to have a 'work-around'. Tomorrow I will also describe a massive fail on my part regarding overhangs - platforms and points mean anything? I'll post photos tomorrow together with the plan - but here are a few of how a pair young grandsons 'see' their model railway (no dinosaurs though ). Cheers, Philip

Hello chums, 'Tis me again. The last of our visitors went yesterday and after some rather successful negotiating by yours truly with SWMBO the dining room table which had become vacant has now become a temporary workbench - threats and menaces regarding scratches, screwholes and other such like matters notwithstanding. HOWEVER, I have decided I'm not going to start on any of my modules - I'm going to complete my younger grandson's layout instead. 'Oh, why?' I hear you ask. It is simply this: I have read over the last couple of months the comments regarding the GMRC which from all accounts was quite a good 'family' show - and I understand perhaps not for the purist - but nonetheless, an introduction of what can be done in a limited time and not necessarily involving a major outlay financially. Now the poor lad, who is now 7, was promised this layout TWO birthdays and one Christmas ago. He asked for this Christmas if he could have a steam loco to run on the elder grandson's layout - to which I readily agreed. It did make me think though, if I don't get this layout done, then his interests may turn elsewhere, which would be a pity. Therefore, I have set myself a challenge to get this layout done for Christmas - yes, this Christmas. I am happy to leave myself open on this and as part of the challenge to myself, I am going to start a new topic for the duration of this layout building to which I shall add daily pictures of the progress (I DO need deadlines to get things done!!!). As I started yesterday, I have some pictures already - nothing much - but it's a start. If all goes well, the title I have chosen will be 'Pappy Philip's own gmrc' (grand-dad's model railway challenge). If it works out I'll post a link here later. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/139889-pappy-philips-own-gmrc/ Cheers, Philip Edited for link.

Yay - 0 score and 68 at that! I agree with TheSignalEngineer that, in my case, my eyes are not balanced as in one eye I see slightly more blue and in the other more red. Maybe that helps in 'seeing' slight variations more easily? Cheers, Philip

...... and I'm sure it was trialled by the GWR as precursor to its own railcars - especially in the Hereford area. It'll go well with the steam railmotor from Kernow. Now what livery - to match the steam railmotor or have one of the NER ones? Decisions, decisions....................... Cheers, Philip

Hi chums, Just placed a small order, but I thought I'd make an observation - is it me or is there a paucity of GWR chocolate and cream coaching stock (regardless of being in the sale or not) other than Colletts? Cheers, Philip

Thought I'd give a thumbs up for Cardiff - toilets on platform and refreshments too - and equipped with lifts. Lots of trains going through - all passenger ones stop and some start and terminate there so time to spot. Some variety in freight - steel, coal and containers. Plenty to see in the city for his wife - shopping arcades and malls very close by. Castle and the civic centre with museum within walking distance. Take the shuttle train from Queen Street station (next stop from Central) to the Bay - you're there in minutes. Cheers, Philip

Hi chums, Just to add my tuppence worth, I set up the grandsons' layout upon which they had everything on it (Lego and Playmobil people, aeroplanes, out of scale buildings etc. - but no dinosaurs) and they thoroughly enjoyed playing in 'their' world (7 and 9 years old). However, during a quiet interlude, I set up my ECoS and some of my DCC sound locos to run them in a little (no circuit of my own at the mo'). Well, they too now want DCC with all the bells and whistles - literally. The point is - whilst I should want them to go down that route - it's a costly exercise!! And the locos of today are not the Hornby Dublos of yesteryear neither. What to do? BTW, if the programme has got people interested in the hobby - thumbs up all round, I say. Cheers, Philip

Hello chums, Regarding Peco points and ballasting, if anyone is interested, here are a few photos from a couple of years ago showing the principle mentioned previously. I used thin card which was folded and glued along the shoulder of the formation prior to ballasting. Hole cut to size for point motor Card trapped between pre-wired motor and point Voila! Waiting bending and then ballasting (If considered too OT, I'll happily remove or post up elsewhere.) Cheers, Philip

