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Sarum Road – Part 2

Jumping the gun a bit – here are the completed baseboards and legs. The legs are ballasted with camping water bottles! The white structures on top are dummies for the viaducts, etc to be built. Tools The tools used (so far) have been: Tape measure Carpenter’s marking gauge Bradawl Modeller’s knife Straight edges 3′ and …read more.

May 21, 2020

Corridor Connections – improve the appearance of coaches

Hornby and other manufacturer put in a great deal of effort to ensure that an appropriate model is as accurate as possible within the tooling process, and produced at a price that we can afford. But there are extra touches that make a real difference – including closing up the corridor connections so there is …read more.

May 16, 2020

Sarum Road – Story of a OO gauge layout – Part 1

“Sarum Road” is a model of part of a locomotive depot set in the year 1956 in South London. The yard is small but busy, with a selection of Southern and BR types, as well as occasional LMS and NE locos that have crossed the Thames on transfer services. On the viaduct is a shuttle …read more.

May 14, 2020

Fitting Kadee auto couplings to some CRT O gauge coaches

Some members may remember me bringing along my O gauge Bulleid Light Pacific (34019 ‘Bideford’) into the Club some months ago and running it on the test tracks. She is the pride of my fleet, being built from a Martin Finney kit by notable loco builder John Edwards and painted by Ian Rathbone a few …read more.

May 10, 2020

The Etymology of Copenhagen Fields – Part 1

This article was first published in Bulletin 423 – available to download in the members’ section of the website. The observant amongst you will have noticed that there are many shops, factories and vehicles on Copenhagen Fields, some of which carry names. Quite a few of you will realise that many of these names have …read more.

May 9, 2020

Renumbering a Hornby Bulleid Light Pacific – from Bude to Yeovil

On the 75th anniversary of the first Bulleid Light Pacific rolling out of Brighton, here’s an article from our Bulletin archive about renumbering and detailing the Hornby model. Some time ago fellow MRC member Ian Lamb and I discussed the possibility of converting the then new Hornby Bulleid Light Pacific into one that replicated how …read more.

May 8, 2020

Exchange Sidings – A start in EM gauge

In Bulletin 416, I outlined the plans for a small shunting EM gauge layout that we would try to build in a weekend. So did we do it? The 21 and 22 February 2004 were the days chosen for the project. Despite a number of offers of assistance, I was slightly concerned on whether the …read more.

May 8, 2020

A Tale of Two Signal Boxes in 2mm Scale for Copenhagen Fields

The Model Railway Club’s 2FS “Copenhagen Fields” layout requires no less than six signal boxes. Some years ago I made one of them, “Belle Isle Up” [ “BIU” ], and I was asked to then build its opposite number “Belle Isle Down” [ “BID” ]. Well, what with one thing and another proper 2mm modelling …read more.

May 7, 2020

Two model shops for my layout

I am in the middle of constructing a small shunting yard, based on the outskirts of Brighton during in the late 1950s to early 1960s period. Because the whole scenic area is just 8ft x 2ft most buildings on the layout have to be of the low-relief type. At the far end of the layout …read more.

May 4, 2020

Signalling Orchard Wharf – Updated

Here’s work in progress on a signal controlling the ramp track between the upper and lower levels of our new EM gauge layout “Orchard Wharf”. It’s my first attempt at a signal in brass. This signal is a MSE kit with a 20ft height. I have gone away from prototypical a couple of times for …read more.

May 1, 2020

A ‘London’ Class 26 in O gauge

“Err, Dave, would you mind weathering a couple of diesels for me?” My mate Andy Ward from the Luton MRC was clutching two large blue boxes containing a Heljan Class 31 and in the other a Class 26. Being a Southern BR modeller it wasn’t that long ago I’d weathered my own Heljan Class 33, …read more.

May 1, 2020

A Garden Layout

Well it’s not exactly modelling but more a bit of fun for my son and me. A few years back I started on this little project and it didn’t get past the baseboard stage. As we can’t go out and the weather been great I thought why not get on with it. The original remit was …read more.

Apr 29, 2020

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