7mmin7foot

Sometimes.. life , domestic and garden duties intervene in modelling time... especially when trying to do outside stuff in between the rain! As such, I enjoy doing a few little jobs for the layout, rather than tackling anything big. The air-con installs was such a small project so made a start.. Painting , adding a bit of conduit for the leccy supply... I am well pleased with how they turned out. These small additional details really add to the scenics methinks ( Still loads to do..) Need to get a few more to keep the inhabitants of the units happy and cool when needed 😃 Steve Steve

Well, the staff can literally breath a 'sigh of relief' .... the loo has arrived ! 😃 Needs a little work to tone it down, and weather and detail... Added to the 'to do' list... Steve

Lovely photo's and super weathering on the stock. Very atmospheric shots / scenes too. Steve

Not much update / progress , with the break in the wretched rain at last = catch up with some domestic & gardening duties... That and I am dealing with an infestation of mozzies in my shed... never had that before...irritating things they are... So a uv zapper & fly screen door net is on order..as well as a thorough investigation of the shed interior and exterior, to see where / how the blighters are getting in. Can't believe they all flew in en mass last week when I had the door open... Anyways, better stuff... with my imagination running riot at times, I am always on the look out for detailing bits n pieces... Other than my crash barriers, I haven't had any dealings with 3d printed stuff before... However, I have found some very nice modern image stuff and done the deed .. These from : www.3dprintingcorner.co.uk , I will be back for more ! Wall mounted air con units... these look fab,, even better when they are painted. Wheely bins... these are super little things, lids supplied so can be glued open / closed or anything in between.. IBC Pallet 1000L tanks... tank is separate from the cage too.. cool that. Also: ModelU figures... various BR figures packs, Have to say, I am well impressed with the detail of all this stuff.. which will improve further ,when they are painted and given washes etc.. My first experience with 3d printed stuff.. , while it isn't cheap... it really is good ! Cheers Steve PS Oh look... the rain is back ;o)

Thank you. Well, you certainly ignited some part of the fire in me 😀 I use your thread and you tube channel as a constant reference source, and yes... I can see the loco funds being stretched to the limit.... Steve

Point taken, but Rails email this week, said it was new for 2024 and asking for pre-orders, hence my post. As I have only just started in O Gauge, I am now only starting to receive their O updates.. so have no knowledge of anything that went / announced before. On the upside.... I guess my wait will be shorter than others............. unless it's delayed again..😀 Steve

Great to see some progress on this again 👍 It's been ( with others ) in my bookmarks forever... long before I started my tribute layout.. Hither Green is a constant source of reference material for me.. My only previous history with 7mm was also with Lenz O Gauge...my old pal did BR, and I did DB. ( only because Swiss O is amazingly expensive) Lenz was good, but I always felt the sounds were a compromise compared to my mates BR stuff... Made to a price I spose. I was always in awe at the subtle variations in their sounds. I have always felt O / 7mm with its sheer 'presence' would be my destiny in one way or another... and so it begins.... Keep up the progress... I'm loving it ! 😀 Steve

Excellent site that is Craig, Lots of info and liveries to explore.... thanks vm. Steve

Cheers Jim Just done a search on RMWeb and found this... Posted in 2019... by NIgel N "For an 80's layout, you can run "Sandra" the Eastfield based sandite & route learning vehicle!" https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forums/topic/149528-bubble-car-at-fort-william/ These are spot on, even with a Scottie ! Steve

Well... I be ..... wotsit... Craig ! Rails just announced Heljan are to release Class 122 bubble cars in O ! https://railsofsheffield.com/products/Heljan-1230-class-122-br-blue-full-yellow-ends-single-car-dmu With my ( oh so) little knowledge of BR stuff...If I were to be tempted... for say a route learner.. in mid 1980's .. Which would be the appropriate livery for North of border? Clearly I need to do some research... but this would be 'something different' for a visit to Alston Sidings. Advice appreciated.... let the pondering begin....... Steve

Cracking photo's those are... I am envious of the track lengths & space you have . The track work is superb.. Steve

The bits n pieces look great Chris, and the compressor detail is fab.. The logo on it looks excellent. Steve

As all the scenic items are currently not fixed and removable, it makes it much easier to work on. So today I made a start on the left warehouse/ factory area... Adding a bit of static grass and some weeds/undergrowth... and the security railing installation has commenced... Still lots to do.. but each visit brings more progress, but nice to add some more colour. Steve

