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When you get told something like this it just seems so obvious. The painting white underneath is not something I had even considered but it makes total sense. Thanks.

I really appreciate all the comments, help, and suggestions. I never expected such a response. What a great community.

Thanks Mike, some great advice. I want to use Newhaven as an inspiration rather than trying to create a replica. However, the main reason for thinking about Newhaven is some of the layout challenges that this site presents. I will definetly be trying to recreate the swing bridge and some of the harbour features. I am thinking I might create a fictional location and call it Seahaven and get further inspiration from Seaford and Peacehaven. As far a stock is concerned again I am looking more at inspiration rather than recreation and will be thinking long and hard before I start to invest in this. I have started to document my progress on video and probably will upload to youtube at some point. Thanks Peter I really have a long way to go with the loft. This week I have disposed of 15 bags of litter and hardly scratched the surface. Plenty of time for planning and research though.

I din't want to quote your whole post but wanted to recognise your reply - WOW! That is fantastic advice and some very useful information. To answer some of your questions. I don't have any of my old stock though it might be in the loft space at my mums house but I never really had that much anyway I spent most of my time using my stock on my cousins layout and helping him to build that. I think the nearest model shop to me is in Worthing or Lancing but there is a Railway Model Club in walking distance and I hope to pop along to their meeting tomorrow evening. You have given me some good advice and a number of things to ponder. I'm in no rush and am happy to spend a bit of time researching etc. I will also try to get to know what is going on on this forum.

I've put in my diary hope I can make one of the days.

Thanks yes I have seen his channel and it is great fun. I am actually just watching the episode where he rips up his layout.

Sorry if I have posted in the wrong section. After enjoying train sets and model making as a child I have recently got back in to modeling and decided that I would like the challenge of a train layout. It has probably been about forty years since I had anything to do with model trains and modelling and a lot has changed in that time especially from a technological perspective. I have decided to clear out the loft, smarten it up and create a model train layout. I have some ideas about what I would like to do such as go with 00 guage and concentrate on the era from 1970 - 1980 which I think alows for plenty of scope. I know I want to base the layout very loosely on the real life examples found in the area between Brighton and Seaford with particular interest in Newhaven. At the moment I have a loft absolutely full of rubbish and it will take a lot of time to get the space in order and ready to build a layout. However, I am keen to plan ahead and would love to have some pointers in regard to locomotives and rolling stock, I seriously have not touched a train set in forty years so think of me as new to the hobby but willing to learn and also get involved with the community. Any pointers on what to think about, how to progress, good places to look for stock and modeling materials, good places to go for tips, help, advice would be great. Thanks in advance.