Buckjumper

The West Mersea Branch - 1946 Essex in ScaleSeven by buckjumper original page on Old RMweb __________________________________________ Comment posted by 3 link on Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:14 pm Thanks for that info Adrian , that's got the old brain ticking ( could be expensive ). __________________________________________ Comment posted by flubrush on Thu Mar 20, 2008 4:18 am 3 link wrote: I model in 0 gauge fs and up to now have been using C&L for my sleepers. Where do you buy your plywood sleepers and are they cheap, and I know there's hardly any difference but do they sell them in 0 gauge. It's quite easy to make them yourself and it doesn't take too long to amass a small pile. I use 1.5mm ply sheet and use a carpenter's marking gauge to score a sleeper width strip down the edge of the sheet, then follow up with a Stanley knife along the score line to cut off the strip. The strip can then be cut to the sleeper lengths. If you are doing 8' 6" or 9' 0" sleepers, you can score heavily across the sheet with the Stanley knife using the length of your sleepers as the measure. Then when you score and cut off along the sheet, it's just a matter of breaking off the sleepers from the strip at the score lines. I think I remember making about 1000 sleepers in a morning and the cost of the ply sheet and the marking gauge was much less than the cost of the ready made product. You have to watch out for cumulative errors using the marking gauge which start to give you an edge that looks like a roller coaster. If this starts to happen, then it's quite easy to remake the straight edge with a long rule and the Stanley knife. I found that with a bit of experience you can avoid this problem happening. It is usually caused by a not too clean edge left when you cut off a strip and you soon learn to notice when this happens, and clean up the edge before marking off. Jim. __________________________________________ Comment posted by invercloy on Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:15 am That's a beautiful layout! I don't think I've seen a 7mm one which looks so spacious before. Can't afford S7, don't have the space or time to do that as well as 009. Maybe when I'm older. But still... __________________________________________ Comment posted by 3 link on Thu Mar 20, 2008 11:14 am flubrush wrote: It's quite easy to make them yourself and it doesn't take too long to amass a small pile. I use 1.5mm ply sheet and use a carpenter's marking gauge to score a sleeper width strip down the edge of the sheet, then follow up with a Stanley knife along the score line to cut off the strip. The strip can then be cut to the sleeper lengths. If you are doing 8' 6" or 9' 0" sleepers, you can score heavily across the sheet with the Stanley knife using the length of your sleepers as the measure. Then when you score and cut off along the sheet, it's just a matter of breaking off the sleepers from the strip at the score lines. I think I remember making about 1000 sleepers in a morning and the cost of the ply sheet and the marking gauge was much less than the cost of the ready made product. You have to watch out for cumulative errors using the marking gauge which start to give you an edge that looks like a roller coaster. If this starts to happen, then it's quite easy to remake the straight edge with a long rule and the Stanley knife. I found that with a bit of experience you can avoid this problem happening. It is usually caused by a not too clean edge left when you cut off a strip and you soon learn to notice when this happens, and clean up the edge before marking off. Jim. Hi Jim, That sounds a good way to go, and also you are not kept waiting for your orders either. What does help is Squires shop is about a mile from were I live , so I know where I'll be heading later. __________________________________________ Comment posted by invercloy on Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:54 pm I've read this thread about 3 times today, and i have to keep stopping myself from drooling I'm going to have to try and do some mock buildings like those for my next layout ,i'll have quite a few to build, and they really give you a great idea of what the finished product will look like overall. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:41 pm Some You Tube footage this month. I've already posted these on OgaugeJB's workbench thread, but thought a bit of cross-posting wouldn't harm. I've some photos of Colin's finished, and rather magnificent Stanier tank to edit before posting - perhaps tomorrow. http://uk.youtube.co...h?v=VI4uiiLfGBg http://uk.youtube.co...h?v=qFGASR6I5vY http://uk.youtube.co...h?v=Fyfjri6yE6E The quality is awful due to the horrible YT compression. Any advice on compression codecs to use to use before uploading would be useful. __________________________________________ Comment posted by jazz on Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:18 pm Hey Adrian. Just looked at the posting. Wonderful stuff!!! __________________________________________ Comment posted by OgaugeJB on Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:35 pm I cant wait to get the 20ft extension in.... can we bring it forward a year ? Did I hear correctly that West Mersea will eventually be joined up with someone else's East Mersea layout ? Jonathan. __________________________________________ Comment posted by invercloy on Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:46 pm Still drooling __________________________________________ Comment posted by pirouets on Tue Apr 01, 2008 8:44 am Can somebody please pass Invercloy some paper towels to mop up the drool puddles he is leaving in this thread __________________________________________ Comment posted by invercloy on Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:02 am Sorry... ________________________________________ Comment posted by Pigs on Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:16 pm OgaugeJB wrote: I cant wait to get the 20ft extension in.... can we bring it forward a year ? Did I hear correctly that West Mersea will eventually be joined up with someone else's East Mersea layout ? Jonathan. Will that be via some kind of bridge, or will it be a.... (wait for it) Ferry across the Mersea? __________________________________________ ??? posted on Sat Apr 26, 2008 7:33 pm Oooh...groaner! I wonder if I can chuck rotten fruits from here to Rutland? __________________________________________ Comment posted by westrerner on Wed Oct 22, 2008 9:41 pm Not seen any updates lately. Is the project still going or like me have things stopped for the sailing season. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Thu Oct 23, 2008 4:43 pm I missed a couple of the meetings since the last update, and since then there have been some wiring (and re-wiring) sessions with little visible change, though some undergrowth has sprouted on the embankments and some of the sleepers/rail has had it's first taste of colouring. The foul-smelling brew clogged up the points and the temporary wire-in-tube (it wasn't me!) so some remedial work and much muttering has been the order of the day since. There's a meeting on Sunday so should be trotting along and I'll take the camera so I can make an update. _________________________________________ ??? posted on Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:56 am A few photos of progress on West Mersea. __________________________________________ Comment posted by OgaugeJB on Tue Oct 28, 2008 5:29 am The layout looks so much better from this side. I think we should spin it around next month. The extension will just have to go to Marks Tey through the front window! JB. