Gwiwer

Politics. The State Government basically funded the rebuild and got to call shots on the new name. More than a few people still arrive looking for Spencer Street station (of which almost nothing remains) and some even get off as their train terminates there and ask for the time of the "Next train to Spencer Street". Old habits die hard.

Back to steam days and IIRC the regular motive power was GWR 0-6-0PT types shedded at Weymouth specifically for the job because not a lot else could cope with the tight curvature comfortably. The 204hp diesels (class 03) were later from the Bournemouth allocation in the days when you could still find one or two at Boscombe coal yard as well as a couple down the tramway. Boat trains were replaced by bus connections and the tramway fell out of use much to the relief, it is generally believed, of the local motorist population. Weymouth is a pig of a town to drive to or through at the best of times due largely to its curious geography and the delays caused by boat trains of up to 12 coaches creeping along the tramway brought the town centre to a standstill for upwards of half an hour on occasions. Class 33 locos were the staple in diesel years though WR dmmu sets made visits on occasions with railtours and at least one 3H Thumper has gone down there as well (also on a railtour). Electro-diesels were not used because (at the time they were in traffic) the line west of Branksome was not electrified and they had insufficient diesel power to haul a boat train up to Bincombe. There were also some concerns raised informally by a few staff about their pick-up shoes being vulnerable on the tramway though from what has never been made clear to me. The Olympic Delivery Authority seems to be ignoring the possibility of rail travel to Weymouth. While the town is in the throes of massive and expensive road upheavals to get things into a fit state for 2012 not a penny has been allocated to improve rail links. Quite apart from the tramway there is the critical single line section between Dorchester South and Moreton (which exists thanks to economies made at electrification) and the power supply is said to be under-rated for 10-car trains meaning only one can be west of Wareham at any one time - particularly if it is climbing up to Bincombe on full current draw. The alternative (Paddington - Castle Cary - Weymouth) route is also plagued by single track and some steep sections but could be used by HST specials if stock were available. Neither would have any need to use the tramway. The travel time from the junction to the Quay is far too long to effectively block up the town centre several times every day. Bus transit is (sad to say) more efficient and - given Olympic priority - faster.

http://railsofsheffield.com/default.aspx is working normally from Australia this morning

A few images from today's photo-session. And from a night-time session last week.

Probably a case of "Wait and see" but it was also my understanding that these locos are about to go into production with an anticipated shop arrival during the (UK) summer. A worthy contribution made nevertheless.

Hi Peter, Yesterday went well until the Heavens opened but that was more or less at the end of the day anyway. As you say, maybe another time. The layout isn't going anywhere soon so PM or call! Rick

I have had to replace the elderly Olympus C300 used for most of my layout pics over the years to date. The new point 'n' squirt is a Nikon L120 for quick snaps - I still prefer the Minolta SLR and pro-quality slide film for "best" - and here is the first image from the new toy.

Judgement reserved until product seen for the Dapol 1000s but the Heljan ones are mechanically superb and will gamely haul as much as you can couple to the hook. 25 Mk1 coaches is my record; any more than that and the drag pulled them off on the corners. The baseball cap effect of the inaccurately represented cab roof looks obviously wrong to even the slightly knowledgeable but can be corrected to a degree with deft use of files. With several of the Heljan type already in the fleet I am happy enough with their performance (but definitely not their front-end looks) to consider another.

As with all matters of a similar nature "You pays your money and takes your choice" but for my money and having regard to the potential for these items to sell pretty well before release I would consider pre-ordering from a retailer of choice who advertised a price now. If they happen to have a reputation for excellent service that adds value to the deal in my book. But we must all make up our own minds and many of us may have well-founded loyalties as well.

T9 on shed at Ponsangwyn If this looks good now how much better will it be when the Beattie well-tanks arrive?

And a good time had here as well thank you kindly. Always a pleasure to be able to watch Llanbourne in action and admire such quality workmanship at close quarters.

On shed at Ponsangwyn.

I'm an infrequent visitor to this topic but thought you might like to see the branch goods coasting downhill over the cliffs; the crew are taking a bit of a breather with the hard work all done and the end of the shift in sight.

Should be there, Sir, but would be obliged if you could PM me the address.

It is for RE to make commercial decisions as to how thay can best recover their costs on the product and for us to decide if we wish to purchase them at the price asked and in pairs. I like the concept of RM web acting as a "twinning" clearing house though I see it might be fraught with difficulties if the two parties are not at least already known to each other. When I set the cost and new detail of these locos against the relatively small (in my view) inaccuracy of the current offerings I am minded to stick with what I already have. I certainly cannot justify two more Cromptons and that would be the case even at a typical Hattons discount price. That said I wish RE every success in the venture.

