Calidore

Lovely stuff, Ian -- the colours of the weathering on the coal office and the bridge girder are fantastic. Adam

Looking very nice Rob. That fiddle yard is quite a feat, too! Adam

You've got a gift for this, Mark. That's some of the best terrain modelling I've seen Adam

Hi @turtlebah, I was just here to look again at something I'd remembered you featuring in a previous post. So while I'm at it, is there any news to report from West Park? I love the sense of scale in the photo above, by the way -- the huge starting signal looming over the platform, and the even bigger buildings rising behind it make for a wonderful scene. Hope all is well. Adam

Glad I wasn't missing something! A very nice selection of content, and it's handy to be able to access it at whatever time and in whatever order. The layout interviews and demonstrator videos in particular are great -- thanks to all for organising it. Adam

Looks like the painters have another job on their hands with the gate Mark, very nice! The brazier on the previous page is another detail I don't think I've seen done anywhere -- it looks excellent, right down to the holes in the bottom of the barrel. Just goes to show that there's room for all kinds of inventiveness in this hobby beyond the regular 'always modelled' set pieces. Adam

The Times are reporting this morning that a plan is under consideration to effectively scrap the eastern fork of phase 2b, and replace it with a link from the western fork towards Leeds which will be seen as both HS2 and the 'Northern Powerhouse Rail' rolled into one. I'm not too clued up on the detail of HS2, but has this been reported anywhere else? Link (probably subscription) -- https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/hs2-money-saving-plan-to-run-trains-across-pennines-7nw9s7q9n Adam

Every time this thread comes up I feel a sceptical glimmer of hope, which is always promptly extinguished... I’d like to state for the record my prediction that 35024 will arrive within a fortnight of the Rails D Class, to wreak maximum wallet damage!

Very nice to see another layout from you, @lash. I did enjoy Milton Quay, and had a read back through the Portsea Town thread not so long ago, which was informative and very interesting to look at too. Your layouts are right up my street in terms of setting, and you always seem to find wonderful quirky buildings and kits to make them just that bit different. I shall keep an eye out for more of this one. Adam

Looks really nicely composed, Rob. Should work a treat with your usual scenic standards applied -- I'll look forward to seeing it progress. Adam

KMRC Guildford also reopening in full 'shop' mode on Monday (lucky us); Camborne reopening for click and collect. http://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/pg/171/COVID19 It might also be of interest for anyone in the South who uses them, that Pullingers art shops are also reopening on Monday or Tuesday, depending on branch. Who could have imagined that the prospect of a basic trip to the shops would ever seem so liberating. Adam

Really wouldn't have guessed that fence was flat to the backscene if you hadn't said, Mark -- fantastic. Adam

That's all rather nice @TechnicArrow. The mooring posts and the guard rail are both good lessons in how to make something from nothing -- great stuff. Adam

SVR may be the first (?) to announce a target reopening date -- 1st August, per supporters' newsletter. Bravo to them for showing some urgency and pushing to get things moving, and doing it in a responsible way with plans for the safety of staff and visitors.

Great to see that the fundraising target has been reached. I'm really interested in the number of donors quoted in the Bluebell Times fundraising column though. Written at just beyond the £250k mark, they report that amount having been contributed by 1,900 individual donors. I'm really surprised it's that small a group of people: an average of £131.58 per person. I'd written elsewhere on here previously about the slow start to the Bluebell's campaign, but once they 'relaunched' it the total skyrocketed at a staggering pace. I'd thought this was because the Bluebell has a relatively large supporter base compared to some railways (i.e. with membership of the society actively encouraged and publicised, they're less reliant on goodwill of the general public or a less formal group of 'supporters'). But on the assumption that, for all railways, there are actually quite a few donations more in the £10-£20 range from the public (evidenced by social media comments, JustGiving pages with visible amounts shown, and the popularity of the 'text ____ to give £10' which many railways are doing), that makes me think these campaigns must still be hugely reliant on a very small number of people giving very large amounts to make up the serious sums. There are doubtless some railways who have the best of both -- the SVR clearly has a huge volume of general public support and more dedicated member / supporter backing to have reached £745k -- but this seeming reliance on serious sums from a small group in some places naturally gives some concern about future sustainability. I think it's also why some railways are finding the campaigns have stalled a bit now, compared to how they were moving at the beginning: once all the people able or willing to give £200 have given it, the steady flow of £10s take a long time to add up. If we get to a time in the future, as we surely will, when these kinds of supporters are even fewer and further between, where the money comes from then is an even harder question to answer. Adam (I should say, the above is not at all intended to disparage the generosity of those who are giving comparatively smaller sums, as it clearly all helps and giving anything at all is a kind act indeed -- merely thinking about how this passion of ours keeps itself going, as we all do.)

