Ian Holmes

Looks good Al. I'm most impressed.

Nice work in joining two APA boxes together. Really looking forward to seeing how this one comes together.

Superb. Every home should have one.

So, another Granite City train show is in the books, and once again a great time was had by all. This little layout was probably the most labour intensive of the layouts I've shown there. The coal loading really making it a 2 person operation for smooth running. The working coal loader really grabbing peoples attention. A couple of people asked about the rolling stock as it was British outline, but most people were just content to watch the layout work. The coal loading was, as I've said, quite a labour intensive operation. We found it worked best with one person operating the railway watching the position of the wagons under the dispensing chute to see when they filled, and the other person actually doing the filling. Something that definitely needs to be worked on is cutting down on the spillage around the chute. This led to a lot of derailments very quickly and many breaks had to be taken to clear the coal away from the rails. Another thing I learnt is that the couplers on the Dapol hoppers were not as effective as the Bachmann ones in constant push-pull situations. The direction to take with the uncouplers needs to be worked on. I made a couple of hand uncoupling tools out of styrene before the show and they certainly did the job. I'm sure I'll get well meaning suggestions to use "Sprat and Winkle" or some other auto uncoupling brand, but they'd have to be shipped over from the UK and when you have to pay more for postage than the item its just not cost effective. I could use Kadees but they don't look right on 1960's UK stock. The Bachmann ones are surprisingly unobtrusive so I might just stick with them. There is a supplier in Canada that I get my Bachmann stock from. The next plan will be to rebuild the loading screens out of styrene and get a bit more detail into the structures. A fiddle yard rebuild is also on the cards. It was just a tad too short as it was. I'll try to rig up a three road sector plate for the next time. The next Granite City Train show is on November 15th so there is plenty of time. All in all, a good day out. I did come away with an O scale US outline boxcar kit. Who knows where that will lead? Above: The layout all set up before the show started. The layout stands on 2 plastic crates that we transported stock and tools in. The whole layout set up and knocked down in about 10 minutes. Below: A few shots of the loaded hoppers. The pictures were taken at the end of the show so some of the structures are showing a few "battle scars" Huge thanks, as per usual to the wife for being the joint operator. With the layout being so labour intensive there wasn't a relief operator.

I said yesterday that today I'd work on the lighting and paint the frontage. As good as my word that was what I did. In the end I opted for a light grey to paint the display rather than a black which I thought would be too overpowering. For the photo I also knocked up a quick nameplate on my computer. It looks OK. The lighting is not so good in the basement where I work usually so please excuse the darker lighting but it does show how effective the IKEA "KOMPLEMENT" lighting strip is at lighting the scene. A peek behind the pelmet shows the KOMPLEMENT strip fixed in place as per the fitting instructions. Though I did use some slightly longer (3/4") fixing screws instead of the 1/4" screws supplied. If I'm being hyper-critical the lighting strip needs to be angled a bit because there is a slightly darker strip at the very front of the layout. But that will be less noticeable in the exhibition hall, I expect. A few more bits and pieces and I'll have a very presentable layout for Saturdays show.

I've already added a pelmet of sorts to complete the frame at the top to give the layout a proper "viewing window". Lighting is provided by a 17" IKEA "KOMPLEMENT" strip. More pictures to follow later once I get the painting finished.

One week to the Granite City Train Show. There hadn't been much progress over the past few weeks. The Winter Road Rally season had been in full swing and the wife and I had been competing and organizing around Minnesota and Wisconsin. Highlight of which had been sliding into a snow bank on a forest track that when I got out to push turned out be a three food deep ditch full of snow! But I digress... Today I was lucky enough to be able to devote the whole day to working on the layout. The important thing was to wire up the fiddle yard and get the layout running. Which was achieved without too much difficulty. Then, as per usual I got carried away creating a whole boxed up self contained system. This first picture shows the boxed up state. The fiddle yard tray sits ontop of the roof which when inverted and placed at the end of the layout forms the base of the fiddle yard. The lid comes off, the front protection door unscrews, opens and then screws to the fiddle yard base. An operation that only takes a couple of moments. then you wire up the layout pop some stock on the track and away you go. Total time setting up the layout? Five minutes maybe. LED lighting will be added and the bare wood will get a coat of paint tomorrow

Superb.

The model was inspired by structures on the Cambrian coast line. How people accessed the platforms of those stations really has no bearing on my model. But as the railway line on the coast there runs between the beach and the main road (I forget the number, I used to know it) then the platform is accessed from all directions. Walking up the platform ramp is not an uncommon way to get on the platform there. The structure blocking off on end is one of those things I've seen a photo of but can't remember where. It just fits the space on the layout well. That's all. Like I say, If it looks right it is right.

I see what you're saying and to certain extent I agree with you. One can also take the point of view that thought your eye alights on the pub first, then dynamic line of the railway brings you back into the scene. We can get overly critical sometimes. I think It's OK the way it is.

So, quite unsurprisingly after the previous post I disappeared into the basement and into the model railway room to work on the layout The idea of a workman's halt really appealed to me so I set to on the project. Mostly it was a "make it up as you go along" project using embossed styrene sheets I had to hand. The working out and building of the structure grabbed my attention so much that other than a trip up to the kitchen for a cuppa (which actually was two trips as the first time I switched the kettle on and went back down to work forgetting about my brew and made a second trip an hour later) I stayed working on the project until it was done. Five hours later. Enough talk. What does it look like? Like I said it was a make it up project. It was built mainly on memories of timber platformed halts on the Cambrian coast line and other old pictures lodged in my memory. Despite that I think it looks quite convincing and once painted, and with some extra details will really fit in quite well I think.