My Layout

[BR125]

Hi Zanziba,I had the same problem,It seemed that i'd spaced them too far apart and so after some adjustments I didn't have any more problems.

Hi M.Levin,yes I had considered using that style of 0-6-0 but I'm trying to find one that looks like Orient below.....


Thanks for the help though!

Hello Daz,
Excellent progress with the Lay-out. Perhaps you could suggest to the Council they build you a shed, say 20' x 16' Are you looking forward to moving house? Your idea of a Mining/Pit area sounds really good. Looking forward to more on this Lay-out. Take Care,
Kind Regards,
Michael Thornberry.

Hi Michael,I would love to suggest it to the council but I know where they would tell me to shove it! I'm really looking forward to the move as the houses are falling to bits,they were built as temp housing in the 40's and not well built either,the area has got worse with anti social behaviour ect.
I have been doing some research on birley pits in the shirebrook area (Shirebrook Nature Reserve) and i'm now obsessed with it ,can't wait to start it,may have to be n guage to fit everything into my ambitious plans!

Best Regards
Daz

[Black-Marlin]

Hi Daz

The closest RTR 0-6-0 of that design I can think of is this one:



It's a Hornby J52. They've been around for years so you should be able to pick one up relatively cheaply on Ebay etc. Does that help?

Cheers,
Gavin

[Zunnan]

J52 with a J94 cab and bunker and some Oleo buffers would do the trick and give you a fair representation, you could probably use the Dapol kit for the J94 parts too to keep costs down. Even if it's not perfect, it'll look somewhat different to everyone elses 'industrials'

[Zanziba]

Hi Zanziba,I had the same problem,It seemed that i'd spaced them too far apart and so after some adjustments I didn't have any more problems.

If I space them closer the gradient would be unrealistic I fear (It already is probably 10x what would be seen even on the Snowdon line 1.3 meters or so to raise about 10cm. Yours looks good though.

[BR125]

Hi Daz

The closest RTR 0-6-0 of that design I can think of is this one:



It's a Hornby J52. They've been around for years so you should be able to pick one up relatively cheaply on Ebay etc. Does that help?

Cheers,
Gavin

Hi Gavin,

That looks pretty good,i'll have to have a look on flea bay and see if I can pick one up.
Many thanks for the help!

Cheers
Daz

If I space them closer the gradient would be unrealistic I fear (It already is probably 10x what would be seen even on the Snowdon line 1.3 meters or so to raise about 10cm. Yours looks good though.

Thanks Zanziba,I would think that you should be able to leave your spacing as it is,the ballasting should stiffen everything up and then you shouldn't get much of a dip.......hopefully! You could ask Gavin (Black-Marlin) as he has made a raised siding and ballasted it and so should have a better idea about it.

[Zanziba]

Yes, I just used long flexi line between them (as they clip into the raisers so must be meant to be used like this) but it is far to weak and bendy. I think it might come to taking them down and putting board all the way up.

[Black-Marlin]

Hi Darren. Here is, as promised, Aston's story.

Regards,
Gavin

Thomas and Aston’s Big Adventure

It was a lovely, sunny day and Thomas the Tank Engine was on his summer holidays. Thomas, Annie and Clarabel were on a boat, on their way to the island of Starlingford from their home on Sodor. Thomas was very excited – he was sure he would make new friends! He was also sure, because his driver had promised him, that he would go to Starlingford Castle, where they made the best ice cream in the world. It was to be a special holiday treat, his driver warned him, but Thomas didn’t care – he loved ice cream!



Soon Thomas, Annie and Clarabel arrived at Starlingford. They were lifted by a big crane up off the boat and onto the quayside. “Peep peep! Goodbye!” Thomas whistled. “BYE BYEEE” boomed the ship’s foghorn. Thomas set off down the quayside to find the main line. He passed beneath the castle – “Just think of the ice cream!” he sighed – and under the bridges, and soon he found a branch line that would take him up to the main station.


The big station on Starlingford was called Perdido Street, and Thomas had to wait there while other, bigger engines rushed past with important expresses. “Toot toot! Coming through!” said the Flying Scotsman. Thomas was glad he wasn’t a big engine – it looked like far too much work. He was small, and on his holidays, and he liked that just the way it was.



