Somewhere SW of London. Somewhen before today

Ed said

I can see three thumbnail pictures Rick, but I can't expand them.

When you browse to the attachment file, after pressing Open, you need to take the tick out against Thumb.



Ed

From “Post #287,455”, 22nd April 2023, 1:11 PM

I tried again but was blocked from the site on the phone.  This is now being typed on the iMac.  

There is nowhere that I can see to "untick Thumb" and nowhere which says "Open".  I go to Attachments > Browse > Photo Library > Select and the text version appears in my reply pane.  When I click "Post Reply" the result is what you see in my post above; tiny images replacing the text.  

Maybe it's something to with the Mac OS Rick, Perhaps Jay breakage could have a look.
 

Meanwhile, I've downloaded ane re-posted your Pictures, hope they're ok.



.

Back in on the iPhone after a few annoying messages and a lock-out. 

One more try at posting a full size image.

   
This time - after being obliged to log out, re-set my password and log back in, I get a completely new screen offering the tick-boxes. That hasn’t come up before. 

So what you see above - and should also see here - is the newly weathered Q1. This always had a light weathering but was slightly greasy out of the box meaning powder refused to grab. It’s had several years and a couple of wipe-downs and now looks a bit better in my opinion 

Some lovely photos there, Rick. Waddlemarsh looks really good, and you are running trains of the right colour!  ;)  ;)

Superb modelling Rick.

The locomotive is like a small ugly looking dog - you can't help loving it 🥰

That Q1 certainly looks the part,Rick. I wish I could pluck up the courage to sort mine out.

Love the first picture of the Q1 Rick, not just the good weathering but the clever way you have created such depth ! I'm  literally looking OVER the tracks OVER the loco OVER the footbridge, ACROSS the field to the houses beyond 👍 Very clever how you carefully create the illusion of depth in such a narrow space.  

Cheers

Matt

Barchester said

 Very clever how you carefully create the illusion of depth in such a narrow space.  

From “Post #287,534”, 25th April 2023, 6:24 PM

Thank you all.  

ID Backscenes are the best I have found and help add to that feeling of depth.  Photographic, not too glossy nor colour-enriched and easy to mount.  The ones used on Waddlemarsh are called "Into the Town" which have been cut and adapted to suit the locations.  

Nice pictures Rick...and modelling :)

Testing. Testing. 

With a 4-TC unit in the platform on test before entering service the Pressed Steel DMU shunts into the yard. 

The 4-TC units were thoroughly tested before entering traffic on the Waterloo - Weymouth route as BR’s first venture into high-speed push-pull operation. The Pressed Steel unit is in its original non-gangwayed version and the 1950s green livery. They gained inter-car gangways removed from Hawksworth stock during the 1960s and were mostly repainted blue when those were fitted. 

The DMU will appear on the in-build Porthgarrow layout but needed running in. 

Almost two months since I added to this topic!
 
Nothing much has happened to Waddlemarsh in that time other than a few shunt moves and the testing of newly-arrived stock now and again.  Six Accurascale Siphon G's now live in the collection among recent acquisitions.  My modelling time has been occupied with a fast-track build of the Porthgarrow project which has its first booked event in just a few weeks and is still a long way from being show-ready.  
 
In other news Waddlemarsh will require a new home in the near future.  The good folk of Hayle Railway Modellers in Cornwall have tentatively offered accommodation subject to a few (hopefully minor) matters to be discussed over a beer or two.  
 
We are on the move again.  After six years Upon the Hill of Strawberries two things have happened at much the same time which will bring change.  
 
I have just passed my "natural" retirement age and wasn't planning on going just yet but we had a magnificent two week holiday in Cornwall and ended up buying a souvenir.  It's a small cottage in St. Just, somewhat west of Penzance.  Whilst the deal is still subject to final contractual details at this stage unless something seriously upsets the boat we now plan to move down during the autumn which will almost certainly lead to my retirement from the railway.  
 
