Keith Addenbrooke

I wonder if the lack of sustained interest might have been partly a consequence of having four platforms and the same number of fiddle yard roads - a more typical model railway arrangement can be to have eight (or twelve) fiddle yard roads for a four platform station, so a greater variety of trains can be run in and out? Just a thought, Keith. (…which maybe leads to the question as to whether the same boredom might set in with the operating scheme as we understand was originally envisaged for CJF’s Minories as an in / out Commuter station???)

Very ingenious - the Barry Slip makes it into the ultimate space-saving switchback layout! Impressed, Keith.

Progress has been both forwards and backwards since my last post. First thing I noticed were some extra floor pieces in the box - presumably for use if the separate shop interior kit was also being modelled (which I don’t have). Nevertheless, it made sense to swap the plain floor I’d used for the planked one before proceeding further: Next job was to add some interior walls for the shop fronts and then roof edge trim, handily supplied in ‘peel and stick’ strips: All seemed good so far (roof added for photos only - not fixed in place): Anticipating that the building could soak up a lot of paint, I decided to spray it. I’m very new to spray painting and just have a couple of rattle cans, but with plastic kits I’m finding they can bring out the relief in mouldings very effectively: Unfortunately, with this wooden kit it showed up the places where the gaps between pieces were just too large, plus one end had curled quite noticeably, despite my trying to spray both the insides and outsides of the kit to minimise this effect: After pondering my options, I decided the only course of action was to gently prise it apart and rebuild. Fortunately the glue I’d used meant that was possible, and I was soon back to a pile of pieces: One perk of my job is that it comes with a lot of heavy books, so the springy base pieces spent a few days in the Study being flattened before reassembly: I then proceeded more slowly than the first time round: And built the interior strengthening walls before adding the exterior: Finally, the outside walls were put back in place, and the exterior brush painted with Humbrol #34: This side wall / base joint isn’t perfect, but much improved, and it all seems to be staying in shape ready for the next stage. I may pick out the roof trim in a different colour to match the original, then it’ll be the windows. Until next time, Keith.

Enjoyed the video - Bruce Chubb’s Sunset Valley RR (the original one as in his book) is easily one of my favourite all time layouts. I like the way you explain for any US viewers how layout space works out in the UK. Good stuff, Keith.

Some very impressive scenic modelling there - taking full advantage of O-Scale, Keith.

Good to see from the box it’s “Fully interlocking” - must be reassuring to the loco crew at that speed 😀, Keith.

As an indication of just how many Orders Hattons processed during the Closing Down / Clearance Sale, I’ve had a look at the order numbers on my final purchases: On the evening of Mon 8th Jan, the day closure was announced, I placed a Trunk Order at 8.45pm - Order No. 6153785 At around midnight I drew stumps for the day and shipped my Trunk - Order No. 6155445 (ie: 1,660 Orders later). It’s no surprise they were so busy that evening if people were reacting to the closure notice. The 30%+ discounts had already been activated, though I don’t know how many Orders would have normally been placed on a typical Monday evening. On the final day of trading, I decided at the last minute to buy one of the remaining items (post on page 44). My final final order was placed in the last quarter hour of trading, just after 1.45pm on 31st Jan - Order No. 6177614. That Order number is 23,829 after the first one I placed on 8th Jan. Again, I don’t know how many Orders Hattons would have expected to process during three weeks in January, but it gives an indication of the volume of orders being processed by a staff team that appears to have been diminishing (based on the ‘earlier end to trading’ announcement). It’s no surprise to me that the last box to arrive wasn’t the usual size under the circumstances, Keith.

Do the Jägerndorfer models have the option of power through the overhead? I don’t think the newer Roco ones do, but my older BR 140 has that option, so I’m thinking this legacy would naturally lead to Roco pantographs being more robust? Just a thought - afraid I don’t know much about overhead wiring and pantographs…yet 😀, Keith.

