Samedan

One can see the benefits of a decent digital camera, compared to the ubiquitous phone camera. Nice photos of a nice layout. Now, the backscenes, for me, are pretty good and the repetition isn’t obvious in the photos, but the mountains do look a bit too “jagged” and dramatic for Graubunden. I suspect they’re actually of, or based on, the Dolomites.

My sympathies regarding your Mum. Caring at end of life is a big responsibility and, as you say, sorting things out afterwards - both emotionally and administratively - seems to go on for ages. My Mum died just as a massive auction of European HO models, for which I’d prepared, researched, saved up etc was taking place in my part of the world over several days. Possibly a “chance in a lifetime” to affordably acquire numerous vgc HAG, Roco etc models, many never run. My initial instinct was, oh well, there are more important things in life, too bad; but my wife and kids persuaded me that I should still go to the auction, as I could fit it in around the necessary procedures and duties I had to fulfil. It was a weird couple of days, as I shuffled between hospital ward and chapel, undertaker, Priest and the auction. I like to think that it actually helped me through a difficult moment in time and that Mum would’ve endorsed my actions. I came away with some terrific purchases that form the core of my collection. If only I’d been able to find the time to really crack on with my layout, but that project is still progressing rather slowly. So, well done for coming back to modelling. I hope you are able to make good progress.

I acquired one of these second hand (pre-loved?) quite a while back. In decent condition, but most of the passengers are rattling around out of their seats. I can’t get the roof off with the usual method of squeezing and prising the lugs out, as it were, and I’m afraid to force it too much and damage what’s still a very nice model. Can you remind me of the best roof-removing technique please, just in case I’m doing something wrong with this specific coach?

It would be awesome to be able to see new modules alongside the existing at exhibitions, never mind if you retire the layouts! Alternatively, you could build a series of new versions: Neuberg 1953, 73, 93 etc etc.

Oh dear, what’s the matter with DB at the moment? I had a poor experience last year, but the worst of that was due to a one-off death-on-the-line incident south of Remagen. Still, DB didn’t cover themselves in glory with their response or communication. Then the next day our train from Koblenz to Stuttgart was significantly delayed. And of course, there’s literally nowhere to sit and wait between trains on building site that passes for Stuttgart HBf. Anyway, I digress!

Ah, Rue de la Servette. Driven up and down there numerous times, either nervously after picking up a rental car from the airport, or anxiously, on the way to drop off said rental car and get to the terminal to check in for my flight home!

Looks great in the photos. I’m dreading getting to the catenary stage. Fortunately, in one sense, I’m still a long way off that. I can foresee that I’ll end up fitting it on one or two sections of plan track and may never get round to the station area! Of course, some people resort to putting in masts and gantries and just don’t bother with the wires, which is always one possible approach.

You lucky thing! Are you a member of the Swiss Railways Society? We are always in need of people living in or frequently visiting Switzerland to report on aspects of current Swiss railway operation and plans for development, to be included in the Society magazine - not major articles necessarily, just snippets for the Swiss News section. And photos of course.

I’m a bit late to the conversation, but I’m glad you went with the deciduous screen at the top of the embankment. It looks really good and works much better than the individual conifers you tried. The more scrubby trees look more like you would find in such a confined situation and are actually less intrusive in the overall scene, whilst paradoxically providing more visual separation between the levels, in my view. I’m often struck, when visiting Switzerland, how deciduous trees predominate over conifers even up to quite high altitudes. Whereas, on model railways, conifers almost always are stuck in everywhere.

@Keith Addenbrooke what name is the Faller Ostermundigen model being marketed under now, please? ( In HO). I’ve looked at this building for my standard and metre gauge interchange station, in HO. It’s an attractive design and would suit the imaginary lakeside town location I’m modelling, where I don’t want a timber, “Alpine chalet” type of building. But it is quite deep (front to back measurement) and the road side frontage, which would face the viewer on my layout, is relatively plain. I may end up having to adapt that or another kit, or scratch build, to achieve what I want. @Gordonwis I wasn’t aware of the old terminal building at Frutigen. The buildings on this line do have an attractive house style.

How I loathe these branded or themed wagons (and locos and coaches on occasions) that various manufacturers keep producing. It would be quite amusing and whimsical (if it hasn’t already been done) to produce an exhibition layout comprised of special edition models liveried to celebrate Monarchical coronations, Silver Jubilees etc, notable Railway or national anniversaries, popular TV programmes, Christmases down the years, various iterations of well know brands of cola, confectionary, spicy relish etc etc. Actually, on reflection, that sounds a bit like the real railways these days.

Very nice modelling. I like the way that you’ve updated the signs, ticket machine and waste bin from 2010! Not sure about the old geezer on the platform though?

