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Looks a nice little project. Arguably with a more industrial backscene a Deltic parked on the back siding might look quite at home invoking memories of the Kings Cross stabling point.

Thanks Nick, nice kit to put together as well (if I overlook the cages underneath!)

One of my favourite wagon builds in terms of satisfaction with the end result was this Parkside Grampus and a few people have reached out to me over the last year asking for the pics to be reposted. Here are some from the archives

Totally agree with the principle, my only tweak would be I would have 3 rather than 4 tiers, removing your number 2) on the list. When ranging products generally the rule of 3 works well and bearing in mind the need to start with the customer need first, it could to follow your logic be: 1) "Hornby Intro": First Trainset aimed at the beginner/younger modeller on a tighter budget who may or may not follow the hobby through. Items will have simple features to encourage use such as basic sound/light, maximise generic items (eg 0-4-0 chassis) to leverage scale of economy Majority of end users will be 6 - 11 year olds. Readily available via modelling shops, as well a general retailer such as Argos etc to aid accessibility 2) "Hornby Modeller" More prototypical trains aimed at people who want to follow the Hobby and want to be able to build a home layout to a reasonable standard. The customer is looking for a model that looks accurate but may not have the full detail of the high end model eg. they expect their model of 37042 to have split headcodes but are not fussed that it doesn't have the handrails on top of the headcode boxes. The customer has a bit more money to spend but their budget is likely fixed and thus looking for bang for the buck. Likely to be teenagers who are moving on from "Hornby Intro" right up to pensioners. Lights as standard, sound fitment options available with a simple App option for Sound/interactive functionality. Mostly ranged in specialist modellers outlets with some better selling sets (eg one with Flying Scotsman) via Argos etc 3) "Hornby Premium" Products that will take the fight to people like Accurascale and Cavalex. High level of fidelity with models that in the right light pass as real locos and carriages. Highly configurable sound and light options with products appealing to less budget constrained collectors and modellers. Sold via modelling outlets. To underpin this Hornby can look at how do you standardise where you can eg the chassis block for say an A3 loco could be used for 2 and 3 or another radical option could be to partner with the likes of Accurascale and "Outsource" premium products, combining the power of the Hornby brand with the quality of independent product/s. By focussing on the brand and providing a journey to the customer, Hornby can rebuild the brand loyalty and support the retailler giving them clear products to suit their range. I specifically haven't mentioned Hornby's website, there is a place for their web sales but it needs to be aligned price/service wise with the retaillers as part of a co-herent strategy of supporting direct to customer and trade sales.

Great news, I guess it was an obvious one to come bearing in mind they have done the 25s already. I guess in fullness of time a 25/0 will follow

Small progress on the layout, I have sorted the steps for office by the cement terminal. I had intended to scratchbuild but I saw some 3d printed steps on ebay. They came as a pair but were a little large, unfortunately one had a warped leg but as I was planning to cut it down I chose to modify that one. I trimmed both ends of the handrails and chopped roughly 9mm off the bottom. I also fitted a piece of plastic box section at the bottom to correct the warped leg.They now fit perfectly and have since been primed.

I have been making progress albeit slowly but it is coming together now, with progress on 3 fronts; 1) The shed. The shed is now glazed using some spare clear thin sheet onto which I have added some thin glazing bars. I am quite pleased how this has turned out, I have started to weather the external brickwork as well. 2) The concrete area; I wasn't happy with how this looked initially with some gaps at the end and also the card didn't really properly butt up to the track so I used some filler to fill the gaps and then painted more of the textured paint. I have cut in a plinth for the fuel pump and have some drainage grilles on order. I have to say I can't wait to get this weathered! 3) The backscene; My original plan was to use a photo of the Wiltshire Hills with the White Horse but it didn't really blend in. In addition I wanted to convey depth of the sidings beyond the board so resorted to an old trick I had used before. I found a good side on picture of a Yeoman PGA wagon which was duplicated and super imposed. The wagon was perfect as it screamed Westbury but with the design dating from 1972 until the 2000s was perfect for both my 1977 stock and the class 60. It is seen here loosely in place as I will fix it after weathering the track.

Thanks for the explanation, I see the guys in Boness are doing exactly the same window pillar repairs on one of their class 27 as well at the moment. I do indeed recall the early days of Toddington well, I remember being shown round 37215 not long after it arrived in the pouring rain thinking what a tough environment it was to restore a loco in!

That is some work! One question if I may, how do you get the windscreen surround the right shape/size/location, is it a case of offering up the window glass every so often to mark around it or do you have a specific template you use please? I am confused by 1 thing, if the dome is not the one fitted to 26043 when it was in Dutch livery as per the photo which shows it when it was withdrawn, is the dome a preservation era fitment? I used to visit the GWSR a lot when 26043 was being first restored and can never recall seeing the roof dome off it but maybe I missed that.

I am sure if you message Steve at Railtec he might do some as a custom job?

Looks good Paul, nice to see what you have done here.

Great to chat yesterday Rich, hope your electrical gremlins stayed away!

Wow, that looks excellent, amazing considering how poor MTK bits were.

