CloggyDog

I scratchbuilt some 4mm ones recently for a friend's LT micro layout. As a terminus, I made them double-ramped. 2 x 15mm lengths of Evergreen 3.2mm channel glued open face to open face, ramps from Evergreen O Gauge 'car siding', 3 plank widths x 1cm, some 10 thou microstrip strapping on top and the train stop arm itself from microstrip (sorry, can't remember the size) Ramps painted burnt umber, trainstops light grey, arm white. The paintwork has been touched up since those were taken.

Oh... and a good way to get the print close to the rails, especially around pointwork, is (once the track is fixed down in its final position) to use a large sheet of lining paper and a crayon to make a rubbing of the trackwork. You can then use this as a cutting template to match the texture sheets to the track.

Artisan, try a google image search for 'cobbles texture' This should give you a range of images to pick from. My usual technique is to copy your favoured image and paste it into a blank word document. Re-size the pic as required, then copy the resized pic and paste multiple times until the page is full (you might need to adjust the margins to get the most on the sheet). Then print and use. I've done this successfully with cobbles, concrete slab paving, etc. I usually do a test-print (b/w, normal paper) to check the size and overall look, adjust if required. The final good prints are done on a higher quality card and printed using a laser printer preferably - inkjet colours may be affected by moisture and certain adhesives (PVA, etc). If required, I'll build up the areas between the tracks with 2mm eva foam and/or card to support the print to just below railhead level (to avoid issues with track cleaning and lifting wheels off rails) The slab paving on my boxfile micro was simply a suitable texture pic used as described above.

I was part of the Old Elm Park/Polcombe Depot team over the weekend and rather enjoyed the show. Lots of interest in both layouts and a decent selection of others' work to admire on our occasional breaks. I wasn't particularly intending to buy anything, but a Oxford Rail departmental Warwell for a tenner proved too much to resist! Good to catch up with various friends and acquaintances over the weekend too. I was though, rather surprised and disappointed at the total lack of non-UK outline layouts - no US, no Continental layouts or trade (other than a handful of random items on some of the s/h traders tables). Some of us do cast our modeling gaze beyond these shores, y'know...

Marlow, Maidenhead and District Model Railway Club are hosting a specialist 0 Gauge exhibition which will take place at Knowl Hill Village Hall on Saturday 19th October 2019, 10am - 4:00pm. Since 2011, our summer exhibition has been held at this venue and we hope you will be able to attend and enjoy the wide variety of both exhibitors and traders we have assembled. 2019 Entry Prices: Adults £5.00, Partners and Under 16's free. Knowl Hill Village Hall, The Terrace, Knowl Hill, Reading. RG10 9XB Light refreshments will be available at the venue but for those requiring more substantial sustenance we highly recommend, a few steps from the hall, FLIC'S CAFE open this Saturday until 4pm. www.flics-cafe.co.uk http://www.mmdmrc.org.uk/exhibition-news-2019.html Maidenhead 0 Exhibition.pdf

I concur, cuts right through 10 thou plasticard on those settings, very useful for clean window apertures. And once you've set up those settings, you can save them (as something identifiable like '10 thou plasticard' for example) for the next time.

Boiler EB wagon set? Ticks the 'massive' box. In 7mm it'd be a tad under 1m for the full 290t set.

So mine is now safe... Result!

Some friends of ours once rented a house about 100m off the end of Cottesmore runway, back when the TTTE were based there. We stayed over after a gig at Rock City (probably that crusty band from Brighton). 07:00 sharp on the Sunday morning, we were woken by a VERY loud noise (ROOOAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRWWWWWHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH!) as the first Tonka of the day went over the house at a hundred metres or so. Followed every 15 minutes by the next. I did clear a lot of my required Tonkas for sight that morning I believe their rent was very, very low!

I finally got round to unpacking and using my Portrait recently (having only had it since Xmas 2016!) Installed the Studio software and spend some time just seeing what it could do. Decided on an H0 scale BR CCT for my first project and created the basic components (side, vents, doors and windows). Found it easy and straightforward to use and liking the grouping function to copy/paste the regular elements to form a side, then grouping that and copy/pasting more complete sides. Also used the line colour function to differentiate outline and window cuts from vent and door scoring. Cut the outer sides in 10 thou plasticard (blade 10/downforce 33/passes 2) and found the machine had cut just through the plasticard, leaving the window blanks on the sticky sheet when the sides were peeled off. Did a modified version of the side (no vents/doors) with enlarged window apertures and cut those in 20 thou for inner sides. I did also try 40 thou floors, but these were right at the limit of what my Portrait would take. Being happy with the CCT, I reused its basic components to also do some GUV sides, again in H0. And l've also designed and cut an LT signal cabin (based on Farringdon cabin) in 4mm for a friend's LT micro layout

Enjoying the 5th playing of this corker. And looking forward to hearing the new songs live on the tour later in November

I'm always doodling layout plans, even though I have 2 micros built, 2 more under construction and another 3 as firm plans (so I'd tick all 3 'yes' options in the poll) My inspirations can come from the prototype (why was it done that way and is there a better way?) or I'll see an layout idea and sketch out options. Some might be a fully worked up plan, others a very rough sketch, sometimes alternative elements of a larger plan (which might also work as a stand-alone micro) And some of those plans/sketches might become a future build, so I usually keep them in the 'folder of ideas' which is increasingly becoming stuffed with post-its, pages from notepads, backs of envelopes, exhibitors' info sheets...