Thanks for sharing. Nice, bite-sized videos of varied subjects. But I still found myself scrolling forwards to skip boring bits. And the editing is rather fractured - the same locations crop up and disappear again after a few seconds, only to reappear a bit later.

I recognise the original viaduct but can’t place it. Is it somewhere along the Al bull line, between Preda and Bergun? I think your representation of it has worked out really well and the curved end arches also work well with the lime curving underneath it.

It’s looking really good with the catenary and other details. The view at 1.55 is really effective. It’s good to see nice, scale speed running. There are a couple of Facebook groups where I just have to stop myself jumping on the comment button every time I see a small rank engine and a few wagons doing a scale 200mph!

Congratulations on winning the cup. Very well deserved. In fact, your combined layouts must have been contenders for overall best layout on show. It’s pretty unique to exhibit TWO layouts of such quality side by side!

Ah, what it is to be in the company of experts! Of course, Jools, you could just run a mixture of red and green locos and coaches that appeal to you and not worry too much about the speed flashes on the logo or the thickness of the white band. (Only joking, guys). Personally, I have quite a few Bemo models which I’ve acquired as opportunity purchases in shops, at exhibitions and at auction, since the 1990s. Over more recent years, I’ve tried to narrow my purchases to avoid introducing too many anachronisms: so, I concentrate on non-Bernina RhB. But I like to represent the modern railway, whilst still running some trains which are representative of earlier periods, so I continue to collect some new models, representing up to date prototypes, as they appear. In that way, my collection is a kind of rolling representation of, mainly, the RhB. Whether or not I will eventually divest of the earlier green period RhB, the FO and LSE etc models in my collection remains to be seen. I’ve enjoyed watching HOm layouts over the years, including some at Warley in the last few days, which display a procession of trains from the various companies and periods. They are very fine models of very fine trains. One “jewel” has escaped me so far, and that is the MOB streamlined “Crystal Panoramic Express”. Surely one of the most attractive trains ever built? If anyone wants to sell one, let me know!

Thanks for posting. I remember the pre-through station days. This is useful research material for me, as I plan to have a “Brig-style” RhB terminus at the front of my Standard gauge station on my forthcoming layout.

Like many types of things, I think that HO (and any other scale for that matter) locos vary in quality but also in price. So you generally get a trade off. And that whilst general standards and approaches to that trade off are discernible between different manufacturers, they may sometimes make a model that is surprisingly good by their normal standards or, equally, sometimes surprisingly below normal standard. If all that makes sense. So, whilst I have perceptions (prejudices?) about certain manufacturers, there are always going to be some models which buck the trend. There are also going to be occasional models from manufacturers whom I don’t normally rate highly which I want simply because I like the prototype and no one else makes it. Equally, there are models out there that I would really love to have, and I know they will be excellent quality, but I simply cannot bring myself to pay the price. I have a sizeable collection of HO and HOm locos from over several decades, but I only have a simple test oval at the moment, so I haven’t even test run all of my locos. By the way, I think that EMUS should also be counted as “locos”in this case. I’ve always found Roco to be generally excellent and probably the best in terms of the balance between, accuracy/detail/finish/ performance and price. I haven’t got any ACME but they look like a similar standard from what I’ve seen. PIko seem OK, though I’ve read a few grumbles, and they are bit more expensive it seems. I have a number of HAG locos and railcars and I’m generally pleased with them. I think the overall impression is usually very good and I like the heavy weight. But I gather accuracy can be an issue and some of the detail on early models is really quite crude. Also, I have only ever bought second hand, as new prices are more than I’m prepared to pay. But if you want a massive collection of Re460s in advertising livery, then HAG are there for you! Lima are often derided but I have a few EMUs which no one else makes (such as the ETR Pendolino) which look pretty good for the price new. I tend to avoid old, second hand Lima as I’m not sure about their long term robustness or reliability. Similarly, I’ve heard and read some disappointing views on Lilliput, but they’ve produced numerous very handsome looking EMUs which don’t break the bank to buy new. I have quite a few of those sets but can’t speak for their long term reliability. I would I’ve to be able to collect expensive, hand-built brass models from the likes of Fulgurex , Micro Metakit etc but I would prefer to spend the equivalent money on 3 or 4 very good quality Roco models to be honest. Finally, with apologies for the length of this ramble, I will give a shout out to Bemo, who make the biggest range of HOm models, covering RhB, MOB, MGB, FO etc. They are certainly not cheap, but they are not absolutely extortionate (on my scale anyway) and they look and run superbly.