Standing on the platform was a family. “Hello,” said Thomas, “I’m Thomas! Are you here on your holidays too?”
Mummy and Daddy looked at each other and smiled, because Aston stepped forward and answered. “Yes Mr Thomas,” he said, because Aston was a very polite little boy, “Me and Mummy and Daddy and Alicia and Cole are all here on our holidays, and we’re going to go to the castle for some ice cream!”
“So am I!” said Thomas, “and you can just call me ‘Thomas’. Would you and Mummy and Daddy and Alicia and Cole like to come with me? There’s plenty of room on board.”
Aston checked with his Mummy and Daddy – because he was sensible, and he knew to ask them before climbing aboard a strange steam engine – and they were about to get into Annie when they all heard an engine whistling behind Thomas.



“Toot toot! Let me past! I’m late!” It was Tina the Slim Engine, and she had a train full of grumpy people who weren’t on holiday waiting to get out at Perdido Street Station.



“Oops!” said Thomas. “Sorry!” The nice family stepped back to let Thomas clear the station, but then Thomas did a very silly thing. He heard the points change behind him but he didn’t look to see if they were the right points. The signalman had made a mistake and changed the wrong set, and Thomas was in too much of a hurry to see for himself. He went racing backwards out of the station and, instead of going into the Yard, he went rocketing up the coal drop.



“Stop! Stop!” called the driver, and put on Thomas’s brakes, but they were going too fast. “Look out!” cried the guard. “We’re going to hit the buffers!” Thomas slithered backwards, and Clarabel went head first into the buffers at the end of the siding. CRASH! went the buffers. “OUCH!” went Clarabel. She broke right through the buffers and bounced down the hill. Annie hit the end of the line too, jumped off the rails and rode up on top of Clarabel. Thomas managed to stop before he went off the rails, but it was a close thing.



“Oh no!” said Thomas, as the dust settled. “Are you two all right?”
“Oh my bruised axleboxes!” said Annie.
“Oh my poor nose!” said Clarabel. Her voice was muffled by the weeds. “There are grasshoppers jumping up it!”
Thomas was very sorry to have hurt Annie and Clarabel, but very relieved that they were mostly all right. “What are we going to do now?
“You need a crane,” said Tina, who had seen everything. As Thomas rolled slowly down the hill she looked to the other engine on the far side of the station. “Arthur, do you know where the crane is?”



“Crane?” rumbled Arthur. “Hmm. No, no crane here. I’ve got a brand-new combine harvester – I’ll give you the key.”
Thomas felt very sad. “That’s kind of you, sir,” he said, “but I really need the crane.”
Arthur looked at Thomas’s sad face. “Don’t you worry, young ’un,” he said kindly. “I’ve remembered. Jones the Welsh Engine has the crane. He’s who you need to find. Why don’t you try looking the Yard?”
“Will you come with me? I don’t want to go by myself,” said Thomas.
“I’m sorry, Thomas, but I’m on a special boat train this afternoon. I can’t help.”



Thomas looked very glum indeed. “Excuse me Thomas,” said Aston, “but I can come with you and help you look.”
Thomas cheered up and hurried into the station. Aston jumped on board, and they set off into the Yard. “Don’t worry girls!” Thomas whistled as he went past Annie and Clarabel. “Aston and I will find the crane and get you back on your wheels again!”



The first thing Thomas had to do was to get turned around so he could search the Yard properly. He rolled backwards onto the turntable and was about to turn to face the Yard when Aston pointed in the other direction. “Look, Thomas! Behind the hill,” Aston said. Thomas peered round the hill as the turntable swung him to face where Aston was pointing. Thomas saw the engine sheds that Aston had seen and realised what his new friend meant. “Other engines!” Thomas said. “Maybe Jones is there!”



Thomas wasted no time and hurried over to the biggest engine he could see, a blue one that reminded him a little of Gordon at home. “Excuse me,” he said. “But are you the engine they call ‘Jones’?”



Thomas blushed as the engines around him started laughing. “Am I Jones?” the big blue engine spluttered. “I am the Lady Patricia!” she said haughtily. “I am a passenger locomotive. A Princess! And you are a very cheeky little engine!”
“I’m very sorry Ma’am,” said Thomas meekly. “But I need to find Jones and his crane. My friends have had an accident.”
“Oh! Well, that’s different,” said Lady Patricia. Thomas realised she wasn’t nearly as scary as he had thought at first. “You might like to try the Yard on the other side of the turntable. I hope you find him,” she added.
“Thank you ma’am,” Thomas said. He scurried back to the turntable, swung around and rolled into the Yard.