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Tue Oct 28, 2008 8:46 am OgaugeJB wrote: The layout looks so much better from this side. I think we should spin it around next month. After you... Also at the meeting was David Rayner's layout "Lumpy Sidings" for wagons and critters. It's a self contained 7mm test track with some killer pointwork all in about 10' x 18"-ish (that'll get you posting on here if I'm wrong David ) and folds up in a rather ingenious manner, legs an' all, with it's own skateboard for transport to fits into a Clio sized car. Bob Essery came along with Don (but without Dempster the dog who, according to Peter, is partial to the iced buns). I don't remember having met Bob before, though he thought we had. He was just leaving as I turned up - I'd have like to have talked a little more with him about matters Midland. Next time, hopefully. __________________________________________ Comment posted by westrerner on Tue Oct 28, 2008 5:58 pm Thanks for the new pix. __________________________________________ Comment posted by OgaugeJB on Tue Oct 28, 2008 9:23 pm Oh I saw Lumpy sidings a few months back when it was in the shop. An awesome bit of kit that's for sure...! Be good to have a play with it sometime, and exactly what I would like in S7. Is Bob Essery any relation to Terry Essery ? He (Terry) was a fireman on the Link from around the early 50's onwards. He wrote a book that I am reading at the moment. He mentions his brother who was also a fireman who worked on the link too. I can't put the damn thing down...!! Seriously!! Link to Volume 2 of 'Saltley firing days' http://www.nostalgia...ection.com/page ... gdays2.php JB. __________________________________________ Comment posted by OgaugeJB on Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:46 pm Just checked the book, and Terry does have "...brother Bob". Be great to meet him, a real living hero ! JB. __________________________________________ Comment posted by Dave R on Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:11 pm ...David Rayner's layout "Lumpy Sidings" for wagons and critters. It's a self contained 7mm test track with some killer pointwork all in about 10' x 18"-ish (that'll get you posting on here if I'm wrong David ) and folds up in a rather ingenious manner, legs an' all, with it's own skateboard for transport to fits into a Clio sized car. Just for you Ade... LS is actually 2400 by 600 French units (that's not quite 8 by 2 in British numbers!) and made use of spare timber that was available at the time. See http://homepages.tes...umpy/index.html for some of the thinking behind the project. Must find some time to upload more pictures and words to bring the site a bit more up-to-date -- when I've finished trying to design the point rodding runs for West Mersea. __________________________________________ Comment posted by Dave R on Mon Nov 03, 2008 2:20 pm Ade, So how many of these http://www.modelhobb...052-p-6582.html do we need to hang from the ceiling at the Xmas bash in Sudbury? Not sure if we could get away with one partly buried in the embankment allotments as the kit is only 1:48 scale; and the 830kg Amolite warhead caused a 600yd diameter blast zone in Lewisham which would wipe out most of the West Mersea station area! Dave __________________________________________

The West Mersea Branch - 1946 Essex in ScaleSeven by buckjumper original page on Old RMweb __________________________________________ ??? posted on Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:28 am Sorry, another point I missed - those aren't beach huts but businesses which thrive off the railway - cobblers, estate agent, coal merchants etc. IIRC (and I could be wrong!) I believe they are replicas of businesses located in sheds which were once by the side of the railway somewhere like Gospel Oak or Gordon's Hill (though don't quote me) near to where Peter lived as a child. He showed me a photo of them many months ago and they looked so odd they just had to be included. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:32 am nevardmedia wrote: Not sure many would get away with taking over the whole living room like you appear to have - good man if so!! I certainly wouldn't get away with it either! __________________________________________ Comment posted by nobby on Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:54 am buckjumper wrote: Just to clear up a small point - there is a Mersea Avenue on the island - but in a wobbly moment it's not the one I said. Sorry Adrian, my mistake, i should have known i have walked down it enough times...! I suppose I was thinking that the line was terminating near the esplanade side of town. __________________________________________ Comment posted by Bar Side on Thu Nov 29, 2007 12:13 pm I must adit I had always imagined the station to be roughly where the car park is behind Victoria Esplanade, running out through the Seaview caravan park. This would then head round East Mersea & out alongside the Strood. I suppose the west side route didn't occur as the line would have to cross Colchester Road or the Strood at some point to head up by the Colne. I would love to read Peter's history of the line! Got to be my favourite thread on the layout section. Ivan __________________________________________ ??? posted on Mon Dec 17, 2007 2:38 pm The December meeting was brought forward due to the Christmas period, and WMHQ was heaving with bodies yesterday, all stuffing down vast quantities of turkey, chocolates, pork pies, mince pies, mulled and ginger wine. As you can imagine, no work was done so this month's snaps are limited, but I did catch Colin Dowling's 4MT. Last month I mentioned it was a two cylinder example, but Colin turned the loco upside down and showed me the third inside cylinder, inside motion and crank axle which he's scratchbuilt. This really is a superb model - Colin's even hinged the doors, the windows all slide as they should, and most impressive is that the gear can be put into forward, mid or reverse gear. Colin's intending to make the reverser in the cab turn to select the gear position, and we discussed the viability of putting a second motor in so this feature could be controlled by DCC. Colin's B12 at the end of the line. Ignoring the illuminated Santas bedecked across the front of the baseboards (and one discarded festive hat on the bank) one new addition is the mock up of the signal box down the far end. Mocked up by Peter using official drawings, this is based on the one at Kelvedon (though some 18" taller). The GER type 7 boxes were built between 1885 and 1920 by several manufacturers, and over 90% were of timber construction. The Box has eight window bays and will eventually house more than 60 levers. __________________________________________ Comment posted by Pint of Adnams on Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:24 pm Must be time for another visit when I'm next down that way The SB might benefit from a set of windows in the back wall, to view the 2 roads behind it __________________________________________ ??? posted on Mon Dec 17, 2007 3:55 pm Pint of Adnams wrote: Must be time for another visit when I'm next down that way I should think so! The SB might benefit from a set of windows in the back wall, to view the 2 roads behind it:?: I did think about this. IIRC Buntingford had a tiny single pane window at the rear so the loco stabling point could be seen. However Hertford East station box had a siding running behind with no rear window. Presumably the signalman could see all he needed to out of the end windows. I did mention that a ducket in the far right front window (similar to Buntingford) might be needed to sight around the water tower and through the bridge. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Fri Feb 22, 2008 11:29 pm So busy I forgot to post January's developments. The loco sidings now have the mock-up buildings in place. Here are the platelayers and enginemen's mess, coalmen's bothy, toilets (with the lantern roof) and a walloping GER timber bufferstop to stop runaways demolishing the nearest shed. All wooden buildings here are based on those at Woolwich Pier. View from the loading dock across the loco and cattle sidings. The mock-up cluster of buildings have really put the GER stamp on area. The coal stage is based on the one at Buntingford and water tower from Framlingham, and the Type 7 signal box now has stairs(!). The mock-up station buildings are complete - now with GPO staff room and toilets (with glasshouse ventilator) from Loughton. The Engineman's Arms watering hole is on the right. __________________________________________ Comment posted by 28ten on Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:51 am That station is going to look very impressive when it is finished __________________________________________ Comment posted by OgaugeJB on Wed Feb 27, 2008 12:09 am Wowee...!! Can I come and visit some time? Regards, Jonathan. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Thu Feb 28, 2008 9:23 pm Glad you're enjoying it Jonathan. I'll PM you some details soon. __________________________________________ Comment posted by mines a pint on Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:02 am Truly Impressive. (nomination for understatement of the year?) I'd deliberately not viewed this thread as I've had the notion to try out 7mm for some time, and I knew viewing this would push me over the edge! The size and enormity of the layout and the standards being achieved - I'd like to pick out a favourite bit but I can't cause it looks so good in every aspect, track, buildings, stock etc etc It and your posts in my 'should I go 7mm' - given the amount of effort that needs to go into even simple 7mm project, you might as well have the track looking this good- even if you cant manage some of the other aspects as well as these guys!- like buildings and stock? I hope the house you are building in is adequately insured, looks to be about a million quids worth of locos and coaches kits there , not to mention the 'knocked through' walls! __________________________________________ Comment posted by 3 link on Tue Mar 04, 2008 7:58 pm Come on Adrian we need our fix , any chance of some more pic's pretty please . Regards Martyn. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:19 pm Sorry Martyn, no more pics until later this month - I missed last weekend's meeting because my wife was about to go into labour. As the tracks have been wired up I'll look into getting a bit of video content uploaded too. __________________________________________ Comment posted by jazz on Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:36 pm Blimey Adrian, I did not know about that layout. It's wonderful. Very interesting to see the rapid growth in stock on the layout as the pictures progress. __________________________________________ Comment posted by dwhite4dcc on Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:37 pm westrerner wrote: Knowing the area reasonably well having sailed the R Blackwater and Mersea Quarters and the R Colne for many years SNAP __________________________________________ Comment posted by 3 link on Wed Mar 05, 2008 7:52 pm Congratulations on the new arrival Adrian , I have an 11 month old son and this does seem to curtail the modelling to some extent . Regards Martyn. __________________________________________ Comment posted by PhilM on Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:05 pm Just found this - it looks fantastic - even the mock ups look suitably Great Eastern. Just a minor point - east anglian coast 1946 - are there going to be a few defences eg pill box, blacker bombard position or tank traps? __________________________________________ ??? posted on Fri Mar 07, 2008 2:16 am jazz wrote: Very interesting to see the rapid growth in stock on the layout as the pictures progress Most of what's been seen so far is member's own stock which comes in for a run every month, but won't appear on the layout when we put our serious hats on. Not that we've actually got serious hats you understand... There is a proper stock building program apparently, only locos and stock which would have been found in the locality at this time will feature. 3 link wrote: Congratulations on the new arrival Adrian , I have an 11 month old son and this does seem to curtail the modelling to some extent Thanks Martyn - I know what you mean! This arrival makes three so I've been used to late night modelling sessions surrounded by baby monitors for a few years. It turns soldering or aralditing into seat-of-your pants modelling, but airbrushing or lining is a no-go zone during these times. PhilM wrote: Just found this - it looks fantastic - even the mock ups look suitably Great Eastern. Just a minor point - east anglian coast 1946 - are there going to be a few defences eg pill box, blacker bombard position or tank traps? Thanks Phil. Defences are something we've discussed. IIRC there were no pill boxes at this point on the island, but such a railhead would indeed need to be protected. Whether they'll be on the layout or off-scene is something still under discussion - personally I'm up for a pill box or two, and I think there are a couple of obvious placements. BTW - just received some unreproducible pics (photocopied, sorry) of some more of Peter's building mockups which extend from the pub all the way down the parcels platform - a couple of brick built offices for staff working on the loading docks, two old buildings - one of which is an old weatherboard barn converted into storage warehouses, GER brick stables converted to storage, c1865 offices for the yard foreman and parcels in & out, later stables and cart sheds for the Company delivery vehicles, the pub now has a high brick wall with cart sheds in the yard. It's stunning, even in the horrible black and white and makes for a spectacular scene. I can't wait to photograph it. __________________________________________ Comment posted by Bernard Lamb on Fri Mar 07, 2008 8:58 am buckjumper wrote: IIRC there were no pill boxes at this point on the island, but such a railhead would indeed need to be protected. Whether they'll be on the layout or off-scene is something still under discussion - personally I'm up for a pill box or two, and I think there are a couple of obvious placements. Congratulations on the new arrival. If you are building a railway that was never there then I would think that you need to consider the infrastructure that wasn't there as well. Tollesbury Pier was guarded by a pill box so it would seem to be a requirement. Bring the date a bit later and model it like the Tollesbury one after it had toppled into the sea. That would baffle 'the experts'. Bernard __________________________________________ ??? posted on Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:50 pm Yep - I agree entirely Bernard. Coincidentally I was browsing in the local Waterstone's a few days ago and there's a photo of a toppled pill box on the beach at East Mersea in a book called Essex Moods or somesuch. Anyway - last week I popped along to Sudbury and spent a couple of hours building the embankment beyond the Mersea Avenue road bridge, but enough of the boring waffle - here are the new card mockups for the buildings clustered on parcels and loading docks and wot a difference they make! The small group of brick buildings nearest the camera are for staff working the loading docks, the red (signifying pantiled roofs?) weatherboard building and barn beyond have been converted into storage warehouses, One of the storage barns on the left with the brick GER 1865 buildings on the right now in use by the yard foreman. More of the yard foreman's offices. Looking across the main platform and bay - the front of the yard foreman's office with a stables block to the left with cart sheds for horse drawn delivery vehicles. The storage barns from the railway side. I hope someone's got a plan in mind to fix the disparity in platform heights The backside of the delivery cart sheds and stables. the ground here will fall dramatically towards the camera as evidenced by the placement of the two gates. The new mockups make a pleasing scene and effective backdrop from the far side of the layout. Pity the poor shunter who's got to fiddle with three, instanter and ###### link couplings __________________________________________ Comment posted by pirouets on Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:08 pm I have a couple of questions for you. 1. Earlier in the thread it talked about some sections being permanent, and some being exhibitable. Is the station to be exhibitable, or just the next section that you talked about? I was not 100% sure from you 29 Nov posting. 