The cheap way into Roundhouse ownership

 

This is my new toy. A Roundhouse Lady Anne. Bought at Llangollen garden railway show last Saturday. 

I'd normally say I hadn't planned to buy this, but in truth, there was an inkling. Right at the end of Ally Pally show, I spotted that Footplate had a green one on the stand, for very modest money. I asked what was wrong with it, and the answer came that it was a bit scruffy, but otherwise OK. 

Now, if I'd seen that loco at the start of the show, there would have been a lot of pondering. A Roundhouse loco was a hole in my collection. I've toured the factory and seen the quality of the work. But there was no way I could justify the outlay to myself. Even the kits (which I'd stilll love to build) end up north of a grand by the time you buy all the bits. Excellent value for money, but still a big chunk of cash. 

Anyway, having seen Footplate at a couple of shows since, and the stand being devoid of loco, I assumed I'd missed my chance. Not to worry I thought. 

But at the garden railway show, the green loco was back. And joined by a black one. Each for £600. I asked, and was assured the loco had steamed. It felt OK when I turned the wheels, and was pleasently oily in the right places. I took a deep breath and handed over my credit card. This may be a bargain, but it's still not something I'd planned or saved for. 

Back home, a chance posting on Facebook about the Paul Perryman estate sale allowed me to start digging into the models history. From the serial number, Roundhouse told me it was built in 1999 by Harry. I have now comunicated with the first owner, who sold it to Paul. I also know it has been run with 40-50 wagons on the back relatively recently. 

Now this might be a bargain, but there is work to do. The boiler moves slightly. It's greasy and dull. The loco was once red, but repainted black after falling off a table and becoming scratched. This also explains the very slight lean of the chimney - not something I spotted until it was pointed out. 

The first job is to steam the model. From that I'll get an idea of the work required. Being Roundhouse, all the bits are available, and the model can be taken apart using hand tools if required. 

Assuming it's as good as suggested, then after 25 years, this thing was excellent value for money. It's not like it's never been used after all. 

Anyway, the adventure starts here. I'm looking forward to this one. Quite chuffed with my new purchase.

Bus stop, ballasting and dry-brushing in June's BRM

 

I've gone Old Skool with this month's main project - a steam era bus stop diorama. It revolves around using some materials that many modellers will hav forgotten about for the greenery in the background. There's nothing wrong with them, but others have come along. 

 This also inspired my BRMTV feature this month - dry-brushing brickwork. 

A perenial topic we have to cover is ballasting track. Yes, you've seen it before, but not everyone has, so I've covered the basics in four steps. Partly because I needed a 009 photo plank...

My camera has been out again: 

The Viaduct in N gauge. 

Longmorn in OO. 

And Foxbury in TT.

Base painted

 

I don't like paper wraps on kits much. Adding my own surface detail is more my bag. For a start, it means I can be consistant across a layout. The wraps will be excellent, and there's a good chance anything I paint won't look as good. 

Anyway, that's why the greenhous base has been dabbed with different emulsion paints to look a bit like concrete, and the walls are covered in brick Plastikard, painted and dry-brushed to look like brick. I should do the inside walls, but they won't easily be seen. 

Before all this, the top part, and top of the brick wall, have been sprayed with white primer which looks pretty good. 

Just the glazing to go. I'm not looking forward to that.

Greenhouse

 

Various models land on my desk for work. Most simply require photography, others assembly and then photography. 

Last week, this rather nice greenhouse from ScaleModelScenery arrived. I don't know what it was about the photo on the packet, but I felt the urge to build the model straight away, and it's a long while since I've felt like that!

For the magazine page, a simple build will suffice as I only need a single photo. 

But I fancy going futher. A paper wrap is included to cover the brick base, but I don't like these much, so some Plastikard will be brought in. I'll paint the concrete base too, another wrap as supplied. 

Glazing using the celophane packet is suggested, but some clear sheet will look better I think. Nothing major, just a few tweaks to improve what is already, a really nice model.

Adverts. Grrrr

Paul asks: Have you changed your advert settings? They're now appearing in the post as well as on the right. A bit too intrusive for my liking.

