Seaboard Southern NMRA show, 30 September 2017

Posted on October 3, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

Saturday was the local NMRA group’s annual meet at the Charis Centre in Crawley.  I’ve missed the last two Seaboard Southern shows, as they clashed with other family commitments, so I was pleased to get to this one.  An easy run down the A23 past Gatwick got me there just before opening time – those coming on the M23 had to crawl past the usual accident near Gatwick.

I spend a pleasant couple of hours at this little show, and even managed not to buy anything, except some more storage boxes from Jon the Blue Plastic Box Man.  I spent as much time talking as looking, as apart from having a long chat with Jon (‘Why weren’t you at TINGS?’), I also ran into Simon from ESNG (who was trying very hard not to spend £60 on a half-price book on Santa Fe locomotives), and I then spent time talking to some of the Seaboard members.

There was a good selection of layouts, mainly small switching pikes.

First off was Chica, Il.  I’ve seen this little Rock Island HO layout a number of times, but it is always worth another look, as the detail (and especially the power and telephone lines) is so good.  Occasionally a train crawls through town.  It is a good job this is an HO layout, as it was for sale, and it would have been difficult to resist in ‘N’…..

Gilbert Papers (HO) is a slightly convoluted switching layout, with some excellent large buildings and realistic water….

Tilly Yard South (HO) is a minimal space Santa Fe layout, featuring urban switching in the ‘50s.  I liked the realistic snow – always difficult to capture well in model form…..

Some tidy HOn3 narrow gauge modelling….

Lemmington Park (HO) features Chicago based urban switching and commuter passenger in the 70’s.  It was good to see that American modellers also fall for the ‘bus on a bridge’ cliché, although this one is a large yellow school bus….

Eastwood, Vermont (HO) is one of Andrew Knights’ many small layouts, this one featuring the 1950s-60s diesel transition period.  Some good bridge modelling, and an interesting urban low relief backscene…..

The Surrey & Sussex Black Sheep FremOn30 Group had their partly complete modules on display.  There were a few early gremlins with the electrics – or the Seaboard Southern hospitality had been a little generous!

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Two views of modelling – 2

Posted on October 1, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

And from the other end of the October edition of Model Railroad Hobbyist, Joe Fulgate asks, ‘Are we making the hobby too complicated.’  A rather different perspective….

Are we making the hobby too complicated?

As I look at the “ever more realistic” trend in the hobby, I have started to wonder if we make the hobby too complicated for newcomers.

As I look through magazine back issues from the days I first got into the hobby (the 1960s), I notice a lot of writing about the hobby focused on just having fun.  These days, it seems to have
changed.  The prototype modelling trend has taken hold and unless you’re modelling a prototype line accurately, there is a trend to label you a “second class” modeller.

How are uninformed newcomers to measure up? They come online and proudly show us their work – we either yawn because it’s so generic/simplistic, or we pick it apart because it’s not quite prototypically accurate.  If you’re modelling generic trains, or not modelling a precise time period, then you’re not a “serious” modeller….

Perhaps it’s time we stop trying to put so much of a “super serious” spin on how we look at the hobby. How about we avoid “good vs bad” terminology in our discussions of how to approach the hobby? Just because you want to model generally in the 1950s instead of doing something more precise, who is to say that’s “poor” modelling?

In the hobby publications from the 1960s, the focus was more that the various ways of doing the hobby were all good, just different. Another area of concern has to do with operations. If you’re “just running trains” for fun, then you’re just a casual hobbyist!

My greatest fear is we’re getting so picky by defining a “good” versus a “poor” approach to the hobby that we’re driving would-be hobby newcomers away by making the hobby feel too complicated and involved.  What happened to appreciating the fun of model railroading however someone may elect to enjoy it, even if it doesn’t happen to be exactly how you prefer to do the hobby?

And what about moving away from judgmental wording that is self-serving…… that neatly puts how I choose to do the hobby on a pedestal and puts down everyone else’s approach.