Thomas hadn’t gone very far when he found two engines shunting wagons. One of them had a smooth sloped back, and the other was the smallest engine he had ever seen – he couldn’t be Jones! “Excuse me!” he said. “I’m Thomas the Tank Engine, and this is my friend Aston. We’re looking for Jones and the crane. Have you seen him?”
“Hello Thomas,” said the curvy one. “I’m Sally the Saddle Tank – ”
“ – And I’m Piglet the Pug,” the tiny one interrupted.
“ – and, yes, this is Piglet. I’m afraid we haven’t seen Jones this morning. Maybe he’s at the far end of the Yard, over by the factories?”
“Thank you both,” said Thomas. “I’ll try there next.” Thomas puffed past them and on to the last section of the Yard.



“Look, Aston!” said Thomas excitedly. “An engine with a crane!”
“I don’t know,” said Aston, doubtfully, “it’s an awfully small crane...”
“Are you Jones?” asked Thomas when they reached the engine.
“Ah! You must be Thomas!” said the other engine. “My driver got a telephone call about your mishap. No, I’m afraid I’m Jeffrey, not Jones. But I did see Jones not all that long ago. Better try that way!” he said, looking back the way they had come. “He’s not in the Yard anymore.”
“Phew!” whistled Thomas as they rattled back through the Yard. “This is hard work!”
“I think we’ll have earned our ice cream by the time this is over!” said Aston.



“No luck?” asked Sally as Thomas went past.
“No luck! Must keep going!” puffed Thomas.
“WAIT!” barked one of the tanks on Sally’s train. Thomas stopped obediently. “You’re Thomas, searching for Jones?”
“Yes sir,” said Thomas.
“Tecumseh the Tank, at your service,” said the tank. “I heard Jones was going to my base this afternoon, with his crane, to lift a gun for one of the forts on the cliff. You will find him there.”
“Oh thank you!” said Thomas. “But how do I get to the camp?”
“Go straight through the station, and turn left in the tunnel. But – ” the tank whispered “ – don’t tell anyone I told you. Military secret. Mum’s the word, eh, Thomas? Loose lips, and all that?”
Neither Thomas nor Aston had any idea what Tecumseh was talking about, but they both nodded. “We won’t tell anyone. Thank you! Pip pip!” Thomas whistled.



“Have you seen Jones?” whistled Thomas as he ran through the station.
“Sorry Thomas,” answered George the Royal Engine, “Jones went through here just a few minutes ago.”
“Where was he going?” asked Aston.
“To the base,” George answered. “But he was going very slowly. Listen, there’s a loop in the line up to the base. If you go left when you get into the tunnel, you might come out ahead of him.”
“Thank you!” said Thomas and Aston together. They hurried through the tunnel and panted up the steep hill before eventually coming to the camp. “Phew,” wheezed Thomas as he eased into a short siding. “What a climb!”



Thomas looked around. “Jones isn’t here!”
“Be patient, Thomas,” said Aston. “We must have overtaken him on the loop in the tunnel. I’m sure he’ll be here shortly.”
Sure enough, a few minutes later a very big engine pulling a crane appeared.



“Hello,” said Thomas. “Are you Jones?”
“Hello Thomas,” said the big engine. “Yes, I’m Jones. And what can I be helping you with, boyo?”
“My carriages had an accident and ran off the end of the coal drop. Can you bring your crane and help them back up?”
“Of course, Thomas. We’ll go right now.”



Thomas and Jones put the crane next to Annie and Clarabel. “There’s lovely, now, boyo,” said Jones. The crane swung up and around and some of the workmen tied thick ropes around Annie for the crane to hook onto. “You get on up that hill there, and when Annie’s wheels land on the rails you pull her clear,” Jones instructed Thomas. Thomas scurried up the hill and, when Annie’s wheels touched the rails, he started to pull her back.



“Stop! Stop!” whistled Jones in alarm. “You can’t do that, Thomas! You’ll pull the crane over! Annie has to be let down again, and you have to pull her up the bank.”
Annie was lowered onto the bank, and Thomas tried to pull her up, but his wheels slipped and spun. “I’m not strong enough!” Thomas said. “Jones, can you come and help me?”
“I can’t climb that hill, boyo,” said Jones. “I’ve got too many wheels! I was built for the beautiful valleys of Wales, not the hills.”
Thomas felt very sad when he heard that. How was he going to get Annie back up on the rails now?
“Look!” said Aston, pointing. Coming out of the Yard, and out of the engine sheds, were all the tank engines Thomas had seen all day.



