GraemeWatson

Thanks John, an excellent point RE: being more suited to agricultural application. Potentially then, the box art on the Bachmann Whisky set is misleading it seems. Many thanks.

Also this. You are absolutely right. These are sold as "grain silos" and do appear to "pretend function" by dropping grain out of the bottom, but I've not found a photo of anything like this in use.

Agree with the sizing. You are absolutely right. I owned the Whisky set, and happened to have the Bachmann silo used in their box art, but was struggling to make sense of it all. Many thanks

Many thanks; I don't think your photo had popped in for me when I first replied. Very grateful for this helpful information.

Many thanks; so the Bachmann product above, placed on the track over the hopper would be a satisfactory arrangement?

Dear esteemed members of RMWeb, I have searched for information on COVHOP grain/whisky hopper loading to no avail. Introduction: My basic understanding of Whisky grain transportation is that grain warehouses in East Anglia led to short freights, which could then be added to block formations before heading to Scotland. Question: But, how were these Grain Hoppers filled? I happened across a Bachmann Whiskies Galore set and noted from the box art the silver Bachmann Scenecraft 44-185 Grain Loading Hoppers in the background. Do they go over the track to fill the COVHOP, or are they located trackside? I've added a quick photo of the model in question to show what I mean, but my specific question is about the prototype of how this would function. Any examples of grain loading along these lines would be well received. Any other suggestions of prototypical locations or hardware that may be needed to complete this scene would also be welcome. Many thanks, Graeme

Beasley Street: The Early Evening Newspaper Train

Beasley Street Newspaper Train, Evening Edition So after folding another few hundred newspapers (!) I've kitted out my CCT. Only the one out of the rake, but it will do. As mentioned above, it features a Hornby Maglight to illuminate it, with some Bachmann Scenecraft figures.

An excellent thread, I've worked my way through all 16 pages. I've only relatively recently looked into modelling an OHLE module, which could convincingly accommodate late 1970s through to the early 90s, with an intention of giving my modest electric collection space to be used with OHLE. It is indeed surprising what can be done in a small space, and your mainline photo op spot is a great touch.

Great stuff. Nice to see some electric OHLE modeling, something I've only recently got into myself.

Many of my figures from Scale 3D. No connection other than satisfied customer. I'm impressed that although by nature of 3D printing they can be brittle, there's enough fidelity in 1:76 for fine detail. There's a whole bunch of pictures of their figures on my Beasley Street layout thread.

Extra Extra, read all about it! I've fitted a Hornby Maglight (R7338) to the interior of the Bachmann CCT. I've made a new floor interior out of thin EVA foam and tipped all the papers I've made for the station trollies into it as a test. The prototype would feature papers almost waist-high as far as I can discern, so I'll have to get making more! I had toyed with the idea of painting the interior white, but thought better of it due to the way the flush glazing is glued to the blue plastic wall. When taking this apart, pulling the glazing out seems par for the course, as the chassis tabs fit into slots on the glazing. So for that reason, I've left it be, and will otherwise be quite happy with it.

Hornby Merchant Navy Elizabeth II Well, I managed to get one of these, so here's a photo of it.

Not many pictures yet, so here's one.

What about the workers? Key to any scene from the era of The Winter of Discontent are workers on strike, and these have joined the layout from ModelU.

From here to modernity Although intended to give broad atmospheric coverage for locomotives and stock within the 1979 to 80s era, Purnu's comment above about Leeds made me realise that in many ways, I could probably us this for some present day stuff (2020s, future readers!). Here I've conveniently split an Azuma to create this mock up of a modern day commuter service.

Intercity Days A few more photo updates now that the dual layer OHLE is in place. I'm particularly happy that I've got a reasonable era appropriate station to show off the lighting features of the Bachmann MK2F, including the door marker lights.

A better photo of the double layer OHLE It's a better approximation of the real thing. I will add a photo in a future edit of this post which shows the aluminium tension rods in action. Edit: double layered aluminium rods to allow for tensioning of both the upper and lower catenary wire. This is very easy to maintain and puts no real tension on the flexible Dapol mast heads.

The Beasley Street Newspaper Train I've always liked Non-Passenger coaching stock (NPCS) and a Newspaper train makes for an excellent subject. The keen eyed viewer will note that I have added the second tension wire on my ghetto OHLE. It looks more convincing, though is still a simplification of the prototype. This scene was completed with 3D printed Midland Railway trollies (Scale 3D; RR-0023-S-76x3) and Newspapers from a Scalescenes kit (R001B Station Structures). The Scalescenes kit includes a variety of station accessories, including a newspaper kiosk, and a full page sheet of foldable broadsheets and red tops. I thought of shortcuts for making stacks of newspapers, but in the end, I made 270. Three stacks of ten papers, across nine trollies. I printed the kit using a laser printer on recycled, non-bleached paper which looks more convincing.

A raucous scene at "The Bashers and Main Men Social Club" 3D printed figures now populate the social club, sourced from Scale 3D (no connection other than satisfied customer). Two bald headed gentlemen are throwing fists and knocking back a bottle of non-specific ale. Agent 47 from "Hitman" is blending in at the front. Meanwhile, a vibrant social scene is apparent in the beer garden at the rear. Daisy Duke makes a guest appearance.

Here's a quick photo the Kernow Models Exclusive 2022 release, Billingham Enterprise 47363 SFX. The chromatic windows look really good. A fine addition to my collection after several years of service of the Lima version.

Kernow Models Exclusive 2022 Billingham Enterprise 47363 SFX A few photos of the latest addition, Billingham Enterprise with era and location appropriate ICI Methanol 45 ton TTA wagons (37-578A) The photo highlights the subtle chromatic window tinting on the SFX version of this model.

Maintaining the tension of this ghetto catenary The Dapol catenary heads are flimsy. This is helpful because a bit of flex can be helpful when confronted with a heavy hand. However, in the Mk 1 version of my attempt to thread based OHLE, the tension was fully maintained by the Dapol mast heads, which meant over time they flexed. This my Mk 2 version. Decorative self adhesive picture hooks are added at one end of the layout. The catenary thread was attached to this as a noose. This was then threaded and looped over each catenary head. There is a little nubbin on the bottom of the Dapol mast head which holds the thread central above the track. In the fiddle yard section, I have added an aluminium rod upon which the thread then terminates with a reef knot. In essence, the aluminium rod and the picture hooks maintain the full extent of the tension. The tension can be increased by tugging on the thread tied around the aluminium rod. Because of this at no time is there major tension on the Dapol mast heads, which looks cosmetically better. Hopefully this is more clear in the pictures! The aluminium rod is affixed to the sides of the fiddle yard section with cabinet maker right angles. This allows for a further tensioning option by pivoting backwards.

A little layout video test following the advice above from Neil and Graham T above, with thanks.

The InterCity Era A little bit North of 1978, but it still looks plausible enough for late 1980s early 1990s. I rather enjoyed this particular era.