Matloughe

Yes it ran very well Ray, I was amazed at how quickly the day passed while was shunting. Thanks for letting me loose on your layout - even though I prefer the controller to the IPod :-D Looking forwards to helping you at Plymouth. All the Best, ~ Gary

Thanks for your kind words Alex, I try not to post anything until there has been a change; I know the thread will go quiet for a little while until I can get some more scenery sorted out. I am struggling somewhat with the three sidings, on the prototype I am now loosely following all freight was concentrated on the one siding/bay platform and consisted of literally a set of coal bins to store coal and that's it. I keep wondering if perhaps I should shift some of the freight to another location, such as the end of the run around loop opposite the station building etc for some form of loading platform for vans or agricultural items (not specifically livestock but they could be accommodated) Smallbrook are on my list for some rolling stock yes. I was reading a book and discovered a complete Stroudley 4 Wheeler set incorporated within a train behind an E2 passing Honour Oak Park on the fast lines heading away from the Capital in 1929 - and the coaches appear to be painted in Southern Green Livery - likewise I found examples of exLBSCR Coaches in their umber livery complete with "LBSC" lettering at around the same time - so I can to some extent play about with liveries intermixing stock that generally we think would not have been seen together. Only work I have done today really (apart from having a play) is sorting out compartments for my kitbash Arc-Roof Pull-Push set. I find it useful to plan out ideas and have them set in my mind long before I come to do them - this allows me to think about them and change if needed or if another aspect will clash to have a rethink of both aspects rather then get to the stage where it is all coming together but yet doesn't quite seem right. Many Thanks, ~ Gary

It'll be all worth it Ray! Looking forwards to seeing you & catching up as well as seeing your latest project All the Best, ~ Gary

Thank you for your interest & comments; sadly I haven't done much to the layout as of yet. Have had a busy time of interviews/training courses & family life and these have just got in the way of chilling with some hobby time. Some work I have done recently is I started & finished painting the back scene. Using match-pot paints from B&Q (Other retailers are available) for £1 I covered the back scene with two coats of sky and I also gave the ground a cover of coca brown - which has dried with a slight purple tinge on the cork; but proper brown on the back scene where it is on there by mistake - how strange. Some work that I have been working on is themes for the layout; planning items. Such as how does the fiddleyard/layout intermesh - I had planned a road bridge over the track which has latterly ruled out and am going to go with the 'traditional' tunnel mouth - and this has stalled progress somewhat; I had been working on the hill formers in cardboard but it then occurred to me that the hill formers will now need to be based off of the tunnel mouth now. So I have also been studying the station at Devil's Dyke and decided on the building layout which I have mocked up with Hornby Skaledale items & platforms. There will be a small station building - am possibly looking at the Wills Timber Station Building; and likewise have settled on the ex LBSC Signalbox which will be platform mounted, which hopefully will look something similar to this: But hopefully much more effective... The only other item of note was that the 'kit-bash' LBSC Arc-Roof Driving Brake Third Pull-Push coach is now on its bogies and as can be seen in the above photo and is very satisfying to see the model progressing - however still hasn't answered my main question of time period - I know I can get away with the buildings in Green & Cream either as Southern or early British Rail - however I haven't as of yet decided on a time period. I have got a Cambrian ex SECR 2-Plank Ballast Wagon on order which will be in SR Livery when completed - so hopefully in the near future can get some ballast down & the ballast wagon perhaps 'posed' for an official photograph with some scenery in the background... we can but wait. Thank you for continuing interest, and hopefully will not disappoint in the future. Cheers, ~ Gary

Good Evening Rich, Not to worry, "Bishops Park" still exists - is currently folded and stored in the corner of the room. I am planning a mini-update on it in the near future after the completion of the 3rd Rail (when I get around to it) and the addition of some 4th Rail. However even working on this layout has taught me a great deal already, like Electrofrog points are definitely a must and not something to be shy of in the future. If Bishop's Park gets finished is another matter... I am hopping to get this BLT layout to some stage of completion then turn back to Bishops Park - but I was considering depending on the success of this venture if to make a Bishop's Park Mark II on a slightly bigger scale baseboard wise but keeping the BR(S)/LT Mix I am planning. :-) Yes this project is a very nice size for what it is turning out to be - especially as so far its 100% built by me and I am going to be including some features unknown to me such as Point Motors... so exciting times ahead. Although the irony is the layout is wired for DCC yet the prototype was one engine in steam... Hopefully the next update will be more exciting with some actual scenery appearing. All the best, ~ Gary

