gc4946

86215 Norfolk and Norwich Festival This was bought used, having been re-named and chipped by its previous owner, from a well-known auction site. It's otherwise a standard Hornby model with 5-pole Chinese ringfield motor with a hardwired chip. 86215 received this name between 1998-99. However it was originally assigned to 86232 during 1995-98 and was re-assigned on that loco between 2001-05 http://www.aclocogroup.co.uk/data86.php I originally bought a Lima class 47 582 County of Norfolk in Network SouthEast livery, but changed my mind as I wanted to own a small nucleus of locos that could have been seen together at Willesden between the late 1990s-early 2000s, also the turquoise and white Anglia livery appealed to me. My mum also had close connections with Norwich when she was younger.

This is an introduction to my other significant collection, this time representing English counties (plus London) based on the counties that existed at the times my family and I lived over the years. Each loco in this collection will have a separate profile describing how I arrived at my choice of prototype and a photo. In order of date from the earliest where my family lived to the latest: Suffolk Norfolk Lancashire (mum lived in Liverpool during the late 50s/early 60s, and again briefly during the mid-60s) Warwickshire (Birmingham, early 60s) Cheshire (Wirral, late 60s) Hampshire Surrey West Sussex Greater London (during the last years of the Greater London Council and afterwards) Dorset (Bournemouth, late 80s) West Yorkshire and if mum's plans go ahead for her move, the East Riding of Yorkshire. I moved to West Yorkshire after it was officially abolished in 1986 as a county council with planning powers, etc. but it's still a "ceremonial county" as defined by the Lieutenancies Act 1997 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremonial_counties_of_England and Metro (West Yorkshire's integrated transport authority) operates within the borders of the former county. Photos will follow in due course.

I was present at their announcement and will seriously consider buying one, whether in LNWR or plain LMS black - yet to be decided - as several were drafted to the Wirral lines after grouping which replaced many ex-Wirral Railway locos. One interesting variation on the Coal Tanks was that locos 7744 and 7759 (LMS numbering) were adapted with side and bunker tanks several inches wider than standard to carry enough water for a return trip between Birkenhead Park-New Brighton and Birkenhead Park-West Kirby (source: T.B. Maund, The Wirral Railway and its predecessors (Lightmoor Press, 2009), p.132) - see link to image below of 7759: http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/lnwrbns_lms499.htm

I wanted to evaluate a ballasting method that didn't use granite chippings because whilst this looks the most authentic way of reproducing ballast, it's rather messy to modify matters if I subsequently changed my mind about the track layout. Last year I bought a roll of Woodland Scenics green grass vinyl mat (RG5132) which hadn't been used and which appeared to have the most suitable density of material to reproduce ballast if repainted. I repainted a small piece using various mixed acrylics and felt sufficiently convinced to try out this method on track that had already been laid down. As I don't have a spare curved piece of track with that radius available, I couldn't cut pieces out in long lengths so had to use several shorter bits to create the ballast shoulder. Once the Evostick sets properly, I'll get out the acrylics again to blend that all into the rest of the Profi weathered ballast colour.

Work's started on the first board's scenery. The track and grass matting have been reused from Horniman Park v1.0. There's going to be a park in the top r/h corner, hence the rather crazy pavement layout, and a car park (road surface yet to be painted) covering the majority of the board. I'm still deciding whether to have an office or factory building where the car park stands, which must be removable when the layout's put away. The photo shows the board packed away within its cardboard box.

It takes about 7-8 minutes to set up the four corner boards as shown in post #1 from retrieving them from my bedroom to placing the first train on the track, and the same amount of time in putting them away in their packaging back where they were stored. This takes much longer than my first version, which took only a couple of minutes (or even less) to do the same tasks, but again, it's a price I'm paying if I want a demountable layout in my present domestic circumstances. So far Fleischmann's railjoiners have been up to the task and the 50mm baseboard edge to rail join gaps on all the boards makes things easier aligning the boards and lining up tracks without damage to the rail ends.

This wooden frame, partly shown here to show how the four corner boards link together, is all that's left of the original Horniman Park layout top. It began life as an artist's canvas frame bought from The Works store (usual disclaimer) before the covering was removed. I'm keeping this frame handy in case I move to another property that doesn't have a level floor and minor packing isn't sufficient to keep the board joins level.

Westfield Priory's board (the one painted brown with platform) is 1220 mm (4 feet long). Due to its length, I won't be able to build a complete oval circuit in my living room without continually moving furniture around. Instead for now I'm considering using 900 mm long boards for any designs using straight track, sidings and/or stations. Fleischmann Profi's basic long straights and straight points are 200 mm long, which means I can fit four 200 mm lengths, with 50 mm gaps for linking track pieces at each end, from the baseboard edges. I can assemble a complete oval formation with 900 mm long straight sections with space to spare in my living room and these shorter boards can be transported and stored more easily if required.

