WorldRailFans

Hello everyone.

I feel that my site (manvell.org.uk/personal/trains/) is now sufficiently developed to mention it here. As a relative newcomer to model railways I am still lacking in knowledge, but I would hope that there plenty here to interest others and, maybe, to provide information. Many of the photographs can also be seen on Frits Osterthun's site and I am very grateful to him for helping to correct some of my more glaring errors and omissions, though I am sure there are many more to be sorted out. Sadly, at the moment I do not have a layout to run the collection on, but that will come.

With best wishes to all here,
Chris

PS There are a few dead links, but I will sort these as soon as I get time.

Hello folks.

Thought it was appropriate to bring you up to date with my website.

First, as part of rationalisation of all my Web material, I have moved the trains to their own sub-domain; so the site is now at http://trains.manvell.org.uk/.

The site itself has expanded considerably since I first mentioned it here and, in addition to the many additional N scale items, now has a section devoted to Z scale as well (although this is still somewhat embryonic as a lot of work is involved in photographing the models and then adding them to the pages.

Finally, I have put my plans for an N scale layout on hold (it will come some time next year) and have started building a portable (luggable?) layout based on German outline. The baseboard is ready and I have most of the track I require (and more than enough stock!). Before I start laying the track itself. have a look at the layout plan; any constructive comments would be more than welcome. The plan can be found at http://trains.manvell.org.uk/layout/.

With best wishes to all,
Chris

Sorry, should have said that the portable layout is Z scale.

Chris

Hello all.

It's been a long while since I posted (I've concentrated on a couple of Z scale forums) and a lot has happened in the meantime.

Quite a few extra items have been added to my site, mostly in Z scale, and a lot more still to add. My layout has come on well and has been shown at three exhibitions now. It's still a 'work in progress' but all the trackwork is in place (though I am thinking of some possible changes). The signals are mostly installed and a very crude routing system is in place for the exit tracks at both ends of the station.

The layout diary is at http://trains.manvell.org.uk/layouts/z- ... reitefurt/
Latest photos are at http://trains.manvell.org.uk/exhibition ... -MorayMRG/

Do have a look and let me know what you think.

With best wishes,
Chris.

Since my last update a lot of changes have been made to my website. All my Z scale locos are now posted and I am now turning my attention to rolling stock.

In addition to the images of locos in N and Z, I have added data sheets for nearly all of them. These sheets give basic information about each class and sub-class as well as who models them (in boht scales), including catalogue numbers where possible.

Finally, inevitably, I have updated my layout diary. It has done one more exhibition (Inverness) and has two coming up (Elgin and Falkirk) next month.

All the best to everyone,
Chris.

Hi Everybody.

I feel that a giant step forwards was achieved yesterday with the completion of the backdrop to my layout. This was painted by a friend of mine who is, to my mind at least, a pretty good artist. So I wish to thank her (she wishes to remain un-named) for all her hard work. In addition, I would like to thank Ian Chard (Broadford Gallery) for all his help preparing the 'canvas'. Do have a look and let me know what you think. (Bear in mind that adding grass, undergrowth and trees have yet to be done. http://manvell.org.uk/layouts/z-scale/Breitenfurt/

With my best wishes to all,
Chris.

Hello Everyone.

Today saw another small leap forward. At the end of last week I prepared the baseboard for ground level scenery by applying a couple of coats of Woodland Scenics undercoats (green and brown as appropriate). Today I added in the cinder covered freight yard and the cobblestoned street and station yard. There is a helicopter view of it all but it's not very good as I have mislaid my camera and had to use a slimline pocket one instead. Anyway, do have a look (link below) and let me know what you think.

With my best wishes to all,
Chris.

Hello. Me again.

I put all the bits of my layout together this afternoon so that a friend was able to see what all the fuss was about in all its glory. So, while I was at it I took four photos (actually a lot more but four were selected) to put up on the website. These were taken with my replacement camera with a proper flashgun attached. They are now up on the site and are, I feel, the best so far even though I set the wrong aperture and forgot to put the flash on wide angle. Anyway, I think the effect is very good and no shadows! Do have a look - I hope you will be impressed.

All the best,
Chris.

Hello everyone.

Just to bring you up to date, I have added a short entry to my diary together with a couple of photos. Things are going well but I am held up waiting for trees. However, not too much to do now for the Inverness exhibition which is less than a month away.

All the best,
Chris.

Hello everybody.

I've posted yet another update to the Breitenfurt - Ost webpage. I decided, having taken the baseboard up to my room to work on the wiring, to take a photo of the bit no-one ever sees - the wiring under the board. DCC users, shield your eyes! There was also an update a couple of days ago.

Off to hospital today for further tests (I think). Back this evening - I hope.

All the best,
Chris.

Good evening friends.

Although I have been working on the layout, there is not much to see for it. What can be seen includes flowering gorse bushes and a few extra trees. I have added a few photos to my diary including a rather nice one of the right hand end and one of the nightmare known as the wiring (under the baseboard). All the buildings that have lighting are now fitted with LEDs and their roofs have been stuck down. (I haven't done the street as I am going to change the order of the buildings.) So the oily filament lamps left are the external ones. I am deliberately running them at low voltage to prevent burnouts as many of them are no longer available. In fact, if anyone has any spare yard lamps type 4801 (and the equivalent single lamps ones) that they want to sell, please let me know.

With my best wishes to all,
Chris.

Dear Friends,

I've added just one more photograph today. Yesterday I received some yard lights from Model Masters but was not going to do anything with them until after the exhibition. However, the temptation was too great to resist so last night I fitted them and this morning wired them up. Now I am waiting for my daughter's boyfriend to come for tea and I will shift the whole lot downstairs so that I can take a night-time photo and start testing the locos ready for Inverness. :o)

All the best,
Chris.

Hello everyone.

Another couple of days and another update. Earlier today, I offered the two end panels up to the layout to see how they looked with the backdrop in position. They are not quite as pale as I had hoped as I was using a mixing white instead of a proper white. Not my choice but I was buying from the local art studio which is selling off its remaining stock and didn't have any pure white left.

The triangular end-pieces are a compromise between nothing and square end-pieces. Nothing would make supporting the backdrop much more difficult while a square shape would box in the layout and make it somewhat claustrophobic. The triangular shape seems to work well. Anyway, have a look and see what you think.

With best wishes,
Chris.

PS. Sorry about the quaity. I had to lean out quite a way to take teh photos so they are a bit shaky.