David Holman

Templot lets you print out templates. Have used the 3' radius ones to make copperclad points. Another alternative, if you want 00 track is to try one of C&L's point kits, which come with the vee ready assembled and blades machined. You slide the chairs on to the rails and use Daywat solvent to fix them in place. A fairly easy way into making your own track.

As above, though I guess any complex, solid shape could be useful, especially if several of them are needed for a project. So, for locomotives and rolling stock, things like buffers, chimneys, domes, safety valves etc. For buildings and scenics chimney pots, doors, lamps etc A lot of the above have long been available as castings of one sort or another, but these can be hard to get hold of, especially post covid, while suspect that 3D prints are lighter and therefore cheaper when it comes to postage.

Going to be one very happy customer, methinks.

Love how all the weights have been cut and fitted - must have another look at some of my Clogher locos!

Beautiful model of an iconic loco.

Love all the scenic work, buildings and so on, specifically the quayside area. Really need to adjust the colours on my own layout on this evidence!

Well that has, rightly, caused a stir! Remarkable....

Stock should not be a problem with EM standards, but always worth ensuring wheels are all in contact with the track on locos, especially small ones where good luck up is vital.

Full review in latest RM. A few minor issues, but gets lavish praise, not least it's abi!ity to haul at least 26 Pullman coaches around 3' radius curves on a 1 in 48 gradient...

Only goes to show how some things that may look simple, are quite the opposite! Lovely model.

I work in 7mm scale, both 36.75mm and 21mm gauge. With the latter, I use ordinary (4mm scale) 1mm flanges clearances, which are a lot more forgiving than P4 tolerances. A standard point takes less than an hour to make and once you've done one, the next seem a lot less daunting.

Templot have files for Irish EM, which are 20.2mm gauge. Latest RTR stock is apparently easy to convert to 21mm gauge, but is all diesel outline. If that is your thing, then may be very worthwhile going for it. Steam outline much more involved, not that there is much available anyway. Setting yourself a challenge is always good, but needs to be manageable to succeed, so go with what you feel comfortable with and start small, so you can finish it in reasonable time.

Interesting! The differences are subtle, but I concur with A or E. However, it is one thing to look down vertically on a piece of track, but what is the natural viewing angle? The closer that is to eye level, the less the differences in gauge will be apparent. Therefore rail height and sleeper spacing becomes more important. Suggest you take a few pictures from the likely viewing angle, then find some prototype pictures of the period you want to model and do a comparison. Certainly hope you find a good compromise - this seems like a very sensible way to go.

Fintonagh was at the Bredgar & Wormshill Railway this weekend. Lots of 2' gauge locos on show, both steam and diesel, so overall, a very nice way to spend a couple days. John Fowler, Decauville, Orstein & Koppell & Hunslet to name but a few. Note the detail on the coach bogie being rebuilt too. No2 below is one of the engines I did my driver training experience on - and a very fine day that was as well.

A few pictures from the workshop. It's been a while since Belmullet featured, mainly because work has focussed on the other two layouts, but we had some friends over for lunch, so seemed like a good excuse for a tidy up, especially as a request to see the workshop had been made. Guess it's a bit like the wife wanting the house to be tidy for visitors! Anyway, it was good to get some stock out and take a couple of pictures. With some cooler weather, managed to spend a bit of time on the baseboard join on Northport quayside - though still much to do here, not least correcting my continuing inability to get colour tones right. It's not as if I haven't had plenty of practice, but the stonework is far too dark for my liking. Finally a picture of Fintonagh, to promote its outing next weekend. The venue is the Bredgar and Wormshill Railway, near Sittingbourne. The entrance fee may at first seem a bit steep at £20, but this includes train and tractor rides all day. The railway is in effect a 12 inch to the foot model, being a 2 foot gauge line, built on private land. There is a large array of locos on duty and lots to see, as well as the model exhibition, so well worth visiting if you are in the area. Good job it wasn't last weekend though, as even though it is well away from the M2 & M20, much of Kent was gridlocked with holidaymakers trying to cross the channel.