NEWSFLASH! Both Horniman Park V2.0 and Westfield Priory boards ceremonially joined by a specially modified Fleischmann Profi track piece instead of an (unavailable) golden spike. Westfield Priory link: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/64666-westfield-priory/ This vital piece will benefit both layouts in the long run as I can have a longer run out for my Westfield Priory trains which had only been able to run only 4 feet on that layout. Space permitting, in the long term, I could procure a similar straight length of board in order to make an elongated double track oval.

Once I've decided if I'm going for double track (or not), I'll design the scenery for version 2.0. It won't have a station - this layout is modular and any stations planned will be on separate board(s). In terms of scenery, I'm using the four separate boards in a positive way - features will be designed so they begin or end at a baseboard joint, e.g. grassland will reach the edge of one board and the adjoining board will have a road or a footpath. Unlike the first version, I can work on one board in my living room at any time and store it there for the duration of its construction.

Welcome to Horniman Park V2.0! The earlier layout, Horniman Park http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/25758-horniman-park/ has just been scrapped except for the baseboard. I live in private rented accommodation on an annual renewable tenancy agreement, but had to move just over a year ago. My earlier layout survived the move pretty well but because the living room was smaller, I had less chance of running sessions and couldn't leave the board out there for long periods at a time. Any other repairs or improvements on the layout were therefore limited as I then had to bring the entire board into the living room from the spare room. Instead of one board, the oval circuit is made of four equally sized but smaller units, each of which can be worked on individually. Each board is 597 x 715 mm. They are solid fridge/freezer wooden doors with laminate covering bought from B&Q. They're strong enough not to need any additional bracing and for my purposes precisely constructed to the nearest millimetre unlike some of my earlier woodworking projects. My living room floor's pretty level with a hard-wearing carpet pile so I can butt all these boards together without problems. However, if I ever move to a property with an uneven floor where minor packing between floor and baseboards isn't sufficient, I'll use the old stripped-down Horniman Park version 1 baseboard for support. Each module so far has these features: - no trailing wires permanently attached to board for transformer or power pick-up; - use of standard Fleischmann Profi track geometry (their radius 3 is 483.5mm) with 50 mm gap between end of track and baseboard joints and use of standard straight track pieces linking each board; - can be packed away in its original cardboard packaging and stored safely away. I haven't decided whether to use single or double track although my experience has been that a second track hasn't been used so much. Construction's reached the stage so that I ran a Limby class 67 to test things out. For now, I made a trade-off between the chance of running trains against more detailed scenic work. However boards can be stacked ready to use in my living room, unlike Horniman Park version 1.

I won another unmade PC Kits 50' LNWR composite on a well-known auction site, this kit represents the version in LMS fully lined maroon. Maund's book on the Wirral Railway (Lightmoor Press, 2009, p.131) states these carriages were drafted onto the Wirral lines lettered as "Wirral Section No.1" on the ends. Subsequent pages show them marshalled as BT+T+C+BT, it appears later-built elliptical roofed types were mixed within these formations. However it'll take some time to assemble an authentic set and I may compromise on having a three-coach set together with an ex-Wirral Railway example as a strengthener. Page 97 of the above book shows 0-4-4T no.8 coupled to an ex-Mersey Railway 4-wheel brake 3rd with centre brake compartment and GWR-looking panelling which could be a cut and shut job from Ratio's GWR sides married to other scratchbuilt parts.

Bachmann produces a bogie well wagon http://www.ehattons.com/32831/Bachmann_Branchline_33_901E_45_ton_bogie_well_wagon_in_BR_grey/StockDetail.aspx However I don't know if the Baldwin would fit in the well space.

I'd be very interested if DJM announced the John Summers/ICI limestone bogie hoppers tomorrow!

Firstly, I hope this initiative gets off the ground. I'll certainly visit the centre when it opens and couple that with a visit to Hornby's visitor centre at Margate. I don't know what criteria will be for layouts to become part of AIMREC's permanent collection. Layouts such as Frank Dyer's Borchester, resurrected a few years ago, and other popular layouts reported upon in the media over the years (if still surviving); I'd include layouts illustrating some of the trends modelled over the years: GWR branchline termini; Shunting plank layouts; Layouts using novel and unusual methods of construction; Layouts built to a strict budget And finally how the chosen representative layouts will be conserved for posterity.

Recently I won on an auction site two PC Models kits of LNWR 50' non-corridor stock in their original LNWR livery, a composite and brake third. They were drafted onto ex-Wirral Railway lines after grouping in 1923 by the LMS to replace aging Wirral Railway stock, some of them retained LNWR livery for a short while before repainting into the LMS style. Although the PC Models kits have long been discontinued, they're a timesaver for me as I couldn't have reproduced the ornate LNWR carriage livery anywhere near their standards, however I may investigate using parts from Ratio 50' LNWR corridor stock such as the roofs and underframes to replace some of the original PC Models kit components.

