Our world in miniature, hobbies

Hello

Can I have a 99 with 2 flakes please?

Oh yes! The tree nearest was uprooted & replanted yesterday morning. What strong gardeners we have hey.

Hello, The lifts to nowhere are now in place. They are laser cut card, but very effective, the windows in the doors are glazed & the shadows cast by the door frames really stand out. The lifts in our model imagination go down to a basement which connects to both the adjacent platform & the one time canal wharf. I've another lift door not assembled, but may add that later to the overgrown archway under the walking ramp. In them olden days, lifts were often in pairs, where they worked as compensation weights. That was outlawed a long time ago, but it was why you had to wait for the doors to close on the paired lift.

Hello, Even the sign-board is up now. All complete but for the booking hall. That might not arrive until next week. Historically, the bombed station may have had a loading platform where the sign-board is now, but all goods goes down the jetty. Also Hounds Hill has its own small goods yard & parcels depot. Road access is by going passed the gas works, the siding to it disappears under the Ferodo bridge. I've used bright green, both as the sign display & the lift surrounds because the fascia boards on the booking hall are finished in green boarders. That's about it with a few bits of plastic, some sticks & glue. Oh, yes, water colour paints. Depending on how the booking hall sits when it arrives, I might have to do external lift shaft tops. The roof of the booking hall may need slight weathering. That kind of thing tends to grow in me if it doesn't look right. Whilst I've done few bits of tutty-flutty, on our railway, that's the first fairly involved job without Pam being my critic. She liked the railway having a bit of colour, also not looking like an unkempt engine depot. During our marriage, her eyes used to light up when she saw a loco that was fresh from overhaul, but also pretty stations. One Saturday morning, I recall me asking where did she fancy going for a coffee. She said Great Malvern station. So that's where we went. It was nearly lunch time when we got there, but she did enjoy that.

Hello, Away from the tragedies of real railways, I've had a change of mind regards Hounds Hill. My booking hall hasn't arrived yet, but probably has helped. I often see the passion of our members about buildings being knocked around & in effect destroyed. Well I hope that I've stopped myself from doing that. I can almost hear Neil or Mike saying what sacrilege to a one time archway. So here is the result. An old toothbrush plastic cup is now the canopy over the lift entrances.

One of the joys of life is to find the perfect thing for a job. If the thing is cheap/free, even better.

Hello & thank you Helen, You will be pleased to know that when you next visit Coventry, Longford Park station now has its own platform starter signal. Previously relied on a green flag from the ground frame box, which controls the point into the loco coaling siding. It's a tall signal, so that the signal box lady at Grove can see it.