starting a layout

You need to use something under the track, unless you are deaf, cork is relatively cheap and allows for 'proper' ballasting.

That's a "how long is this bit of string I'm holding" question, it depends on how good you are making convincing trees!

Do you actually *need* [1] either, a stabling point can be nothing more than a siding, a TMD will take up far more space and will require substantial buildings to be convincing.

[1] you could decide that the TMD is a bit further down the line (you would actually use the fiddle yard), this means that you introduce light engine movements, you could combine both a visible stabling point and an 'off stage' TMD.

That gets me onto a seperate question... How does someone make trees ( the layout is going to be in OO scale / gauge ) Misc

Grow your own !

.... and the 'bottle brush' type

Have fun

Chris

I think i will give this a try using wire, it looks interesting. Better than using the Hornby R553 I hope Misc

Otherwise, have a look at;

Take a look at this RMWeb thread:

Canadian bloke doing wargame scenery - The pines are pretty good (also cheap and dead easy) . .

Mike

Since no one else has answered this I will. They both have their good points so it becomes a matter of personal preference. I generally prefer the Heljan but the Bachmann now has built-in sound which is a major plus for me.

(kim)

I didnt want to buy both Bachmann and Heljan 47s, I want to buy a few of the same manufaturers models. I have asked a couple of shops and niether would say one is better than the other, one was reluctant to say anything about either manufaturer in general I Have bought a F-liner 57 a few years ago made by Bachmann and the shaft between the motor and Bogie was broken on one side, so was thinking that they could all break easyly in both the 47s and 57s however it may have been a one off.

With Heljan a some people say there too wide / fat, is that true or is it just a few people who know better than everyone else but are wrong ?

misc

It looks a lot quicker doing it the way he made them ( he must have made loads), so I will try with his tips e.g. spraying glue from the top down. I do not think I will use doweling though because the tree just looks too strait for what I want, although it does look good as a pine tree

misc

( AKA Minted )