Author Archives: snitchthebudgie

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About snitchthebudgie

Secretary of the East Surrey N Gauge railway club

Off my trolley – North Shore in ‘N’ gauge

Posted on July 10, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

I recently came across David Milburn’s layout on the web.  His layout is unusual in that it: Is traction, a model of the North Shore (CNS&M) interurban out of Chicago. Is in ‘N’ gauge. Is British. It’s also very, very, … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspiration, Layout design, Prototype, Traction | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Long and winding road – beginnings

Posted on July 8, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

A while back, I posted some photos of some of my old kit and scratch built models.  Those posts didn’t include the path that I took to get from there to here.  I was thinking about this in the context … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspiration, Jon's layout ramblings, Weird and wonderful | Tagged , , | 10 Comments

Obituary – Ian Allan

Posted on July 6, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

I spotted this obituary in the Daily Telegraph.  In the UK and for those of my generation, Ian Allan was synonymous with train spotting books and quality transport books.  Certainly in my teens and early twenties, Ian Allen was THE … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspiration, Layout design, Prototype, Weird and wonderful | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

AGM and wrong kind of sun?

Posted on July 4, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

The ESNG AGM occurred yesterday.  A good turnout of members, and all business was concluded with no heckling and very few snores.  It’s not that the committee object to being pelted with fruit, but prefer the members to take it … Continue reading →

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A charming Japanese story – and an idea for the AGM

Posted on July 2, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

Can you resist the newspaper headline: “Cat stationmaster Tama mourned in Japan and elevated as goddess” This turned out to be a charming story of Japanese culture and a railway success story: The calico cat was appointed stationmaster at the … Continue reading →

Posted in ESNG, ESNG meetings, Inspiration, Out and about | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

“This is not logical, but it is often true.”

Posted on June 30, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

According to Spock, anyway.  The Chairman sent me this picture, culled from Facebook. “Set the phasers to stun!”

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A good ‘believe it or not’ scenic feature?

Posted on June 28, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

Anyone can model a car crash or lots of emergency services on their layout.  However, this would really stretch the viewers belief. From the Daily Telegraph: Last Wednesday, Mr Xiang was driving along the Chongqing-Guizhou Expressway in central China when he … Continue reading →

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Coupling springs have sprung

Posted on June 26, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

This very useful tip appeared in the NRMA British Region magazine.  Most useful for those of us with Microtrains couplers, but now Dapol buckeyes are around it may also apply to them.  It was published under the wonderful title of … Continue reading →

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Off my trolley – San Pedro

Posted on June 24, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

At the end of one line from LA and Watts were San Pedro and LA Harbour.  In the days of large ocean liners, collecting passengers from the liner and transporting them into LA generated a lot of traffic through San Pedro. San … Continue reading →

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An easier way to ballast your track?

Posted on June 22, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

Lance Mindheim  may have come up with a really good idea here…. Effectively applying ballast glue is a challenge at best.  The more powdery soils and small gauge products even more so.  The problem comes with application of the adhesive, … Continue reading →

Posted in Hints and tips, Inspiration, Layout design | Tagged , , | 2 Comments