David Holman

Other alternatives involve repeated coats of gloss varnish on MDF [suitably painted] or acrylic sheet. For puddles, microscope slide glass is very effective.

Much as I appreciate the Web [i wouldn't be typing this if I didn't], for me a hard copy is much easier to work from than a computer screen - especially in the workshop. Perhaps it's a generation thing, me being a bit older than Nelson - ok, 40+ years... Anyway, there are plenty of incredibly useful and interesting books on the subject of scenery, weathering etc, though any of the main magazines will give you ideas every month for £4. Eg both the latest Railway Modeller and BRM contain interesting articles. Don't ignore the American scene either. Model Railroader likewise has detailed articles - almost overkill in some cases as they tell you exactly what to use, right down to the knife blade number! A snap off blade is all I've ever needed, by the way. Magazines also contain a host of adverts for all the various products you will need. The range is now considerable in terms of weathering powders, dyes, inks, paints etc - all of which will do the job. Just depends on what you find is best. Likewise scenic materials. The Woodlands Scenic range of scatter 'foam' is easy to work with, but you need a decent range of textures and colours to be effective. However, the new static grass machines have moved the bar up considerably in terms of realism. Cheap versions are available, but again, you will need a range of fibres - colours and lengths. My personal view is to go for the best you can afford, because of the quality of finish these materials will bring. However, not everything needs to cost a fortune. So read as much as you can - on the web, books, mags or whatever, for there is no 'one best way' and you will develop your own techniques to suit the location, period etc you are modelling. Most of all, have a go! My personal bibles are listed below. The authors are people who are great innovators in the hobby, folk who have spent many hours practising and then sharing their ideas for our benefit. Despite [or maybe because of] their undoubted skills, they also make things seem very much achievable by mere mortals like the rest of us. Weathering: 'The Art of Weathering' by Martyn Welch [Wild Swan], though most magazines seem to have at least one article every month. Scenery: 'Simply Scenery' by Tony Hill [irwell Press]; 'Landscape Modelling' by Barry Norman & 'Modelling Grassland' by Gordon Gravett [both Wild Swan]. Gordon's book on trees is also both inspiring and easy to follow.

As indicated elsewhere, the layout now has a new fiddle yard. The Mark 1 version only had a four track turntable and the outer two were on a radius of less than 5 feet. The new one has seven tracks & these are all straight, so capacity is increased by over 75%. The photos hopefully make things clear, but here goes in terms of a description. The structure is in three parts. The lowest level is a shallow U shaped framework, which has two double ended drawer runners. In these sits a 5cm deep table and on top of this is the actual train turntable. The table is a simple framework of softwood, covered top & bottom with 3mm MDF. The turntable is 12mm MDF, while the base framework is built from a two longitudinal plywood & softwood beams [4mm ply either side of 18mm plywood squares], with ends made from 12mm ply and 45mm square softwood. A similar version was described in Model Railway Journal by S Gauge Society member Robin Fielding. His had just three tracks, but the extra width of my version requires heavier duty drawer runners [about £20 a pair]. The feed in track from the layout is in the centre of the board, so the sliding table only needs to move just over half the total width [30cm] to enable it to rotate. Track alignment is by home made bolts. Two 'bolts' on the lead in track locate in short barrels on the turntable. Both are made from brass tube soldered to flat brass strip, which is then screwed to the fiddleyard surface. The actual bolt is brass rod, which is a nice snug fit in the tube. The bolts also provide power from the scenic baseboards to the fiddleyard tracks, so only the aligned track is powered. For additional safety [& when the fiddleyard is turned], there is a hinged aluminium strip at each end. The only other refinement is a small household bolt in the side of the table, which hold the turntable in place while it is moved on the drawer runners. The only effect on the scenic part of the layout is that it has had to be raised 75mm, to line up with the new fiddleyard, which is inevitably much deeper that the previous one. Short cross pieces [the width of the layout], sit on the longitudinal beams and hopefully the small increase in height improves the overall viewing angle.

Mmmm. Nice... See comments on the MED thread. Same applies here. Top work.