“Peep peep, Thomas!” said Piglet the Pug. “We think, if we all help, we can pull Annie and Clarabel back up!”
So all the tank engines steamed up the hill behind Thomas and, with all of them coupled together, sure enough they pulled Annie back onto the siding. “Oh thank goodness,” sighed Annie. “And thank you too, everyone!”



Then it was Clarabel’s turn. Again the crane lifted her up, to make sure her wheels were straight, and again all the tank engines working together pulled her back onto the siding. “Thank you for rescuing me, everyone!” she said as they all rolled back into the station.
“Well done, Thomas!” said Jones, and whistled in approval. Everybody else joined in. “Well done, Thomas!”



“Well!” said Thomas’s driver. “What an adventure! But I think I know what we all need now...”
“What’s that?” asked Thomas, as Aston’s family finally climbed aboard Annie.
“I know!” said Aston. “Ice cream!”
So Thomas and Annie and Clarabel, and Aston, Mummy, Daddy, Alicia and Cole, went to the castle, and discovered all the stories were true: it was the best ice cream in the world!

[ceejaydee]

Outstanding, simply outstanding

I hope that young Aston enjoys it, how lucky to have an adventure with Thomas

These two pics brought a lump to my throat and almost a tear to my eye

............How was he going to get Annie back up on the rails now?
“Look!” said Aston, pointing. Coming out of the Yard, and out of the engine sheds, were all the tank engines Thomas had seen all day.



“Peep peep, Thomas!” said Piglet the Pug. “We think, if we all help, we can pull Annie and Clarabel back up!”
So all the tank engines steamed up the hill behind Thomas and, with all of them coupled together, sure enough they pulled Annie back onto the siding. “Oh thank goodness,” sighed Annie. “And thank you too, everyone!”

[Michael Thornberry]

Hello Chris,
........ and 3 days later the Insurance Company sent Thomas the Recovery Bill and they all lived unhappy and bankrupt for ever and ever . Sorry, Chris, but at least my story-line was realistic and in-keeping with current circumstances ,
Kind Regards,
Michael Thornberry.

[ceejaydee]

Hello Chris,
........ and 3 days later the Insurance Company sent Thomas the Recovery Bill and they all lived unhappy and bankrupt for ever and ever . Sorry, Chris, but at least my story-line was realistic and in-keeping with current circumstances ,
Kind Regards,
Michael Thornberry.

Michael - NOOOooooooo; I do reality every day along with it's rules, regulations and pompous people telling me what I can and can't do.
Remember the hopes and dreams of youth, the impression that some things would last forever, a optimistic reality where everyone can work together and live happily in harmony.
Reality can suck and we all need a little place where we can retreat and be safe - I don't want to hear that Thomas was sent to the breakers yard and cut for scrap to offset some of the recovery bill costs.


...Time for some positive affirmations and a little gentle Sodorian chanting......."Thomas, Percy, Duck, James, Edward, Henry, Gor-or-don"

[PeterH]

I most amusing story! Also allows a good view of your layout!

[BR125]

Thanks Gavin,
The pics are excellent. We managed to get Aston to sit for a little while He loved the photo's, especially Thomas on the boat. "Thomas, Boat, wow"
"oh look, Thomas train" beamed Aston at every picture.
We managed to get as far as Annie and Clarabell falling....
"oh no, cwashed" said Aston, "nenner mind" he said patting mummy's back then squirming off of mummy's knee and running around like a mad moo.


It's a lovely story and the pictures are fab.
Thank you again for doing this
Daz, Claz & Az

[ChrisWV10]

Excellent! That's really put a smile on my face

And I love the pic of all the tanks lined up behind Thomas. Put me in mind of the kind of thing you'd see on Are You Being Served? with everyone lined up behind Mrs Slocombe with their hands on the waist of the person in front trying to pull her out of the broom cupboard ... or something like that anyway.

[Pedanticmongrel]

clearly someone has been on youtube watching Gary the Steam Engine, and if you haven't i think you should!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdTo8JOm ... playnext=1

[Road Stone]

That 37 brings back memories. Does it have the silver seal ringfield motor in it?

Keep up the progress and pics.

Cheers, Jerry