Great British Train Show

All being well, tomorrow I'll be taking part in this show. I say this, because the journey will be a bit longer than normal - 3700 miles to be precise. All the way to Canada.

Some of you may remember a challenge issued by Rapido Trains for someone (me) at BRM to build a layout to take to the show. Since the model has to travel by 'plane, Didsbury Green was born. A layout that fits in a box makes a lot of sense - I hope!

Packed carefully, the model was entrusted to Canada Airways.

On the 'phone they had said that a well-labelled box should be OK in transit in the hold. My suggestion to the press office that we should have it in the cabin for "the world's highest altitude model railway show" being ignored.

Sadly, things went awry. Something punched a hole in the strong, plastic box.

Whatever it was, knocked the engine shed off and snapped the plastic pole in fixing the water crane in position.

 Luckily, pretty much all survived in one piece, so a few buys from the dollar store and a lucky find of Woodland Scenics trees and flock in a craft store have allowed me to fix everything. I've even had a loco running!

So, please come along and say hello. Enter the raffle and you could even win the layout! Well, letting it back on an aeroplane doesn't seem that smart now...

Getting back to basics in BRM

If you think model railways are too expensive, the solution may be to look back in history.

That's what I'm doing this month in BRM, building a coal office using techniques and materials that date from the 1960s. The design is from a Skinley drawings, which the HMRS have allowed us to reproduce for readers to copy.

Why did I pick this model? Well, as you'll see on the DVD, we visited the plans room to look at some historic modelling and I was taken by this one as a project. There's a lot more to see though, and if you enjoyed our vintage issue, you'll love some of the material we uncover.

Warehouse Wednesday: Barnwell Station

I have the opportunity to drive to the East of England Showground at least twice a year, and every time I pass this building, I think, "That's odd, there is a railway station totem on the side. I wonder if it is a real railway station?"

A few weeks ago, I remembered to find somewhere to stop and bag a photo to remind me to do some research. 

The answer to the "Is it a station?" question is - Yes. 

To be honest, I can't do better than suggest you follow this link for the historical stuff. 

 Or if you'd prefer to have a look around for yourself:

Internal walls cure wobblyness

Nice design feature alert - the completed walls slot into the underside of the roof. A ridge provides nice positive location. You can't go wrong, and there is plenty of contact between plastic bits for the glue to do its job.

Unfortunately, as you can see, once dry the walls are still a bit wobbly. The model doesn't sit flat on the board. Bending with my fingers helped a bit, but more work was required.

I had always meant to add some internal walls since looking through a building just isn't right. While not planning on fitting a detailed interior, I had pondered on cutting an archway in the main wall - a popular feature and one you'd be able to see from outside.

On balance, I'm sticking with solid walls from a nice thick plastic sheet off cut. A bit of careful measuring means they push the exterior walls out a bit at the bottom so everything is sort of square and the model sits on ground as it should.