Hello chums, Well I got to see the beast on Wednesday Thursday with the two grandsons. They were impressed by the sheer size of the thing AND after she had steamed off they were allowed a 'ride' in the cabin of an Infra loco No 622302. They now both want to be engine drivers. The granddaughter didn't want to come but in the end she had the best view of it in full blast. Had I known it was going to pass two miles away from where I live, I might have stayed too! She had a good vantage point from a local supermarket car park that is on higher ground and the line is visible for about a mile or so. Pity it had two diesels attached upfront though. Here are couple of photos (not the best as taken on an old mobile phone). She was looking a bit past her best as it had been a rather wet morning and she'd set out from Paris on her way eventually to Alsace where she is to take part in the 100th anniversary of the Armistice. I thought it was a tad ironical as she would been too young but more so that her maker's plate was 'Henschel & Sohn'. Edit: Duplicate statement - sorry;

Hello chums, Well I got to see the beast on Wednesday Thursday with the two grandsons. They were impressed by the sheer size of the thing AND after she had steamed off they were allowed a 'ride' in the cabin of an Infra loco No 622302. They now both want to be engine drivers. The granddaughter didn't want to come but in the end she had the best view of it in full blast. Had I known it was going to pass two miles away from where I live, I might have stayed too! She had a good vantage point from a local supermarket car park that is on higher ground and the line is visible for about a mile or so. Pity it had two diesels attached upfront though. Here are couple of photos (not the best as taken on an old mobile phone). She was looking a bit past her best as it had been a rather wet morning and she'd set out from Paris on her way eventually to Alsace where she is to take part in the 100th anniversary of the Armistice. I thought it was a tad ironical as she would have been too young but more so that her maker's plate was 'Henschel & Sohn'. 622302 hiding the diesels No wonder the grandsons were impressed - just look how big it is! Cheers, Philip

Hi chums, Well today is 1st November ............................. It'll be a delayed start unfortunately ...... grandkids, visitors, half-term, double bank holiday (over here), son-in-law back at college, wood to brought in from the forest etc., etc., All those 'little' things that trip you up ...................... However, not all is doom and gloom ..... I have negotiated with SWIMBO the use of the dining room table between the departure of our next lot of visitors and Christmas. I'm going to prebuild some modules especially of the stations (not Dymented) as they won't be affected by any final plan if there is an opportunity of enlargement when the flooring is laid. I'll keep you posted in a week or so. Cheers, Philip

******STOP PRESS****** I have received this morning an updated schedule for the 231K8. The loco is now arriving at 16:00hrs at Chalindrey and then going to the shed to take on water and dropping some ash (whether it means dropping the fire, I don't know). If you're going to the rotonde, take care as it's a working site - there are diesels taking on fuel from time-to-time. Please be discreet and look out for yourselves and others. Cheers, Philip

Hello Peter, What a fantastic looking dépôt. It really really wants me to try out 0 gauge - but I'm far too committed to 00 at the moment - hats off to you though. Just a minor point of detail (and I could be wrong and stand to be corrected but SWIMBO is of the same opinion), I think you may find that the zebra crossing is wrong for your period. It would have been a 'passage clouté' - a crossing point marked out with parallel lines of square metal road studs (approx 100mm x 100mm). Zebra crossings over here in France are still known colloquially under the original name of 'passage clouté'. The change over was more recent - post 70s, when bitmac surfacing became more common inside towns (especially after the May 1968 riots in Paris and elsewhere when the pavés became a source of ammunition). If you really really want to use a 'zebra' crossing then it would have been painted yellow until the 1970s. Studs were used especially on 'pavés' as paint does not hold, whereas studs were nailed in (usually). Statistically speaking 30% of pedestrians killed in towns are on a 'clouté', it would have been worse in the 60s and therefore you might consider having a 'gendarme' (in brown uniform) or 'agent de police' (if the town was big enough to support it's own police force) with white gloves and manchettes on duty. I know it's a bit of a cliché (a bit like UK layouts that have an obligatory bus on an overbridge), but the reality was that it was very much a free-for-all in France between drivers and pedestrians - not like the UK where there was far more courtesy (and Belisha beacons) and lower speed limits (30mph v 60kph). Just thought I'd mention it. Cheers, Philip (who's been in both countries since 1950).

