markneilp14

19 hours ago, rab said:

Perhaps its the crudeness that makes it unique thus worth more.

Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I know its not ebay but is in fact the 2nd hand area of Hattons on line sales. This just goes to prove how deluded people are who put stuff up for sale on line.

It looks awful crude and is in no way worth the asking price of £300

I wish Hattons would realise that they are deluding themselves sometimes

https://www.hattons.co.uk/502015/kitbuilt_kb811_po_class_n2_0_6_2t_1884_in_lner_black_pre_owned_kit_built_intermittent_runner/stockdetail.aspx

Mark

On 26/11/2019 at 20:26, kernowtim said:

Rare 1948 Hornby cattle truck?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F323987866497

Would be rare in 1948, as they Only made 22,000 for train sets 1990-93.

http://www.hornbyguide.com/item_details.asp?itemid=814

twenty five nicker for a bit of old decaying plastic. we truly are in La La land

2 hours ago, Mike Storey said:

I do like the re-vamp, especially the representation of the Royal Spithead hotel. I guess space does not permit much more with that, but what made it was the glazed portico. But that would stick out half way across the road, so a non-starter.

 

Good luck with the relaying of the track!!

It has an invitation to the Taunton Show for October 2020 

Some pictures of the rebuild and freshen up.

14 hours ago, Mike Storey said:

So good to see this back in action. Can we see new pics please??!

I will upload some now. Alternately you can see the whole catalogue of pictures in the layouts facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2174554029455311/?multi_permalinks=2503323236578387&notif_id=1575019771111306&notif_t=group_activity

16 hours ago, Robert Shrives said:

And very good it looked too, it ran very well when I got the chance to see it on the Sunday.

 

You would never know its age as it looked very fresh and displayed very well, so good work!

  

 Thank you i am glad you liked it. I still have an intention of  replacing all the track as there is a slight distortion on the end of the 2 scenic boards that has caused a slight ski Jump effect. It will involve ripping up the old track levelling off the surfaces and then relaying the hand built track and point work as well as the re ballast

7 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

This an odd request ……………….. I would like to hear (by PM preferred as I don't want to take this thread off topic) from people who didn't like my layout, those who took one look and walked past, those who had no interest.

 

Why?  Because I want to make my layout more 'visitor friendly'. I want to know how I can improve the layout/display to engage with more visitors.

 

Let me explain ….. my layout is set in China in 2004 and whilst we did have visitors engage with us and say things like 'I was there at about that time and it looked just like your model' the number of Warley visitors who had a great interest in or knowledge of our prototype was probably less than  0.1%.

 

 

My layout is too big to set up at home and so it only exists to go to exhibitions and in order to get exhibition invites I/we need to reach out to a wider audience and TBH I/we got zero enquiries from exhibition managers visiting Warley and that is a bit worrying. Especially as I have already done quite a lot to engage with the 'wider audience'  such as …...

 

1. Info boards with photos of the prototype locations which inspired the layout and information about what the visitor is looking at

 

2. Four tracks of movement.. Continuous movement (in theory at least) on three tracks with shunting action on the fourth

 

3. Fully detailed and illuminated shops and restaurants to look at when there is no train

 

4. USPs include double headed 2-10-2's, 16 coach passenger trains and double banked steam trains on the 1/30 grade out of the station on the industrial line

 

5. Various 'gimmicks' which are triggered by the steam trains - but these features are so subtle that unless we point them out people don't notice them, when we point them out the family audience in particular love them.

 

Now I'm not saying that we didn't get a reasonable crowd at Warley, but what I am saying is if we are going to get the exhibition invites we need we need to reach out to a bigger audience. So what more can I/we do to make it bigger next time we go out - Aly Paly in March. I think that we have two target markets - the extremely small niche market of enthusiasts who know/love Chinese railways and the family audience who like gimmicks and detail and lots of movement and perhaps the family audience was not big enough for us at Warley.

 

I totally understand that with 90 layouts most enthusiasts will concentrate on their particular speciality - N, Modern Image, GWR or whatever - but what can I/we do to engage more with a wider audience?

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who sends a PM (preferred) or replies

Hello I did look at the layout but could not stop for long as i was exhibiting my own layout as well (Bembridge SR IOW). I am the show organiser for the Alton Model show and i would like to ask do you have a layout information sheet so i can consider the layout for a future show.

I think the single biggest issue is that the subject is out of the ordinary in terms of location, the locos and trains etc. Most people are used to USA, European and UK model railways and as such to have something that is this unusual is potentially the reason as to why some did not stop and watch. I did watch and i also had a good look at the fiddle yard. Always my first port of call on any layout. The average person spends 3-5 minutes looking at a layout.

Please feel free to PM me and we can discuss the layout as potentially coming tot eh Alton Show in Hampshire at some time in the future.

Cheers Mark

2 minutes ago, PaulRhB said:

 

I stash them as we recycle reports etc  

 

You should see the wiring on my gauge 3 layout blackgang that is even more minimalist. As in no wiring its all rc battery electric in each loco

1 hour ago, devonmodeller said:

Being a new exhibitor to Warley with Lindon Road I was really pleased with the outcome. We were well look after, access into the hall was well controlled and easy as was the packing up and leaving. The layout was packed up by 5.30 p.m. and after getting the car from the East Car Park and getting access into the void behind the show - there being no queue - we left around 6.15 and were clear of the site and on to the M42 by 6.30. My helper and myself had a really great time and many thanks to the Warley club members who worked so hard and also to the NEC staff who we found pleasant and helpful. Lindon now packed away - next show is Bristol Thornbury.

