Pete 75C

Yeah, a cross between devil's advocate and a test of sense of humour, but sometimes the truth hurts.

From an environmental point of view, I agree. But then I'd ban all steam engines from burning huge amounts of fossil fuel and creating pollution all so a bunch of old fellas wearing rose-tinted specs can relive their youth. Just sayin'...

Thanks Mike. The last time I fed some change into the machines at Altea, I remember thinking it won't be long before the AP7 goes toll-free, but confess I'd completely forgotten about it. I didn't know about the Denia - Gandia section either. Ta for that.

@Enterprisingwestern Mike, anything on the local grapevine about progress towards opening up the next section of line?

I don't know Benissa that well, but I did consider a townhouse there a few years ago as a bolthole. It needed work (as they say) but had potential. Good luck with the move.

I can predict it will shape up as a straight piece of track on a flat rectangular board! I worried it would be snooze-inducing, but far from it - it's actually great fun. Maybe "less" really is "more".

Got some more done over the weekend. Ballasting is finished. Kinda hard to see from the pictures, but relatively clean ballast transitions to moderately filthy ballast where concrete-sleepered flatbottom meets bullhead. Concrete cable trunking is in place... individual sections painted and weathered. The lids sit in place in sections of Evergreen styrene strip with a channel profile. Cutting them indiviually allows them to follow a slightly meandering course, which I always think looks better than a dead straight line. Also, I've modelled a few missing or broken sections which allows the cable itself to be seen. 16 little brick piers have been cut down from resin sections. These will form the base of the platform. They've had a basic coat of dirt brown*, but need painting properly to highlight mortar courses etc. Also, the unpainted road overbridge is shown loosely in place. Excellent resin castings from Skytrex which will need only a minimum of tidying up before painting. Same cannot be said of the supplied bridge girders. I really didn't like them at all. After a bit of head-scratching, I've doubled-up on the 4mm Wills VariGirder pieces to make what I hope is a chunky yet believable span. Should look fine when weathered with rust spots etc. * Humbrol 29 in a rattle can, of which I must have consumed gallons over time. It really does make an excellent base coat before weathering.

Yeah, apologies to Valleysniper, but I really don't like the factory weathering on that loco. The preproduction loco looked good, but I guessed the effort that went into that wouldn't make it into production. It just reinforces my decision to buy pristine and if I want it weathered, get it done bespoke. You get what you pay for, as they say. Edited for typos.

I'm just about to go into Norwich and I could choose the train or the bus. My confidence in either has taken a severe knock lately, so I'm gonna drive! Edit: I had severely underestimated the time it would take to make up 14-16 little brick piers to use as platform supports, and ballasting (by my own peculiar perverse time-consuming method) continues. I'll add some more pictures soon.

Are you kidding Rob??? Your attention to detail would be fantastic in 7mm. I remember you taking some 1:76 Land Rovers apart so you could tape some paperwork to the inside of the windscreens before using them as wagon loads. That's attention to detail. Or perhaps insanity. Jury's out.

None. Zero. Zilch. Some people are so weak...

A Sanders coach on the forecourt and half a dozen angry looking passengers - you might be on to something! I need to pop into Norwich later on one of the new Stadlers, probably jinxed it now...

I forgot to mention, this was what started it all... Heavily reduced at Rails of Sheffield (we like a bargain), it would have been rude not to buy one. I genuinely was not expecting it to be so heavy! A Dapol 08 and a couple of wagons will shortly follow.

