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Mons Meg
After a month in the paint shops we now have an ex-works engine, called “Mons Meg”. This engine was named after the medieval cannon resident in Edinburgh Castle and the engine, when new, visited King’s Cross a few times – it should look at home on Copenhagen Fields. There are a few …read more.
Apr 23, 2018Orchard Wharf project is now directly contactable!
We now have a layout email address: orchardwharf@themrc.org.uk. So one less excuse not to get in touch.
Mar 29, 2018Orchard Wharf debut as track building starts
Following a presentation to club members at the beginning of the month, our new EM Gauge project Orchard Wharf (set in London’s docklands c. 1960) was shown off to the public for the first time at last weekend’s London Festival of Railway Modelling. The layout formed just one part of The MRC’s extensive demonstration stand. …read more.
Mar 26, 2018Empire Mills attending Trainwest, 14/15 April 2018
We had a great trip to Doncaster back in February — thank you to those who stopped by to see the layout and chat. The layout ran flawlessly (well, a cable did come loose on Sunday morning but that was it). I am grateful to the rest of the operating team, Hugh and Tom, for …read more.
Mar 16, 2018
Orchard Wharf
Above: smartphone cameras can be cruel! Old and new traction alike will need more attention before it can grace the layout. EM gauge operations intensify Orchard Wharf is our new EM gauge project. We’ve taken a very different tack to that of Empire Mills, the layout’s predecessor. What we wanted this time was something the …read more.
Feb 17, 2018
Empire Mills at upcoming Festival of British Railway Modelling
This weekend, 10 & 11 February, we’re attending the Festival of British Railway Modelling at Doncaster race course. We’re in the company of some pretty impressive layouts, not least in EM gauge. Look forward to seeing you there!
Feb 6, 2018
MRC Test Tracks at Warley 50
It’s been a busy first day at Warley for the MRC Test Tracks. A constant stream of locomotives kept the test team busy, with new owners were being reassured to see their purchases successfully running round the tracks. A handful of non-runners were identified, these were returned to suppliers for replacement or refunded.
Nov 25, 2017
Minories November 2017
We’ve had a busy few weeks, leading up to two exhibitions over consecutive weekends in November- Tolworth then Wakefield. It would be fair to say we weren’t quite ready for Tolworth Showtrain – so apologies to the Hampton Court MRS and those who came on the Saturday morning. However with perseverance we fixed the key …read more.
Nov 25, 2017
Copenhagen Fields – November 2017
Space is always tight in our lower layouts hall, but we’ve got a few weeks available to have the whole layout up, which gives us the chance to carry out some of the more major projects on track and wiring. We have had an incredibly productive day today with both new fast line loops completed …read more.
Nov 24, 2017Empire Mills September and October 2017
Little jobs can be very time consuming. Firstly the uncoupling magnets are now powered by a relay, which hopefully means we won’t burn out the switches on the controllers any more. Secondly the uncouplers which were incorrectly identified have now been fixed, so reducing a pernicious source of operator confusion. And finally a mystery short …read more.
Nov 13, 2017
Ingatestone Autumn Update: There is some good modelling happening
After a long summer with all the boards of Ingatestone up in the MRC workshop, a lot of progress has been made on both track and scenic elements. The scenic crew has been hard at work on the platforms, and after their recent trip through the paint shop when they are added to the layout …read more.
Oct 23, 2017
Scenery Update
As it has been some time since the last update, I thought I would post some images of the layout. This is more a pictorial update on the progress so far than a detailed account of what has been happening. This will be covered in future posts. To summarise, all the bare patches on the …read more.
Oct 9, 2017