No, I haven't. It seems that Google (Moto: Don't be Evil) has decided my blog needs more adverts. When I look at it, there is an anoying slide up advert at the bottom. Paul's seeing adverts in the posts. I don't have control over either of these. 

And, I don't make any money from them either. The only remuneration I get is if you click on the sidebar advert. 

I assume that this is Google looking for payback for hosting Blogger for free. Unfortunatly, they don't offer a paid-for ad-free version (Wordpress do). If they did, I'd probably take it up.  But they don't. Odd really, as this would be a more reliable source of income. Perhaps the joy of being evil and forcing adverts onto people's content is more fun. It's not like they need the money. 

Anyway, apologies for the adverts. Ill do a bit of digging to see if there is a way to calm them down. If not, I'll have to think about a bigger move to my own webspace, but that's a massive technical challenge as I'd need to move the photos currenlty hosted in Blogger too. And it needs to be automated. With 4600+ posts, I'm not doing it manually!

More magnolia

 

You don't mix a can of trade emulsion with a Tamiya paint paddle! No, we need a special mixer bit fitted in a power drill to do the business. 

And mix it it did. I'd already finished off (with Dave's help) one can, and once everyone had gone home, I was on a mission to paint three bays and the back wall. I wasn't leaving until they had all been given two coats. That's about 9 litres.

Being a generous space, this isn't as bad as it sounds. No furniture to get in the way, and you can use a big roller. It was still a couple of hours work, but the results were pleasing, and this Thursday, we are having our first club night, back in the clubrooms!

Saturday Film Club: Two Ton School Run arcade machine

"I often have ideas on the train." Tim Hunkin demonstraites and then explains how he built a fascinating, mechanical, arcade game.

A busy weekend ahead

By the time some of you will be reading this, I'll be on my way to London for beer with a few mates, some of whom have an involvement with model railways. Hopefully, the train back will be comfortable enough for snoozing.

Tomorrow, I'm off to the Llangollen Garden Railway Festival. You might wonder why I need another dose of garden railways so soon after the NGRS - well, the problem is that at that show I was tied to the stand, and didn't get the chance to wander and chat. Freed of my professional obligations, I can do what I like. Although, this is mostly catching up with the news from the trade. 

That's a run of 2 hours to the west of where I live. Sunday sees a run of nearly two hours to the east, to visit the Stamford Exhibition. Here, the plan is that I photograph a layout before the show opens - at 10am. Apparently, 8:30 is the earliest I can get in. Plenty of time, although it still means an early start for me!

Once the show opens, I'm going to be helping judge the best layout competition, so if owners want to prepare their bribes now. Cake is always appreciated. (Note: I am of course joking, about the bribe bit. Anyway, I'm not judging on my own, so it won't help.)

All this means modelling time is non-existent. Sorry, if this means slightly dull blog posts as I'll need my sleep!

If you are visiting either of these events, please say hello. Always happy to chat.

Garden Rail June 2024

 

What do you do when your garden is on the site of an old castle? Name your railway after it of course! The Cleobury Castle Light Railway is Ken Walsh's second foray into 16mm outdoors, and he shares the tricks he has learned in our June issue.

Moving on to the practical features:

• Servicing a Vale of Rheidol Railway locomotive
• Building a Festiniog 'might have been' brake van
• Chinese railway coaches
• A 16mm scale canal boat
• Create a miniature Talyllyn layout
• A coal yard for your line

Scratchbuilding inclined plane wagons

We also review the Accucraft Shay, and bring you the latest Product News.

Refresh the modelling board!

 

"It will last a little bit longer..."

That's what I kept telling myself. I knew the game was up - the rubbery green slab I do all my modelling on was looking particually disgusting, but I didn't feel like replacing it. The surface is a mass of paint and glue and grime. I scrape it every so often to keep the top surface sort of flat, but it's days are numbered.

This is silly. I bought two new green self-healing modelling boards at York - weeks ago - and they sit in their packets. 

Finally, I've bitten the bullet and replaced the board. With one I bought to replace it months ago. The York versions will wait until another day.

More mine hutch wagons

 

Late in the afternoon of the NGRS, I realsied I hadn't bought any toys. This will never do, so since the first Harecroft Mine Hutch wagon had run so well earlier in the day, I decided a couple more would be a good idea. 

