Galteemore

Yes, I have fallen foul of that GSS as a seller. Sold some of my son’s N gauge so he could start buying OO Irish stock. One item went to Australia via GSS. That’s where it broke down. The courier down under left a missed delivery note and the item vanished. Now clearly I had fulfilled my part of the deal - the item had reached Australia, as the buyer freely admitted. But it was a long drawn out process to clear it up!

Nice work Angus. Track looks the business

Yes, I saw one of those streaking up the West Coast Main Line today and wondered what it was!

That’s looking good David, and some useful technique advice. Funnily enough, I tried my static grass machine for the first time tonight, so this was a timely post to show how it should be done!

Always good to get a bulletin from Belmullet. Looks really well and avoids that sterile ‘shed planted on a siding’ one sometimes sees. Ground cover coming on really well!

Great modelling. Tackling a real location is not easy but you have captured Omagh really well - the locos and stock are icing on the cake!

The ‘human’ side is so important. Boyd, for one , was a man of strong convictions; a conscientious objector in WW2 (or ‘The Emergency’ depending which side of the Border one lived) who taught map reading to the Forces to do his bit. He was also an accomplished musician.

Ok. How are you doing the wiring? Keep it basic to begin with - and have a look here ...https://www.brian-lambert.co.uk/

What are you stuck with in particular ?

Thanks David. A Boyd cine movie I saw years ago, of a Donegal 2-6-4T shunting at Stranorlar set to that music, has always lingered in my mind so it was fun to imitate! The loco is the first one I have ever built so it’s a bit of a learning curve. Getting the single wheel chassis to balance was especially ‘educational ‘. I did wonder if it was a little noisy. I shall apply a little lube and let her spin for a while.

Thanks Angus. Wow - what a relic you have in your hands! Boyd was a really interesting character -with a wide portfolio of other achievements outside railways - who did much for Irish and UK NG railway scholarship. Perhaps having W H Auden as an English teacher at school set him on a literary path!

A shameless pastiche of cine film the late JIC Boyd might have taken of shunting at Rosses Point - right down to the backing music he used! Early running trials and I decided to play with the camera. FullSizeRender.mov

Nice work. I tend to maul Roger’s kits about so it’s nice to see some built as the maker intended!

I think balance is the crucial word here. As long as the approach to the entire layout and scene is balanced it works. Planting a resin made building next to a card kit will almost always jar - consistency is key. As long as the same genre of materials and styles is used throughout, the scene is more likely to blend

Thanks -Sending you PM!

Thank you! Not sure if my work is up to public scrutiny yet. I have exhibited a previous layout and this one does implement several lessons learned. So you never know, if the right invite comes in!

Great effort, Jan. Hope you enjoyed Broadstairs -and Fintonagh!

Thanks Angus. It’s one roll of Amazon-sourced cool white LEDs, cut into three strips with wire jumper leads connecting them. They have a built in dimmer switch. These are they....

Thanks everyone! Much help has come from this forum. Tonight I made a basic ladder frame to sit on top of the baseboard as an LED canopy with a temporary foam core pelmet. Reminds me of a fish tank but it’s lovely having a constant light on the stage ...

Lovely Angus - coming on well!

Frantic day of progress at Rosses Point. Track laid after much deliberation. Needs wired up next. Basic design inspired by this http://yourmodelrailway.net/view_topic.php?id=9636&forum_id=21&highlight=luxted - but with an Irish twist. From back of layout to front, goods bay, main running lines, and harbour branch...note gap in wall where gate will go. The branch beyond the gate down to the harbour is conveniently derelict by 1957 ! I was originally going to make all the track parallel to the baseboard edge but having read wiser counsels, the quay branch has a slight but pleasing undulation.

Great stuff! My wife is a Larne girl so this is somewhere I see several times a year when we’re over. I used the Larne line daily in the 80s going to school from Carrick to Belfast so it’s nice to see part of it being replicated - semaphores and English Electric traction will hopefully appear in due course! I was at an IRRS meeting in London on Thursday and saw some lovely shots of maroon and blue 80 class as I remember them, although I think the 70 class were my favourite and I was sad to see the 450s kill them off. Don’t be daunted -as I was for too many years - you’ll be surprised what you can do! As you’ve already found, one of the best aspects of this pastime is the sheer variety - you can put down one aspect for a while and focus on another.

Here’s another....http://www.sct61.org.uk/zzorr333 look carefully - it’s behind the bus!

Thanks gents! I will file down the tyres before final placement - top tip as you say. One of the main things I am trying to do with this layout is keep a fairly consistent colour and shade palette, with the intent that everything blends in together. We’ll see how that works as the layout develops!!

Thanks JHB - went further than I’d intended as removing the transfers left a few scars. Basic idea is Gordon Gravett’s albeit executed with less skill! Just a general tone down makes a huge difference such as dark grey matt tyres. Washes and dry brushing over the ‘chrome’ give more of a patina than the raw plastic can. It’ll be at the back anyway so should look ok from a distance and add a gentle splash of colour!