mick

Great video Iain. I watched the Hornby Magazine intro to the layout with a limited amount of stock running so it's great to be able to see it here with a larger compliment of trains on show.

It's surprising just how resilient the track is when used outdoors providing there are sufficient gaps for the rails to expand. I've never had a serious problem on the outdoor layout and the majority of the track has been out there more than 10 years now. The plastic sleepers have also stood up remarkably well with no noticeable deterioration through exposure to the sun. Yes, the felt can become hot in direct sunlight! You've got yourself a great little layout now which I'm sure will provide hours of enjoyment.

I have two or three preferred areas around the layout where I tend to take the majority of my photos, one of them being the area just ahead of Stack Gill viaduct, an area I call 'Stackgarth Gill'. Recently it's started to look a bit untidy with some of the timber bordering the lineside having rotted away and earlier today I noticed there were several cut pieces of timber beneath a shelf in the greenhouse which would make suitable replacements so I decided it was time to put them to better use. Timber never lasts very long outdoors, especially when it's in contact with the ground as here, but if I can get another 10 years out of this lot then I'll be happy. It's all a bit rough and ready but that's the way I like it and to help prevent soil being washed over the top of the timbers I've added a narrow barrier of small pebbles until the plants take over once again. [below] The view towards Stack Gill viaduct [below] The view past the cottage towards Trundles Bridge. I've set the timber low enough so as not to get in the way of photos and the next thing I want to do, once I've made sure the track is nice and level, is to add some ballast.

I've been trying to make the most of the glorious weather but at times it's been unbearably hot. I really wanted a BR Blue day today so got out a mixed lot of MK1 coaches along with a selection of Mk2's. In the morning I had 26024 hauling a rake of 6 Mk2's, capturing a few clips on video but forgetting to take any photos so I had to return to that later in the afternoon. Here (below) 26024 has just exited the shed onto Low Shott viaduct. (below) I've been trying for some different angles for photos and this next one is a bit awkward to access but seems to work well, though I maybe should have moved the bird bath and stand in the background. Later I had large logo BR Blue 37401 'Mary Queen of Scots' hauling a mixed rake of 9 BR Mk1 coaches in BR Blue/Grey livery. (below) A rare shot from inside the shed as 37401 departs Shieling Bridge. 37403 'Isle of Mull' is a ViTrains model and although it looks the part it's not a very good runner, in fact it takes ages to move off from a standing start. The MK1's are in need of some weathering although I had actually thought of selling them in order to thin my collection down a bit. There's no rush to do anything just yet. It did take me some time to get the MK1's running reliably. I fitted them with Hornby R8220 bar couplings and had to do a fair bit of swapping coaches round before I was able to keep them all coupled together.

I would have loved to have been able to get that shot! But never mind, I just hope I don't get another opportunity.

I almost forgot about this one. I've mentioned before about the damage that pigeons do to the parapet walls of the viaduct, in particular along a spot towards the bottom end of the garden where there's a tall shrub that they've decided to nest in. Well last Sunday while I was filming the 'Black 5 Excursion' video I'd sent the train out on its journey exiting the rear of the shed, running along the bottom of the garden, past the afortementioned shrub and then onto Stack Gill viaduct. I was waiting up by the house for the train to make its way round to me but grew increasingly concerned about it's later than anticipated appearance so I went down to investigate. I really should have taken my camera with me but unfortunately I didn't. I was greeted with a stationary train and the sight of a pigeon perched on top of the second rearmost coach. By the time I had been and got my phone/camera the bird had of course gone and this was the result. A small piece of parapet walling just to the right of the '2015' pillar had been dislodged and had derailed the loco bringing the train to a stand. The pigeon had then decided to land on the coach to the rear of the train toppling it over. That's another section of walling in need of repair.

It's probably 3 years or so since I purchased those 4 lengths of lawn edging to add an element of safety to the elevated curved section. Obtained them from my local garden centre and it was probably the last time I was in there so I haven't a clue if it's still available.

It's a type of plastic lawn edging Ken. Lots of different sorts and designs and useful to prevent stock going over the edge.

The trackwork looks great Chris. It's certainly worth the effort if you can achieve more reliable running resulting in a sense of greater satisfaction. Enjoy the running sesssions!

Putting yourself out there in any way you have to expect criticism though some of the comments I've received are actually helpful. I do actually prefer to see loco's with snowploughs for instance but if they never did have them fitted then I feel obliged not to put them on or to remove them if I'd already done so. Yes I'm aware that when it's heard on video the sound doesn't come across all that well. You're only seeing a short clip where the sound doesn't change and clip after clip it can become a bit annoying after a while. This particular soundfile doesn't have a great deal of drivability though maybe I could play around with CVs to improve it and allow it to 'coast' a bit. It's a different story out on the layout because the steam sound actually sounds quite nice running round the garden. We each have our own perception of what sounds pleasing to us and even if I went out and invested in the very best sound equipment and reproduction techniques there would still be an element of viewers that were displeased. But hey...it's rare that any of my videos generate such responses so perhaps I should get those 'Black Label' locos out there too!

