Patrick Davey

Yes fair point and I’m on the same train (ha) of thought..... the van has easily removable couplings, vacuum pipes and brake gear but the rest of the chassis seems to be moulded to the body which was causing some head scratching as I needed the van to be lower down on the platform. So I slept on it and may have awoken to a solution.....rather than chop the chassis to make the body lower, I’m going to sink the immediate platform area lower so the van can go into this, and stay intact, minus the removable parts which can be stored inside as the roof is also removable. So in the event of the diorama being decommissioned, the van can be returned to running order with the removable parts to hand! Pretty smart!!!

Some further progress - the van is from the Peco range and will, regrettably, shortly be dissected and grounded for use as the station building, as on the original. Pity, it's a lovely van!!

Tony lots of makers bring almost-completed layouts to shows and the visitors totally understand and don’t mind at all! In fact it’s helpful sometimes to see work in progress, or, as in this case, a masterpiece in the making!

Fantastic - those buildings are superb!!!

Some more scenic progress on Capecatle. I am actually approaching the final stages with this diorama - just some trees to add then the very limited platform furniture and a wooden shed for the lever frame which controlled the siding. Then some tidying up of the sides of the baseboard to hide the edges of the polystyrene ceiling tiles which form the base of the landscaping.

Ha ha totally - shows how reliable the replacement bus services are going to be! Thanks for the nice comments Galteemore

Cheers Popeye!

Making further progress - am enjoying checking out new materials & techniques, including using hanging basket liner as a base for the grass & foliage, and I have just acquired some seafoam trees to help build up the wooded parts of the diorama. Hoping to have Capecastle ready for the RPSI show in November!

Very nice Tony, love those gate posts!

Very nice!!!!

Very kind Mayner, thank you! It’s 4mm, I wasn’t planning on tackling coaches or locos but now that you have told me about the WW coach sides that might change things a bit......!!!

Thanks Tony - what I meant by 'on the QT' was that I have so far managed to protect herself from unnecessary worry about himself returning to the hobby....... 009! First excursion (ha) into this area!

Here are a few photographs of an LMS-NCC narrow gauge diorama that I have been working on for a few months (on the QT). It's a representation of the small halt at Capecastle on the Ballycastle line in North East county Antrim - the location was notable for having one of the few tunnels on the Irish narrow gauge. The layout is more of a diorama as it is not currently intended for it to be operational - building the appropriate motive power being the biggest obstacle...... It actually grew out of a desire to get back into the modelling groove by trying out a few techniques which had become a bit rusty.....the plan is to follow this post with more details of how the diorama evolved - every stage was photographed. Hope you enjoy! The photos wouldn't post in chronological order but you'll get the sequence ok! I should also point out that the diorama is not finished - lots of scenic work still to be done.

I'd say more of a 'drooling' sample......

I had the pleasure of visiting his Retford on a trip to England many moons ago - he was only too pleased to welcome my colleagues and myself to the amazing building where the layout was located, no hesitation letting four dodgy-looking Irish musicians in!! He was very funny and very welcoming and the layout was awesome - he showed me the spot on the layout where he did some serious trainspotting years before. RIP.

Very nice Leslie - order coming!

Sounds scary JB.......

BCDR 2-4-0 No. 6 with the Golfers' Express, including the royal saloon.......leaving from a scale model of Belfast Queen's Quay station......

I checked with a suitably qualified colleague and I'm reliably informed that the correct name would be "Caisleán Chiarraí". Looking good!

Looks awesome Tony - well done!

And the ‘Model Irish Railway Building of the Year Award’ goes to...... Probably just a trick of the camera Tony but the track in the pic looks correct for 5ft 3!

Love the 'cutaway' church!

Tony this is superb, the walls, and the roof, look awesome!

Stonework looks awesome Tony - am really enjoying following this, thanks for the updates.

I didn't look.