Good Afternoon, Its been a few weeks since the last update; work has been progressing to some extent. The layout has been moved up to the spare room and assembled; continuing the theme of getting on and doing things myself without outside help - the entire wiring has been completed. Although my soldering isn't amazing (infact it looks quite cumbersome, cruel close-up incoming) the work itself was undertaken with a 15w Weller Iron that we've had for quite some time down the shed and some flux that looks old enough to have seen use by family members post war! I should state that my pictures at the moment aren't that great at times as they have been taken on my mobile phone as my digital camera isn't working at the moment, so I apologise for that. As a project the layout so far has been entertaining, I have practised skills that I have only touched on in the past - and the result is I have a fully working model railway. Believe me I was surprised when I powered up the track for the first time and the worst running loco I could find strolled away along the track with no issues. However I have no reached what I consider to be one of the more daunting aspects of the model: Scenery. Don't ask me why or how but I dislike doing the scenery aspect of models - possibly because in the case of this particular plan I am unsure as to where to place items. This is where the layout will either succeed or flop. Also please excuse the Hornby plastic platforms & skaledale buildings - these are down purely to give an impression of the buildings that I am intending to build. At the real Devils Dyke the bay platform on the left of this picture was used as the goods yard as well, the pictures I can see show LBSC open wagons & vans deposited in the siding - as I said this is where the layout either turns out like the location it is based on... or is it a more generic impressionist terminus - open to suggestions here. Where the coal wagons are sitting on the right-hand side I was considering putting a platform for loading vans/cattle wagons etc - possibly with the station platforms behind the buffer stops. And for coal wagons to be stables on the siding located on the other board perhaps... not sure. The platforms will extend much closer to the board join then the Hornby ones - this will allow a maximum 3-coach train and the engine will have to push the coaches back in order to run around. I have been considering buildings and come across a delightful signalbox kit from ABM Railcraft based upon Grange Road Signalbox which I hope will add some character and get to remove the horrid skaledale one currently visible, might look at a Myers style station building to go with it as well... i know it'll fit in the space I have ;-) Other things I have been looking at is rolling stock, got my eyes peeled for a Ratio MR Suburban Bogie Brake coach which with the duckets removed, painted SR Green will look passable to exLBSC Billington stock, Cambrian kits for LBSC open wagons etc are on the shopping list - which I am trying to reign in. Not to mention a Bachmann E4 in Southern Livery when it arrives So far on this build the layout has cost approximately £50 £20 went on Ply for the Boards - of which I still have some left to build a control panel & other bits as required. £30 went on track & points because I had some streamline track left over from a previous project. So I am reasonably happy so far with what I have achieved given the level of investment and my skills in assembling the layout, I am looking forwards to undertaking more work on the layout firming up details & giving it a character of its own. Thank you for popping in to see the progress (such as it is glacial) hopefully the next update will see some actual scenic work firmed up and started rather then just track & bareboards. Thanks again. ~ Gary

My Trackwork on my layout has the Peco Insulator pots & rail - but I am using Code 100; and the little collars to raise the 3rd rail up a little bit. the 4th rail has the same components sans the little collar so it doesn't sit quite as high as per the prototype. I don't know if that is any help at all. I used my EPB to gauge the rail - it was most satisfying to see the shoe & rail in relative proximity to one another ~ Gary

I don't know about an EFE but my Radley Models Acton Shuttle has no issues running over the 4th rail on my own layout. That is just a spud power bogie, what components will you be using for your 3rd/4th Rail? Lovely layout am looking forwards to seeing it develop more - its inspiring my to go back & take another look at my own layout! As for fouling 3rd Rail - I have found (so far) the limby class 73 wont run on it because its molded shoegear fouls the 3rd rail (I took it as a compliment that the 3rd rail was in the right place ish) and my Kernow Beattie Well Tank occasionally has a slight hissy fit on one corner where the 3rd rail seems to try & take the shortcut around the bend. I digress, fantastic layout - is making me want to finish mine so I can get on and plan another one! I look forwards to seeing more. ~ Gary

