milkman matt

Thanks for the suggestions, folks. I should probably have mentioned in the OP that we will be hiring a car in Edinburgh and Bath. In Edinburgh, the intention is to drive to Alnwick Gardens on day and the Forth and Tay on the other. Of course, the may be some exploring between those destinations. In Bath, we will be driving to Stonehenge and the white horse as well as possibly re visiting Swindon (we were there in 2012) among other little explorations. Settle and Carlisle will be part of the trip from Carlisle to Chester. I know it's a bit of a roundabout way to get there but the Passes I have (pictured in the op) allow unlimited travel on British railways for 8 days in a month so I planned it as one of those trips plus it seems a good way to see a bit of the country.

We arrive in York on Thurs 6/6 and leave on Sun 9/6. So I think the DVLR may be a miss. Will see if I can get to the Monk Bar model shop and check out the Imphal Barracks line. I like finding obscure bits of railway history. On my first trip to the UK (1986) I was lucky enough to visit Wylam and found out about George Stephenson's birthplace just down the road. This was in a time before the internet so it was quite fortuitous that my Brother's sister-in-law was living there.

Thanks for that. We will be hiring a car in Bath for the duration so will be driving to the White horse and Stonehenge. Will also be touring a fair bit over the week so the WSR could be on the cards.

As a few of you know, back in Jan 2017, This little black duck had a heart attack. Not the "Clutches chest and falls to the ground" sort but more the "Gee my chest hurts, maybe I'll get that looked at." type. Two things came of this. 1) if you have chest pain, don't wait a day and a half before getting it looked at. (DO IT NOW). 2) Trauma insurance is a very good idea. Thanks to point 2 I am now booked to spend 4 weeks travelling the UK by rail in June. The plan is to fly into Lille in France (ok Paris and then train to Lille) and spend a couple of nights there before travelling to London via the Channel tunnel. We will spend a night at St Pancras hotel before heading to York for three nights at the Principal Hotel. After that, it's three nights in Edinburgh before we then head to Carlisle for two nights. Next up, it's Chester (2 Nights), Bath (5 Nights), Brighton (3 nights) and Paddington (3 Nights). The main idea of the trip is to cross a number of things off my bucket list. These are, Channel Tunnel, Take my wife to the Shambles and NRM, Visit Alnwick poison Gardens, see the Forth and Tay bridges, Travel the Settle and Carlisle line, see Bath, see Stonehenge and the white horse, See the Brighton Aquarium and stay at the GWR (Hilton) hotel in Paddington. Apart from these "Must do" items, I was wondering if anyone has any other suggestions of things to see and do in these places. Of course, any model/hobby shop suggestions would be accepted too. Looking forward to your suggestions.

Stand and flexi shaft are a must. I have one attached to my workbench and find it very useful. As for cutting rails, I've had no issue with it. As long as you take your time and don't try to do the whole cut in one hit, you shouldn't have a problem. if you alternate rails and make small cuts and let them cool. I would advise using the Flexi shaft when cutting rails though as you can make a square cut with it. Below is a picture of my workbench with the Dremel in situ.

So sorry to hear, Jim. My condolences.

I wonder if the employees of the current incarnation of the GWR are asked to reach for the standards of the original? Would certainly seem that they are trying.

