The story of PETERSDALE my OO gauge Branch Line layout

[joshv8]

Ahhh Mice. Those damn things get in anywhere. The bait blocks are usually your best bet, however they seem to go for them more in places a bit more tucked away. I hope you get the blighters!
Cheers,
Josh

[RailwayRobbo]

Ahhh Mice. Those damn things get in anywhere. The bait blocks are usually your best bet, however they seem to go for them more in places a bit more tucked away. I hope you get the blighters!
Cheers,
Josh

I've got some on floor under the layout in strategic places.
I'm going to check them out later.

Pete

[Ex-Pat]

Killing those that are already there is the lesser problem.

The more important problem is finding out how they got in in the first place, and "curing" it.

Was it simply an open door, or is there a crack(s) somewhere? If a crack(s) then stuff it /them with wire wool.

Mice can get through unbelievably small cracks - I've seen one disappear like lightning under a doorframe that had a gap no bigger than 12mm.

As to the lesser problem I have found glue pads (actually illegal in Ireland) to be very effective. Normal bait can work, but not as well as that used by professionals and for which a licence is necessary.

As to the tree damage done - you could always leave it and create a lumberjack scenario?

Hope you get it sorted.

[inoffapost]

Well, it snowed today so after shifting a load of it and clearing the paths outside the house, as required by law here, I settled down to browsing through the forum and found this thread. Now, I'm not saying I've read every post over the 27 pages but I've certainly read a lot of them and have very much enjoyed seeing the progression of the layout in the photos and reports you have uploaded.
I'm full of admiration for the incredible skill, attention to detail, time and money you have invested in this project and the staggering results in realism and presentation you have achieved. I'm probably not alone in wishing I lived in Petersdale!

I started my own layout in May last year after a 52 year gap. So, I knew nothing about model railways, but a bit more now! I like to think I have made every rookie mistake there is to make, but at least have learned from them so as not to make them again, which is good, because there are so many new ones to make!

My own efforts will be extremely humble in comparison to Petersdale (there is no comparison!) but what you have achieved with it to date is inspirational in terms of what this hobby has to offer anyone who has the vision and dedication to bring their imagination to life.

I hope it doesn't sound too trite to say it, but BLOODY WELL DONE and thank you for a wonderful (ongoing) story.

[RailwayRobbo]

Well, it snowed today so after shifting a load of it and clearing the paths outside the house, as required by law here, I settled down to browsing through the forum and found this thread. Now, I'm not saying I've read every post over the 27 pages but I've certainly read a lot of them and have very much enjoyed seeing the progression of the layout in the photos and reports you have uploaded.
I'm full of admiration for the incredible skill, attention to detail, time and money you have invested in this project and the staggering results in realism and presentation you have achieved. I'm probably not alone in wishing I lived in Petersdale!

I started my own layout in May last year after a 52 year gap. So, I knew nothing about model railways, but a bit more now! I like to think I have made every rookie mistake there is to make, but at least have learned from them so as not to make them again, which is good, because there are so many new ones to make!

My own efforts will be extremely humble in comparison to Petersdale (there is no comparison!) but what you have achieved with it to date is inspirational in terms of what this hobby has to offer anyone who has the vision and dedication to bring their imagination to life.

Thanks for the comments, they are much appreciated.
Mine is the classic tale of I had a secondhand 3 rail Hornby Dublo for Christmas (about 1960) and always wanted to build the real thing. It's been a long journey getting to where I am now with PETERSDALE. It started back in the mid 80's when we moved house for the second time. Layout in the attic. Anyway things changed regularly. First redundancy, followed by university. Teaching was my new career. A few house moves away from my local area followed leaving the attic layout behind. Then after a while with baseboards and no layout I sold all my rolling stock. After a period of inactivity I finally moved to a house with space for a layout. In the beginning finances were tight but time was even tighter. Finally I retired and the model railway progressed at a much quicker pace. You know the rest of the story from there.
Thanks again for the comments and remember a model railway is never finished, as is the case with PETERSDALE.

Pete
I hope it doesn't sound too trite to say it, but BLOODY WELL DONE and thank you for a wonderful (ongoing) story.

[Sarge427]

I too have just spent a thoroughly enjoyable couple of hours reading this thread from the beginning. While in awe of your modelling skills and the end results, ably enhanced by the expressive narration and photographic eye, it's the journey that inspires me the most. The early house moves, the change in career, the wondering whether you'd ever realise your dream ... to where you are now. One must never give up on dreams; thanks for reinforcing this message through the medium of PETERSDALE.

[RailwayRobbo]

The little Bu**ers have been back.
Yes as you can see they found some more foliage to do a beaver job on.
On the plus side the layout is operating as it should and the little bu**ers have taken a liking to the mouse bait. They also don't seen to have touched any other bits of the scenery (Plastic trees, lichen, card buildings etc.) just the natural scenic materials.
The bait box in front of the bird seed container was empty as well (I think I put about 4 or 5 blocks in there).
I made some DIY Bait Boxes from old takeaway plastic cartons (mainly to keep the dog off the bait) so let battle commence.

