Greetings from down under.

I have just joined the YMRC. I live in Sydney, Australia but I have had an interest in modelling the railways of Britain since I received my first electric Tri-ang ‘train set’ for Christmas during the early 1960’s.


I have attempted the building of model railways on a couple of occasions but due to work and family commitments there was no time for me to pursue the hobby further.

Now that am retired I have the time, but I have only been allocated a small space in our two-bedroom unit. My intention is to build a 2,000 mm x 500 mm 4mm scale branch line terminus with a 1,000 mm x 500 mm traversing fiddle yard.

I have motley collection of Tri-ang and Hornby Locos and rolling stock which I intend to try and utilise.

Unfortunately, the locos are a mixed bunch representing different railway companies etc.

My interest lies in creating a model in the period of late Era 3 or early Era 4 located in the Midland region.
I have read Iain Rice’s excellent book ‘Railway Modelling the Realistic Way’ which was very informative and I have managed to source some books on the L.M.S. railway from second hand bookshops and my local library but living in the ‘antipodes’ makes researching the British railway companies most difficult. Of course, the internet these days is a great source of information, almost too great, and it can be difficult to wade through all the sites and links to find a particular subject. Anyway . . . that’s part of the hobby isn’t it? . . . a part that I enjoy.

I am hoping that the members of this group may be able to assist me with my research as well as any other modelling tricks and techniques.

Yours in modelling,
Bruce F
 

Hi Bruce, from Melbourne.

You say you have a mixed bag of locomotives, but want to model the LMS? If you pick somewhere up central England, you should be able to quite legitimately mix LMS and LNER - trans-Pennine routes come to mind, or places like Leeds.

Move it down to Oxford and you could have LMS, LNER and GWR mixing, or Reading where you could find LMS, GWR and SR together.

Or you could do a preserved railway, where almost anything goes.

Just a few ideas for you, anyway. Enjoy the hobby, and remember, its your layout, and Rule 1 applies. 

:cheers

Hello Bruce and a warm welcome.

Your re-entry into the hobby follows a familiar path, I should know,, so you are in good company and people here are both friendly and happy to share knowledge and experiences.

As I see you are looking to model a joint company station, take a look at John Dew's Granby, which captures the atmosphere of the GWR and LMS in the late 1940s. John's railway is on a large scale, but the principles are there.

Best,

Bill

Hi Bruce,

I'm on Bribie Island where there's only three of us interested in model railways. I can't offer much in the way of companies, era's etc, but I might be able to help with things dcc.

Reading sounds like a good plan for mixing things up a bit. I'd probably be as close to prototypical as I'd get, as I buy locos that I like.

What locos do you have and how old are they?

Hi Bruce,


greetings from Melbourne, sounds like you've an interesting challenge there, will follow with interest.


Colin.

Hi Bruce,Another greeting from Melbourne. I can't be to much help with your layout, but I will follow your progress with great interest. 

Welcome aboard Bruce, glad you could join us !  Shout out if there's anything your not sure on
Cheers

Matt

 :Welcome   to the club Bruce,i'm sure you'll receive plenty of ideas for your railway but remember rule 1 applies so enjoy whatever you decide.

Welcome to the forum. I look forwards to seeing your progress. 

Thanks to all the suggestions, offers and warm wishes. I hope you all feel the same after I have picked your collective brains. I have been asked what my stock of locos are . . as I said, they are a rag tag bunch but I will be supplementing them with some that are suited to the location I end up with.
 
Below is the roster"

Class L1 4-4-0 ‘Maunsell’ - British Railways 31757 (Tri-ang) circa 1960. Unlikely to venture onto a branch line unless it is pulling a 'special'.

Triang ‘Polly’ 0-4-0 circa 1960. An out of scale ‘toy’ based on the Class S14 0-4-0T Drummond - London and South West Industrial.

The above two came with my first 'train set'

MR Class 2441 (LMS 3F) 0-6-0T ‘Fowler’ – BR (London Midlands) (Hornby) circa 1990 - Bought new. These were used all over the Midlands and beyond so I will be keeping this one.

Class 'Princess' 4-6-2 ‘Stanier’ - British Railways 46201 (Tri-ang). I picked this up from a church fete sometime in the 60's. Not likely to be seen on a branch line.

0-4-0 Dockyard Shunter - I must of liked it when I bought it in the 60's. Great little engine but no practical use on my proposed venture.

I will be looking to add to this lot a Fowler 3F or 4F and some sort of passenger loco if I can find one. There are limited choices for MR locos available so that is why I was considering a joint branch with the GWR as there is a much greater availability of GWR locos and rolling stock.

By the way, I am familiar with Rule #1. I have seen it written often. But unfortunately for me I am stickler for detail (being an ex engineer) so I find that rule a bit hard to deal with . . but I'll try :-)

Cheers,

BF

Hi Bruce,

 I was going to suggest you set up a topic but see you've already on the way to doing that.

 Colin

Hi Bruce, welcome and hope you have lot's of fun here, maybe swap some stories and ideas  :cheers
Roger

Welcome Bruce.  Good luck with your latest modelling attempts, I am sure you will find that posting your progress and the ready supply of advice from members will keep you motivated - it does for me at least.  There are plenty of examples of what can be achieved in a relatively small space too, to give some inspiration.  I will be following along with interest.
Michael

Hi Bruce and a warm welcome from sunny Spain.