2. Do you all take jobs away between working parties such as building the mock-ups? If there is one thing this thread reminds me, is be patient. When it mentioned a section slated in for 2010, It reminded me to finish my own layout rather than worry about the next one. Thanks for the update. __________________________________________ Comment posted by 3 link on Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:51 pm Hi Adrian, just a quick question I model in 0 gauge fs and up to now have been using C&L for my sleepers. Where do you buy your plywood sleepers and are they cheap, and I know theres hardly any difference but do they sell them in 0 gauge. Regards Martyn. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:57 pm pirouets wrote: 1. Earlier in the thread it talked about some sections being permenant, and some being exhibitable. Is the station to be exhibitable, or just the next section that you talked about? I was not 100% sure from you 29 Nov posting. 2. Do you all take jobs away between working parties such as building the mock-ups? If there is one thing this thread reminds me, is be patient. When it mentioned a section slated in for 2010, It reminded me to finish my own layout rather than worry about the next one. 1. Sorry for any confusion - this whole section won't be exhibitable. The boards were constructed prior to my involvement, and are made from hernia-inducing MDF. They're solid, that's for sure, and have withstood a few soakings when the part of the roof collapsed in a storm, but them's are goin' nowhere. There are two 'next sections'. The first is the outside line to the fiddleyard in an adjacent workshop, and the second is the true next portion of line which will indeed be exhibitable and made from ply if I've got any say in the matter. 2. No, so far the only job taken away was one particularly fearsome bit of pointwork which was built in one go by Colin Dowling IIRC. Peter has built all the mockups on site himself. Patience is indeed needed for this project and some months nothing seems to happen. Nevertheless, the scenic side is soon to begin - maybe even later this month - and I'm looking forward to that. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Wed Mar 19, 2008 9:03 pm 3 link wrote: Hi Adrian, just a quick question I model in 0 gauge fs and up to now have been using C&L for my sleepers. Where do you buy your plywood sleepers and are they cheap, and I know theres hardly any difference but do they sell them in 0 gauge. Peter Hunt sells wooden sleepers suitable for both 0F and S7 price 5p per sleeper for 10"x8'6", 10"x9', 12"x8'6" or 12"x9'. 12" and 14" turnout timbers are 75p per 3' length or pre-cut to your turnout spec - prices start at ??????‚??3.50. Peter Hunt - Perfect Miniatures - 01787 375 884. __________________________________________

The West Mersea Branch - 1946 Essex in ScaleSeven by buckjumper original page on Old RMweb __________________________________________ Comment posted by 28ten on Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:04 am A bump any updates or new pictures? __________________________________________ ??? posted on Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:57 pm Oops - yep. I didn't take my camera along for a couple of months, and by August the layout was looking like this. The door to the garden was opened for (apparently) the first time in years and allowed this viewpoint. It revealed some alignment errors and a dogleg in the running lines partway down which will need ironing out. While more wiring was underway, I ripped out all the temporary grass mats, binned them, built some new embankments from balsa strip and a hot glue gun and covered the lot in Modroc and Polyfilla. The spaciousness of the station environs now becomes apparent. It's not often a rake of 7mm coaches gets lost in while sitting at a platform. An influx of interloping tanks reveals one member's penchant for the LT&SR. The loco in brass is being built by Colin Dowling for a customer. It is based on the JLTRT ex-Chowbent Stanier 2 Cylinder 4MT, but is being converted to the 3 cylinder type. It has working inside motion with a scratchbuilt crank axle. Colin also built the Jinty and B12 in the background (both based on Connoisseur kits) and both have working inside motion. The Jinty utilises Laurie Griffin's castings. A J68 and B12. How East Anglian! __________________________________________ Comment posted by Pete-Harvey on Tue Oct 09, 2007 6:00 am This is all very impressive and very tidy. Nice to see the progress. Pete __________________________________________ Comment posted by 28ten on Tue Oct 09, 2007 12:44 pm Thanks for the update! That trackwork looks fantastic I do think S7 is the way to go in 7mm, i have been dithering for the last year but this is convincing me. do you have any 4-6-0's running? do they give any problems? __________________________________________ ??? posted on Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:34 pm Thanks guys, but I've really had little input on the track side of things. As far as 4-6-0s go - the majority of the expresses will be hauled by B12s (I can't remember if it's five or seven examples needed) and I suspect some B1s and (you'll be pleased to hear) B17s will put in appearances too. Tests have shown all the pointwork on the main lines are fine for these locos - some of the sidings will be out of bounds though! I think S7 is worth the extra effort. There are some advantages: more room between the frames for bigger motors, easier to fit inside motion etc. Yes, more care is needed to set the stock up properly as well as laying laying the track, but the fact that you'll always have the correct alignment of frames above and below the footplate, the finer flanges on the wheels, the silky smooth running of stock through pointwork, etc is worth it. I dithered for about six years - but I'm glad I took the plunge. __________________________________________ Comment posted by 28ten on Tue Oct 09, 2007 7:29 pm buckjumper wrote: I dithered for about six years - but I'm glad I took the plunge. Well I have to make my mind up soon as I have a shelf of stock waiting for wheels!! __________________________________________ ??? posted on Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:06 pm Yesterday morning I popped along to Sudbury to get some castings and swap some wheels for a job. I took along a couple of emulsion match pots purporting to be Oak Leaf Green or somesuch nonsense which cost about a pound or so each in Wilco's. Nevertheless it's turned out to be quite a good base colour for the next stage of scenic treatment and I was very surprised just how much of the embankment I was able to paint - about 15' in length. A couple of other members of the group were there - all the tracks are now electrified, and they were busy adding checkrails to the pointwork. __________________________________________ Comment posted by 28ten on Wed Oct 31, 2007 9:23 am Missed these last week It looks good, and i'm loving the trackwork How long do you think it will be untill it's finished? __________________________________________ Comment posted by Easterner on Thu Nov 01, 2007 7:37 am 28ten wrote: How long do you think it will be untill it's finished? Isn't that one of the questions you just don't ask - like a lady's age? Haven't commented on this thread before - I think it goes without saying that I love it __________________________________________ Comment posted by 28ten on Thu Nov 01, 2007 8:01 am Easterner wrote: 28ten wrote: How long do you think it will be untill it's finished? Isn't that one of the questions you just don't ask - like a lady's age? Haven't commented on this thread before - I think it goes without saying that I love it I guess so but it seems to be making rapid progress it could be all over by christmas __________________________________________ ??? posted on Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:08 pm 28ten wrote: it seems to be making rapid progress it could be all over by christmas You're kidding We only meet on the last Sunday of each month with small working party (one or two people) on a couple of Wednesdays in between. IIRC next month will only be the 34th time we've met together. For this section work will progress on the scenery, buildings, ballasting and weathering through next year, though I suspect ballasting will be held off until the cast stretcher bars can be added to the turnouts. We'll then rip out the temporary ones and the wire-in-tube controls for the points and install the lever frame, rods and cranks. The current plan is to then have the group split into two working parties so some can continue on here while the others work on both versions of the next section. I guess this will start sometime next year. The semi-permanent Section II will go through a hole in the wall and via a long enclosed curve outside will burst through a workshop into a fiddleyard. A second version of this section will be the exhibitable part of the layout which will be about 20' of double tracked line in a cutting and on an embankment with the long headshunt terminating part way down against a backdrop of housing with a fiddle yard each end. IIRC Section III, is now slated for 2010/1... __________________________________________ ??? posted on Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:41 am November's update. Edit: Sorry the photos are a little dark - they seemed OK in photoshop but appear much gloomier here. I'll see if I can lighten them a little later. The edge of the road far right is IIRC Mersea Avenue, the roadway decending towards the camera leads to the cattle dock. The tracks rising on the right lead to the same. Thirty feet away there is a three coach set in the main platform and for some reason another set in the builder's warehouse siding. From the overbridge the station throat pointwork. Wiring this up, even for DCC has been fun (so I'm told, for I've shied away from that side of things entirely). Some of yesterday was spent tracking various shorts. When the sparkies got out of the way I continued painting the embankments with the base green paint - Oak Leaf emulsion from Wilko's. Two views of a new little scene mocked up in card by Peter. The builder's warehouse is on the right with the station extension behind, the little parade of tradesmans' shops/sheds is will get most trade from the railway workmen. There's a coal merchant, an estate agent, a cobblers, a laundry, and one or two other's I've forgotten, based, IIRC on a little scene somewhere like Gospel Oak. From the station. From the parcel's dock. Dave Whitaker's delightful little GER 209 class (note the track join under the loco buffer plank drilled and awaiting the fishplates)... ...and his equally gorgeous 8T brake, upgraded from 6T when first built in the 1870s. These were further upgraded to 10T before withdrawal. In the early years these (and the loco tenders) were often the only vehicles with brakes - even the locos themselves were without brake shoes - and at only 6T it must have been a hair raising experience as a goods guard. At the other end of tank loco design from the 209 is Colin Dowling's Stanier 2 cylinder 4MT. Based on the JLTRT ex-Chowbent kit, Colin has scratchbuilt inside motion and a crank axle. The small loco servicing facilities include a water tower and coal stage. The loco shed itself is a few hundred yards up the line and will be built at a later date. The homegrown J17 is on shed, but what that ex-GCR C13 is doing here is debatable. __________________________________________ Comment posted by 28ten on Mon Nov 26, 2007 9:43 pm Nice to see it coming along, the thing that really strikes me is the trackwork it has totally convinced me that S7 is the only way to go __________________________________________ Comment posted by Easterner on Mon Nov 26, 2007 9:57 pm 28ten wrote: it has totally convinced me that S7 is the only way to go Yes, that's the trouble y __________________________________________ ??? posted on Mon Nov 26, 2007 10:38 pm Easterner wrote: 28ten wrote: it has totally convinced me that S7 is the only way to go Yes, that's the trouble That's the idea! __________________________________________ Comment posted by 28ten on Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:08 am buckjumper wrote: Easterner wrote: 28ten wrote: it has totally convinced me that S7 is the only way to go Yes, that's the trouble That's the idea! Well it's worked __________________________________________ Comment posted by Jamie on Tue Nov 27, 2007 5:57 pm ..drilled and awaiting fishplates You don't actually bolt them with tiny tiny bolts surely __________________________________________ ??? posted on Tue Nov 27, 2007 9:52 pm We may be mad Jamie - but not that mad One of the group designed the fishplates (to the relevant GA) and they are cast in brass in two halves. One half has a representation of the bolts which pass through the slightly over-large holes in the rail (which had been drilled in a jig prior to laying). The second half of the fishplate is offered up, the bolts pass through the representation of the nuts and are soldered together with a quick dab of the iron. The slightly over large holes allow expansion and contraction of the rail. I'm sure I've some photos somewhere which I'll dig out and post. __________________________________________ Comment posted by Jamie on Tue Nov 27, 2007 10:14 pm I did wonder An ingenious approach to come up with all the same. So much of the layout leaves me dumbstruck even at a relatively early stage - the mockup buildings for example: done with such care rather than just a rough box sat in place. However, you might want to think about that tree, might need setting into the baseboard as the pot's a bit out of scale __________________________________________ Comment posted by Brian D on Wed Nov 28, 2007 7:47 pm buckjumper wrote: 28ten wrote: it seems to be making rapid progress it could be all over by christmas A second version of this section will be the exhibitable part of the layout which will be about 20' of double tracked line in a cutting and on an embankment with the long headshunt terminating part way down against a backdrop of housing with a fiddle yard each end. IIRC Section III, is now slated for 2010/1... Living not a million miles away from Mersey Island, me and my wife visited last summer and took the old folding bikes. It is very flat here and ideal biking territory for us old 'uns! Your proposal therefore for cuttings and embankments sounds a bit amiss. Can I therefore suggest a causeway like that the only road on to the island takes. Alternatively a low viaduct would be appropriate. In all other respects I am greatly envious of the layout and the space to model it in. Best wishes with you future efforts. __________________________________________ Comment posted by nobby on Wed Nov 28, 2007 8:39 pm Brian D wrote: buckjumper wrote: 28ten wrote: it seems to be making rapid progress it could be all over by christmas A second version of this section will be the exhibitable part of the layout which will be about 20' of double tracked line in a cutting and on an embankment with the long headshunt terminating part way down against a backdrop of housing with a fiddle yard each end. IIRC Section III, is now slated for 2010/1... Living not a million miles away from Mersey Island, me and my wife visited last summer and took the old folding bikes. It is very flat here and ideal biking territory for us old 'uns! Your proposal therefore for cuttings and embankments sounds a bit amiss. Can I therefore suggest a causeway like that the only road on to the island takes. Alternatively a low viaduct would be appropriate. In all other respects I am greatly envious of the layout and the space to model it in. Best wishes with you future efforts. Not as flat as you may think, my mother-in-law still lives there, i was married there to a girl who comes from West Mersea. The climb from The Strood ( The causeway if you are not a local ) to the start of High Street North is well over 75ft and all up-hill. It then begins to descend to the beach at Coast Road. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Wed Nov 28, 2007 10:26 pm Thanks Brian & Nobby for your comments. The cutting on the next board isn't particularly deep, neither is the embankment high, just minor earthworks really, which will undulate around the trackwork. There have been several survey field trips made by Peter (the madcap behind the project) noting all the physical features. He's also pored over the OS maps for hours on end, so there'll be nothing too incongruous with the topography of the proposed route. Apparently he's also written a complete history of the line from inception to present day charting the various services, the expansion in the 1880s following the tourist boom and the rundown post-Beeching. Dunno if it's supposed to be a SLT these days though... __________________________________________ Comment posted by nevardmedia on Wed Nov 28, 2007 10:30 pm This is stunning - a major project...WOW! Love the end with the beach huts Not sure many would get away with taking over the whole living room like you appear to have - good man if so!! __________________________________________ Comment posted by nobby on Thu Nov 29, 2007 9:18 am Hi Adrian Great to see this layout taking place, in fact even my mother-in-law who still lives on the island is interested. Just a small detail to mention that there is no Mersea Avenue on the island, and as most of the beach huts are on Victoria Esplanade i have attached a link to a map of the island for you. http://www.mersea-is...merseamap01.jpg Be careful where you put the line as you may put it straight through my brother-in-laws house and garden __________________________________________ ??? posted on Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:21 am Hi Nobby I'll let Peter know there is local interest! Just to clear up a small point - there is a Mersea Avenue on the island - but in a wobbly moment it's not the one I said. The long road down the side of the layout is infact St. Peter's Road (is that a coincidence? Hmmm...) Mersea Avenue infact links the High Street and St Peter's Road and is the road over the bridge at the end of Module on in the photos above. See the Google map in the link below (I've made it a tinyurl as the link was 245 characters long!) http://tinyurl.com/2u43yt As you can see, a lot of more modern housing was never built in our alternate universe; Captains Road and New Captains Road, Churchfields and The Seedlings have been swept away (I suspect they weren't there in the 1850s anyway). The next section which will be exhibitable spans between Mersea Avenue and Firs Road - though we've realigned Mersea Avenue a little further south so that the section of the layout will be about 18 feet in length. As you and Brian can see, the ground doesn't undulate very much here, but the railway is below the road level so both Firs Rd. and Mersea Ave. bridge the line - hence the cutting, and looking at it I can't see that there can be an embankment, so it's likely I've got the wrong end of the stick with that! With the railway in situ housing would have developed quite differently with holiday housing for the Victorian middle classes developing in the aread bounded by the High Street North, Mearsea Avenue and Firs Road and it is these and their gardens which will form the backdrop of the exhibitable section. From there the line passes west of the cemetary where there is now housing on Woodfield Drive, Cypress Mews, Spruce Close and Whittaker Way, and into the big field beyond where our loco shed, and assorted PW and carriage sidings will be. __________________________________________

The West Mersea Branch - 1946 Essex in ScaleSeven by buckjumper original page on Old RMweb __________________________________________ ??? posted on Mon Jul 30, 2007 3:30 pm This thread began way back on RMWeb2 and was migrated to later incarnations. As the layout is still under construction I thought it worthwhile to dump it over here to the all-singing, all-dancing RMweb X.0.1. Here's a pr?©cis of the story so far. The project is the brainchild of Peter Hunt, proprietor of Perfect Miniatures, and the layout is built in 7mm to ScaleSeven standards. The layout is being built during regular meetings on the last Sunday of each month with couple of Wednesday meetings for good measure. Although working to S7, there have been a goodly number of 0F modellers turning up regularly to help out. The project is ambitious. The first meeting was in Jan 05, and after a few brainstorming meetings, the first 12" of track went live in that September after 30' x 4' of boards had been constructed. These are entirely in MDF, and have been soaked (with no ill effects) on more than one occasion thanks to a dodgy roof. The railway is set in June 1946 - which gives some interesting choices for locos in both pre-War and wartime liveries. Trackwork is hand built using pine and lime sleepers/timbers, steel rail with C&L and Exactoscale plastic chairs. The steel rail is subject to entropy thanks to the potent combination of steel flux and the aforementioned sieve-like roof but running hasn't been marred by this, and is also unaffected by the wheel cleaning regimen which appears to be an anathema to Peter and therefore non-existent! Electrical feed is via one brass chair on each electrical section with a dropper wire soldered to the underside (no unsightly blobs of solder here!) which is wired to a bus running under the layout, each rail end is placed in a jig and two holes drilled through. Our own two-piece brass fishplate castings are then slotted through and soldered together. This gives the desired expansion gap, and the fishplate works the same as the prototype. Currently point tie bars are temporary PCB, but we're working on a system of cast cranked rods as per prototype which which will slot through holes drilled in the switch blades. Yes, there will be an electrically dead section on the bars. Much of the trackwork has been laid by Colin Dowling, John Watson (of the Mid-Suffolk Light P4 layout 'Kenton' fame), David Whitaker and Peter, and everyone else has been employed on drilling fishplate holes, soldering droppers to brass chairs and threading plastic chairs onto rails, wiring etc. I just turn up, drink coffee, eat cake and devour Peter's vast library of railway books - after all, I model all week long! Control is by DCC and currently a Gaugemaster Prodigy is being used. We're going through a track testing phase - checking gauge, check rail clearance, electrics etc, and I've been messing about with all manner of electrostatic grass fibres, fake fur, hanging basket liner, hair and wotnots to try and achieve a scythed grass bank which looks right - I'm desperate to get rid of the lurid grass mats Peter's put down pro tem just 'to give us an idea...' Scenic treatment begins next month! So what's in the photo (taken yesterday)? Well, apart from the typical detritus, the photo is taken from Mersea Avenue bridge - which leads to the next part of the project. The left hand track is the headshunt with the down and up running lines next on the right. The brass locos are sitting in the pilot loco siding (current incumbents are a Southern somethingorother [why?!?!], a C13 and a J17), then