Proper Job! DMUs may well be among the most challenging of all models to make. Quite apart from all the subtle curves at the front/rear, there is all the plumbing and such under the solebars where the engine, gearbox etc go. Then you have the added problem that they are proverbial greenhouses, so need full interior detailing as well. Makes a steam loco seem simple... I have a 7mm scale Bachmann Brassworks Derby Lightweight 2 car. Looked lovely when I bought it [unpainted], but the more I investigated it, the more there was wrong in terms of detail. Probably cost me about 300 hours work in total and is probably still not right.

Interesting. Looks like I may have to move the turntable buffers back when I build a G2. It will just fit [the deck is 40'] and as I've always envisaged the branch as a 'joint' line [MGW for coal, SLNCR the rest], then in my imagination an occasional excursion train [maybe to Knock or Galway] is not out of the question. There are indeed many delights in the Tyrconnel range & am surprised no one appears to have done the Timoleague & Courtmacsherry tramway in 7mm scale - virtually the entire stock is there. As for 14BA bolts, reminds me of the first engine I built with outside valvegear. It was the excellent Vulcan 016.5 kit of the Sierra Leone Hunslet 2-6-2T that runs on the Welshpool & Llanfair. All of the valve gear was fixed with 14BA nuts and bolts & am sure there are still one or two lodged in the carpet...

The vast 'desert' south of Derry & between Sligo & Dundalk shows up only too clearly. RIP the GNRI, SLNCR, CDR, Swilly etc etc...

Thanks chaps - it was a lovely surprise to find it was on the front cover. Better still though was the quality of the rest of the content, from the news, through the articles to the letters. Read it all with much pleasure. Am already salivating at the thought of a 7mm scale G2. Just how good is that NCC 4-4-0? Inside motion and all. Outside Walschaerts valve gear is one thing, but inside moves things to another level. Only fitted dummy so far, but maybe when I get round to Sir Henry, I'll have a go. At least there is more room between the frames! Loved all the other stuff too and would encourage everyone to get a copy [and no I don't mean for my layout]. Congratulations to all involved on such a professional and high quality publication. Already looking forward to the next.

The main problem with the Chatham Show is that however fired up with new ideas/new toys one might be, it generally represents the start of the summer too & that is never a productive time for model making for me. When I was working full time in education, the summer term was always the most manic & we not so much reached the holidays as fell off work into the welcome stupor of a bit of R&R. These days, we try to go on holiday before the schools break up – simply because it is cheaper and since returning, the weather has not been conducive to being in the workshop with a hot soldering iron. Not that I’m complaining of course. So, not a great deal going on, though time away from actual modelling can be a good time to do a bit of thinking – especially the ‘what next?’ variety. And here lies the thing. Arigna Town is nominally finished as a model, but hopefully has a busy exhibition schedule ahead of it, so it is a case of keeping things going and creating new interest in model making. The first/next stage is approaching completion, in the form of a new fiddle yard. The same size as the previous one, but it has seven parallel tracks instead of 4 curved ones and slides on double ended drawer runners. It also pivots, enabling the whole thing to rotate 360 degrees, like the mark one version. A write up and pictures will appear in the layout section in a couple of weeks & it was certainly an interesting challenge. However, with seven tracks, I will have the space to build some new stock. Not wanting to mess around with the geography & history of my fictitious line, the options I’ve come up with are as follows: • Track 1 will have space for Railcar B and Railbus 2b, but also room for another railbus eventually, so one of the earlier versions may get built • Tracks 2 – 4 will have the current trains – mixed, goods and coal. However, the coal wagons will be supplemented by a rake of empties. This means I can then run the ‘mine branch’ will its own engines: hence a chance to raid the Tyrconnel range. • Track 5 will be able to hold a short ‘Paddy Train’ – either converted vans or perhaps the Tyrconnel 24’ six wheelers, plus the J26. I envisage the latter will arrive with a train of coal empties, which will be picked up by the mine engine [maybe St Mologa or one of the other T&C engines or even a Sentinel]. The J26 will disappear light engine, maybe to shunt the yard at the new power station on Lough Allen. Later the mine engine will return with loaded wagons and the previous sequence repeated the other way round. • Track 6 is currently reserved for a full cattle train for which ‘Large Tank’ Sir Henry will be built • Track 7 is ear-marked for an excursion train. Imagine my delight therefore when I read in the latest ‘New Irish lines’ that Tyrconnel have a G2 2-4-0 planned! Do I detect the hand of our ‘Mayner’ here? A rake of six wheelers would complement the loco nicely. My only slight concern is whether a G2 would fit on my turntable, but am assuming the wheelbase should come in at under the 42’ diameter. Perhaps someone can let me know? So, plenty to do and though there a no deadlines as such, I am certainly expecting the new fiddle yard to be available for the layout’s next outing at Uckfield in October and would hope there will be at least one new train by the time York comes round next Easter

