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Hi Paul, very impressed with the way it is all coming together, it looks great. I have retreated onto the kitchen work surface (!) until the weather warms up, ( with Maggie's permission).

Hi, have a look at traxcontrols.com on the internet. They do sound modules and speakers which alter the chuff relative to the voltage applied. They are meant for larger ride on engines, but I have successfully used one under my o gauge shunting layout with the sound unit sensing wires connected to the controller output. Placing the speaker in a suitable box enhances the bass. Kevin.

The layout worked well at the exhibition. One controller failed full on. I investigated it when we got home and found the signal transistor blown. I have replaced it, and the controller is back to normal. Here is a photo of a happy demented operator after assembling the layout!

Sandy Bay will be at the Alsager Model Railway exhibition at Bentley Motors on Sat/Sun 11/12 Nov. This will be the last outing for this year. It has been a busy one for exhibition appearances. We will be out and about at more shows in 2024. Kevin.

We had a great time at the GBMRS at Gaydon. The layout was well received and worked well all weekend. The D49 " bitsa" caused quite a stir! A big thanks to Paul and the team for a brilliant show.

Mickleover is due to appear at the York show at Easter 2024. IMPORTANT NEWS:- DUE TO AN ADMINISTRATIVE ERROR - NOT OF MY MAKING - MICKLEOVER WILL NOT BE AT YORK IN 2024

Sandy Bay is back on the road at the Great British Model Railway Show at Gaydon, 28/29th October. It is currently sat in the garage being checked over. We look forward to seeing some of you at the show.

Glad you had a good exhibition Mike.

The Shildon exhibition was a great success, many thanks are due to the organising club. We were located in front of Winston Churchill and alongside the NER snow plough. The layout worked perfectly all weekend, and we met people with relatives who lived alongside the old line. The only fatality was the 3MT which just stopped working. Opening it up when we got home, showed all 6 pickups had moved away from the wheels at the same time! I think this was one of the most complicated locos I have dismantled in order to properly curve the pickup strips, but it now works fine. It has run several real miles over the last 10 years.

Mickleover will be out and about at the 36th Autumn Exhibition at Locomotion, Shildon, on Sat/Sun 7/8th October, from 10- 5 each day. There is free entry, and free parking, so come and look at everything from T gauge through to the 12" scale real thing.

Looking good Paul and serious progress . At this rate you will beat my record of building a layout in 5 weeks! (Mickleover). It looks like it will be interesting to operate with the train reversals.

Who knows where the toilet may end up Paul.There is always time.....

Cheers Guys, I really like making something out of nothing. Thanks for the nomination. Kevin.

Hi, there are photos on the internet of GWR 1945 built number 2983 with this arrangement of doors and handles. Cheers, Kev.

They decided to send the Bobby on a little holiday!

Hi Andy, I got the foreman and his mate on the job, so we will see what the Bobby thinks of his new view.

I realized that my signal box had no toilet facilities so to prevent the Bobby from having an accident I knocked up an external closet from layered cereal packet and rocket sticks. It was sprayed with grey primer, then washed with thinned matt black.

You have made a marvelous job of resurrecting this layout. Wonderful! Kevin.

Hi Ray, for once in my life I actually measured the car internally, before designing the layout, so the boards for this one were only three feet long, and fit together in pairs. So there is room for the wife, and she doesn't have to push it along! Kevin.

After the neighbours watched us put this all in the car, we photographed it, then Maggie drew a "cunning plan", then we took it all out, took it apart, put it back up in the shed, and checked it all still worked.

The layout has been boxed up with its end boards, and trial-fitted into the car. It all fits! 16 feet of layout, all the legs, lighting rig, fiddle yard screen, controllers, two stock boxes, sound box, tool box, 2 operatives and an over night bag. And the back door closes and I can still see out of the back window.

Good morning Andrew. I am glad you like the idea, I think it has been used many times before by others. I made two assemblies, which fold in half, each one being 5' long. These can be connected together for my longer layouts, or used on their own for the smaller layouts. The gallows brackets are also the same and are interchangeable on each layout, as are the folding trestles underneath. This saves a lot of duplication of fittings and reduces storage problems. Kevin.

John - here are some rough photos which show the construction and fitting of the lighting rig. Please excuse the quality!!!

Hi John, I use 114 mm square plastic gutter extrusion, with the same clip fit stop-ends as the main structure. This has brass eyelet hooks screwed into the top at each end, and these are suspended from three wooden gallows which screw to the back of the layout. Inside the gutter I have four lengths of warm white 12 volt self adhesive LEDs and one length of cold white leds .These are fed from a 2 amp 12 volt supply. I use the same lighting rig and supports on all my layouts. Cheers, Kevin.

I have now split the four boards for the first time since the layout was started. I have moved them into the garage to fit them to their legs, and erect the screens for the fiddle yard. Maggie modified the curtains from Matlock Road and Mickleover so we had a curtain long enough to do this layout, whilst still retaining the flexibility to fit the other layouts. I then fitted the lighting rig from Mickleover. It all fits and still works! Next job is to repair any loose ballast, then box it up with the end boards so we can do a trial run of getting it all in the car. It should all fit! As you have probably guessed we have a couple of exhibition invites for early next year, so I want to be certain it all works and fits before the weather turns colder.