Debris in the shed yard (sorry for the poor quality. I took it on my phone.)

Bait debris on the right hand side of the canal. (Again sorry about the quality)

Bait debris on the cover of the bird seed box.

DIY Bait Boxes FULLY LOADED.

[Dad-1]

Looking at that I wonder if it could be Rats ?
There is a veritable plague of rats about this year.

Anyway take care because of the pets, also other non-destructive wild life.
I do use rat poison from time to time, but always worry about doing damage
to things I like, that's almost everything except Herring Gulls, Magpies plus
said rats.

Geoff T.

[Eastern]

Our cat brought a mouse into the house, meowed and dropped it. The mouse scuttled into the basement where we thought it became our other cat’s dinner. After finding a nest of chewed up Xmas wrapping paper, we put out some good old fashioned mouse traps baited with peanut butter. Suffice to say, mouse met its maker pretty quick. So - how about a spring trap? As Geoff said, it could be rats. We also has an issue with neighbors not looking after their rubbish, and the rats using our compost heap as their home. Maybe having a look around outside to see any signs of gnawing or potential harbourage sites. Lastly, if you have a cat

[Bufferstop]

Don't take it for granted that non natural scenic items won't get attacked. I haven't yet seen the culprit(s) so I don't know what species of bird it is but one or more rather thick ones are tearing the leaves off two artificial bay trees, and seem to be convinced that they must eventual find some they can use for nest material.

[RailwayRobbo]

Thanks for all the advice guys.
I was thinking about getting a couple of spring traps. At least I'd have evidence of a 'kill' if I got one.
Reminds me of when I was working at a colliery back in the late 70s.
The survey office was no more than a wooden shed and we found that mice were nibbling the record books.
We got 4 traps and baited them up with cheese. Not a single bite all morning. Then one of the lads said try this and handed me a jam sandwich. The traps were continually going off all afternoon. I think we got about a dozen in a couple of hours.

Maybe we should have a thread called 'Layouts Under Destruction'.LOL.

[RailwayRobbo]

I think I've evicted the mice from the shed.
The bait has been untouched for the last couple of weeks and there's no sign of any more damage.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Pete

[RailwayRobbo]

No more rodent action to report so it's looking good there.
Here's a photo of the latest additions to the stock cupboard.
They are actually my 2020 Xmas present to myself from Rails lol.
4 Oxford Rail Tankers.

D2581 shunts 4 tankers and a Brake Van in the Goods Yard at Petersdale.

[RailwayRobbo]

Not much happening on either PETERSDALE or ROBINSON ROAD GOODS DEPOT this summer.
I've been doing mostly outdoor jobs that I should have done Summer 2020 LOL.

Here are a couple of pictures of my latest purchase from TMC. 24 ton Mineral wagon exclusive to TMC.
I first saw these announced at the Alexandra Palace exhibition in 2019, so they've been a long time coming.
Of course while I've been waiting the price has been going up which is not unusual for model railway stuff these days.
I still can't get my head round the fact that I've paid £42.01 for this wagon (inc. P&P, heavy weathering and real coal).
I guess the fact that I haven't got any large metal mineral wagons in my collection made it a must have.

I've still not decided whether or not to go to MK for the Great Electric Train Show in early October. I'll probably decide nearer the time.

The Layout shed is still rodent free so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it stays that way.

Pete

[RailwayRobbo]

Well after a complete summer of inactivity in the layout shed I got up this morning with renewed vigour and decided to fire up the heater and spend some time generally assessing what needed to be done.
Obviously some tidying up on PETERSDALE after the neglect I've shown it. The main thing being replacing the trees those pesky mice had destroyed. We are still rodent free, fingers crossed in the layout shed. I'll freshen the bait in the traps in the next day or two.
ROBINSON ROAD GOODS DEPOT stands idle for the moment but I do need to make some progress on it. No excuses here as I have all the track and turnouts I need plus various other bits and bobs as well.
I had a nice newsletter from my favourite model shop TMC informing me that a delivery of the Hornby standard 2-6-0 was due around December time. I succumed to temptation and ordered a lined green liveried one, suitably weathered and crew. My excuse? December, it's Christmas so it's my Christmas present to me. I'm glad Christmas only comes once a year the price I paid for it.
After my moan about Accurascale only selling their products in packs of 2, 3 or whatever, I did however manage to aquire a bauxite 21 ton mineral wagon thanks to a collabortation with Bigmet. He had 2 of the 3 and I had the third one. There's a couple of pictures below of the yard shunter delivering the wagon to the colliery who will no doubt treat it with the love and care it deserves lol. Having work for over 20 years in the coal industry and seen some of the treatment the rolling stock got I wonder if we'll ever see an OO gauge model with all the bodywork damage they used to sustain.
Back to the layout shed for me now.

13029 waits in PETERSDALE goods yard before taking the new wagon, fresh out of the paint shop down the colliery branch.

13029 takes the colliery branch at the junction on it's way to the pit.