birdbath

Thanks, glad you like it. Crucially, your comment also takes the thread onto a fifth page. I'll be catching up with Peterborough North in no time!

Interesting to note that, if I'm interpreting it correctly, the buffer lamp only needs to be at the leading end of the loco in the dark or during poor visibility. I would presume in practice this would apply when the loco was moving between different locations along the 'main line'. It doesn't seem practical to expect that lamp to be moved from one end to the other during shunting operations when you could be going in and out of sidings for ages! Or have I got this wrong? Roge.

That really does look like the bonnet has been made to fit perfectly round the speaker. How convenient!

Is it going to have one of those 'gearboxes of a thousand neutrals'?!

I'm not sure that's the case any more. I think the ESU select decoder is now discontinued. I've heard that other recent factory fitted sound releases have used either Loksound V5 or even a zimo (in the 158 unit). Thanks for the suggestion on the speakers, all the same.

Evening all. Has anyone got hold of a sound fitted version yet? And if so, can you tell me what sound chip is fitted? Maybe one for any retailers on here to answer? Seasonal greetings to you all. Roge.

Hi Rich, Thanks for your comments. I'm glad my little trainset provides a bit of inspiration! There might be a slight chance for a running session over Christmas. We'll see. A friend is currently building a H0/H0m East German layout and I'm desperately trying to resist temptation to launch a GDB splitter group! Those maroon hydraulics and dark green coaches are very appealing. All the best for a reasonable Christmas and a much improved 2021. Regards, Roge.

Thanks for you kind words Neil.

Thanks for your comments. Yes, it's reasonably generic. I guess colour light signalling and a standard design BR 'box mean it doesn't pin itself to a region as such. Wasn't intentional! I know what you mean about a roundy-roundy. I like setting the trains going and then doing a few loco moves round the yard. But I'd also love to be able to have a terminus where a bit more prototypical operation could take place. It's always a compromise, unless you have a mill cellar and unlimited time and funds! (You did mention Heaton Lodge, of which we're all amazed by and just a little bit envious!) Roge.

It's a Canon EOS 700D. Probably about 5 or 6 years old now. No doubt things have moved on a bit! There were a few false starts on that clip where 3 train moves occur... Can't take it too seriously! Roge.

Hi Rich, That's the trouble. As soon as you select the filming setting on the camera, none of the manual settings are available. Messing around with it, if anything it seems to set itself to F5.6 and then vary the ISO depending on light. Which of course is exactly the opposite of the aperture I'd like it to use! I've tried setting it to F22 in normal camera mode, then going to movie mode, but it just reverts to 5.6. Thanks for your advice, all the same. Roge.

Hi Rich, Thanks for the tip. So far I've just used the editor that comes with Windows 10. You right click on the video file, open with 'photos' and then there's an option to edit. I'm not aware that it offers any choice on what format to export. I'll have another look. I don't think I'll be heading too far down the filming road to be honest. The camera isn't really suited to video clips, hence it struggling to focus on anything other than one specified point. No depth of field. I could go and buy a camcorder I suppose. But it seems a lot of money for filming a few toy trains now and then! Roge.

Evening all. A couple more videos for you. I'm concluding that videos on DSLRs are very much an add-on feature! There's a few limitations in terms of what it wants to focus on, etc. It's also a juggling act to try and start filming, drive the trains and try and get them to go past about the right time and make the noises I want them to make. Might have to take the wife on as an assistant! Descriptions should be visible via YouTube. Roge.

Glad you like it. More videos coming soon....

Thanks for your kind words. I saw Peafore Yard at an exhibition once I think and was really impressed. Maybe I'll make my own track next time, it does make such a difference. One day... Cheers, Roger.

Afternoon everyone. I've been experimenting with a bit of filming for the first time. This clip was taken with my DSLR, then edited slightly with the basic tool that comes with Windows 10. I've noticed that it compresses the file dramatically. The original was approx 170mb whilst the slightly trimmed version you see here (hopefully) is only about 10mb. So the question is, does it work? Is the quality acceptable? Any experience people may have of this sort of thing, I'd be grateful if you'd comment. Regards, Roge.

Here's a few more pics to show recent little projects. First is 37422. This turned into a bit of a saga after I decided to revisit my original attempt at this loco. I had used a ScotRail 37427 (limited edition from Rails?) as a basis to rebrand and renumber. There were a few other detail differences in the livery application, which I was happy to overlook when I did it about 12 years ago. Recently I thought I'd have another look at it as my skill level has improved since then. So I did a bit of repainting where required and replaced the numbers and branding again now that I'm a bit more competent at those tasks! This is where it started to go wrong... I'd satin varnished all this in place and left it a few weeks to harden. Next job was to weather it. For whatever reason, possibly combinations of different brands of thinners, paint, etc, the weathering brought the varnish off and left it in a right mess. I guess it could have been salvaged, but I'd had enough by then and resorted to buying a new bodyshell! This was obviously the recent release from Bachmann, so didn't need renumbering. I cleaned off the crap factory weathering with thinners and then re applied using a variation on the techniques used by James Makin on his amazing stock. Thanks for your advice James! The bogies were weathered using DCC concepts powders, applied on top of a matt varnish coat, then sealed in with satin. I'm experimenting with this as an alternative to airbrushing, as it gives a nice texture which doesn't seem to last with the airbrush. We'll see how it lasts. First, here it is with a few of the fantastic Dapol turbots. These have been weathered using a mix of powders, washes of enamels and airbrushed underframes. The only modification is to remount the tension lock couplers, which are rather comical as supplied. And now passing under the 'new' footbridge passing a pair of 20s going the other way with seacows. Finally for now, a depot scene featuring some classic EE traction. The 20s pass on the mainline with their seacows, while ETH 37s and a 31 occupy the shed roads and the 09 pilot waits to shunt some fuel oil tanks. That's it for now. More pics to follow soon. Roge.