Thank you for your interest Armin - hopefully I wont diasppoint. A mini update - managed to lay the cork, and get the track fixed down into position. For this layout I have returned to using neat PVA glue on the cork to get it to adhere to the Plywood surface. The track itself just like all of my projects is pinned into position - because this is the only way I can genuinely ensure that the track will remain affixed to the board - I had considered laying it in neat PVA Glue or No More Nails however decided against it as I didn't want the ballasting stage to affect the rigidity of the track by applying water to it. Some pictures, An overview of the layout, although not yet wired up the M7 has been assisting me in testing the insulating sections work correctly. Alignment is maintained using two 20mm bolts with washers through the board and small catches on the front & back assist in keeping the sections firmly together. The G Clamps are currently holding the backscene in rough alignment pending the purchase of another clip for the top. Because I was working in the sun I was using the dust sheet to keep direct sun off the rails so they didn't expand too much. Shot along the length of the layout illustrating the curvaceous trackwork (All Peco Code 100 Streamline), the coaches are sitting in the bay platform/goods siding and the M7 is on the run-around loop. Some minor adjustment is needed however it didn't look as bad in the flesh - perhaps the camera highlighting issues. M7 helping me with Testing, well its not a 'Southern Layout' without illustrating a SR engine early on! Nothing special just an out of the box Hornby loco. I am a little torn on the time of the layout - I really want to do a 'Southern Era' layout perhaps hinting at the Pre-Grouping past, LBSC hints in architecture, perhaps signalling & kit rolling stock. Could also be used as an excuse if its right after Grouping for the odd 'Brighton Stock' that hasn't been repainted yet... Thank you for browsing, next items on my list is to wire up the track. I have drilled holes through the boards to take the pins of point motors in the future and also added feeds to switch the polarity of the frogs of the points. I am currently considering building a control panel to operate the layout from - either on the boards itself or on a fiddle yard board. Another interesting idea which I am looking into is potentially how difficult it might be to modify a Dapol GW signal to represent an ex LBSC one - The post itself would need some details removed however the signal arm is the main issue if its possible to remove it or modify it to make it look vaguely Brighton. All things to be addressed in the future. Now time to put the kettle on. Cheers! ~ Gary

Hello, Recently I was made redundant and with my increased leisure time I have been looking at developing my skills and producing a layout - with this in mind I decided to set myself a challenge produce as reasonably possible a 'pocket' money solution to producing a layout that would be both fun to build & create, provide me with valuable experience in design & construction and latterly offer myself further scope of development. Now being currently unemployed I am looking to working on this project on a tight budget with limited monthly input so have had to design in and ensure that what I start now doesn't conflict when I wish to continue the project further - for example the boards have their supports well away from areas that may be equipped with point motors etc. Now as a fan of the Southern Railway, and more importantly the London, Brighton & South Coast I decided quite firmly that this project should be situated wholly in the Sussex area. Now I would describe my skill set when it comes to modelling as Novice/Intermediate - I have dabbled in various areas, scales & gauges so I am not entirely a new kid on the block. I am determined however to produce this project as much as I can by myself. The boards are 9mm plywood, cut roughly from an 8' x 4' sheet by Travis Perkins into smaller much more workable strips. I then worked the wood myself at home into two sets of 3' 6" x 1' boards and additional smaller boards to act as end, front & side supports producing this which is my first integral design board. I am very happy with the result - having only done a basic introduction to woodworking pre-GCSE level at secondary school and latterly for my GCSE's I did Design Technology I was relying heavily on my marking out & design plan to ensure that the pieces I was cutting were correct. Prior to assembly the boards were offered up roughly to make sure they would fit, and then were primed and put to one side and allowed to dry overnight. The next day I assembled the boards into the configuration that can be seen above - I was most surprised that despite my lack of practical experience the boards were not only level, but went together without a hitch - and even the join between then is pretty much bang on - there is a minor bit of packing that will need to be done to the front-most track of my plan - but it is really minor all that will be needed is some card to raise the level up a fraction. This will be the intended track plan: It is based heavily on the plan for Devils Dyke station nestled high in the Downs, link to disused stations page I have made one minor change to the track plan in swapping the location of the points leading to the run around loop and the bay platform over - however it isn't intended to be a direct copy more like a flavour of the location. There are some other changes I intended to make - mainly to suit my plans & requirements however none of them are really that radical the main idea of basing the location on the Dyke Station will remain the same. And issue I have been having is where to place the layout in a time period. I am desperate to do an LBSC era layout however I better feel that a grouping era layout would suit the level of stock & research I have done so will most likely go for that. These last two pictures are taken after I have printed the anyrail track plan at full-scale and positioned it on the board. Despite the size of the area involved it is quite possible to fit the entirety of the prototypical track plan into the area without too much compression which is a bonus - one of the changes I have decided to implement is that the catch point at the end of the run around look will be extended somewhat into a fully-fledged siding allowing me to shunt some wagons there out of the way. The terrier class engine is sitting in what will be the platform road in approximately the right location to run around its train and the half-built ratio signal kit is roughly marking out the end of the station platform as a pseudo starting signal. From my rough workings out I will be able to easily accommodate a 2-coach train and with some shunting a 3-coach train wont be an issue either which is very close to what the real station could handle. In keeping with the pocket money theme I had some spare Code 100 Flexi-Track available so have ordered from Hattons some Code 100 Pointwork (Electrofrog) for this project - all pointwork is medium radius so relatively generous for locomotives to negotiate. Initially my locomotives & stock will use tension lock couplers however locations have been marked out for the installation of electro magnets to be used with Spratt & Winkle couplings which I intend to introduce onto my fleet. Anyway I shan't bore you any longer - I can't wait for my track to arrive so I can get on & get some stuff moving up and down I hope to do some semi-regular updates but until then thanks for looking & I am off to do some more research. Got a lovely ex LBSC Signalbox kit in my sights. Cheers, ~ Gary

