David Holman

Been there, got a drawer full of T-shirts! A pain, but necessary for future enjoyment. Sounds like it's going well though.

Fairly sure there is no 21mm rtr out there DC. Be good if it was! Worth giving Marcway a call (advert in Railway Modeller). They do custom track in all gauges and at reasonable prices. Points will be 30-50% more than Peco, but if you made plain track yourself, it could balance out. I've been very impressed with their service.

Presume the point motors have their own internal switches for directing track current? Peco points have always been poor at directing current, even O gauge ones, so the extra shove from the motor will no doubt help keep blades in contact with the stock rails. Always good to have a couple of spare motors, as they will go wrong - they can lead a hard life! Nice story in the Gauge 0 Guild manuals. They made test machines to check the capacity of various motors. Most were pretty good, even the cheap ones, but the Tortoise motor actually wore out the test rig! That is not to say they are perfect though, internal contacts can get dirty and fail, while they are expensive too and need about 10cm vertical space below the baseboards. Stick with what you have, then when you start your next layout in a few years, you will know from experience if any changes are needed. Who know, everything could be holographic by then!

Enjoy some running to check, check and check again that all is ok and have some enjoyment after all the hard work. Suggest painting the sleepers and rails before ballasting, though it will all need going over after ballasting as well. On Fintonagh, have spent the last week fettling and still not completely right. Wheel back to backs v point clearances always a potential problem with handbuilt stock and track. Then just when you think everything is sorted, a loose wheel nut causes problems. Another problem can be when stock gets turned round and doesn't always run as well in the other direction! So extensive testing before ballasting always a good idea, but don't expect it to work perfectly afterwards, there are always a few stray grains around to gum up points and details stock! Life is complicated, which is why it's fun. Allegedly!

So, when and where can we hope to see this opus?

Scenic modelling at its very best.

Stunning locomotives and stock on the layout.

At Guildex last weekend, had the opportunity to browse the remaining items from Richard Chown's estate. Was surprised to see a J15 etched brass kit from TDM Models. Learned that the letters stand for Terry McDermott, the originator (?) of Studio Scale Models. Am told it should make a more than decent model, but any information about the kit is welcome. Seems to be 4mm scale blown up to 7mm and clearly dated 29th November 1998. Know this because in the box is a letter from Terry to Richard, apologising for the delay in producing the kit and also a gentle reminder that he still owed £2.50 postage and packing! Given what a prolific builder Richard was, am a little surprised the kit remained unbuilt for nearly 20 years. Needless to say, I intend doing something about that - though maybe I might wait until 29/11 and it's 20th anniversary. Also bought one of Richard's signals and a pack of coach wheels and broad gauge loco axles.

Fantastic weekend at Guildex. There is something about specialist shows where the conversations with visitors are that bit more understanding and you are not just explaining the basics. Numerous highlights. Many of the Castle Rackrent crew were present so it was an absolute pleasure to run Shannon for them. Richard's Manning Wardle 0-4-0T made a guest appearance, courtesy of new custodian, Paul Green, while it was a real privilege to have Roger Cromblehome (Alphagraphix) come and operate for a while, especially as some much of the layout is down to his products. Thanks everyone for their kind comments and also Guest operators Chris and Frank. Also managed to pick up a few remaining items from Richard's estate, including a TDM kit of a J15. One for the winter!

Wiring something to be endured for me, but so essential! Sounds like you are doing all the right things and at least the testing stage means you can enjoy running trains. Minor (major?) panic with Arigna at Guildex yesterday, when had no power to track after setting up. Traced it to a failed transformer. Probably my own fault as have long used cast offs from old printers and the like. Thankfully, Guildex not exactly short of traders, so soon managed to buy a 'proper' one. However, warning from the trader that most plug in transformers these days are DC and Gaugemasters need 16v AC.

For those of you this side of the water, Guildex [Telford], features two Irish themed layouts - my own Arigna Town, plus Tony Ragg's Standfording [NCC]. Alphagraphix will be there too - a goldmine of Irish kits, plus loads of other bits and pieces. Also, the 7mm scale showcase, with masses of trade support, demos & so on. Beware - can get very addictive!

Thanks folks! Nothing special about the weathering, all it took was a 5 minutes dusting with weathering powders. The effect is really pleasing for the effort required. I use a set available from Freestone Models Larger scale is indeed addictive, but applying 100x 1mm and 0.5mm bolts and rivets certainly tests the eyesight. More than a few disappeared into the ether, along with a similar number of rude words.

A pair of new wagons Well, sort of, as I've only built one, but given it a different number each side. A review of my potential operating sequence showed I had a couple of problems in that the railcar, when turned, fouls the platform line, hence it will not be able to shunt a butter van to/from the loading dock as planned. Meanwhile, van traffic obscures the view of the turntable from both ends, so mixed trains will have to have open wagons, with vans being confined to the goods train. The latter is as much for variety as anything, because Clogher Valley timetables suggest that all trains were mixed, with little if any, separate freight. However, as this is my branchline, then one shorts goods per day is going to be included - probably hauled by the Unit. The vans [plus loaded coal opens] will be shunted off scene, via the kickback siding front left, so won't present the same problem of blocking the turntable as on the mixed train. That's the plan anyway! The new model is a ballast wagon. The CVR had half a dozen of these, characterised by being 6" narrower than the other opens, with curved ends and what look like canvas shields over the axle boxes. Construction is the same as the other opens - tedious, in a word, for there are loads of rivets and bolt heads to attach. Used some Grandt line ones this time, but with over 100 needed, it was still a pain. The chassis is the usual Branchlines etched kit, with home made brass axles for 21mm gauge. Maybe I should have made a couple of masters for my open wagons and then cast sides and ends in resin. With hindsight, I could have saved quite a bit of time, though I have never tried casting double sided items, which of course any open wagon side or end requires.