Hi there, you invite our thoughts, so I hope it’s OK to share a question I was asked too: It’s only as life has begun to settle down that I’ve become more active as a modeller, even though I’ve been in and around the hobby almost all my life. When it came to practical skills and experience, I therefore classed myself as a newbie / beginner, but was soon being asked when I would graduate from this ‘level’ and just be a ‘modeller’? Looking at the standard on this layout, in terms of scenery and detailing, upgrading the ballasting and track work (including the layout design), and the enthusiasm with which it is all being tackled, makes we wonder here too? While it’s still a first layout project, the team are clearly learning fast and producing modelling up to exhibition standard. The only ‘clue’ this is a first project would appear to be the use of Setrack - but as that was inherited I’d say it was more about giving the team a head start. In my case, I set myself some clear objectives - things I wanted to try (and some I wasn’t so interest in). Once they were done, I ‘graduated’. I still have a lot to learn, but we always will. Just wondered? Hope that’s OK, Keith.

Having placed my ‘final’ Hattons Order a couple of weeks ago, just after the closure announcement, I have now also received my ‘final final’ Order - the one placed on the last trading day when the last few items were being cleared, just before the website shut down: An H0 Bachmann Continental Signal Box (Stellwerk): I do need a signal box, but would have expected to kit build one. Although much more of my recent trading has been with Contikits and Rails of Sheffield (and bits elsewhere), there is still undoubtedly a sentimental aspect to this purchase though - a final final farewell to a good friend of many years. My own take on the discussion around the economics of Hattons Closure - and how it has influenced my current purchasing decisions - is in a blog I posted yesterday if anyone wants a look. Thanks, Keith.

Thank you - a fascinating picture. I believe the engine shed to the right is now a Railway Museum, giving the perfect excuse to display earlier rolling stock alongside more modern trains…if there’s room, Keith.

Ceteris Paribus I've been reminded of two assumptions I was taught when I studied economics, about how markets function: The first seemed quite fanciful at the time - the idea that buyers (and sellers) have perfect market knowledge. Although it was presented to us as a means of simplifying analysis, the rise of the internet means it is now within reach. When it comes to model railways, I can compare prices, quality, availability and alternatives for anything I'm wanting to either buy or sell. But the other assumption has caught me out: ceteris paribus - Latin for all else being equal. One of the reasons I've been free to explore my ideas and dreams over the past few years is a confidence that the retailers I rely on will be there. When I've changed direction, I've sold up and tried something different. Then came the unexpected, shock announcement: Hattons Model Railways to close . While I also use other retailers, I've done most of my in-person and on-line business over the last twenty-five years with Hattons, including selling as well as buying. When we learned the Warley National Model Railway Exhibition was also ending, the stability I had assumed no longer seemed quite as certain. 'All else' suddenly didn't feel equal. I don't know if the model railway market will be affected by these things or not, but some degree of at least temporary market disturbance seemed like a possibility: markets don't like uncertainty. As an investor, I'm not a risk taker, so rather than wait until after we (hopefully) move house, I decided to press on with the third of the stories I want to tell: the Main Line story. I took advantage of Hattons' closing down sale, and cashed in some store credit I'd built up with Rails of Sheffield after trading with their excellent Pre-Owned and eBay departments last year. I'd already resourced the Short Line / Narrow Gauge and Branch Line projects I want to take with me when we move, plus had bought some coaches and the Epoche IV DB Class 120 E-Lok I showed in my previous Blog post. I now decided to go all in. If my dreams continue to include mainline modelling, perhaps I should take with me more bits when we move after all. The Main Line Story I've already learned that switching to a smaller scale doesn't necessarily solve the space problem. The 'helicopter view' in N-Scale meant I wasn't keen to compromise train length. While I tried 'shortie' coaches that wouldn't look as bad on tight curves, I didn't have room for the nine or ten coach trains I felt were needed: And in H0 Scale I'd learned that even I can tell the difference between a cheaper 'Hobby' range item and an 'Expert' one. A Piko Hobby BR218 I had last year (excellent runner): compared to the Fleischmann 218 (earlier livery) I've replaced it with: Although I don't have a clear target to aim at, I'm trying to ensure I buy only the items I should now want to keep, not just ones to try out. I've restricted myself to full length scale 1:87 coaches, rather than the shorter 1:93.5 and 1:100 length coaches I tried before - but was ready to sell on when the project stalled. These were the shorter ones: Compared to the 1:87 full length coaches I now have: Six full length coaches still exceed my range of vision close up, making the train seem 'long' anyway, and they do have more of a sense of presence. As for the locos that haul them, this is a Roco model with a very real sense of presence when it comes out of the box - it weighs well over 0.6kg: As the second loco I ever had was an N-Gauge Minitrix BR Warship (D823 Hermes), there's a personal meaning here too. In terms of prototype, it seems to me that there were more loco hauled short and medium length trains in earlier eras, running services now covered by multiple units. I'm therefore stepping back a bit to Epoche IV and the 1980s. It means I can also include some older, very short trains too, such as this railcar (apologies for the terrible photo): But haven't I been here before? Am I just kidding myself, spooked by the loss of a popular retailer? One thing I don't tend to sell on are structure kits. And for me the holy grail for some time had been the Faller station kit for Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. So although it meant dipping into funds beyond my budget when I found one in mint condition at a price I could afford at Elaine's Trains it was a genuine 'must-have'. 929 pieces in a box weighing 3.4kg (unopened, includes sprues): Now I know I'm ready: when I build it it will be nearly a yard long. And I'll have to find somewhere to put it. And that's "what happened next." It brings this blog to a close for now, and probably until after we move house. I have three stories to tell, plenty of kits to build, and (right now) no real desire to buy anything else, certainly not to sell anything. Are all other things ever equal? Probably not, but hopefully I’ve swung the odds back in my favour just a little bit. Anyway, I'm off to the workshop to retrieve some kit parts I spray painted yesterday: we have models to build. Thank you for reading, and take care. Keith.

