Tref

Did they ever make record players for 7" vinyl only? Could be a good starting point - although with alternative scenes, perhaps a jukebox... Undulating scenery - sounds like a good use for those records that were left out and warped! Tref.

It would be a very boring exhibition if they only had "popular" stuff... In fact, I wouldn't go, as it wouldn't my cup of tea. I saw it at Fareham, and it was good enough that the name stuck such that I recognised it on here - with my memory that is quite an achievement. I haven't read it all yet, but looking forward to going through it, and seeing future progress. I only go to a couple of exhibitions a year, where there is something specific I would like to see - Fareham was primarily for Croydon North Street, but I shall be looking out for this in future as well. Tref Edited for typo... There are probably still some more!

Looks good, the houses in relation to the people and van looks spot on. The only thing I would say is the Wagon looks to me too tall in relation to the building? Not sure if this is because the track needs setting down, or if it is because I expect the wagon to be further away than the buildings and therefore needs to be to an even smaller scale. I hope this doesn't sound critical, and is helpful. Really like what you have done with the rest and would love to see it developed through. Tref.

Firstly thank you all for the "Likes" - afraid I don't use Facebook and the like, so not really familiar with the protocol, but they are appreciated! I wish I knew about colour. Plenty of articles on painting stuff, plenty of people sharing their methods, and some superb work, however, much as I try to emulate, read and understand, look at the real world, nope, sorry, I struggle. I have been trying to look at the ground, and at least get rid of any remaining bare baseboard. First thing was to add something to make it a little less flat - DAS clay. In front of the main building, embossed to hopefully look like cobbles that have not been used/nature is reclaiming: What doesn't show up so well is that the ballast I had used had the odd gap, but I had ran out... Not being able to get the same stuff, and having some "buff" ballast to hand, I thought I would use it to look as if it had been patch-repaired. It certainly showed up when I painted the DAS bits though: It also shows up that the old ballast is, er, green! I can see it doesn't look right, but oh how to fix it? There are two heaps moulded at the right hand end - the idea was that one would be a heap of age-old coal, with grass growing through (will grass grow through coal?) and the other, spare new, clean ballast. My (poor) recollection of the time was that pretty much everything below platform level was a universal brown colour, and to me, the best I ever managed to achieve was by painting everything in Humbrol "Track Colour". Unfortunately I haven't been able to find that in years, so have had to use Precision Paints "Track Colour - it doesn't seem to work so well, but it is probably better than me trying to mix something: I have left the fresh ballast around the sluice/race (yet to be built - the hole in the baseboard!) so I have an excuse for the heap of ballast, but otherwise painted the track all the same colour. I need to clean off the rail heads, and I have been a bit too cautious around the point blades, but since it is a simple, out of the pot colour, I can revisit those. I did mix some acrylics for the cobbles, and gave them a wash of black to hopefully fill the cracks, but I don't think it was enough... What I probably need to do more than anything is find my tripod, and use the lights that are intended to be used on the layout rather than ending up with the flash going off on the camera! I did have a rummage around, primarily for the sluices as to me, that is now the biggest hole in the layout that needs filling. Of course I didn't find those (a Wills kit, nothing flash) but did find the Dapol Dockside Crane that I have to modify, a Knightwing kit of pipes, that will hopefully provide loads for pallets and wagons to make it look like the factory does actually produce something! Also a couple of Parkside kits I forgot I had bought - a 21 Ton Mineral wagon, which would have done just as well as the 24.5 ton one I have just bought and started, and a Pallet Van - which is probably too many vans, not enough open wagons - but it is at least distinctive enough that it should be easy to distinguish from the other in its roll as a piece in a shunting puzzle: So that will be enough wagons when I get round to building/finishing them. Time for a snooze!

Ok, sorry for the rough sketching, but hopefully it gives an idea of what I have in mind: A wiggly tin building, roller shutter door, one man welding a patch in, another preparing another patch panel. I might have to rethink the clamping of the panel having the edge prep ground on being held in a workmate - I suspect it wouldn't be big enough. Showing my ignorance here of what the process would be - any information gratefully received! I'd like it to look like a rough kind of shed, but nevertheless luxury compared to the conditions I have seen railway restoration work carried out in. I started sketching an arc welder, but then decided putting the bottle in for MIG would make it more interesting, hence the trolley isn't well balanced - hopefully I have this out of the way on the sketch, and I can get it right on the model! Still haven't found wagon, but was hoping to go and find some angle for the bench and she'd tomorrow... That plan may be thwarted by health issues, but here's hoping. If not perhaps I can start on the vice or angle grinder or other little bits.

