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No problem Matt, I am definitely in the same camp, with the C & L kits it is so much easier now

Hi Matt, Good progress, nice to have another convert!!

Hope everybody had a Merry Christmas and Santa came bearing goodies from Barwell and Margate. Another test session tonight, this time with clean track and most of the issues from the last test session resolved I had some good running although a few more areas to be addressed. I now have a grasp of the basic running order and have identified how I can add a bit of variety in the running and had no derailments during the entire evening. My daughter actually did most of the driving and chose a lot of the stock hence the eclectic loco mix in the photos below:

I probably won't get onto here tomorrow and have family duties over the next few days so will wish my fellow RM webbers, a Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year. Many thanks for the comments and likes etc, I can't wait to get cracking again after Xmas. Rob

Tonight was the final modelling evening before Xmas and I decided to make more progress on the signal gantry so I plucked up courage and fitted the heads to the gantry. The CR Signals are a piece of art and require careful handling but were straightforward enough to secure but I am not looking forward to wiring it all up! The routing of the wiring required some studying of the photos as I initially thought the wires should go over the top of the gantry, however closer inspection revealed the wires over the top are feeds from Bristol East power box to other signals, with the wires for the heads routed underneath the gantry. I have also had the black paint out and have painted the false legs black to blend in with the backscene.

Thanks Marcus interesting photo, with the surgery I have planned for my class 25's a future model of Vic Berrys maybe in order, I always admired the 7mm version, "Braunston Gate"

No Probs, thanks Neil, nice photo.

A few more from Peafore Yard:

Thanks Kevin, the van appears in a few photos I have found as the yellow duckets are an unusual feature. I particularly like the headboard in this picture: https://www.flickr.com/photos/7541633@N08/5923380780/

Thanks Adrian, I just need to decide whether to build Lawrence Hill, Ashton Meadows, Parsons Street or the Western fuels siding for the next layout.

I had another test session today, and spent a good hour just playing trains, this is the first time I have had both cement rakes on the layout and the scrap train. The track is filthy and running was a bit eratic but I am struggling to get hold of some IPA at the moment to give both track and stock a good clean. A list is made each session of things to attend to which will be fixed ready for the next session, the cycle repeated until everything works 100% (I hope!) The signal gantry is coming along and has had its first coat of primer now that I have added the cross bracing and platforms. I need to get my head around the wiring for the aspects then I will install the heads. My son also helped me stick the display panels on the front fold down cover, so that is a nother job off the project list. The pictures show a couple of locos not previously seen, including 31210 which is a Hornby/Lima hybrid and a long term Bath Road class 31. I love snowploughs so wanted to check both this and 20214 were able to navigate the track without damage.

I bought 4 the other day, while it is frustrating there are the errors, Brian Kirby has show they are fixable in the main so I will be getting the razor saw to the chassis when I get 5 minutes.

Hoping some fellow Bristolian's can help here, I have been searching for pictures of the CAR brake vans to go with the 08 but am struggling to find pictures that show or reference the number. I am presuming like the class 08's the vans they were paired with didn't travel far, does anybody have suggestions please? Otherwise I will just have to go with a number that is the right numbering sequence for my van. Thanks

I finished painting the front of the layout as well last night, I use black gutter and downpipe paint as I had a tin in stock from our last house, and it was also used to paint the front of Pallet Lane. The paint is quite thick but is pretty durable against knocks etc. I also printed out the name plate and QR code for the front of the layout, the pictures and description of the layout build are awaiting laminating as they are more susceptible to damage being mounted lower down. I also managed to have a quick inspection of one of my new MK2e coaches delivered today. My initial hopes of giving them a quick weathering and new couplings were dashed having seen them in the flesh as they need some work to the underframes and roof vents but thankfully having read the thread on here it seems straightforward enough to resolve when I have some time. It was confirmed today that the layout will be getting two public outings within a week as 4 days after its debut at Cheltenham it will be appearing at The Gas Cupboard in Trowbridge on the 16th April 2015 for one of the railway Thursday evenings, Dave has a great programme of talks lined up over the next 6 monts: www.gascupboard.co.uk/railwaythursdays.html

Hi Matt, Bring her to Cheltenham show and I will drop into conversation about how good value they are and how model railway parts are much cheaper than Land Rover bits so she should let you buy them. Incidentally I once brought a whole Land Rover for less than what it will cost me to make that Signal Gantry!

Thanks Peter, they are a lovely piece of work, painting the inside of the window frames black helps to hide the lack of flushglazing. On the the to do list in the future is to remove the cab door and make a new one posed open, it is a difficult job to do because of the thickness of the metal.

That is the plan Kevin, I have the van in stock just un weathered and it needs new couplings. I also plan to get a parkside kit for the 5 plank wagons to run with the 03's

Hi Axel, The best bit about the motar is it is not painted, it is actually the self coloured plastic of the stone sheets. I apply the stone colour using a flat brush, lightly loaded with paint, and brush over the stone work holding the brush at about a 30 degree angle to the sheet. I then pick out individual stones in about 5 or 6 different colours through dry brushing. I will try and do a step by step picture post of how to do it over the next few weeks. It is simpler to do than the describe, the golden rule is less paint is more if you see what I mean.

Thanks Richard and others who have mentioned it, finding the right picture is the hardest bit. I have used the same picture for all the coaches but I had to a do a bit of doctoring on the original image to remove a brick column and replaced the open Guards door with a closed one to make the rake look less uniform.

Hi Matt, I had a heart stopper last night when I got home and found my good lady wife had opened the jiffy bag accidentally, luckily I don't think she had got to the receipt. I have already pre warned her about the imminent arrival of a rather large box from Liverpool with 4 of the Hornby MK2e's and the aforementioned Bedford HA van.... Having been brought up on a diet of Eckon signals, I didn't expect the CR version to be fully assembled and painted, I think they are incredibly good value. It is also useful that the tails to the LED's are so long as they should just about reach under the baseboard.

My signal heads turned up today from CR signals so have been spurred onto some more action on the signal gantry. The CR heads are fantastic pieces of work, I have got a standard 3 aspect head and a 3 aspect with junction feather, as per the ones in Kevin's (Rivercider) pictures on page 7 and 8. I haven't plucked up the courage to read the instructions yet but I will definitely be attempting to get them fully working. I have made the walkways for the gantry and started on the cross members on the top of the framework which will like the real gantry carry the wires to the power box. I have also done some further work on the backscene, having found a pretty much square on photo of a MK1 BG, to fill in the gap between the pictures and the trackbed. In reality there will be a train in front of them so they will only be visible through windows and gaps between buffers but at least I know they are there. Kevin has also kindly let me use a modified version of one of his pictures taken under the real Bristol East signal gantry. I need to reprint it and reposition lower down as the tracks and the parcel stock don't quite line up with the backscene to the rear. I have included a couple of other photos to replicate as best I can some of the original photos from the Bristol Rail website which I intend to display on the fold down cover at the front of the layout. The class 08 in the pictures will get renumbered 08951 before April, I also need to add the missing air compressor compartment on one side.

Good stuff Neil, I will be interested to see how the finished Vi-trains 37's, are you going to be fitting Laserglaze/etched windscreen surrounds to them? The windscreens (and lack of skirted variant) previously put me off them, so I perservered with sorting the nose out on the MK1 Bachmann variant.

Looks good Neil, the class 13 looks like a nice project as well!

Don't worry It is in the pipeline Chris, it should just fit!

Great post Marcus, thanks for the comments. I remember being dragged into that Vauxhall dealer at the tender age of 7 for my Dad to look around the new Cavalier SRi he was getting as a company car, the area has changed so much since