MRDBLUE17

Hi not sure what number we will be on but the best bet is to come to the DEMU stand and ask for me there. I am not sure what is happening with the group layout at the moment as it is not operational yet but I plan to bring 37416 and my 66 and will be fitting sound decoders to them once I have purchased them from Charlie. Depends on what day you are there will depend what I have on the go but please come and say hello it is always nice to meet and have a proper chat with people at the shows that I have met on here. All the best, Mark

Thanks Andi 37416 will be getting bifs 37/4 sounds soon as well but it looks really good now I have it in service and you did a cracking job on recreating it in the condition i saw it in! I do have the sleeper set with vinyls on the mark 2,s that does for now and Andy backwaterscotland on here has an even better set in the earlier livery. I did have 37 416 on the sleeper for running in and with the new 67 not out til later in the year it will be busy hauling that set! I will have a 66 and a couple of 37's that need a trip to works to get dirty though! Thanks Mark

Hi Ian, Glad to see you have put your layout up on here. I had the pleasure of seeing it at Barrow last year and it is a fantastic layout and I must say one of the best modern image N-guage layouts I have seen up close! Seeing some of the stock you had even encouraged me to buy a few more N-gauge wagons whilst at the show! Well worth seeing if you get the chance at a future show. All the best, Mark

Hi Everyone, With the lower front edge all painted up the scenery has now been added as well with the mix of polyfibre for some banking with scatters, leaves ad rough grass on top, more brambles and some of the woodland scenics bushes and clump material it all blends in quite well. Not sure why Rannoch has become a stabling point but I have been working on the units for the passenger services with the 150 and 158 present. The 156 is getting the most work done for now so just a quick work in progress shot of the trailer car, but more on these in the future! Thanks for looking, Mark

No not worried at all - how long to the show! The layout progress is going well - I have a shopping list for Glasgow to get various bits (including some naughty figures Bolden style!) I need along with another 2 sound decoders with Legomanbiffo's sounds from Charlie as his 66 and new 37/4 are perfect to add further fleet variety. We could test run your new flask wagon with some of my DRS fleet though! Mark

Hi Jon, Really good to see the progress you are making, use to spend all my school holidays in Hamworthy when I was younger and remember seeing the 37's on the steel trains alongside Hamworthy Park working back from the quay. Really captured the look of the place well, Keep up the great work, All the best, Mark

Hi Kev, Hope all is well with you and had a good christmas and new year! That 20 is very loud in that video and does sound very good indeed as well. I like the look of the old unit I'll let you run that one on Rannoch - it sounds nice as well! I've heard whisky gets better with age but not an MTK kit All the best, Mark

Hi everyone, Some further updates and whilst not great pictures it will show you the work started on the front of the layout. A while back there was some discussion about the front facia boards and the height of them and colour. Following on from this I painted them green to blend in with the buildings and scenery and overall I am happy with this colour. Having done this I have since decided to hack down the front facias along the sidings as they were too high to build the scenery up to properly and also if left painted brown looked odd if you look up the layout from the south end. Using the coping saw I have been able to alter the contours and height considerably and as you can sort of make out from the photos it opens up the front viewing angle of the layout much better and helps to create a more realistic viewpoint as though you are at the lineside fence. I will add some better photos soon as it has all been filed smooth and painted and the vegetation has already grown up the front edge very fast. Just a few sleepers and bits of rail to add in before some more static grass to blend it altogether should sort it all out. Pete I thik it was your suggestion in the first place so I'm glad you raised it as it will make a huge difference overall. Dave and Peter thanks for your comments as always - Dave hopefully I will get that viaduct finished before you can visit again so you can try some of your speed shots out on it. Well maximum of 30 or I'll get another warning from my friendly network rail engineer after running those 60's over it! All the best, Mark

Hi everyone, Rannoch is continuing to take shape with lots of little jobs done to detail the scene in any spare time I have. The station has two purple window boxes added, some hedges planted, fencing painted and weathered before adding to the scene. Telegraph poles are in place with the start of the wires added, further details will be added to complete them. More brambles and bushes have been added at the south end along with the old disused walkway from the car park. The large patch of gorse has been added to on the embankment and the metal bike racks have also been installed next to the phone box. The static grass has been added to finish off the banking at the front corner of the layout and also the longer burnt yellowed grass to the rear embankment. The trees have been added as well to complete the lane at the far end. I have also been cracking on with the final painting of the footbridge as I had all the inner frames to paint purpe, the floor and the painted yellow and white lines to the step edges. The bridge also has hand rails on the step sections which I added using fine metal wire and finished in purple. The bridge in recent photos does seem to have quite a bit of rust staining but after all the hours painting it mine is staying freshly painted. Finally got around to putting a Bachmann decoder into 37416, no sound for now but at least I can play with it. Andi created this one for me as I saw the loco at Waverley one morning in this condition working the sleeper to Fort William very late as it was well after 9am the day I saw it as there had been coupling issues with the stock. The former royal scotsman maroon livery is rather dirty but still in good condition as the loco appeared back in 2006/7. Hope you like the progress, Question/Comments welcome as always, Thanks, Mark