Maidenhead club had a substantial magazine library (RMs, MRCs, even US and German mags), and had begun a programme to reduce space by removing ads from the old RMs) but then an enforced change of clubhouse into shared accommodation required a more drastic reduction in space. So the bulk of the mags went, only the more specialist mags (MRJs and similar were retained). Members were given first pick of the rest before it was disposed of. We did retain most the the books, just the generic 'coffee table' books were let go. Between the club's membership we do have a wide range of interests and personal libraries to suit and lending between members is probably higher than usage of the club library. I think the rise of the Internet, digitisation of back issues, etc means a permanent physical library is no longer the 'must have' asset for a club nowadays. Might that be an option for your club, either split the library amond the membership or digitise it and have a facility to share or print articles as required. The modern document scanners will make pretty short order of a magazine collection.

I've also (finally) set up my Silhouette Portrait cutter, with a view to doing BR CCT and GUV sides/ends. An hour or so's 'learn as you go' in the supplied Studio software and I had a couple of files ready to cut: H0 CCT (for a 10 thou outer skin) H0 CCT inner (20 thou inner layer, with enlarged window openings) H0 CCT GUV glazing to cut a whole bunch of windows, based on the inner file widow openings. So the first set of basic CCT sides has been done. Chalkboards and end door straps to be added. The ends... I'll likely do 2 good ones as masters and resin cast some. CCT and GUV share a common end by the look of it, which helps. And GUV sides in similar fashion will follow.

Cheers folks, I am having a lot of fun with H0. Latest project off the bench is a diagram 1/445 Tube wagon. I'd picked up an assortment of Playcraft wagon chassis very cheap on fleapit - the longest of which was spot-on for wheelbase and length over headstock. Quite a few 1/445s received heavy duty w-irons and roller bearings from the late-60s onward, which saves buggering about with the chassis. Body is scratch built in plasticard, microstrip and a some modded 4mm items. A bogie-bolster C will follow, solebars, headstocks and body from Evergreen 3.2mm channel

I bought a 12 axle set of those a month or so back for my British H0 stock. Arrived in c7 days and sensibly packaged (plastic box in a small jiffy bag) The wheels themselves are very good - concentric and to gauge. Axle length is 24.5mm, wheel diameter (mid-tread) is spot on 10.5mm. Run fine through Peco Code 75 S&C Spoked wheels also available (didn't buy, so no experience of) And while they also do a 24-axle pack, it works out cheaper to buy multiple 12 packs...

Great set of pics mewstone, many thanks. This is all fascinating and very useful stuff. Were the large concrete blocks at the base of the main post delivered with the new signal, or were they already on site (as they don't appear in the loaded wagon pic you posted earlier)? The various pics give a good sense of scale of these things. And what happened to the old/replaced signals? Were they scrapped on site, transported off site (how, where?) or salvaged for component use and if so, did the parts head back to Reading somehow, or simply retained for local use? A Whiting is on the build list (using Parkside's Fruit D chassis parts) but I may have to bump it to the top of the build list to replicate that photo!

Indeed they are, I acquired a few boxes when I started the project, for just this occasion.

I'm not sure it is a Winkle, Brian - the wooden sides/ends makes me think it's a Whiting (2 plank long low)?

That is fantastic, many thanks for sharing the photo.

Yup, adding a splice in the middle gives a bogie a gnat's crotchet shy of 8'6" (29.75mm) I'll let this set, see if I can do a 2nd and then

Playing around with bogies... Cut n shut 2 Playcraft BR1s sideframes and by dint of some careful cutting, I can extend the wheelbase to 8'... Only 6" (or 1.75mm) short now. Might splice a 1mm strip into the centre section. Once I've got one I'm happy with, I'll use it as a master for some resin castings.

A quick mock up to check train lengths, clearances and the like. Tried to fit a bay platform in, but not quite enough width, so just the single platform road (top) , run-round loop and the freight siding (bottom, the viewing side) . The point off that will be 'scotched & clipped' OOU as the loading Dock will be disused and the track partly lifted. The entry from the fiddle stick will have a road overbridge and there'll be a short overall roof at the stops end, covering both roads there. I also modded the 2 Peco Code 75 med radius points which form the loco release to bring the centres closer, as this is H0.

If you mean the 8 ex-GatEx Class 460 'Darth Vader' EMUs, they've all been converted to 458 cars - the 30 existing 458s all strengthened to 5-car and most of the remaining 460s cars converted/reformed into 6 additional 458 5 car sets (identifiable by the 'ribbon' glazing on all cars). That left half-a-dozen cars which were stripped for spares and scrapped.