Well ..... where do I start? Full confession - I haven't seen any of the episodes (yet) (YouTube will have to be my friend) as I am out of 'region', so no catch-up TV for me either. Other confession, I don't have a layout - but that is due to start soon. I'm writing this solely from what I've read on this thread and my take is this: The programme makers gave the teams tasks that stretched their imaginations and took them possibly out of their comfort zone (and probably a number of those who are modellers and watched too). This is perhaps no bad thing. Seemingly it has been made for entertainment (has to attract a certain number of viewers) and if it hadn't had the entertainment (animations and the like) then it would, for the average viewer no doubt, been deemed booorrring. I wondered, therefore, if when viewing the programme, one should look at it more through a child's (or novice's) eyes. I have two grand sons (7 and9) and I have completed one layout for the one and the other is completed trackwise but is waiting for me to finish the ballasting and scenery and this has taken forever!! This is where it has gone wrong (for me). The layouts I sought to create are ones where, in my world, the track (albeit 2nd/3rd radius set track) is billiard smooth, ballasted, painted, roads laid out, with kerbing, grass stuck down properly, buildings - the works. You know what? The grand sons don't care about that - they play on the one layout that is finished with non-scale vehicles, bits of cardboard for extra buildings and trains that go lickety split around the roundy-roundy in different directions. Stuff the 'rusty rails' Pappy, the scale trees and the rest - this is what WE want in OUR railway world and we're having fun. And I agree wholeheartedly. Is this then the idea of the show? To show what can be done in limited time? Think Christmas Day and setting up the new Thomas the Tank engine (or for someone a bit older maybe a DCC starter set). The fun is setting up and running it and then adding to it at birthday times and then, getting it onto a board then ....... see where I'm going? When we're older and our eyes see scale, proportionality and prototypes differently, then yes, we put the dinosaurs aside and start 'modelling'. I say good for the programme makers and those that took part, as it seems it has already created interest and perhaps taken the hobby out of the 'closet' and made it more mainstream. If you're proud of your model, let others know - maybe, just maybe - they too are closet railway modellers or would just like to get started. Just my ramblings, Cheers, Philip

@sncf231e Très drôle! Das ist Kollosal (mit eine grösse K) geld! It's more than I gave for my car! Blimey, are they trying to give Fulgurex competition? I don't speak or read German (you might have guessed ) but it seemed from the little I could glean it is to be very high spec. I'll .... um .... pass on that one. Cheers, Philip

@Joseph, You're too kind! Unfortunately, I saw an old bloke looking at me in the bathroom mirror the other day - seemingly I've become my own Welsh grand-dad ! Cheers, Philip PS: Back into the woods this afternoon to finish off the first load. :(

@Joseph_Pestell Ah well there you go! I remembered after writing the previous message that I was only three at the time and it was entering the bowels of the ferry that left its impression on me, therefore in 1953. Definitely night-time too, for as soon as the ship set sail, it was off to bed for me. The only other time that I remember being steam hauled - despite the knitting being in place - and it was when I was a young teenager and all alone (those were the days in about 1964), was from Le Havre to St Lazare. First train out of the day at about 8 or 8.30am after being turfed off the Southampton ferry at about 7.00am. I did also get hauled once in a RTG between St Lazare and Dieppe on a return leg - I was about 8 at the time (but with my french grand-mère). That was to connect with the night ferry to Newhaven. I'll stop there, otherwise I'll be hijacking my own thread!! Cheers, Philip Edit: Avoiding an embarrassing faux-pas in terminii naming (PS: The decision to electrify Paris - Lille wasn't taken until 1954 - it may well have been steam hauled in the early 50's)