F-UnitMad

If that's his idea of "runs well & looks good" then he must've borrowed someone else's layout to photograph it on....

He seems quite proud of the fact it actually works, too...!! "functions as a pretty good shunter"... ?!?!? yes, well, isn't that what it's supposed to do...???? :D

Nonsense mate, that concrete looks absolutely great!! - you should've said you made it look like that deliberately, then we'd all be hailing your scenic genius!!! It's made Pic of the Week, anyway B) (which reminded me to catch up on your layout!! )

Excellent work as ever, Brian... I don't think Heljan (or should that read "Tower"..?!? ) will have any trouble at all selling this model...

Another one for the "It's O Scale so it MUST be Expensive" school of thought... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LIMA-0-No-XXX-BR-Class33-DIESEL-LOCO-CODE-3-/300441722040?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models £120 for a badly-re-painted Lima 33 with a missing sideframe...?!?

:lol: :lol: Class !!!!

A neat looking idea and one to watch!!! What radius points are you planning on using? Your templates look almost like Lima points to me. Those are very tight indeed - 2ft radius I think - and from my experience even short 4-wheel wagons are going to struggle to go through them (especially the reverse curve in the crossover)without buffer-locking, with scale couplings. Marcway 4ft radius points might be just a bit better.

While we're on about things Great Western, what did I miss about the old Lima O scale Brake Van...??? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LIMA-GW-BRAKE-VAN-O-GAUGE-/250634707490?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models £59.99 B.I.N. ? I paid less than £10 for mine a couple of years ago...

Nowt wrong with that loco ... Hornby models of the time always had the buffers a bit high...

Strangely, (and it must just be me) I found HO the least satisfying of the three scales to work in. It was a bit too big for the "wide open scenery" look, and needed all the detail you can omit in N scale, but the parts are so small & fiddley I found it much easier to do in O, which yes, does have a 'heft' and 'prescence' the smaller scales can only dream of... Cue gratuitous O scale F-Unit picture... *sorry*

Seconded, in all respects!! If I couldn't have my O scale locos, I'd go right back to N scale. B) This layout is a bad influence!!!

Unfortunately it's an oft-repeated complaint about O scale. It would be easier to stomach some of the high prices if the quality matched, but somehow the old attitude in Britain that "It's O scale so it must be expensive" seems to be applied regardless. More a case of "What price can we get away with charging?" than "What price is this really worth?". Another thing irks me about that sort of kit, just from looking at the box lid; okay - leave choice of wheels and coupler to the buyer (itself a bit of an out-dated notion, now, I think?), but no Transfers...???? Slaters do the same... to my mind it means the kit seems "incomplete", and also opens up a whole minefield of what transfers to get (assuming any are available) and their accuracy for the model. All I know is, I hope no wagon experts ever check out the numbers on most of my wagon fleet ... Wagons... schwagons.... Sorry, Rant Mode OFF.

I like the size comparison..!! I was looking at some N gauge stuff this weekend; certainly UK outline has come a long way since I used to do N scale over 10 years ago, but it now looks SO tiny!!! ... Then again, after several years now doing O scale, I find OO & HO look tiny, too.... Your layout is coming on great; love the buildings !! B)

Ah, this is for OO gauge ...

Looking at your sketches, I think I know which books you've got..!! Still good drawings though!! The Forest of Dean is a lovely place, only enhanced by the Railway, and my favourite area in the UK that I'd like to model someday too, so you're not mad... or at least, not alone!! The good Captain Kernow of this Parish is a fan of the F.o.D. too. The only problem is as you've found... which bit?!?! - it's all inspirational!!

I must admit that was my one concern when I looked at the picture before of where you were locating this layout... For the traverser for my O scale layout I've used the really cheap drawer runners, cut down in length. I liked the looks of the type you've used, but they were wider than my boards. It's a simple three-track/two position set-up. This was my thread about it on RMweb3. I really ought to start it again on here... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13349

This looks quite an ambitious project! Good luck!

It is good, isn't it? It's one of those rare UK-resident US-outline layouts that looks like it was built by Americans, if that makes sense? For "trains in the scenery" N scale is hard to beat; my first forays into The Dark Side were in N, and there are occasionally times I wish I'd stuck to it. If ever I can't continue in O scale, I'll go back to N.

Now that just shows how far British N scale has come recently... without your caption I'd have said that was 4mm scale...

Definitely for me B) although really because of a strange attraction to the "Bandit" patch jobs the SOO applied to Ex-MILW engines after they took it over in '85. It is a constant source of amazement to me that some of those Bandits are still running around to this day in such an increasingly decrepit "livery"..!!

Well done- you've really worked on that one- you deserve every penny for it!

It's a current kit. This is the Website... http://www.ukmodernimage.com/index.html Steve did join RMweb himself & commented when I was building his Class 22 kit, which was done as a thread on RMweb3. He doesn't seem to be a current member. The 22 was a trial enough (especially as my first go at a brass kit!) - I think I'd have given up entirely if I'd had this kit. Brian you have worked wonders with it; if your customer is unhappy with the finished loco then show him this thread- it could've looked a hell of a lot worse!!! He should be very grateful to you!!

:blink: If I'd bought a kit, after seven days I might just've got past opening the box.... I don't know whether to be amazed or depressed......

Looking hard at this picture :- http://www.railblue.com/pages/Photo%20Galleries/David%20Mant%20Collection/DMC_D5905_SF_090471.htm I can't be 100% certain, but it seems to me the cab roof slopes up from the windscreen back up to the roof line...? Could this be the answer to the problem with the model..?

Yes, all the weathering is really good, but the Tar Wagon is just superb..!! I bet your N scale stuff feels absolutely tiny nowadays!! Oooh, let's see now... "Ruston Hornsby" perchance...?!?