Waverley West

Thanks Mark. I'd like to take you up on that. Hopefully I'll have enough pennies to make it up to Model Rail Scotland again this year, so will hopefully see you there? Cheers, Dave

Hi folks, Firstly, a very Happy New Year to you all! Just thought I'd let you know Waverley West has arrived safely in its new home. Will post a pic or two when I get chance to take one. I want to do a fair bit of work to the new room before I re-erect the layout. I particularly want some bigger windows and better lighting. A bit more insulation and better heating are also on the list, softy that I am, so I think it might be a little while before the layout is up and running again. There's also the issue of what to do with the extra space. So I think my modelling might be more workbench-based for a while. I do have a new arrival thanks to Santa in the shape of Bachmann 37417 Highland Region to work on, though, as well as no shortage of other projects for the future Waverley West II/Haymarket. A Shawplan-fitted Mk IId BSO is also high on the list to make up a full rake consisting of Shawplan-fitted Mk IId and smooth-roofed Bachmann Mk 1s for the new layout. Hope to be back soon with some more updates. Cheers for now, Dave

A Very Happy New Year to you and yours, Peter. Like the latest shots, especially the weathering on the 25. Cheers, Dave

Hi Mike, Good to see you're still alive and working on some new ideas. Will be in touch soon, we're moving on Thursday. Cheers for now, Dave

I once saw a sign outside a remote cottage in the Wicklow Mountains saying "Neighbourhood watch area". The nearest house was many miles away.

Hi Peter, Love the flowers in front of the 40. Where did you get them from, or did you make them? Cheers, Dave

Hi folks, For my first post in my (hopefully temporary) layout-less existence , I thought I'd post a couple of pics of some projects I have completed prior to moving... First up is 37026 which has now been fully weathered (except perhaps for the buffer heads which could do with a touch of grease). Apologies for the dreadful colouring of the shots, the bent hose on the buffer beam and the broken MU jumper cable! Note to self: must check these things more carefully before taking photographs! Secondly, a Mk 2d FO with painted interior and fitted with passengers, Shawplan etched window frames and lazerglaze glazing and partially resprayed, detailed, etc., etc.... This FO and another SO I have just completed will give me an East Coach rake of 6-7 improved Bachmann Mk 1s (BGs and restaurant coach) and Shawplan-fitted Hornby/Dapol/Airfix Mk 2ds. With another FO and a BSO to come, they should make up into a nice rake for WW Mk 2. I'm not sure Mrs WW will allow me to start on any more projects before the move but I have a few more shots of completed projects to post yet, along with a few interesting (well, I think they're interesting anyway!) shots of WW in the process of being dismantled which show how I put the half-station idea into practice. Cheers for now, Dave

Hi Alex, Just dropped by to catch up on your progress to see your bad news. Hope it all works out for you and that we can start seeing updates on Boxenby soon. It really was starting to take shape very nicely. Cheers, Dave

Thanks Peter. I'll try and keep posting pics even while I am layout-less (a strange feeling after having had WW for around 8 years now). Thanks guys, and thanks Stewart for your kind advice. I wasn't sure whether to mention the article in HM as I haven't had confirmation from Mike Wild as to which issue it is going to be in. I haven't seen this month's HM yet either. The article is a bit of a salute to WW Mk 1 (I guess I can't call them WW I and WW II due to the possibility of confusion with certain historical events), as well as a look forward to WW Mk 2. The article also covers my technique for weathering rolling stock and mentions a few "special" locos in the WW roster. We are exchanging contracts today, so there's no going back now. We should be getting the keys in a couple of weeks time. In the meantime, I will try and finish off the projects mentioned above. Mrs WW can't believe I'm still modelling at this stage, but there's only so much box-packing I can take in one go. Hope to be back with more updates soon. Cheers, Dave

Hi Mark, Not sure if you are aware of this, but last month's (I think) Railways Illustrated had a short (2-page) article on Rannoch Moor. It has a photo of a camping coach which might be of interest plus some other general info, which you are probably already aware of. Still, it might be of interest. I can send you a copy if you haven't already seen it. Cheers, Dave

