PGC

Have you seen him in his kilt? He may not be a softie, but he's certainly not a pleasant sight! 😁

Before I moved to Scotland, John Dutfield was my local model shop. I still use them, although it's now by mail order, as their service is excellent, especially during the last few months.

Only just caught up with this thread. I tried to get the K's motor etc. working on my J70 tram loco, but couldn't get it to the standard I wanted, so gave up. Many, many years later, came up with the bright idea of putting a Hollywood Foundry chassis under the body. Now very happy with the running - just need to do interior details, crew etc. I'm trying to attach a video, but think I'm hitting a size limit!

Among many bits and pieces that I've inherited is an ECM Rambler hand controller, the one with 5 buttons for fast, slow, forward, reverse and stop. I know that these also need a separate unit to work, but with the sad demise of ECM the units are no longer available from them. Does anyone know of an alternative?

OK guys (and gals), an update. Being a senile old git, my diary got in a mess, as a result of which I won't be exhibiting Saxlingham at Glasgow as I will be in Chelmsford, some 400 miles away. Don't take it personally, Bungus, but I'll do a lot to avoid former owners of the layout. :-) Seriously, however, I am sad that the layout won't be back on the exhibition circuit just yet, although it MAY appear in Perth nextyear, but there's nothing definite about this yet. As I mentioned in previous posts, life has taken some fairly drastic turns over the last few years, as is still happening. In July I got married and, having sold our house in Essex, my wife and I are now searching for a plot of land on which we can build a house. Needless to say, I will be the project manager for this so I half suspect my modelling time will be restricted, but the future bodes very well as we'll have a dedicated craft / modelling/ railway room, after which, theoretically, there will be prodigious output. Fingers crossed! In the meantime, the layout resides in the club rooms in Glasgow. The scenic board that I'd built wasn't flat, and I've also decided that a single track sector plate isn't an ideal fiddle yard, so the track has been lifted, the dip filled and shortly track will be relaid with a point that also allows a cassette fiddle yard. Next thing will be to build a third board that will have just scenery and a second cassette fiddle yard allowing through running of typical GER local trains such as a wagon basher, E4 + 2 coaches etc.

The motor is a 1015 can motor (I think a Mashima but can't remember). The motor is a very high revving one, so I partnered it with an 80:1 gearbox (Porters Cap - a Backwood Miniature product that they produced before High Level came on the scene). I've also pivoted the front axle to get three point compensation. Other than that, the loco is the Connoisseur kit with some weight in the side tanks.

My fault, I've now corrected the title and description. In the absence of any sensible reason, I put the mistake down to senility!!! Phil

Does anyone know if the 4mm Garrat kit is still available?

Don't worry, Dave, I won't leave you wondering what the two electric switches do!

Don't have much choice after being "volunteered" for the Glasgow show!

OK, folks, an update! The last few years of my life have been very turbulent. After an amicable split with my partner (shortly after the last update), not only have I moved house 4 times, but one of the moves was from Essex to Edinburgh. Needless to say, very little (No!) modelling has been done. However, circumstances are now changing. Following it's relocation North, Saxlingham is now housed in the clubrooms of the Scottish Region Study Group in Glasgow, and is being modified prior to its appearance at the Glasgow show next February. I won't promise regular updates etc. as I moved to Scotland to be with the woman I married three weeks ago (she's from Glasgow, we met in Essex but now live in Edinburgh), and we're still sorting out the house etc. However, Saxlingham and other projects will reappear! Phil

I have to level a dip in a baseboard of 3mm or so over 300mm (just don't ask, long, long story!). If necessary I will buy a 20 or 25Kg bag of self levelling compound from B&Q, Wickees etc. but I would be wasting about 90% of it. Can anyone suggest a supplier of self levelling latex compound in small quantities, for example 1 Kg bags. I've tried Google but can't find small quantities. Thanks in advance. Phil

Hi Dave, people seem to like the clips; that's good news. A couple of corrections, the loco on the tanker train is a J17, nit J15; the J17 is a more powerful loco. It's almost finished; as Dave says, it needs cab glazing and a crew, then weathering and that's it. The last clip is not Moray Firth but your Black 5, my contribution to the train are the Thompson 6 wheel PBV and Gresley Pigeon Van at the head of the train. Phil.

