mick

Hi Michele and welcome to the forum. I would think there are very few modellers who have a suitably large area indoors for a model railway. The attic tends to be the only large space available but they're not the most hospitable of locations unless you're very forunate to have a conversion. Of course the garden can be an inhospitable environment too for a good deal of the year and so it's certainly not going to be plain sailing out there whatever space you have available but there's a great deal of satisfaction to be gained from incorporating a layout into the garden. I'm assuming you're thinking OO gauge? If so then I hope through the forum we have dispelled any myths about OO not being suitable for outdoor layouts. There were people running OO gauge models successfuly in their gardens well before this forum was created and some continue to do so to this day so it's certainly possible providing sufficient care is taken during planning and construction. I've personaly made a lot of mistakes in the past but I'd like to think I've learned something from them and while my own layout is still far from perfect and requires some remedial work it gives me a lot of enjoyment and it's much better to be outdoors than stuck up in the attic. I look forward to hearing your ideas and plans for a layout of your own and hopefully we can assist you along the way.

It doesn't seem to matter what scale we model in or where our layout is located we always seem to be short of space! In my case outdoors it's due to the dimensions of my shed which houses sidings and stations. I have to limit train lengths so that they fit within the passing loops in the main station. And then there's my attic with a lovely long running straight but on the opposite side I am limited by the width available so I'm unable to have the number of sidings I would like in order to have more stock on the layout. And some people build layouts in box files! There's a (hopefully?) useful guide to placing images/attachments correctly in your posts here..... You need to follow from the line immediately above the 4th image (If you do not do anything else then when you publish your post all your uploaded images will be inserted at the end of your post. To place images between text within your post follow the next guidelines.) Just remember that once you've uploaded your photos, UNLESS you do anything else to them they will all display one after the other at the end of your post. To place them between sections of text you need to place your cursor on an empty line where you want a photo to be and then click the '+' symbol on the respective photo.

A bit later than I intended but I've now managed to get enough footage to put a short video together to mark 10 years since I began constructing Worsley Dale. It's nothing special and I don't think there's anything in there that hasn't been seen before but I was just delighted that George allowed me sufficient time to complete it! The Ingot train seen in the video with double headed 37s was filmed on 16 July but today I've been running 37427 'Highland Enterprise' on pasenger stock... ...while 37415 was on Cargowaggon vans. Video below....

Garden maintenance, especially on a garden railway, is a never ending task as we've all discovered at some point but it's all part of the enjoyment of owning a layout outdoors. It can be frustrating but I always look upon it as part of the challenge and it's usually something that can be carried out gradually over a period of time. There's lots of work required on my own layout but it doesn't stop the trains running and it can be attended to between running sessions. I never tire of doing it funnily enough. You've done extremely well to get this far with so few problems. Unlike an indoor layout we don't need perfection and can often get away with a bit of packing under some sleepers to keep things moving or a few nails hammered in somewhere. Temporary measures never look out of place on an outdoor railway and in my opinion they often add to the scene whereas on an indoor layout they would be deemed unsightly to say the least. Just attend to things as and when you can and you'll soon be back up and running. In the meantime, as you've already shown, you can always create interesting photographs.

Thanks Chris. Thanks Iain. It's taken us longer than we anticipated to get another dog but we've always said that when it's meant to happen it will happen and that's just the way it went. We woke up one morning, saw an advert, and decided there and then to go and do it. We went to view that same evening and made the commitment. Of course, they demand a lot of attention when they're young but our home just hasn't felt the same since we lost Charlie in 2017 and George has already reminded us of how it used to be. Less than 2 weeks now until we can take him out.

I'd forgotten just how much work is involved in raising a puppy, after all, it's almost 20 years since our previous one which means we are that much older than we were back then. But we are both really pleased that we made the decision to get 'George' even though getting up at 3am when he's crying out is something I can only vaguely remember now. However, we've both made it our objective to enjoy the whole experience as we are well aware that it doesn't last forever so there'll be no wishing his time away. George is currently unable to go out and mix with other dogs until 2 weeks after his next injection and he's got endless amounts of energy but it won't be long now before he can begin accompanying us on walks. It's been a hectic few weeks for us, having chosen and collected George, been blessed with a 6th grandchild, and believe it or not we just got ourselves married! Perhaps that explains why there's been little progress with the layouts and very few wildlife photos recently. But I can assure you I will be back very soon.

