Lights, Camera, Action!

An inspirational weekend for Ingleton Sidings! Although staged in the miserable Christie Miller Sports Centre in Melksham, (the only local hall big enough for such a show) Trainwest is a friendly exhibition with great hosts in the Bentley Model Railway Group. This year, Exhibition Manager Geoff Endacott brought together a superb selection of layouts which …

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Model railway layout adds new scenic detail for Astolat MRS show.

The new walkway over the end of the sidings helping to mask the end of the baseboard. Revealed at the Astolat Model Railway Show 2012, the new scenic detail added to Ingleton Sidings seems to be well received! One of the potential issues with sidings layouts is that there is always a halt at one …

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Model railway shunting layout appears at Astolat Model Railway Show.

Ingleton Sidings makes tracks to The Astolat Model Railway Exhibition 10am – 5pm on Saturday 21st January 2012. The venue is the meeting rooms at the Methodist Church on Woodbridge Road in Guildford, GU1 4RG. The usual high standard of layouts will be evident, noteworthy on the day will be a last chance to see …

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Listen to the Ingleton Sidings podcast on The Model Railway Show!

Ingleton Sidings is now a radio star! Just how a model railway shunting layout can star on the radio is perhaps a point open for debate, yet Canada’s Jim Martin & Trevor Marshall do a great job bringing the hobby to life on their fortnightly podcast. Slick & fast paced, the show is professionally presented …

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Are you a born modeller… or can you learn?

In 2003, I joined a small group of returners to the model railway hobby with the express purpose of learning how to build an exhibition layout in just 12 months. One year later, Stratton St George appeared at The Basingstoke & North Hants MRS show and in the pub after the event, some of us dared …

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Lights, Camera, Action!Model railway layout adds new scenic detail for Astolat MRS show.Model railway shunting layout appears at Astolat Model Railway Show.Listen to the Ingleton Sidings podcast on The Model Railway Show!Are you a born modeller… or can you learn?

Apr 15

Lights, Camera, Action!

Categories:

model railway blog, model railway exhibitions, modelling tips

by Paul

April 15, 2012

An inspirational weekend for Ingleton Sidings!

Although staged in the miserable Christie Miller Sports Centre in Melksham, (the only local hall big enough for such a show) Trainwest is a friendly exhibition with great hosts in the Bentley Model Railway Group.

This year, Exhibition Manager Geoff Endacott brought together a superb selection of layouts which meant there was plenty of inspiration on display, even if the indoor temperature was lower than Ed Miliband’s official rating in the opinion polls!

Lights

Brewery piping on Ingleton Sidings, the shunting model railway layout on an ironing board

The new walkway over the end of the sidings helping to mask the end of the baseboard.

Trader Kytes Lights provided some inspiration for nifty spotlights to mount on the new piping structure to enhance the visibility at the far right hand end of the layout. Following some real genius (see below) from Mike Renwick’s 0 Gauge triumph “Seabury Town,” a new  burning (glowing) oil drum from Langley Models was purchased to keep the line workers warm once installed outside the platelayers hut!

Workers rest by hut at Ingleton Sidings shunting layout

oil burning stove and strip lights

Camera

Social Networking is having a real impact on the model railway hobby. Sure, some modellers can appear grumpy, anti-social even self centered, however there are a growing number of really switched on interesting and good hearted folk willing to share their experiences online with others for the benefit of the hobby! I met another such person at Trainwest on Saturday 14th April 2012. For some time @ActionRailUK has been  following @ingletonsidings on the social networking site Twitter… On Saturday, Lyndon from Action Rail UK travelled all the way from Barry South Wales to visit the Trainwest show. Following quick introductions, he explained he had linked to this website via his own www.actionrail.com  On my return home a good hour was spent searching around the site, only to discover a treasure trove of superb images and photographs of mostly modern image stock from the real world catalogued and listed for the benefit of the railway modeller and researcher. I urge you to click the above link and enjoy the clear fresh and above all detailed photos which will without doubt prove invaluable to any serious modeller!

Action!

I mentioned Mike Renwick and his superb 0 Gauge layout Seabury Town earlier. Take a look at this layout in the videos below and just see what this man does to create action in his layout…..


Not only does he create the most human actions within the scene

…. he also claims (and who will dispute it?) to have the world’s smallest layout…. on his own …. erm layout….

I hear Mike likes to add another new cameo to Seabury Town every year… I can’t wait for his next inspiration and isn’t that the great thing about this hobby? Without these new new blogging and social network tools though, it would be much harder to share good work such as this…. Today, whether you are inspired by the LIGHTS CAMERA OR ACTION above, one thing is for sure, Social Networking is providing great opportunities for modellers to share the very best work all over the world!
Happy Modelling!

 

 

 

 

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Jan 21

Model railway layout adds new scenic detail for Astolat MRS show.

