Sunday 10 October 2021

Saturday Ramble



Aldershot saw a couple of purchases. Aside from some static grass, a sheet of plasticard  and two tuna rolls, I bought a book. This is odd these days as being on the review team of RM I get plenty of new books to thumb through. This one had been advertised though hadn't come my way. The hand went into the pocket and out came the card.

It's standard Transport Treasury fare; a couple of shots per page with extended captions and all by Dr. Ian Allan.  Why is this unusual? Well back here I once again alluded to scale tarts, and book stands at exhibitions don't help. I've always had a casual interest in this area and while most books have one layout idea, this contains one on almost every page. The mix of smallish green diesels and grey wagons is such a draw and I do have enough bits in the cupboard to make a minor start should I choose to.

There have been conversations in the last couple of days tied to moving on with layout building. Unlike the many who fuelled the small radius point shortages during the lockdowns, I'm am fundamentally a builder of exhibition layouts and with no shows and no way of telling if there would be shows again, I did very little. Now that there is hope in the air, there are plans. And what do plans mean? Going round in circles working out what the best first move may be. The problems of the scale tart.

Before all of this is the Peco N gauge. This has been a cock-up from the word go. The first plan was dumped because of material shortages, then plan B back-burnered as the intended target point of Warley was cancelled. Now everything is back on stream and I could go with plan A, but plan B is already half built. So although it will work, I'm left with Frankenstein's monster, built with what I could get at the inception.  My direction here is to pile into it with (slightly forced) enthusiasm and get it done. 

Will someone please offer me a show for it so I at least have a build target...

7 comments:

  1. No help on the show front here I am afraid Chris. I do have the original Diesels in East Anglia book by Dr Allen. I have wondered about buying a copy of this too. It does sound interesting...
    Andrew Knights (Anon)

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  2. I thought I'd also got a book on diesels in East Anglia but it turns out it's John Vaughan's excellent book "Diesels on the Eastern"which covers the whole region...some nice EA photos within though. I guess my interest in the area may also be described as casual, there were certainly some interesting early diesels up there plus of course the railbuses.
    N gauge...I must get on and build some more wagons for Fidley...I have the kits but keep getting distracted by other things, the Triang "Second Childhood" project being the latest.
    Part of me would like to build a layout with a decent length of run, nice and rural...the ride in the K&ESR DMU yesterday makes me want to model things like a decent run of telegraph poles and occupation crossings so realistically it'll need to be in N unless the workshop I get when we move turns out to be a barn!

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    1. Another budding Oscar Paisley Simon? I am following a similar side trajectory. "Models that I had"... annoying having to pay more to return articles to the collection than they cost originallay! Good luck
      Andrew K (Anon)

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    2. Thanks for the recommendation of John Vaughan's book, I've just picked up an ex library copy for £5. Worth it for the shot of a 31 hauling quad-art sets and the Hastings unit at Spalding

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  3. I am trying to keep it small and simple, Andrew...it started with a mint, boxed black Dock Authority Shunter like the first loco I ever chose for myself and of course I HAD to get a few suitable wagons to go with it! Most of what I've bought so far are vehicles I actually owned back then although a few others have crept in on the grounds that 10 year old me would have bought them if he'd had the pocket money! Not sure about a layout, I'm just playing about with Peco Setrack for the moment although an Inglenook will fit on a small Layout In a Box baseboard with centre extension fitted.
    Many thanks,
    Kind regards,
    Simon.

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    1. I have built a small 6x2 ish folding layout using Super Four track and those wonderful "Woolworth's" switches. As it folds Tri Ang levers would stand tooproud, and I only ever had one of those, but many trips to Woolies over the road from our flat. Dad converted one to two way for a signal he built...
      Andrew K (Anon memories)
      PS Dock Authority was a birthday present from Mum on my ninth birthday. It ran and lasted for near thirty years of intensive and none too careful use. Ended up under a railcar inspired by US Interurbans. Yes I have one or two in my "collection"

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  4. That book. Just move Wandleford to allow an application of distressed loo paper and varnish. Beneath the layout was a copy of That book. Well worth the money. Could be the start of another layout too. Just what I need!
    Andrew Knights (Anon)

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