ColinW

its going to be great to watch the progression you make Gordon, you've certainly made a good start. Colin

Just to let people know, Avon junction is due to appear at the Basildon show on July 02-03. This will be the first time the layout has appeared in Essex, so if anyone is going to the show, come and say Hi, I will be the tall one behind the layout (hopefully not under it or holding a soldering iron ) Colin

Hi Ron, The difference is that I look forward to your next instalment and see you have taken to quoting the former Governor of California as well I like your latest build and look forward to your next instalment soon. Colin

Some great buildings you have made Peter, a quick question have you run a loco on the layout yet or still waiting for that time? Colin

Hi Ron, I am sure you kow by now that we are waiting with abaited breath for your next installment. B) Colin

virtually no weeds were found on the track or against bridges before steam dissappeared (either maintenance was better or the weeds couldn't fight their way through the 'muck & bullets') Hi Ron, I suppose that the steam loco's did do some unnoticed work while carrying out their normal duties. Unfortunately there are lots of infrastructure now suffering from trees and bushes growing out of them on the railway. Colin

Hi Ron, So will you be modelling the trees on the viaducts as well B) in which case how many 'forest in a box' boxes will you be needing One thing I meant to ask, but not sure if you have already mentioned it, but have you done all the Cad work you require for the whole project, or is it you do one building at a time to give yourself a break? Got to say that the lattice work is looking tremendous. Colin

I get the feeling Chris that I may not have to give you a prod, although if nothing by February I will enquire about it at Tonbridge (if I get a chance to talk to anyone then!) Colin

Sounds like it will be worth watching the thread when you decide to start work on it then Chris. Colin

Using the single line approach similar to what you have on Treneglos, but heading into a harbour station with goods yard area, engine shed and turntable if you have the space. How does that sound? Colin

Hi Chris, Like the railway room, and intrigued by your plans for a new permanent layout. Have you not thought about making the new layout the end of the line from Treneglos, along the lines of Padstow as you mentioned. Colin

Ok time to give you a bit more info about the layout and show you all the trackplan. The layout is 21'x18", this breaks down into 5 boards 4'x18" and two 'bolt on' sections of 6" were made to fit onto the three road fiddle yards so that we could have a 4-6-0 loco and three coaches, we have two such trains in our sequence one GWR on which we use a Hornby Grange, and a Southern express, which was originally a King Arthur being used, but we have now started using either a T9 or N mogul and the Hornby Maunsell coaches. The two road fiddleyard from the branch tends to hold a GWR diesel railcar and 14xx and Autocoach, this fiddleyard is harder to get to so these are the only trains that use it. The board that hold the second three road fiddleyard (the right hand one) was an add on and the fiddleyard is hidden behind the cottages, including the thatched one in the photo's, and this board was built about 5 years ago to make the layout into a through station, where as before it more of a terminus although depicted as a through station. Colin

Managed to get one of the jobs done tonight that I couldn't do yesterday, as it required the centre board to be placed on its side so that I could work properly underneath. We have some uncouplers sighted at sights on the layout that are operated by Seep point motors, and unfortunately they weren't raising correctly, so this mean't placing board on itside, hand moving the point motor so that the uncouplers were raised, then adjusting the motors until they were level, before soldering the balance wires to the main lifting wire thats attached to the point motor solenoid. This will allow us to do our various uncoupling movements without worrying where the tension lock couplings are sighted over the uncouplers. Colin

Had a good day yesterday, basically just doing some tidying up and those little touch up jobs that needed to be done, as well as some maintenance on some of the stock that we use. I have managed to get a couple of photo's during the day, showing a bit more of the layout. Colin

We are putting the layout up tomorrow to have a working/playing session on it, as it is going out in the next month to its next exhibition so will try and get some more photo's of it to put on here in the next few days. Colin

Thank you for putting your film on Paul,and glad you enjoyed viewing the layout. Your film certainly shows what we try to capture by having the various trains arriving, departing and just trundling through. Colin

Thanks Bill, this is also a layout that I haven't seen you behind either It may have possibly been I had been doing a nightshift, East Grinstead & Woolwich Arsenal in 2009 come to mind, The electrics aren't too bad on Avon Jcn, just the odd pulled wire from a point motor recently The hangover bit I wouldn't of thought as I would have been delivering it to the show. Colin

Sorry about that Ron, didn't realise how close you were to that area! Colin

Was fortunate to South Pimlico twice this year, at Dartford and East Grinstead. Am sure that SP2 will be worth waiting for in the near future. Colin

Some people who have followed the exhibition threads for the recent East Grinstead(2011) & Folkestone (2010) shows will know that I have said I will be behind a layout called Avon Junction. I thought that I would put a couple of pics on here, after all who really wants to see a GWR through station! and a little bit about the layout itself, as I did not build it or even involved in the building of it, it is not from the beginning though. Apologies for some of the pics, they were taken with my mobile. The layout is set in Wiltshire in the 1930's/40's and is a ficticious secondary line between Swindon and Bristol. It is also diversionary route for the Southern railway. The track is SMP and the pointwork is made by Marchway, stock used is R-T-R, although we like to encourage kit built stock for it. The layout itself was actually going to be broken up by the person who built it, as he had had no offers for it since putting it up for sale at the 2007 Tonbridge MRC exhibition, so a group of 5 club members got together and purchased it from him, as we believed that it as too good to be dismantled, it also gave us a layout that was able to go to exhibitions, and get club members used to operating at shows! Hope you enjoy Colin

And we're off again Should someone warn the government about possible earth tremours being caused by modeller's jaws hitting the ground simultaniously seriously Ron its good to see the work you have done on this viaduct so far and will enjoy seeing more of it as you progress. Colin

Hi Peter, You are making good progress with this layout, like the engine shed & the bridge over the river. Look forward to seeing more developments soon Colin

Wouldn't it be simpler to join all these holes together and make it into a trench Colin

Good to see you back Gordon. By all means be self indulgent, because it will mean that we get to enjoy the results of your work Colin