David Holman

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.

After around three years of planning and construction, Arigna Town is at last out in the public domain. Chatham Club members assembled from 7am this morning to begin setting up the exhibition halls, beginning with marking out the 100+ stands, while the sparkies began adding the same number of power points. A huge number of tables and chairs then needed setting out for exhibitors and the public - all in time for the first arrivals early in the afternoon. After setting up the new club's 0 gauge circular layout [only at the 'test track stage at present], I went home to get Arigna Town, which was fully set up by late afternoon. The photos show the layout in its full presentation mode, complete with pelmet and fascias, both of which include constructional and prototype information. Should any of you make it to the show - please come and say hello!

The layout is now about as finished as it can be for its debut, so here are pictures of the sequence of trains I'll be running. They are intended to reflect those of the real SLNCR. First up is the mixed train, Fermanagh, coach 9 & a couple of wagons. First job is to turn the loco, then move the brake to the stop blocks. After, in best Sligo style, the coach and wagons shunt the goods siding & all is made ready for departure. Next up is the railcar - a simple operation, out and back is all that is required. After comes the J26 and loaded coal wagons, down from the mines above Derreenavoggy. Arrive in the loop, move the brake to the platform [the intention is to eventually have a small group of miners here, looking like they are coming off shift], then away again. no turntable for the tank. We then have the railbus, which certainly needs turning & finally, Hazlewood and the goods. After turning, the loco shunts the cattle dock and goods siding, before departing with its small string of wagons. Too many pics, so will add the goods in a moment Turn the fiddle yard and start again...

Better still with a prototypical 1200 boxcar train in tow...The mind boggles at the cost of assembling such a beast - with a private nuclear power plant required as well methinks.

Now that is what I call classy.

Oozes atmosphere!

Just in case anyone has missed the adverts and all my other ramblings, the Chatham Show is coming up on 14th & 15th June. Over 100 stands [102 to be exact], with a good balance of layouts, trade support & societies. See the ads in BRM, RM, CM etc. Should be something for everyone, plus a certain 7mm sale Irish broad gauge layout making its debut...

Less than 3 weeks to the Show now & have turned the layout round so am operating from the back, as per at a show. As mentioned elsewhere, Fermanagh has had a new gearbox fitted to cure erratic running. Tried everything else & thankfully all now seems well. Running further improved by purchase of a new Gaugemaster hand held controller - this time with feedback to aid slow running. There is a marked difference to the W unit I'd been using, so the latter will be kept as a spare. Also have my now ancient H&M Clipper, which still finds use powering the wheel cleaner. Getting the track and wheels clean [and keeping them that way], has been a bit of a pain. A combination of paint, glue and grease means wheel and track cleaning has been far too frequent at first, but again now starting to improve. Another small issue was the height of one rail on the loco turntable, which somehow had risen a millimetre or so - enough to make exiting the table a bit of a lottery. Traced the problem to a weakened glue joint, so again all well again. Have also been making laminated instructions for any guest operators. In my experience, some are better than others, so I use a set of simple rules to try and keep them on the straight and narrow. Key points include: - using a very simple sequence - keeping shunting very basic, such as each train shunts just one siding - a big reminder to only crank the turntable handle clockwise [or it will ruin the pickups] - another to emphasise 'set points, then signals & only then drive the train' May do another about running at prototype speeds too... Me, a control freak? Well, nobody gets to be a headteacher without having at least a small one lurking somewhere!

Really, really impressive. The low angle viewpoint works superbly. Is there a return working?!

Hear what you say HF, though it is fairly grubby, but looks a lot lighter in the photos. Need to remove the deck to adjust the height of one of the rails, so will use the opportunity to add some more oil & grime.

Turned the layout round recently, so I could do operating practice from behind - the way when it is exhibited. Discovered that there were a few areas that needed tidying up, not least that the rails were still shiny from this side. So, out came the rust coloured paint, along with a bit of track colour to touch up bare patches on the sleepers. Thought it then worthwhile to take a few pictures, as this viewpoint is not one that folk will see at a show. The downside is there is no backscene to frame the view. Also, Fermanagh has been receiving attention. The gearbox I used was not working well - the frames were too flimsy and the main gear too narrow. Replaced it with a Branchlines one. These are so much more robust and also really well etched. Just solder in the bearings and fold up the sides & it is complete. Fermanagh already runs more smoothly, which can only improve with a bit more running in on the rolling road.

Priests - now there's another thread... However, my [increasingly seasonal] day job includes doing headteacher performance reviews with their governors. One of my regular ports of call is a church school and last year, found myself faced with no less than three vicars. I made the obvious enquiry about the collective noun for such a group and was informed [with much delight] that the word was an 'hypocrasy'.... 'Nuff said???

Politicians too, no doubt. By the by, did you know the collective noun for a group of bankers is a 'wunch'?