Maybe it’s time we all remember our roots in the hobby and appreciate that just having fun with trains can be great too? By remembering that it’s really about fun, whether simple or complex, we can encourage more hobby newcomers.

So the challenge for us is to be passionate about just how good a hobby model railways (or even railroads are), and aim to improve, but always to remember that it’s meant to be fun!

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Two views of modelling – 1

Posted on September 29, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

The next two posts will have two differing, but perhaps slightly contrary views of our hobby.  Both come from the (free) Model Railroad Hobbyist e-magazine.  It’s all American, and sometimes has little of interest, but it’s free, and occasionally comes up with some inspirational modelling.

First, the view from the editor’s desk – by Don Hanley.

Develop a passion for the hobby

Have you ever wondered why some individuals
succeed and other don’t?  It’s passion.

I have two activities I enjoy: woodworking and model railroading.  They intersect during the benchwork phase, but that is about it.  I love designing and building furniture as much as I love designing and building models.  I have a passion for both.  I can spend hours building a piece of furniture, hours building a structure, or hours modelling  a piece of rolling stock. I often lose track of time and my wife asks me if I got lost! In a way, I did.

Passion and interest are similar, but not exactly the same.
Webster defines passion as “a strong feeling or emotion” but
defines interest as “liking something.”  ….

For us in the hobby it can range from the armchair modeller  to the modeller who must have every nut and bolt correctly modelled.  On a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the armchair modeller, and the 10 an every nut and bolt modeller, I am probably about an 8…..

Do all model railroaders have the same degree of passion that I have?  Of course not, and that’s OK. It’s best we not be offended when we run into modellers who don’t have has much passion as we do – and likewise we should not be offended by modellers who have a higher degree of passion than we do.

Some like to call the most passionate rivet counters. If you develop a particular passion for the hobby, you too may become the rivet counter without realizing it!  Encourage those who have less passion than you to work on developing their passion…

Looking ahead, I would say the future of our hobby depends a
lot on those who have passion for the hobby, and for teaching
or mentoring those who are just starting in model railroading.
I would even say how long a modeller stays with the hobby
depends on how much interaction they have with those possessing higher levels of passion. Those of us a higher level of passion need to interact and mentor those who are not as passionate!

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Stuttgart coming soon – and a new module

Posted on September 27, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

Sunday afternoon was spent in the august company of Messrs Atfield and Dawes, testing out the setup that we will take to Stuttgart.  The last few weeks, I’ve had plenty of free time, so have completed a new module for display.  What is compatible with UK, USA, European and Japanese trains?  An American airbase…..  So here we have the absolute end of an airbase, with three F-111 aircraft parked on the tarmac.  Of course, it will always be possible to run trains from a different era to the F-111, but at least it will look OK geographically, even if there is a clash of eras.

Here we have the airbase connected to the ‘Clubroom’ module.

This is the long side of our Stuttgart display – end loop, ERIC the roundhouse, a 4 track to 2 track transition, airbase, clubhouse, and N-club corner.  The 4 track section will allow us to store one or two trains when operating.

Derek is hard at work trying to understand the wiring of his new module.  This swaps over left and right hand tracks to swap from right hand to left hand running.  It was rapidly christened the ‘Eddie Waring’ module after the late rugby league commentator, one of whose trademark lines was, ‘It’s an up-and-under’.

The short leg of the ESNG display has Derek’s N-club corner (interestingly, all the low-level track is courtesy of a job lot of Lone Star 000 track – we never waste anything round here), Attesford, the Eddie Waring module, and a loop where the link with the rest of the N-club world will be.

There are a still some adjustments to make.  My lounge is full of the Attesford layout (to add to the other modules already camping there) as I took it home to see if I can improve the wiring and running.  And Derek has a bit of work to do on his ‘Eddie Waring’ board.  We’ll need another trial run, but are well on the way there.

And of course, the afternoon was completed with a curry….

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Odd modelling ideas #23

Posted on September 25, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

Two links today……

A train passenger’s view of India

Shanu Babar loves train journeys so much that he began documenting his. Soon, others joined him….

