Category Archives: Inspiration

Less is more – two interesting examples

Posted on July 22, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

I used to follow a blog called ‘The Staging Yard’, following a UK based modeller’s trials at building a US layout, until it went quiet in 2014.  Reading RMWeb the other day, I saw that the blog had reappeared and was being continued … Continue reading →

Posted in Hints and tips, Inspiration, Layout design, Operation | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Long and winding road – narrow and wide

Posted on July 20, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

One feature of the ‘Shed’ era that I forgot was an interest in narrow gauge railways.  A few Model Railway News articles were supplemented by a copy of Don Boreham’s seminal ‘Narrow Gauge Railway Modelling’ and a history of the Lynton … Continue reading →

Posted in Inspiration, Jon's layout ramblings, Weird and wonderful | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

London Underground: 150 fascinating Tube facts

Posted on July 16, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

Or how to bore your travelling companion on the bus during a tube strike.  These are taken from the Daily Telegraph.  Here are my top 30 (or so), avoiding a very long post! 1. There is only one Tube station … Continue reading →

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Long and winding road – the shed

Posted on July 12, 2015 by snitchthebudgie

In the mid-sixties, I was in need of the larger back bedroom in our 1930’s 3-bedroom semi, so my father invested in a SHED.  This 9′ x 8′ empire was carefully built by my father, saturated with wood preservative, insulated … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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

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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