mick

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.

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.

Hi Mark welcome back. I often need a break myself so there's no problem with taking time away for other things. Barry's quite correct regarding the use of controllers outdoors and of course safety must be our primary concern. I'm not that surprised to hear that a manufacturer has been less than helpful because 'it isn't possible to run OO gauge outdoors' so we are more or less left to work it all out ourselves. I would think that any controller capable of running a decent size indoor layout would be capable of doing likewise outdoors. There are no special requirements or at least nothing I have yet come across. As for 'DCC operation is the way forward' it all depends what you want. In my view a garden railway is generally for watching trains circling round rather than playing trains and shunting wagons about so either type of power controller would be suitable. DCC sound is great but not always clearly audible outdoors depending on the layouts location. Sound also tends to attract a lot of attention - something you might not always want. Electrical continuity along the length of the track is what you need to aim for and Barry gives sound advice above.

Sounds interesting. Look forward to seeing how it turns out.

Usually when I edit photos I've taken on the layout I prefer to see them in mono but on this occasion they seem to look better in their original colour. This is one of a series of photos I took yesterday, some already uploaded to my 'gallery'. I keep trying to make the exhaust look as realistic as possible because nice and smokey is how I felt it always seemed to be even though it might sometimes look a bit over the top.

I've never been one for keeping up with the latest railway news and developments Barry, in fact I don't know why I even like railways. I wonder if I would have enjoyed a model railway if I hadn't spent half my life working on them? I think I could get it back up and running fairly easily with just some cutting back of lineside vegetation. I haven't checked power continuity but it shouldn't be a problem. I have removed all the parapet walls on the large viaduct because cats and birds had damaged them so much but it wouldn't prevent me running trains. I'm trying to think of a better, more resilient, solution for the walls. In all honesty since we got our little dog it's been more a case of enjoying the wider outdoors, getting out and about with the camera. I've spent very little time on model railways but I'm getting back round to them slowly - just in time for the winter break no doubt.

How quickly time passes. It doesn't seem that long ago that I took the above photo of George, but but he's now over 2 years old. And like my model railways George is an excellent subject for photography and I've taken countless photos of him while we've been out on our daily walks. The following were taken shortly after his 2nd birthday with a bit of 'photoshopping' of the background!

I've done hardly anything with either the attic or garden layout for the past two years but my enthusiasm is slowly beginning to return. I was sorting stuff out in the attic earlier and decided to get a train running round but it didn't really do a lot for me until I got my camera out in order to take some photos. I really do enjoy creating images, not just of model railways but of absolutely anything, though model railways are an ideal subject and are close to hand. Today it was 58041 'Ratcliffe Power Station' and the Cawoods PFA wagons with loaded containers. I've enjoyed trying to make them as realistic as possible by adding a sky to hide the attic ceiling, a real photo of a driver figure to the cab interior, where one isn't present, and a bit of exhaust to create a bit more atmosphere and looking back at some of my previous efforts I think these are a bit more successful. The photo below is the original image I started with.

I've had this rake of Alcan PCA wagons for a good few months, in fact these are the only items I have purchased for a long time. They're intended for the garden layout but in order to give them a run out it's much easier to do that in the attic where they've been sitting all this time. For the sake of a photo 37026 has been placed at the head of the train but it would never have taken charge in real life as I believe by the time these wagons entered service in 1988 it had been re-numbered and had its name removed.

Yes the years come and go ever more quickly these days it seems but at least you've managed to get outdoors and get something done, unlike some of us! The weather's been okay so hopefully you've been able to get some running in. Shame about the warped decking board but it's to be expected after a while. Personally I would avoid such materials in the future as much as I could although for anything above ground level there are few alternatives in a similar price band.

That looks really, really nice Mark. You've made a smashing job with the ballasting. It all looks like a proper railway. The realistic sleeper spacing looks much better which reminds me of the time I adapted some of my Peco track by cutting through the sleeper webs. I never got round to ballasting it properly and in the end I got fed up with the sleepers moving about and it was all replaced with standard Peco when I renewed the track base. I note that you glue the track down and wondered if you've experienced any problems with the 'no more nails' type adhesive to date? I've used it and similar exterior products extensively outdoors and always find that it's fine for a while but over time it starts to become soft and pliable and the joined parts begin falling apart. I would imagine at track level it's going to be prone to damp conditions but perhaps the SBR will hold everything together?

Thanks Andrew but I've got quite a bit of work to do to get certain parts of the layout back in order. There's nothing major and nothing that would prevent me running trains but I must do something with the viaduct walls before they appear on film again. I wish I knew what was damaging them - might have to install a camera to find the culprit(s)!