TEAMYAKIMA

There's four other 'major' manufacturers in addition to Bachmann, but Bachmann still dominates the market ..... N27 - used to be called something like XING XING (from memory) Haidar - been very quiet lately , not sure what plans if any for further models ..also did brass diesels CMR - Chinese Model Railways - highly detailed items - so detailed that often parts fall off! Also introduced an N gauge DF4 and soon some class 22 coaches MTC - Model Trains China - have just added a limited edition brass QJ to their range There are other minor manufacturers

Well now that I've got that sorted we can move on.... Here is a trackplan of the scenic section ... At the top is a self contained industrial system .... linking coal mines (off stage l/h) to steelworks (off stage r/h) ... main features are banking station and passenger facilities ... think Chengde system with some Tiefa thrown in. Below that we have a double track China Rail main line And below that a single track regional line .... think J-T line Time period circa 2004/5 .... industrial system 95% steam ... regional line maybe 3/4 steam .... China Rail is 100% diesel City station off stage l/h ... regional line terminates there ... also large freight yard off stage l/h ... transfers freight from China Rail to regional line via crossovers on layout

OK ..... I think I've got the photo issue sorted ..... here is a before and after weathering photo of two Bachmann GQ60k tank cars - first attempt - only 42 more to do!

Layout update ... All twelve baseboards ( 8 FY and 4 scenic ) are now built, and have been trialed up in the back garden. All track and 58 points are laid in the FY Some track has been laid on the scenic section - have been weathering stock for the last 3/4 months as a break from tracklaying. Still struggling with posting photos - even after reading how to do it in several posts in the help section - will keep trying!

Thanks for the interest in this project ...... As regards exhibition invites, I am well aware that this layout will be too expensive for some shows and I expect that I may have to subsidise the layout sometimes. As regards setting up for operating, there is a church hall 80 yards from my back gate so I can hire that for testing purposes - maybe expensive but cheaper than spending £150,000 to upgrade to a bigger house! As regards home operation, over the last 40 years I have built five exhibition layouts ( in five different gauges ) and never operated any of them at home - I've never seen the point of operating at home - only at exhibitions where you can put on a show for an audience.

Thanks for the interest .. I started the post just before bedtime last night - assuming I was competent to post photos - after a couple of attempts it was clear that I wasn't! But rather than cancel the post I just put it up to see if anyone was at all interested - I am surprised that there has been so much interest overnight. I do run a blog on another forum and I regularly post photos there - so I will look into that later at work during my lunch break - for the minute back to the modelling bench for some more weathering! For the record I live in Hertfordshire, the layout will feature a double track China Rail line, an industrial (coal mine/steelworks) line and a single track bi-directional regional line. Standard train lengths will be 13 coaches or 29-35 car freight trains. It is being built in a 13ft x 8ft shed so will only be run at exhibitions or when I hire the local church hall.

I have been working on my Chinese HO exhibition layout for about two years. Overall it will be 26ft x 10ft to include an 18 road fiddle yard and a 20ft x 3ft scenic section. At the moment I'm working on rolling stock as a break from baseboards and track More as I make progress ....