there's the carriage siding and cattle dock. The block of wood nearest the camera indicates the position of a bothy and between this and the mockup of the watertower will be an assortment of PW huts, mess rooms, and all manner of rat-infested huts, van bodies, ladidah. Between the water tower and signal box will be a large GE-style wooden coaling pier. In the distance is the main platform with some coaches occupying the road, there's a bay to the right, and a parcels and end loading platforms beyond which both have stock in. The run round loop to the left of the main platform road has a milk dock next door, and there's also a builder's merchant's warehouse beyond that. Peter has been to measure up Framlingham station buildings and West Mersea will be based on them but in an extended format. The water tower will probably be based on the Framlingham one too, and the signal box will be one of the later GE types, big enough to accommodate a 60-70 lever frame...there are plans to make the levers in the 'box move when points are thrown... What you see is only half the intended width, and the left-hand points on the headshunt nearest the camera will lead eventually to another next set of boards which will incorporate a gas works, a maltings, a goods shed, timber sheds and coal sidings. According to Peter's timetable we'll be starting the next phase late 2008 - this some 18' of double track plus the headshunt in a cutting bounded by the Mersea Avenue and Firs Road bridges. This section will be exhibitable. Beyond that phase will eventually be the loco shed, a turntable, engineer's sidings, carriage sidings, and the junction to the East Mersea branch, and beyond that the junction to the Rowhedge branch. The whole kiboodle is anticipated to exceed 120' in length in it's current format (however, as usual, Peter has more plans...) I said it was ambitious! I'll see if I can find some of the older photos of things in progress. __________________________________________ Comment posted by Colin on Mon Jul 30, 2007 4:47 pm Blimey, that's some layout on the way! I'd always envisaged any potential line to West Mersea as a light railway in the style of the Kelvedon-Tiptree-Tollesbury line - J15s on 2-coach trains of ancient stock crossing a long timber trestle over the Strood, that sort of thing. Was the line ever actually planned, or even started? The countryside south of Colchester rolls a fair bit, there could be some interesting scenic features! __________________________________________ ??? posted on Mon Jul 30, 2007 5:01 pm I don't know of any serious plans for a line to Mersea - I'll have to check with Peter, but the East Mersea and Rowhedge branches certainly will be in best rickety GE style. The background is that West Mersea had a bit of a late Victorian boom similar to other East Anglian seaside resorts after the line was opened in the mid- 1860s - hence the '1865' architecture of the station building, but with the later 1880/90s additions. The signalling will have been upgraded at this date, and that will also be reflected in the style of the box. __________________________________________ Comment posted by nobby on Mon Jul 30, 2007 6:23 pm My wife comes from and my mother-in-law still lives in West Mersea so i shall look forward to watching the progress of this with interest. Am i correct in thinking that i have seen another layout elsewhere which was also an "imaginary" view of the line in OO gauge. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Mon Jul 30, 2007 8:45 pm IIRC there was one called West Mersea at one time Nobby. OK - so going back in time to September 05 - baseboards have been built, and the first sleepers in the bay and parcels road have been laid. Chairs have been threaded onto rails, power hooked up to the dropper from each brass chair in this length, Peter's attached one of his J69s which is under construction and she rolls forward first time to smiles all round. Came the evening and a GE sandwagon was attached - our first little shunt. __________________________________________ Comment posted by westrerner on Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:05 pm It looks as though it will be a stonkingly good layout. Knowing the area reasonably well having sailed the R Blackwater and Mersea Quarters and the R Colne for many years, I will follow the layouts progress with interest. __________________________________________ Comment posted by L49 on Mon Jul 30, 2007 10:00 pm Bloody Hell... That's about all I can say. It looks like it's going to be a superb layout. I agree with Colin, I always imagined that any line onto the island would be a bit lighter, bu this really looks like it will be good. Are there any plans for an intermediate station on the way out of town? I suspect the formation woul;d have to curve away quite sharply from the St Botolphs branch, and pass under Magdalen Street, before heading off into barracks land. There is a gorgeous little building behind the bus garage which I have always wanted to model as a station, it has the perfect facade... That's another one of those 'future' jobs. Maybe a station at Monkwick or Middlewick, within the council estates established there from the 30's to the 50's, or is that a bit modern? __________________________________________ ??? posted on Tue Jul 31, 2007 2:41 pm I'm not sure what plans Peter has as the line heads towards Colchester - in one sense we daren't ask..! I do know he has written a full history of the line from conception to present day... plus all the technical bits of info. I ought to get him to publish it online in the style of a Peter Paye line history Anyway, I thought this might be of use - we're working on everything below the red line atm. Everything above will be tackled in the future. I'll post the trackplan beyond A-A later - so you can see the exhibitable bit. __________________________________________ Comment posted by Ralf on Tue Jul 31, 2007 2:57 pm buckjumper wrote: Oh yes - the lever frame. We've plans to make the levers in the 'box move when points are thrown... It's all stunningly impressive but wow, this bit in particular caught my eye!!!! __________________________________________ Comment posted by Bar Side on Wed Aug 01, 2007 3:16 pm Adrian Do I recall you saying on the last thread that this is being built somewhere near Stowmarket? Ivan __________________________________________ ??? posted on Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:26 pm Sudbury. __________________________________________ Comment posted by Bar Side on Thu Aug 02, 2007 12:05 pm Stunning looking already so I shall be watching updates with interest. This was one of the layouts from earlier RMWebs that had me thinking about what had happened to it. B12s over the strood? Not sure that brave is the right word.... Would have made a fabulous sight though - not unlike the run from Manningtree in to Brantham. Plenty of mud & high tides. Got stuck on Mersea island on fathers day this year by the exceptional high tide. I hadn't checked the tide times before heading off. Ivan __________________________________________ ??? posted on Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:26 pm I shall try to remember to update the thread each month once I've run out of older photos. Getting stuck on Mersea island sounds like fun In November a pile of rails had been cut to size, drilled for fishplate fixing bolts and labelled to match Peter's seemingly mad schematic. However, it did mean we could ID any bit of rail, know where it was going to go and what power was going to be needed. Sleepers and point timbers were laid in the platform areas and the rails roughly placed on top. One of the great things about the project is that even though we're working to ScaleSeven standards there are many 0F modellers involved too - everyone's made very welcome and then given a job to do based on what they feel capable or comfortable doing. This attitude has firmly laid to rest the idea that