I confess that I haven’t read every post in this topic, so apologies if this has already been covered, but I picked up from a (retailer’s I believe) comment on a popular YouTube channel that Heljan have announced that they are withdrawing/cancelling their proposed TT120 locos due to Hornby covering the same ground. If true, then it should act as a warning to anyone who hopes that TT120 will rapidly grow into a very well commercially supported scale with a diverse range of products. I really do think that Hornby’s approach to the hobby is going to be counter-productive in the long term (ref also their decision to exclude model shops from fully participating in the new scale). Yes, business is competitive and the environment is harsh, but model railways has an emotional component that, for example, washing machines, do not.

It’s in the nature of the beast of course, but I find it mildly amusing that most people on here are debating the merits of TT 120 for “serious” or finescale modelling and licking their lips over all the long rakes of contemporary trains and varied locos that they’ll be able to fit into their spaces. Chill, guys, everything about this product launch screams “train set” and “family set up”. The lack of attention to correct track proportions or refined appearance etc is of limited relevance to the Dad/Granddad (with due acknowledgement that other genders are available) looking for a project that they can put together with their youngsters. If it is to meet Hornby’s financial expectations, it’s got to sell in some volume to that market. These will be average Joes who will be excited by the prospect of fitting more railway onto the classic sheet of plywood from B and Q than would be possible in OO. And I bet it’s not the adults who find N too fiddly but the young children. SK admitted that the track has to be available from Hornby so that they can claim to sell a complete system and sell train sets at Christmas. Most of the target market wouldn’t recognise inaccurately proportioned track if it hit them in the face. So, expect lots of “iconic” locos representing “key milestones in railway history”, with a bias towards anything that ran/runs in the South of England. Lots of colour. Probably lots of digital gizmos and gimmicks when the range gets going. As someone else has said, it may not be for the likes of us, but that’s not a reason to carp at the type of product on offer if it brings people into the hobby and offers a diversion from the current grim realities of this world.

Well, I have to eat humble pie, I guess. A few months ago, on a different thread, I more or less said that launching TT-120, in the then economic climate, was a massive gamble on the part of Peco and a number of other companies who were joining them, and threatened to undermine viability of their existing contribution to the hobby. Some answered not to worry, because Peco would recoup their investment in the Continental market. I also worried that some consumers would be lured into the new product, only to find that too few products emerged and that they would be left disillusioned. All that was before Hornby’s bombshell. OK, as SK admits in his interview, most of their range is still in the design, pre-production stage, but Hornby have clearly been preparing for this moment for some time. For once, it seems that Hornby are actually ahead of the curve, notwithstanding that Peco and one or two others preempted their launch. Whilst I still have my doubts about whether there is the capacity in the hobby at present to sustain such a radical new venture, the backing of Hornby certainly gives it more of a chance. SK makes much of his almost evangelical support for the scale, even whilst the bean counters said no, on the grounds that modellers were apparently crying out for a scale between OO and N, but I suspect that the need for Hornby to grow the market in order to flex their corporate muscles and fulfil shareholder expectations was as much behind the move as anything else. I applaud Hornby’s declared desire to use TT 120 to win new converts to the hobby, through ambitious marketing beyond the usual channels (eg full ads in National newspapers) but I do think that their decision to retail only directly online demonstrates their characteristic corporate hubris and is extremely unfair to local model shops, which have struggled through the last couple of years and which help to sustain the grass roots of the hobby. I think it could well prove counter-productive to their aims. Time will tell.

I presume you ask for more structured feedback from “guests” than a few comments in a thread such as this? From those, it sounds as if the grumbles are relatively minor (lack of cereal at the free breakfast?). Wigan is not endowed with lots of high quality, budget priced hotels but how many places are these days? I appreciate that the whole process of packing up a layout and taking to and from an exhibition must be exhausting, time consuming and potentially financially costly. Exhibitors should rightly expect not to be out of pocket for reasonable expenses. But, as someone who toured the country in the course of a fairly important government job, I was accustomed to accept varied standards of experience at the hotels within my limited expenses budget (please, no violins). Clean, safe, comfortable and accessible should be the minimum standards. A hearty but sub-Cordon Bleu breakfast is just one of the things that we have to put up with in Britain, I fear. Surely, the pleasure of exhibiting one’s artistic and craft endeavours to a wide audience must be the main point of exhibiting? I hope that exhibitors appreciate the platform that the Wigan exhibition provides in that regard. To the organisers, I would suggest that if absolutely necessary it would be preferable to allow the exhibition to contract in size a little, whilst retaining high quality layouts, including some from other parts of the country. Thereby providing a product which is distinctive from many of the smaller, more local shows. I don’t know whether concentrating all of the show in one large hall would significantly reduce costs? Given the generous seating space in the main hall, perhaps that could be achieved without reducing the number of layouts too much? Personally, I would rather see the number of layouts maximised at the expense of the demonstration and society stands, but I accept not everyone will agree. I think that, in the current and likely near future economic climate, increasing admission prices should be avoided if possible. If a small increase in the on the door price is deemed inevitable, then maybe various ticket packages could be enhanced, such as family discounts? Also, what are cost implications of the inclusion of a full colour, glossy printed exhibition guide within the admission price? I can imagine that, with advertising revenue taken into account, the extra cost of a large print run may not be excessive but it does feel like a very generous offering. Finally, I assume that the Robin Park management are aware of the financial precariousness of the show and that the local Council etc and any other potential sources of funding and sponsorship have been explored? I apologise if all the above is stating the obvious or is full of flaws and I wish you well with your plans for next year.