Ok, so maybe I didn't actually build a bridge. However, the bridge has been built and I can finally get over it. It's been a busy few weeks for me in the train room. My neighbour has installed the bridge across the doorway for me and I have managed to complete the 2 lower circuits of the railway as well as half of the fiddle yard. Now the fun can really begin, Ballasting! Any volunteers want to come around and help (do it for me)? Given that about a third of the lower level will be in a tunnel, I guess it isn't really that big a job. Of course, there is still the upper level to be sorted out but that's another blog entry to come. I've found that the biggest trap now is that, now that I can, I just want to run trains so I have to try and resist the urge as long as possible when I'm out here. I'm just chuffed that I can sit and let rains run while I mess about . I have found a happy medium to the dilemma though. I have a work train running while I work. Once I finished the first circuit, I made up a train of three open wagons, a bolster wagon, and a well wagon all hauled by my Bachmann Pannier 5700 class pannier. The bolster wagon carries long lengths of rail which is purely for looks more than anything but the three open wagons actually serve a purpose. One has the track nails in it, one has sleepers that have been cut off and the third has any small off cuts of rail left over from track laying. I'm sure there must be a use for them so I'll hang on to them for now. One thing I am fortunate enough to posses is a tack hammer that has a "T" shaped head on it which has a magnet in one end. This has proved its worth time and time again 'when it comes to dropped track nails. simply flip the hammer over and the magnet does the job that my slightly large fingers cannot. It also means that I don't have to stop the work train every time I want some more nails. I simply wait for it to trundle past, dip the magnet into the carriage as it passes and Viola! a half dozen or so nails stick to it and the train continues on its merry way. I just have to remember to make sure I use the right end to drive the nails in. Ok, enough about my shenanigans with trains and track laying. On the modelling bench, things have been a bit quiet but not entirely at a standstill. I have partly built Metcalfe station platform which I'm tossing up between using for the main station or the branch line. I am leaning toward the branch line at this time as the mainline will be a large station which will require more than the on kit if I do use a Metcalfe kit. Another little project that happened quite out of the blue (that seems to happen a lot here) is a cenotaph for the eventual village that I plan to have one day. After some years Mrs Milkman and I have started on a project of dressing up our rather plain internal doors by the simple expedient of adding some decorative beading squares to them. Of course, this meant cutting a lot of triangle pieces off the end of the beading the get the angles right and I found myself thinking about what I could do with all of the off cuts. I found that, if you place four of them together, you get what looks like the stepped base of a cenotaph memorials in some towns. I figure that, by gluing them together and with the addition of the square end of a chopstick (the irony is not lost on me here) followed by paint and weathering, it should look quite good. Stay tuned for future updates. That actually means that I now have four unfinished projects on the bench at t his time Problem is, I am trying to source scarce parts for most of them with the exception of the grounded coach body which is just stalled while I think about the next move with it. The off cuts of beading from our interior decorating And how they look when glued together. The bridge with the two tracks across it. I still have to cut the tracks in order to make it removable so, for now, I have to practice my limbo skills when entering or leaving the room. Half of the fiddle yards. I used Peco setrack points here as it will eventually be hidden and they are a lot cheaper. I also used a number of Setrack straights that I had around and save the flextrack for other work. The "Works train" Playtime!! While I was typing this entry, I had these three tootling around across the top of my work bench. After all, all work and no play.......

How long before the local bobby tells the chap sleeping outside the pub to move along?

Hi folks, remember me? You know it's been a long time between blog entries when you have to go back and read your own blog just to see where you left off! I suddenly realised that it has been nearly 8 months since my last entry. However, it doesn't seem that much has happened in that time so I have had very little to write (prattle on) about. The Ratio 4 wheel carriage has come to a grinding halt as it seems that the station bench that I was using for compartment seats is no longer available anywhere and is very hard to find even as a second hand item. I did, however, manage to find a floor covering that I thought was right for the job. Turns out it was right under me the whole time. My train room has a floating wood floor so it seemed logical to just take a picture and then adjust it to a size that looks right. (If it looks right, it probably is) and print it. Then it's just a simple matter of sticking it down to the carriage floor. The Tri Ang collection is still moving ahead slowly with the addition of some nice items I have acquired recently, most notable of which is an electric level crossing and the relevant lever switch for it (from two different sources) Seems a shame that items made as long as 60 years ago still function as they are designed to but now we can't get things that last more that a few years. The X04 motor was way ahead of its time in my book and if they could get it to run as quietly as the modern can motors, they would have been on a winner. As the title of this entry suggest, I have finally started laying track on boards.............yes you read that right, I'm actually in the process of laying track. I know back in February 2017, I said I would have trains running by the end of the year but I did not say which year. As it stands at the minute,. I can run a fairly lengthy freight train (22 short wheelbase carriages) through what will be the station and also do some shunting. Gives me something to do when I have a break from the track laying. Problem is, it also distracts me from same! I have struck one hurdle though and that is the gap (1350mm) across the doorway which is on an angle from the corner of one cabinet across to another. After another call to my neighbour (the cabinet maker), it should be sorted on Tuesday evening. I can see I'm going to have to buy this bloke something nice for Christmas. Anyhoo, I see by Mickey's hands that it is getting late (Either that or he is cheering something) so I shall sign off for now. Hopefully, it won't be another 8 months before the next instalment. Cheers for now. The Ratio Coach with its "floorboards" in place. This is where the bridge will cross to complete the lower circuit of the layout. The Station area as it stands. Left line is the branch line to the upper level and the two main lines in the middle. The loop on the right is just over 2m long. Two of my favourites. A little something to give the rivet counters apoplexy. Otherwise known as "It's my railway, I'll run what I like".

