A little more progress

The shed is now painted and carpeted, and the benching has been installed. I've even got the test track temporarily on the long bench. Power lead along the top of the bench is to save cutting holes in it.

Oh- and the alarm is now active- just the windowshield still to do.

Progress

The workshop arrived late- least said about the performance of Shires Garden Buildings the better- suffice to say they didn't cover themselves with glory.

Since when the building has had three exterior coats of the nearest to North Eastern Region tangerine I could find (Autumn Gold) and has been christened Oompa-Loompa Land as under the trees with its orange and green foliage above and two windows like eyes it looks like a giant Oompa-Loompa, or so I'm told.

Next stage was to get it lined out and the electrics in- seven pairs of double sockets and strip lights along the top. Now it is close to painted and the benching will be fixed in place on Saturday 1st October. Carpeting has been ordered.

Planning

With a lot of work mainly by Simon the base for the shed is laid and it is being delivered on Friday.

Planning for the new layout has begun. Location is the Durham Coast line, not one covered very often. I'm now trying to find out what dolomite traffic there was in the Easington area- Teesside got a lot from Thrislington which travelled in covered hoppers via Stockton. However there were two other quarries actually on the Coast line. Did their stone come South to Hartlepool or go North to Sunderland?

Two more months- then progress.

At last- progress to report.

After a busy couple of months marking exams on line- plenty of unrepeatable howlers to keep me awake- it is time to get some progress made on the railway.

First progress- the Dapol Hall has arrived. This will look good on Parnhams in September pulling the Inter-Company train, despite the fact the GWR didn't have running powers to the vale of Belvoir.

Second progress- the car has been changed. now with a Grand C4 Picasso I've room at last to cart a railway around the country.

Third progress- the railway shed has been ordered for delivery later in August. A 16 X 10 foot railway room all of my own. That should take a workbench and enough room for a 12' X 2'6" exhibition layout to be made. Next stage is to plan it out......

Idiot Software

I've just spent a very frustrating half-hour trying to publish that last post. On my desktop machine since I updated Internet Explorer there are certain buttons that just don't work no matter how many times you push them. Microsoft at its best, no doubt. Every update seems to add new bugs. Very frustrating!

Thank heavens for backup laptops.

June already?

I always thought that retirement meant more time to keep up with the hobby. WRONG!

Cotgrave show went well, though didn't get enough people through the door. We must do better next year. One thing that has come out of it is that the N-gauge Society AGM is to be there next year.

On the railway front I've been looking at what I need in the way of stock and getting rid of some to fund their replacements. basically I need three groups of stock- for Farndon Road (Eastern Region- about 50 locos in all), For Parnhams and Seldomseen (the new one when I get it started)- about 20-25 locos LNER mainly but some LMS until Trev sells Parnhams off, and for the small German layout, provisionally called Gundelfingen- unless there actually WAS a railway there!.

More later- Gundelfingen will start later in the year when I get the shed up and running, and Seldomseen will follow it.

Cotgrave Show

Setting up today for Cotgrave show. I've just collected a long wheelbase van and put an inordinate amount of diesel into it. Breakfast next then off to Kirton to pick up "Holcome Brook", then back to Newark to pick up "Armathwaite". Then off to Cotgrave to arrive by about 2.30 with a little bit of luck.

Hopefully we've sorted the electrical problem on Parnhams and won't need to double up the B17s again.