I still can't find an etched brass kit! In 10mm, yes, there is an etch, and then find castings, wheels, etc. Cheapest is an RTR, but a moulded body... This will be awkward to cut away, and surely overly thick (and I don't get to learn how to put etched brass together). Scratch building crossed my mind, but then just cutting out all the fiddly bits would take an age... I must be missing something somewhere, surely this is the most common wagon in the world (or it was in its day) and I can't find a kit?! I think for the moment I may have to start with the building, and then find something to put in it. Obviously it needs the shed itself, a welder, given the plan, a bench and vice, and perhaps a second person preparing another patch, grinding the edges. The first thing to hit me is that G1 is not as big as I think it is - I thought I could make a model vice, but in fact, it is still tiny! No matter, I will give it a go.

Good to see this in BRM, and is an inspiration for what I am trying to do on a smaller scale. Your tales of day to day life are useful to me too, as someone who has no idea of how a yard like this actually works, and yet is trying to model one! I look forward to the follow up. Tref.

How hard can it be to find an etched brass kit of a 16 ton mineral wagon in 1/32 scale? I can see I am going to have to join G1MRA or what ever it is before I even start!

So it fits then! There are also the options of 1/32 rather than 10mm, and putting it on the diagonal Do I gain extra brownie points by mentioning that I also like the idea of trying out the figure painting techniques recently in BRM,but no way could I apply them in 4mm?! I'll look out for your thread Dave, Thanks.

I probably really shouldn't do this, I have failed to complete any challenges yet, but hey, it is a year away - plenty of time... And it is really really small! I've always wanted to model a shed on the inside, rather than outside. I have also wanted to have a go at maybe gauge 1, just a wagon. So the idea is a wagon in a shed. The only justification I can see for this is as part of a preservation thing. I am thinking of a 16 ton mineral wagon, being repaired. I seem to recall many of these had the bottom of the sides patched, so perhaps in the process of such a patch being repaired or replaced. If I can find the figures, I would love to combine it with one of those arc-welder Led circuit thingies, for once being able to see what is being welded, rather than just the bright light in the building. But I guess the first question is will a gauge 1 wagon fit in a cake box? I'm sure it will... Famous last words!

Well I have made a little progress - even if I have been frustrated by my own inability at the moment... Firstly there is the building on the left hand board, that needed a little filling... Is it just me, or does everyone have to mix up about 100x more Milliput than they can actually use before it goes off? Then I thought it would be a good idea to smear it over the brickwork in order to fill the cracks... and every moulded mortar joint that I wanted to keep! So apply with the tip of a scalpel blade just where required then - how laborious can that be? Still hopefully it is done well enough now that the paint can fill the remainder of the gaps! Then I picked up a Parkside 24.5 ton mineral wagon the weekend - Fareham show was a great source of inspiration - for me, primarily Croydon North Street - unfortunately that was most inspiring for my other, also incomplete, layout "Thameside", so I have to try and channel the inspiration to get this one done first, and buying a wagon kit seemed like a good way to do so! I was actually looking forward to regressing to about 8 years old, and throwing an Airfix kit together in a couple of hours, all done, and finished... well no. however many days later and the only similarity is being able to smear glue down the side where capillary action not only drew the solvent between the base and the side as it should, but also between my finger and the side! Guess it will be heavily weathered then! I guess, so long as I don't wreck the other side in the same way, on this layout at least it need only ever be seen from "the good side". Nevertheless, some progress is being made with it, and almost now at the total required stock count... just one more wagon required, but what should it be?

Darren, great to meet you and see Croydon North Street at Fareham this weekend. A real credit to you and of course, the foundations built by Pete. Now it has been pointed out to me I have been through the Upton Parkway thread and really looking forward to seeing how that progresses. In the meantime, seeing Croydon North was an inspiration to get on and get some of my own projects progressed! Thank you! Tref

Well, I have made some progress... All of the stock I have (I need two more wagons to fill the "puzzle") is now fitted with Kadee couplings. At the moment the screw couplings on the 08 are just pushed up out of the way - I need a better solution, but it works. One of the wagons I found the coupling hooks are mounted up-side-down. Had I noticed it however many years ago when I bought it I could have taken it back - too late now... No matter - It is looking a little "Van heavy", so perhaps I can find something else, and make it that one I replace. The picture is a snap-shot of the layout as it is, right now. Believe it or not, that is taken with a 35mm DSLR - it shows that having the gear is no guarantee of a good picture! The 08 needs to be blue. This one is sound fitted, with a Howes reblow, and some-where I have a non sound blue 08 to swap bodies. But I have to find it first! The buildings on the left have been removed for further filling and painting - well, one of then has, the rest have been removed to get to that one. I have window frames fitted to the far building, except that I am two short, which is rather annoying. I have emailed Kibri, but no reply so far. I could brick them up, but didn't really want to do that... So if anyone has any spare windows for a Kibri Factory, please get in touch! I have also had another go at sticking up the LED strip under the facia, which can be seen dangling in an earlier picture. So I need to find another two wagons... I like the idea of a 21 or 24 ton mineral wagon - like the 16ton ones, but with the double doors - sorry I am no expert! I have a feeling that may happen, as it will also sate my desire to have at least one piece of kit-built stock - if I can find a Parkside kit. However... It is probably worth considering a little the supposed reason for existence, and shunting around, of stock here... The buildings on the left are all part of a company called "London Tube and Pipe" or is that "London Pipe and Tube"? Don't know, but either way they have been manufacturing stock and bespoke tube and pipe fittings for years - not just little stuff, but big stuff too - the kind that is easier shifted by rail. Now I am not sure how stuff like this would be transported, but feel this gives me a choice - boxes of little 1/2" valves would probably go out in vans. Big 2' diameter flanges pipes would possible go out in a wagon - like an otherwise unused mineral wagon? Am I right? Am I wrong? should it all be on Flat bolsters? Interested to hear any ideas you have folks. Anyway, I see that half of the reason for so much shunting will be the variety of store locations for stock, and means of loading it - from forklifting pallets, to the overhead gantry crane (that doesn't exist yet) from any of the four buildings of the business. Your comments and suggestions appreciated.