With bank holiday Monday nice and clear, I sat down and built my kits, and asside from a few issues pinning the axleboxes to the solebars, they went very well, and my little train looks nice. 

Now, I had taken photos for a build on the blog, but when I come to post them, realised that I'd already produced a detailed build! So, no point in repeating myself. It does leave me very short (read: completely out) of content for this week I'm afraid to say. 

Mind you, I have enough photos for a Garden Rail article...

Key Model World 2024

If there was a show that could have my name on it, it's this one. Plenty of modelling disciplines, all in one hall. Just my sort of thing. Yes, there were railways, but I see a lot of railways. Some plastic modelling and working model trucks, that's what I want!

Because of the NGRS, my visit was on Sunday, but talking to people who were part of the show, that was the best day as Saturday was very busy. Apparently, the first crowds rushed in, and filled the barrier of the "Making tracks layout", which proceeded to misbehave all morning. Stage fright? 

I ignored the trains initially, and enjoyed the excellent plastic modelling dioramas, model boats, then the Tamiya trucking, Gauge 1, and then model railways. 

Each discipline more than put its best face forward. If you hadn't experienced one before, you saw the good stuff. OK, there weren't many boats, but those that were there were excellent. 

I enjoyed lots of long chats with people. Accucrascale fed me two lots of cake. The only thing I didn't really do, was lean on a barrier and watch a layout, but I ran out of time!

Favourite thing? In the kids zone, branded MCC, they were building pine car racers. I've never seen this before in the UK, it's massive in the USA, and yet the kids were loving it. Who wouldn't like to paint their car-shaped bit of wood, nail the wheels on, and rance it down the ramp. Then take it home with pride. I want to have a go!

Duff bits? We could have done with more plastic kit trade to tempt those who might fancy a dabble with a kit. There were a few, and some very nice top-end stuff (£700 for a Dora gun) but the show needs a Hannats or Wonderland models. That said, this will probably happen. There was (apparenlty) a lot of waiting to see how this new show went before comitting. 

And it went well enough that the hall, plus adjacent one, has been booked for next year. These sort of events are massive in Europe, could this evolve into the UK version of Dormund?

Check out the album of photos on Flickr.

The National Garden Railway Show 2024

 

I did it - again. 

A smaller "Layout in a Day" than normal - 7 by 6ft rather than 3metres squared, but because it was on tables, I don't think anyone minded. In fact, there were many compliments for the display, I'll take that thank you!

Wandering around was limited, and what did is being turned into magazine content. One issue with the new hall is that the lighting is a bit dim, so photos have all been taken on my phone as it copes with the lack of light better than my camera. I think the results are acceptable though. They had better be, I can't re-take them!

Saturday Film Club: Disney does tools

A facinating education film from Uncle Walt - quite a task to animate, in a world where each frame has to be hand drawn!

Book review: The Ian Allan book of Model Railways

 

Picture the scene. It's 1960. Sitting around the Christmas tree, Ian opens his present from Bill, Maureen and Hugh to find an inscribed copy of Ian Allan's Model Railway book. Apparently, there has long been a need for a book about the subject that can be understood by younger enthusiasts, and according the author, this is it. 

It's an odd book. The text is light and breezy, but there are technical details to be found. Sometimes it gets very prescriptive - the third of a page warning against the use of hardboard for baseboards is very stern. 

Providing an overview is complicated by this being the era where two and three rail were vying for domiance. Many of the models from one manufacturer were incompatible with those from others. We still have to briefly discuss methods of propulsion, because some will want to use clockwork. 

After a while things settle down, and we look at locations for storing a layout, and have some interesting takes on baseboard construction. Of necessity, this is all a bit brief, although I like the idea of building the model in effectivly an upturned tray. 

Scenery takes up a good number of pages, but you have to pay attention as it's a whistle-stop tour. When it comes to buildings, Builtezee are mentions, as well as Airfix (not forgetting to put the windows inside the model, and add sills to the outside) and some new guys called Superquick. The author is very impressed by these, althoug he seems very impressed with lots of things. 