Categories:

model railway blog

by Paul

January 21, 2012

Brewery piping on Ingleton Sidings, the shunting model railway layout on an ironing board

The new walkway over the end of the sidings helping to mask the end of the baseboard.

Revealed at the Astolat Model Railway Show 2012, the new scenic detail added to Ingleton Sidings seems to be well received!

One of the potential issues with sidings layouts is that there is always a halt at one end, leaving the issue of just  how to mask the end of the baseboard.

John & I began thinking about this at Wycrail last November. The conclusion? Brewery pipework!

A basic Google search reveals a few interesting propotypical images and late this week, I suddenly found the inspiration to raid the spares box to see what I could fashion for little or no cost!

CCTV camera view of the new brewery pipework on Ingleton Sidings, the shunting layout on an ironing board

With the exception of the piping, pretty much everything else came from old kits or old scratchbuild projects. The new bridge-style structure to the right provides an elevated walkway with pipes secured either side, together with another pipe lower down which pumps the tasty IRON BREW beer away from the factory! This pipe runs all the way back to the buildings at the opposite end of the layout where it is received into a newly scratchbuilt housing.

The housing acts as a useful size adjuster; With the pipe fitting tightly into the structure, the box could then slide along the pipe to ensure the perfect fit to the side of the building.

The new brewery piping on Ingleton Sidings terminating into the brewery buildings

The brewery pipework terminates into a new housing on the side of the brewery building which acts as an adjuster to ensure the perfect fit!

The painting/weathering process is not yet complete, however the process so far included the usual Halfords primer, followed by Railmatch weathered black. Using the dry-brushing  techniques, Railmatch frame dirt and sleeper grime were added with a final dry brush of Humbrol Metal Cote 270044 to give that metallic shine. Whilst being careful not to overdo the colouring there still needs to be a little more light and shade added together with a little rust here and there!

As you can see from the pictures, the new structure not only masks the plain end board on the right hand side of the layout, it also provides more interesting detail and also enhances the screen view from the CCTV lineside camera.

What is perhaps most surprising & unexpected, is how this relatively simple structure completely transforms the atmosphere created by the layout.

However, what is NOT surprising is the fact that the inspiration for the project once again seemed to appear at the eleventh hour before the layout was due at an exhibition! Anybody else have the same problem, or is it just me?

Ingleton Sidings at Astolat Model Railway Exhibition, Guildford in 2012

The new, improved Ingleton Sidings at Astolat Model Railway Exhibition, Guildford in January 2012

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Jan 16

Model railway shunting layout appears at Astolat Model Railway Show.

Categories:

model railway exhibitions

by Paul

January 16, 2012

Burnt out brake van & wagon on Ingleton Sidings shunting puzzle model railway exhibition layoutIngleton Sidings makes tracks to The Astolat Model Railway Exhibition 10am – 5pm on Saturday 21st January 2012. The venue is the meeting rooms at the Methodist Church on Woodbridge Road in Guildford, GU1 4RG.

The usual high standard of layouts will be evident, noteworthy on the day will be a last chance to see Chris Nevard’s Combwich. A full list of the layouts is available on their website.

A day of puzzling shunting lies ahead for John and myself, however it perhaps appropriate that I shall be substituted at half time by fellow Academy Modeller Bob Mullard. I have to leave at midday to honour my Saturday job at the mighty Madejski Stadium as the matchday host for the Royals against fellow highflyers Hull City.

Looking forward to getting out on the road again in 2012, so if you are Guildford way,  please drop in and say hi! If not just come and watch novice Bob struggle with the unruly puzzles we’re bound to set for him!

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Jan 14

Listen to the Ingleton Sidings podcast on The Model Railway Show!

Categories:

model railway blog

by Paul

January 14, 2012

The Model Railway Show Ingleton Sidings Podcast

Ingleton Sidings is now a radio star!

Just how a model railway shunting layout can star on the radio is perhaps a point open for debate, yet Canada’s Jim Martin & Trevor Marshall do a great job bringing the hobby to life on their fortnightly podcast.

Slick & fast paced, the show is professionally presented about the experience took me back to the good old days when people actually used to listen to a radio! Each podcast brings the hobby to life with two key interviews and on December 15th it was the turn of Ingleton Sidings to feature on the show.

Recorded at the beginning of December in my home office via Skype it did feel a little strange to think this fantastic technology we know take for granted enabled the guys thousands of miles away to record a conversation good enough for broadcast via a modest laptop. That said, we talked for around 15 minutes about everything from shunting (sorry switching) puzzles & social media through to UK model railway exhibition expenses!

Take a listen to the show via this link or you can find the show on iTunes where you can subscribe to hear the show regularly. It would be great if you could leave your feedback below!

All of which left me thinking, why on earth is no one doing something like this in the UK?

Oh well, another project I haven’t got time to start, let alone finish!

 

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Nov 21

Are you a born modeller… or can you learn?