On 21 July 2015, Mr Babar launched @windowseatproject to record his journeys on Instagram. The “window seat”, he says, has always been his favourite spot on a train. It was also his vantage point for this photo of the colourful Ernad Express, with each coach advertising a different brand.

Well worth a browse for some great shots of Indian railways, and for a longer look, have a browse on the Instagram site.  I wonder whether one could make a model like this, with the passengers on top of the train….

Second link is ‘Your safety tip of the day’, from Model Railroad Hobbyist’.  There are a number of excellent ideas to replace the classic ‘Fingerpoken’ notice on the front of your layout.  My favourites are below…..

And finally, a whimsical thought, from deep in NGauge Forum.  I have never been convinced by box-file layouts.  One A4 one is OK, but once you add two or three together you might as well build something from wood.  However, I did like…..

Have you seen my box-file layout of Paddington?

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ESNG meeting – 20 September 2017 – and Ron’s last day away

Posted on September 23, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

Wednesday’s meeting was European night, with just a few British and American interlopers.  People seemed keen to try out their TINGS purchases from the previous weekend.

There was a good turnout of members, and we were delighted to have a potential new member.  He could add to the confusion at the club….  David Apps, not to be confused with Derek Apps our treasurer.  Fortunately, although white-haired with glasses, he hasn’t got a beard (yet), so there is no chance of confusion with the two Derek’s……

And final pictures from Ron.  No railways included, but a good closure to his holiday.  More wine seems to be involved….

Today we went on a coach trip to the wine town of Bernkastel-keyes for a trip on the Moselle followed by free time to explore.

On return to TRIER I took a final walk into town and took these photos. There is the famous Roman Porta Nigra. As you just make out the Irish are trying to climb it. The city’s road train and open top sightseeing bus. Also there is an appropriate street name.

Leaving hotel around 0930 CET due back St Pancras 1805BST.

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Learn To Love The Process

Posted on September 21, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

Yet another thought provoking post by Mike Cougill on the OST blog…

I have two thoughts in mind and I don’t know if I can connect them in a coherent narrative.

The first is simple, maybe even obvious: you can always find a way to improve.

The second is about unrealistic expectations.

I began painting the brickwork on the warehouse last week…. The test pieces went well…..

However, what if I had screwed everything up?

Well, it wouldn’t have been the end of the world….  That’s why we practice. The knowledge that I have plenty of room to improve the work motivates me to return to it time and again….

So much of what we do in this craft is driven by our desire for a particular outcome.

I need this size of layout in order to satisfy my ideals for operation.

I have to model this to be happy.

I have to make these compromises to move the project along.
We seldom if ever make these choices for their own sake. We make them because we’re married to an outcome that said choices are supposed to serve. And like as not, we’ll cling to that outcome even if doing so makes us miserable.

I question the mentality of a hobby that applauds filling out spreadsheets to schedule and guide the work, or employs business school productivity techniques and endless compromises just to produce a measurable result. I question why anyone would frame and pursue this craft in such a way that they feel guilty over a lack of visible progress. I question the value system that turned the hobby from an enjoyable pastime to a second or third full time job to produce a layout whose size and scope isn’t realistic in any sense.

You can turn model railroading into another yardstick to measure your life against (as if life doesn’t have enough empty metrics to beat ourselves up over). People who dream about the ecstasy they’ll experience when their fantasy layout is complete make their own choices and whether I agree with those choices or not is utterly irrelevant. They’re free to do their thing and I’m free to do mine. I do ask the question of why would we do this to ourselves?

And an interesting comment to the post…

Interesting conundrum. Without some idea of a desired outcome, we may never improve. And yet, it can be too constraining at the same time.

As the saying goes, “Be careful what you wish for”!

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Wisbech & Upwell doodles

Posted on September 19, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

Been doodling around with track plans for the Wisbech & Upwell tramway, home to GER tram engines and latterly O4 shunters with side skirts over the motion.

It all started with Iain Rice’s ‘Creating Cameo Layouts’ book, where I was looking at the little ‘Fen Drove’ layout, only 7.5′ long in 4mm scale.  Simple, but offering plenty of operation, and a possible 4′ cameo layout in ‘N’.

