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Good evening As usual I am lost in admiration for your modelling, just been taking a closer look at the tin roof...so nice Quick question, what colour are you using for your green "gloss" on the wood and metalwork, seems just faded and nice to me and I'm moving on to these items on my overall roof for Portsea

Still going with the overall roof . All three sections now built and being painted before glazing and assembly Hard work but enjoyable and I am keen to keep up regular progress

Lovely modelling

More work on the overall roof so steady progress. The jigs were a good idea and have helped create sold and square components .Now I am working on creating the correct pitch while gluing glazing bars

My 2bil derailing mystery has been solved in the Southern Electrics forum, the pick up shoes foul everyone's third rail laid at regular Peco height, so I think my unit will be getting the snip and file treatment I've been working on the canopies and roof today. Avid readers will recall the trouble I had with the overall roof with some dodgy paint work and a dose of Modelstrip working fine but causing total destruction. I have been reassembling the three modifed Airfix/Dapol canopies and the excercise has been much improved and simplified by using a jig made from a cheap pack of balsa offcuts All good stuff

Managed my first session on Portsea for a while. Baseboard join derailment issue is resolved with some jiggling and realignment I have been running my Hornby 2bil on all tracks to test all ok and a new problem has occured and diagnosed with the video on my tablet so thank you David . The issue is that the pick up shoe on the 2bil is fouling on curved sections of the third rail. As avid follow ers of this slow saga will know it was laid pretty well in the approved manner as recomended by Peco and if anything will be a bit low as I left out the the tiny washers that raise the rail to the correct height when using code 100 Streamline in the interests of my mental health So has anyone else come across this problem and any ideas for a fix Befuddled of Wolstanton

Work busy in the run up to christmas and had a weekend in london so not much modeling from me. Hornby announcements are rather exciting. Who would have predicted a 2hal , wonderful , and when I have some reasons to run goods trains a blackmotor will undoubtably make an appearance. Now who's producing that 4 cor ..........

Thanks Tried the ballast check but will check the V Video is brilliant idea

Been giving my derailing problem a bit of thought The fiddle yard road shown nearest the controller with the 08 at the camera end is the problem, It goes from a peco y straight over the baseboard join with the track on the main board straight. There are no problems with locos derailing at this point. The y is 3 foot radius so that should not be a problem ,so I reckon the issue is a combination of this comparatively gentle curve and the a less than perfect alignment of the baseboard join exacerbated by small wheels and the short wheelbase on coach and multiple unit bogies . There are a number of solutions that occur A very precise alignment of the boards and track . Problem, I am not a very precise modeller Checkrails or similar, could do the trick and easy to give a try Inserting a floating piece of track of the join with fishplates to help align everything via a flexible join. Problem visually intrusive on the main board Move the y back a couple of inches .Problem ,no room for a 4 cep or similar Extend the board by a couple of inches . Could be the best solution and easily done with some 2 by1 and a chipboard off cut Your thoughts and suggestions are very welcome

Its been a big day I wired the fiddle yard ,the connection to the main board and the missing section switch for the fiddle yard. After a bit of messing around , track cleaning and correcting loose wirng the result is that portsea town is a working if unfinished layout I ran a test with my terrier and all was ok. I followed this with a simple sequence of the 2bil, 2h and a short parcels train with the crompton and shunted by the o8. All good stuff but there are a couple of derailment issues with the multiple units at the baseboard join which I have still not sorted and is a bit of a puzzle No doubt I will sort it and here are some pics

Saw this at Derby a couple of years ago and loved it.be nice to hear more. Its a classic quart in a pint bottle, and has a great feel to it

Working on platforms and caonpy , progress with dry brushing a long way from perfect but progress nonetheless

After a bit of inspiration from Westerham I've been patching ballast and trying out Faller tarmac paint on the platforms . Nice solid grey and a little bit of texture so I should be able to work on this with some weathering and distressing effects Also worked on painting the platform canopy with some smudgy weathered black effects , wet brush and wipe off followed by the same with a dry brush, quite pleased with the attempt at the neglected 60s look, pics soon

Lovely innovative modeling , l love the bridge and the whole approach to building it Ok inspiration taken and I'm heading to patch some ballast and try some grotty paint effects on Portsea

Thanks for the link David, nice pics some I had seen before, some new. The atmosphere in those close to closure images are just what I am after The canopies are coming on and I will post some pics of my own soon

Thanks David . I follow your Dover sagas and really enjoy them A bit of clearing up the fiddle yard and getting it ready for some basic wiring next week. I also painted the Wills canopy ,now resplendent in cream, green and roof dirt on top and ready for some dry brush weathering to create that smoke stained ,peeling ,overdue for a repaint and neglected early 60s look. Ah happy days ,the Shadows ,Coke in the Manhattan coffee bar in Southsea with big sister as a Saturday treat, flannel school shorts that chafe and cors, bils and the occasional glimpse of a steam engine shunting at Fratton waiting for dad on the Waterloo train One issue is painting the platform surfaces . I have coats and coats of artists acrylic in a greyish mix ,rubbed down both wet and dry ,but it still isn't right for a somewhat grotty tarmac surface ,any ideas out there please. Is Woodland Scenics road surface an idea ? Nostalgic of Wolstanton

Managed another hour tonight after a healthy game of tennis and a not so healthy visit to the pub Track laying in fiddle yard now completed. Wiring next. Very pleased to be getting this done as it means I can play trains properly and no doubt that will spur me on.Also the track was all done on a shoe string, bargain code 100 from a show, one second hand point and two donated and restored and 3 peco isolation switches picked up for a song. Just goes to show if we help each other and keep an eye out for a bargain this can be a very economic hobby

Got an hour or so in tonight so more work on the fiddle yard Thanks for the encouragement, its working!

Managed some more progress Canopy painted except for the columns wnd supports,, I just need to check the correct shade of green More track layed in the fiddle yard . I am pinning rather than gluing so repositioning is straight forward and the track is laid on scrap balsa strips to keep it level The key objective was to have one track capable of taking my 4 cep , so as you can see from the pics job done thanks to gruffalo's peco short y

I had told myself it was decorating this weekend but my back is playing up so managed a couple of hours modelling Worked on the canopies, pics to follow , and on the fiddle yard aligning tracks and laying the first point. First progress in ages

Very busy time at work and feeling somewhat ancient, however I have managed to build a WIlls canopy .so to encourage me and all other snailspace modellers here are a couple of pics. I'vis opted for single columns having checked an old photo of Southampton Terminus and taken my own pics of the low level at Portsmouth and Southsea, not quite sure how it will stand up on the island platform but the look is right so I'll just have to be inventive Incidentally I met a very stroppy security chap on the station who was not at all happy at me taking pics of the canopy, I was just standing on the platform , my bolshy libertarian side is not too happy about that but hey ho he had a job to do and maybe there is an etiquette I do not know.

Here are a few pics to show what the hard work has achieved .I really am rather pleased with the over all effect. I am sure it would look a little crude in close up but I take the view its aimed at the impression from the usual viewing distance Oh and yes I have been playing trains

Electrics all ok . Managed soldering without melting anything so into the weekend with a positive attitude and a mixture of fun and necessary jobs Patching ballast Painting platforms Canopies More soon

Reconected wiring and sorted a sticky point, looks like I have two dodgy soldered conections I need to deal with, now that should be gun with the third rail in the way....I like a challenge

Oh there was supposed to be a pic but it didn't work and I'm just too emotionally drained to sort it