Model Railway Forum

A busy looking layout with such a lot going on. I like it. Well done.

Glencairn

Thank you once again Bulleidboy and Glencairn for your kind and encouraging words.

Regarding my workmen being more modern than the original Dapol 1930s - 1950s figures, I've been trying to get two lots of scenic features, one for the steam era and the other more contemporary. I've put into storage my old-style Dapol workmen along with such 'olde worlde' things as telegraph poles, horses and carts and old cars and lorries etc. I plan to put them back on the layout when I'm running only older, mostly steam, locomotives. Glencairn does exactly this and shows his photos on two different threads. My photos will stay on one thread, but the principle that I'm working towards is the same. I'm a long way off having all the locomotives on the layout contemporary to each other, but I'm moving in the right direction. The same is true for the figures and scenic features. Step by step.

One thing that I'm not worried about is getting the companies and liveries contemporary with each other. I'm happy to run a British Railways steam locomotive at the same time as a LNER or LMS loco. To me, that's just a minor detail that I'm not going to get worked up about.

Luckily, the Flying Scotsman and 'Old Faithful' can be used pretty much anytime after 1930, so they're not going to get much time in storage.

Old Faithful at Shankly


The Flying Scotsman Visits Gdynia


The Donkey Jacket Boys Hard at Work


Replacing the Track at Shankly Gerrard Street


Looking for Her Phone, Gerrard Street

Class 73 Passing Saint Albright's Church


Flying Scotsman at Gerrard Street


Milling Around


Dusk


After Dark

NIce additions. When the lads are done at Gerrard Street, would you kindly send them over to Henley, by way of El Paso? My track has a rather wavy-gravy undulation in some parts.

Come to think of it, the lass is rather fetching, as well. Is she rich and single?

The general age of British architecture allows one to shift eras fairly easily. Earliest I've done is circa 1830, and most recently experimenting with the Soviet Union, as well.

Hi Chops,
As you can see, my workers are far too busy here to travel to the USA although it would make a nice change of scenery for them.

Regarding the young lady, firstly, she's not rich, but she's a hard worker and has good prospects. Secondly, she's single in the sense of not married, but not single in that there are six of her on the layout. She came in a pack of 72 figures (12 different poses with six of each pose). Of course, I've painted each of them to try to look different (clothes, hair and skin colour). But I like the pose very much. They are manufactured by Gaugemaster, and I plan to buy another pack to use inside my coaches (legs chopped off for sitting), and to attempt to convert four to bicycle riders. I should just mention that I had to make my own stands as they were sold without stands - a time consuming and laborious activity.

Regarding your comment about British architecture, you are correct. I can use the same buildings for whatever era I have on the layout as long as it's post 1930. Some of the detailing would change as time goes by, but the buildings remain fundamentally unchanged. That's handy as it makes it easier to achieve my longer term aim of having scenic features appropriate to the era of the trains being run at any given time.

I've seen your Soviet train video, Chops, but not your Soviet architecture. I'd like to see that.

Old Faithful Pulling Car Transporter


Peek-a-Boo!


Over There


Passing Work Party Slowly


The Happy Pig Man

Working on the Railway













It makes me think of that traditional folk song Poor Paddy's Been Working on the Railway. The great thing about those old songs is that nobody owns the copyright and you can adapt them as you feel fit.

In nineteen hundred and ninety-seven
Poor Paddy was thinking of going to Heaven
Poor Paddy was thinking of going to Heaven
To work upon the railway
The railway
He's sick to his death of the railway
Poor Paddy's been working on the railway.

Somewhere on the internet there's a version sung by the Churchfitters which is certainly my favourite rendition. Perhaps Chops might like to use it on one of his videos although there would be copyright issues.

Always something new on the Shankly. As far as Soviet architecture, shoe boxes painted flat gray would suffice for most of it. Wouldn't need to have too many people, either, as I recall that most people did not venture out for casual ambles.

I will take a gander at the Paddy song. Right down depressing, think I'll need a slug of brake fluid. The copyright issue doesn't haunt me typically, although sometimes the sound track gets blocked. I purchase the music off iTunes, and being non-monetized, or de-monitized, as British model rail tends to do to me, the goal is to project out music that never gets its proper due, and might benefit from being more widely dispersed. As mentioned in the superb "The Gallery," by Dire Straights, some of the best artists ever never get a radio spot. For that matter, I've never heard "The Gallery" or "Lions," which are simply brilliant, ever played on the air. No one knows who Octavo Yo is, as they are a fabulous Russian, not Soviet, folk music group. Ivan Rebroff, also is little known, as is Richard Dyer-Bennett. They are breathtaking artists of different traditions.

Upon someone's urging, I tried finding some Swedish rock and roll, not ABBA, but something called "Mud Flow." Mmmm. What's in a name. They lived up to it.

A decade, or so, ago, the iconic Bob Dylan was castigated for plagiarizing the lines from a 15th century Italian poet (even though the copyright had expired). Such criticism, in my mind, was utter rubbish, for if someone is so sensitive and smart so as to re-purpose 600 year old literature, then they should be awarded a Nobel.

Darn it, Mr. Alan, you have put the thought in my head, and now it won't quit. A while back, someone made an idle challenge for me to make an HO scale nuclear power plant. Heljan makes a kit, but for $140 US, I swore to make my own. It took me two years, but I finally happened across a perfectly shaped glass vase (cooling tower) and then a perfectly sized plastic Easter egg (containment dome) and then found a nuclear symbol decal for $3 on feeBay. Now that you mentioned Soviet architecture, it would be an easy trick to assemble boxes of the right size to simply place over, and hide, existing British structures and landmarks on Henley, and paint them flat gray. It would make for an amusing back scene for my next Soviet Henley video. Call it Lubyankaville, or something. I already see the signage on one building: "The Ministry of Love," and the "Ministry of Truth," and billboards for "Big Brother is Watching You." Now, to cover up Castle Henley, that would be a challenge. Or, maybe not.

Statues of such luminaries such as Lenin, Stalin, and Marx would be sprinkled about. Oh, my, I feel one of my turns coming on...

It is tiny Britain who has kept the Goliath at bay. Lest we forget.

BTW, I listened to the Churchfitters for over an hour, last night. Interesting group, much enthusiasm, yes. I still enjoy the Waterboys. The Nova Scotian group, The Cottars, is quite fabulous. Another brilliant set of artists, all four are gifted brothers and sisters, of which one never hears. They never made it to "the Gallery."

Hi Chops,
I'm glad that you liked the Churchfitters. Back in the 80s, I saw them live a zillion times when they regularly played a local pub. Then they got tired of the wet British weather and went to Spain. I saw them again once when they returned for a one-off gig about ten years ago. Even though it was a cold night, they certainly received a warm welcome.

By the way, Alan is my middle name, not my surname. But don't worry, I've been called worse things.

Regarding your comment about Bob Dylan, artists of all types have always reused ideas from their contemporaries and previous generations. That's how civilizations work. We do it here on MRF looking at other people's layouts and taking what we want from them. I call it recycling ideas. A successful civilization wastes nothing.

I did half a dozen mega-photo sessions two weeks ago and those pictures should keep me busy uploading for at least another month - probably more. So let the show continue.

View from the Gantry


Looking Towards Shankly Sheds Signal Box


Waiting


Slow Train


Night Shift

Ah, Shankly, sweet Shankly, how my heart yearns for thee.