This one is doing the rounds on Facebook at the minute.

Or just thanks the good Lord that he doesn't have hair!

Hi all. I trust everyone had a happy Christmas and that the big guy was good to them. Hands up all those who got a lump of coal. As I've said previously, rail modellers are a lucky lot. If we're good, we get what we want for Christmas and if we're bad, we get a lump of coal which we could use anyway so it's a win win situation. I must have been very good as I received an apple watch for Christmas along with some very interesting materials that could be used on the model railway when the time comes. Now that we've got Christmas, New year and my birthday out of the way, it's time to get back to the story. The story so far is this. The grounded coach body seems to have ground to a halt for the minute while I contemplate the next move. I can say it may involve a base and possibly a couple of trees that I have made. I did mount it on a piece of styrofoam but I wasn't too keen on how that reacted to the spray paint so I have swapped that out for a piece of MDF I had around. I also plan to try out some of the aforementioned materials that I received for Christmas to see how they look in a scene. Another rummage through the boxes has turned up a part built Ratio 4 wheeled GWR coach that I seemed to have inherited from somewhere. As the previous owner had gone to the trouble of fitting metal wheels and three link couplings to it, It seemed silly not to finish it. I have built three of these myself (also with three link couplings), so it isn't much of a challenge to do these. I did however, think about fitting an interior to this one as I was never quite happy with previous ones not having one. A quick look in the spares box produced two double platform seats which, by a happy chance, are just the right length to fit in the carriage. Problem is, to make the 4 compartment interiors, I need 4 of them. 3 to be left whole and 1 to be cut in half length ways to for the end seats. Guess I need to go shopping. To make the compartments, I flattened off the top of the seats with an emery board (Formerly from Mrs Milkmans nail care box) and glued a piece of plasticard to each one. After painting, they look very much like a single wall with a seat either side. Hopefully, I can find a couple more seats to finish this off and maybe build more of them. Aside from the seat availability issue, the is also the matter of a bend in one of the sides to be sorted. Seems the kit was exposed to some high temperature t one point and has a lovely wave shape to it. Those of you who have read my previous post, would know of my passion for collecting old Tri-ang trains. It seems that, lately, the Tri-ang gods are smiling on me as I have picked up several items off Ebay at what I would consider to be reasonable prices. First off was a "TransAustralia" double ended diesel for $45Au which came from a seller in the next town from me. He was kind enough to drop it off to my door so I saved on postage there. Next came a 1957/8 Dock shunter in excellent condition which cost me $60Au including shipping from the U.K. I have since seen several more examples in worse condition being sold for almost double that. Last but by no means least, I have managed to pick up a R4DA TransAustralia set dating from about 1965-7 for a shade under $200Au which I consider a good buy as these sets don't come up all that often. Well, that's all I have for you now my friends so I'll bid you adieu until my next installment. Until that time, take care and happy modelling. The materials I received from my beloved for Christmas. Found them in one of our large fabric chain stores. The part built Ratio Coach I found in a box at the back of a cupboard. Looking along the distorted side of the carriage. The Station seats in situ as carriage seats. Flattening the tops of the seats. Pieces of plasticard added to form the compartment partitions. Two of my recent purchases from E-bay.

Will there be an operating well in the middle? If so, what dimensions?

They sent me one which I ignored. Three years later (July this year) I had 1/3 of my bowel removed because of pre cancerous growths. I strongly advise people to take the test now.

