Flood

I'll admit that getting an '80s feel to the layout is made easier by having two executive HSTs lined up on the depot. Looking at the layout overall I still feel that substantial ground weathering is a must before May. After that we should really be looking at weathering individual items such as battery chargers, shore supply boxes etc., preferably to the standard of Jim's P4 New Street. We haven't any sound locos for the layout at the moment. The problem really being if you're going to have one you really need to have all of them done and the thought of buying sound chips for 2 x 08s, 4 x HST power cars, 2 x 26s, 3 x 37s and 24 x 47s fills me with dread. Another factor is that at exhibitions you can't hear the sound particularly well anyway. Basically we can't afford the cost of the chips or the time to get all the volumes right. We're just going to prioritise in getting the layout as good as we can and then we have a list of additional stock for the future (charter rakes etc), sound chips are a long way down the list.

Thank you to everyone as always. Especially Hammer by saying it reminds him of home - I feel quite embarrassed receiving a compliment like that and I'm sure Glenn will be very pleased as well. The weathering (in fact the whole paint job) for 43179 and 43064 were done by our mate Alex Carpenter, 43064 was originally a blue and grey power car! It should have City of York plates on the side but he forgot that they were on a spare Lima power car I gave him so they will be added at the weekend. We've got one swallow power car in the fleet (43072) plus 43092 Highland Chieftain in executive and finally 43117 which is a Lima dummy in executive with a drawbar so we can have a failed one and then do a swap. 43072 and 43117 are being handed over tonight (hopefully). We'll probably have to take down the layout on Sunday but I'll try to get some more photos (including the 37s) before then. In the meantime here is the last batch of photos taken by Steve (Ramrig) last Friday (plus two from me). The first photo gives a whole new meaning to lights on OO locos but the effect in the cab is actually just reflection. Incidently the depot offices are no longer red brick, they're now half way to being grey brick like the lower section of the shed. Also please excuse one of the HST rakes - it was just there to test the schedule, the actual rake is currently being painted.

Thanks as always. The only problem with working on a layout every weekend for four months solid is you get used to how it looks. It's only when we compare it to the photos from October that we realise how much it has been improved. Nice to know other people like it as well, always a boost for the ego! Anyway, enough of my rambling. I'm sure you're all fed up with looking at large logo 47s so here's a bit of a change (well almost :icon_rolleyes: 😞

Pleased with this one (repeated from the layout thread):

The peeling paint on 526 is based on a photo on fotopic. I tried numerous methods but the yellow paint I had at the time was going off and caused some problems. In the end I painted the grey on first in patches then daubed the yellow on, actually turned out rather well I thought! Have some more to peruse:

Many thanks for the kind comment Steve, I hope the selection I post does your photography justice. I helped Glenn finish setting up the layout on Friday, Steve came over to take the photos Friday afternoon along with Richard (Poor Old Bruce) for driver training. Saturday we all went to York show with Saturday evening being a near full running session of the layout for the first time since October. Apart from some of the couplings being temperamental on the electro magnets it all went fine. Today we have been back to adding scenery and more detailing to the layout. Note: Lots of weathering still needs doing to the layout! I'll post the photos in batches as I need to re-size them.

I can see I'm not going to win here, I'm off to work. (as in being employed, not actually working)

Are we all going to the gig then? Sounds like a good plan to me.

I've heard about your sarcastic comments from a source of mine! Obviously I need to explain the difference between I and we. :icon_yawn: I is what I type when I have actually done something (very rare I'll admit!), we is what I type when Glenn has done something. Come to think of it, I can't remember when you last did something on Duffield! :icon_razz: :icon_winker:

I don't think the shopping list is ever finished is it Steve? :icon_e_biggrin: Thank you to everyone for all their kind comments.

We were going to have a few more black hoses but if you read Bob's post at the bottom of page 3 he says they tended to have more orange ones as you never knew where the catering cars were going to be. Both the cleaning platforms have been given all orange hoses. It also means you can model the tubs which had the bleach in and don't forget the plywood disk near the end so the end of the hose never touched the ground. On the water taps for the HST road (directly onto ballast not on a cleaning platform) we've put orange hoses on all the taps except the ones at each end. These line up with the fuel points on the other side of the track so we have two reasons for using black: 1) they'll line up with the power cars anyway and 2) being so close to a fuelling point they have a good chance of being easily contaminated. I've a photo that Bob sent me of Aberdeen showing the shore supply points but it also shows the water hoses (mounted incidently on hose reels for another variation) and every one of the hoses is orange. At the real Aberdeen of course the fuelling point is well away from the cleaning roads. So I'd say orange for all your hoses unless you're near a fuelling point then use black. Here's an old photo (March 14, so much seems to have happened in the last two weeks) with an overall view of the cleaning and arrival roads and a few lines of description. HTH

Three more photos to digest. Shore supply points on roads 3 and 4, these are for loco hauled stock only. Some of the ETH connectors are held in metal cradles to avoid too much damage. Shore supply points for roads 1 and 2. Both HST and loco hauled stock connections on these two roads (yes, the HST control box is bent and has now been straightened ). Loco hauled cables in red as before, HST cables are three thin black ones twisted together. Final view of a cleaning road. Water taps with orange hoses for drinking water, small white tubs containing bleach to keep the hose end clean, portable battery charger with 110V cable, the small grey posts on the opposite platform edge are the sockets for the portable battery chargers (barely able to be noticed) and finally a 47/7 just for a change!

