Blog

Lighting rig complete, including hidden lighting for both traversers as I realised they are quite dark in my garage. Rig doubles as...

New station totem! (July 26, 2022)

Finished the joinery on the first traverser, and it works! Original plan was to feed the two main lines by cassettes, but trial quickly...

Finally worked out why locos kept stalling on the Peco 3-way point. The two outer closure rails (circled) are electrically isolated,...

Finished (for now) the Up platform. Slow work trying to get the canopy looking like the real thing- and of course, the custom brackets...

Approach to the Up platform (chimneys and road to be added). Made a nice flight of steps down with a retaining wall, until I realised the...

Work on the layout has been delayed due to an infestation of trainspotters, but I'm pleased to report they were captured and placed in...

Slow work to finish one corner of the layout: the Railway Hotel and George's Snack Bar on Hibel Road. Still to add bus stops (the bus to...

Had to get this Oxford Diecast NorthWestern bus when it came out. Didn't like the shiny plastic look, and the London destination was all...

Bought large pack of unpainted Preiser “passengers and pedestrians”, but the latter mostly seem to have a Germanic interest in outdoor...

Was puzzled by the two diamond roadsigns on Hibel Road bridge. They are ex-LNWR weak bridge warnings: but why both on the same side, and...

Hibel Road bridge over the main line, facing west. Photo from March 1960 shows the gaslights have been replaced by concrete swan-neck...

Added backdrops, platforms, and some lighting. One of the curved backdrops snapped during fitting and needs repair. Two of the street...

Wymans newsstand: renamed Metcalfe kit. A 1960 photo in Jeuna's 'Railways of Macclesfield' (credited to British Railways) shows a...

Came across this photo from inside the entrance to the Down platform at Hibel Road in BR days (thanks to Kenneth Oldfield and John...

I‘m going to cover the insulation board with acrylic frame sealant, and was wondering how to make sure the lighting wires could still be...

Completed the control panel today. I used a Cobalt Alpha panel. Nice looking but some irritations: LED switches prone to sticking, power...

Finished (bar nameplates) the first building on this layout, the signal box. Was a Saxby & Farmer design, so heavily modified a...

Finished the elevated ground and loose-fitted the rough platforms. Begins to look like photos of the real Hibel Road station. Photo of...

The layout is intended to fit in a single board that will fit in a VW Golf (+ non-scenic tables at either side for cassettes or...