Thought it looked a PD kit. Got a fair few 7mm ones and they always go together well. That NE van looks especially crisp and neat though.

Absolutely no doubting the effect of correct loco, train and gauge combination - though I would say that! Lovely stuff, John

Love the mixed train! Maybe it's my surname being Col. Stephens first name, but mixed trains and light railways have always done it for me.

I'd be inclined to do some serious planning first. What sort of layout do you want, which then dictates the stock you need. Consider that you may not do all your modelling in the shed, so things like stock and buildings may be made elsewhere and the work can be parallel to that in the shed. There is no definitive way, I think. Go where the muse takes you and enjoy the journey.

Look to be some lovely flowing curves there, while the height of the backscene will enable the viewer to really immerse themselves in the scene. Nice!

Remarkable. The vision required to create this scene, let alone the enthusiasm to build it, is fantastic. We can only hope it will get public outings so we can all enjoy it. Looks like about £100 worth over Evergreen strip there. Still not bad when you think how much it would cost to commission such a building, but start up costs seem to be growing exponentially these days. For example, I must have close to 100 Humbrol tinlets. Replacing them with Tamiya acrylics would be quite an expense were I to do it all at once. There again, how many colours do you really need? Three, five? As for plastic sheet, a full sized A1 piece from Eileen's will set you back the same as an A4 from your local model shop. Hence a very good reason to plan your shopping if visiting a show and with no Maplins on the High Street anymore, the same goes for electrical bits too. Enough already! Barrow Street is sublime.

Thanks Eoin, Tony Wright's photos the highlight for me. Sadly, too many megapixels for this site.

Railcar No 1, again Earlier in the year, you may remember I shared photos of a model of CVR Railcar No1 and also that I was less than happy with the result. I'd made a right Horlicks of the glazing, while in fitting the roof I'd somehow squeezed the sides of the passenger trailer resulting in a horrible concave bow. At least the tractor unit was ok! Anyway, the poor thing has been languishing on a shelf the past few months, while I drummed up the courage to rebuild it. The 'muse' eventually overtook me last week, when I simply ripped trailer mark one apart. Drastic, but it got what it deserved... Happily, I managed to salvage the roof and the false floor of the passenger compartment, complete with seats and figures. The rebuild took much less time than I'd imagined, with only the section around the front doors causing problems. As might be expected, I took a lot more care with the glazing, also bracing the sides to prevent them warping inwards. The original roof sits inside the tops of the sides, so once glued in place, the passenger compartment became a strong box. Much as I would have liked to spray paint the body, I didn't want to mess up the glazing again, so it was brush painted with Tamiya acrylics. Lettering is done by hand, using white acrylic ink and a dipping pen. Once dry, I went over it with a dark yellow fine tipped marker. There are still a couple of jobs to do, not least adding the headlight and exhaust pipe. It also needs a Kadee coupler so it can tow brake Van No5, which I believe was the usual choice. Fingers crossed, the model should run well: the tractor unit is compensated and the trailer's bogie will have pickups fitted. Next job will be to build one of the butter vans for it to tow. Perfect, it ain't, but I can certainly live with the discrepancies much, much better than the previous version.

Ok, hello, it's been a while, but worth the wait. Will it be raining on the model? Pretty wet on all three of my visits. Remember a layout seen at a show, years ago, where it was made to look wet by liberal use of gloss varnish. Set in the valley of the River Puddle in Dorset, it was called 'Piddling Down'... Scenic guru Tony Hill reckons WD40 can work well too, though not sure I'd try it without some serious experimentation!

Not much double track in Ireland anyway is there? Apart from Larne, Belfast, Dublin, Cork and on to Cobh/Middleton, pretty much everything else is/was single, including much of the Derry Road.

Unless blessed with unlimited space and budget, everything is a compromise, Tony. Capturing the character and feel of our chosen subject is about as far as most of us get. Foynes and Bembridge (Isle of Wight), both had turntables doubling up as one end of the loop. Richard Chown did the same on Castle Rackrent, so if it was good enough for him, who are we to argue? Real railways were limited by geography, just as we are limited by space. Rules that seem to work are: Beware filling every available space with track. Less is more, leave room for scenery. Several short sidings are better than one long one. It makes operation more interesting as each siding can have a specific purpose/traffic. Watching trains go round is very nice, but you need somewhere to store them, when not running and that means storage sidings, unless they are going to be changed by hand every time. Storage sidings also represent the 'rest of the world', giving opportunities for timetables or sequences, with trains given real purpose in going to/from somewhere. You could create storage by having a siding on the right, going off scene to a cassette. Each need be no more than a length of track on a strip of ply/MDF. You have as many as you like (as your collections grow), and they can be stored on shelves above/below the layout. Much more flexible than giving up space for storage loops too. Will post some pictures later.

SeeSo, no passing loop, just a crossover 'twist the Mainlines. The yard can only be shunted by trains on the inside circuit, via a convoluted set of manoeuvres using that crossover. With its penchant for avoiding facing ipoints, the Midland Railway did this a lot, but not deal from a modelling point of view. One option would be to have two cross overs on the left hand side, thereby creating a run round loop. Another would be to extend the siding top right, around the curve and hence have an outer loop/lay by. Could even join the fourth siding. Alternatively, make the other side of the layout single track, with the left side becoming a long crossing loop. Looks like room on the right for some storage sidings, or is the whole layout going to be scenic?