Oldddudders

I think the speakers that I bought in those days came from the same neck of the woods - Bowers & Wilkins DM1s, which arrived with Bruer & Kjael (?) traces to show the actual response of the units in question. I was terribly impressed! A mate bought a Revox A77, although "only" the 7.5 IPS version, and we thought that was the mutt's. Nearly 20 years later I finally bought a decent cassette deck - Nakamichi CR-3E - but really have never had decent hi-fi since that '60s set up, which had the original Cambridge Audio P40 amp.

At this moment Miles Davis "Amandla". Over the last few days a bit of a fest of Bill Evans, probably most influential of the post-war jazz pianists, but dead 30 years ago, of an unintentional overdose, natch.

So I take it that the SME 3009 arm (Made in Shoreham?)and Shure V15/2 cartridge that I aspired to add to my Thorens TD150 in 1969, but could never afford, is now old hat? Shame.

It would be quite naive to imagine that those of us who don't live in the communities in question have understood all the issues that concern them. We think more visitors, meaning more jobs, meaning more general wealth. There will be plenty of people who have moved to North Wales to get away from crowds and bustle, let alone noisy trains, as well as the indigenous Welsh who will only see house prices rising further beyond their reach. Few developments and change suit everyone.

Dare I say that's a very fine finial you have re-made there?

This site http://www.stationcolours.info/ generally gives some idea, and if you follow the LNER page you may be the wiser, but it is very generic, and it is eminently possible that this stronghold of the GE retained a different scheme into BR days. [i love the suggestion that Cambridge station could not be expected to receive Oxford Blue!]

Can't claim that, but did see the sign for Treneglos the other week, as a lady whisked me back from Port Isaac!

Comparisons are famously odious, and quite unnecessary on RMWeb, but what you have shown us so far defo puts you in the Premier League. Apart from anything else, you have thought big - but then proved amply skilled to make it into 3D. As trisonic says, a less-than-common prototype helps no end, too! This is not copy-cat modelling. Remains one to watch, and closely.

You have undoubtedly put the grand into grandeur. Stunning stuff.

Is this a GP40-2? I think so from the extended dynamic brake vent, Dash2 electrical cabinet behind the fireman's side cab, and the water level sight gauge on the long hood (above the 'h' of Chessie) behind the driver's side. In which case its use of Blomberg B trucks, with 4 brake cylinders per truck, suggests these were from traded-in diesels of yore. Blomberg M - two brake cylinders plus external damper - would be more typical for this era (post 1972) of GM production. No matter - your model matches the prototype exactly!

That's what I like to see - a clear vision allowing for future expansion! With scale-length Red Hill Tunnels, of course, not to mention those little bridges on the 4-track over the Trent Navigation. [i once hired a narrowboat that had previously got caught in the weir there!]. Seriously - not my era, not my theme, not my location, but what you are doing is exacting, quality modelling at its finest. If you can only keep Mrs G onside, this is going to be brilliant!

What you guys are doing remains off the end of the plausible modelling scale. The fact that money has already been poured in to York, and time and effort into Templot etc, and the domestic authorities have seen fit to permit an initial laying out of components on the posh broadloom carpet, merely tells us this is serious! The pavilions look very promising. How do you intend to capture the brick facing of the arches? Please don't say you're gonna scribe every one! The layout of Lewes Main Junction looks awesome, as the US contingent might say. Your long Winter evenings are going to be the subject of continuing interest to some of us out here!

More stunning progress on a theme to die for - and in N! Phew! Love the vignette under the bridge, and the coach even seems to have a Brighton registration? Is it a Bedford Duple? Slightly late in period, perhaps, as the chassis was built from 1939 - but you've already scratchbuilt trains, so allowing a year or two on the road vehicles is hardly a compromise worth carping about. I can't help feeling the 1930s gutter detritus would be different from the 1970s - certainly no drinks cans, and bottles were glass, but you got money back on them, so who was gonna leave them in the gutter? N gauge newspapers would be a bit of a challenge to most of us, too. I remain dazzled by the challenge you have set yourself, and most impressed by your responses in the model itself!

Simply visionary in approach. This is already cracking stuff, and promises to set new standards for overall feel - and in N, too. First rate!

Looks lovely, and betrays very little of its RGS #1 origins. While Boulder Valley are very clearly US in outlook, some of their products do lend themselves to European use. NG was a fairly independent area of railway construction, and procurement of locos and stock was similarly original. The County Donegal railcars also bear some close scrutiny for those with the skills - or a liking for Alphagraphix!

Yeah, but what about us mugs who currently can say we saw 8 out of 10 Baby Deltics, and will now have our score reduced? Deflated or what?!

If you were prepared to buy RTR plastic, of a US prototype, Precision Craft Models made an On30 (same gauge) Rio Grande Southern Galloping Goose a few years back. You sometimes find one on ebay, with or without sound. Pics here http://www.us-trains.de/index.php?id=/10999/7/0/1099970205.php Somewhat cheaper, Bachmann make an On30 railbus which is more often available. RMWeb advertiser NGTrains is here http://www.ngtrains.com/Pages/Bachmann/Bachmann.htm Both these models - and all On30 stuff - are to 1:48 scale, not true 7mm, which is 1:43. Spot the difference!

So just like the bigger democracy that we call government. Whether it's a whole nation or just a railway preservation society, there are very few of us who want the limelight and the brickbats that go with the post. So the rest of us have very little cause for complaint when the few who volunteer to stand turn out to be not quite the way we'd hoped!

Points are points. They work equally well indoors or out - but be prepared to do a bit more maintenance outdoors, removing garden detritus, oxidised deposits and so on. Sitting in ponded water is also unlikely to help their conductivity in the way you are used to. Elsewhere I know of a lady who has a very large OO layout outdoors and has run it successfully for many years - subject to weather conditions on the day. Peco Electrofrog points are generally recommended for DCC layouts, and these benefit from a bit of modification. This chap's notes at http://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/DCC.htm# are well worth reading and absorbing. He posts on RMWeb, by the way.

I'm thoroughly impressed by the shades you have chosen - and their blending. A pint in the Sloop seems a really tempting prospect already - how tantalising will it be when the resin makes the sea look real? Lovely stuff all round!

Since I think these were ventilation slots, presumably to reduce build-up of gases from the battery, I assume every battery box would have them. Could some cunning painting be made to look like a slot?

Rebuilds of this era are a very difficult area. As has been said in one of those links - find a specific loco and copy it visually, and you can't be wrong. Options would have included an updated prime mover, but e.g. Santa Fe upgraded their GP30 fleet and squeezed an extra 250 hp out of the existing 567D. I think Missouri Pacific had made an industry out of "tuning" 567s in their earlier fleets by altering fuel rack settings etc., so it isn't uncommon. I suppose trucks might have been changed, too - Blomberg Ms replacing Blomberg Bs etc, - but the photos will be definite on that one. Do tell us what you think of the QSI soundset, too, please.

"Come home to a real fire - buy a holiday cottage in Wales!"