Yes, it was in L&Y livery during its time with the Wirral, except that the Wirral's oval brass numberplates replaced the L&Y crest. I bought two postcard prints of the loco, one of them shows No. 6 (the 6 is obscured) on the front bufferbeam, but haven't yet come across anything showing the rear bufferbeam, but photographic evidence from other Wirral Rly locos show they also had No. x painted on the rear bufferbeam. Due to its late arrival at a time of economy measures for the railway, the loco never carried the full Wirral livery. I may consider painting a wagon and/or model a carriage in their livery to redress the balance but I didn't want to pass up an opportunity to model a loco that's available in RTR which represents something personal to me.

The final piece in the jigsaw arrived this week - a LNER J11 representing the ex-Great Central. Originally I was planning to wait for Bachmann to produce the J11 in Great Central lined black. However, at the Pontefract model railway show, I tracked down and bought a copy of T.B. Maund's "The Wirral Railway and its predecessors" published by Lightmoor Press. On reading through the book, I found I could bring forward the timeline of the Wirral Railway livery well into 1923. Page 132 of his book says: "It is thought that no. 6 [the ex-L&Y 2-4-2T] was originally allocated No. 10638 in the L&Y series but it is extremely unlikely that it carried it. It is known to have been painted in LM&S red with crest by June 1924." I've always liked the transition era just after BR was nationalised so I thought I could do the same with the LMS and LNER in 1923. The LMS quickly withdrew the ex-Wirral rolling stock to be replaced by ex-LNWR bogie stock, which carried its former owner's livery for some time before it was repainted into LMS maroon (Maund, p.131) it appears from photos that ex-LNWR 50' arc-roofed and elliptical roofed carriages were drafted to the ex-Wirral lines running in four coach rakes. Therefore for mid-late 1923, I could justify owning stock in Wirral, LNWR and GCR liveries, as well as the then new LMS and LNER schemes. If I can track down any of the former PC Models LNWR non-corridor kits with their printed acetate sides, this could be achievable. Also owning a J11 in LNER livery has other advantages - they're more appropriate for mixed traffic work and some were drafted to the ex-M&GN in 1936. The only additions I would make to this collection would be if I moved and found I was living somewhere where the predominant pre-grouping companies weren't represented in my fleet.

Courtesy of NtasticShop from the N Gauge Forum http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=19220.30 The PDF flyer sent to them mentions all the new train set and pack releases in OO and N: "Anniversary Packs Train Sets 2014 is a very special year for Bachmann Europe Plc, celebrating 25 years of producing high quality model railway products. This pack has been produced to commemorate the 25th anniversary and contains a OO scale Jubilee and a Class 47 in a metal tin with a numbered certificate. £249.95 RRP" The same locos will also be offered in N, no details of liveries and numbers assigned for either loco.

66705 - oops - mistake on my part As Bachmann's the main distributor for EFE I can see more tie-ups with the railway side of things including exclusive commissions (and in the future) new tooling.

There's also 25-2014, the anniversary set whose contents haven't been revealed yet. The only thing is both locos named "Silver Jubilee" have already been done in the past, a Jubilee no. 5552 in black with silver boiler bands as a limited edition (ref. 31-150) and 66 705 as a limited edition in GBRf livery (ref. 32-727Y) Of course Bachmann will reveal something totally different ...

I am very pleased with my NRM version of the 2BIL that I bought just before Christmas. Yesterday I posed it with my own modified Portsmouth Corporation Leyland TD4 open top bus and Southdown all-Leyland PD2 to represent what could have been seen in Portsmouth around 1956. I realise in its present condition 2090's air horns wouldn't have been fitted then but I can live with it as all my pre-nationalisation carriage stock are of those types which are now preserved. If I can clear enough storage space at home the NRM's rail blue version could follow as I can repeat the photo of 2090 with matching Portsmouth and Southdown buses that were around at the time of its withdrawal in 1971.

I've been working on another bit of the jigsaw - my station footbridge. It's been adapted from Hornby's R076 version which I bought damaged and missing its cast iron supports by shortening the platform end staircase and fabricating new footbridge supports. The footbridge will need painting and blending into the scenery, but I can now plan where the railway fencing goes and by implication where the pavements go.

I think I've solved the situation of having two incompatible uses if I want to change over from being a football ground to a shopping centre and vice versa. My solution is a separate, detachable sub-board made of thick card left over from the base of the Peter Rabbit fold-up box for each of the buildings. I cut up pieces of mounting card as footpaths (currently in light colour) either side of the sub-boards. The difference is that the shopping centre uses engineer's brick paper and a semi-circular red brick decoration on the approach to the main entrance Whilst the football stand base will be plain grey and will include a wall with an emergency exit. I can either glue these sub-boards to the base of these structures or keep them separate. However keeping them separate means they can be stored more effectively away in a box.

There's evidence that 2090 was in use whilst preserved in blue: On 10 September 1977 http://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/70s/770910br.html and images taken on the day: http://andygibbs.zenfolio.com/p726940309/h6CC7F283#h6cc7f283 http://andygibbs.zenfolio.com/p726940309/h22B8A10C#h22b8a10c also in Brighton Lower Yard on display for Southern Electric Group on another date: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tunnel_one/9576238513/