Adrian Stevenson

Thanks very much. I am doing a 30'/40's era layout but given that Heljan are soon to be doing a version of the Diesel shunter with the funnel, I might be tempted to push the time frame forwards a bit! Cheers, Ade.

Just got rid of that horrid plastic coal load on mine today. Some care is needed to get this out. I still have an open coal fire at home, so I have an endless supply of real coal. I will be fitting a sound chip to mine in the New Year. Cheers, Ade.

The Malmesbury Branch book arrived today. It is fantastic. It has all the details I will need to build the model. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Mike, you got me! Yes, I work at Hansons. Been there 4 years now. We do get a fair amount of model railway items in and all seems to fetch decent prices at auction. I actually sold all my OO gauge stuff at work last year. I am very pleased the the Iron Minks and GPV's. They arrived on Saturday. I can highly recommend them. Cheers, Ade.

Thanks Andy, here are a few more.

Thanks Al. But I don't think I will have the room. I had a very enjoyable day yesterday at Gresley show and meeting up with several forum members. I have added some pics in Andy's thread. When I got home I found a parcel of Minerva Mink's and Gunpowder vans waiting for me. Off to the DIY store later to see about some plywood for the baseboard. Cheers, Ade.

A few more views of the 7mm locos.

And now some 7mm stuff.

OO Gauge layout from the show.

Hi George, no worries, great to meet up with you and have a chat. Been looking at your previous layouts and builds. Very impressed with 229 Squadron. Cheers, Ade.

Just put in an order for 5 vans. I don't know if I would be brave enough to weather any of them yet! Cheers, Ade.

I decided to have a trip up to Hattons this week rather than do mail order as I had some time free off work. The shop fronts their large modern warehouse. They have quite a few items on display, mainly OO gauge, but also a fair bit of O gauge, which is what I am now interested in. Free tea and coffee for customers and a customer toilet was a nice touch. I was served by Bryan and he was most helpful. I also took some OO gauge items to sell and took up their offer of a store credit (which was promptly spent!) which was £20 more than another leading UK store offered me. Very pleased with their service and would certainly use them again. Cheers, Ade.

I will certainly be up for some of these when they are finally produced. Cheers, Ade.

Been using a website recommended to me by Pete Waterman at Warley show: https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en It is free to register and is excellent. I have just downloaded some superb images of the station yard from 1934 and 1948. Here is an example. Cheers, Ade.

Great! Thanks. I reckon you are more than likely right given the loco in the background. I hope that they market it correctly. Their OO gauge version sports the art deco GWR shirtbutton insignia, which did not come in to use until 1934. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Andy, I am actually starting back in O gauge, so knowing you will soon be stocking 7mm items is good news. Cheers, Ade.

Hi All, I have been looking at the yet to be released Dapol Sentinel. This would be an ideal model for me as the prototype was used on the Malmesbury branch line for a short period of time. An actual photo of Dapol's finished product of this version is yet to be released. But after doing a bit of research about this engine I am a bit worried? It appears that the name "Isebrook" was not applied until 1934, long after it left service with the GWR. The actual engine has survived into preservation and can be seen here: https://www.brc-stockbook.co.uk/6515.htm So I am hoping the finished 7mm model which is being marketed as "GWR" will not bear this name. Does anyone know of a photo of it during it's time with the Great Western? Cheers, Ade.

Just bought a copy of the book. Building up a nice file of research material already. Cheers, Ade.

Hi All, I am just starting out in 7mm after a 40 year break from railway modelling. Given the wealth of ready to run GWR locos and stock, I have decided to go down this route and this past two weeks have started to acquire some locos and rolling stock and some track. I will be going DCC. I have been looking for a prototype to base the model on and had just about given up. I did not want to model somewhere which has been done to death by other people. Building a fantasy location was not really what I wanted either, but I had almost resigned myself to that. However, yesterday I discovered what I think could be the perfect candidate to base my layout upon, Malmesbury Station. It has a nice track plan plus an engine shed and goods shed. Last night after my wife had gone to bed I laid out some track on the living room floor. I think it might to possible to fit this onto two or perhaps better, three six foot x three foot baseboards. Obviously the layout will not be to scale, but with follow the look of the original. There are a lot of good photographic references to Malmesbury online even down to drawings of the station, engine shed and goods shed. I am also toying with the idea of a garden layout.... Cheers, Ade.

From reading Peco's Guide to O Gauge, you can safely glue the track down with PVA or impact adhesive. Cheers, Ade.

Thanks for the kind welcome guys. Hi Andy, I hope to be at the show on Saturday morning. I will certainly make myself known to you I will start a new thread with my layout ideas tomorrow. Cheers, Ade.

Hello All, I am new to the forum and have just taken up railway modelling after a 40 year break. I had a OO gauge layout when I was in my teens. My Dad cut the spare bedroom door in half like a stable door so we could access the layout and come up in the middle of the baseboard. I wish I had some photos of it now. The usual Triang/Hornby and a little bit of Wrenn. I work for a local auction house and sold all my OO stuff there last year. Holiday reading has included a lot of railway modelling magazines in the last few months. A real revelation as to how technology has changed. I have been thinking of what scale to start back with? A trip to Warley last week convinced me to start in 7mm after seeing Heljan's 61xx. I came home clutching a bag of goodies from Rails and Dapol and this was added to with a trip to Hattons yesterday. I intend to do a GWR Branchline (How original! LOL) with DCC control. I am going to the show at Gresley as this is just a few miles from where I live. Cheers, Ade.