Alcanman

I've also used a Humbrol no64 acrylic spray can on Wills 'cement rendering' sheets with a little weathering.

As a serial small layout builder this book looked very appealing. I duly ordered a copy from The Titfield Thunderbolt book shop on Saturday and it arrived today. Some great ideas and thoughts on micro and small layouts, which reinforce my own long held views on such layouts. Delighted that there are both UK and US layouts included, as I have built both in recent years and I'm currently planning another US small switching layout. I also like the landscape format, ideal for browsing. Highly recommended.

Thanks for your kind mention of my layouts. Much appreciated. Mal

12 in this photo at North Blyth in 1999

Great announcement! GBRf 66736 passing Freemans Crossing near North Blyth in 2015.

Great photos at Winning. One of my favourite locations on the Blyth & Tyne. The distinctive signals and Winning signal box are still in use today. The last coal trains ceased a couple of years ago but a new regular traffic flow started on 4th July 2022 with aggregate trains from Shap quarry to North Blyth. The aggregate being used for the building of the Britishvolt battery factory on the site of the old power station.

Great photos. Brings back memories of holidays in Austria in the 1990s. Hope you don't mind me pointing out a typo. The shunter is a 2067 not a 2060. Here is the smaller 2060 shunter at Zell am Zee.

Here's a reference photo for anyone wanting to weather their new shiny Deltic. Perhaps a 1981 condition 55011.

Added another low relief warehouse and a line of sea-moss trees to fill the gap between the road over bridge.

The warehouse has been 'bedded in' after being lightly weathered and a few weeds have already begun to appear.

With the fiddle yards at either end of the layout being only 27ins, this is about the longest train I can manage . The OBA will be dropped off at the front siding for unloading and the 2 TTAs will continue on to Paisley Hawkhead.

Superb weathering on those 37/4s. Reminded me of this photo of 37408 which I took at Glasgow Queen St. Looks even filthier than your rendering, but hadn't suffered much from rust

Ballasting now finished and the distribution warehouse received a coat of blue paint.

Those roof trusses look great. Are they the ones visible on my photo?

Like this one.

The track plan was based on a small exhibition layout called' Werrington Road'. I modified the track plan and added a point to add operational interest. The original only had one point! I liked the simplicity of the track plan and didn't see any advantage in linking the two sections. Basically, one loco propels wagons and shunts the warehouse. The other track is operated normally with the loco leading from the left and then shunting the front siding. Trains departing from the right hand end of the layout simply run by.

Made good progress on the layout last week, with track hand painted using Humbrol enamels. Also, the road bridge at the left hand end of the layout built using Wills vari-girder and dressed stone. Ballasting will be my next task.

Can't help with your request but here is my photo of South Dock when I visited in 1981. Left to right 37008, 37003 and 37032. Should make a great modelling project.

Interesting observations and I love your Bachmann 37017, although it was a tad grubbier when I saw it at Inverness.

For my latest small layout, I wanted to try something different by incorporating an element of through running, in addition to shunting a few sidings. - A bit of a tall order considering I have only a total space of 9 feet x 15 inches to work with. Eventually, I managed to come up with a track plan which gave a scenic area of 4ft 6ins with short fiddle yards at either end of the layout to accommodate through running. Of necessity, this would mean running short trains consisting of a loco plus 2 or 3 wagons. Having once again chosen1980s BR Speedlink in the Glasgow area for a theme of the layout, I envisaged short trip freights to and from Mossend yard. To add shunting interest,there is a distribution warehouse with 2 sidings which will receive VBA/VDA/ and VGA vans and a single siding with an unloading area which will receive OBA/OCA and OTA timber wagons. Other types of wagons can be seen on through trip workings. With a simple track plan and only 2 points, it didn’t take long to cut and fix the track, then wire and test the layout.

Mallaig is really coming together nicely. The rocks look particularly good. Just as I remember it on my visit in 1984.

Yes, it is one of Ian Futers layouts. Whilst I take your point regarding 'enforced waits while fuelling etc happened', I'm not sure the viewing public would appreciate this at an exhibition. They like to see movement on a layout. Also, from the videos I've watched locos didn't stop for more than a few seconds at the fuelling point before moving off. Having said that, I've been a big fan of Ian Futers layouts for over 40 years and I'm currently planning a 00 gauge version of one of his favoured '3 point' layouts'.

The bridge girder looks good. Just visible on this photo.

Great work with the high stone walls. Exactly as I remember it.

There are a few videos of Lochty Lane on YouTube. You are correct in stating that if a loco is at the refuelling point at the right hand end of the layout it will prevent locos from moving out of the servicing shed. The videos seem to show locos pausing momentarily at the fuelling point and then departing the depot allowing further loco movements. Not an ideal arrangement. I would suggest using the siding next to the servicing shed for fuelling.