I was waiting for someone to mention the pies in a barm and “pie kebab” etc. Yes, Wigan is forever saddled with the “Pie Eaters” nickname, although historians argue that it derives from the miners having to humiliatingly end a strike and return to work, thereby eating “humble pie”. Moreover, adding insult to injury, the nickname was supposedly bestowed by Leythers (I.e. people residing in the neighbouring town of Leigh). Having said that, the pie is an enduringly popular meal in Wigan and Poole’s pies are justly famous. As was, in my family at least, Grandma’s “plate pies”, full of yummy gravy. What’s disappointing to me is that the catering in the Robin Park sports centre continues to be limited in choice. And trust me, this year’s offering was, in my opinion, more diverse and better quality than in the past. I don’t know whether it’s down to a contracted caterer or the Leisure Trust which, I presume, still runs the centre, but in a building devoted to health and fitness, it’s odd that healthier options are not available. None of this is the fault of the exhibition organisers of course and one can only sympathise with their efforts to provide affordable accommodation and catering in difficult circumstances. I have to say that the catering at Robin Park is far from the worst that I’ve experienced at model railway exhibitions. Schools, church halls, race courses and other public and leisure and entertainment buildings, including purpose-built exhibition venues, are often depressingly ordinary in their catering. The NEC only gets over this issue by bringing in outside catering trailers. With that whinge out of the way, I want to reiterate that this year’s Wigan show was very high quality and we are fortunate that a very convenient and spacious venue continues to be made available for it. Long May it continue.

It was great to be back at the Wigan show and meet some old friends. I noted that Lisa Nandy, local MP and shadow minister, was in attendance on Saturday. Perhaps we can expect a Promotion of Model Railways Bill in Labour’s election manifesto? I was through the door just after opening and stayed until mid afternoon, at which point I think my eyesight was incapable of focusing on the details any longer. It was noticeable that there was a bit more open space than at previous shows but there was still plenty to see and entertain. The lack of Continental layouts, my main interest these days, was anticipated of course but I was a bit disappointed that none of the traders had brought much, if any, Continental stuff with them. Nevertheless, there were some interesting and useful scenic, electrical and tool products to look at and talk to traders about. I thought the balance of trade, demonstration, society and layout stands was about right. Notwithstanding the very limited amount of Continental modelling on display, the overall standard of modelling on display was very high. My secondary interest is pre-Grouping and LNWR in particular, so I found Hope under Dinmore specially entertaining and inspiring. Eastwood looked very promising but the service seemed to be a bit sparse - opening morning glitches perhaps? What type of layout floats your boat is very subjective. I like very detailed, realistic scenery and buildings in a believable overall setting in any scale and the overall standard was very high on that measure. Without wishing to detract from the many other fine layouts, Bewdley, Alloa, Charwelton into the 80s, North Ballachulish, Shirebrook and Harlyn Pier particularly caught my eye in that respect. Surely everyone loves a big Gauge O or Gauge 1 layout, with trains pounding along, and Newchapel Junction provided that in spades. Nice also to see young modellers learning their operating skills on that layout and Alloa, as I recall. I’ll be honest and admit that I often give a fairly cursory look at N gauge layouts but two very contrasting layouts here really grabbed my attention. The tiny one was Alston. Based on a town I know a bit, it displayed a superb collection of models of the town centre’s real buildings, albeit rearranged on the model. The individual buildings and their overall arrangement into a realistic townscape was superb. I wasn’t surprised to learn that the original builder was an Architect. The larger one that stood out was, of course, James Street. Surprisingly perhaps, I’ve never come across this layout before and was amazed to learn that it was largely the product of one man over 25 years. The sheer scale and complexity of the track plan and scenic features (I lost count of the number of stations, loco depots and, in particular, industrial facilities and sidings) was stunning. The port area, with over half a dozen large, highly detailed ship models, was the most convincing I’ve ever seen I believe. The range of locos and stock on display (many lent by members of the operating team) was also amazing. All in all, James Street is like the equivalent of 4 or 5 typical N gauge layouts combined. So, a big well done to the organisers and exhibitors. I hope it was a commercial success and that the Wigan show will be firmly re-established in the calendar.