Well, that took a bit longer than anticipated!

Largely, to be honest, because despite the supposed extra space that having the workshop converted and the spare garage turned into a storeroom generates, we still have Too Much Stuff, compounded by being in a band with all the attendant stuff that entails.

Still, after much juggling, changing jobs, and other fun, I now have a clear shelf onto which I can move all the model railway stuff out of the back of the storeroom, and have started doing so. (Apart from anything else, once I get the toys out of the big Really Useful Box in there, it can be used for storing the band lights that are cluttering up my workbench!)

Please tell me I'm not the only person who has this kind of problem?

Inspiration from YouTube

Been trawling YouTube a bit for inspiration: lovely to see how many folks are getting cameras on to their layouts and documenting the build process.

Two I'm particularly taken by:

Everard Junction: entirely NOT my period (1980s Network South-East) but some beautiful, and detail-obsessed scenic work;
Lakeside: again, not quite my period, but he demonstrates (especially in the village) how every little piece of scenery is placed and thought about and detailed, and tells a story.

A little bit of shopping this week produced some more PO coal wagons on eBay, a metre of flexitrack and a point, both in Peco's new code 75 bullhead, and some spare wheels and couplings for the 'make everything run on fine scale track' project.

Aiming to get a board for Longville built as soon as I get my bit of the workshop back next month.

An afternoon's woodwork

Finally got James' piece of 8'x4' down from upstairs, with much cursing and wondering how we ever got it up there in the first place.

It now has some 3/4" x 1 1/2" underframing, from which I have learned several things:

• the problem with 8'x4' baseboards is they're 8'x4' :D
• 8' lengths of 1 1/2" x 3/4" have a lot of flex about the thinner axis
• Liquid Nails is no substitute for a drill and a bunch of woodscrews
• that baseboard is never going back upstairs

On the good side, it's now sitting on two B&Q trestles in the playroom, where I suspect it'll stay for a while, and has been given a coat of spray mud-brown.

In other news, scored an Airfix autocoach on eBay. Rarer than I realised.

On 00 R-T-R pre-nationalisation releases generally

An interesting few contrasts this year between the Bachmann and Hornby new releases, at least from my point of view.

Hornby are ‘celebrating’ the GWR 175: one reworking of the 28xx, ditto for 61xx (in shirtbutton livery only), and a set of Hawkesworth coaches that actually (as far as I can tell) never actually ran on the GWR qua GWR. To be fair, I will be buying the 28xx, but... by contrast, let’s look at Bachmann...

Brand-new S&DJR 7F 2-8-0. Brand-new Johnson 3F 0-6-0 (if you’re being really uncharitable, there was a R-T-R 3F back in the 60s by Triang, but short of a complete rebuild below the footplate, I don’t think it counts). City of Truro. No coaches. Now, the latter is a shame, but given that Hornby’s Hawkesworth’s are pre-nationalisation in name only (and they’re only producing them in maroon and blood-and-custard), that’s pretty much a draw on the coach front. (Some Toplights next year, maybe?)

To me? Bachman win hands down by daring to produce new stuff, and moreover they are (as I commented on RMWeb) very much actively encouraging pre-nationalisation modelling: in fact, they seem intent on turning modelling the S&DJR into this decade’s GWR branch terminus. And they’re not afraid to produce unglamorous workhorses like the 3F, the kind of thing that’s as common as muck and usually covered in it. More power to them.

It is, as I’m sure I’ve said before in this blog, perfectly possible to produce R-T-R Big Four (or even pre-grouping) stock that’ll attract the BR Steam Era modeller - in fact, if I were one, I’m sure I’d be delighted at the chance for something unusual to offset the dreary procession of Standard Class engines and Mark I coaches. Custom paint jobs aren’t THAT pricey - witness the number of custom finished modern era locals and MUs that are produced for various model shops. Putting out a shortish run of something in a GWR or LMS livery isn’t going to break the bank. I don’t believe that the cries of ‘there’s no demand’ are true. There’s no demand because you aren’t making the stock!

So, I say more power to Bachmann for daring to produce genuinely new Big Four locos and actively trying to create a demand, even if it’s for the S&DJR! Keep it up.

Bachmann's new announcements?