Agree with the above. Very important to try before you buy. I had a Lenz system but found it counter intuitive Programing seems especially hard. Now have a Prodigy Advance which is easier. Has more buttons than Lens where programing van be like texting on an early mobile phone. However, went back to analogue for Arigna and get just as good loco control. It is a question of how many trains you want to run at once and if a solo operator that may be only one.. DCC is great for sound, multiple trains and special effects but it is NOT necessarily the holy grail...

Still far too hot for modelling in Kent, so glad you can inspire us for when it cools down. Lovely work!

My sort of layout, but too big for 7mm. Shame! Am plotting diorama type layouts as new projects post Arigna. Something Clogher Valley like perhaps...

Juicy stuff John. Will look forward to seeing more. High summer here and easy to forget you are in prime modelling time down under.

Wagons and trannies all fab. Just after I left college in the mid 70s was doing driving jobs in London to earn summer beer money. One trip was to deliver paint to the Houses of Parliament. OK, it was the summer recess, so nobody was about, but security was noticeable by its absence & took me ages to find where they wanted the goods. Wouldn't get within 100 metres today of course, but on the way out, totalled the wing mirror against the wall of the archway exit. Nobody noticed and it was my only day with the firm so never knew what they thought...

A very challenging project, beautifully done!

Who'd have thought it? Works really well & very much concur with the comments on the scenery. Sublime.

Gosh - the cover looks great. Very much looking forward to seeing the rest and certainly not just my bit!

Much delight earlier this week when photos arrived from RM. Andrew Burnham [editor of Continental Modeller] took them on the Sunday morning of the Chatham Show, using natural light and long exposures. The results are humbling to say the least - 34 pics far better than anything I can do. Unfortunately, they are all 10megs or more, so you'll have to wait till next April's RM to see them. At least it coincides with next year's York Show, for which Arigna now has an invite. Epsom too, later in the month. In the meantime, have just started work on a new fiddle yard board, which will both slide and rotate, giving me room for seven tracks instead of the current four. So, eventually more trains and the opportunity to build them.

Standard Peco, Nelson, including the points. Ballast is Woodlands 'fine ash' [probably intended for N gauge] - the fortunate bit was toning it all down with talcum powder - surprisingly useful medium, well worth using in other aspects of weathering.

Freestone Models do a nice set. They advertise in Railway Modeller. Humbrol now do some useful modelling inks too. Water soluble, so if it goes wrong, you can wash it off. As for colour there are many 'rust' tints available, in enamel and acrylic. Check out the Tamiya range. However, the best advice is to copy the real thing - so don't be afraid to mix your colours rather than rely on just one. Practice on an old wagon or model car to get your eye in.

Delightful - keep em coming Phil.

Scenic modelling of a very high order. Well done, Patrick. The layout oozes atmosphere - a rare commodity that is hard to achieve.

