The Shankly and Gdynia Railway

[IanAlan]

Hi Jim,
The people in Cromford and the other places we visited up north were very friendly and helpful although we purposely kept ourselves well socially isolated. Regarding the clean locomotives, I like them that way and have no desire to weather them even though I'm happy to weather buildings and other structures (actually it's rather fun). My brother-in-law Kevin reckons that one day I'll look at my locos and think "They don't look right", and then I'll get weathering. But so far that urge has escaped me.

I need to pick the brains of MRF readers as I have a question. Today started nicely, the doorbell rang and Santa had left a parcel for me on the doorstep. One of the items inside was the Hornby OO Eurostar (engine, two coaches and dummy engine). Unsurprisingly, I took it to the loft to test that it's in good working order. The engine certainly goes around very nicely and makes that immensely satisfying sound that locos do, but at the same time it makes a high pitched whistle. It seems well oiled (actually the most oil I've ever seen on a loco), so I'm wondering what's making the racket and how I can stop it. Any thoughts? I'd be pleased to hear your ideas or suggestions. Many thanks in advance.

And here are some more photos of the newly cleaned locomotive. It is funny how the Flying Scotsman seems to get into every picture.

Birds-eye View


Drones-eye View


Worms-eye View

[IanAlan]

Hi everyone,
The racket that I mentioned coming from my new Hornby Eurostar seems to have stopped of its own accord. Perhaps half an hour's running in was all that it needed. It certainly is a pleasure to behold although my layout is really too small for it, both in terms of length of track and space between tracks. I've had to shift some scenery, so it doesn't get hit by the train as it takes the curves. One of my station buildings was too wide for its 'island', so I've temporarily replaced it with a smaller building. Now I can have trains on either side of it.

Regarding photos of the Eurostar, I'll save that for Christmas. I really should put it back in the box and give to my mother to wrap for me. Maybe tomorrow.

Heritage Museum Scene


Men at Work and Leisure

[IanAlan]

Yesterday I managed to put the Eurostar back into its box. I don't think that six days was excessive to check that it's in good working order. Actually, I only put the engine and dummy engine back because the two coaches have a push-in plastic method of joining and I was scared that I was going to break or severely weaken the plastic bits if I tried yanking them apart. So the coaches will remain in my display cabinet joined together until reunited with the engines on Christmas Day.

I managed a little train running session today and took a few photos before my mobile ran out of juice.

Freight on the Move


Local Service


I've been trying to get some of my lesser used rolling stock into action. Most of these have been sitting in a siding for months. It's good to see them trundling around.

[JimRead]

Hello Ian,

Looking through Flickr I cam across this from Radek Mielcz;


Gdynia Dąbrowa forest

Cheers - J

[IanAlan]

Hi Jim,
It's a nice photo. I'm very fond of the Polish countryside. I probably know it better than the British countryside as we go to different places each summer. I've only been to Gdynia twice* and both were during the summer, so it looked very different.

*The first time was only the railway station where I had to wait after getting lost one summer evening in 1993.

I wanted the sea and the coast and docks that go with it on my layout. We visited my wife's aunt and uncle there in 2017 and it seemed to fit the bill, so Gdynia it was.

The Golden Age of Stream


A Tankful


The Little Blue Train Rides Again


I've bought a Ratio kit of a oil depot, which I'm painting at the moment. Unfortunately, the decals are for Esso and my tankers are Total, Texaco and BP, so that's a shame. But I don't really get bothered by little details like that.

[JimRead]

Hello Ian,

Thanks for the reply interesting stuff. I thought it was from Australia in the sort of G'day mode.

Cheers - Jim

[edit] It is an interesting place!: https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=gydnia

[IanAlan]

Hi Jim,
I like your G'day comment.

My wife is Polish, so we visit every year, except 2020 the Year of Covid. I looked at the photos on Flickr and they are good. The eleventh photo (black and white photo with city and quayside) is actually of Gdansk - just up the road from Gdynia. Gdansk was formerly Danzig, and was where the first European shots of World War Two were fired. Both cities are inspiring, but - as I said - I picked Gdynia for my layout because of my wife's family connection.

Chugging Along


Coming and Going


Round and Round the Corner

[IanAlan]

Hi everyone,
What with being busy with Christmasy stuff and my mobile's battery being on its last legs, I hadn't managed to get any recent photos - until today.

Chapel View


Any Old Iron


Lunchtime Chat


The first photo showcases the readymade Hornby Chapel that came (rather early) from Santa. It's the only low relief item on the layout, but I don't think it looks out of place. I couldn't resist it as it was on offer for £8 from Hattons. It does make my Dapol church look out of scale (Not in todays photos). If one day I add a six inch extension to the back of my baseboard, I'll shift the Dapol church there, so that it looks more distant.

The second photo captures the slight improvement to the scrapyard. I've added a readymade Hornby Anderson shed (also from Santa) and some fencing. I know that a scrapyard would have a high wall (topped with barbed wire or broken glass) and big rusty steel gates, but that will have to wait until later next year. If you look top right in that photo, you'll also see the new addition of a bicycle shed. Bicycles to be glued in very soon.

I've been cramming more and more stuff onto the layout. The oil depot will have to be squeezed in as well when finished.

[IanAlan]

I have now added three bicycles to the bike shed, but these photos were taken before that, so I'll see if I can get a few shots taken tomorrow.

Traffic Gridlock


Scrap


Lords of All Ye Survey

[IanAlan]

I hope that you're all having a good Christmas.

Winter Wonderland