"Inspiration" is a very personal quality. It may not be the most technically proficient, the most superbly engineered nor the most accurately represented models which truly inspire. I draw my three choices from a memory of over 50 years and across those years of three layouts which have stuck in my mind and probably inspired me to take up the hobby, to persist when circumstances seemed set against it, and to reach the level I have today. Two may be virtually unknown and certainly do not appear on the recent exhibition circuit lists. 1. There was a model village set in the drained and landscaped moat of a Martello Tower along Clacton sea front many years ago which included as a major feature an outdoor O-gauge (or possibly gauge 1) railway. I was very young indeed when I spent several happy hours taking in all that this unusual location had to offer and recall maroon coaches being hauled by green and black steam locomotives though cannot be more precise almost half a century later. 2. Pierhead Model Railway, Worthing. A fixed and fairly large display in the southern pavilion at the seaward end of the pier. Probably not the best modelling but it was well built and staged some endurance running with record attempts. I never learned of its fate though I believe it was dismantled many years ago. It was also unusual in that it was possible to hear the sea beneath the floor above the sound of the trains on rougher days. 3. Jim Smith-Wright's Birmingham New Street project. The sheer scale of the thing is amazing (particularly when you see the whole thing and not just the immediate station area) and when you look at the attention to detail and the ingenuity used in construction ..... Now that is what I call inspiring even if the location is one of the grottiest and seediest to be found in Britain.

Never mind the loco - those Mk1 coaches look the business

All that's missing, Jim, is a couple of spotters with bags, lunches and Combines spread across the BRUTEs .....

Those two in Australia are both on interstate main lines and Border Loop is so named as the line crosses the Queensland / New South Wales border while deep inside Border Tunnel negotiating the spiral. Border is correctly termed Cougal Spiral but is invariablby known as Border Loop. Border is also set in spectacular scenery though hard to access other than by a fairly long drive on minor roads. Passenger trains traverse both spirals. Bethungra, where the loop is only traversed by northbound trains, is on the route of the twice-daily Sydney - Melbourne XPT and can thus be travelled in daylight when departing Melbourne in the morning. Border Loop, which is on a single track line, is only served by the once-daily Sydney - Brisbane XPT which always runs north in the small hours of the morning but returns in daylight with an early start from Brisbane. There is regular freight on both routes much of it long and heavy with two, three or more locos heading up to 1500m of train.

A few clips of stuff moving .... 1. "Hoods" over Darras viaduct 2. and creeping through the reverse-curves at Penhayle Bay much to the irritation of the neighbour's dog! 3. "Bullets" at Treheligan; the silver ones have confused the auto-focus at one point. 4. The up vans race through the dunes.

A tantalising glimpse of the sea as the branch goods wheezes its way up the 1:40 above the cliffs to the tunnel at the top .....

The old Pullman Car Co. sheds at Preston Park near Brighton didn't have pits the full length IIRC. Some of the shed was paved or blocked floor from memory. I suspect many sheds would have been similar in only having pits for part of the length.

Following on from the last image I am now tackling the not inconsiderable challenge of modelling the sea. It's not a small area either with two scenes each over a metre long separated by the car park. The first two pours of Magic Water have gone down though there is plenty more work to be done including the formation of waves and ripples which may require the use of another product as well. The colour is mostly that painted directly onto the baseboard but the second pour had two pin-head spots of Prussian Blue acrylic mixed into it to give a depth to the colour and avoid having a lot of clear water over an obviously flat painted base. The white water foam - which a couple of very experienced modellers assured me was virtually impossible to represent - has been done by loading the scalpel blade with "warm white" acrylic, drawing the whole edge of the blade lightly through the setting water and then drawing the resulting straight line of paint back gently with an old rag. I never for one moment thought this scene would be easy to get right and it is certainly challenging but the evidence suggests it is not at all impossible. Further pours will permit the bathers to be mostly in (rather than on) the water and the surfers to ride waves. And not a train in sight! At the surfers' end near the rocks ..... And nearer to the car park in the shallows ..... Meanwhile at the other end of the layout the church finally has a back scene behind it and no longer appears to sit in front of the garden fence!

Big ship - and she would be very close in to you there. She was much farther off shore here simply because that's where the deep channel is. Nice blue diesels as well by the way.