Boards solution seems ok to me, they will be fairly light and 400wide will be much easier to move about. BTW, the G&H boards have dowel points already made / drilled.. they supply wooden ones too. In your case though, as you will be assembling and dismantling so often, you'd be better off sourcing the metal versions for better accuracy. The only down side, will be the lead/ waiting time... unless they have improved on that. Worth the wait and cost in my experience... Steve

FWIW, I used 9mm ply and softwood for my last HO Swiss layout... they were very heavy to be honest in hindsight.. were massively overkill and very heavy. With my new O gauge layout, I went for some G&H ( Grange & Hodder) laser cut ply boards... but there are other makes available. These are all 6mm laser cut ply boards... and super light in comparison to my own home built efforts.. Bearing in mind, I have 5 Heljan locos. that are massively heavy compared to my HO stuff.. it handles them with ease. Given you are making your scenics removable.. do you really need 9mm ply ? A 1200 x 600 sheet alone will be almost as heavy as a completed G&H board. Yes, kit boards are expensive, and lead times are usually long, but timber these days is really expensive. Personally, now I have experienced kit build boards, I would never go back to making my own boards.. but the choice is yours.. Here's some pics of mine during assembly. Steve

😀, Well spotted.. Indeed, P poor driving, hope he drives a loco better ! Steve

Wow! That looks terrific, even if it is unfinished Nick! You make it look so easy... which I am sure it isn't... I shall be analyzing all your posts when I get to the weathering stage, on mine and build up the confidence to 'have a go'. Steve

Your building lighting is very effective and adds to the scenery 👍 Steve

Lovely layout Graham, the low relief buildings look super. Great to see some more updates on this one. Cheers Steve

Yay 😃, Finally, a bit of spray can rattling .. and we change the mdf colour to primer grey... and add the start of some base colour to the scenery... Also discovered some Frog 36mm delicate surface low tack masking tape is ideal for the much bigger O Gauge stuff, compared to HO scale. Better value too.. around £6 for 40 meters... worked perfectly on my brick papers... Nice to add some colour ( albeit grey at the moment) to the raw scenery... Cheers Steve

😃 I had to google that .. this BR stuff is all new to me.... ;o) Steve

Even after all my years of modelling, rash decisions still pop up.. though much less than they used to be ! While planning this layout I rashly purchased the Bachmann large service/ fuel point... Have to say first glance it looked great.. but when I examined it has some issues. though any modeller can / could remedy these. Yes, I could have scratch built, but increasingly I am finding it more enjoyable to kit bash stuff to my liking. Aside from which, the increasing cost of plastic materials ( of any type now) is ridiculous. 1) It was far to big and imposing on my little 7 foot tribute layout anyway, I understand it was based on a DMU type facility.. which I don't have My remedy for this was to hack it in half... ;o) Gosh it's made of tough stuff ! So now only half of it will be used...with the rear of it facing the viewing side. 2) At some point... ( on the to do list) the hoses are massively under scale...almost like they have used the OO version ..again.easy enough to remedy. 3) The imitation lights need to be replaced...( as ultimately I intend the layout to be lit). So, at some point ( on the to do list) I shall have the 'other half' ( not the missus) .. to sell off and I also shall have a very large storage tank and a half relief tank available too. These need some work to get them into something decent... Though I shall offer them on RM Web classifieds first ( not to self : must upgrade to premium to do this). Also on the 'to do' list is this 08 Stratford Sparra, triple grey, which will become an ED 08, with repaint and transfers.. but its still nice to temporarily trundle this up and down the tracks. Budget only allowed this to be DCC, so again sound is on the list too! Luckily a much smaller motor = much smaller sound decoder.... Anyway, looks like I just might get some primer rattle cans spraying today... as this and the weather to do so, is holding up progress. Cheers Steve

Oh this is rather cool Al. Not seen this before... any progress on it ? Cheers Steve

After much consideration, I have now decided to name the layout 'Alston Sidings'. Named after the road where my late friend Richard lived, and fond memories of the amount of time I spent with him in his railway shed So much time in fact, I felt I was stabled in his personal sidings at his home which I used to call 'Alston Manor'. Seems apt to me... and so 'this is the way' ;o) Cheers Steve PS Sincerest thanks to all of you that have / are viewing this. I am thrilled that in only 9 days it has already had over 2k views! I am astounded by this interest in my little tribute layout, so thanks for all the encouragement, it means a lot to me.

Excellent Al, Thank you. This is not in Richards collection of books I have. Seems these are rarer than rockin horse doo doo..! Can't find any on the web for sale.. Not sure if these are still available or if there is another print run planned? However, I have found the SDEG website and sent an email asking them. Cheers Steve