Looks Brill Ray; I like the idea of the overturned ballast lorry not something I have seen before I think. Hope all is well. ~ Gary

Looks like a good weekend was had - I'm just sad I couldn't make it. Yes some Green diesels might be an idea - perhaps a Steam Loco as well... or is that pushing it? ~ Gary

There is some vertical play on the rear driving wheels under the cab - the other two sets are fixed firmly. The cost of this one was

Good Evening, I haven't done a Blog Post for some time however I felt like this was a good time to do one. Welcome to my mini-review of the Ixion O Gauge 16" Hudswell Clarke model. I decided to keep things very simple and limit it to three pictures. Now I have followed the Ixion Website for quite some time now and the photos on there were absolutely fantastic; however opening the box and seeing the product in the flesh was truly amazing. The packaging from Ixion is exquisite - both functional in terms of how it performs its function and has an adequate level of information on the box to be able to see at a glance what the product is - plus the overall red colour scheme is different to other manufacturers. The box lid is red and has a technical drawing of the locomotive on the outside plus all the information labelled on it. The box is in two pieces so sliding the red lid off reveals a white tray containing the locomotive securely packaged between a sandwich of moulded polystyrene - which is easy to extract the locomotive from and very sufficient to hold it in place during transit. I noted no movements whilst picking the box up, turning it upside down etc so top marks for well thought out, and not overly excessive packaging. The Locomotive itself; as I said before I have done research on the prototype and been an ardent follower of the progress on the Ixion website - however none of this prepared me for opening the box and seeing the real locomotive inside - its a stunner! Weighing in at nearly 600g its much heavier then my other O Gauge Locomotive I have however I think from what I have seen of its performance the weight is an asset most certainly. Please ignore the odd pinky buffer beams - that was my camera not processing the red in the direct light properly. The model is straight out of the box; as shown on the Ixion Website it comes with etched brass Makers Plates, Number Plates & Nameplates I haven't fitted any of those yet this is the virgin out-of-the-box RTR engine and in all honesty I think its a beauty. Originally I had planned to get the green version, being a devotee of the Southern however after seeing the Livery photos the Maroon stood out as the 'must have' colour scheme. Also included in the box is a nice set of fire irons, coal shovels a bucket etc for personalising your locomotive. there is also some very nice cab detail including representations of the pressure gauges, regulator & reverser as well as a handbrake handle etc. As can be seen the locomotive is set up for Right-Hand Drive and the cab feels very light & airy and just crying out for a crew to be fitted. There is no moulded coal in the bunker however the bunker is about half an inch deep and a quarter of an inch wide so there is plenty of room for adding such a detail. There has been some complaints over the running characteristics of the locomotive - however my example was tested prior to dispatch and although I was quite hesitant I was exceedingly pleased and relieved to see that it ran perfectly, first time out of the box with no issues. Especially important considering the only controller I had to hand was a Graham Farish N Gauge Power Box which produced some lovely slow speed running. The engine is wired for all-wheel pickup, between that and the flywheel I was unable to make the locomotive stall on my Peco Points at all, furthermore on its slowest speed the engine took just over 15 minutes to traverse a yard of track - such performance I have only seen before on 00 Gauge DCC Locomotives. All in all I believe this is a fantastic locomotive; Ixion has ticked all the boxes I feel for this release. And although considered 'pricey' for a ready-to-run locomotive I feel its justified. For example a DCC Sound Locomotive in 00 Gauge would be a similar price - and generally speaking although an O Gauge Kit could be obtained & completed for a marginally more modest sum - it would be highly unlikely for that to happen in my book. Over all a fantastic engine, great price-point, seems reliable from my testing and I feel I would recommend anyone thinking of looking into O Gauge to look at this locomotive as a great little shunter. Now if you'll excuse me - I am off to finish planning that Branch-Line Terminus in O Gauge.

