Alcanman

I agree with the comments above and can add that Athearn originally used MRC sound decoders in their Genesis range.Problems with both sound and motor contol are well documented on US dcc forums. Consequently Athearn switched to Soundtraxx Tsunami which can be found in all new releases. For those buying on e-bay beware of older Genesis sound fitted locos. Mal

It would be 1988, as that was the last time I visited the WHL. Mal

37423 'Sir Murray Morrison' at Fort William Mallaig ..and I caught up with 37423 again on my way home, heading south on the West Highland line. Mal

Always good to see some local scenes, Dave. Pics of Cramlington look much better without the overhead wires! Mal

More great OBB pics and memories. Thanks Dave. I spent a week in Seefeld in 1990 and took the train to Innsbruck. A short walk from the station took me to this location with a great view for trainwatching. Mal

37407 ' Loch Long' at Glasgow QS ....and shunting coaching stock at Fort William Mal

I've tried several brands, and as mentioned by others the key to success is the colour. Some brands have very garish colours, sometimes mixing green with yellow and red, looks terrible! I've had good results with Silflor/Mininatur grasses, they have some natural looking colours. Mal

Looking good Ray. The IPA therapy has certainly worked! Don't you just love small layouts. Once you have the motivation to get started, trains are running in no time all. Mal

Sad to see another model shop go, but sadly the new owners just didn't provide the same level of service as the original owners. Their website wasn't 'live', but simply gave the impression that everything was 'in stock'. You placed your order and it was pot luck as to whether the order arrived in a few days or few weeks . There was no communication from them, didn't respond to e--mails and difficult to contact by phone. I suspect many, like me, stopped using them because of the poor service, which was a pity because they were a great source of Silflor/Mininatur products. Mal

2 more 37s from my tour of Scottish depots on 11th September 1982. Haymarket, Grangemouth, Eastfield, Polmadie and Motherwell produced a total of 166 locos on that day. How I wish I'd taken more photos! Eastfield's 37051 at Polmadie. and 37167 at Grangemouth Mal

Thanks for the replies. I also have another 'unidentified' Scottish 37s in my collection and it has plated over doors. Taken at Motherwell on 11.9.1982. My notebook shows the following 37s on shed. 156,242,058,056,149,139,117,292,133,188,145,154 and 146. Obviously some of those are centre headcode. Anyone got an idea which one it is? Mal

Thanks. Could I ask how you can identify 37108? At first I thought it was 37022, seen here departing Oban, then I realised I couldn't possibly have got round to the road bridge (seen in the background) to take the pic! 37022 also has headlight in the same position as 37108 Mal

A couple of pics from Oban, August 1984. A no heat 37 could usually be found stabled at Oban station prior to working the tanks. 37172 and an unidentified 37 thrashes out of Oban station with a Glasgow QS service. Mal

Great to see you 've got your mojo back Ray! The plan looks to have loads of operating potential. Look forward to following the build. Mal

Thanks for sharing the pics of Colonels Crossing, Peter. The tunnel entrance/exit was a feature that impressed me back in the day and it still looks great today. Mal

Thanks for the info and pics, Peter. I'm always looking for ideas for small facilities/industries for my small layouts and this looks great. I guess the soda ash or whatever commodity would be stored in an underground pit and fed into the loader?

As you love Crocodiles here's another one. My favourite, the OBB 1020. Roco do a model of this one. I used to own one, superb detail and smooth runner. Mal

Contikits appear to have one in brown for £145.00 Model number 43539. Listed here - http://www.contikits.com/Page10.htm Mal

More great pics Dave. It does rain quite a lot in Austria. On my last visit in 2006 it rained every day for a week! It was also raining when I visited Bischofshofen in 1995 where a BR 2067 diesel was shunting. Mal

Great to see more pics of Colonels Crossing. The loader on the right of the last pic looks interesting. What commodity is it used for and is it a kit? Mal

Great pics of Zell am Zee, one of my favourite locations in Austria which I visited in 1995. This pic shows one of the small class of 1010s in a new livery following a recent overhaul. Mal

I was trying to remember the track plan for Colonel Crossing, so thanks for posting that last pic. At the time I liked the way you were able to incorporate nice sweeping curves into the plan despite the small size of the layout. Still a great looking layout. Mal

Very close, Steve. As a local being a bit pedantic, it's more like Cammiss!

Great pics, as usual, of the Blyth & Tyne. Your photos always remind me how much I regret not taking more photos of the B&T back in the day. What was once a common sight is now long gone. Here's 56117 at North Blyth. Mal

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I could recall seeing Colonels Crossing in Continental Modeller back in the day. However, back then photos in the magazine were black and white, so it's great to see pics in colour! The layout was inspirational and got me motivated to build a small switching layout. Mal