All Change

I got this for a quid in the local charity shop the other day. It's packed full of interesting photographs of small branch lines, industrial railways, docks, quarries and other locations, with examples from all over the country. There's even a section on the Gunnislake branch, with a couple of photos that I hadn't seen before. 

John Ahern's Brilliant Books

I dug out my old original copies of John Ahern's model railway construction books, which I inherited from my granddad, in search of some inspiration for lineside industries for my shunting layout. If you are familiar with these books you will know how inspirational they are, not to mention really useful as a source of scratch building plans and layout features. A possible idea is to model a small rural dairy or creamery, which would definitely fit a GWR branch line setting somewhere in Devon or Cornwall, for example, while another option would be a lime works, corn merchants, sawmill or similar small scale light industrial facility. Some of these are all included in the books and so I have plenty of scope for some scratch building of my own, with plans and notes to give me a good starting point.

Minimal Space Layout Ideas

I have been reading through lots of model railway books and magazines recently, especially the Model Rail magazines and special editions on compact layouts and building minimal space layouts, which are packed full of useful ideas and advice. I particularly rate the articles and books written by Chris Nevard, Chris Ford and David Wright, all of which are full of inspirational photos, information and ideas. It's given me a bit of a 'boot up the proverbial' to actually start putting my own shunting layout (or two) back on track.

GWR Modelling

I found a second hand hardback copy of Modellers' Guide to the GWR in the local Oxfam bookshop yesterday. It is a gold mine of useful information, a lot of which I was familiar with but much of which I didn't know. The section on locomotives and rolling stock is particularly interesting, giving a detailed overview of liveries and coding over time. So, for less than a fiver I have another very useful resource for my OO gauge GWR projects!

Weathering for Railway Modellers

I added this to my digital library yesterday and have been skimming through it today for weathering ideas. It is a very well illustrated and comprehensive guide to a wide variety of weathering techniques, both for rolling stock and locomotives. 

I'm itching to have a go now, using some of the washing and drybrushing methods that I've used for military modelling, with the specific approaches suggested in this excellent book. I was particularly impressed by the weathering of N gauge wagons, which was very effective even in such a small scale.

A bit pricey but definitely worth every penny.

N Gauge Inspiration

I have been reading 'Making a Start in N Gauge' by Richard Bardsley and it has really started me thinking about a layout in a smaller scale. I inherited a load of N gauge track, rolling stock and locomotives from my grandfather about twenty years ago, which have since been sitting in a box in the loft gathering dust. The locomotives are all old Minitrix models but they are in as new condition, having rarely been used, including a 9F, a Britannia, a Deltic and an Ivatt 2MT. They are a bit dated and crude by modern standards but still nice models in their own right. I particularly like the 2MT, which I've been thinking could be the motive power behind a simple compact layout in N gauge.

I have plenty of Peco N gauge track and points, the majority of the latter being Setrack but with some Streamline medium radius points too, so I could easily create a simple scenic countryside branch line or an industrial shunting yard using the Ivatt 2-6-2 as the main locomotive. I also have several of the old Peco wagon and van kits that I collected ages ago, so could assemble them as the rolling stock, together with a handful of ready to run Graham Farish wagons that I inherited. I also have some scenic bits and bobs including tunnel portals, bridges and card building kits. In fact, apart from a controller, I have everything I could need to build a shelf style 'Inglenook' layout straight away.

It would be an excellent way to refresh my layout building skills and would cost virtually nothing in money or time. I could use one of the plans that I've developed for my OO gauge layouts or perhaps design something specifically around the track components that I have. I was thinking of a quarry or branch line theme but, to keep things simple, I may well just go for a generic industrial scene. There are some excellent low and full relief industrial buildings to download from Scalescenes as well, so I can practice my card modelling skills too.

It's just an idea at the moment but I think it might be a lot of fun!

Starting All Over Again

I woke up the other day and decided that, as I'm fifty next year, it was about time that I started railway modelling again after a long time away from the hobby. As is often the case, I abandoned model railways some time around about the age of thirteen, when I discovered that teenagers did other things that were far less geeky and a bit more exciting.

However, having now finally grown too old to be bothered with such things, I am now determined to build the layouts that I originally thought about way back in the early 80's. To help me get up to date with all the latest innovations in railway modelling, I've been scouring the newsagents, bookshops and the internet for reading material and have already turned up a couple of really useful titles.

I have also been sketching out some ideas for compact layouts in both N and OO gauge, based partly on the Inglenook shunting concept and partly on industrial layout designs. In the longer term I also hope to build a layout based on a prototypical rural branch line station in East Cornwall, where I grew up. This is one of the layouts that I've always wanted to make a reality.

I have some N gauge track and rolling stock which I inherited from my grandfather a few years ago and I have been acquiring some new or second hand 00 gauge locos, wagons and track as well. I grabbed a bargain at Hobbycraft last weekend, with several packs of Hornby 00 track all at half price, so I already have enough to realise my first, basic model railway project.

I'll be posting more about my plans as soon as I've sketched them out in greater detail.