Adrian Stevenson

I have got my ticket booked.

Hi Guys, we had a stunning Royal Flying Corps group come into work a few weeks ago. This week I did an interview about the group on Forces network: https://www.forces.net/news/stunning-collection-wwi-raf-pilots-belongings-go-auction Today the story got better as a photo of him taken pre war has come to light. They were a wealthy family, his Dad had a car in 1915. It goes under the hammer in two weeks time. They also covered a first day of the Somme Diary which I discovered . Which can be seen here: https://www.forces.net/news/wwi-soldiers-battle-somme-diary-go-auction Cheers, Ade.

Hi Chris, thanks. I like to work as neatly as possible. I was really keen to ensure that the plastic web between each sleeper was fully covered. I applied it a tea spoonful at a time and used a paintbrush to brush it into place. The acid test of approval will come from my Brother in Law, he works on the railways laying track and ballast for a living. Cheers, Ade.

Hi George, thanks! I will have to see about Leigh show as at present I am down on the rotor to work on Saturday April 25th. I will see if I can do a swop? Cheers, Ade.

Hi Julian, yes it is. It is a great resource. Hi Barnaby, thanks! I look forwards to seeing your progress. Cheers, Ade.

Thanks Alan, unlike many, I actually enjoy doing ballasting. I have some ariel photos of the main line and looks pretty filthy where the locomotives stood. I have been taking photos at a few preserved lines last year for inspiration. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Guys, thanks for the kind comments as ever. Hi Julian, the pannier driver is a "mini me" from Modelu. More progress this afternoon. I have laid the ballast on the first 6 foot of track. (The photos are not great being done with the floodlamp.) Cheers, Ade.

A few more pics from yesterday. The Dapol Pannier has had the BR smokebox number plate and shed plate removed. It had bugged me since I bought it being wrong for a GWR loco, but ok for early BR. I may now re-number it and add the numbers to the bufferbeams. It will then need weathering afterwards of course. Bought my ticket ready for Kettering next weekend, so looking forwards to that. Cheers, Ade.

Yesterday I got all the track sprayed up with Railmatch Sleeper Grime. Cleaned off the tops of the rails and then ran a few goods trains. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Mike, I have installed my first one, but not wired it up yet. Cheers, Ade.

That looks very effective.

Today I got the rest of wiring done. Pleased to report everything is now working fine. Had a good running session! I can now start to think about point motors. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Richard, thanks for the thoughts about these. I have a lot of careful planning to do for the last baseboard and the cassettes. This weekend I am in work on Saturday, so only Sunday free to carry on with the layout. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Julian, coming along OK, last weekend started the wiring, but made a school boy error and added a dropper to the wrong line making a short circuit. When are you going to start with the ballast? You look pretty close to doing that part. Cheers, Ade.

They have done a nice job on them for you.

My first layout was a roundy roundy in the spare little bedroom. Dad built the baseboards around the room and cut the bedroom door in half so you entered in like a stable door and you emerged into the middle of the baseboards. OO Gauge and a mixture of Tri-ang Hornby and the odd bit of Wrenn. GWR themed with card buildings. Sadly no pictures survive. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Andy, I am liking the new sidings. I have a spare bit of track you can have to finish off your new improved sidings. I am in work on Saturday. But free Sunday if you want to pop around and pick it up? Cheers, Ade.

Hi Steve, great to have you back. Re your personal situation, been there done that (did not even get the T Shirt, she had that too LOL) Cheers, Ade.

Hi Barnaby, thanks for the advice, much appreciated. Hi Guys, had advice by PM too, again thanks. So after a truly lousy day at work, I came home and went down to the shed tonight after tea. Pulled up the point, no offending wires, but managed to break the frog wire... So rigged the point up to a bit of track, added power and it worked ok. Checked down the bus wires and found I had put a black dropper wire on the red line.... Cut it off and now works fine. Sackcloth and ashes time..... Cheers, Ade.

Very nice indeed.

Hi Andy, I will give that a try! Thanks. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Guys, as I mentioned in a previously post, I had added a few temporary power feeds trying it here and there and all appeared ok? I started fitting the bus wires today. I began by fitting the black bus wire first, which is for the front rail in my case. Fitted all the black droppers to this. I then started fitting the red bus wire and as I added the droppers to this, I tested as I went along by running a loco. However, I have discovered a problem. This occurs after the first point when it is switched to run onto the main line. The loop and the engine shed loop both work fine. I have indicated the lines which run ok in yellow on the plan. I have fed to power straight to the track at the end of the head shunt, next to the cattle dock, as I had not yet decided where to put it on the bus. All the points have been converted and insulating fishplates added after the frog. I tried fitting a Gaugemaster frog switch to see it this was the problem, but no different, once the loco crosses the frog onto the mainline it stops? I have checked I have not done anything obviously wrong, like mixing up a wire to the wrong rail and I have checked nothing is bridging the rails to short it out. But clearly something is amiss. I tried jumping a wire from the one live rail on the loop to the dead mail line section, but this causes a short. I have also tried feeding the power after the point, again no good. The layout is still powered on DC. I don't have a circuit tester. Any ideas as to where I have gone wrong? Cheers, Ade.

I particularly like the "Wolf". I started a conversion of a Hornby A4 into one over 40 years ago when still at school with the help of my metal work teacher. Sadly I never completed it. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Ray, I paint the ply and use cork. I like the shoulder it gives to the ballast. But I am doing a layout based in the 1930's and the trackbed was maintained to a high standard back then, even on a Branch line. Ballast size is very subjective and is really up to the builder. Personally I like the larger course Woodland Scenics ballast. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Bob, so much good work has already been done it would be a crying shame to give up now. Is remote point operation that vital? If you are operating the layout at home for your own fun ( Isn't that the whole point (no pun intended) "fun" being the operative word) then why worry about the hand of God? I am, as you know, still at fairly early stages with my layout and my choice of point motors and switches are out of stock everywhere. But I am quite content to just change them by hand. Keep your spirits up! Cheers, Ade.