• Johnson 3F 0-60? Yes please, I'll probably take 2. Now if Hornby would re-tool the 4F....
• S&DJR 7F 2-8-0? Tempting, but I shall probably resist.

Some of the new scenery items look cool. A little disappointed there are no new non-BR coaches.

A brief aside on eBay

To James' great delight, we managed to score a Bachman 4575 Prairie in Great Western livery yesterday morning. For £15 or so less than the average eBay price.

Why? I strongly suspect because no-one's up and actively using eBay at 11am on a Sunday. Sunday evening is generally held to be the best time to sell stuff, as most folks are active. Sunday morning? Bit daft if you ask me.

And as to how I won that auction while sat behind a sound desk in church? AuctionSniper.com :D Well recommended, and your first three snipes are free* - after that it's 1% of the final value with a minimum of $0.25. Well worth it in my book for nabbing things you'd otherwise miss.

Me? I have a couple of old computers to eBay - I foresee more stock in the near future.

* in the interests of full disclosure: I get three free snipes if you sign up from that link.

Time to stop spending money :D

Picked up a second-hand Dapol/Airfix B-set from Trains4U along with a pack of Bachmann couplings+pockets. just in case I have any more accidents (while James' unofficial Aunty R was buying him some more track).

Also scored a Slaters' Toplight brake 3rd kit on eBay.

Tonight I'll be eBaying a few Wrenn wagons, some Super 4 /and/ HornbyDublo track, and assorted tatty Triang/Hornby stuff, and seriously considering listing the slightly-out-of-period Jubilee to see if I can raise the readies for an unrebuilt Patriot or Royal Scot.

A Happy New Year...

I'm sure there's a reader or two out there :D

Last couple of days small achievements:

• Body swap on the Bachmann Pannier - amusing how all the guides just assume you can get the couplings off. In fact, the mounts have to come off with, and it's surprisingly easy to break one, which I did. Trip to Trains4U tomorrow - Gareth reckons he has one in his spares box.
• Finished the weathering on the Lancashire Coke Co wagon.
• Had a very interesting read of a GWR steam in the 30s book - fascinating to discover just what a mess the average rake of coaches was - things like local passenger trains made up of a clerestory, a B set, two Siphon G's and a NE perishables van, and semi-fasts a huge mix of Colletts, toplights, clerestories... None of these perfect rakes of uniform, pristine coaches!
  
  

Arrivals and purchases over Xmas

• Hornby Jinty in LMS black (not arrived yet)
• Two Hornby LMS 20T brake vans (ditto)
• Replacement body for 57xx (Great Western lettering)

This evening's job, once I've acquired the necessary small tweezers to get the NEM couplings out so I can get at the body screw (being married to a vet may help here!), is to re-body the 57xx.

Hornby 2010 new additions and pre-war GWR

As I've said on RMWeb, I can't say that I'm leaping around for joy.

I'll be saving for the NRM 28xx (in lovely pre-'34 Great Western green). Kind of disappointed that the 61xx appears to have that ghastly shirtbutton logo, and really very unchuffed about the coaches....

Hawkesworth? What would have been wrong with re-tooling the Collett 57' stock - it too lasted into BR times, but at least it's usable by the GWR modellers. Apparently pre-war GWR doesn't sell, but it does seem that Hornby are turning that into a self-fulfilling prophecy.

More arrivals

Keeping the postman busy this week :D

• The Mogul, and the rest of the Hornby clerestory and Mainline LMS coaches arrived
• A bulk lot of a Mainline Patriot in red, some wagons and a couple more coaches (as well as a rebuilt Royal Scot in ugly lined black, which is going back on eBay)
• Several wagons
• Bachman Coaler set (57xx, couple of wagons, oval of track) - nice cheap way of getting a pannier tank, though it does need re-liverying to pre-'35 from "GWR"
• Copper cap to replace the missing one on my 2721
• RA Cooke GWR track plans section 63 (covering Craven Arms)
• one set HMRS GWR Pressfix transfers.

Still to come are a few more wagons, and I have my eyes on an LMS Jinty (probably the Hornby Railroad one rather than the Bachmann) and a small Prairie.

