mudmagnet

Well, not much to report at the moment, except to type that Orchard Road is currently boxed up due to a bit of tidying up in the garage and removal of some items that seemed to be stored for an eternity (well off to the local recycling centre). The plus side is there is now considerably more space, which means with Orchard Road currently boxed, there is space to start a new layout. I will create a new thread in the coming weeks. There is still a few jobs to do on Orchard Road and will update the thread as I get to them. I will also post a link here to the new layout when I get the thread up.

Hi Chris, Great work on the building and good see a detailed step-by-step photo sequence showing how you have built it. The doors look spot-on and very individual. Doing the individual door planks does seem to the best way to achieve the finish and look of the doors. Scribing the doors can be problematic as you mention, unless the other side of the door is also scribed. Not so easy on the curved-topped doors though! Nice work on the hinges and tie-rods through the brick work, which really bring the whole building together. I also like to use the Warhammer paints for buildings / scenic items as they are so easy to use and drying quickly also allows you to see whether the colours look right. One of the problems with any paints is that they tend to dry a slightly different shade to when they are wet and nothing more frustrating than to paint with enamels, only to find when the paint is dry, you end up with a different colour / shade that you wanted!

I have also used a Lenz Standard in my HJ 33 - and runs like a dream, very good slow running and very responsive. I use a NCE Powercab. I have a TCS M1 in a Bachmann 08, but all the others run Bachmann 3-function. The Bachmann ones are ok, but will at some point change over to TCS or Lenz. I bought the Lenz standard from the shop when I bought the 33 for about £16 - so pretty good value. Not sure what they retail now though.

Looks like we will see you in Melksham in April!

Hi Chris, Unfortunately I won't be able to get there - a shame as would be good to see you and Duchy again! You will have to let us know when you are exhibiting in the future. Richard

Great looking buildings! Coming along very nicely and will fit in well with the rest of the buildings on Duchy.

Hi Chris, Thanks for following! Yeah, we can sort out a day - need to make some space in the garage though, now that I have started a new project!

hi Neil, I picked up so off-white 1.8mm LED's (12 in total), so will have 5 or 6 each side of the inspection pit and 2 over the bench. Still not quite worked out all the details yet, but have a few ideas. There will be quite a bit of work before I will post any photos! Richard

Good to see that you are making some steady progress Bill. I like the track plan and the space around the track, plus the scenic bank at the front.

Hi Simon, Following our conversation yesterday at Minehead, good to see an update. I do remember reading this thread a while ago and admiring your buildings. Certainly a change from your N gauge! Funnily enough, family just watching Lord of the Rings (Part 2) whilst tapping on my laptop!

Well, I have had some time today to make a start on the new project! Although I still have a few things to finish on Orchard Road, it is good to think about something else! I will create a new thread on the new project in the next few weeks. I suspect that OR will get boxed up when the engines are running on the 'new project' as I could do with the space in the garage. Before that happens though, I will get the lights fitted to the inside of the shed!

Hi Neil, The night / dusk shots look good. I like the idea for the 'task lights' and generator. I was on the train from Hertford East to Liverpool Street in the week and noticed that there was about 20 or 30 task lights, with small generators lying alongside the railway line (near Tottenham I think), obviously for some night work along the railway. Unfortunately couldn't take any photos, plus would have had some strange looks from fellow passengers! I'm mad, but not that mad!!

Hi I bought some small LED's today so need to get started making the lights to go inside the shed and this will more or less finish off the interior of the shed. I will add some photos when I get these made. I have looked at the ready-made lights and couldn't find anything that I wanted to use or any that looked right for the period being modelled. The lights themselves are really only going t be used to add atmosphere to the interior of the shed as when shown the roof is usually lifted off (so the interior can be viewed), so lit from the main layout lights. Hopefully the shed lights, with the roof fitted will make for some interesting photos. Time then to move onto a new project!

Thanks Martin, that does look a lot better! I take your point about the interior - something that I had not considered too much - so will need correct!

As a complete change from recent posts - I have weathered a Bachmann HEA in EWS - I know completely out of period etc, but bought for another project for the future. I thought that a photo on Orchard Road would be ok.

That looks spot-on Ray! Will look great when ballasted and lightly weathered.

Hi Not much to report with progress on the wagons! I did however, buy a Bachmann HEA at the weekend and added some weathering. I plan to make a couple of interchangeable loads and will post photos when done. In the meantime a photo of the weathered wagon - need to fit the spratt and winkle couplings. As usual, weathered using Citadel Warhammer paints and washes.

Thanks Jamie. Not sure what else can be done to Orchard Road now, apart from finishing off the interior of the shed - a few more things to do!

Hi Just got back from the exhibition today in Barnstaple. Had a good day and was very busy this morning. I did manage to get quite a bit of time operating the layout, rather than my son! Fitted a decoder to his class 47 today as well - not the best place to fit when at an exhibition, but all done and running. Just need to re-number tomorrow. One small problem - the fuel loading dock broke away, so needs to be glued back in place - no damage caused, but something to add to the list!

This is the thin edge of the wedge - BBC will lose all live races after 2018! I'm not going to get Sky Sports - too expensive and only interested in F1 so not good value for money. I have Sky, but to be honest would like to get rid of it, but we can't get any broadband based TV / fibre optic as we don't have this where I live - so stuck with Sky! Unfortunately, the whole sport is being driven (excuse the pun) by money, pure and simple - just like football before. The other thought is perhaps the BBC don't want to show the 'fly-away' races which are shown early morning or in the evening, generally messing up their programme schedules! Sunday afternoons are generally dead as far as TV is concerned? Why can't the BBC have a dedicated digital sports channel? Any sports would then not interfere with their standard programming. It's a real shame as the coverage on BBC is the best yet. Go Jenson and Lewis!

Hi Neil, That sounds great at the members day - I was going to suggest something like that anyway! Richard

Hi Neil, Thanks! No I didn't tear my hair out! Was actually quite straight forward to make, just a small set of tweezers and a bit of patience! I don't think that the era will change! I have too many Blue BR diesels and can't justify buying more locos, well not yet anyway! Too many other railway projects that need spending on. However, a few photos of visiting locos don't look out of place, so in theory should be fairly easy to change era's if I wanted to do at some stage! Richard

hi Simon, Glad you have found Orchard Road! Thanks for your comments! As mentioned before, the intention was always to make something different! I enjoy making scenery and scratchbuilding, so just seemed right to build Orchard Road this way! Richard

Ride Like The Wind by Saxon, a 'meatier' version of the Christopher Cross original

Killing Road - Megadeth