Marly51

I've given up ordering specialist magazines through my local village shop because the wholesaler deliveries are erratic and some months the copies did not materialise. So I, for one, am glad to have a mail order subscription. I do browse the shop for other periodicals as our village shops are gems and we don't want to lose them! I am quite a thrifty person, railway modelling is something I have just returned to after a hectic career and I am glad there are still railway magazines in print. As a relative beginner, Model Rail is one of my favourites. Special offers are an extra, but not what particularly interests me. Marlyn

Lovely detailing!

My copy was published by Octopus Books (jointly founded by Hamlyn and Terence Conran of Habitat fame) - I have other books on cookery, gardening and textile crafts, published by Octopus under the St Michael’s enprint and sold through M&S. All relatively good quality reference books. Marlyn

Don’t know if this would be of any interest? M.C. Fujiwara has a YouTube video where he collects grimey paint/ink remains in a jar and stains balsa wood parts for a varied aged wood effect for his model buildings. https://youtu.be/05gbRVOABgg

Making good progress, Geoff - I love that little Backwoods Miniature kit! Looking forward to seeing all the scenic areas...

Working on a couple of other things at the same time Geoff, but definitely going to finish this one as well! My tunnel is quite narrow, so based my legging man on this photo in Standedge Tunnel http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/news/legging2006.htm I have a large horse in the Langley white metal kit of figures I bought earlier, which will be fine. I plan to have a roughish cobbled slope which would have given the horse’s hooves a reasonable grip. I have already admired KNP’s model - wonderful detail. There are a few ‘Cake Boxes’ with canal and water edges to them, so want to make sure mine is another twist. Your first model worked out really well and enjoying following your progress on your ‘second’! All the best, Marlyn View from the my window - cleared the path and its’s snowing again!!

Hi Job - was just about to sign off when I saw your new blog entry. Very atmospheric and detailed modelling and I love the storyline.. Marlyn

I have a couple of subscriptions for railway modelling monthly magazines because I prefer to have a printed version rather than read on screen. Too many screen activities these days! I also enjoy the free Railway Modelling Magazine when I can make the trip to my nearest model shop (35 miles away) - I have assumed this freebie is to encourage more folk to visit their local model shop? But I also find it quite sad that, generally, so many printed publications are disappearing.

Yes, I have a hardback copy which I purchased new from M&S all those years ago. I also have another tome published by Hamlyn in 1976 for the same grand price of £6.95, bought from James Thin Booksellers in Edinburgh. I quite enjoy browsing through these old books, although dated, the historical detail is fascinating!

Good luck with your search, Steve. Sorry I don’t know the book you are looking for. I am bit of a bookophile and have vague memories of childhood books, the titles of which have disappeared into the ether. There were a lot of well illustrated children’s books with an educational side in the 1950s/1960s... Marlyn

I'm planning a layout based on a real location just now, Paul, which is turning out to be larger than I would like. Your micro layouts are very tempting...I like the idea of linking a few scenarios within a limited space. Enjoying this thread very much. Thank you.

Went out to the workshop for a spell last night and by 10pm the snow was piling against the door. Giving up clearing the paths, so will be modelling in the house tonight!! Only the odd tractor on the single track road today.

Nothing wrong with your artistic skills Annie! The wagon & coach artwork is lovely!! Makes me hanker for a fictional railway of my own, but not quite yet...

I've made a initial attempt at an N Scale plan based on Merchiston Station and the milk depot. However this one is 3m long x 30cm deep, which is too big for the current space in my workshop. Will keep working on it and start drawing up plans for landscape features and buildings as well.

Beautiful old models!! Love the Bayko house... I inherited an incomplete set with bent metal supports, which was a bit frustrating... then Lego appeared on the scene and we were converted!

