David Holman

Many thanks for the comments, Paul. Arigna is booked at the following shows: Manchester - 3/4 December Southhampton - 28/9 January Tonbridge - 18 February Doncaster - 11/12 February Also now due to go to Warley in 2018. By all means come and say hello if you are at any of these.

Presumably as it is Colourpoint, it will be widely available JB? Will certainly be aiming to get a copy.

Very odd without the bogie frames - didn't the Victorians put covers around piano legs to protect the innocent from the unsightly? The chassis looks like it will run well and quietly with the band drive. Will look forward to seeing the finished product.

A 900+ mile trip for a one day model show is not something I would normally recommend, but this was special. Anyone in mainland 'GB' who has not been to Cultra should definitely add it to their 'bucket list' and for those of you over the water who have not been yet, I can only wonder why not? This is one very fine museum. Unfortunately, the day was over all too quickly and I certainly made a mistake in not bringing over at least one other operator. As it was, I had very little time to socialise & was especially jealous meeting Weshty on Saturday morning to find that several folk had been to see a Steely Dan/Crosby Stills & Nash tribute band on Friday evening. Whether I would have been fit to operate is another matter, but sounds like it was a great night out and with the band starting with 'Ohio' [Tin soldiers & Nixon's coming], they were clearly not above making political comment either! Would have loved to spend more time talking to everyone, but at least I can now put faces to names I have got to know on the website. Had almost zero time to look at other layouts either, though Mrs H at least managed to get round and take some pictures and I was treated to an early view of the new cement and ballast wagons. The quality looked very good indeed, up there with the very best RTR available today, so hope they do well and lead on to additional models, though I am resigned to the fact that a 7mm scale C class diesel is probably unlikely... Being given the space in front of the B&CDR Atlantic Tank was a real privilege. Had a quiet word with my own locos on Friday evening to absorb as much as possible from their full sized neighbour! Overall, was happy with the way the layout ran, the only real problem being the loco turntable, which was catching on the coping stones for the first couple of hours - probably because it was quite chilly until the outside doors were closed. Otherwise, operator errors excepted, stock ran as well as it usually does, while every time I looked up, there was Maeve to the right, the Cavan & Leitrim train to the left and the big green tank behind me. I also now know how to pronounce Leitrim, though got the impression that the jury is out on Cultra, especially if 'sex' are what you keep coal in... What was especially nice was how interested in the layout people were. Some folk came back half a dozen times & it was great being able to talk with them, regardless of whether they were modellers or not. To me, this is the essence of a good show & very much part of having an enjoyable weekend. The only down side to the weekend was the amount of travelling. We left home at 9.30 on Thursday morning & stayed overnight on Anglesey in order to get the fast ferry to Dublin next morning. Much more impressed with the Irish motorways than the English ones, though note that the HGV driver 'sport' of spending at least 5 minutes overtaking your 'friend' is as prevalent over the water as it is here. At least you have less of them! So arrived at Cultra about 4.30 & was set up by 6pm, so at least wasn't loading & unloading on the same day. We got away soon after 6pm on Saturday, but didn't head back home until Sunday, staying overnight in Dublin to catch the early morning 'cat' back to Holyhead & the dubious pleasure of an eight hour drive back to Kent. Would have done it in less, but the usual problems with the London Orbital Car Park [aka M25] meant the last 60 miles took over two hours, so well finally got home at 6pm - clearly a pattern here! Needless to say, apart from taking in the stock, didn't unload the car till the next day. Happily, the layout seems to have survived the journey, which is just as well, as there is a return trip up the M6 to the Manchester Show in a couple of week's time. Many thanks again to Ian & his team for a super show & here are a few pictures, courtesy of Mrs H.

Fantastic day yesterday and over all too quickly. If there is a better venue for a show, I have not seen it. York and Ally Pally fantastic, but Cultra another level. Met lots of lovely people, both modellers and general public. Will certainly write a full review once I get home and gather my thoughts. Must mention those new rtr cement and ballast wagons though. Not my scale, but quality and detail look superb. Many thanks to Ian and the Cultra team for a great show and wonderful hospitality.