Loco wishlist

Just, mostly, to get it down somewhere:

• Jinty (Onnybrook station pilot)
• G2 0-8-0 (South Wales line coal trains)
• 45xx small Prairie (Wenlock branch)
• 28xx 2-8-0 (Heavy goods traffic)
• Dean Goods and/or a 2251
• Fowler 4F (goods)
• Deeley 3F (this'll probably have to be a kit, since the Triang one is just... ick.)
• Compound 4-4-0 (suburban passenger)
• Hall (express passenger/goods)
• County 4-4-0 (the Hawksworth 4-6-0 is well out of period!)
• One or more of Jubilee, Patriot, Black 5, 8F 2-8-0, parallel boiler Royal Scot -erm, I seem to have bought a Patriot in a bulk lot of stuff on eBay...

Picking up the pieces...

So today was a trip up to Lincoln to rendezvous with the parents and pick up three boxes of old model railway stuff. Man was that a trip down memory lane. Most of it dates from the early 70s.

Of note:

• 1 Hornby 08 shunter with original box
• 1 green Hornby Dublo EMU (with knuckle couplers) - still recovering from discovering it's actually quite valuable!
• 1 Hornby BR livery Jinty
• 1 Triang/Hornby BR livery Deeley 3F 0-6-0 tender. I never found this in a catalogue anywhere back then, and I'm not at all sure where it came from - it dates back to 1966, apparently.
• 21 assorted wagons, of which half a dozen or more look as though they're worth keeping, and at the very least are good for detailing/weathering practice.
• 3 very short Triang BR maroon coaches
• Several Peco Streamline code 100 short radius points
• Lots of Triang Super 4 track

Still to come is of the order of 20 yards of code 100 wooden sleeper Streamline.

A fair bit of that will be going on eBay - I very much doubt the Jinty and 3F are worth keeping, even repainted and detailed, since the odds on finding space next to that bulky (all the way into the cab!) Triang motor for a DCC chip man enough to handle the power is about zero!

Time to hit eBay

This is, of course, entirely separate from James' shopping :D

Aviva very kindly dropped a rebate cheque in my lap last week, so I've been trawling eBay for stuff to add to my collection, which can (of course) magically appear later (good job James' doesn't read my blog).

First arrivals today:

• one DCC-fitted Hornby Fowler 2-6-4T in LMS lined black. Lovely model, marred only by the plastic holder on the underside of the coal bunker for the bush for the body-fixing screw having cracked, and thus the body being loose. After five minutes or so of figuring out which bit was supposed to be connected to which, some careful application of superglue seems to have fixed the problem. Note to self - need to check my LMS livery history to see if this requires a repaint.
• a pair of Hornby GWR clerestory coaches (one composite, one brake). Yes, I know they're not entirely prototypical, but they're so damn pretty.
• one DCC-fitted Bachman 56xx 0-6-2T (obligingly reset to the default 03 DCC id by the seller). This is in post-'42 unlined green with the G W R lettering, so I foresee a quick repaint and some HMRS transfers in the offing.

Coming soon:

• one Mainline 43xx Mogul in lovely pre-'35 unlined Brunswick Green with Great Western lettering. This'll need a trip to Trains4U for chipping, along with my 2721 once I've found it a new chimney cap.
• another pair of Hornby clerestory composites.
• a pair of Mainline panelled LMS coaches.

There's a bunch of stuff still on watch, so we'll see what ensues - I have my eye on a Bachmann Jinty or 57xx, possibly both, as well as a bunch of wagons. Further down the line I'm after a Bachmnan LMS G2, a Fowler 4F and 2P, a 28xx 2-8-0 and maybe a Patriot or a parellel-boiler Scot, along with some Colllett GWR coaches and a B-set. Oh, and LOTS of vans and coal wagons.

Christmas Shopping

Some browsing on what my friend Rick calls the 'electric interweb' suggested that what would be ideal was the Hornby GWR Western Pullman DCC set with a Castle and a pannier. Sadly, this seems to be out of stock everywhere, so I went for the next best option - the Cornish Pullman set.

I should at this point probably add that I'm a Great Western fan - always have been. So James was always going to get something in Brunswick Green - gotta start 'em early.

Off to Trains4U, and some discussion later, I came away somewhat poorer. The Cornish Pullman set and a Bachmann Dynamis controller will be ready on Saturday once the (legendary) Gareth has DCC-ed the loco - all at a price that 'er indoors approves of, too. Also (and on MY card) a couple of s/h Airfix wagons, and a couple of catalogues!