Wiring only gets three pages, including one full of sketchy diagrams, which seems a bit odd as I can see that this new-fangled two rail stuff would be confusing to many people. It's especially odd, and narrow guage modelling qualifies for five pages!

The other odd thing is that the book doesn't really finish. The text just stops at the end of the NG chapter. No conclusion or wrap-up as you'd expect today. 

I'm not sure how much his present would have helped Ian, but it would certainly have fired some enthusiasm in him, for nothing else then to buy Model RailwayConstructor, thanks to the numerous adverts on the pages!

Dotti and barrels

 

Finally, we have an IP Engineering 'Dotti' - which I serialised on this very blog six years ago. 

At shows, Dotti has always been very reliable. Not too fast, and happy to plod around for hours on the two AAA batteries tucked under the body. Replacing them requires undoing a couple of screws, but isn't too bad a job, even at a show. 

Behind the loco, we have a superb Meadow Castings kit. Why these easy-to-build and nicely detailed kits aren't more popular is a mystery to me. I really need to add more to my fleet myself. After this, we have a Phil Sharples fuel bowser. Not currently available, it was like all his kits, a bargain. Looks nice with a little work too. 

Bringing up the rear is a scratchbuilt brake van, also serialised on this blog. I can't remember how well this slightly top-heavy model runs, we'll find out. 

At the show: As reliable as ever. Trundled around with half-a-dozen Big-Big skip wagons. Battery lasted well over an hour, but I've lost one of the retaining bolts when i removed the chassis to replace them.

A heavyweight Simplex

 

Another Simplex, this time an IP Engineering whitemetal kit. Built for a Garden Rail feature on soldering whitemetal, this is one heavy beast. 

In theory, this should be good, but I've found that on the lightly laid Faller plastic track, it finds everywhere where the ballast isn't as supportive as it should be, and if there is a slight gradient anywhere, the two AAA powered model struggles a bit. Four-wheel drive would be useful, but retro fitting the PS Models version would be very difficult, building a new kit would be easier!

One of the battery boxes needs replacement, but apart from that, it's a nicel model. 

The wagon is from the re-born Coopercraft range, hastily painted to add variety to the stock. 

At the show: Ran happily around the layout, until it didn't. The gear train seems to have locked up solid. Needs investigating, but I (for once) sensibly realised this was better left until I got back to the workbench.

Saltford on hoppers

 

This is a venerable Saltford Models Simplex kit that I built a few years ago. I've always been a fan of the range, even though at the time they were still out of my grasp financially. A Ruston for Christmas was the only chance I had, and now they are seriously collectable, I doubt I'll ever have the chance of trying some of the odder locos in the catalogue. 

Made of Plastikard with whitemetal fittings, the model is a little fragile, but seems to run well and isn't too heavy. Speed can be set to either high or low, acheived by switching two of the four AAA batteries in and out of curcuit. The live under the bonnet, a tight fit. I'd love to cover the motor in the cab, but there's not enough space to fit even a heavily modified driver. 

The hoppers are repainted Tri-ang "Big-Big" models, and even without extra weight, rattle around the track very reliably. Maybe not the most glamourous of trains, they are realistic, and I like them. 

At the show: Suprisingly good. Ran nearly three hours hauling a couple of wagons, on a single pair of AA batteries. No problems with trackholding, so a real success.

Red passenger train

 

As part of the preperation for the NGRS, I've been sorting through the 32mm gauge stock to assemble a (hopefully) reliable collection for the day. I'm going to run through the trains, as much as an aide memoire for myself as anything else. I plan to update these posts with details of how reliable each loco was, so I can remember to do something about it.  

First up, the IP Engineering passenger train. I built most of this in a weekend at Peterborough show year ago, then finished it for the NGRS years later. On its first outing, it ran perfectly, and for a long while on its single pair of AAA batteries. 

Emboldened by this, the next year I tried again, and the coaches kept leaping off the track. Adding weight by pouring stones from the ballast in through the open windows helped a bit, as it did the following year, but we really need proper weight. I've now stuck sheet lead under the floors to see what difference this makes. 

The loco could do with some better switch gear, all we have is an on/off on the battery box floating around in the cab. That will have to wait as I can't work out where to mount an easily accesible switch yet, but it would make operation a little easier. 