It's not a problem at all Dave, in fact I welcome any comments whatever the viewers opinion and everyone is entitled to their own. I only add videos to show progress on the layout and to share them with members of the forum - it's certainly not the end of the world (or indeed Worsley Dale) if someone has something that might be considered negative to say. Probably in some cases though I'm not so sure in all although to be fair I don't really purchase factory-fitted sound anymore so I may be doing it an injustice. I still think that the work of Paul Chetter is as good as anything released by anyone else but it's not just his soundfiles but also the way the sound system is installed in the locos. The Sutton Loco Works class 24s and the Rail Exclusive class 47s that I own are top notch and clearly a lot of thought went into those installations. The TRS system looks amazing and it's about as realistic as you're going to get. Talking of high quality sound and realistic smoke my thoughts just turned to the Dapol 'Black Label' range of A4 loco's! Disappointing to say the least which is why my pair are rarely seen in action. There'll be plenty more to come. If the sounds awful then the volume can be turned down and if they're not what anyone wants to see then they don't have to watch them!

That's certainly something to take into account. I've noticed that a running session can be troublefree for much of the day but as soon as the temperature begins to fall moisture begins to form on the rail tops. It's easily rectified in my case by sending the CMX track cleaner round to wipe the rail tops but something for you to bear in mind.

I had another session on the layout yesterday (Sunday), after I'd firstly spent some time tidying up the shed and giving it a good 'hoovering' out. I even went over all the track inside the shed and gave it a thorough cleaning as it only gets done very occasionally. The running session was restricted to just the Black 5 No.45010 and the 6 coach rake of excursion stock in West Highland green & cream livery and I recorded video clips to show the journey from the larger Stack Gill viaduct through to crossing Low Shott viaduct and into the shed entrance. [above] Mid-way through its journey 45010 approaches Watch House tunnel. [above] The end of the line as 45010 coasts across Low Shott viaduct into Shieling Bridge station. Uploading a video of the journey I was a bit surprised that the sound from 45010 should receive a couple of negative comments. Sure it's not brilliant by any means but it's technology that's now more than 10 years old and I ask you, has the quality of RTR factory fitted sound improved that much over that time? - I would argue not. What I can say in defence of 45010 is that it sounds much better running round the garden where it creates an ambience that can never be captured on a video. It's an element of a garden railway and it certainly adds much better atmosphere than a non-sound fitted loco ever could. Video is of secondary importance to me as it's simply a record to look back on in later years. There was a suggestion that adding synchronised sound from actual recordings to your video was a way to go and I must admit that some of those I've seen sound pretty good but then it's no longer an actual video of my garden railway. Anyway, I wouldn't have the patience to do it.

You've made amazing progress since March Ken. You must be very pleased to have got so far in such a short space of time. I'm sure the weather has helped although perhaps not during the heatwave last month when it was unbearable to even step outside here, reaching 41 degrees according to my weather station. Did you manage to get anything running last week?

Hi Paul and welcome to the forum. The electrics on my layout are extremely crude and very basic to say the least. I'm of the opinion that the simpler the installation the better but that's not to say that what you're contemplating isn't possible, it's just that I can't get my head around anything too technical. What I can add is that in the past I have used DCC Concepts accessory decoders (8 way output module) for point motor control and the dampness in my shed destroyed it despite locating it within a plastic housing. I've lost several accessory decoders and frog juicers located in housings alongside the layout that I thought were pretty safe but again I believe it just gets too damp at times. But then you have to remember that there are several well-known OO garden layouts that are way more complicated than mine that appear to operate successfully with some quite sophisticated electronics behind them. I think your main priority would be to ensure that the electronics and associated modules are located somewhere that's free from damp. It's an expensive hobby as it is without writing off your sophisticated electronics.

24 hours later and I've already forgotten about it and spent a day filming the same loco with the same displaced pipework!! Maybe I can sort it tomorrow? 37025 appears to have a dislodged container immediately behind the loco too! Bloody hell!! I daren't look too closely at this one of 37026 for fear of finding something else. Anyway, I've had an enjoyable running session this afternoon despite the dislodged bits and bobs. I've finally got all the garden railway models together, separated from the attic stock, so I know exactly what's what. I don't have room to put too many models out at any one time but it's now a little easier to swap things over and ring the changes now and again. I've probably got too many coaches for the space available within the shed but I'm reluctant to dispose of any at this time because I don't want to restrict myself to any specific period or livery. It's nice to be able to change them round. I've put some clips together and uploaded another video with some of the action and photos from today.

Another lovely day but I wasn't able to get out into the garden until mid-afternoon and so I decided to take a few static photos rather than running anything around the entire layout. However, before doing anything I glued a few tail lamps to some of the freight wagons as it's something that's been bugging me for a while now. It's strange how you can spend an hour or so taking photos only to discover, when you get the images onto your computer, that there's something displaced on one of the loco's or wagons that you hadn't noticed when it was directly in front of you! Such is the case with 37411 in the first 2 images below but never mind, I'll try to put it right for next time. And while the EWS loco's are running towards Shieling Bridge the large logo BR Blue's are heading the other way.... ...complete with tail lamp!