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This is a very fascinating topic. When you consider how electrified passenger transport in the USA once was. It's sad... ...but of course great for model making. Just like your pictures.

Thomas, That's a great video of the Korean train. So nice to see you running trains, and the railway itself is looking very good. Well done for all that hard work. And the way you've securing the new bridge section is very ingenious. Andrew

Interurbans are coming Some railway people, even in America, don't know what these are. In Britain they are even more of a niche interest. But they caught my imagination a few years ago. I now do a short talk called "America's Interurban Interlude". Anyway, what are the implications for modelling? There are no ready to run models. The main option seems to be the HO Japanese brass models of the kind that were very popular for US outline railroads in the 1960s and '70s. As well as mainstream railroads, there were plenty of interurban models commissioned 50 years ago - and they're still around in secondhand form. Mind you, most of them are unpainted and unglazed, which is not to everyone's taste. But I was fortunate to get hold of a pair of nicely painted brass interurban cars from America recently: And they look even better when posed on what remains of my railway: Here are some useful further sources:

Hi Thomas, I’ve just been having a great catch up! It’s really good to see how much progress you’ve made and I’m very pleased that the bridge from Italy finally arrived, it looks fantastic. Keep up the good work, John

So, despite the fall, I've made a little more progress with the new cutoff. Since my Korean KTX wants a minimum radius of 730mm, I had to build a bypass around the only curve <730mm. The removable part of the bridge is held in position by the four specially made catenary poles.

To clarify, I use 25mm L-section raw aluminium for this. I think I said somewhere in the past that I used 15mm aluminium L section, so apologies if anyone has bought the incorrect materials, it's definitely 25mm. Also I think that is 2mm thick so that is 6" in scale which is reasonable for the type of wall being recreated.

Not much to report. I've cut the roofing felt to fit between the aluminium L-section. I've also managed to collect 5x 2l drinks bottles and cut them to provide some cover, they seem to have stayed on despite the windy weather. I think that is helped by the lip created from the overhang on the L-section. I stuck an old Joueff Mk3 under them to see if it got wet and it didn't. I've reclaimed a full length of flexi-track from elsewhere and cut that to fit in place of a broken one. Next job is to solder it in. Some repairs to the staging sidings are necessary but it looks like I may get a train to run before the end of the week.

The station is a masterpiece! I had to go back and watch a few of your earlier videos. The track-work has certainly improved, you have a very impressive garden for a railway.

I used Gorilla Heavy Duty Grab Adhesive 290ml. https://uk.gorillaglue.com/gorilla-heavy-duty-grab-adhesive/ I've also cut up some 2 litre drinks bottles to create a cover, but unless I can harvest some on recycling night from other people then it may take a long time to build that enough.

Your station is very impressive and looks extremely successful from every perspective. It's a real masterpiece.

Interesting approach. May I ask what kind of glue you used?

Superb! Lovely views along the track and the station is amazing. Some of the views that you have posted are very reminiscent of Trevor Jones's railway - I am loving it!

So just a little bit more progress and some step-by-step photos of adding the other side wall to this section. First thing is to position the L-section and mark out where my first cut is to go. I started by the tunnel section as it doesn't really matter where the other end finishes. This shows me at the second cut as I forgot to photograph the first. when I'm happy that the cut will be in the right position, I used my dremel to make a little nick in the edge that could be seen both sides. The bend will be in the corner so I just estimate where that will be. I should say that I've not been too scientific about the measuring or cutting and it seems to have worked out fine. Then I turn the L-section over and grind a line across the surface to mark where I will cut it. Note that when the wall is on the inside of a bend like this, only a single cut is needed as the L-section will be bent out; when the wall is on the outside of a bend it'll need a V cut into it - again I just estimate that. The next stage is to cut through line I've made with the dremel. Then I turn it over and lay it in position, bend the L-section to shape and check it all lines up. Once I'm happy with the cuts and position. I remove it from the blocks then I get a small wire brush and clean the top of the blocks where it will sit. I also cleaned the L-section as it had been sitting out for a long time by using IPA on the bottom surface. Then I applied the Gorilla contact glue to the L-section in a zig-zag as per the instructions. I was quite generous with the glue as it does need to infill quite a few gaps in the surface. With the glue on I put it in position on the blocks and made sure I was happy with the alignment. Finally the blocks went on to weigh it down while the glue sets over 24 hours.