I occasionally operate my Minories layout with a single track, (weekend engineering works or some such) I used AnyRail to give me the plan which I made slightly less complex then originally planned. The additional lines I wanted were too tight on the width of the board. Like you the layout is 8'x1' and with a 4' long fiddle yard board during operation. All trackwork being Peco Code 100 Streamline. What sort of era do you plan to make it in, for example if its post-steam as has been pointed out rationalisation could have occurred etc. Cheers, ~ Gary

Thats a lovely shunter Richard. I hope the exhibition went well for yourself & OR. It was nice to catch up (albeit briefly) I see what you mean when you said it was blue(ish) Cheers, ~ Gary

Fantastic Picture - you've got the *eye* for a picture Richard. Big thanks to you Ray for letting me have a go on Yard Shunter its a brilliant layout it was nice to speak to both yourself & Darren. All the Best, ~ Gary

Wow - I skimmed on here seeing Orchard Road was updated and saw my little Beattie. Thank you for having me Richard - I am sorry I haven't been in touch sooner but I have been rather unwell this week and the Doctor suggested I spend my time either in bed or out in the fresh air to recuperate. As I said, thank you for having me it was an experience on the other side of the fence at my first exhibition. I think Darren is right however - it needs a bit of muck the Beattie stand out as far to clean here. Cheers, ~ Gary

Morning Ray, Thanks for letting me have a play on Yard Shunter with my Beattie - its a brilliant layout and I got a couple of great pictures. In fact I've got an itching for my own smaller shunting layout at the moment. If it goes ahead - I am blaming both you and Richard for this. It was great to meet you and Darren as well - I hope it wont be the last time. I really must try and get down to see you guys at the club. As an aside I spoke to the Hornby Rep I know and he said no retailer he serves has had any returned as faulty - so like you said maybe a dodgy batch but then again there could be any number of reasons for it - the Bachmann 08 looks far better anyway. All the Best. ~ Gary

I hope no-one minds a select few from myself. Kingscote Station, Feburary 2010 Waterloo East, September 2009 Wimbledon 2012 Cheers, ~ Gary

Absolutely fantastic Graham - when are you taking orders for them? ;-) Cheers, ~ Gary

Ray with such a fantastic layout I should expect you are going to be busy this year. It was great to see the layout & have a chat with yourself - did your 08 play ball over the slip in the end? And I loved the control system you have hooked up on the layout it took me a while to realise what you was controlling it all with - absolutely brilliant. Honestly its the sort of layout you can loose yourself in shunting & forming trains. Cheers, ~ Gary

Very grateful to see Orchard Road in the flesh Richard. Such a lovely layout I am still overwhelmed by how smooth everything was running for you. I did pop over to say goodbye but you was rather busy You'll be pleased to know the soldering Iron will be out this week its been an inspiration & a breath of fresh air to see models running as intended. Cheers, ~ Gary

The centre conductor rail - have you used standard Peco components to lay it down or have you got a custom set up? I am thinking of laying 4th Rail on the bay road of my layout however I am wondering if it'll be an issue with stock getting snagged on it thats all - have you had any issues with the centre rail? I am using Peco Code100 track, and was considering using the Peco Conductor Rail & pots but not using the spacers underneath the pots to lower the height of the negative rail but still have it off of the sleepers themselves - if that makes any sense. Cheers, ~ Gary

Looks great! Fantastic detail, fantastic prototype. (I am a fan of the MET too) I look forwards to seeing more. I just wish I had a larger modelling space makes my 00 Gauge stock seem insignificant compared to this! Cheers, ~ Matloughe