Hi Ian, I don't have an actual drawing as such of the building although there is a book on the WHL that does have a detailed layout plan in it but I don't have a copy of it and not sure of the title. What I did was work from photos of the station online and then measured doors and windows in my flat at the time to get approx dimensions. I then drew a working plan of the walls, roof height etc to work from and then put the footprint onto a thick bit of art card to build up the model. I did include pictures of them somewhere on this thread probably nearer the beginning, I will still have them but no idea where since moving. Will be interesting to see your model develop, All the best, Mark

Hi Dave, Happy New year to you and the family! Glad you got moved safely and that you have a nice new train room to expand your layout and play in! Well at least when you have done the work on it. If you miss playing trains too much you know your welcome to come up to Rannoch for a play if you are up this way at any point. All the best, Mark

Happy New Year Peter - if you move the decimal point to the left of some of those temp readings to something around the 3 mark you'll have our current scottish temperature! No frozen points so trains are still running at Rannoch! Nice photos as always, All the best, Mark

All the best to you too Max! Will certaily see you at Ayr but I'm sure we will meet up again before then at Glasgow and other exotic places on the DEMU tour! Mark

Hi Everyone, Just wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year when it comes! Thanks for all the interest, comments and banter which helps to make the project even more fun and for the ideas and tips along the way. I have been busy with work and even struck down with a bit of man flu this week but still managed some modelling on Rannoch with a another large patch of gorse created, the old walkway from the car park to track level at the south end of the platform added to the embankment, some fencing around the cottages, a new top coat on the car park, some hedging, ballast to the RETB site and I have finally finished painting the excellent Lochgorm kits footbridge. After looking at photos I have added in the more modern handrails to the steps on the main span and also the main steps to the platform using thin metal wire and painted the yellow and white lines to the edge of the step treads as well. I am pleased with the way it has turned out and despite the bridge looking quite rusty in more recent photos there is no way I am adding this but as some of my stock is from 2006 onwards when it appears to be freshly painted I don't think this will matter to much! Photos will be added at some point in the New Year. All the best, Mark

Hi Kev, With you having several tractors in your 80's fleet matching my versions in EWS maroon you won't have too much trouble swapping them over next year when I get a lunch break! Whilst it is always sad when RMweb is down it does help on the modelling front! Happy New Year to you when it comes! Mark

Happy New Year to you too Peter when it comes! Your layout is a real inspiration and the updates are always interesting which I enjoy reading and following on here! Look forward to seeing more in 2012 and creating a list is a good idea. All the best, Mark

Hi Peter cracking shots as always I like your 108 it captures the look of them in service so well just how I remember them at the end of their careers! Hope you have a great Christmas. All the best Mark

Hi everyone, Max - my wife said I can spend any time in the shed - ours is missing a window and has an old animal hutch in it from the previous owners! If she sends me out there I'll just come over to yours instead! The viaduct end still needs a fair amount of work yet but you never know next Summer might be able to make it down for a day. Your layout will be fantastic to watch as well I might just sneak a dirty 60 onto it as well when your on lunch! Hi Pete sort of settled in now at least I can get away to do some modelling, I do a few other jobs in between which helps to keep the peace! Lewis, the new 66 also has cab lighting which is another plus point for it. The weathering job is very good by Bachmann as well. I am pleased that they have done another ordinary fleet member as that and 66068 will be my core fleet on Rannoch. I have also introduced 37409 into service now I have finally been down to Barrow to collect it. Model Rail have done an excellent job on this one and I opted for the sound fitted model. I have given a slight dust of roof dirt and dark weathering powder around the exhaust, added the speedo cable on the bogie side - I used a small part of a Vi-trains sprue which works ok. Name plates stuck on and front end detailing. I have added the ETH cables on the buffer beam and the air pipes. This is the one thing I would like to see Bachmann improve on as the yellow pipes will be swapped when I can order some Hornby spares as they are not fine enough. I have fitted the plough directly to the buffer beam and cut the bracket that slots in the coupling as I wanted to detail the front end. Having seen the real loco on charters with a tail lamp added I have included this feature for now as it may tail the charter fleet but will hopefully have an observation saloon to tow about. The last shot is of my new 31233 in the bright Network Rail Yellow. It has only had its extra high intensity headlight added which Hornby kindly sent up to me, very quickly from my initial e-mail. Excellent Service from Hornby on this minor issue. I painted the inside silver and stuck on using some Klear which has worked very well. I have always liked 31's (as many of you know!) having grown up watching them in Barrow so this is my excuse to run one on Rannoch! Thanks again for all the comments and encouragement! All the best, Mark

