definate maybe

At last a layout topic for this fantastic layout Have regularly popped onto your album thread to look at the superb photos but hopefully we can now see more of the story behind it.

Departmental stock is probably the easiest to justify as you don't need a reason/ unloading site for running it or you add an imaginery off board freight industry you could model whatever interests you as you could suggest that the freight terminal can only be accessed after the loco runs round in the station sidings. Your run round looks long enough to fit a decent length freight with ease. A charter would add another dimension as well. On everyday workings a class 158 could be justified (although not up to modern standards) and the future release of a 142 would fit in nicely with your current north western based stock

great update as ever!

progress may be slow but the quality is always impressive. Another fantastic update on a stunning layout Regards Mark

Another fantastic update. Really love your modelling both in terms of your ability and the scene you are creating. Mark

Its looking absolutely lovely Stewart. It seems you have done quite a bit of scenic work as well. Im sure I dont remember as much greenery around the station or the loading dock on your last post. With a roof on the station building that last post would look very realistic Hope your back is behaving and looking forward to the next installment already! (sorry, I know Im greedy!) Mark

There are probably hundreds of layouts I can remember from this era. The late 80's and early 90's was my childhood years so I was enthralled by the latest layouts in Railway Modeller. The ones I would have to single out and still look at regularly today are Steve Flints Reighton and especially Kyle of Tongue. He had a wonderful knack of chosing rural backwaters and running them as such with great information about the lines services in the articles. There wasnt piles of stock or endless loco lists so the whole thing felt easily achievable, albeit not at that level of realism. Nether Stowey. Not a lot needs to be said. N gauge masterpiece. Small space and very impressionable to a young lad with a love of all things Great Western at that time. Good use of RTP and readily available kits again made it feel like it was something you could aspire to, again not at that level of brilliance but in sense of space and feel. Also mentions for Hursley and Newcastle Haymarket which kept drawing me in. At the other end of the size scale, and one that doesnt appear to have been mentioned is Tonbridge West Yard. I love the old fashioned feel of departmental services and that along with the then relatively unusual setting of SR MK1 emus just seemed so refreshing. I remember being somewhat disappointed when visiting the real location that its yard wasnt quite as interesting as I was led to believe by the excellent model.

Sorry but I dont believe this is a model. Noboby is able to do that much detail in N gauge. Im not sure what is most impressive, the eyesight and the steady hand required or the resulting excellence. Its staggering on every level. Im seriously lost for words (take it that should be phrases on a forum) to state how amazing this is.

Thanks for the replies Anglian and Karhedron. Gives me even more food for thought!

Looks good but I wouldnt be confident about building my own points yet. What issues would there be combining this tracking with Peco points?

I read all the updates but dont normally comment on this thread as I have nothing constructive to add and didnt want the thread to over run with 'gee thats impressive' comments but as this is an anniversary I thought I would post just to say how impressively this layout is progressing and how its quite amazing that 'northern urban grit' (hope that doesnt sound offensive) can look so inspiring in the right hands. Your doing a grand job! Regards Mark

Stewart, great to see an update on one of my favourite layouts and its looking as good as ever! As we hadnt heard from you for a few months I had been considering whether to send you a message to see if you were alright, especially considering your earlier mentioned back problems but kept putting it off as I didnt want to seem pushy, intrusive or annoying. Hope your enjoying your retirement although I know my dad seems busier now he is retired than ever before! Best wishes Mark

Michael, the background definately looks model like. The Mk2 and Royal Mail (?) van especially but the roof also looks clean and the platform surface has a fairly good model likeness aswell. Mark

Will hopefully be able to get to Ally Pally next year. Hope the Manchester show goes well for you.

There is something about the platform that definately looks model like to me. Not sure ifs the cleanliness or the way the light seems to make the brickwork look like model paper.

Dave, I know the sleeper isnt part of the current plans but can you say whether it is something you would consider in the longer term? With the quality of your Mk3's I cant see the other N gauge lot being in too much of a hurry to update their tooling but I do understand that it may have a rather limited appeal compared to the widescale use of your other MK3's. I will totally understand if you dont feel you can answer this question.

great to hear that WW will sound be back with us but more importantly - hows the puppy!!!!

Hi, Dave any news/ updates on Waton ? (sorry for going off subject)

For a minories feel plan but with added freight facilities may I suggest Walford Town. A layout that I personally feel was one of the best modern image layouts of its time and could easily be transformed into a rural setting in any major town.

what a great location to model. The lines north of Inverness are where my interest lies so will be keepinhg an eye on this. A couple of links from me railbrit - search facility will bring up any information and photos on most stations - http://www.railbrit.co.uk/search.php ernies scottish flickr site - personally a favourite site of mine with plenty of photos and a lot which gives a feel of the railways other than the stock http://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/collections/72157626439675261/ friends of the far north line - the campaign for services on the line from users/ fans. A few pictures but also some interesting articles and news updates - althrough these are more recent then your requested era. http://www.fofnl.org.uk/

Im not sure of the logic behind it but the mk1 buffets were originally kept for the boat train services to Harwich whilst the Mk3's worked the main services to Norwich. In practice it wasnt always kept to these routes so you could easily have a Mk1 to Norwich.

Dave, I sense a bit of anger and I can understand why you may be feeling a bit of it. I've said on a couple of other posts in relation to changes that its probably a change of catalogue numbers or a similar tweak and with the catalogue immiment that it may be an idea to wait rather than have the, what appears to be fashionable, Dapol bash. With the speed of which Dapol are moving forward, I think you deserve a lot of praise for being as ambitious as you are. There are likely to be the odd glitch or change of production lines, tweaks of models and delays but you always appear on here and will point out why something has been done and ask for input into your models. I dont see anybody from any other mainstream manufacturor on here answering gripes but it appears that your 'public face' means you get a much wider bashing then you deserve. You may not get everything 100% right and will never keep everybody happy but I think some of the criticism is a million miles wide of the mark.

if our only negative comments are about the link of the off scene area you are obviously doing things right and to a high quality! There is definately no need to feel low - I think this is one of the most inspiring layouts on this site.

another fantastic update and have to agree with all Pete's comments. The plain blue background looks fine to me and the adding of a scenic touch to the behind the bridge area will just take the view up to the next level. I really do love every little update you make to these pages

it is angled a bit like a DVT!