Evening folks. To carry on from yesterday, here's a shot of the revised arrangements with the backscene on the opposite side of the layout. The section behind the bridge has been rebuilt to match the height of the newer backscene rulling along that side. Due to the angle of the bridge, this does lead to a sharp corner, but overall I think it improves the appearance. As luck would have it, I had kept the remainder of the I.D. sheet from before, so this was used to extend the scene round the corner. Less lucky was my first attempt, where I rushed in and made a total mess of applying it to the plywood sheet! This explains why the two parts of the scene don't quite match up! At least the hillside level is correct! The bridge surface was also reworked using wet/dry paper and the sides reattached where they'd warped a bit. That brings layout developments (such as they are!) up to date. I'll try and post some more stock pics in due course. Roge.

Hello everyone. There's been a few changes on the layout lately. I can't say it's been a lightning rate of progress during the lockdown restrictions, but then it never is anyway! For a while now, I've been a bit dissatisfied with the section where the brick arches just ran out into a low cutting. It just didn't really work that well. Having been very pleased with the improvement that the backscene made on the opposite side of the layout, I decided to modify this area and hopefully make it a little more convincing. The main part has been to install a lattice footbridge over the line at the end of the arches. This then gives a break for the shallow cutting on the small curved baseboard which goes over the entrance to the room. A backscene was also fitted behind the arches, using an overcast sky printout from I.D. backscenes. The intention has been to create a visual frame between the two bridges, as I hope you can see from the overall picture below. Being an afterthought, the footbridge goes across at an angle, partly to try and make best use of the space available and also to accommodate the signal on the main line. I imagine therefore it's rather un-prototypical in that respect, but I can live with it. It was built from about 4 different types of Plastruct section, overlaid on a template produced using a free download vector graphics package. There were a few false starts whilst trying to not melt it with too much poly cement, but we got there in the end. The brickwork is from the Wills modular kits and the path surface is wet/dry paper, weathered with the airbrush. There's also been a bit of a re-jig of the backscene behind the long bridge on the opposite side of the layout by the depot, but I've bust my upload limit for today so that'll have to wait! Regards, Roge.

Evening everyone. Here's a few more photos. First up, my Buxton 108 unit. One job I've done recently is to wire the vehicles together with two-pin micro connectors, supplied by LaisDCC vias eBay. You might just be able to make them out in this shot. They aren't too intrusive and the real thing has plenty of cables and pipes between vehicles. This is one of Bachmann's earlier DMU efforts and suffers from having to put decoders in every vehicle. All the connectors do is make the track pickups common across all three cars. This has improved running significantly and eliminated the annoying lighting flicker. Next, the Realtrack 156 SuperSprinter. This is a lovely model and has really set the bar high. All I've done is fit the detailing parts, carefully weather it and fit a folded card gangway connection. I'll probably add some punters at some stage. They'll have to be modelled looking annoyed at being stuck on a unit all the way from Liverpool-Norwich, when this duty was previously covered by my 31 and some mk1s! Passing the depot headshunt (containing the inspection saloon) is this 47-hauled fuel tank trip working. Finally for now, a metals sector 37 hauls ballast hoppers past the fuelling point, where a 31/4 runs forward having been topped up.

Happy New Year to you all. Not much to report as usual, but I have finally got round to renumbering/renaming my 68. All-in-one pack supplied by Railtec Transfers. This is the first time I've used the 3D nameplate transfers and I'm very impressed. Also, special thanks to Steve at Railtec who provided me with some custom made replacement data panels after I managed to clumsily damage the originals when doing the renumber. Excellent service and highly recommended. I've also been busy with my unit fleet, specifically the Bachmann 108 and the lovely Realtrack 156. Pics to follow. Regards, Roge.

Hi Steve, Just checking whether you've received my emails on this topic? I got one from you and replied to it, but have heard nothing since. I do appreciate you're very busy, but don't want you to think I'm being ignorant if my replies are not making it through for whatever reason. Cheers, Roger.

Hello there, I'm not sure what's happened there then. The e-mail of August 21st is about the right date, as that was about a week after I'd received my 68027 renumber/name pack and subsequently required the data panels! I asked about a version of the detail pack you mention above, but with white text and border on black background, as I've mentioned above. As far as I can tell, your current detail pack has white on clear? I'm thinking I replied to the order dispatch notification, so possibly I've used the wrong means of contacting you. Regards, Roger McVay.

Evening everyone. Whilst renumbering my class 68, I've clumsily damaged a couple of the data panels which are applied below the loco number. So now I'm after some 4mm scale replacements. The trouble is, the TPE livery has black background panels with white text and borders. I'm having trouble finding any like this. All the regular suppliers can provide white on BR blue, or white on clear. Fox pack 4360 does have the correct colour combination, but unfortunately the panels are too small (the Dapol model panels are approx 4.5mm x 3.5 mm). I've tried contacting Railtec to request a version of his class 68 detailing pack, but so far no reply. So, anyone got any suggestions? Cheers. Roger.