Hello I liked the layout i am the show organiser for the model club in Alton Hampshire. I was there with my own layout so i was unable to pop over to chat. Do you have any layout information sheets at all for Linden Road?

On 21/06/2019 at 14:25, bike2steam said:

I believe 'Bembridge' will be at Warley this year, nice to know one of my old layouts is doing well, say hello to Mark (Pretious) if you go for a look. 

the layout picked up 3 invites plus an inquiry from Andy York of BRM about photographing it for one of their magazines

Mark   

9 hours ago, Wolseley said:

 

John Winkley (JW Model Railways) is selling them (boxed) for £12.00 off his website.  I just bought a yellow one from him for £10.00.

at that price it must be "top banana"!!!!

not what i would calloverpriced based on the rarity but i would love this if crimbo was not around the corner would go nicely with the EDM one i have as well

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WRIGHTLINES-7mm-NARROW-GAUGE-KIT-BUILT-DOUBLE-FAIRLIE-MERDDIN-EMRYS/223731138497?hash=item34176a3fc1:g:UdwAAOSwOzldvE~o

Overpriced and not built or painted particularly well also the coupling rods are a length of rail 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Kit-Built-Lnwr-Prince-Of-Wales-Lms-Livery-00-Gauge-4mm/274082404029?hash=item3fd09596bd:g:WHgAAOSwf~NdwLTP

For anyone who knows of the Sangcheng and GRS prairies this is overpriced and also a known bad model. The collaboration many years ago was for the prairie and the the b set coaches.

Unfortunately the crap Chinese soldering and the poor quality brass used in the making of these makes them a buggar.

I have repaired a fair few of these over the years for friends within the Gauge 3 Society as they have a habit of falling apart rather like a clown car coming into the circus arena.

I do not own one of these as i dont like the way they are put together.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-5-GAUGE-GRS-262-PRAIRIE-ELECTRIC-LOCO/133207112750?hash=item1f03c33c2e:g:ms4AAOSw-v5dqbZ4

Buyer beware

This year Blackgang has had 3 outings.

The first was in June to the Kettering Show in its 32 foot long guise. We had a lot of interest in the layout and a few visitors including the jinty and some GWR locos from my regular helpers. Amazingly it all fits in the back of my VW Caddy van with room to spare for a second person and their stock so taking this to a small show is not impossible and helps t keep the costs down.

The second outing was to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway over the August Bank holiday weekend. We took the large layout over (80 foot long) in the back of a transit van and my own smaller VW Caddy van. We sailed to the IOWSR on the Thursday prior to the show which ran for 4 days from the Friday until the Bank holiday Monday. We arrived and set up the tent and then went to find the nearest pub. We set up early on Friday morning inside the Train Story building surrounded by all the vintage carriages and wagons. Over the course of the 4 days we had a few visitors and helpers with a few visiting engines such as an LT pannier and and LMR J94 saddle tank as well as the regular GWR interlopers.

We had a lot of tea coffee and real ale over the 4 days and we all probably ate too much and too much of the wrong things as well.

The final outing for Blackgang was to Aldershot in October in its 32 foot long guise. We again had a lot of interest in the layout and it ran well with no issues other than the operators running dry on tea/coffee.

The pictures below are a random mix of the pictures taken at all three shows hope you like.

Mark 

As we are now drawing to a close for 2019 model railway shows, the attention turns to the test set up of the Merstone, St Lawrence and Ventnor West layout on Sunday 27th October plus the two shows in November at Tolworth (with Merstone, St Lawrence and Ventnor West layout) and Warley with Bembridge.

Some of the team are setting up the whole of the big Merstone, St Lawrence and Ventnor West layout (44 foot long) this Sunday 27th October 2019 at the AMRG’s club rooms to basically have a play with the layout and work out the best routine to run the whole layout so that we have no “dead spots” (be they operational or electrical) on the layout. At the moment I have worked it out that we need 4 operators at any one time they are; Newport Fiddle yard, Merstone Station, Sandown Fiddleyard and Ventnor West. Hopefully we will have the operating methods down to a T on Sunday.

At the end of the month Bembridge is going to Warley which is by far and away a much simpler layout and a lot less walking involved.

On 22/10/2019 at 01:05, willsheldrake said:

Hi Mark,

great layout, just wondering where you got the 4 wheel coaches and transfers as I'm looking into having some IOW coaches

Thanks

Hi By the 4 wheelers i presume you mean the stroudley coaches. They are the resin kits from Smallbrook studios. The transfers are from the HMRS transfer packs. The other 4 wheelers that i have are the LCDR push pull sets whach are the brass kits form the now defunct D&S kits. I have also recently been working on a set of 5 Oldburys which are entirely 3D printed.

2 hours ago, Jack P said:

 

Hornby could go ahead and do an E, wouldn't that work nicely  

I built an E class a few years back into full BR black livery. Knowing my luck as you say that will be the next one to be released and the same number too!! 

2 hours ago, JSpencer said:

I like the way Graham's blog ends "….and Rails of Sheffield have beaten a number of interested parties to the market."

 

There have been rumours of Hornby doing a D and/or E class for 2020. Maybe in January we will see yet another Rails/Hornby duplication conflict on a pre-grouping loco. The pedigree D vs the not so pedigree D....

 

I do not like that attitude of the pedigree vs the non-pedigree you do not make your own light shine brighter by putting out someone else’s flame

3 hours ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

Surely, the prototype locomotive would suffer much the same problem. The issue for the model  is about how you fix and spring the pony so that is takes its fair share of the weight.

Equalising beams between the front bogie pivot and the lead axle will ensure all 4 axles wheelsets are in direct contact more of the time.

Mark