emt_911

Good to see you back Alan. You've got a lot of catching up to do

Nice work Brian. Always a great feeling when things work the first time.

Thanks Andy I'm now going to wait to see your experiments to see if I need to change what I've done. I've found it interesting just how many different ways are used. The dilemma I have now, is do I use something to lift the track a millimetre or so (like cork) or just ballast on a flat surface

A quick visit to update myself on the goings on of ER's. Pete - I honestly didn't know whether to give your post a Funny of Friendly / Supportive rating. TG - Really sorry to hear Mrs TG needs chemo. I hope it is effective. Mike - I hope the weekend in Durham isn't spoilt by the weather. It also sounds like she's a keeper.

Jim - Please pass on best wishes to Linda. As Andy has said, we're all with you.

Morning all. A very quick visit and then I'll catch up properly later. Two more potential local clients to see this morning, so things are looking up. Great to see Debs put in an appearance. Certainly brightened up my day. Have a good day everyone

Night all

Chris, I've had a look at so many ways of achieving the right result. For some reason, this is the one that seems to work for me. I'm certainly glad that I decided to do a test piece first.

More work on the test track done this evening. Photos to follow tomorrow when everything is dry. However, a few lessons have been learnt. 1. Paint track and sleepers once the track is in place and tested 2. Mount buffer stops after painting but before ballasting 3. Make sure that the ballast is done last

£4.20

Jock - Such a pity that the bug has returned. I hope you recover quickly. We're certainly thinking about you

Geoff. If you really want to use DAS or anything similar, I would use 2mm ply for the structure and then cover it. Have a look at this thread for how George T does it http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/65362-abbots-bridge-72g/?hl=georgette Hope this helps

It seems to be a case of many different methods working for different people. It's possible that it depends on the ballast being used and possibly the PVA/water/ washing up liquid mix. I wasn't scientific about mine but it probably worked out at 65% water 30% PVA and 5% washing up liquid

Funnily enough, there isn't any cork under the track. Just a case of taking my time and going over the area twice. I painted PVA on, even between the sleepers, poured the ballast, tamped it with the back of a teaspoon and used an eye dropper for the PVA/water/washing up liquid mix. I don't know if I was just lucky but it didn't clump together at all. The ballast is Green Scene light grey for N gauge.

Morning all. Bright and breezy at the moment but meant to be quite warm later. Late on parade by choice today. Meetings with 2 potential clients which may bring in more local work. Mick - Congratulations on the hole in one. I played for several years and never came close. Jamie - It sounds like the op went well. At least you can justify a bit more modelling time at the moment. Ed - Life is full of what ifs. I hope this one doesn't cause too many problems. Dave - Some stunning photos and well composed Have a good day everyone

Night all

Must be the muddy boots then

Neil. An excellent piece of experimentation that should be useful for a lot of people. I haven't got as far as deciding what system I'm going to use but it probably won't be kandees.

Thanks guys. I've got a couple of books with colour photos that include track in the general area for reference. Having had a good look at them I may need to invest in some more colours. As I've said, the next part is a series of new ideas to try out and test in the hope that they work first time. The terrain idea is something from a conversation with Andy Y and some of the others from BCB to make it as light as possible but strong enough to allow it to be portable without doing any damage.

Thanks Andy. This one is just for getting the ballasting right so I'm not too worried about the track. Next up is a test scenic plank for points, track weathering, wiring and an idea to add some height to the terrain. I don't know if it's going to all work but there's only one way to find out

Quite a bit later than planned but the test track ballasting has been completed. A cruel close up for you and comments are invited

Morning all. A relaxing start to the day before I head out to Reading for a training course this afternoon. Jamie - I hope that the procedure on the knee goes to plan and doesn't cause any problems with you getting away. Have a good day everyone

At last I've had a productive day with everything working as it should. Jock - Excellent news about Joanna's results Bill - Unfortunately one of those things that you never get used to. The one thing to remember is that you did what you'd been trained to do and didn't make the mistakes that are made by the public in general. ID - Having been through a similar, un-inspiring period with the so called advisors for employment, I can totally sympathise although it sounds even harsher over there. I don't think that any country has an unemployment system that caters for anyone with an education or ambition of any sort.

Morning all. Trying to get my caffeine levels to an acceptable standard before doing further battle with the laptop. Jock - I hope the eye appointment gives Joanna sort results Pete - Good to hear that your prompting of the electrician worked Have a good day everyone

I thought that I'd have a nice easy day after an early hours job. I wish I hadn't thought. My work laptop hard drive failed so I've spent the day replacing the drive followed by building and configuring it. I certainly don't remember it taking this long to set everything up. I've now had to cancel tomorrows plans to finish the job. NHN - Some stunning photos. Thanks for sharing them. One of these years I'll remember to book some time off to see the TT