Wibble

That's a lovely looking diorama

..... and also Paul made the lineside buildings and lamp post!

I had just posted this image on another thread and thought I'd put it here too. A Brush prototype that wasn't seen very often, but did make it out on a few occasions during the early 1970s. We're looking forward to taking the layout to Railex 2018 on the 26th & 27th of May in Aylesbury, and catching up with you all. There's still a lot more detail work to do, but when is a layout ever finished? Paul's been busy finishing off the signal box with all its interior detail, and the last bracket signal too, so a big thanks to him and to Pete Johnson for the London Transport station building.

Every one seems to have forgotten about the Brush prototype that was hanging around during the early 1970s. I was fortunate enough to capture it passing by, but don't know what happened to it in the end.

It's good to see something running. It's very generous of you to allow Mrs M to store her knitting under the baseboards - unless of course there's something you're not telling us

Scratchbuilt with Ratio shades.

Pedant mode off > Offering something more constructive to this thread.... it wasn't until the 1980s that government health warnings became mandatory with cigarette advertising.

FTFY

Most probably a bit premature, seeing as it's still April in this part of the world. There must be a 263 version out before the end of May, as the release of this particular episode usually clashes with Railex..... the full page? advert usually being read after the event. No doubt there's still a dribble to come from the 262 thread, but looks like most of it's been covered.

Whoosh..... in more ways than one. As I said before, it's good to see something moving, even if I did spill my coffee!

Nice to see footage of something moving...... I hope there's no buffet service on that DMU service! Is that pack of cards shown the one which contains 6 aces?

Is number 1 the society stand and information perchance? 24 or 25 Shawplan?

This will be what you're looking for, created by the Master himself. Lots of other interesting stuff on the site too, particularly if you like O Gauge. https://www.lynxmodels.net/hayley-mills.html

Hello Tony, My signals will never be as exquisite as Steve Hewit's, but this was knocked up from brass rod and wire, and is operated by a MegaPoints Controller with optional bounce. https://youtu.be/saBr22m-8kw As for R-T-R DMUs, they all get stripped down to the bare bones when they enter the workshops... how can you do the model justice otherwise? That a great time to rip out all the nonsense and make it easier to customise. Some good reading on here mostly

I'm not so sure about that one Mr W. There's barely any space on the Hornsey Bdy platforms for any more passengers, and they're still there when the trains have gone!

We'll crack open a bottle of bubbly when the first full circuit has been achieved - may well be a vintage year .... still think you're missing a trick not having a test circuit around the walls. ha ha

Can't wait for the 7-monthly update

Just goes to show..... In my ignorance I thought everyone knew. I'd better update my profile

Now sorted

I keep getting drawn back into this thread, not only is it because it's diverse, but the pictures that Tony has posted are in my opinion second to none, and nothing less than you would expect from a professional photographer. The subject matter has raised a lot of valid points, although personally I can't comment too much on British Railways and its operation pre-1968. Backscenes - I'm not a great lover of them for a couple of reasons. Beer bellies and cans of coke don't bother me, and at an exhibition I'd rather have a conversation with an operator out front, or at least be able to interact across the depth of a layout. My latest trainset is set as a cityscape, with the buildings providing a background. Previous layouts have also used buildings to keep the eye within the scene, rather than questionable sky scenes, and the gaps between them are kept to a minimum. This doesn't work as well if you're modelling the countryside, but lots of trees can help if they're executed properly. Rolling Stock - An interesting discussion occurred at the weekend with regard to one of my RTR* diesel locomotives hauling a 13 coach train up a 1:80 gradient, and we agreed that you would be lucky to get a RTR Pacific to haul not much more than 4 coaches under the same conditions. If I was modelling pre-1968, then I would also probably go down the route of kit built (whitemetal?) locomotives, purely to increase the pulling power. Just having looked at my storage yard, I would estimate that over 80% of the content is RTR*, mainly because it's available to suit my requirements, and there's not so much of a need to buy kits. Maybe I'm fortunate that because of the era I model, those requirments are well catered for, and to be honest, there's not much in the way of loco kits that look anywhere near as good as ready to run. Now for the important bit, and the reason for the asterisk next to RTR - Nothing on the layout - RTR or kitbuilt is straight out of the box. Everything is customised or modified to represent something different to what the average punter can buy off the shelf. Photography - I take pictures of my trainset, to see things the naked eye doesn't. It's also a good way of recording what I've been up to over the years. I'm in envy of some of the pictures you can find on here, and although my aged camera does tend to muddy the view, I feel the efforts I produce are better than nothing. Real locations - There's nowhere on the railway network that would inspire me to copy it in model form, either because I haven't got the space to do it justice, or because it's been done before. One thing I dislike about real locations is that most of them are not built to scale, or they incorporate features / curves which are not supposed to be there, or at the very least involve compression of the scene. When is a real location not a real location?.... for those reasons stated above methinks. Pretend locations - Now that's what floats my boat, because it involves imagination, and if done properly can be quite convincing. I'm very fortunate to have a few professional railwaymen behind me and my projects, and if it were not for them, I know for sure it would turn a lot more people away from what I'm trying to do. This guy (Mike Lynch) is an inspiration, and well worth some time looking at what he's achieved. - posted this week on 'how realistic.....' All the best, Kier Edited because I missed off some of the URL

I think criticism can be a good thing, as long as it's constructive, and to return to the image you posted, perhaps concentrating on the loco class in particular may have been better, rather than an old image with a dodgy sky. This subject has been covered many times, with the shadows matching what one sees in the background. A cropped image such as this may have been less stark. As for the name - it's nothing to do with my parents, more so a label I acquired later in life

There's been some fantastic responses to the backscene topic on this thread, and much to think about. What looks right to one person may jar with another, but one thing that's certain is that a photograph doesn't always do it justice. Ideally you need to see it with your own eyes to feel whether it's (w)right or not. On a similar theme, which has been mentioned recently, is that of using one form or another to blank out the background. The posting today by Tony Wright (the last of the triples http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/uploads/monthly_01_2018/post-18225-0-50084600-1515086033_thumb.jpg) made me jump when I saw it. That sky just doesn't go with the scene, and sorry if anyone takes offence, but just had to mention that it took me back to Toytown in an instant..... that's the one with the 4 coach passenger approaching, and the freight going away from the camera. Otherwise top drawer stuff!!!!

For those interested, here's a link to the January 2018 update page. http://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/model_omwb139.html Cheers.

A glimpse of 6728 heading north with a tank train from Ripple Lane. It's a bit too cold out there today for ice creams! Wishing you all the best for 2018.