A smashing little layout! I remember way back when you were knocking holes in garage walls so it's really nice to see how it's developed since then.

One heck of a lot of progress over the past few posts Chris and it's good to see it all coming back together. Definitely worth all the effort when you consider the enjoyment we get from our layouts. The weekly sessions with your mates appears to have spurred you on no end whereas with my own layout....well, the less said the better at the moment.

Today is the 10th anniversary of me starting the construction of Worsley Dale and next month will be 5 years since we lost 'Charlie' our West Highland Terrier. Those 5 years have passed really quickly due in no small part to the pandemic I guess but I'm plesaed to say that we now have 'George' who is approaching 9 weeks old. So although I would like to do some work on the layout to celebrate those 10 years, at the moment we sort of have our hands full....and George really is a handful! He's not supposed to be sleeping under that table but he's take a liking to it and within the confines of the caravan there are not too many places he can go until he's allowed out into the big wide world.

It's 10 years to the day since I began construction of Worsley Dale and I was hoping to have something in the way of a celebratory video to mark the occasion but while I did actually start out doing some filming a few days ago the heatwave soon put a stop to that. I'm unable to do anything about it at the moment due to other commitments but hopefully in a day or so I'll be able to remedy it. Lots going on at the moment.

Watched the video last night Iain and the weathering on the wagons is really top notch though I wasn't able to get onto the forum to comment. They look excellent, as good as any I've seen.

Back for a third session, I didn't think I'd be able to salvage this one but it hasn't turned out too bad And this is the closest shot I managed to get as the owl headed towards me.

Thank you Ken. Now that I know where to fnd them I'm sure I'll be having another go at photographing them before not too long. I'll have to take note of weather forecasts and choose an evening that's first of all dry and secondly has good light which is key to getting better photos. Red Kites appear to be venturing further afield as this year is the first time I've noticed them flying above our home. I've managed to get a few photos but usually by the time I notice them and grab the camera they're already passing over and I'm left with just the tail end shots as in the one a few posts above.

Apologies for the long read! I haven't posted anything here for a few weeks now and although I've managed to get some great photos during that time I would like to jump right up to the present day because I've just spent 3 days, or rather early evenings, trying to capture a specific bird. We went out for a walk last Wednesday morning along the Leeds & Liverpool canal near Gargrave and Pam spotted a Barn Owl a distance away on the other side of the canal. It was too far away for a decent photo but it's the first time I have actually been able to stand there and watch one flying around. I wasn't aware that they were even active at 9.30am! A (very friendly) farmer was tending his sheep in the field next to the towpath and he was curious as to what we were trying to photograph. He told us that the Barn Owls were nesting in an old Ash tree which he pointed out to us but it isn't in a location that is easily or safely accessible as it was alongside the main A65 where there is no footpath. Anyway, I was determined that I would try to get a photo. Two days later I went alone along the canal armed with my camera. I decided to go in the early evening so it was approximately 7pm as I set off along the towpath. There was no sign of any Barn Owls so I continued walking to a spot where I had previously seen Curlews and Brown Hare's in the hope of getting a picture of some sort before turning around and making my way back. Not far from where we had previously seen the Owls 2 days earlier there was a moored narrowboat and the gentleman onboard was looking through his binoculars. As I passed I asked if he had seen anything interesting as I was going to mention about the Owls and would you believe it, he was actually watching a Barn Owl which he pointed out to me. Yes, there it was, on the towpath side of the canal on the far side of the field where the farmer had been speaking to us earlier. I managed to focus on it but it was by now getting very dull with some dark clouds looming overhead. It dropped to the ground and came up with a mouse before immediately heading back towards the Ash tree. It then diverted slightly and began heading directly for me, looking me in the eyes before swerving its way around me. I couldn't have positioned myself better if I had tried. Wow! I just kept snapping away but the photos were very dark and although I couldn't have wished for better poses, the quality was somewhat disappointing. The following day I tried again but there was no sign of the Owl and, to cap it all off, after standing there for almost 2 hours the heavens opened and I got soaked to the skin before I could make it back to the car. Undeterred, the following evening I was back for another try with a slightly brighter sky and I was feeling optimistic. I paced up and down for 2 hours, snapping away at anyting that moved but although I had a great view of the Ash tree the Owl hadn't made an appearance. One last look before I called it a day (or night!) and wait a minute, there was just a small speckle of white. Looking closer it was a Barn Owl just about to emerge from a cavity in the tree, which it did a few seconds later. I was hoping it would come across the canal again but instead it stayed on the opposite side, across the road, and across the field. But then it turned and flew directly towards me just as it had done 2 days before. I was standing right in front of a small tree so was well camouflaged and I got a number of photos before it eventually set eyes on me and went on its merry way. I continued to watch it at a distance for some time afterwards as it hunted for prey. So the pictures...well as I said, the earlier ones were very dark due to the conditions but luckily modern photo editing software is capable of rescuing them to some extent so here is the Barn Owl on that first evening with its prey. The second night was in slightly better light And although I clipped one of its wings in this next photo, I decided to crop it slightly and focus attention on the face as it closed its eyes They are just 5 from well over 200 photos I took over those 2 nights and I must admit that it feels worth all the standing around and all that soaking I endured.