Thanks Mark. The layout has now been successfully split into 5 boards with lots of severed, but labelled, wires hanging down underneath. Everything has gone more or less according to plan so far. I've built a frame around the main station area board to protect it, as this is the most important one. My main concern at the moment is whether one of the boards is too long to fit round the corner at the bottom of the stairs. There's only one way to find out I guess! A couple of wires also managed to escape being labelled somehow, but that will only add to the "fun" of trying to put it all back together, I'm sure. Future developments on WW will definitely be designed with a possible future move (or exhibition) in mind. Not that we're already thinking of moving again, you understand, just that I never considered the possibility of moving the layout last time. The buying process is almost complete now and we hope to move in mid-December. The heating in the new railway room is my biggest concern - a rather small electric oil-filled radiator, so I guess given the time of year I'm going to find out how good (and expensive) it is pretty quickly. I've been managing to chip away at a few projects in between packing boxes and have now almost finished another Mk 2d SO and a FO too. Those, combined with a BSO yet to be done, should make up a nice 7- or 8-coach Mk 1/2d East Coast rake on the new Waverley West. 37026 and 37043 are also nearly finished. They just need their buffer beam details and snow ploughs fitting now. Cheers for now, Dave

Thanks. Yes, I am in the process of fitting buffer beam detail and realistic couplings to most if not all of my locos at one end. I hadn't yet got round to doing this one 37026 when I took the photos. I have also been experimenting with various types of close coupling for my coaches. So hopefully this is an area that will improve on WW in the future. Cheers, Dave

Thanks guys. WW is now in the process of being dismantled in preparation for the big move, which will hopefully take place sometime next month. I have so far managed to split off three of the five boards, without causing any damage that can't be fixed. Cheers Dave

Hi The signals in the station and Princes St. area are by Roger Murray, whose business has now been taken over by Absolute Aspects. Cheers, Dave

Hi folks, Just to prove I'm still alive, I thought I'd post a few pics from projects that I've attempted to pick at while life continues apace. I am currently working on a couple of 37s and have just finished another Mk 2d SO. I am so pleased with the results of the Shawplan-fitted Mk 2d that I've decided to make it a priority. I have now completed 2 SO's and am working on an FO and another SO. After that, I will do a BSO and that will then enable me to make up a 7-coach rake when combined with a Mk 1 BG and buffet. Here are a couple of shots of the Mk 2s together... Another project I have been working on is the renumbering/alteration of a split headcode Bachmann to 37026 Loch Awe. This project is now nearing completion. I just need to fit a bass speaker in the fuel tanks as well as snowploughs and buffer beam detail... Another project is the partial respraying of 37043 Loch Lomond to correct the overlarge numbers, which is now pretty much complete... The railway room (sorry, house) buying has suffered a bit of a delay but is still looking likely to go ahead, so fingers crossed on that front. Cheers for now, Dave PS Thanks for the Haymarket shots, Peter. True inspiration!

Ambassador Peter, you spoil me with your photos. That one is superb, as it shows all three main sheds together and their general layout. I have a fair number of shots of close-ups of the individual sheds but not very many which show the whole scene like that. Brilliant. Any more you (or anyone else) have would be gratefully received too. I'm being greedy now I know. Cheers, Dave

Thanks Mark. There are definitely some ideas worth taking onboard there. Just to give you a laugh though, I thought I'd post a couple of shots of the task facing me. I've never had the courage to show the underside of WW's boards before. This isn't going to be easy for me, but here goes anyway. Not perhaps the neatest wiring you've ever seen. In my defence, m'lud, I have to say that it all works and electrical problems on the layout are very rare and those that do occur are usually due to me hamfistedly crawling under the boards. Guess who wishes they'd been a bit neater? I always tend to quickly wire up to check that it all works and then never get round to going back and tidying it all up. Well, I hope you've all managed to pick yourselves off the floor after that. Fortunately, the boards shown in the picture are the worst, as they're the ones under the station/Princes St. section. Hi Peter, Thanks. Yes, they're from Fox Transfers. Sheet F4203 I think. They're another feature of coaches that you don't often see modelled. While I'm here I thought I'd post a shot I forgot last time around... Well, better go. Work and all that I s'pose. Cheers, Dave

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrBntsMB1Dk

Hi folks, Just thought I'd post a few pics from a recent operating session... Cheers, Dave

Thanks Alex. I've got a video to post of the HST entering the station with the clickety-clack in full cry! Yep, those are window stickers. I used to collect them too. I made them by scanning a photo of one in a book and then shrinking it on the computer. I've never seen them modelled before but I remember them as quite a distinctive feature of train travel in the 80s. Cheers Dave

