The North Circular - Austerity & Nostalgia.

[Mountain]

Somewhere I have two of those little things that I bought ready as donor locos for future 0-16.5 projects. One is Dapol and the other is Hornby. Nice things, though one needs to take care not to overload them as the little "Square" motors can be a little bit fragile. Other than that, they do run well, and surprised me as I had a Dapol one in the past, and it used to glide through paintwork with very little issue, even though I mostly used dead frog points at the time. Nice little things!

[Phred]

Uurgh! That photo is triggering memories of negotiating narrow country lanes in Devon and Cornwall during our last trip to England in 2013. Giant tractors with equally enormous trailers can be terrifying!

[Dad-1]

Phred, not that frightening.
Makes me recall driving down narrow lanes & Green tracks
in the middle of the night at anything up to 100 mph - and
I'm still alive.

Only one episode that can still make me break out into a
cold sweat. A series of tight bends with high grassy side banks.
Go into it too fast - Rear wheel drive car the only way to stay
on the narrow black stuff was to open the throttle to drift the
rear out. Hit the second bend faster than the first as the was NO
braking space before going into bend 2. Into bend 3 wondering if
this is going to work out O.K, speed way above what I'd have liked.
I was a master at using the loud pedal to help negotiating bends.
Bend 4 opened slightly and I'd got away with it. As it eased we damn
nearly ran into the back of a Porsche 911, also in the event, that was
nowhere in sight as we entered the bends. Rear ending could have
been expensive - we must have been closing on them at least 40 mph
higher speed, we were doing close on 80 !!

I no longer drive fast - Too many idiots on the road (Laughter all round)

Geoff T..

[Dad-1]

Another with low power household lighting.
My highland cattle ignoring the train.
That white will vanish as the watered down PVA dries out.
The local Laird now has his fishing pontoon.



It'll either be rubbish, or look better after lake water has been added.
That is a way off still, have to buy it soon.

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

Almost finished ? Ahh it may look like it, but still a lot of time needed at the speed I work.

https://youtu.be/Dhjt-g8ERE4

I've got to catch up on finishing some wagon kits - 5 of them going around here !!

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

Today I added some gravel & stones to the stream bed & around the
lake shallows.

This left the one big purchase.

Ordered today the 350 Ml pack of DeLuxe Solid Water, the 2 mix resin
that I have used successfully in the past. Bought from the New Railway
Modellers shop, the only one Simon had in stock.

From this mornings short session.



Almost done - a planned short build that has overrun slightly !!

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

Today the door cut out of my Black House.
Tried a few sheep in the scene - Not working as it should - Why ??
No half broken gate at the side to pen animals in during severe weather.
No general bits if junk, some straw and perhaps a water trough ?



A photo can so easily reveal oversights. I need to get this done as my
Solid Water is due to be delivered tomorrow so 'The End' is in sight !!



Geoff T.

[Phred]

Heh - that door with the sheep...

Many decades ago my wife and I were doing a driving tour of Tasmania and visited the town of Ross, where an old women's prison/factory has been preserved as a museum. No staff were in attendance, you just put a donation in the box (if you wanted to) and let yourself in.

The only nod to security was a sign that said: 'Please keep the door closed or the sheep will get in and make a mess.'
Aaah - different times!

[Dad-1]

Thanks Phred,

Makes you laugh, must make a drinking trough to fit alongside the wall.

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

As it was down from the loft I thought I'd see if a 2-8-0 could get around here.
It did, was tight on the cutting side, but ran well enough .



Must try to get that water started.

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

Mmm Trouble with the resin colouring plan. Food colouring won't mix in !!
Back to the drawing board.
Still the new animal water trough made, and a rough gate !!



More to do.

Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

The lake filling up !!
This layer of resin went on fine, the transparent glass paint mixed in just as
wanted and the resin has set hard overnight. Fish to be stuck on now before
additional layers are added.
I now realise that I hadn't needed so much depth, it'll take me over a week
to fill up until it starts running down the stream.
My 06 given an outing, everything except the loco & shorty Hornby coach is
built from kits.



Geoff T.

[Dad-1]

Another small step forward.

The Ex MR/LMS 10 ton brake van part painted into the NCMR colours.
Ideal for this small layout on a 9 foot wheelbase.
More resin in the lake, still have about 6 mm, or more to go in, one small
group of 'fish' now covered, with another few to go in on this layer before
more is added.



My lake is highly reflective with the rocky hill showing up too well, I'll try
to roughen the final pour, but that's somewhere in the future.

Geoff T.

[Mountain]

Is looking great!

[Dad-1]

Thanks Mountain,

It shows what can be squeezed into a small space, which was part of the
original idea. Small can also mean restricted costs, again part of the original
plan, but my water feature is costing as much as the new wagons !!

Now with it's name proudly marked it's well on the way to being ready for showing.
It is booked for my clubs January exhibition and could have an outing this year.



Another resin pour this afternoon, then to see if I need a second £30 kit of chemicals
to finish off. Anyway the ply, track, ballast, styrene, buildings, locomotives, figures,
matchsticks, fine nylon, animals, plastic for the bridge, were all 'in stock'. Expenditure
limited to wagons & brake van, extra grass scatter, a few trees, and that water !!

Geoff T.