artizen

That's impressive that a kettle can pull so many carriages up a grade. In N scale!!!

Give me a call before you leave for Sydney. I have a small gift that you missed out on because you weren't at the Monday meeting.

What little bit I see in the photos is very nice. Is there a track plan?

Have you thought of asking Harold at Modratec for advice? He has a great depth of knowledge when it comes to signalling (besides, he is a member of my club).

Upside down bullhead won't be noticed from normal viewing distance once it is painted, weathered and ballasted. I would leave it alone and continue the journey.

Can you not use sticky tape? Add the cladding strip and hold in position with blue tack or weights etc and then feed tape up and over the strip and pull down to pin into position? Might not be possible given the dimensions you have posted.

So that's why I can't get enthusiastic about modelling! It's raining and a cool 25 degrees C here today!

Being on chemo has its merits - the beer stays in the cupboard until my birthday (much later in the year). As for being creative (aka modelling) - I have plans that start in February once the treatment has finished. Good luck with all you do in 2015.

Good to see you on here Marty. Keep posting photos. This is another inspiring layout much in the same league as Coast Line.

Love the repurposed sideways building doing double duty as something new. Sort of thing I do quite often!

Been following this thread for years. All the hard work is now paying off with a quality layout.

If you are allowed to read this thread without being a member, there is a wealth of information in amongst all the chat about riveting and cutting metal and plastics using handmade tools,

http://ngrm-online.com/forums/index.php?/topic/4348-portable-and-foldable-132-scale-layout/page-207

Anthony, I've sent you an email.

Ahhh happy memories of shredded wheat. Over here we get Weetbix which is a close facsimile of low density MDF board and my memory of shredded wheat biscuits was that is tasted a bit like stringy Special K compacted into a dog biscuit shape!

Off-topic reminiscences over!

Love Sir Topham - reminds me of the comments I get about all the Daleks and Stigs on my Gn15 layout!

You should show your friends what happens when you mix metal scrubbing pads and vinegar!

In real life, would all the pit lights have been turned on all the time? Or only when a loco is at the platform or being worked on underneath?

A very elegant and satisfactory solution to low-heat lighting. Good to see such great progress on this build!

As well as flock for the leaves, have you thought of using leaf scatters?

I have a sheet of rubberised horse hair lying around under the house, I might try this idea on some trees I have to make. I even have all three of Gordon's books here somewhere as well!

I think new buttons are needed for truly inspirational work such as this:

Huzzah!!!!!!

Masterclass

Inspirational

OMG

Excellent 

The little truck is COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!

The dirt track needs to be narrower and only a footpath so it doesn't dominate the small area. Most allotments would be serviced by wheelbarrow rather than a Dodge Ram!

Should work quite well. Busy, but that's real life as well.

Maybe elevate the grass bank and fence with the path on the same level and then the allotments fall away down to the track level (more for interest and for getting away from the Flat Earth look).

Feel free to completely ignore my musings!

:good_mini: :good_mini:

Good idea - just remember that small items such as trees are a nightmare to post anywhere without significant packing to reduce damage. These would be better offered only at shows or secondhand meets.

Only one millimetre expansion? I routinely use around 2mm gaps on my indoor layout simply because my cackhanded methods make that relatively accurate. Told you the gap only has to be small enough to stop the wheels falling into it!

Thanks for the maths! Almost too much information (but very useful for anyone building a layout). My idea of a gap is one that the wheels don't fall into while the train is passing over them.

Our temperature variation can be across a range of 6 deg C in winter up to close to 40 deg C in summer. The humidity levels vary widely as well. The basement location will help a lot though - unless the openings to the garden loop let in a lot of hot air during summer! I initially attempted to build my layout in the area under the house but it was prone to flooding with each cyclonic rain event. I hope to have cured that problem now with massive drains but the damage was already done - everything went mouldy. If I put in anything now into that space, hopefully the drains will keep the moisture levels more under control. Yet to be tested - we are now in a drought which will take us through the next summer (but that generally means higher temperatures as well).

Good ventilation should help.

Feeling good today. Tomorrow is tomorrow.

You mentioned lack of response to the videos but two of them had only been viewed 13 and 17 times when I looked. Maybe increase the length of the video and slow down the train slightly? I know it is early days for running, but the videos both hint at what this layout is capable of. I hope you don't realise how much work you have given yourself!

Don't know how I missed this one. Just wonderful and above all, fun!