Hi folks, I've been mentioning for some time that I've been working on a rake of original InterCity Executive HST coaches. Well, believe it or not, they're finally finished. Apart from a respray, they've had Shawplan etched window frames and Lazerglaze windows fitted, along with interiors painted and passengers fitted. Eventually, I'd like to fit interior lights and proper corridor connections, along with some better fixed couplings. Here are some photos of the finished stock as it arrives on a London-bound express from Aberdeen. First up, an FO, showing the tinted windows and etched window frames. Peter (PCM) these shots may help you decide over the apparent thickness (or otherwise) of the windows. I'm quite happy with them. Next a TSO... And a buffet... Finally a TGS... Cheers, Dave

I hope to be moving some time around Christmas. WW will be re-assembled, probably initially in its existing form. I then intend to expand it considerably as the new railway room will be about twice the size of the area I have available for modelling at the moment. Cheers, Dave

We certainly do like that pic, Peter. Very inspirational. Exactly the sort of shot I was talking about. Brilliant, thanks! Cheers, Dave PS The APT motor is the original Ringfield one. It's incredibly noisy and could definitely do with being replaced. Might be worth looking into.

Thanks millerhillboy. Modelling HA would be fantastic. I've seen so many photos of locos lined up outside the main sheds that are just crying out to be modelled. Also, my section of Princes St Gardens never seems quite right as it just sort of "fizzles out" on the layout whereas in reality of course it disappears into the Haymarket tunnels. Modelling that smell really would be the finishing touch to the layout. Every time I smell a brewery it still reminds me of my days spotting in the Edinburgh area in the 1980s. The outlook for WW suddenly seems very exciting again. As you say it's going to take time but it almost feels like I'm going to be starting all over again. Apart from that detailing I've been meaning to get round to for ages the main part of Waverley station will probably stay much the same, as will most of the Princes St Gardens section, but the rest may well end up being more or less a new layout. The depot on WW was OK but since I've returned to the modelling fold, my interests have leaned more towards (compressed) prototype modelling aimed at capturing the "feel" of an area rather than freelance layouts. I was thinking maybe the HA depot section could be made detachable or freestanding too, making it exhibitable. Cheers, Dave

Hi folks, It's been a bit quiet on the update front here at WW recently, but there's been a lot happening in the background. Firstly and most importantly, it looks like WW is going to get a new home at last. It looks like we've finally managed to buy the railway room (complete with bungalow for Mrs WW) that we've been after for some time. The vital statistics are 5.8m x 5.0m, which will give me another 70cm lengthwise and no less than 2.5m more widthwise. Teehee. So I can now get my thinking cap on to decide what I'm going to do with that space. My priorities are more storage roads, the Haymarket tunnel portals in Princes St Gardens and a reasonable representation of Haymarket depot.There's a full-size snooker table in the room at the moment so that's a bit of a problem. Shame to get rid of it really but you can't have everything. We've had the survey done and everything was pretty much OK, so fingers crossed there won't be any late hitches. I guess I'd better start thinking about how to dismantle WW. I was impressed by Mark's (MRDBlue) boxwork around Rannoch Moor for his move and that seemed to work, so I might just copy your idea Mark. It's the wiring and reconnecting it all that really scares me though. I was never very organised or neat with my wiring, partly because I never imagined moving the layout and partly because wiring is not...ahem... my strong point. I always felt that as long as it worked, that was all that mattered. The chickens are definitely coming home to roost now though. As regards other projects, my APT is finally more or less finished, although I have to say that putting it on the tracks for a test run or two was quite a disappointment. It took me back to the railway modelling of my youth (the 1980s) - noisy poor running, flickering lights and derailments galore. It was pretty frustrating all in all and made me wonder why I put so much effort into respraying it. Anyway, it's going to be packed away now into the "lessons learned box" for the moment unless I can come up with some inspiration as to how to deal with the problems (remotoring for example). It's good to be back to working on 21st century models again now though and my current fill-in project is a renumbering/naming of a Bachmann 37/0 to 37026 Loch Awe in BR blue livery and small westie. Other than that the big job is going to be dismantling the layout. Hope to be back soon with some more developments. In the meantime, here are some shots of the APT, as much beset by problems on WW as the prototypes were. Please excuse the absence of overhead wires. WW will almost certainly never see OLE. Better go and do some work I s'pose. Cheers for now, Dave