those of us working in the true-to-scale gauges are inhabiting ivory towers or up our own backsides, and the proof in the pudding is that there are often more 0 gaugers present at a meeting than S7 bods. One of our talented 0 gaugers, David Whitaker scratchbuilds most of his stock as he models c1890. Here a scratchbuilt GER Little Sharpie is buffered up to one of my GER Special Cattle Boxes. By Christmas 2005 a number of tracks were laid at the country end of the station, and were invariably clogged up by visiting locos in the buff Colin Dowling's brassy J68 shunts my ancient GER Special Cattle Box - I'd obviously done zero work on it in the intervening month whereas David's Little Sharpie was probably painted and in service... __________________________________________ ??? posted on Tue Aug 28, 2007 11:03 pm Hooking out some more photos from the development we come to Feb 06. Colin painted and weathered his J68... ...and loads of half finished bits of stock began to populate every square inch of laid track... ...more stock. The finished van on the left is also by Colin whereas mine is incomplete and on the right. Pennine intercepted my van early in it's build and suggested the rainstrips on the Slater's model were perhaps somewhat less than accurate. He posted one or two suggestions and I plumped for the ones you see here. Mere minutes with a scalpel and replacement strip, and it's visually worth a million bucks (if you'll pardon the pun). Four photos of the completed van can be found here Then there's a bit of a gap in my photographic record - though Peter's got loads of photos himself. So come July 06 and quite a lot of work has been done. There's also a lot of visiting stock this month. Geoff Stenner brought his scratchbuilt SER O Class. This has the the smoothest, quietest loco mech I have ever seen. Entirely scratchbuilt with ballraces throughout and a Sid Stubbs motor/box, like all of Geoff's locos, even at a crawl the loco travels several times it's own length when the power is switched off. Visiting B17 Somerleyton Hall with Peter's brassy J69 and Colin's J68 behind. Colin built B12 8579 in 32mm gauge, so it won't be starring on West Mersea. However he has got about half a dozen to build for the line - all with his own design of crank axle for working inside motion. The Thompson D328 is one I built for a customer and is out of period here. Any Thompson coaches on West Mersea will be finished in the ersatz teak livery. Eight photos of the completed coach can be found starting here We worked through many types of grass mats, fur fabric, bleaches, dyes, and were unhappy with everything. we want grass to look like grass, not a teddy bear or underlay. Al the rejects seemed to get piled on the embankment and left there for months. We now know what we're going to use - but that's for another instalment. The chap on the right is the genius behind the whole crazy idea - Peter Hunt. Older members may remember one of his earlier business ventures - he was one half of Chuffs. Patience is a virtue. These scratchbuilt SER coaches took Geoff 9 years to build... By August there was some interesting progression. A visiting A4 goes head to head with the B12 and Colin's J68 has undergone a minor transformation. Another transformation is the grass bank. Over the top of one of the grass mats I used Heki fibres puffed from a Noch bottle. This gave the best result so far - certainly the colour is better(!), but still I wasn't happy. Also visiting this month was this Princess. A study of the mocked-up station buildings. Those along the platform are in the 1865 style when the branch was opened. The L shaped one at the end is a later addition to help cope with the booming resort traffic in the 1890s, and is based on Framlingham. Colin's transformed J68. This was handed to me for some weathering and a round dozen photos of the model can be found here Next: into the new year. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Wed Aug 29, 2007 11:22 pm Jan 07: Came the New Year, came David Whitaker's GER 4-2-2 P43 Class Single to visit. Scratchbuilt except for a handful of castings David said it had been on the backburner for a while. Ostensibly designed by James Holden, Fred Russell -Chief Draughtsman did most of the work, much as he did throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, ensuring a continuation of the in-house style over several Locomotive Superintendents. However, I'm sure Holden did have much input as not only does it hark back to the style of SW Johnstone (in charge at Stratford before moving to Derby), and lends much to his Midland no 1 & no 2 classes, but there are shades of the Dean Singles in there too; Holden was Dean's Principal Assistant at Swindon before being lured to Stratford. The P43s were a small part of the Indian summer of the Singles at the turn of the century, but were replaced from the crack expresses within two years as the Claud Hamilton class were released to traffic, and only lasted 10 years. By now the mocked-up warehouse and sidings opposite the station were in situ. __________________________________________ ??? posted on Thu Aug 30, 2007 8:00 pm Another gap in my photographic record but by April some temporary wire-in-tube bits and bobs had begun to be fitted to the points. These are attached to temporary PCB stretcher bars until the cast ones based on the prototypes arrive. Once they're in place we'll begin to look at the proper mechanical bits and pieces which will drive both these and the signals. Part finished wagons continue to clog up the lines as do the Kirk Gresley's. Peter has often dug up bits of trackwork between meetings, the plan evolving much like the real thing did over many years. In the top left the trackwork has been lifted and slewed to make for a smoother transition. A fearsomely complex bit of pointwork was going to be built off the layout and inserted off picture to the left, but the chap was unable to complete the task for a couple of (very good) reasons. This was no problem and instead it was built in situ. IIRC some changes to the crossing angles prompted the ripping up of rail and sleeper and relaying. Happily I've managed to avoid all of the tracklaying malarky by drinking copious amounts of coffee and eating cake while discussing important things like the styles of buffer stops which would be extant, the types of wild flower in bloom in June (June 1946 remember!), styles of GE and LNER railway fencing, whether some 9' sleepers would still be in the sidings and other scenic curiosities. The unfinished tank wagon in the distance ended up looking like this __________________________________________ Comment posted by Dan Randall on Thu Aug 30, 2007 11:18 pm Adrian That's a pretty impressive train set and I look forward to future updates. Regards Dan __________________________________________ Comment posted by onslaught832 on Thu Aug 30, 2007 11:28 pm That's one hell of a project, thanks for posting it. Is the platform MDF too I will look forward to your updates, It has been a fascinating read so far __________________________________________ ??? posted on Fri Aug 31, 2007 5:10 pm onslaught832 wrote: That's one hell of a project, Thanks for posting it. Is the platform MDF too Yep - MDF it is. A couple more instalments to come to bring it all up to date. __________________________________________ Comment posted by Sarcodelic on Sun Sep 02, 2007 12:23 pm That's very nice. ...and it's visually worth a million bucks (if you'll pardon the pun). I never realised that J69s were legal tender in the U.S. before __________________________________________ ??? posted on Sun Sep 02, 2007 5:48 pm Aha! The only legal tender bucks were J67s 68492 and 68511, both on the Lauder branch in Scotland __________________________________________ Comment posted by Sarcodelic on Mon Sep 03, 2007 12:52 pm Why didn't I see something like that coming? I'm outpunned! __________________________________________

J15 65447.