But I then went back to Hawkins & Reeve’s book, ‘The Wisbech and Upwell Tramway’ to look at some of the track layouts along the line.  Both Elm Bridge and Boyce’s Bridge Depots, intermediate stations on the line, would make good, if minimalistic, layouts.  There are few buildings and plenty of fen.  I see both depots as the focus of simple, 4′ diameter, circular layout.  The real line is straight on both sides of the curved depot, but a little modeller’s license would continue the bends into a fiddle yard form and continuous run. (All track layouts from Hawkins & Reeve.)

Further along the line we come to Outwell Basin Depot, the original terminus for the tramway.  A very simple layout, but it could make a good model, as the old channel of the River Nene runs parallel (below) the line.  The railway crosses the river just to the right of this diagram, on a bridge approached by a short 1 in 30 grade, that complicated prototype operations at times.

Then we come to the most interesting station on the line, Outwell Village Basin.  This has been modelled in a wonderful 4mm layout, that is described in detail on RMweb, and has appeared in the model press.  Not only is the track layout accurately modelled to scale, but the surrounding village has been correctly included.

Here is the depot in GER days.  The layout was simplified in later years, losing the loop within the sidings and the diamond crossing together with the end of the long coal siding, that served barges on the River Nene through a series of unloading chutes.

I then came across the design below in ‘The BRM Guide to Trackplans and Layout Design’, an ‘N’ gauge version of Outwell in later days.  It’s a larger 7′ x 2′ sized layout, but 6″ could be lost to fit it on an internal plywood faced door.  It would be an excellent ‘train in the landscape’ model, watching a short goods train amble along the riverbank.  The only snag is perhaps the 9″ curves needed at each end, but this wouldn’t be a problem for the sort of stock found on the Wisbech & Upwell.

I then took this plan and cut it down to a more manageable 4′ x about 1′.  Making rails and river disappear at each end would be scenically difficult, but there is a good, but not excessive, village area to model.

And finally I rotated the layout by 180 degrees, so that the River Nene is at the rear of the scene.  The backdrop would consist of the houses along the road.  This would make a very pleasant shunting layout with a fiddle yard to the left, with a possibility of a second fiddle yard through the backscene.

And will I build any of these – probably not, as I have plenty to occupy me already.

Posted in Inspiration, Jon's layout ramblings, Layout design, Prototype | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Ron flies east #2

Posted on September 17, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

More from our European rambler, who has reached Germany.  Day 2….

Rail trip to Cochem. Photos show inside and outside of station plus train at platform and Cochem’s road train

After time looking round town we were taken to a wine merchants for a wine tasting. We tasted five wines and then finished the bottles off.

Never mind the tasting – I always thought it a waste to spit good wine into a bucket.  Just pass me the bottle….

Day 3….

Rail trip to Koblenz so we could cruise down the Rhine to Boppard and then back by train. However we experienced German inefficiency as our boat was kaput upstream so we had to reverse our journey and we returned two hours later than expected. Photos show riverfronts at Koblenz and Boppard and a Rhine river barge.

Day 4….

Our free day so used my rail pass to do round trip to Cologne by train at half price. Few photos from station attached.

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Ron flies east

Posted on September 15, 2017 by snitchthebudgie

Ron’s off on his travels to Europe again….

Got on Eurostar at St Pancras only to be told that we were being held as there was a problem in the Chunnel. We finally got away 10 late. On arrival in Brussels we found our train to Luxembourg would be leaving 17 minutes early as it was being diverted due to flooding. We made first stop outside Brussels on time but then continued to lose time and eventually reached Luxembourg 30 minutes late. However we made our connection to Trier on time but then had to wait 5 minutes at first stop to cross a late running train. We eventually reached our hotel at 8.30pm and our evening meal was not served until 10pm, Weather started out fine but it has been raining heavily since 5pm.

Photos show Eurostars lined up at St Pancras and platform indicator and train at Luxembourg.

Regards, Ron

 

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