Haven't done a blog for a while, but decided the trip to Cultra was worth it. Have been looking forward to it since I first got the invite over a year ago, though at times I will admit to questioning my own sanity! Nearly 1000 miles of driving, two ferry rides and four nights away - for just a one day show - certainly make you wonder. Equally, it is a chance to bring a properly broad gauge layout to its spiritual homeland, while the chance to exhibit in the truly wonderful venue that is Cultra all make it worth the effort. Am also looking forward to meeting some of the people on this website too & putting faces to names. As I've written before, a lot of preparation goes into any exhibition, so Arigna has been given the once over during the last couple of weeks. Tracking cleaning and dusting, plus servicing all the locos and stock. A couple of pick ups needed adjusting on the motive power, while one or two bits of scenery were freshened up as well. Whether everything will still be alright when I get there is another matter. By the time it gets unloaded and set up on Friday afternoon, the layout will have spent two nights and close to 500 miles in the back of my car, with the small matter of a couple of hours on the Holyhead - Dublin fast ferry as well. The BBC weather app on my phone has been checked several times daily over the last week - and so far all it has shown is that it is not exactly reliable. At first, Friday's crossing was looking fairly smooth, then got progressively rougher until on Tuesday it was showing 40mph gales off Holyhead. Seasickness is not something I usually suffer from, but my experience of fast ferry is that they bang and bounce across the waves, rather than roll - not exactly ideal for a car full of layout. Since then, things have improved a little, though the next problem seemed to be a full on 'soft day' in Belfast. Unloading a layout in pouring rain is not something to be enjoyed, but again [for now at least], the forecast has put the rain back till after 6pm. There are still two days for that to change, so for now, I will just have to cross everything, make sure everything is stowed properly and hope the weather and traffic gods are kind. For the latter, certainly glad I am not travelling today, or would be spending most of the day just getting out of Kent, if the traffic reports are anything to go by.

If anyone coming to Cultra has 36.75mm stock and would like running rights on Arigna, am sure the Joint Board of Directors (SLNCR & MGW) with be happy to comply. Are there any 7mm scale, broad gauge locos out there?

As the Minister would say - 'across many fields'...

Finally got hold of some new silicon mould material, so thought I'd better get on and make some masters so I could use it before it went off. The stuff has a very short shelf life once opened. So far, have made masters of an end and side for the brake vans and cast these to make the 4 bodies I need. The CVR vans seem to follow a pattern, so for two types of cattle van and one covered van I have only had to make two ends and three sides as masters. These have all been built up in the same way using a base of 40 thou plastikard, with 60x40 strip for the strapping. For rivets have used EDM ones, bought at Expo Narrow Gauge in Swanley last Saturday - a quite superb specialist show I might add and a must on my calendar. Other bits of plastic rod and strip were used to make some of the details, though some parts will not be added until after the bodies are assembled. So, four different entries on IRM in a single evening. Is this a record? Is anybody bothered? Hopefully not!

Have been battling with the turntable on Fintonagh. Am using a Peco N Gauge version, which at 150mm diameter is just the right size. First added a much wider top to the deck & then longitudinal sleepers for the rails. Unlike the Dapol one on Arigna, have made this one wider to enable the crews to dismount & walk along it - had I holographic technology... Problems occurred when trying to set the deck on the well. The plunger pick ups used seem to create a rocking movement, while the central 'boss' is not a completely snug fit on my model. Hence it wobbles - not good when it comes to fitting a motor and gears to drive it. First tried sleeving the boss with some brass tube and then enlarged the central hole a little. Put a piece of plastic tube on the underside for the brass tube to go into, in the hope of reducing the wobble. However, it took some lead sheet at each end of the decking to reduce this to acceptable levels - probably by fully compressing the pick up springs. I also added a ring of plastikard on the base of the well to give the bottom of the deck more support too. The motor is from Frizinghall Models and as supplied takes about a day and a half for a single revolution [well 4 minutes anyway]. Happily removal of some of the gears speeds things up and also reduces the noise, so it now does a half turn in a more realistic 20 seconds. The issue with the motor though is how to fix it, as the instructions suggest bolting it to the underside of the turntable well. This would mean the bolt heads showing so, as can be seen from the photos I fixed it to some wood strip I had, so that this could then be fixed to the underside of the baseboard instead. It means the gears are further below the baseboard that I would like [wobble factor again], but after drilling multiple fixing holes [easy to see the ones I did earlier!], it now works reasonably well. The only problem left is that the deck is now about 1mm higher than the tracks either side, so guess I will have to raise these, as it will be a lot easier than lowering the turntable!

