Railway modelling

A place to discuss your hobbies
User avatar

Kendhni
Ex Team Member
Posts: 6520
Joined: January 2013

Re: Railway modelling

#26

Post by Kendhni »

My father used to have a collection of old Hornby trains and a large amount of track. We used to love playing with them as kids. Sadly when we were clearing out the house none of us wanted them so they all went in the skip ... probably a stupid mistake since they may have been worth something.

User avatar

Topic author
Silver_Shiney
Deputy Captain
Deputy Captain
Posts: 6400
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bradley Stoke

Re: Railway modelling

#27

Post by Silver_Shiney »

Kendhni wrote:
My father used to have a collection of old Hornby trains and a large amount of track. We used to love playing with them as kids. Sadly when we were clearing out the house none of us wanted them so they all went in the skip ... probably a stupid mistake since they may have been worth something.
I reckon we've all chucked stuff out only to see the same thing valued at eye-popping prices on Antiques Roadshow!!
Alan

Q-CC-KOS
Q-CC-TBM

User avatar

Kendhni
Ex Team Member
Posts: 6520
Joined: January 2013

Re: Railway modelling

#28

Post by Kendhni »

Silver_Shiney wrote:
Kendhni wrote:
My father used to have a collection of old Hornby trains and a large amount of track. We used to love playing with them as kids. Sadly when we were clearing out the house none of us wanted them so they all went in the skip ... probably a stupid mistake since they may have been worth something.
I reckon we've all chucked stuff out only to see the same thing valued at eye-popping prices on Antiques Roadshow!!
I remember when we were clearing out my parents house we all took the little mementos we wanted but the house was still full. We tried to give everything to charity but they had no interest so we hired a couple of skips and pretty much dumped everything but large furniture in them. This included most of fathers stamp collection (I kept some of it); old original papers from famous points in history that my father collected; old 78 records some of which were original Elvis pressings; dozens of pieces of Waterford and Tyrone crystal; dozens of Franklin mint decorative plates; all the electrical goods ... simply because none of us had any room for them or time to spend auctioning them off on the likes of eBay.

We made a big fubah though. My aunt (mothers sister) asked about an old china set that my mother had displayed for as long as I can remember in a cabinet and we said that it had also been thrown in the skip ... my aunt was very annoyed (understatement of the century) ... apparently this had been passed down for several generations and was given to my great great (not sure how many) grandfather by a member of the royal family (from their own private collection .. it had apparently been used by royalty/dignitaries from all over the world). My aunt went on for quite a while about the history of this set (I had glazed over by that point .. and wondered if the DNA could be extracted from the set that was now a significant jigsaw puzzle .. no tube of superglue was going to fix it).

So the moral of the story is that if you have something valuable ... make sure your family know about it.

User avatar

Topic author
Silver_Shiney
Deputy Captain
Deputy Captain
Posts: 6400
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bradley Stoke

Re: Railway modelling

#29

Post by Silver_Shiney »

Quite so, Ken - my mum has acquired a roll of easily-removed stickers, with which she is going to label everything that is valuable so that my sister and I don't throw it out when the time comes.
Alan

Q-CC-KOS
Q-CC-TBM

User avatar

Topic author
Silver_Shiney
Deputy Captain
Deputy Captain
Posts: 6400
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bradley Stoke

Re: Railway modelling

#30

Post by Silver_Shiney »

Next stop.... New York
Alan

Q-CC-KOS
Q-CC-TBM

User avatar

Not so ancient mariner
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1806
Joined: February 2013
Location: Cumbria

Re: Railway modelling

#31

Post by Not so ancient mariner »

Silver_Shiney wrote:
Next stop.... New York

May I ask what this link is? I'm reading this during my lunchbreak at work, and the software won't let me open it as it contains "Pornography/adult material" :o :shock: :!:

User avatar

Topic author
Silver_Shiney
Deputy Captain
Deputy Captain
Posts: 6400
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bradley Stoke

Re: Railway modelling

#32

Post by Silver_Shiney »

Not so ancient mariner wrote:
Silver_Shiney wrote:
Next stop.... New York

May I ask what this link is? I'm reading this during my lunchbreak at work, and the software won't let me open it as it contains "Pornography/adult material" :o :shock: :!:
Interesting.... I've got pretty tight security at home, and the office has good security too, and I'm able to open it at both locations....

It's some guy in NY who's built a huge model railway - looks like it's underneath a shop that he runs.

Definitely no sign of porn on the site.
Alan

Q-CC-KOS
Q-CC-TBM


Quizzical Bob
Senior First Officer
Senior First Officer
Posts: 3951
Joined: January 2013

Re: Railway modelling

#33

Post by Quizzical Bob »

Silver_Shiney wrote:
My SIL has bought me a flight to go to Hamburg as a birthday present, for me to visit that humungous model railway!
Michael Portillo featured the Miniatur Wunderland on his Great Continental railway journeys series. What I liked was the special figurine of him that they made specially.