At the show: Not good. The guard's coach kept hopping off the track, for no obvious reason, so the trains spent the day in the box under the layout. I'll need to have another serious look at this coach. Maybe it's unsavable? 

The loco on the other hand worked well. Towards the end of the day, we put it on some Big-Big skip wagons, and it handled six of these with ease. One of the axleboxes is delaminating, but that's an easy fix with PVA another day.

Farewell EiM

 

So, Engineering in Miniature magazine has reached the end of the line. This is a shame, but not a great surprise. 

I have an affection for the publication, because I edited it for six months, back in 2017. At the time I did my best, but knew I wasn't the right person for the job, Andrew Charman, who took over the editors' desk was a far better fit. 

During my time, the biggest struggle was to find people willing to write for the magazine. Repeated enquiries at shows were met with very little success, and not a few rude responses as though it was wrong of me to even ask. Andrew enjoyed more success, but the regular appeals for new content in the editorials, suggests it was hard work. 

One problem is that this isn't a big market, and it's not growing, but is served by three magazines. EiM, Model Engineer and Model Engineer's Workshop. I suspect that very few people subscribed to all threee, yet there were a trio of outlets looking for content every month. Content that is highly technical and often needs to include working drawings. 

So, while I'm not privy to all the details, my understanding is that the magazine was losing a little money, and no one could work out how to reverse the decline, not helped by the readership (judging by the attendees at the Midlands show) being on the old side, so it was time to close. At least there was suficient notice for Andrew to wrap things up properly, something that the publishers didn't have to do, but care enough to do so. 

Hopefully, the readers will transfer to one of the remaining publications. Perhaps it might even remind the market that if you don't use it, you lose it!

Saturday Film Club: A tour of Killybegs model railway

Large scale? Unusual? My sort of layout!

Off to the NGRS

 

 

This weekend, it's the biggest garden railway show in the country - and handily, it's moved just down the road from me!

This ought to be good news. Normally I have a bit of a drive with a van-load of material to build our "Garden railway in a day" display. Sadly, the limitations of the venue mean I can't get the van in the building, never mind to the stand for loading and unloading. 

This means a much reduced garden this year as lugging half a ton of material the length of the building on my own isn't an option. Even if it was, the job would take so long I'd not have time to build the layout!

Never mind, I'll still be around to chat all things garden railways, and be really pleased to see anyone who drops by. The show looks like it will be as terrific as ever - loads to see and buy!

Full details of the show on their website.

Selly Oak lives!

 

Long term readers will remember my Selly Oak project - a commission from Rapido during lockdown, that gradually became a burden to me, rather than a joy. When I delivered it to them, and then the person whose garage it was in left the company, I assumed that would be the last anyone would see of it. 

But no! Looking in the latest newsletter, there is a Fleetline bus posed on the model. 

It seems that the layout is now safely in Kent, and should be seeing more bus action later in the year. 

Wanted: Hornby Church R599

 

Having built one of the Tri-ang "Real Estate" range, I want more. Specifically, I fancy the Hornby church that was still part of the catalogue in the 1980s and beyond. The model was R599, and I think, related to the 1963 model. 

The older kit was available with and without chimes, but these were dropped long before the more modern packaging. 

Needless to say, when I didn't want one of these, they were everywhere. You couldn't pass a second-hand stall without at least one. Now, nothing. I've searched the web to no avail. 

So, does anyone have one of these stashed away that they don't want?

Tri-ang shop in "The Collector"

 

The latest issue of the Hornby Collector's club house magazine drops through the letterbox, and in it is my contribution, a build of the Tri-ang "Real Estate" Hardware store. 

I'd never heard of the range before, until I found this kit on Cheltenham Model Centre's stand at a show. I picked it up out of curiosity, and it's sat on the shelf ever since. Then I started building retro kits for The Collector, and it seemed like an excellent subject. 

If you'd like to know more about this range, I recommend this website. It allowed me to date my kit to 1962, as the range changed name in 1963.

Having built one, I'm now on the lookout for more, so if you have anything tucked away, and don't want huge amounts of cash for it, I'd be interested. More on this tomorrow. 