Seems I have been slacking off a bit with my blog entries of late. I blame the weather. Now that it's warming up, I'm spending more time outside and less in the train room but that doesn't mean I have been slacking off in the room altogether. The ongoing project of the grounded coach body continues and seems to be slowly turning into a diorama of its own. After my last entry, I have added a window box, outdoor seat and "resident" as well as giving it a coat of paint. The painting was unintentional but I wanted to try out an acrylic wash and a 1/2" wash brush that was given to me by my wife as part of a set last Christmas. As the coach body was really only ever intended as a learning tool, it seemed the most obvious choice for this trial. I must admit that I am rather pleased with the result and the coach has taken on a whole new character to what it was in white. Speaking of paint, I have made a couple of purchases recently which have really helped eliminate the various storage containers that have been the home of my paints and brushes for many years now. The first one was a steel pencil case with a tray in it which I use to store my brushes, stirrers and mixing pipettes, The other (and more important) is a small 2 draw organiser which is just the right height to hold my numerous 15ML Humbrol paint tins along with the aforementioned pencil case and other paraphernalia. The whole lot is now one tidy unit that fits nicely into the draw that used to have 3 different boxes and various bits and pieces in it. Unfortunately, the draws aren't high enough for paint jars from the likes of Tamiya and Model Master so they are still in a separate box. All up, it cost me about $40 AU at "Officeworks" which is a large stationery chain of this shire. I'm not sure what the UK equivalent would be but I'm sure someone from this forum will have that answer. Unlike the paints, another collection I have is more by design than accident. For about 10 or so years now, I have been collecting Tri ang / Triang Hornby trains. For the main part, these have been kept in various boxes and parcels in cupboards until a couple of weeks ago when I decided to pull them out and see just what I had. Three hours later, I'd managed to cover a 17'x2' bench with no room left. Think it's time I got a display case on the wall. A little side project (I know, there are many) that I currently have is a scratch built shed that I started a great long time ago (When the train room was still the garage). This was built using plastic rod and "timber" from an Atlas "Mill lumber" kit. Not sure why I started this but I think it had something to do with the plan of a men's facility that was published in one of the Volumes on the SEVERN & WYE railway. Somewhere along the way though, it morphed into becoming the basis of a small, slightly run down, garden shed. At this time, it is still a work in progress but it may end up joining the grounded coach body at some time. A new trick this old dog has learned recently is making trees. I know many of you are saying "But that's easy, I've been doing it for years," but I really only knew the basic concept of tree construction and not the technique. However, thanks to a video on You Tube (isn't the internet wonderful?) I finally cracked the mystery of tree making. My first attempt was not so flash as I used the wrong gauge wire and ended up with something that looked not unlike a very sick weeping willow and so that was consigned to the "I might need that one day" box. At this point, Mrs Milkman came to the rescue once more with some florist wire that she no longer needed. Attempt number two was a vast improvement as far as the frame went but I feel I was a little to gung ho with the latex (First time I've used it) so it looks just a little chunky although still very passable as a tree. As I type this, I am waiting for the adhesive to dry so I can add more foliage. Attempt three, at this time, is looking the goods and I am quite pleased with it. Of course, practice makes perfect and I will be practicing a bit as time goes on although nature is not perfect so you could almost say near enough is good enough when it comes to trees. For now though, I must leave you dear reader until next time. If I don't manage another entry before then, have yourselves a merry little Christmas and I hope that the big guy in the red suit brings you much joy on the day. The grounded coach with it's "new" paint, window box and the resident reading the latest copy of his favourite railway modelling magazine The organiser that now holds all of my enamel paints and painting paraphernalia. General overview of my Tri ang collection. Trees! The one on the right is attempt 2 with attempt 3 on the left. The scratch built "shed" and the Atlas kit used to build it.

Nothing wrong with dioramas. After all, a model railway is, more or less, a diorama with moving parts!

