Danemouth

I found this book useful https://www.amazon.co.uk/Freight-Train-Operation-Railway-Modeller/dp/0711031428/ref=sr_1_8?crid=2L4DRREBK0V6K&keywords=freight+essery&qid=1651755238&s=books&sprefix=freight+essery%2Cstripbooks%2C42&sr=1-8 Dave

When I were nobbut a lad in the 50's in the days before cooking oils such as Mazola (other brands available) came into common use my mother always cooked chips in lard - almost everyone did. I was in the local chippy recently when they were loading up one of the fryers with a solid block of something which remined me of lard. Dave

Picking up on books that were hard/impossible to read the one I could never get into despite several attempts was Catch 22 - never got past page 30! Dave

Dear Mr P, I am looking forward to seeing this layout develop. I have enjoyed your diesel layouts but preferred the steam ones, paricularly Pencarne. Much of the trackplan is similar to Danemouth without the bay so I have an affinity with it. If only had your modelling skills 😒 Keep the good work up and the pictures/vidoes flowing, Dave

Well SWMBO tested positive for the lurgi last Sunday - testing negative each day I've been doing the shopping this week but staying in otherwise. Woke this morning with a slightly sore throat, runny nose and a cough - guess who tested positive Oh buqqer - nobody to walk the dog! Dave

Sold all my Nikon film gear including a pair of F100s - initially used the lens the a Nikon D70 and later a D600, now I've gome mirrorless with a Z6. For many years I lectured around the Soth Wales camera clubs using a pair of Pradovit projectors with an Imatronic dissolve unit - as I said in an earlier post I ended up putting them in a skip Dave

Had a thought this morning - don't laugh - I've used Kaspersky Internet Security, which is Russian for many years on all four pcs and laptops - it's a top-notch product. What if Vlad decides to "poison the well" in retaliation for Western sanctions? Imagine a nasty module being inserted into your AV software Already switched this laptop to Bitdefender, others will follow over the coming days. Call me paranoid but this happens when you are a retired Information Security Manager. Incidentally the US Government made all departments take Kaspersky off all computers some years ago. Dave

I live about a quarter of a mile from the old Gnome factory on Caerphilly Road in Cardiff - long since demolished and is now a supermarket. Never had a Gnome enlarger but did have a slide projector which I sold when I changed to Leitz Pradovit projectors. Recently put the latter in a skip - couldn't give them away Dave

Since Danemouth has been the basis for your current design I think you might find it useful if I explained how I made some of the choices in its design. Please bear in mind that the current version is Mark 5 - the earlier ones never got as far as having scenery - playing trains showed major operation issues that detracted from it. Also I am ham-fisted so the design took into account my limited skillset. The main reason I am happy with this version is that it is a joy to operate due in no small part to the help and advice I received on RMWeb, particularly from @Harlequin and @br2975 So: As @Harlequin says it's the back story. I have a strong liking for seaside terminii. Danemouth I saw as a terminus that it's Victorian promoters expected to become a major seaside town - as with many seaside schemes this never happened but does justify the road bridge being double track width (the line would have become double track if things had gone well) It also justifies the bay. When it comes to track less is more. The earlier versions had too much track that looked unrealistic. However what really improved this was the suggestion by @Harlequin of putting the platforms on a gentle curve i.e. most of the track is not parallel to the baseboard edge. The headshunt. This is actually dual purpose, in my scenario it is not only the headshunt but when I run tender locos the way to the offstage turntable - in reality a Locolift. Also if it did not go under the bridge it would be unuseably short. Without a headshunt passenger trains would not be able to arrive for either main or bay platform whilst the branch goods train is shunted as you would be using the mainline as a headshunt. With two handsets and two operators trains arriving whilst shunting took place impressed viewers at exhibitions! Double Slip. I wanted to use large radius points. Had I not used the double slip and used two points instead the runround loop straight track would have looked improbably short. It also lengthened the sidings. I have two sidings but a third one would be nice - in which case I would use a three way point rather than two points to increase the siding length. I have planned to rebuild Danemouth with new baseboards 30cm longer to the same plan with an additional siding. However current back and eye problems have put this on hold. One suggestion - once the track is laid and wired "play trains" for several weeks - find any operational snags before any detailed scenic work takes place. Hope this helps, Dave

To be honest I hardly ever use this siding, I have an Syphon in it most of the time. If you do remove it the bay will need a trap point, which would send any vehicle rolling out of the bay into the signal box Dave

The size of Danemouth including Fiddleyard is 12' by 2' (3600 by 600 mm) - the scenic area is just under 9' long Dave

I looked at the release list and my wallet breathed a sigh of relief - no "must haves" for me

"The Model Shop" in Mill Lane Cardiff? Dave

Like many here I find that RMWeb has been slow over the past few days. Hearing about the download speeds some of you suffer when I first went on the Internet in 1996 it was dial up and I had 33.6kb. I am on the Whitchurch, Cardiff exchange which was a pilot for Fibre to the cabinet in 2009 and now has Fibre to the premises if you wish - I took that option and this is the speed this morning

... and any cat with a tail is a tourist

I saw the headline at the start of your last post and thought "he's at it again". It was only when I read below that I realised it wasn't the whole lot being ripped up Dave

Have seen the images of you using this controller on a previous layout I did have a look at it. At the time I looked it did not support macros - I use these on the Powercab for route selection. Having said that your controller has a lot of advantages, especially being able to name functions - this is a real pain as each chip manufacturer seems to do their own thing. I ended up with an A3+ chart to map them! Cheers, keep the photos coming please, Dave

To make you all jealous: I'm the only person in the house that drinks whisky so bought myself a bottle of my favourite - Penderyn for the festivities. I have since been given another three bottles over the festive period. Measures to protect this Welsh liquid gold from marauding Hippos are in place A happy Boxing Day to you all and your families, Dave

Well I've listened to you lot telling us all the languges you speak I feel envious. When it comes to speaking furren I have a tin ear - I tried to learn French in school but was so appalling I did something else at O level In unrelated news today Cardiff celebrates 66 years of being the capital of the Principality. I was in my first year of Junior School and we were each given a certificate - I still have mine somewhere! Dave

The skips were £270 each off the road, on the road the licence costs upwards of £60 a throw in addition. Nothing related to model railways ended up the the skip - about the only kits I can manage are from Metcalfe before my legendary c@ck-handedness takes over This also limits my decorating skills unlike you Mr Bear, so this year I got a professional in to paint the outside and decorate the landing hall and stairs, a bedroom and a living room. Don't ask how much!!! Dave

Well back in June SWMBO decided it was time for a turn out of the stuff we accumulated over the past 20+ years that we've been in this house. We filled two builders skips and that excludes the stuff I gave to my son in law to sell and the stuff the metal fairies took from the skips. I can now enter the spare bedroom over the garage! Dave

Before I retired I worked as Information Security Manager for a small financial institution and the regulator at that time expected all staff to take an annual two week block of leave. This usually will identify "teeming and lading" frauds and "using Peter to pay Paul" frauds. Prior to that I was an internal auditor specialising in computer systems and always spent time looking at segregation of duties and controls in place to enforce them. Also every staff member having their own logon with no sharing of them. Unfortunately in a small company such controls are sometimes difficult to completely implement Dave

IIRC the previous version was 1.28.

I wonder if they do one ftted with a Pannier sound chip Dave

I have been known to quaff the odd pint of Brains Not recently due to lockdown and canned beer is unappealing to me. Of an evening at Castell Danemouth I drink dry white wine and Penderyn. At one time I loved red wine but it no longer agrees with me Dave