User avatar

Topic author
Silver_Shiney
Deputy Captain
Deputy Captain
Posts: 6400
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bradley Stoke

Re: Railway modelling

#34

Post by Silver_Shiney »

I've been trying my hand at using water-based acrylic paint to colour plastic kits. I tried this years ago and slapped the paint straight on to the model and it was an absolute disaster.

It turns out that what you have to do is wash the parts thoroughly in washing up liquid, giving them a good scrub with an old toothbrush, then wipe them with methylated spirits.

Then dilute the acrylics with water 40/60, and brush on. Any mistakes can be washed off.
Alan

Q-CC-KOS
Q-CC-TBM

User avatar

qbman1
Captain
Captain
Posts: 12153
Joined: January 2013
Location: Oxfordshire

Re: Railway modelling

#35

Post by qbman1 »

You should meet my neighbour. He is an engineer with one of the F1 teams but has build a scale railway running right around the back garden with a couple of accurate replica bridges and viaducts, a village and station. It is strangely appealing on a summer evening when he has his loco steaming around the track (real steam, mind you !). Last summer he was photographing a blackbird sitting at the top of a tree and when I questioned him about it, it turned out he was creating a pub sign for the new building he was adding to his village.....that's right, it is called the Red Lion !!!

User avatar

Not so ancient mariner
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1806
Joined: February 2013
Location: Cumbria

Re: Railway modelling

#36

Post by Not so ancient mariner »

If one wishes to find me this weekend, I shall be at Scalefour North at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Wakefield, mostly operating 'Clecklewyke'. I could always take my hat if requested.

User avatar

Topic author
Silver_Shiney
Deputy Captain
Deputy Captain
Posts: 6400
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bradley Stoke

Re: Railway modelling

#37

Post by Silver_Shiney »

Not so ancient mariner wrote:
If one wishes to find me this weekend, I shall be at Scalefour North at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Wakefield, mostly operating 'Clecklewyke'. I could always take my hat if requested.

This is yours?

More photos, please!
Alan

Q-CC-KOS
Q-CC-TBM

User avatar

Topic author
Silver_Shiney
Deputy Captain
Deputy Captain
Posts: 6400
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bradley Stoke

Re: Railway modelling

#38

Post by Silver_Shiney »

Ah - just found more on Flickr.

I'm impressed, sir!
Alan

Q-CC-KOS
Q-CC-TBM


Quizzical Bob
Senior First Officer
Senior First Officer
Posts: 3951
Joined: January 2013

Re: Railway modelling

#39

Post by Quizzical Bob »

Silver_Shiney wrote:
Ah - just found more on Flickr.

I'm impressed, sir!
Me too. Respect! :thumbup:

User avatar

oldbluefox
Ex Team Member
Posts: 11305
Joined: January 2013
Location: Cumbria

Re: Railway modelling

#40

Post by oldbluefox »

Last year I went to a Model Railway exhibition which was showing locally. With no more than a passing interest (and fascination) I thought the layouts were absolutely magnificent. I was amazed by the enthusiasm and dedication of those who were displaying their layouts by the amount of detail, especially in the layouts which were model reconstructions of actual goods yards, stations etc. And some of the gauges were so small the layouts could fit into a suitcase but would need a steady hand and good eyesight. They are truly impressive.


Quizzical Bob
Senior First Officer
Senior First Officer
Posts: 3951
Joined: January 2013

Re: Railway modelling

#41

Post by Quizzical Bob »

On our wonderful cruise on Aurora back from Dubai last year we shared our table with a lovely couple who were both model railway enthusiasts. The lady was N gauge whilst the gentleman was OO/HO.

User avatar

Topic author
Silver_Shiney
Deputy Captain
Deputy Captain
Posts: 6400
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bradley Stoke

Re: Railway modelling

#42

Post by Silver_Shiney »

Quizzical Bob wrote:
On our wonderful cruise on Aurora back from Dubai last year we shared our table with a lovely couple who were both model railway enthusiasts. The lady was N gauge whilst the gentleman was OO/HO.
but what scale did they model in? :lol: :lol: :wave:
Alan

Q-CC-KOS
Q-CC-TBM

User avatar

Not so ancient mariner
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1806
Joined: February 2013
Location: Cumbria

Re: Railway modelling

#43

Post by Not so ancient mariner »

Quizzical Bob wrote:
Silver_Shiney wrote:
Ah - just found more on Flickr.

I'm impressed, sir!
Me too. Respect! :thumbup:


Sorry, but regrettably it's not mine. It belongs to a friend who I have known since we were at universities in Edinburgh over 40 years ago.