Found this RMweb topic on Midland milk trains http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/107038-midland-region-milk-trains/ useful reference. I was browsing online as well to find out typical milk train length and frequency of deliveries to a city like Edinburgh. If I were to model Merchiston Station, it would probably be N gauge (love to start modelling in 2mm FS but don't really have the skillset at present to scratchbuild anything other than buildings). I am considering a layout split into two modules with a fiddle yard either end. The Harrison Road bridge would provide the ideal board division with the industrial section (milk depot, timber yard, stone works and miscellaneous small industries) on one board and Merchiston Station with its low relief backscene of Edinburgh tenements and foreground Colony cottages on the second board. My challenge will be space limitation and scaling down from the real location with a bit of artistic licence. Will draw up an initial plan in AnyRail first.

Thanks for these Karhedron - I lived not far from the milk depot, etc in the 1950s, but didn’t pay much attention to the trackside buildings! A factory is just a factory when you’re under 10! I’m working on a few things at present - hope to do a bit more research in Edinburgh later on this year. The model may end up a little generic in the absence of relevant Edinburgh photos. Found a few more images taken inside - creamery and bottling plant? The National Collection of Aerial Photographs still has a large percentage of images awaiting digitisation, but I can arrange to book in for a session and browse through the originals at some point. Marlyn

Very impressive layout Ian! I’ve just started looking into modelling this part of the network based on personal memory and still to investigate details of goods and passenger operations. Kennerty Farm Dairy, took over E & D in 1973, and was then bought out by Wiseman Dairy in 1994. Hardly any company paperwork in existence from E & D period. Murchies Dairy operated from Lochrin Place - might be worthwhile checking them out as well. Marlyn Edit - apparently Murchies was also bought out by Wiseman in 1980.

There are some model railway YouTubers who are trying get more people into the hobby and encouraging purchasing second hand through eBay and various second hand model shops. Great to encourage folk, but it is also creating a new demand which may subsequently be pushing up the price of second hand and, as many on this thread have noted, end up paying more than if they bought the items ‘new’ directly from a model shop! A few years ago when our community was commemorating WW1 I had the idea of working with local youngsters to create a WW1 trench diorama and we bought some Action Men figures and accessories on eBay - very cheap and bargains at the beginning, but then I was aware that prices were rising steadily and becoming silly, so decided we would just use what we had.

Hi Barney, interesting project. Do you have a prototype in mind for your creamery? I am trying to find some typical building details and features of a Scottish creamery/milk depot. Hoping to produce a model based on Merchiston Station, Edinburgh with associated Edinburgh & Dumfriesshire Dairy Depot sidings, timber yard, stone works and finding very few reference images apart from some good mapping details and photos, mainly of English and Welsh creameries? I still need to check through Caledonian Railway books as well. Marlyn

Lovely layout David. Your little croft house just reminded me I produced a 2mm Plastikard Model of the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club bothy, Milehouse near Kincraig, about 20 years ago. I originally planned it as a mockup for a souvenir model, but realised half way through that the detail would need to be much coarser for this purpose. Marlyn

So glad you started this topic thread Annie. I have been enjoying your posts and becoming intrigued about your plans. That’s a nice little station for starters! Marlyn

Thanks Kevin - still new to the current world of railway modelling and good to learn more about its history and suppliers. I was looking through the online Meccano Magazine Archive a while ago, and found some interesting articles about all aspects of the hobby. Sadly my brother sold his Hornby 0 Gauge clockwork train collection and all his Meccano Magazines when he was a teenager. We had masses of track which we laid out in the garden every summer, using bricks to create viaducts! Marlyn

I bought a new soldering iron and struggled despite having read a good book on the subject and watched a couple of YouTube videos. Gave up then borrowed a small Antek from my husband, no problems since! Having said that, I am just soldering wiring for track droppers and wire connections, no finescale intricate working with scratchbuilt kits.

Didn’t realise there are locomotives and rolling stock being made in ‘modern tinplate’? Still working my way through interesting posts on the Forum and definitely enjoying this thread! Marlyn