A visit to Sheffield Park in Sussex to admire the autumn colours also enabled a look in at the Bluebell Railway. Nice to see the S15 [Green King] and the Q 0-6-0 on duty, but also of interest were the stacks of old time luggage on the platforms. Took a couple of pictures & realised that it would not be too difficult to make some from plastikard. Various rectangles of 60 and 80 thou were used, laminated to give different styles/types. A few cases were given additional bits of microstrip, for strapping and handles etc. Final touches were the painting, particularly touches of black to represent corner plates, hinges, locks etc. So, at last I have my 'emmigration' scene, just in time for Cultra next week.

Haven't tried the rivet strips, but they look really promising. A rivet press is one alternative & there are many varieties - mine comes from GW Models, expensive, but a quality piece of kit. At Expo Narrow Gauge last week found some EDM rivets - checkout http://www.ngtrains.com - they come in various sizes, from as small as 0.5mm. Am told that, unlike Grandt Line rivets, their 'pegs' are dead centre, so if you drill holes to take them, they should follow the line and not be wobbly. I decided to chop off just the heads and position them with an Exacto blade, with a dab of solvent. A couple of pics below, but will say more in my workshop page on CVR wagon body masters.

Two weeks to go. Arigna Town is getting the once over, so hopefully it will be as good as it can be for the show. Really looking forward to it and likewise meeting some of you folk. Am told the layout's pitch is near the BCDR tank. Given several of my locos are from Beyer Peacock, I think that is rather splendid.

Anyone who quotes from Suite:Judy Blue Eyes deserves to do well!

I'm with Mayner - get scratch building! Unfortunately there is still a catch as stuff like Evergreen strip comes from the USA, while I am guessing items like motors will also soon go up. Equally, particularly for buildings, much can be free.

Depends how tight your curves are J. In 7mm scale, 6' radius is the norm, though on the club layout my coaches go round a 5'6 circle without problems. On my previous exhibition layout, they only had to go back and forth, but there again, with Dinghams, you are still using the buffers when propelling, so whatever the scale this is the limiting factor. There is a nice 00 model in the current BRM using Kadees. They are mounted below the buffer beam, but forward if the buffers and seem pretty unobtrusive. Rare earth magnets seem to work better than the Kaydee planks too. For me, autocouplings work really well for just running round at a terminus. For actual shunting, am not sure. Shuffling back and forth over a magnet is hardly prototypical, nor completely reliable in my experience. That was way I found Dinghams a decent compromise - hands free for platform work, but still able to connect with three links when shunting the yard. I had Kaydees between coaches too! A case of finding what works and you are visually happy with, but always a compromise somewhere...

Neil Sprinks books on the Sligo contain several photos. Likewise both Tom Ferris colour albums. Alphagraphix do a card kit of railbus 2a in 7mm scale for just £3-4. I scratch built mine using it as a drawing. See David's workbench and earlier Arigna Town reports in the workbench and layout sections.

Nice brake, while can also vouch for the Dinghams too. They work really well in 7mm scale and work effectively with both fixed and electro magnets. The only problem with them is that they are 'handed', so if you use a turntable, they are not viable, hence the need for three links on Arigna. Otherwise, unobtrusive, easy to fit and compatible with three links, so you can mix and match.

Whole layouts have been built in less space, but just fabulous!

Surprised myself with how quickly and well this went. Have tried to keep things tidy below the baseboard by threading wires through staples. The only problem was tracing short and eventually found it where two copperclad sleepers on one of the points were touching and ungapped. Such are the vagaries of this method. So, have been able to run my loco around, along with a single coach and wagon - all I have at present. In the process, cooked my transformer (two bare wires touching). A bad smell and the fact it was still hot half an hour later a bit of a giveaway! Was hoping to add photos I took on my phone, which is where I am posting this from, but do not seem able to access these pics. Any ideas why anyone?

