George Woodcock

Hello When I play the game of 'what if' Derek I think it is sufficient to only alter one thread of history otherwise life gets so complicated. therefore as Towcester is set in 1977 then we are well into the realm of BR Banger Blue which though not to every-one's liking has a large following and also encompasses a lot of different locomotive and DMU classes. That is the problem with time travel if you change one small to effect a minor change in history them all else changes as well. A bit like the butterfly in the forest really. My life is so full of chaos that I prefer to leave most of it alone. There now, an end to philosophical ramblings and time for a lie down in a dark room. Cheers George

Hello Sadly the class 24 in the picture will not feature at exhibitions; it is part of the stock of our new layout 'Fenchurch St Peter'. Towcester is set in 1977 and they were mostly gone by then, certainly in the Midland region. It was just making a guest appearance for testing purposes though we did run a Cravens unit and a Cl25 as well. Not for long as we had to take it all down so my wife could have her sitting room back. Cheers George

Hello You are all so kind, thank-you, thank-you on behalf of John. Richard and I. Cheers George

Hello A big thank-you to Richard for his help his afternoon. Layout is now all complete with new board safely installed, the lights all changed and re-positioned, and the extended curtain fitted in place. Also a couple o minor wiring repairs done and a faulty Dapol semaphore re-placed. Looking forward to Milton Keynes and hope to see some of you there. Next show after that is Nottingham in March. Cheers George

Hello I have now finished ballasting the track and used static grass along the dis-used track at the back to make it compatible with the original adjacent board. I have also painted the clouds to match the excellent ones done previously by the 'cloud lady'. They are not quite as good as hers but they will hopefully suffice till she can come over in the summer to finish them off. Today is trees, bushes and flowers day then I will build a small corrugated barn to go in the field to help break up the foreground a bit. Also apply a bit of rust to the river bridge. I hope John is enjoying his holiday in Portugal. Next weekend we will set up the whole layout, fit the extended curtain, fix the modified lighting rig and then watch a couple of trains travel over the length of the layout. Can't wait. Cheers George

Hello In the absence of Nobby John, (in Portugal), Today I finished the last carpentry bits on the two fiddle yards, I will start to varnish them tomorrow. Hopefully I should get the track laid in them before His Holiness returns from his travels. Cheers George

Hello Thank-you as ever for the kind and witty comments. Geoff the layout will be 25ft long at Trainwest. We had already altered the info sheet to allow for the extension. This the first layout that I have altered after it was originally built; I rather suspect it will be the last. Seemed like a good idea late in a pub somewhere. Cheers George

Hello Nice thought Derek but I don't see it happening sadly. The cable trunking has been put in place this evening. Cheers George

Hello Fencing now in place as are the fields, creation is a marvellous thing, perhaps I get to rest on the seventh day. Cheers George

Hello Mick, wrong on both counts. ~The 24 is a Bachmann one that is meant to run on the new layout, bought S/H at Newcastle two years ago. It was just two wires to one track. The one at the back is a dead siding , all that remains of the old SMJ line to Woodford Halse. It will have a few condemned old wagons on it eventually. The green carpet costs more than Axminster Pete, I wouldn't want to have to use it on my sitting room . Silflor is great stuff but definitely not cheap. Cheers George

Hello First loco ran down the new board this afternoon. Also the new signal was activated, eventually.so it is just a matter of finishing the landscaping and a couple of other little jobs. Hopefully pictures to follow later. Cheers George

Hello Rob not like popping round but the layout will be appearing at Trainwest at Cosham in April which is in your area. Also as mentioned earlier at Milton Keynes in February and Nottingham in March. Hopefully there will be another couple of pictures up later today. Cheers George

Hello the grass has now been put on the embankments and the bridge parapets have been painted and fitted, they will just need a little weathering. Also the track has been painted. Next job is to put the fence along the bottom of the embankment and then lay the fields. hardest part is now over. Cheers George

Hello The foam for the embankments has now been put in place, when it dries later today I will carve it to shape and lay a base coat for the grass matting to be put in place, hopefully by later tomorrow. Cheers George

Hello The River Tove is now flowing through the Northamptonshire countryside. Very placid not even a ripple based on the photos we took a couple of years ago. Also the bridge girders and railings are under construction, should be finished tomorrow. Cheers George

Hello That's the one. Cheers George

Hello The two boards have made the journey from John's garage to my railway room and I am now constructing the bridge over the river Tove. To make this easier I have removed the track bed board. This will be replaced when the bridge and river are done later this week. Also the sky will be painted as well, the blue base at least, the clouds will come later. Cheers George

Hello The two fiddleyard boards have made the journey from Johns garage to my house for final assembly and varnishing. Then we have to lay the track and wire them and then set it all up and see if it works. Cheers George

Hello Little bit of work to finish on the board next weekend and then the scenery will be done next week all things being equal. Fingers crossed it will be ready for the Milton Keynes show. Cheers George

Hello Recovering, hopefully, Chris. Slowly but surely. The lighting rig for the layout will be finished tomorrow, signboard later in the week. I'm getting a bit confused as we are extending Towcester at the same time but I should be working on the scenery for the extension board next week. The two fiddle boards for Fenchurch should also be finished next week as well. Cheers George

Hello Two lots of transfers ordered in the last few weeks, both received promptly as usual , the one this week in 48 hours. Cheers George

Hello Scenically the layout is now complete. Today was the first time the three scenic boards had been put up together. This was for a Railway Modeller photoshoot which will go with an article in the March Edition,(out in February), to co-incide with the layout's first appearance at Model Rail Scotland in Glasgow. We still have some more parts to build and put together but these are the unglamorous ancillary bits though none less important. Cheers George

Hello The goods shed is now in place and all associated work is complete. Tomorrow I shall be installing point rodding. Cheers George

Hello The roof is now painted and weathered and will be fixed in place tomorrow with the last of the granite setts and final ballasting in place around it. Hopefully 'The Highland Laddie' pub should also be installed by early next week. Nearly there now as far as the scenic part is concerned. Hopefully in a couple of weeks time we shall be able to put all three scenic boards up and see it in all splendour. Photos will follow in the near future. Cheers George

Hello I will get it painted and weathered while you are away John, have a good time and send me a post card. Cheers George