It's obvious. Bachmann will use the DTso from the 2 EPB (assuming it's a 1954 build one) and slap it into the 2H as a centre car to make a 3T (14xx, Class 204). These ran in both all blue and blue and grey. You're now going to tell me that Bachmann have made the wrong sort of 2 EPB to be able to do this.

Peter - You don't miss a thing do ya! You can't really tell but the BG has also got the circuit working lettering on the sides. This was kindly made for me by Precision Labels and arrived in a couple of days, great service. Grimley - The extractors are made by Unit Models but I feel I must mention that I first saw them on a layout at Warley and one of the operators gave me the details as the extractors had been made for them on request. Without this help we would have been really stuck. Glenn and I have said that we'd like this layout to be the benchmark for coaching stock depots. Whether it will be good enough for that accolade is not for us to say but we have joked that it will be the best one made because no other idiots are going to be foolhardy enough to want to make one in the first place!

Started at ten o'clock in the morning and as of forty minutes ago the depot buildings are finished. Yeh, okay, they need to be weathered and the extractor fans need painting silver but after todays grind those tasks are small fry. The two large weights on the roof are solely there to straighten the two sections for the photo. Both sections are slightly warped but once they are screwed onto the baseboards everything is ok. The six window sections nearest the entrance are clear so that the public can see inside, all the other windows are frosted (which all the windows would be in a real 1980s carriage shed). Now I can go to bed and chill out tomorrow!

Thanks for the compliments - the track is actually code 100 OO but by spraying the rail sides in sleeper grime before we ballasted it has reduced the appearance in size of the rail. We originally thought the ballast looked a bit large but it doesn't seem too bad now. The major point is that it took Glenn a long time to brush all the ballast into place before using diluted pva and there is no way that he will want to do it again. I'm particularly pleased with the walkways - I just painted a light base colour in enamel and when fully dry painted over in a dark brown enamel, left for about a minute to dry and then rubbed first lengthways (to get the dark brown staying between the planks) and then widthways to get an impression of the grain of the wood. We used the "Hand of God" in the October exhibition but it was a pain hence the fitting of the electro magnets. We use Kadees on all stock so all you need to do is drive over the magnet, click the switch down on the panel (not yet built!), gently push the stock together with the loco (we use DCC with a Prodigy Advance controller and Lenz chips for excellent slow speed running) and the couplings just separate on their own. Anyway, I should be doing the windows on the depot building not enjoy being on here!

I actually first mentioned it on here on 12th November! It will contain the lathe but probably not by May. Astounding news! After 15 months 22 days the Mk1 BFK is virtually finished. The roof has been satin varnished tonight so can join the rest of the coach tomorrow. I've also managed to renumber four Mk2 TSOs and finish all the brickwork on the depot shed. Tomorrow will be adding windows to the depot shed all day with the odd respite of more renumbering. Can't wait to get the shed back on the layout in a complete state for the first time - that should be on Saturday. If I carry on at this rate then Friday can be a day of rest!

The Cutter and the Clan - Runrig

Over to Nottingham Exhibition yesterday for a couple of hours to pick up some more items. We are looking for some platform trolleys for putting full bin bags on. We've looked at the Langley and Dart Castings ones but Glenn says these a bit old fashioned, what we need is a motorised trolley with a handle - i.e. you walk along in front of it and press a button on the handle and that powers it along. If anyone has any ideas we will be very grateful. Seagulls are made by Langley, we'll get these at York in two weeks time. More propane cylinders have been bought and the propane store fencing is ready to be installed. The hoses and tubs are now finished, next up are installing the shore supply points and finishing the portable battery chargers. I've got the week off so I'll be renumbering about twenty coaches and adding no.5 kadees to those that need them. Later in the week I'll be adding the windows to the depot building. Glenn has started the scenery on the front of boards 1, 2 and 3 so hopefully by Easter we will have half of the layout complete. He then has a week off to add lights to the road bridge and the C.E.T. points, build a panel for the uncouplers and build the wheel lathe shed - a busy month for both of us. One more photo to keep you all interested...

Many thanks Paul. Although the three TSOTs on Glenn's and my layout are not having any interior detailing (once you blank out 2/3rds of a air-con window you can't see anything anyway) any photos from this era, especially interior ones, are a rare prize.

After noticing a new batch of photos from Roddy on fotopic I have found this little gem and also here, which do indeed show an air-con TSOT on Inverness rakes.

Bob The propane bottles are awaiting a store (not too sure where this is going yet) and we all agree the seagulls are an absolute must. We might have to have seagull sound effects, a bit like Rowlands Castle has with Spitfires! (perhaps not)

Still no photos of stock, like I said before you'll have to wait until Easter. Glenn e-mailed me these last night, finally looks like we're getting somewhere. The areas of ballast with no weathering are where the uncoupling electro-magnets are sited, these will be done when the whole layout is back together.

The fuelling points started off as Knightwing ones (although with the new canopies and pipework they don't look much like them now). As such the decks of the fuelling points are just normal Knightwing ones.