 

(Cake)boxing clever

 

For work, I produce a lot of dioramas - most of which have to be stored for future show use. In the distant past, this resulted (and occasionally still does) in a shelves full of odd shaped boxes in our storage unit. 

Once the idea of the Cakebox competition came up though, I realised I could standardise on these containers for my builds. Most of the time, an 8 inch scene is big enough for the article to showcase a series of techniques. As I say to people regularily - ballasting produces three photos, whether I do six inches of sixty feet. But the later is a month's worth of work that doesn't generate enough material for an issue. That's why I build little layouts...

Anyway, with a couple of dioramas to box, I searched around Leamington town centre for cake boxes. Nothing. 

OK, online, where it turns out I can buy 10 for a tenner from The Craft Company. There is now a stack of flat-packed boxes in the office, which will gradually find themselves filled, sadly, not with cake. 

With a bit of fiddling and glue, it's easy to reduce the height of a box too, making better use of the storage space. Handy things these.

Statfold Barn 2024

A few photos from last weeks' show. 

Bachmann launched their NG7 (7mm scale on OO track) range with some Quarry Hunslets. First impressions are that they are as good as we'd expected (the models have been rumoured for a couple of years, and much anticipated) and will convert a number of people to the scale. I am angling to do a magazine project with one...

 

 

I don't think I can use this in Garden Rail!

 

 

Filming The Titfield Thunderbolt. 

 

 

I'm not one for 3D printed locos, but this Russell looks really nice to me. 

 

 

I snagged the last piece of cake on Saturday. The barman was amazed to have gone through five during the day. I could have told him better. I should be a cake consultant. 

 

 

Nice 5 inch gauge Ruston 48DS.

 

 

Finally, my favourite layout at the show, a difficult choice as there were many excellent models on show. Look out for this in BRM in a few months time. 

Saturday Film Club: Let's look at a Black Five

The latest in the "Curator with a camera" series, looks at the ubiquitous LMS "Black Five" locomotive.

Not painting

 

Sunday afternoon, down to the model railway club to help out on the work there. For the last few weeks, the jobs for unskilled idiots involved putting paint on the walls or ceiling. 

Not this week, it's all about preparing the floor for paint, which means hours of scraping, and then sanding to get the blobs of paint and plaster off the chipboard. 

Why can't we use a machine? It seems the chipboard floor surface isn't that tough, and a sander would eat through it, so hand sanding it is then. To be honest, it's a hateful job, but essential, so we just have to get on with it.

My arms hurt.

Water, signal levers, wagon loads and a photo plank in the May issue of BRM magazine

 

When I'm exhibiting, the area that seems to interest most people is how I made the water on my micro layout. Well, wonder no more, there's a tutorial in the latest issue of BRM. 

I've painted and fitted out the Intentio Models signal box I started a couple of months ago. The brickwork is some of the best I've ever managed, I look at the model and can't quite believe I did it!

A simpler project is filling a wagon with coal, using a Peco kit. The sort of thing anyone could do, and an easy starter fro a newbie. 

Over on BRM TV, I build a 009 photo plank. This one was fun, as I planned it while hardly able to speak thanks to an ulcer on my tongue! By the time I filmed it, this had got better, but for the fun of it, I've still make the video without speaking. 

Update: I forgot, the camera has been out again to bring you some cracking layouts. 

In N gauge, Chieftain Place. 

And in S gauge, Trowland.

Warehouse Wednesday: York's mystery road tracks

I don't know. It's just that while strolling around York before breakfast, I noticed that there are stones laid along the roads. They are about four and a half feet apart, and presumably there to stop carts creating ruts in the roads. 

I know no more, and I can't even work out where to go looking, so I toss this out to you lot for ideas. 

Ivor's splashers part 1

 

"Hmmm. That's not right", I thought as I tacked the first one of Ivor's spalshers in place. The footplate, not a strong structure at this stage. After some head-scratching, I realised that I'd miss-read the instruction about a half-setch line at the back of the piece. I doesn't line up with the cab floor, but something else exciting, yet to come. 

A bit of desoldering, which is why I tack things together to check the fit, and all is now OK. I just need to fit the other side.