Respect to you, nice job from what looked to be a very tricky set of bits to work with!

I designed and built a wooden framed Garden office a few years ago and bought an Ebauer (Screwfix/B&Q own brand) impact driver as my Makita cordless drill/screwdriver batteries were getting knackered. I was sceptical how good the impact driver would be (especially as ordinarily I prefer corded power tools) but it has had quite a bit of use and has been brilliant, so useful to have on hand.

RTC livery is still on the mainline courtesy of 69004: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rob50037/52606396789/in/photolist-2o9DwZc-2nkyxR6-2nhC72H-2oPnqfP-2n66Frn-2pcw8Eu-2oRZsTH-2njTp7R-2oS41S2-2nuoWLk-2oP8F92-2pcuc1Z-2ofzLSi-2nqXCqC-2nhexbg-2nkbUqj-2oTa8FW-2p5vziM-2naJWj4-2naJWnq-2nwzCmQ-2n8ZLWV-2n479mA-2ntjRn7-2nLRYbj-2niAeLh-2oQ8tjn-2o72QtT-2mZaygJ-2n6PPoA-2n48NUF-2ngtgUH-2nyhAEx-2o1b3GH-2nSpayN-2nT8C1G-2n5YmK1-2oaArAJ-2n473WR-2oh8zkx-2nmctii-2nvEvKv-2n68je8-2nynQuN-2oEKKx8-2naCoqo-2oPouVy-2nfGafr-2mZbBzW-2oTmHjj

Good luck Rich, I had forgotten this was on this weekend, might have to see if I can get a pass out..

A bit of recent progress on the plank, I have mostly been painting things. The building frame has been painted a concrete colour as I need to paint it before adding the glazing and associated framework. I also bought from @mudmagnet some detail bits including a fueling point, battery charger and fire extinguishers etc. Most will appear on the plank but some will go on the extension to Peasevern Yard. Further work is planned on the concrete hard standing as drainage needs to be bedded in before I fix the fuel pump down. I was lucky in my research to find a photo taken looking into one of the sheds which was perfect for mounting inside of my shed end. Unfortunately the loco in the picture is a red stripe liveried Romanian class 56 which is fine most of the time when the class 60 is on display but it is not ideal for my 1977 stock With a bit of cut and paste I managed to stitch in a domino headcode class 47 from another picture which is ideal for 1977 but not for the class 60 so a solution was required. The answer was to cut a piece of card to size then stick an image on each side and then I can remove and swap it over depending on which locos I am photographing; 1977; 1992

Thanks Dave, agree, just hope the detail can be seen when it is on the layout but I know it is there at least

I had some painting to do on some bits I had bought for the photo plank so took the opportunity to do some bits on a 3d printed Forklift I had bought of ebay for the warehouse. I wanted a fork lift that was suitable for the 1970s and this one looked like it fitted the bill albeit a bit basic detail wise. It is what is known as a counter balance forklift which were used as a general purpose truck but these days are mostly used just for loading and Unloading of lorries; The key bits I noticed was the "mast" was missing the hydraulic ram to lift the forks as well as there being no control stalks or handrails. Also the wheels had an unprototypical hole in the middle. I raided my stash of micro rod to make a ram and also cut small sections of rod to fill the holes in the wheel. Brass rod made the handrails and control stalks;

Thanks for sharing the links to the photos, very handy for my own scratchbuild.

Ha ha, thanks Nick. All in good time but it it is definitely at the back of my mind to use it as a test bed for DCC..

I have made a start on the display for.the class 60 which can be found here;

A few weeks ago I made the impulsive purchase of a weathered Heljan class 60 off Ebay, I hasten to add I am not an impulsive person but do have a soft spot for class 60s. Ever since 2003 all I have ever bought loco wise has been BR Blue or suited to 1976 to 1978 and my Avon Street (in Bristol) inspired exhibition layout "Peasevern Yard" is firmly set in 1977 so there wasn't an opportunity for the class 60 to find a home on it hence my decision to build a small single road photo plank. I had previously built (and sold) a Finsbury Park inspired depot scene which would have been ideal except it was a bit wide for displaying on a shelf, but it did inspire me to build something on the same lines which would be flexible enough to be used for all my stock. I live near Bath and have a few local railway books and hence hit on the small shed at Westbury. I started with an offcut of ply which was cut down to 15cm x 60cm and then had framing added. I had some spare O gauge track which had been ballasted and some foam board used to create some raised concrete area. I uses offcuts of ply to create a backscene which is painted the same sky colour as the backscene on Peasevern Yard (P7Y), although the plan is not much will be on show by the end of construction. To provide a scenic break on the right I decided to scratchbuild part of the servicing shed. These were very basic but also long lived (with some modifications) so ideal for both the class 60 and my 1977 stock. I have some strong photo mount card so decided to use that for the depot frame; The dimensions are guesstimates from photos but in essence it is 12cm tall by 14cm wide. I was lucky to find a head on photo of inside the shed (albeit with a class 56 in shot) that will be mounted on the end to provide an illusion of depth. Here is the framework in place

Great job on this Al!