While most signals could have been off-stage, with the low bridge might there have been a repeater for visibility on the station side? Sorry if it messes things up - I just wondered, Keith.

Delighted to say I was free yesterday to book in to the Feb ‘24 open evening. The layout looks great and the test trains I saw ran very smoothly. The team look to be doing a really good job with the layout they inherited, and it was interesting to note this layout was the one that drew the crowd, especially (but not only) among the younger folk present. The now famous yard lighting towers @saxokid has scratchbuilt also deserve the plaudits they’ve been getting. My thanks to @saxokid and the team - an enjoyable evening with a club where there is plenty going on, Keith.

As @PJT, @MattR, @Steamport Southport and others have commented / confessed, watching the new listings appear was all too often part of the daily routine - nicely timed to coincide with a tea break (or was it the other way round? - I forget). While there were bargains I missed out on while taking a few minutes to check something out, for me the game worked both ways: when items I had sold to Hattons Pre-owned appeared, there would be the satisfaction of seeing something that used to be mine get snapped up quickly (“see - I told you it was good”). Although there was the time a loco I had traded on sat there for weeks. I felt a bit miffed, to be honest. All it was missing was the original box (which I’d never had). Having taken delivery of my final order a couple of weeks ago, I now await arrival of my final, final order from the last day clearance, Keith.

Hi @Chris Williamson - you held it in place for an hour! You put me to shame: I give up after ten minutes holding parts in place hoping the glue will stick. I’m currently re-doing a building that failed QC first time round because I wasn’t careful / patient enough. Reading your post made me feel guilty enough to go and check on progress - any bits that hadn’t set were addressed with superglue. Very impressed, Keith.

