Has anyone else seen/read the article about the person building a
4mm (18.83 gauge) model of Kings Cross station circa 1955, even
the unfinished track work looks impressive (especially the view
'from Gas Works Tunnel'), what is more he appears to be building
it as a one man effort! His only compromise seems to have been in
the length of the platforms, not in the track layout or
functionality of the station.
Nice to have the space, 13ft x 26ft, *within* the main (centrally
heated) house too...
I wish him well of it. I have a room that size with a vastly less
complicated layout which took about ten years to complete (possibly because
I was running an etching business in background). I doubt he'll finish it,
but if he does he is going to need a lot of rolling stock to go with it. My
little effort needs 50+locos, 60+ coaches, and wagons I haven't counted
recently but 100+ at least. The stock took longer than the layout to build.
The buildings alone will take a lot of time as KX is one of those stations
that 'just growed and growed'. There is a similar large outfit in NZ which
is a model of Tring cutting AFAIR. It got coverage in the MRJ some years
ago, and nothing has been heard since.
The custom built room with temperature control is certainly the way to go if
you can afford it. SWMBO got a huge kitchen as a result of this room because
it shares the same wing of the house. I never have to clean track, and dust
is also less of a problem than I had with earlier loft bound set-ups.
It is however nice to see our MRJ getting back to main stream modelling
after several years of wandering. I may even renew my sub if it keeps up
like this....
Alistair W
:
:
: It is however nice to see our MRJ getting back to main stream
modelling
: after several years of wandering. I may even renew my sub if it
keeps up
: like this....
:
Yes indeed, but TBH, I'm surprised that it's still going! I used
to have a complete set through to about 1991 and then
intermittent copies until I finally stopped taking it in 1994, in
a rash moment a few years later I disposed of them together with
a full set of "Railway Reflections" and other assorted 'special
interest' railway mags [1]. Act in haste, repent at leisure as
they say, oh well never mind...
[1] also had the entire MRC run that documented the building of
"Bodmin" in P4, can't see any editor these days giving over so
much space each month to such an editorial master (and endurance)
piece of modelling "How-to". :~(
">> Tried to find more info on the net. Failed but came across this
You've missed the point here. Gainsborough is a CLUB layout with about
twenty guys working on it. The KX in question here is a one man band.
Personally I think solo efforts are best because you get a uniform standard
of workmanship and you don't have people standing around criticising what is
happening while taking good care not to do any actual work themselves. I
haven't been in a club for nigh on 30 years now and I can't say I've missed
them. The classic for me was a club in North Hertfordshire where a new
layout to OO FS standards was altered with a soldering iron by a 'senior'
member to 'coarse' the night before it was due to go to an exhibition. This
guy wanted to run his Hornby Dublo stock on it. He claimed all club layouts
had to be usable by all members. I tried to get him sacked from the club. I
failed, and left the club as a result and I've never been in ons siince.
I hope the KX builder gets it done. I never finished my WCML layout of
Weedon and it was a lot less complicated. Solo layouts should not have
massive amounts of pointwork - you will spend all your time maintaining it.
Alistair W
Me too. I thought the last editor was a disaster. It may pick up now and get
back to what it was.
Might be able to help you there. I was a member of the club where it was
built and did some draft articles for them. I also will have, upstairs in
the loft, all those MRC articles and a lot of the original material,
drawings etc.. What do you need to know?
Alistair W
:
:
: > [1] also had the entire MRC run that documented the building
of
: > "Bodmin" in P4, can't see any editor these days giving over
so
: > much space each month to such an editorial master (and
endurance)
: > piece of modelling "How-to". :~(
:
: Might be able to help you there. I was a member of the club
where it was
: built and did some draft articles for them. I also will have,
upstairs in
: the loft, all those MRC articles and a lot of the original
material,
: drawings etc.. What do you need to know?
:
It's not so much what I need to know (a modeller is always
learning), it was more a comment about how bloody silly I was to
dispose of such a collection. Having missed the original
Heckmonwick (sp?) articles that went before Bodmin was what
pricked my interest in P4 - it just looked 'correct'.
:
:
: I hope the KX builder gets it done. I never finished my WCML
layout of
: Weedon and it was a lot less complicated. Solo layouts should
not have
: massive amounts of pointwork - you will spend all your time
maintaining it.
:
Perhaps his real interest is building complex pointwork, after
all he states that the 'mainline' (continuous running loops) and
storage yard - designed to look more like an XP marshalling yard
from the looks of the plan - are complete and thus he can 'watch
the trains go past'.
I didn't miss the point. It was just that in the process of looking for
more info about the solo one I found the club one and thought people might
be interested. I agree with your comments and also hope he gets it
finished, although I have to admit that if it were me I'd never make it.
;o)
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