The upgrades look fantastic and I recognised Lewes immediately from the distinctive platform configuration. My railway (1980s Southern commuter theme) has not made any progress this year as I got side-tracked on another project, but next year I hope to start laying track in the garden. I am local to you Mark, in Crawley Down, so might contact you for some advice in the Spring if that's ok?

The first blocks that I bonded with gorilla glue were in 2020 and are still stuck strongly. It's supposed to be able to stick and set even under water. The L section is stuck fast now. If I used mole grips to pull it, I'm sure it would lift all the blocks with it. I think I could have gone for a more pronounced overhang given the strength of it, but certainly no animal is going to be damaging it and with the track now down in a recess it should be better protected too. I am thinking that a cat incoming for the first time may get a shock with a 1mm wall of aluminium pointed at its paws. As I said I'm looking at a clear rain cover for mine but I'm also looking around at junk for something that could act as a track protector. Something like old hornby platform might make an infill when the railway is out of use. If there is a specific spot the cats use then it could just sit there to give them a safe landing zone.

That looks really good. I love the buildings, canopies and those sweeping curves from eye level viewpoints. Another thing I like about garden railways is that providing of course that we keep the tops of the rails clean we don't have to worry too much about little bits of dirt, stones, vegetation etc.. that accumulates alongside because it just adds to the realism.

That doesn't look bad at all Barry, in fact it's worthy of serious consideration for my own viaducts. I doubt the pigeons would be able to dislodge it. My only reservations would be cats because they tend to jump onto my viaducts from the fence behind so they're either jumping down onto the viaduct from height or using it as a step up onto the fence. But this has to be a big improvement over the slivers of aerated block I've used before. I'm not sure which adhesive I would use because I've tried all sorts previously and they all seem to go soft and pliable over time. I've used the Gorilla brand before and it did last that bit longer. I agree that it would look better with the overhang and that's how I'd installed my pieces of aerated block.

The first half of 2024 I was very busy doing lots of travelling, so I wasn't able to start work on the railway until July! Apart from a small track repair, the last three months I've been constructing my station canopies. Inspired by Lewes station in Sussex, the structure is built from folded aluminium sheet and clad in plastic card. There are still lots more to do and it's very much still "work in progress"!

Looks good.

I can't believe where 2024 has gone! Last year I successfully relayed the top loop with the DCC Concepts track, this involved changing the trackbed alignment to smooth out some curves I didn't like and lining the cuttings in stone and relaying around 10 meters of double track through two tunnels.

I'm at home for a while now so will hopefully get the opportunity to make progress. I think this is going to be a job that gets done in lots of little bits rather than one mammoth session. I do seem to have made a mess in the process but that will be sorted later. I've started the process of adding the aluminium L section walls. First was wire brushing the blocks to clean the surface up, then I cleaned the surface of the L section with some IPA. Squeezed out Gorrila glue along the longest straight length and tried to get the L section to stay in place. I found a few bits where there just wasn't enough glue to fill the pits in the blocks so I had a second go with more glue. Then a slight mismatch of block heights caused an issue, I think some of the bedding sand has washed away in the 4 years since I started. So up came a couple of blocks to get them out of the way until they can be re-laid. With that sorted, I used the blocks I'd taken up to weigh the L section down while the glue is setting (24 hours). The aluminium slightly overhangs the face of the block, I thought that would look better on the viaduct so am trying it here, I think the unseen side is more likely to be in line though. I have a busy week then hoping I get the time to relay the blocks, cut and glue the L-section on the other side and replace the track so I can run a train.

Good to have you back Mark. On my original OO version of Hampton Field, when running analogue locos, an old H&M controller was used effectively. I would only lay track in warm weather and allow literally just 1mm gap in joints.

A colour version of a photo I've just added to my gallery. After being held briefly on the down main 56127 pollutes the air as it departs Skew Bridge with a heavy load of 14 TEA bogie tank wagons. 56095 'Harworth Colliery' stands on the down loop while a class 09 shunts HAA wagons in the down sidings. This next one was done a couple of days ago and depicts EWS liveried 60048 on a rake of BZA/BAA steel coil wagons. 56095 again on the down loop.

Doesn't need to be much Mark, a couple of mill or so should do the trick though I suppose it all depends on the outside temperature when you begin laying track so think of that as a guide. As far as I can recall I've never experienced a problem with expansion of the track outdoors though up in the attic was a different story initially. Does get warm up there mind you.