Hi Ian, meant to say how much I admire this layout last time I saw it crop up on here. The row of buildings at the back hidden on the other side of the arches is by far my favourite element -- the juxtaposition of all the different roof angles, window heights, chimneys and attic rooms is fantastic. The last B&W photo with the J50 in particular is great. It very much reminds me of this photo of a C Class passing through Loughborough Junction. Hope you like. https://www.rail-online.co.uk/p814111115/h8f8e7eae#h8f8e7eae Adam

Very clever with the levers! I'm a sucker for a good wooden crossing as well and that's a fine one -- looks great with the varied shades on the cobbles. Adam

One of my favourite pieces of ridiculous infrastructure is Calstock Viaduct on the Callington branch. Absolutely enormous (and beautiful to look at), but all for a tiny branch line. It's those kind of things that make the early railway speculators seem so mad but also so brave. Taking advantage of the sun, base track colour is done -- a decent shade for a lightly-used, end-of-the-line kind of place I think. I plan to add to it with dry brushing for highlights and detail patches in due course. Adam

Thanks for posting these, Ian. Looks like a nice project to me and there's certainly nothing wrong with the 'excuse to run _______' type of layout! Interesting that your grassed area does a very good representation of the slightly tufty, matted grass alongside the Swanage branch with that summer blend of patchy green and yellow. Is it hanging basket liner? I can only ever find much more brown ones when I've thought about trying it. Hi Paul, thanks for checking in and yes, my route choice does seem to have caused a stir You're quite right that going North makes more sense (as the clay railway did in reality) -- I suppose I was trying to avoid making it too similar to what was actually built, but also perhaps such an imagined engineering feat is part of the fun of these kinds of route plans and might-have-beens. It'd be interesting to look through the original land survey book for the Swanage branch, recently donated to the SR from its previous custodians the IoWSR. Your Lulworth Castle layout is a wonderful model and certainly one I'd count amongst the list of 'inspirational layouts' we all seem to keep. I've enjoyed videos but haven't had the chance to see it in person yet -- maybe one day. Your attention to the gradient profiles etc is very impressive. Thanks for your kind words as well. Thank you for posting this comment Paul -- another example of the untold depths of knowledge to be found on RMWeb! I hadn't come across this before but having just done a bit of reading it sounds fascinating. It really evidences the strategic importance of the area and makes one realise that it wasn't only cities which really came in for it during the war. Also the evident interest in targeting the area goes some way to explaining that strange old story about 30120 being shot at by enemy aircraft whilst working in the area too. Thanks for this Pete, another very helpful post. I'd thought about a platform-height plinth, but after testing the huts on the layout (last photo of my previous post) thought they didn't need that much height. This will be a perfect compromise. ------ It's sunny in my neck of the woods today, and a blue sky tends to always remind me of sunny days around Swanage, so here are another couple of photos from the past few years. Through the castle ruins, looking towards Poole Harbour with Arne visible to the left and the heath in the middle distance. From the footplate on 30120. With the timing of the pandemic being what it is, she may well not steam again on her current ticket. After that, who knows. Adam

Always a pleasure to see Finsbury Square back on the front page @31A. Lovely work on the signal box; it'll look right at home on the layout I'm sure Adam

Thought I'd do a more WIP-type update as well, as I've not written up much of my method with the water tower or the Nissen huts. Track is fixed down and just needs a couple of hours to fully dry before I can spray it with Humbrol 29 as base colour and get on with ground work. Meanwhile, I've been testing road surfaces: This is a little dark but almost what I'm looking for as the surface for the dirt road along the board front. The base is textured wallpaper, skimmed over with filler to reduce the relief (the left end here is what it looks like before filling). After this the surface is painted with a light cream-brown ('Oatmeal' according to Wilko!), then the shading is a combination of a darker brown ('Earth Hue') stippled and dry brushed, and Humbrol Dark Earth and Peco Ash Dust powders over the top for variation and a slight texture. The Dark Earth had the most severe darkening effect out of the lot, so I think if I leave that out of the final version it should tone down just fine with the Ash Dust and Earth Hue. The shell for the stores building is done in my usual 5mm foam board and the scene is pretty well shaping up how I wanted, which is good. The cladding will be sheet metal and the main door a sliding affair. The B4 disappearing behind is just how I'd intended so I'm sticking to my objectives so far. On the subject of motive power, 30093 has been a definite target for both the station layout and the sidings layout since I started planning. The rest of the lineup in general is what you'd expect for the area, i.e. Drummond types, Ivatt 2MT etc, and a Q class is also in my sights. 30093 was chosen specifically based on its history of working the Poole Quay and Hamworthy Goods lines when based at Bournemouth, so it seemed like the obvious choice as being likely to have worked this line had it existed too. On a similar basis of local flavour, the Q class is likely to be 30548 -- the plan is Golden Arrow resin body on a Bachmann C Class chassis. As an interim measure my Q1 is likely to appear, although it's slightly off-territory. Bringing the time period forward slightly, I've also been trying to justify a blue 07... Workings to the MOD sidings will be a combination of 'through' trains where the train engine has stayed on all the way to the end of the branch, and local trip moves with a smaller engine bringing up wagons left down the branch at Studland station by whatever larger motive power brought them there. Finally the scene at the other end, coming on from the fiddle yard. Thoughts on any of the above always welcome! Adam

Hi Dave, I've been missing another of the forum's hidden gems here (hidden meaning I just hadn't noticed it yet!) but will be following along from here onwards. The variety of all your different juxtaposed buildings is fantastic, and each one a little work of art in terms of individual execution. As others have said, the deliberately obstructive buildings at the board front and the different viewing angles they create are very effective indeed. I'll have to have a look through the old thread as well, which I'm sure will be equally enjoyable. Adam

Looks great, Graham. Giving these individual identities somehow makes them even more characterful doesn't it? Adam

More evidence of modelling rather than rambling -- Nissen huts now completed for the front left of the board in front of the fiddle yard entrance. I'll see how they look once positioned on the layout, they might go on a plinth / loading dock to raise them up a bit. Rather pleased with these. Adam

That’s an excellent box, Duncan, a pleasure to see the photos. Your railway-related buildings and your non-railway ones are captured with equal finesse. Adam