Sunday 14th April 2013

Building began for the extension boards and a great deal of progress was made.

The new "trestle" board to go behind the loco sheds was constructed and fitted and a fine board it looks too.

 A mock-up of the front trestle gives an idea of how it will look.

The boxes represent some of the buildings to be added later (nice touch with the trees!)

The legs follow our normal practice of braced timber.....

...which fold away under the boards.  Attached legs mean one less thing to forget!

And finally - a rare photo of Andy and Henry working!
(Not, we hasten to add, that Andy doesn't work.  Its just that he normally manages to avoid having his photo taken doing it.  Apparently it something to do with ruining his street cred?)

Sunday 24th February 2013

Today we discussed ideas to double the length of the layout, by replacing the current turntables with a full-length fiddle-yard at the back.

  Allen drew up plans for the new track-layout and we discussed the topics of dimensions and construction methods.

  Allen also produced his latest creations; a snowplough and flanger vehicle, together with a caboose.

The snowplough has a connecting bar which fits to the flanger when not on "active service".

The flanger and caboose.

Of course, being built by Allen the flanger's blade moves!

Sunday 13th January 2013

The layout is currently on its Christmas holiday at Halesowen.

We did some pre-Mickleover testing and basic maintenance today, including changing a point motor servo.  Dave undertook some driver training and has almost mastered the 'Kadee shuffle'.  Allen's latest acquisition also got a thorough test run.

The layout lights were installed and wired up.  Then we ran some trains so we could take some pictures to see how it looks!

Here are some more images of the layout.
They include some rather un-prototypical photos of the Forney - note that not in one single image is it lying in the ditch!

Sunday 9th December 2012

Well, another year almost over and how are we doing?

At today's meeting we concentrated on the framework for the lighting rig.

The full set of supports were fitted and a front beam prepared.

The layout is off for its Christmas holiday in Halesowen now, in preparation for the Mickleover exhibition in February.

Have a great Christmas!

Sunday 4th November 2012

Well, it  has been a very long time since last we posted any news about the layout.  With the summer holidays various other activities we have had few meetings recently.

Next Tuesday will be Allen's birthday and he arrived with a fantastic birthday cake.

It tasted even better than it looked.  Many thanks Mrs Law.

This week we got down and dirty!  It was time to cover the polystyrene scenics and we began with strips of newspaper stuck down with PVA glue.  Once this was set we painted it in a glutinous mixture of dilute PVA, filler powder and brown paint.  The resulting mixture was applied liberally by Allen and Dave, and has smoothed out the contours.


Now all we have to do is wait for a couple of days for the mixture to set.  Hopefully the colour will improve as it dries.

Sunday 22nd July 2012

Another Sunday meeting has come and gone but this time we do have some clear evidence of the work done. 

Allen installed the final "lifting" magnet for the un-couplers and has got them all working.  Next time we must try a proper running session to really test them out.

The rest of us turned our hands to the scenic items.  Hunks of polystyrene were hacked about and then glued down; it looked like a snow-storm at some times, but the end result was worth it.

The landscape is starting to take shape.

Sunday 1st July 2012

One problem with meeting just once a month is that progress can often seem slow on the layout.  For about a year we don't seem to have made much obvious advance in the look of the layout, although we have been busy with improvements to the running and uncoupling on the layout.

Well, this month's meeting changed that.  Since first made, the boards have been just flat slabs, so we decided the time had come to add some scenic elevation.

Front boards have been cut and fitted to give an idea of the undulations at the front edge.  In future meetings we will "back-fill" behind these to give some contours to the layout.  It is amazing what a change these boards have already made to the look of the boards.

One unexpected problem they have caused is the increased difficulty in putting bogie vehicles onto the rails now that you can't get your eyes down to rail level, but this can be solved by using a railer.

In addition, we have added some crossing points to the layout near the station area.  This has given a route for our proposed road across the board - with a suitable cut-out in the front board to match (just visible in the picture).  Again the crossings have been made with wooden coffee stirrers; what would we do without them!