DanielB

Just found this which might interest you Cav... http://paul3715.tripod.com/visiting.htm

Need to rename/renumber one of the 47's though, as it's two of the same loco. Still, for £102 brand new for the pair you can't sniff at that. Very nearly brought back another class 66 to go with my current one but I'm trying to stick to the late '80s, early '90s theme considering those are the days I remember from my childhood. Feels weird to think back at the Railfreight Sectors coming out as the "new" big thing. That lasted long, didn't it?

Picture as requested! 5 JGA's, 5 Seacows, 2 Sharks, 4 curved code 80 points, a Cargowaggon, a Snow Plough, 2 Class 47s, some replacement wheels for my poorly Class 37, a set of Tamiya weathering powders and a can of Rail Blue spray paint. Like I said, busy day!

And here it is again in the inspection siding! And again hiding behind a pair of Tugs...

Of what I bought or of the snow ploughs at Peak Forest? I'll get some photos of my haul shortly, but here are a couple of the snow plough for you. Might be worth investing in one for Millers Dale too - I'm sure it would have traveled that way had the line remained open. g

Regarding those N Gauge Society JGAs, I've just bought 5 from the trade stand at the York MRS and they are lovely. Much better looking than the Farish ones. Also managed to get 5 Seacows, 2 Sharks, a Limited Edition Cargowaggon, a BR snow plough as I've seen photos of one stabled at Peak Forest, and 2 Class 47s in Railfreight Distribution livery. All in all a productive day out!

Cav, if you figure out a cheap way of scratchbuilding the curved sided JGA's please let me know - £20 a pop for the current Farish one - the incorrect version for the time period I want to model - just isn't going to cut it for me! EDIT: Just to note, a kit that makes all three varients of the JGA hopper wagon is available from the N Gauge Society. I've just re-applied for membership for the first time in about... 14 years, so I'll be ordering a few once the membership is processed - my 37 needs something to pull, no?

Nice photos all round, still can't wait to see this layout start to take shape. I have a cut down version of Peak Forest I am starting the baseboards for, and I'd very much like to make it that little bit more interesting by keeping the station intact and functional - my logic is that if Millers Dale were to be kept open like in your plan, then surely passenger traffic through peak forest would continue as well, as the Millers Dale Triangle would no doubt remain open too.

Just went through the entire topic. A truly inspiring layout. I've always wanted to do an American layout but all my stock is British! I must resist the urge.

I find the trick is not to get closer to your model, but to up the photo quality setting on the camera and take the photo from a relative distance, then use photo editing software to crop it down to a suitable level. It's not a foolproof method, but it seems to produce decent results. Probably preaching to the choir of course, but just trying to be helpful.

More rock and roll than heavy metal I know, but I'm more partial to the Rolling Stones.

Now this is one of those layouts that shows just how much fine detail is able to be replicated in 7mm. It looks fantastic, and shows the hard work and dedication you have put into it. Well done.

I assure you Heavy Metal is pretty impressive Andrew. Oh you meant the Layout?

I'm hoping to have 4' the minimum length sidings, as the entrance and exit will use curved points so it should allow the longest length road to fit a full length HST.

Brilliant pictures again there, loving it. For me I'm limited by my fiddle yard space, which I'm guessing is going to be about 4' per road between points, or at least that's what I'm aiming for. Hopefully enough for around an 8 car HST and the equivalent in bogie hoppers. I am tempted to add in 2 extra lanes to the fiddle yard though - a linking lane using y points at either end to join the up and down fiddle yards together so I can marshal trains between tracks, and a single massive 6' loop siding that bypasses the fiddle yard entirely so I can stable a either double headed goods trains or something to really show off what my 9F can do!

Not helping chaps! One of the reasons I'm going with the BR Blue period - I can re-use some of the older rolling stock that I already have!

Well for me it's always been a 9F ever since I stood on the footplate of Black Prince, which I've finally managed to source! Plus a pair of choppers and a 37 which I've now also got. Only thing left is a 56xx but that may have to wait as it doesn't exactly fit the theme or the period! No, next up for me is rolling stock - mineral wagons and the like. I've enoug locos now to make an MPD or a steam shed, but not much in terms of rolling stock for them to pull!

It was the railfreight grey one. Sold as a non-runner but I've just tested it and it works perfectly! The 47 was part of a pair of auctions that have split cogs - got that and the 37 for just under £50 delivered. Bargain! On top of that I just won a damaged 56 in RF Coal for £21 - can fix that one pretty easily too I'd wager.

Fantastic thread Andy, very inspirational. I've got a fair few new locos that will need weathering, and this has inspired me to crack on and get it done whilst I wait to be able to start my layout project.

I got a second chopper this week from eBay, needs a bit of work to get running properly but I'm happy to finally have a pair. Also managed to get a blue 56, large logo 47 and 37, and a Dapol 9F. Productive week.

I do so love a double 20 mineral train. Nice photo!

Really nice paint job on that 47. Tempted to do one the same to be honest! Add that to the 20 and 08 I've got to strip and repaint. Lol

Sammyboy, I did email them a few years ago when I was looking to join a club and never got a response. But for fear of thread-jacking, let us move back to the topic of Millers Dale!

Lovely photos, I'm thinking of making a trip up that area and just spend a day watching the trains go by. Thanks for the advice Cav, I too looked at joining a local club but found nothing suitable. The one I did attend seemed set on an existing project which I couldn't really contribute to so it seemed pointless attending. Shame, they seemed a nice enough bunch! My grand design for a layout is set in the peaks also, due to the peaks being my home, it seemed only fitting. I'll make sure I share any photos I get with you in case they prove useful.

Might seem like an odd question RBE but where abouts in Chesterfield are you? Are you a member of any clubs as a friend and I are just starting out after several years of absence from the hobby and are considering a club to join to help us get to grips with the basics of the hobby!