Unable to make much other progress I thought today I could at least change the couplings on the Hornby 08. Using #18 or #19 (I have both available) they appear to be a little low, but I think I can shim them up in the NEM sockets. More worrying is the screw-couplings appear to clash. Anyone else had this problem? What is the solution - remove the screw-coupling?

You are welcome. I have stripped off the right hand side again, to allow me to add window frames to the building, and do something about re-gluing the led strip light into the lid. It has given me an opportunity to get the camera into an awkward to see at the best of times little corner: The skew bridge (yes, the ubiquitous Wills brick arches kit) is a scenic break, yes, but another cliché I know, the disused railway line. Here I have tried to make it look like the obviously dangerous end of the bridge has been fenced off with wiggly tin and timber. Now history an politics have never been my strong point. The large building on the right hand side will hopefully represent an old water pumping house that has now been converted into a trendy des-res - complete with one of the pumps still turning over, if not doing anything, for that "industrial chic" in the main foyer. Meanwhile, a few unemployed brothers find a little shelter behind the tin shielding the end of the bridge. I have yet to find suitable characters, but the brazier is waiting, and I'm sure I can find a pallet to fuel it from somewhere. Can these to scenarios co-exist? I should know, I have seen them both, but time plays havoc of the memory - and I never had the memory for that kind of thing anyway! Yes, with a brazier, the plan is that this should be set in the winter. I would say a discontented one - but that would be too early for the refurbished industrial residences... It needs to be in BR blue period - well, it is - that is set - but what year exactly, I guess I would almost prefer it to be driven by the politics of the time that allow the creation of these back stories! Tref.

Who made them? I did! Thank you! The large building on the right, and top half of the building adjacent to the rear siding are components from a Kibri kit. Werkstatt oder Fabrik I believe. The one between them is a Dapol engine shed kit or two. This was disappointing as the quality of the moulding of the brickwork is nowhere near as good as I remembered it to be. I seem to recall the window frames were so coarse I replaced them as you see, and scratch-built the hoist. The bottom half of the aforementioned building, and the building on the left side are from Wills sheet, and there pre-cut arches, and finally the apex frame building is from Wills siding, and I can't remember where the H section came from. I seem to recall I spent an awfully long time cutting out little decorative bits of brickwork on the panels on the building on the right, to my mind to make it look a little more British. Hope this helps, Tref

Thanks guys. I think it is "three tracks parallel to the baseboard edge" To me it screams "trainset"!! I am hoping to overcome that scenically. The rail along the front is for a... "half-gantry" crane? Not sure what you call them. One rail on the ground, one rail in the air, usually supported off the side of a building. The operation is pure Inglenook. The end loading bay and bufferstops were positioned after checking with actual stock, it is possible to get 3 or 5 wagons in there, but no more without fouling. I am afraid the headshunt limit will be set by selecting an appropriate length loco. I wasn't really a fan of shunting puzzles until I saw an O-gauge one at a show somewhere, where it looked like the operator had somewhere else to be! It kind of made sense - sure we aim for good quality low speed operation - but apart from MGR, where was there ever a requirement for a shunting operation to be done as slowly as possible?

Maybe a few will remember my previous project on here, "Thameside". It is so long ago, that I cannot even find my own thread on here! Since life has gotten in the way of that project, I have been working on another little play-thing. The original idea was something which would pack up into a briefcase sized box, and worked on or played with as and when. More recently, it has found a more permanent home on a shelf. Progress has been glacial, but I hope that if there is interest on here, as there was on Thameside, that it will inspire me get on with it. To put it into perspective, it was started in 2008! The trackplan is a little bit crap, and breaks all the rules for making for an interesting layout - enforced by the desire to keep it briefcase sized, and use up an existing three-way point. Afraid I am convalescing at the moment, and struggle to concentrate for more than about three minutes at a time, so I will leave it at that for now, and hope you like it. Tref.