The day after this rather surprising development occurred we received notice that the block in Strawberry Hill where we have lived for the past six years is being sold for renovation and, under s.21 legislation, we are all required to move on.  So as one door closes another opens at precisely the right time and in exactly the right place for us.  But there is no place for Waddlemarsh.  The planning authorities have decided that the arrangement I have currently is not suitable for the cottage so an alternative has to be found.  And hopefully has been.  
 
As a result I do not expect to do any more work to the layout whilst here.  It will need to be carefully cut into sections, which almost align nicely with the four boards it is built on, for removal and it could then be reconfigured as a straight end-to-end eliminating the nasty right-angle curve.  Or at the least easing it into something more manageable.  
 
Watch this space.  This one's not dead in the water nor do I plan to dismantle it just yet.  

That's good news for you, Rick. You'll be closer to the Hayle group too.

What happens with Sharon's job, though?

What a lovely part of the World, Rick. I have a cousin that had a very large house in Flushing, opposite the Naval dockyard at Falmouth. She also had a cottage near Zennor. It's a lovely place except when the 'grockles' turn up. I'm sure you and your wife will love it down there. And a bonus with the Hale club.

Good luck with the move Rick. What are your plans for layout activities?

Good luck with the move and I hope all the plans fit together in the right sequence. We have bought a place in the UK with a view to moving back at some point so it's trying times for all. As with you, planning authorities aren't going to let me put up the size of shed I will need for a straight on-for-one move. It will be interested to hear how it all works out.

Sounds a great place to live Rick, good luck with the move.


Ed

Thank you all for your good wishes.  It's another big move for us but after a few anxious hours in the early stages we are both now quite excited about it.  

Addressing the questions above:-

I have permission only for the single-board Porthgarrow layout to reside in the cottage and only that on the grounds that it allows me to engage in the hobby at home rather than be a grumpy old retired b****r!  Waddlemarsh will be cut into its four boards, luckily the required cuts will not pass through any awkward trackwork nor disrupt any of the better scenic parts.  It can then be taken to the Hayle club room near the village of Praze-an-Beeble and re-erected there in what ever shape suits the club and clubroom best;  I would prefer to have it straightened out but the easier option is to keep it as an L-shape as that avoids rebuilding the curved scenes.  Rolling stock storage is an issue.  I am probably able to keep a few boxes in the cottage but not all of the 20 or so large plastic tubs I use.  Therefore the Hayle club room might be the future home for the collection too but this is subject to agreement and has yet to be discussed with the full membership.  

Work-wise I could easily find some casual hours to top up the various pensions and superannuation funds which will form the base income.  There is always cottage cleaning for the holiday trade (often cash-in-hand as it's only a few hours a week as and when required) and casual hours in shops or pubs would be an option.  Railway jobs are very few and far between that far west so keeping my travel facilities is not looking like an option.  I do however get to keep my Senior Railcard and can swap my London Freedom Pass for a Cornwall Council bus pass.  Sharon will continue to work for Kew Gardens at present.  She is ten years my junior so nowhere near retirement.  The current plan, having tested the local internet speeds in Cornwall, is for her to work from home (in the west) on Mondays and Fridays, travel up to London on Monday afternoons and return on Thursday afternoons and rent a studio near Kew for mid-week.  It's a medium-term option until something more local turns up but has already been costed as not more expensive than current outgoings.  She can also use the five hours each way on the train as work time if she wishes which might allow her to travel at lower fares on off-peak trains.  

In terms of overall finance once she secures local employment her London pay rate will not be so important as the cottage will be fully paid for when we exchange contracts meaning there is no ongoing debt.  We then only need day-to-day expenses and enough to save for the proverbial rainy day.  

Today the mining and structural surveys arrived all clear so two more ducks are in the row.  Not many more to go now before we can move to completion.  But it still remains "subject to contract" and until contracts exchange there is always that niggly risk of it falling through.  Fingers and toes crossed for now.