OK, the "deliberate" mistake has now been rectified (as you can see from the photo's below), so next job is to paint the track, after which I'll ballast it and then start the scenery. Thanks to Dave for posting the information above about Woodland Scenics 2mm ballast - I am near to the local model shop this afternoon so I'll get some, and between that and the Gaugemaster ballast I have, I'm certain I'll be able to cobble something together that looks about right. In all honesty, I've quite enjoyed the free time I've had in the last two months and a lot has happened, especially on the modelling front, but on Monday I start work again, so I'm not sure what's going to happen with the layout; all I know is that it's being exhibited at the Bishop's Stortford show in September, so I have, whether I like it or not, to get it fairly close to completion by then. OK, I know many of you burn the midnight oil when exhibiting layouts, but I prefer not to be too late if I can help it. More postings to come as things progress, but don't hold your breath, as it were! Phil

Is it possible that John Isherwood, Ian Macdonald and Golden Arrow talk to each other to try and sort out a supply of all their bits and recommended parts for the parts they can't supply so those who wish to can buy the components to make the whole loco? I know this could take some work, but I half suspect the work could prove useful and possibly even fruitful. Phil

You want pictures, so after today's work, here are some! :-) As you can see, I've now got the backscene in place on the fiddle yard board, all I've got to do now is get the scenery built! Fortunately, one of the members of the club is a scenery guru and he's offered to help me blend in the whole lot to what Dave has built. The last technical bit to do is construct the sector plate, and I think I know how I'm going to do that, but I haven't got any chance until next week, so don't expect too much news before then! Phil PS - Sorry about the clamp - the pictures were only taken 5 minutes or so after I'd put the glue on - the clamp will stay on overnight. PPS - Anyone spotted the deliberate mistake? Well, I just have. :-) The backscene at the front of the layout between the bridge and the fiddle yard itself should be at the same level as the opposite side of the bridge. Oh, well, out with saw (and not for the first time!

Sorry to take this thread off topic, I trust it will be tolerated, after all, we're talking another GER layout! Don't know of a Sentinel, but if someone was building it, they may have left the club before I joined. I'm building stock (it's what I enjoy doing most) and if you look at my blog you can see some of the locos I've built running on BBC at the recent East Anglian show at St Neots. Because of this one show we've got five further invites and, as I said earlier, the layout has gained a new puff of wind. Those pictures are great - I didn't know Dave Zelly used to have hair! :-) I'll pass on your greetings. Phil

I've just read the whole blog, and what you have ended up with is a very creditable model of a B12. Brilliant. The one thing that let's it down, which you can do nothing about, is the 8mm that Triang cut out from the front end - it really does make such a massive difference to the looks of the loco. The proper length loco looks lean and svelte, the Triang/Hornby shortened version looks squat and dumpy. I want to get a B12 for myself, but as an EM modeller who enjoys building locos, I will be buying the PDK kit, however, I've got a few more kits to build before I buy that one! Phil

I'm so happy! I have spent several hours today finishing off the technical bits on the new fiddle yard, and I can now run trains from the scenic board on to the new tracks. Next step, the new sector plate, and once that's sorted, I'll be able to finish sticking the track down and can start painting, ballasting, building the scenery etc. Trying to work out what ballast Dave had used (so I can try and match the new to the old), I bought some Woodland Scenics ballast. It was so large I reckon I must have chosen a 7mm ballast. On Saturday I was at the Cambridge exhibition where I was able to buy some Gaugemaster ballast, and that's the same size as what Dave used, so that's ready for when I get to that stage. From my end, very little has happened to the bridge - however, one of the club members has expertise in CAD software and has drawn the arch brickwork for me. He also happens to have a small cutting machine that he will use to cut the brickwork in to plain plasticard, and he will also cut it in to the facing brickwork for the bridge, so for the time being I have to wait on him. I'm hoping I might see the first fruits this week, but in the meantime I will be finishing off the backscene and starting making up the embankment leading up to the bridge. So, not a vast amount to report, but definite progress, and seeing my J15 running in to the scenery makes me very, very happy! Phil

Bet it won't look as nice as this, though! Phil PS - For Steve Duhig, this runs regularly on Blackwells Brewery. It's still in action and has just got a new puff of wind!

Isn't wonderful to get such input from a master model maker who obviously know exactly which tool to use for which job! Phil

Going totally off topic! Clive - I like your rolling road. The idea of aluminium angle as the base is so simple, but I'm intrigued how you made the rollers. Could you enlighten us, please? Phil

....and what size alloy's?

There are many people in society who behave in this way - they almost always have learning difficulties and need to be tolerated to a degree. Whenever the Domestic Goddess takes these people in to town (so guess what she does for a living), she is in control of them and I would suggest that if the gentleman referred to is in the category of having learning difficulties, someone should also have been accompanying him. However, previous governments have been pushing the "care in the community" and what "should" be done isn't always! Going back to the question of "to diesel or not to diesel" at the Bluebell, could I politely suggest that people realise the railway is not a toy. It is a business, and it has shareholders who will want their dividend, operating costs etc., and therefore has to make ends meet. It has set out it's aims and therefore guarantees steam working except on special event days. If running these special event days helps them to keep the bottom line in the positive, we would be as well to welcome such days, whether we like them or not, rather than see the line go under. Phil

Visited The Swan at Chappel (right by the Chappel viaduct and very close to the East Anglian Railway Museum) and had a pint of Brazilian from Colchester Brewery If I hadn't been driving, I would have had more than one - it was that nice. Phil