User avatar

Topic author
Silver_Shiney
Deputy Captain
Deputy Captain
Posts: 6400
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bradley Stoke

Re: Railway modelling

#44

Post by Silver_Shiney »

Some amazing things here
Alan

Q-CC-KOS
Q-CC-TBM

User avatar

Not so ancient mariner
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1806
Joined: February 2013
Location: Cumbria

Re: Railway modelling

#45

Post by Not so ancient mariner »

Silver_Shiney wrote:
Some amazing things here

There's a chap who lives near Preston who has built a (nearly) complete 4mm scale model of Preston station as it used to be, complete with full signalling (again as it used to be) with one signal box (there are four in total) having 162 levers- all electrically interlocked to prevent conflicting movements. My friend Ian, who owns Clecklewyke, documented one of our annual visits in his blog. http://clecklewyke.wordpress.com/

User avatar

Topic author
Silver_Shiney
Deputy Captain
Deputy Captain
Posts: 6400
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bradley Stoke

Re: Railway modelling

#46

Post by Silver_Shiney »

That looks fantastic, Notso!

One thing I can't understand is the operation of end-to-end layouts. One chap yesterday said, of his 4' x 1' with fiddle yard, that it was about showing how a layout can be constructed in a very small space. Certainly, it was a magnificent model, but where is the operating pleasure? I like to see trains running around. Perhaps a few sidings where a long goods train can pull in and a shunter start to dismantle it into varying sidings according to purpose, and then reconstruct it. There was one model there of an iron works, which had several sidings in a 5' long layout, but the only thing that seemed to be happening was a siren would sound, a door lift open in a building stage left, and an engine would appear pulling a wagon of some sort to disappear stage right. A minute or two later, the process would be reversed. I can't understand that sort of layout.
Alan

Q-CC-KOS
Q-CC-TBM

User avatar

Not so ancient mariner
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1806
Joined: February 2013
Location: Cumbria

Re: Railway modelling

#47

Post by Not so ancient mariner »

Silver_Shiney wrote:
That looks fantastic, Notso!

One thing I can't understand is the operation of end-to-end layouts. One chap yesterday said, of his 4' x 1' with fiddle yard, that it was about showing how a layout can be constructed in a very small space. Certainly, it was a magnificent model, but where is the operating pleasure? I like to see trains running around. Perhaps a few sidings where a long goods train can pull in and a shunter start to dismantle it into varying sidings according to purpose, and then reconstruct it. There was one model there of an iron works, which had several sidings in a 5' long layout, but the only thing that seemed to be happening was a siren would sound, a door lift open in a building stage left, and an engine would appear pulling a wagon of some sort to disappear stage right. A minute or two later, the process would be reversed. I can't understand that sort of layout.

Just like Batty and his Thompson booze cruises - we all have different tastes. Anyhow very few people have the space to have a decent continuous run set up. In 4mm scale, even an 8' x 4' area is little bigger than some of the largest football stadia in the UK, and first radius curves is very much like running trains around an Olympic standard running track.
The workhorse loco of todays railway, the class 66, cannot negotiate curves of less than 4 chains radius (and then at miniumum speed) That's roughly 3'6" in 4mm scale.

http://www.tventon.freeserve.co.uk/ Here's another one that's a bit nearer to home for you. Whereas I was Ian Everett's best man, Tim Venton was mine.

User avatar

Topic author
Silver_Shiney
Deputy Captain
Deputy Captain
Posts: 6400
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bradley Stoke

Re: Railway modelling

#48

Post by Silver_Shiney »

Thank you for that, Notso, very interesting.

I can't remember if I mentioned, but I subscribed to that "Your Model Railway Village" and the track plan for that would take up most of our lounge - not that the Lady C would allow me to have it there (even though it was she who got me started on this in the first place!). So I reckon it's going to be a loft jobbie, but, being a fairly modern house (1990), the baseboard would have to go inside the two pairs of supporting struts, which would (I think) somewhat spoil the line of sight along the layout. A futher complication is that the loft hatch and entry ladder come up between two of the struts, which would necessitate a end-to-end layout unless I can blag a bit of space deeper into the eaves on which to construct a Radius 4 loop, probably inside a tunnel (open at the end for ease of access in the case of derailments)

Do you have a layout yourself or do you just help out with Clecklewyke?
Alan

Q-CC-KOS
Q-CC-TBM

User avatar

Not so ancient mariner
First Officer
First Officer
Posts: 1806
Joined: February 2013
Location: Cumbria

Re: Railway modelling

#49

Post by Not so ancient mariner »

I have the baseboards for one (12' x 2'6") that I was building in the garages, but a major roof leak rather spoiled things - and fried the electrics in the garage - so it has never been used for anything other than test running of locos and stock.

Ypu could always have some form of lifting bridge over your loft hatch area

User avatar

Topic author
Silver_Shiney
Deputy Captain
Deputy Captain
Posts: 6400
Joined: January 2013
Location: Bradley Stoke

Re: Railway modelling

#50

Post by Silver_Shiney »

I'd thought of that, but I need the next space as the walk-way in!
Alan

Q-CC-KOS
Q-CC-TBM

Return to “Hobby Time”