Thanks for the comments - much appreciated! I've been lurking on RMWeb for a while but it does feel good to be building something again, even if it's just a length of track stuck to a ply frame. I can't really think of this as a "layout", more a scenic test track. Well spotted - the deflector ramps either side of the barrow crossing are indeed those little 1x1 Lego cheese slices. The funny thing is that in OO I doubt I'd have bothered with them, but in O it seems much easier to make the effort. I guess it's all in the detail. Steve - I had thought about putting in a gate and embedding the rails to allow for a possible extension at the left hand end, exactly like Sheringham today. In fact, the concrete-sleepered flatbottom you can see in the pic does become bullhead further along and I have taken this bullhead right up to the board edge and soldered it to copperclad. Call it future-proofing. However, I'm going to put a buffer stop in and cover about 10 inches of track with a removable hardstanding big enough for a couple of cars to park, but yes, it would be possible to extend. At the moment, although I'm taking a lot of inspiration from Sheringham, I don't want it to be Sheringham. I do want it to look like the line continued on somewhere in past days though. With even a fictional location, I think there needs to be a back-story as to how the line came to be there. Like North Street, there will be a road overbridge as a scenic break, and a path will lead down behind the platform from the bridge. No station facilities, just a basic shelter and help point. The platform will be just big enough for a 2-car DMU. After ballasting, the next job is to paint and fit around 14 little brick piers to act as platform supports.

Ok, I blame everyone on RMWeb that has ever said something along the lines of "Once you've tried O gauge, you'll never go back". You know who you are. Having downsized from a 6 bedroom house to a tiny 2 bedroom cottage, space is very much at a premium, but I still get the urge to dabble. Having next to no spare space, I decide to move up a scale. Bright, huh? I have been taking a break from model railways recently but the editor kindly sent me a freebie copy of Traction magazine recently that features my first layout Croydon North Street. Memories came back, tools were dusted off etc etc etc. Despite many valiant efforts, I don't think I've ever been able to improve on Croydon. Everything just clicked and came together for me and produced a pleasing little layout. I could be really boring and replicate it but that would be too easy. Late 80s/early 90s O gauge in a space of approx 6 feet x 12 inches? Yes, it's pretty much just a siding. Think "Sheringham" on the Bittern Line. Zero operational interest, just a DMU shuttle and maybe an 08 with a couple of wagons. Like Sheringham (in years gone past), the little station is at the end of a triangle which allows, in my head, the occasional interesting loco working that requires turning. No 3rd rail, perhaps West Country this time. This is as far as I've got, which is not far! I miss posting in RMWeb's "Layout Topics" subforum, so indulge me while I make lots of mistakes and offer them here for judgement... More soon. Edit: Oh, and for those that know me, spot the Lego!

Code works and shipping for what I bought was £3.50.

Yes, lets. Personally, I think they are starting to settle down. A whole fleet of new trains with good reliability from day one... historically, has that ever happened? Like them or loathe them, we're stuck with them.

Change for the sake of change. Leave it as it is and scroll on by if not interested. That includes this post which contains no bargains. I shall have a stern word with myself.

Just had an email from Hattons that 3396 (unnumbered BR blue) is expected in stock ready for delivery Monday 27th Jan.

I haven't used C&L for quite some time, since well before the "changeover". Can anyone give me some idea of the usual waiting time for two small items (sleepers & fishplates) shown as "in stock"? Just wondering whether to settle down for the long haul and get on with something else in the meantime. Thanks.

Somebody has to be to blame for everything. Haven't you heard? It's just the way things are now.

Yeah, I thought that. I think local press are the worst, even going so far as to publish facebook rumours as fact.

On-board CCTV from the Thorpe End level crossing near miss a while back. I haven't seen this before, just a still image from the CCTV. It was really close. Scroll down for video. https://www.northnorfolknews.co.uk/news/greater-anglia-near-miss-at-level-crossing-video-1-6449119?fbclid=IwAR22knPrjJRI4KDQ09MfzMtbsJ1qjpA0ZZdgDqqC6GlzatydCdGeIOBmiCA

Your ticket will be valid on Sanders buses but in practise, the Sanders drivers won't know there's been a problem and they have been known to want you to pay again. People have got taxis and then successfully claimed from GA but the whole thing is very disorganised. The "This train will terminate at Cromer" announcement is usually met with dread.