Having got the grounded coach to near completion, including the fitting of internal lighting, and also finishing the MMS Hillman van kit, my attention has turned once again to the baseboards and a small step forward has been made in the form of a slope to the upper level. It isn't quite as I would have hoped it would be in as much as it seems a little steeper than I thought it would be. Indeed, a test using 2 Hornby clerestory coaches showed that certain engines will not be able to cope, namely an older "Mainline models" Collet goods 0-6-0. However, as it will only be a branch line with a small terminus station, I don't envisage too much trouble with engines hauling the small trains up there. I have also started placing track on some boards and found that the curves may be a little tighter than I was lead to believe on Any Rail. If any of the local (Pakenham, Melbourne Aus) DURM members could offer some help with this, I would be very appreciative. As is my wont, I also found a couple more projects to work on at the same time as all of the above. I've made a tentative start on the MMS Superpoise Lorry kit and have also started "populating" a carriage with passengers. It was at this juncture that I discovered that I have very few "seated" passengers despite having a large number of figures that I bought many years ago when I was much younger and quite directionless with regard to my railway modelling. In my last entry, I also mentioned the possibility of detailing a Hornby Victorian Terrace that I found stashed away in the bottom of a box. With the help of a fine point permanent marker, I have made a start by mapping out the upper floor room plan but, that will be all for the time being as I want to be able to take plenty of time on that project without being distracted by other task at hand. Given my propensity for having multiple things on the go at one time, that could be a few years in the making. I've also taken delivery of a couple of "John Day" white metal kits as I recently discovered this range and decided to give them a try. Initial impressions are very encouraging with these and I look forward to building these two kits. See my post in "Small suppliers" in regard to these. Now that spring is here, there might be a little more activity in the train room as is won't be so cold in there at night. For those who have followed this saga from 'the beginning, you may have noticed that I never mentioned insulating the room when we built it. I hope to rectify that in the not too distant future but. for now, it's dress warm and keep the heater close! The Gronded coach with its internal lighting installed. A few photos of the finished Hillman Van Supports for the slope to the upper level and general view of the grade. The brackets for the support were made from this "make a bracket" strip which cost under $2 at Bunnings. (Aus) Floor plan for the first floor of the Hornby Victorian Terrace. The hole in the middle will, of course, be where the stairs come up and there will be a wall down the middle of the two. And finally, the 2 John Day kits as delivered.

Maybe if you just grab a newspaper (or favourite modelling mag) and sit in the kitchen reading with all of the appliances plugged in and wait for whatever it is to go bang. You may be able to pinpoint the source of the noise. Just a thought.

I seem to be a bit behind the times here but, I have just recently found the John Day white metal range of vehicles. http://johndaymodels.webplus.net/index.html Being fairly new to white metal and having recently built a white metal kit from another supplier that was average at best, I was, of course, a little wary of what would arrive in the mail. Nevertheless, I decided to bite the bullet and try a couple from this range. I must say, The 2 kits ordered arrived in today's post and, at first glance, look to be very good kits indeed. The two I ordered were SRV06 Humber 16/50 Saloon and SRV79 Austin 16hp Saloon. Both have been recently re mastered by the current owner, Daryle Toney and are a credit to his work. the details are superb. There are minimal parts and no need for assembly instructions as the kits are very simple. As a novice white metal builder, I will certainly be keeping an eye on this range for the foreseeable future. SRV06 Humber 16/50 as supplied. SRV79 Austin kit as supplied.

Top hat bearings maybe?

What about a Y6 Tram engine? Plenty of room for the motor in there!

This is my source of reference. Well written and simple to understand.

Fully agree about the cost of modelling these days, I thought the idea of shifting production to the east was to lower the cost of manufacture. Seems to many savings are not getting passed on to the end user. I was shocked when I was in a local (Melbourne Aust) Railway shop a few weeks back and saw Hornby coaches priced at $105 (about 64GBP)! Seems to be only about 6 years ago, I was buying Hornby pacifics for that price. Here I am trying to get my "grandson" interested in the hobby and it seems he will have to become the CEO on a multi national company if he wants to keep up!

Thanks for the support, It wasn't until I looked at the photos that I noticed that the chimney pots are slightly too wide. If I'd left the narrow bit of card off the top of the chimneys, they would have been the right width. However, it isn't noticeable from normal viewing distance. Oh well, live and learn!