Some interesting reflections - thank you for the link to the blog post. I also followed an in-post link to an earlier Hilton / Mears discussion on Motivation and Inspiration that made for another good read too. I can appreciate @LowerUphamMike’s sentiment - “do hold on to this one” - as sometimes we can be too quick to move on. I can think of a couple of times I’ve sold up when a project has faltered and then wondered if it really was the right thing to do, and that’s long before I reached this stage! There is a reason we store away treasures (and memories) to relive another day. On the other hand, as @James Hilton explains in the blog, there is a personal, emotional definition of complete / finished that may not have meaning to anyone else, but is truly right for us. I think of a project I started a few years ago that didn’t end up in me building a layout: I got all the enjoyment I was after from the online research, so felt no need to do any more. On that occasion I sold up without any regrets. We’re currently in the process of moving house, to a smaller, more accessible property, but one with far less storage space. Everything is being sorted - including my model railway collection(s). There are some things I’ve come across where my first reaction is to tell myself these are things I must hold on to. But once I’ve enjoyed the memories associated with them once more, I know it’ll be OK to let them go. After all, it’s not as if I’m running out of things to make, or ideas to explore. At the end of the day, I know there are still more memories to make up ahead too, Keith.

Must admit I read this thread with some relief - having also recently bought an older Fleischmann loco: I don’t have any testing equipment to check voltage or current / power. Fortunately both of my controllers just happen to be Gaugemaster Combi models which @D9020 Nimbus notes should be OK. In my case I bought the controllers as they were recommended to me for H0e use. A very useful thread for those of us buying second hand - thank you to @MattR and all the contributors: lack of controller power wasn’t something I’d factored into my purchase decision! Keith.

Thanks for this Phil - a helpful reminder to check, check and check again before cutting wood! A few months ago I put together a baseboard for a particular space where the optimum length for a staging yard board worked out at 7’2.5” - hardly a standard size, but repeated re-measuring confirmed it was what would work, so it’s what I made. Incidentally, there’ll probably be someone here who can tell us if the design / length of the Peco Streamline points has ever changed since they were introduced many years ago. If there have been any changes, it means the geometry won’t have been constant. Just a thought, Keith.

I think those crossings have been flying under the radar, as they were there a couple of weeks ago (I mentioned them in a post on 14th Jan, page 28). Mindyou, there were 293 then, so looks like 50+ have sold in the last fortnight or so. Not bad for a product I wouldn’t have thought was a natural high demand / impulse buy item. After monitoring the website even more closely than usual (like many of us have been), I’ve placed a final Order just-in-time for a Bachman H0 Signal Box - an item I do actually have a use for. It will be a poignant moment when it arrives. Sad to note of course that the word “usual” from my last sentence no longer applies. Looks like the website has now closed as planned at 2pm. My best wishes and thanks to all the staff, Keith.

Very true - we are in the process of moving from a Victorian 4-storey property to a modern house that is exactly as you describe: no garage (where it could be is a Study / Home Office, which we need) and no real storage (no cellar, attic room or outhouse). And yes, it is why I’m looking again at Minories 😀, Keith.

Hi @steve1. For North American TT, it's standard practice to use N Scale Micro-Trains couplers (the N-Scale equivalent to Kadees, which were originally the same company anyway). For more on North American TT I'd recommend the ttnut Forum. North American Rolling stock doesn't tend to have NEM pockets (fair enough, NEM are European standards). It is also my understanding that the NEM coupler pockets on Hornby TT:120 rolling stock are the same size as those on N Scale rolling stock - rather than HO / OO compatible. This could be why there's not been mention of Kadees? Don't know if that helps? Keith.

I would call it a ‘working diorama’ - but either way it’s an impressive model of an unusual prototype, Keith.

It is possible to plot track arrangements in Anyrail where point tie bars will foul when laid out - this was for a curved fiddle yard entrance that Anyrail said was OK. Anyrail is a great product and very useful, but it is worth checking tight arrangements, Keith.

Thanks Mark. It’s been fascinating to watch what how you’ve put it all together, and kept adding detail after many of us would have given up. When I did an 009 Steam Tramway loco a couple of years ago the job was made much easier by receiving a detailed 3-D print in the kit: I just had to be careful painting it! Your more traditional model takes it all to a whole extra level, Keith.