Hi Lewis, Great to see your progress - I do like the ideas in this one with 60's on HTA's etc and I was suprosed when you said how many you can get into your rakes given the space you have to work on. I also like your real photos - the one with the rear of the billboards with the vegetation is a nice idea to break up a backscene just came to me when i was looking at your thread! I like 60054 and the work on the HTA is also superb. Keep up the good work and the updates, Mark

Hi Martin, just think, we could have your 2FS version and my 4mm version side by side at shows in the future. I wonder if that has happened with any other locations before! Thanks Mark glad you like it - hopefully if your back at some point you might get to see it in the future or even have a play. lmsforever - Glasgow will be good and very large this time around as well hope you do make it and come and say hello. Ten commandments will be there and have lots of useful parts - I must remember to get some of the lazer cut picnic tables for the platform at Rannoch this time! Just hope our group layout is ready in time! Thanks, Mark

Hi Everyone, I have finally got around to taking some pictures of Rannoch to show the progress. Since moving house the lighting in the train room wasn't great for photos but having put the extra lamps back up it makes things a bit easier. First up and detailed last night using a bit of internet research and the 66 feature in Model Rail the other month is 66209. The weathering by Bachmann is very good on this model so all I have added is a dab of railmatch acrylic gloss varnish for the fuel oil spills. A few dashes of white on the lower handrails below the cab doors and front step edges. Painting the air pipes red and yellow before fixing along with the front valance. The lifting eyes were cut away and patched in yellow like a lot of the real locos before the operating equipment was fixed in place. The Buckeye coupling was at the opposite end to the driver so I cut this off and re fitted to this end to finish it off. I have added a 21 pin decoder for now but will be adding Legomanbiffo's new V4 class 66 recordings via Charlie at DC kits havng seen his youtube clips of it. I will also be adding a few more cab details and Ph designs mirrors at the same time but this will wait until Glasgow in Feb. Its already in service hauling the BP tanks to Fort William. I have been focussing on the South end of the layout and progress has been good. The wooden crossing boards are in place, painted and weathered, the lane has ballast and vegetation, the rest of the trees will go in once the gate is fitted and the static grass down. The car park area has some gravel broken mixed with coal to darken. The ten commandments fence is in place and wired. The vegetation at the front engineers sidings is in with brambles/gorse added, just the static grass again to complete. The new Network rail van has been added and having seen a real version the other day will add the rear lamp and ladder at some point. Hope you like what you see, question comments, banter welcome as always! Thanks for looking, Mark

Hi Peter, Thats a nice photo reminds me of simialar real images from some of the old copies of Rail I have from the 90's. I agree with Neil, the weeds and the slight curve really bring your platforms to life. I noticed the flask train in the background as well still need a nice 31 on that! All the best, Mark

Hi everyone, Sorry for the lack of updates of late. Hopefully I will find time to take some photos and add soon. Any spare time has seen me get on with some modelling with the south end coming on well but still plenty to do. The Ten commandments fence posts have been added around the car park painted and wire added the gravel surface is a mixture of ballast with some coal added to blend. More trees and vegetation has been added still more to go and need to add the static grass to finish. On the stock front 37409 with sound has arrived along with 66209 which Bachmann have done a great job weathering and the rolling stock is starting to get some details added such as painting the buffer shanks silver even dirty wagons in use still have some shine, tail lamps from replica and also some smiths couplings for rear wagons. Track faults are being ironed out nothing major but I want everything as smooth as possible and there are always room to improve further. The charter set has a ck added the new weathered version comes with commonwealths under it so fits the rake well enough. I'll add some photos when I get the time. All the best Mark

Hi Pete, I like the look of this one. I will be in touch at some point in the new year as I really do need to get a few of your detail parts for my layout and current fleet. All the best, Mark

Hi Peter, Sorry about the lack of updates, work gets too busy this time of year for me and I have used spare time to help build Edinburgh Southside for our area group - a more modern 70's - 80's build station building is my part of the project and work is still progressing on Rannoch with more ballast added, fencing etc. More vegetation is also springing up. I will get some updates soon. I have also added a yellow 31 to the fleet as you know I really like them and got a bargain at Falkirk show on Sunday! Thanks, Mark