Somebody's going to be busy!

Sublime pictures. Thanks JB!

And we all thought it was safe to go in the water! A very interesting topic and utterly horrendous for anyone fickle enough to want everything right. RTR track very unlikely to be correct unless following modern practice, never mind the gauge. Just as well therefore that our eyes rarely look that closely at such things, though on a small layout, it might make a difference. C&L have produced a few variations of chairs for several years now - mainly two or three bolt, I think. They also do slide chairs for pointwork and offer the chance to make sure the oak 'keys' are facing the right way - on double track trains should be pushing them into the chairs, while on single track they need to be mixed. Amazing the lengths we might go to...

Nothing much to report, except that this is the first modelling I have done for a month! Rare for me, as I like to keep the pot simmering, as it were. However, a holiday, followed by that spell of inordinately hot weather was not exactly conducive to creative pastimes. Forgive the prose - 'Emma' is on the TV... Anyway, am trying to finish off the right hand quayside [yet more DAS], while the 'water' surface needed attention, so much use of car body filler and sanding smooth afterwards has been a gentle step back into things creative. What I am looking forward to it getting to grips with the Langley 'Clyde Puffer' kit. Bought this before Christmas & it has been mostly sat on a shelf since then, becoming ever more an itch that needs scratching. Whether a Puffer would ever have got to the west coast of Ireland is a moot point, so the aim is to adapt it to a more conventional coaster outline. An ideal prototype for this resides in Chatham's marina in the form of Vic 96. Built as recently as 1948, but looking at least 50 years older, these 'victualling ships' were used to provision larger craft off shore. Around 20 feet longer, the heritage is nevertheless easy to see. I actually prefer the high forecastle and especially the fact that the funnel sits behind the wheelhouse. So, photos have been taken and sketch plans are starting to be produced, so hopefully it won't be too long before I can get started.

Also puts more than a few of our railway rooms to shame, in terms of overall presentation too - mine included!

From Newry to Clifden, is the answer, via the Bessbrook tramway and C&L among others. Three foot gauge, with sleeping cars to boot. Never really got started, but have often thought it would make a fine basis for all sorts of layouts. Would probably need lots of space to do the concept justice though.

Thanks for the mention, John. Alphagraphix do a 7mm scale card kit of the Sligo railbus, which I used as a drawing when scratchbuilding my model. Last time I looked, I think it was four quid. Not for the faint hearted though, all those angles and complex curves make for a very challenging build. The issue with the trailer is that, whatever scale you do it in, the W iron/spring/axlebox units are very small, so ordinary wagon ones look too big. When I did mine, decided it was important to fit pick ups to the trailer, but this compromised the ability of the single axle bus to haul it and ensure the trailer wheels rotate. On reflection, fitting a motor bogie type mechanism in the trailer might be a better solution, but hiding the gears would not be easy. Now then Angus, how about a 2mmFS one???

Could make a very chic railway room in the garden for a modeller with deep pockets! Buy, dismantle and remove to the place of your choice. However, if this side of the water, there might not be much space left inside once insulated against expected 40c heat. The forecast here is also suggesting a 20c drop in temperature, Tuesday to Wednesday, in just 12 hours. Bonkers, but hopefully might get back to some modelling after that.

A couple of thoughts. As your baseboards line up nicely, if you want to avoid the earthquake crack between them, use car body filler. Put clingfilm on one face, liberally smear the filler on the other and clamp firmly together. Once the filler has set, you should have a nice, almost invisible join, though if the boards are going to be permanently joined, you can fill over it anyway. As for the quayside surface, am guessing you are aiming for something post 1960s and if so any setts, cobbles etch would probably have been main be covered in tarmac or concrete, so a lot less work to model.

Lessons for us all on certain types of track, especially colours of rail, sleepers, ballast and so on.