I'm really pleased to hear that the open day went even better than anticipated. Model railways are always a source of fascination to young and old but more so (in my opinion) when they are located out in the garden. That's very true. I have several favourite locations, especially for filming, but the appearance of the layout changes as the garden evolves through the year. It's never the same old scenery time after time. The 37's on the steel train look excellent by the way!

They'll have to do Ken. With most of the outdoor stock I'm modelling something I've never seen other than in photographs so it's really just my take on it anyway. It's also made slightly more difficult due to the fact that railway photographers tend to focus on the locomotive at the front rather than any of the stock to the rear. Yes there's a knack to good soldering and I'm still trying to crack it myself though I do manage to somehow get by. Keeping the tip of the iron clean is essential in my view along with plenty of heat so that you're just in and out again without hanging around too long and melting sleepers.

Although I've been unable to have trains running today I can at least make out that there's been some action on Worsley Dale by including the following posed photos featuring the aluminium ingots. It was a similar photo to the one below that gave me the idea of adding the aluminium ingot loads to the BBA wagons. On this occasion 37114 departs Shieling Bridge and heads across Low Shott viaduct. 37114 and 37012 make light work of the heavy load as they approach Shieling Bridge. As I've previously said, the aluminium loads may not stand up to close scrutiny but at normal viewing distances they look convincing enough and it's a bit more variety added to the freight traffic.

I've made a representation of some aluminium ingot loads to add to 3 of my BBA wagons. Now I know they are far from perfect, probably totally incorrect, and on the wrong wagons with securing straps that appear to have nowhere to fasten to but I think they are an improvement on the empty wagons and I'm happy to accept all the errors. I began by making a batch of ingot shaped loads from some left over pieces of MDF but having completed the 12 I required I decided that they just didn't look right. Compared to some photos I've seen they were too thin and too wide so I decided to add another thinner piece of MDF and cut them down slightly so they were narrower and chunkier. After several coats of MDF sealant I gave them a quick spray with some aluminium coloured paint. I should probably have sanded them further to disguise the join between the two MDF sections and remove some of the paint accumulation along the edges but it's only a representation and not an actual replica load. I placed the ingots on lengths of timber as in the photos I was referring to even though the wagons are not the same types. Short lengths of electrical tape were used to make securing straps though whether this type of wagon had provision for that I really don't know but I wanted to mimic the layout on the photos as much as possible. My main reference photo shows 2 wagons with the rear most wagon having an additional ingot and so I have attempted to replicate that too. One particular detail I tried to include was the dimple on each end of the ingots which you may be able to make out on the one below. From a distance I think they look okay but obviously they wouldn't stand up to close scrutiny. I'll see if I can get a photo of them behind a loco or two shortly.

That's great Ken...a shared interest and someone close by with experience which will always come in handy. Happy 'tinning' - monotonous I know but well worthwhile.

Yes something like that will suit me Chris. I've got plenty of coaches to choose from.