mick

That looks a much easier method than the one I adopted Joe and I'm really pleased to see someone else constructing a viaduct using those aerated blocks. Brings back memories just seeing them lined up like that! Let us know how you get on and I'd love to see photos of the finished product once it's complete. Oh and if you can come up with a better solution for the parapet walls then let me know as the pigeons have recently flattened some of mine again during their mating rituals!

Hi Rob I've had most success with the 'central locking' type motor and one I installed several years ago is still operating as reliably as ever. It needs protecting from the weather as any others would but they do seem more rugged than anything designed specifically for indoor model railway use. I tend these days to limit use of point motors to indoor locations using the traditional SEEP types inside my shed along with a peco side mounted motor right where the outdoor line enters the shed but is under cover. The drawback with the central locking type is their size as they are a fair

Sorry to learn about your illness Iain but certainly glad to hear you're back up and about again. I hope you're fully recovered or at least well on the way to that. I enjoyed the video and as I mentioned after watching @Andrew's video with the added soundtrack, I quite like them that way. I will have to look out for some appropriate music for accompaniment and have a go myself one day. You've made a good job of yours.

I've just added a selection of 9 Hornby matchboard side Pullman coaches to my eBid store. These were a mix of new and used purchases so while some are in almost as new condition, others have some insignificant marks or damage and are priced accordingly. All have working table lamps though reliable operation does require clean wheels and track to reduce flickering. Here's just a selection of images of some of the coaches listed starting at £22 post free. You'll find details in the store itself https://stores.ebid.net/toomanytrains Rosemary (below) is available for £22 post paid https:

I'm not sure exactly where to place this just yet so for now I'm going to post here in the Buffet section until I decide later. It's mainly just a heads up that I've once again set myself the task of thinning down my overly large collection of models. Now I've settled on the types of layout I want, i.e Scottish outdoors in the garden and Yorkshire Coalfields up in the attic, I find I've got a load of stock that just doesn't have a place anymore. In addition, the fact that I've amassed so many items over the years means there's very little chance of them getting any track time in the fores

It was a splendid end to the month of March weatherwise with temperatures reaching their highest March peak temperature I have ever recorded with 25.4 degrees centigrade on the final day of the month. As a change from my usual blurb I thought I'd just post these two charts comparing the respective data for each of the past 10 years up to and including 1st April.

Great little video Andrew that just goes to show you don't need DCC sound to create an enjoyable viewing experience. I really like it with a nice soothing soundtrack in the background - much better than some of the awful diesel sounds I've been fortunate enough to acquire! I'd been thinking of doing something similar myself up in the attic and been searching for some complimentary music but it's not until you actually see what someone else has done that you appreciate just how pleasing it can be. The attic acoustics really distort and reverberate DCC sound to a point where it becomes over

I'm sorry to hear that. You're not having much luck recently are you? Things tend to go like that sometimes but hopefully you'll be able to source them elsewhere - there's nearly always a way to get hold of something you want.

That looks amazing.... Looking forward to seeing at least one of those on Clay Mills Junction!

Looks a bit like the one here Barry https://www.custommodelrailroads.com/cmr-train-beaver-bridge.html might give you some ideas

Sorry to hear that you've had to dismantle parts of your layout after you seemed to have been making good progress. Still, at least you're back in the planning stage so it's not all bad news. The 'modular' type build you mention with linking track sections sounds interesting and it will be good to see how you get on with it. An outdoor line with lots of scenery and detailing isn't something I would personally recommend but perhaps with a suitable cover for protection against the elements, as well as all the little critters that are to be found out there, you could make it work. A lot

Nice work again Tony. I take it you're far enough away from the areas which are experiencing flooding at this time? Geography isn't my strongest point but I believe you're somewhere over towards the east aren't you?

I've just had Worsley Dale powered up for the first time in 3 weeks or so and had a very brief running session. I'd hoped to get away with just going round with the track rubber and then IPA in the track cleaner but found it necessary to get the garden vacuum out too as there was so much debris and fallen leaves along the tracks. It wasn't until I'd started that I remembered I have still to replace the auto frog on the spring points just off Low Shott viaduct. I didn't fancy getting tools and soldering irons out just yet as they are all up in the attic so I left it as it was for now and i

Great work Thomas! It's amazing, though certainly not the type of layout you'd find in the Hornby Track Plans book. Strangely the first thing I thought of was "how on earth is he going to clean the windows!" but your planning has been so meticulous that I'm sure you've already thought of a solution to that. That storage/stabling yard really would be perfect for my needs but sadly I just don't have the space to accommodate that number of roads. Is this going to be a DCC sound layout? Has that been mentioned previously?

On one of my 37's the previous owner had separated the fans from their mounting and carefully glued just the fans directly to the rim of the fan grills. Looks very neat. I also remember on one of my models I fastened the fans on top of the speaker itself but directly below the grills. Where there's a will there's a way...