The last time Arigna Town was at a show was at Reading, back in May. At home, it occupies one wall of my workshop, often doing little more than gather dust. Much as I enjoy operating at shows, at home I am very much a builder and the new Clogher Valley project has taken all my attention. However, a trip to Croydon beckons this weekend, followed by East London Fine Scale Show in early November and Cultra [really looking forward to that] the week after, finishing the year at Manchester in December. As ever there were a few things that needed attention from last time out, notably one of the signals wasn't operating properly. A couple of new washers sorted that one out [i hope], but a much bigger job was the turntable. The word 'refurbish' had been on my to do list for a while. It was working ok, but the top of the well 'wall' was showing under the coping stones in places. Fortunately the whole well can be unscrewed from underneath and be removed completely. Trying to avoid a total rebuild, the best option seemed to be to trim the inner part of the wall and replace it with a new layer on the outside edge. That all went well, so feeling pretty pleased with myself, I was soon disappointed to find the hand crank mechanism was jamming somewhere. Eventually traced it to the coping stones around the top & despite some vigorous sanding it soon became clear that replacing them was the only option. The originals were 40thou plastikard, so replaced them with 20thou. Further tinkering seems to have got it running well again, but am resigned to the fact that, as a £5 Dapol kit, I will no doubt have to do a replacement eventually. The scenic side of things was covered by a general tidy up, including touching up parts of the back scene, but also spent time on some new figures I'd bought a while ago. The long term aim has been to create an 'emmigration' scene, with a family gathering saying farewell to those going overseas. Have managed to get what I hope are some suitable figures [mainly S&D Models], but still want to find some appropriate luggage. A few large barrels also now adorn the platform - for the black stuff, of course. If you manage to make it to any of the above shows, be sure to come and say hello.

The adventure continues! Very different, VERY impressive...

Fabulous work. Though my knowledge of Irish coaches is decidedly limited, having built many model coaches in various scales & gauges over the years I can certainly vouch for the fact they are labour intensive. Indeed, a coach can take as many hours to complete as a loco. The basic shell goes together quite quickly, but interior details, bogies, under frames, grab handles etc etc take a lot of effort, while painting & lining adds further layers. Well done John.

At 5pm today, my one and only loco moved under its own power around Baseboard 1. For those of you well versed in electrickery no doubt the comment 'so what' is already on your lips. However, for a numpty like me, whose entire knowledge of wiring can be written on a postage stamp with room to spare, applying power to track and points is always fraught with anxiety. In fact, with handmade track and fairly shallow baseboard frames to contend with, there is actually quite a lot of work & certainly exponentially more than adding 'two wires'. First off, blew nearly £100 on six Tortoise point motors. However, these are nearly 10cm deep and my baseboard frames are only 75mm. Therefore, very grateful to Gordon Gravett, who showed me how he turned Tortoises on their side, with simple brackets, when Pempoul came to Chatham in June. Made mine from off cuts of hardboard, but any material will do I guess. A piece of copper clad sleeper strip was used as a pivot, with 1mm piano wire soldered on one end [going to the point tie bar] and a slot cut in the other to take the Tortoise actuating rod. The wire supplied is too thin for this scale, so 0.8mm piano wire is substituted. Lots of head scratching went into the wiring diagram & there is exponentially more wire under the baseboard than on Arigna, despite it being only half the size. A Tortoise needs 5 wires [two for power & three more to switch track power], while DPDT switches need another six. Two pairs of points are wired as cross overs, so that cuts things down a little, while there are only three actual track feeds on Baseboard 1. There will be a single section switch on Baseboard 2 [in the loco shed], otherwise any isolation with be by the points themselves. The only other thing of any note is that a DPDT switch is being used to switch between track power and that for the turntable motor. Hopefully, once a loco is driven onto the TT, flicking this switch will transfer power to reverse the locos/railcar, while always went cab first on the CVR. I'd love to say I can now go on & wire the second board and play trains, but a certain amount of adjustment is needed to get the tie bars closing properly. With only one engine at the moment, itself not yet fully tested or run in, there are a fair few variables to be ironed out.

An extraordinary project continues to inspire. Superb workmanship.