PaulC

Yes, we need pics and lots of them. Paul

I like the inclusion of the catch point on the siding, something that’s often overlooked in modelling. Paul

Stunning looking. Is that a generic design they’ve produced or one to your specifications? Paul

Glenderg, pm me details and I’ll send a copy to you. Paul

Couplers are something that have nagged at me for ages and I wasn’t sure in which direction to go to rectify the issue. I want close coupling similar to what you have produced and with this in mind bought a pack of No.18 Kadee couplings to experiment. This was after seeing them in operation on another layout and the ability of uncoupling using only a magnet set in to the track. First experiements are mixed. The short coupling isn’t long enough to extend beyond the end of any coach stock I have - mainly Bachmann - so I’ll order a pack of medium to see how they fair. The short couplings work fine on any freight stock I’ve got so they won’t be wasted and I can also fit them to some locos. Im of the same opinion as you Noel when it comes to standardising pockets for whatever coupler you choose to fit. The positioning of some pockets are so far back that medium or long couplers are the order of the day. How difficult is it to say a coupling will be ‘x’ height from the rail, sit ‘x’ distance from the buffer beam and have the same pocket across the board? Scale is set in many other departments so why not here? Whatever is required, I’m sold on the Kadee coupling. They are expensive but give a more realistic look of coupling, are exceptionally easy to uncouple to lift stock away and provide a simple solution to decoupling without the hand of god or stick being required during train movements Paul

Looking really good. The only problem I see you have is similar to mine - not being able to capture the whole layout in one shot! Paul

Mike Thanks for that, I hadn’t heard of Alphagrahix before. As to the kit, I’ve already got mine sorted, check out page 2 of my Galgorm Hall thread. Jonathan, PM me your address and I’ll send a copy off to you . Paul

I contacted the museum at Cultra searching for more information on Ballymena Station. I really have to say that the service the curators provided was second to none. An email was followed by a phone call with a number of contact points for me to persue things further. Whilst they couldn’t provide me any documentation on the station they did post me copies of track plans of Ballymena for three different time periods. They also provided a copy of the generic Signal box design favoured by Berkeley Dean Wise. Not only does it include dimensions for the box (to be altered according to the size of frame required inside) it also covers the type of brick to be used, the Bangor slates for the roof, the grade of timber for the window frames, the depth to which the brick should be laid and the furnishings and painting of the interior. Absolutely fascinating. Should anyone want a copy run off for their own perusal please pm me and I’ll sort it out for you. A big thumbs up to the staff at the Transport Museum. Paul

Rotating the entire track plan slightly and adding the slightest of curves to some of the sections has really enhanced the look of the layout no end. The moving of the turntable also de-clutters things too. I’m really liking what you’ve done. Paul

Ahh, Warbonnet, mines a coffee, milk and no sugar. Looking forward to it. Paul

Paul

Paul

A further visit to Cultra over Easter provided me with the opportunity to take a few more snaps. Anyone want to build a coal wagon? Unfortunately no measurements included with th drawing. Paul

This just gets better and better with each posting. Just brilliant. Paul

Just superb. That’s a neat little tool for rivet making. Would it work on plastic too? Paul

Are these the ones on the outer sides? If so, the one nearest the bridge looks fine to me. The one at the front is perhaps bland to look at but what are your plans for the surrounding area of that track? Will this not draw attention away from the straightness? Maybe too late now if track is being pinned down in to its permanent position but by laying track at a slight angle across your boards rather than parallel with the board edges can deceive the eye and therefore draw you away from the straightness of track. Paul

This, to me, looks as refined as you can get. Wonderful work. Paul

All looking really good. What’s chinchilla dust? Paul

I liked that a lot. Why just do the fix, add a story to the process too. Brilliant. Paul

The turntable looks a much better proposition than the Peco alternative. Great to see the track laying started too. Quick question, your little hand held drilling tool, is there a name for it and where can I buy one? Paul

While continuing my quest for anything related to Ballymena railway station I was aware of the book the Industrial Archaeology Of Ireland. Now out of print the library service has one copy in circulation currently residing in its Banbridge branch. They won’t do a transfer of it to another library so whilst working in the town today I popped in to take a look. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the book that I hadn’t seen eleswhere before. This long winded intro leads me to two photos attached below I came across of Omagh. No doubt you have probably seen them before but thought I’d share them just in case. Apologies for the blurry image in the first picture, I hadn’t noticed my lack of focus when taking the pic Paul

Stunning. I could look at those photos all day and still discover something I hadn’t seen before. Paul

I knew you’d be forward thinking in your baseboard construction. Some sort of connector would be required to carry the bus between the two boards and there are any number of options to do this. Paul

Are you planning to move the baseboards for exhibition purposes or such like? If so, I think one of the preferred methods is to solder the bottoms of the rails to screws placed in to the board. Once this is done you can cut the rails with a cutting disc and be assured the track will line up each time the boards are brought together. Of course, this is also dependent on the boards being perfectly aligned using coach bolts or the like but with your woodworking skills I’ve no doubt you’ve already achieved that. Paul

All looking really good and very neat. Not long before you have some trains running now. Paul