Those of you who have been following the development of Arigna Town may be interested in my other exhibition layout, Eatonswell. This is also 7mm scale, but this time British standard gauge and depicts an East Anglian secondary line in the late 1950s. The layout has had a convoluted history and is currently in its second incarnation. It started life in 2005, as a very ambitious solo project, to build an 0 gauge continuous run. To achieve this, and be able to store it all at home, the end curves of the oval were just wide enough for two tracks. They were also split into two different radii, so that they ‘nested’ with each other for transport and in fact the curved sections fitted on the 4 storage siding boards in an overall space of 4’ x 2’ x 2’. The scenic section was 16’ long and always planned to be gradually expanded, though to begin with a 16 x 2 scenic section out of a 30 x 14 oval didn’t exactly sell itself to exhibition organisers. It was however slightly different in depicting a double track, secondary line, with a low level goods yard in front. The latter was completely unconnected to the main oval and relied on cassettes to store trains off-scene. It made its exhibition debut at the Chatham Show in 2008 appearing in Railway Modeller the same year] and though things generally went well, I soon realised that I had created something of a white elephant, for while there was room to store it all at home, it needed a large van to transport it, plus at least 4 operators. All a bit much for a solo project… So, a re-think was called for and I changed the format to ‘end to end’, with cassettes for fiddle yards. Somehow, I managed to get it all in the back of my car [a Honda Civic at the time]. However, it was still very operator intensive & I just wasn’t enjoying the experience. Two more shows and I decided enough was enough. Buildings were carefully removed and the baseboards scrapped. These were 48” x 30” and far too big anyway. Instead, a terminus fiddle yard layout was built, using all the original buildings, plus one or two new ones and Eatonswell mark two emerged in 2011, doing a couple of shows a year since then. It is next appearing at the Croydon Show at the first weekend in October. The layout is built on four 3 x 2 scenic boards, with two additional sub-boards at each end for the station building and modern granary. There is an island platform, a double faced loading dock, goods siding and a further siding serving a low-relief maltings. Other sidings are assumed to be ‘off-scene’, reached by a head shunt alongside the main line. The location is Sudbury, Suffolk – which was called Eatanswill by Dickens in Pickwick Papers. Sudbury was originally a terminus & I have retained that concept, adding another branch trailing in from Hadleigh – again assumed to be off-scene. The result is a busy station, with plenty to keep two operators on their toes. Operation is DCC using a Gaugemaster Prodigy system, which works really well, while points are powered by Tortoise motors. Dingham auto-couplings allow generally hands free operation, while the fiddle yard uses cassettes. I’ve posted a few pictures to give you a general idea of the layout. Over the years, I’ve built up quite a large collection of locomotives and rolling stock, so as part of this thread, I’ll add some more pictures and tell you a bit more about the trains and how/why things were built.

Got the layout safely back home on Sunday evening & have been going through a few things which needed attention. The main one was to repair the linkage to one of the signal arms. One of the angle cranks was made of too thin metal strip and the actuating wire broke through the hole it was fixed in. Not a job to do under the layout at the show, so had to wait until it came home. Easily fixed, so all is now back in working order. All the stock fared well & am sure benefitted from the 14 hours of running time over the show. Happily, there was no sign of any unforced derailments, while the simple sequence suited other operators. The only other thing which needed attention was transport, as it didn't fit in the car as well as I would have liked - ie, had to use the front passenger seat for a couple of stock bags. Have since worked out a better way [pairing up two of the boards to make a crate], which also enable me to store the layout safely at home [more of which below]. However, there is another project which I hope to complete before the layout goes out again. This is to build a new fiddle yard, which will have seven tracks and both slide and rotate. The latter feature really works well, but currently, only have four tracks, which are full, so as I build more stock, the fiddle yard will have to have greater capacity. The next outing is Uckfield in October, but before then, my BR, East Anglian layout, Eatonswell, has an appointment at the Croydon Show at the start of that month. Hence that is now out from storage & being tidied up & stock checked. will post a few pictures on the appropriate section later. Shows which have expressed an interest in Arigna include Hampton court, Wimbledon, Farnham, Deal, Maidstone, Gravesend, Burgess Hill, Croydon & Canterbury. Unsurprisingly, these are mainly in the south east, but I would very much like to take it to Ireland one day - though appreciate the costs would be considerable...

Good to see you, Brendan & Mike. Likewise all the other folk keen on the Irish scene. A quieter day on Sunday, but the layout ran well both days. The only fault was a broken linkage to the signal controlling entry to the loop. Otherwise, apart from the occasional dirt related pickup problems, everything went smoothly. Lots of interest for future shows - have a list of 12, mainly in the south east, but hopefully York next year or the one after. Next confirmed outing is Uckfield in mid October [always a god show], but will keep everyone informed once others are finalised. a full review of the show's experiences shortly.