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What a magnificent layout! Thanks for sharing, Dave.

Thats pretty big in my book!

Layout is looking great Andy, Dave.T

Hi Bill, Thanks very much for the information. I've not seen that particular Bradley book, but I will keep a look out for it. Cheers, Dave.

I always forget to check Roche. Having looked, the U depicted in the Roche book IS a rebuilt River. I cant find the Beattie drawing listed anywhere, do you know when/where was it published? Although they are useful in that they list a lot of dimensions. Many thanks, Dave.

Hi Horse, I don't think I've ever seen a drawing of a U, apart from the official works diagrams as published in various loco reference books. Can you point me in the right direction? I have got the official works side-on photos in "photographic grey" of both the U and the N, which provide a useful comparison and show differences that I for one wasn't aware of. Thanks for the comments Mallard, I certainly had fun with the front bufferbeam, it being such a distinctive "signature" for these locos. I just wish I had given the thing a good dusting before I photographed it! All the best, Dave.

Thanks Don, I have to admit I had been unhappy with the Goods Shed fopr quite a time, thinking it looked like a slab-sided box plonked at the front of the layout. The changes and additions make it look more natural to me. A small timber loading stage alongside the siding to the left of the shed would probably help visually as well. Thanks guys, I too was amazed at the difference the corrugated iron made, cuts down the slab-sided look. The rusting effect is pretty simple. I paint the whole thing light grey, and when its hard I dry-brush (and not-so dry-brush) the rust colours on. (Cant remember the exact colours, I'll check later) The key is observation of the real thing; theres plenty of corrugated iron around, in town and country, so you don't have to look far for prototype inspiration. That the rust tends to start from the TOP of the corrugations, where the nailheads are, is a huge help when it comes to drybrushing. On the NGRM forum there is a thread for putting up prototype photos of corrugated iron as a resource; I'll post the link later. All the best, Dave.

Could East Yarde and Orchard Road be connected together? I know it would mean lots of light engine movements, but it would give EY a chance of some operation; and it would only need a short fiddle yard. Or if it to remain static, have you offered it to the Good Captain for Taunton? Just a thought, Dave.

All in good time Tim, nothing to photograph yet! Main references for this are; Profile of The Southern Moguls, by Les Elsey, OPC. Locomotives Illustrated Nos. 18 & 105, Ian Allan. Various Photo Albums, particularly Maunsell Locomotives by Ian Allan, and Southern Loco Survey - Early Maunsell Classes, by Bradford Barton. Internet Search. Locos Illustrated 18 lists some post-war shed allocations, showing that nine of the class were shedded at either Salisbury, Yeovil or Exeter at some time over the BR period. Photographs show that most had the large 4000 gallon tender, only two (31610 and 618) having the 3500 gallon tender. As DJH couldnt supply the 4000gal tender, we've gone with 31610 as our chosen loco. Hope this is of interest! Dave.

Very nice indeed Richard, the "blue period" looks very good. Cheers, Dave.

The wheel goes around, and I am about to embark on the latest Southern loco build. This time it is a U-Class Mogul sourced from the DJH kit, but mounted on the superior and much newer Finecast chassis. I've already built one of these chassis, for the Finecast "W" kit, described at the beginning of this thread. All I have to do now is remember how I built it! The loco is one of the batch of 30 new-builds, and not one of the rebuilt "River" tanks. Various examples appeared in the West Country in BR days, and one of these will be the target loco. More soon, Cheers, Dave.

Lovely photos, the "Middy" has been a favourite of mine for quite a while. Thanks very much for sharing them. Dave.T

Love the latest set of photos Richard, and sorry I never made it to Woddy Bay over the weekend. Serious amounts of taxi-ing children around were happening! All the best, Dave.

Looking around the rest of the layout reminded me of how many bits were never properly finished; guttering for instance was absent on quite a few buildings. Some remedial action has been taken on the Yard Office; The Loco Shed, And the Carriage Shed. Evergreen provided the gutters in the form of 1/8inch (3.2mm) half-round section, downpipes are 3/32inch (2.4mm) styrene tube (Plastruct?) while clamps, spouts etc are whitemetal castings from the excellent S&D Models Architectural range. That's all for now, Cheers, Dave.

The Goods Shed is pretty much finished, so here's a couple of "Before and After" photos to show the change in look. Not finished, still needs a couple of figures, and all that junk stored/dumped underneath. The main additions to the shed are gutters and downpipes(on the front only) new set of corrugated iron sliding doors, access door and steps, the coalyard sign, and protective timbers to stop careless drivers wrecking the shed corners. Doesn't sound much, but it seems to have taken for ever! The coalyard is largely finished as well, the sacks still need repainting but my black spraycan has just run out. More photos to follow, Dave.

Hi Don, They say "The Devil is in the Detail" was it ever truer? Finishing off these jobs seems to be taking longer than doing the main bits. Like me? I'm sure I nit-pick my own work too much. All the best, Dave.

Thanks very much for the comments Rob; and you're right in that connections can take a while, especially when many folks on here have weird and wonderful web-names. Rest assured, I will do more shows with Charmouth, particularly in the West-Country. I feel the same way, I never saw the first Osney. Cheers, Dave.

Five minutes? I can lose it in 30 seconds!

I know this has gone a bit quiet, but various bits of detail work (that should have been done years ago) are being added to the buildings, I will get some photos up shortly. Cheers, Dave.

Love to! (depending of course on time availability) and I should have something to run on it as well. Cheers, Dave.

Sounds like you need to start modelling Narrow-Gauge Rob! Layout is looking great in the wider photos. Cheers, Dave.

Very nice Paul, small in space and achievable in a reasonable timescale. I look forward to seeing the progress. All the best, Dave.

Looking fabulous Tim, and as you say, nice juxtaposition. What have you used for the ground cover? Cheers, Dave.

Suitable grooves have been duly scraped. Lets just hope it all works when we get there, and playing trains can be done! More bits added to the coal yard and shed this evening, but too long spent creating enough space in the room for the boiler to be serviced tomorrow. Thanks for all the comments Guys, Cheers, Dave.

You're absolutely right Paul, but I draw the line at having two grooves across the road and some brand new brickwork in the front of the shop opposite!