DLT

I rarely look at ANY Blogs (not just here) as I agree that they are very difficult to follow, let alone find something that you previously saw. Fine if all you want to do is see the latest addition, but awkward, time-consuming and frustration to look back. Great for a "News" type site, but not so good for a modelling forum like this.

Haven't we done this to death?

Or its "clickbait" for pages with so much advertising that you can't actually read the item.

Not many weekends at home then Ray? By the way, where is the "Mendip" Exhibition? Don't think I've heard of that one. All the best, Dave.

Many, many years ago, my club used to pay for an advert in the local newspaper; one year it stated that the show would feature "Twelve working layabouts".....

Nothing but praise for Markits from me! Amusing conversations on the phone, excellent product, and efficient service.

He did have Thunderbird-One in his display case.

Hi Mr.IKB, Looks to me like the section of line in question is part of the sidings, as the signalbox diagram shows. The train is on the running line, and that is what the signal is referring to. As far as I can see!

The section of line in question is not a running line, its part of the sidings, as the signalbox diagram shows. The train is on the running line, and is departing as shown by the signal (and the smoke)

We even had some visiting motive power, in the form an NGG16 Garratt, property of Show Manager MarkP. It looked superb, but did rather dwarf everything else! And here is the last one without my crude Photoshop-ing

I grabbed a few opportunist closeups with my ancient iPhone, hope they look ok. They do show up that more needs to be done on the groundwork, grass and weeds in particular.

Funny you should mention that....

First time I had seen Shwt for real, and I was most impressed. We too had a good weekend and enjoyed the curry. I believe Shwt will be at the Taunton SWAG do in April? Cheers, Dave.

Paul's video reveals why one of my Baldwins started running like a drunken duck, the return-crank has come adrift so the valvegear was flopping all over the place. Of course this was on the viewing side, where I couldn't see it....

Many thanks to everyone who visited and said nice things about Bridport over the weekend. Make it all worthwhile. Particular thanks to Mike The Stationmaster who did a long operating stint on Saturday, and Netheravon who spend the whole day with us on Sunday, including help with dismantling and loading. Thanks also to PaulRHB and Bryangz3Xzf for the photos. I've been trying to work out how long it has been since I saw some of you guys! We had a great weekend, and were very well looked after by the Alton team. So final thanks go to Mark and all the Alton guys for such an excellent and well-organised show. All the best, Dave. PS I took a few photos myself, will sort them out later.

Fabulous, I love everything Trevor Nunn has built.

I don't think the suggestions was to remove them from existing locos! High Level now supply their own motors to go with their gearbox range, and these are even better than Mashimas! I believe they are coreless types, like Portescaps. High Level Kits have their own topic HERE

I'm getting this squashed-up title bar as well, but only on Premium. If I revert back to 2021 Default Them, it goes back to normal. Cheers, Dave.

And here is the yard end; once again looking bare and needing people, goods, general clutter etc. And a couple of closer views, I'm really please with the result in this area. And finally the coal siding. As this is a transhipment point, its very unlikely that any coal would be stored here, especially in bunkers provided for the purpose. However, it does make an attractive feature, and gives this rather open area a focal point.

Here is the current state of play, with all tools/bags of flock/jars of ballast etc removed, and looking a bit bare. Weathering and blending needed, but I'm not sure I'll manage is completely. The old track looks very dark and yellow in comparison, maybe I need to brighten and "grey" it up a bit. I'm thinking I should leave the contrast, to show it as a length of track that has, literally, just been relayed and ballasted; not something you seen modelled very often. Some lower angle views of the station end, definitely some dirt and darkening needed to create contrast between rough ballast and walkways etc.

Hi Callum, I really liked this layout, even though I only had a fairly quick look. Meant to come back for a more detailed look, but ran out of time! Couple of quick questions if that's ok, do you have any more West-Country shows coming up? And is there a topic/website for the layout? I've watched some of your videos, but do you have a photo gallery? Thanks very much, Dave.T

Excellent photos Chris, thanks very much. I went along on Saturday, specifically to see Bridgewater North, and I wasn't disappointed, its superb! And hats of to Trevor and his team for bringing it all the way from Lancashire. The show as a whole was very good, with a nice variety of layouts. I was particularly taken with Fry's Somerdale, a beautifully conceived view of a level crossing; and its got me thinking! I went in the company of John.C, of Narrow Gauge & Industrial fame, and we DID indulge in the cakes... Many thanks to the organisers, see you next time. Cheers, Dave.

Ok, we've moved on a bit. I've painted the new coal piles with a mixture of PVA glue and black powder paint, and coloured the flock/sawdust ground with various powders. At a show yesterday I picked up a packet of what I thought was dark coloured ballast (could hardly see through the bag) but on examination it turned out to be fine graded coal. Very appropriate!

Thats phenomenal Giles,

A bit more progress, Ballasting on the SG siding More coal piles being added in the yard, from little offcuts of insulation board (never throw anything away) and ground texture from fine sawdust. Can't see it very well at the mo as its all the same colour.