Categories:

model railway exhibitions

by Paul

November 21, 2011

Stratton St George team at the Warley Show

In 2003, I joined a small group of returners to the model railway hobby with the express purpose of learning how to build an exhibition layout in just 12 months.

One year later, Stratton St George appeared at The Basingstoke & North Hants MRS show and in the pub after the event, some of us dared to dream what might be possible!

In 2007, the layout was front cover on British Railway Modelling and soon after invitations began to arrive to amongst others, the National Festival of Railway Modelling in Peterborough & Doncaster and then the big one, The Warley National Exhibition at the NEC in 2011.

And so it was on Sunday night with some emotion, we posed for this picture at the end of a long, long weekend at the 2011 Warley show, for it marked the point where we realised our ambitions for the layout had been acheived.

All of which got me thinking; Are exhibition standard modellers born or can you learn?

If Stratton St George has taught us anything  it is that modelling is about two things, an eye for detail and confidence. Confidence to get stuck in and have a go and an eye for detail to be able to copy a prototype.

Looking at this small group of modellers over the last eight years, it is encouraging to see how, by having a go, their confidence has grown …and as a result their skills have been transformed!

Surely it can’t be that simple… or can it?!

What’s your experience?

Do you know any born modellers or conversely anyone whose modelling efforts always end up in the spares box?!

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Nov 13

Ingleton Sidings features on modllr.com

Categories:

model railway blog

by Paul

November 13, 2011

As a child, modelling was always a fulfilling, but ultimately solitary experience!

Sadly, my wife still thinks it’s the most anti-social pastime you can indulge in!

However, the new age of the internet and in particular the social web means that even the most private of individuals can build communities and share best practice online! So any new initiative that encourages modellers to share  innovation and inspiration is to be celebrated.

This week, I was contacted by Jon from Bath, UK who wanted to feature Ingleton Sidings in his regular blog of inspirational layouts. www.modllr.com  is a brave attempt in his own words to “change the world of railway modelling.” Lofty aspirations aside, I decided to take a look at the site and it is clear that it is already building into a comprehensive collection of top layouts which has the potential to provide inspiration for modellers and exhibition organisers alike.

Packed with images and text outlining the “unique selling points” of each layout, I was soon wondering whether such an idea had the potential to become the modern day equivalent to the monthly model railway publications?

Maybe not just yet, but it is perhaps worth remembering in the last decade alone, we have seen significant technical advances in the hobby. Along with big improvements in production quality, DCC, model buildings and  much more, there is also plenty of room for innovation online. Therefore, the least I can do is to promote a good idea as it launches fully this Christmas. Good luck Jon and thanks for featuring Ingleton Sidings on www.modllr.com!

Why not take a look for yourself at the modllr blog for yourself and leave your comments below!

 

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Nov 08

A Light Railway?

Categories:

model railway blog

by Paul

November 8, 2011

Ingleton Sidings in the spotlight (literally!)

Railway modellers spend months if not years perfecting layouts for exhibitions, so why do they appear to give little thought to lighting?

Any experienced exhibitor will know that you cannot rely on the venue lighting to make your layout look good, after all just consider the appalling lighting at The Warley Show at the NEC in Birmingham!

It’s a topic John & I have been talking more and more about at recent shows, some layouts seem to have no lighting whatsoever, some have recycled those old 80′s bedroom spotlights, mounting them attractively on wooden poles and we even noted one enterprising layout recently that had invested in LED technology! Ultimately, this has to be the way forward, however in using very narrow LED strip lighting there simply wasn’t enough light falling onto the layout. Furthermore, whilst this could have been run discreetly across the top of the layout, it had been mounted on drainpipe!

Ingleton Sidings appeared at Wycrail on Saturday 5th November 2011. A well organised model railway exhibition with plenty of friendly club members of all ages on hand to help set up.! Once the layout was up & running, we noticed a halogen spotlight pointing directly down into the hall and facing our layout! Even though Ingleton Sidings is presented in an enclosed box with it’s own internal lighting, the presence of this strong light source meant that unusual shadows were cast across the layout and the usual subtle atmosphere was lost on the day.

All of which got  us thinking? Why do we spend so little time and money on lighting our layouts and secondly how do we ensure that our layout looks 100% irrespective of the venue?

Enter on the other side of the Wycrail  main hall Catcott Burtle, one of the many stunning exhibition layouts operated by Chris Nevard, much publicised photographer of Ingleton Sidings. Aside from the top quality modelling it was apparent from the other side of the room that this layout was not going to suffer from any external lighting issues. Furthermore it appeared as if the layout had been given a quick once over spray of a very light blue weathering to enhance the features. Chris assured me it had not and invited me to look behind the lighting gantry. There were three small strip lights supposedly from B&Q interspersed with two energy saving spiral bulbs from Tesco. This combination of 5 lights could be viewed to be excessive on a layout of this size however the effect was stunning! When the striplights were turned off it became obvious that the signature “hue” of the layout was not achieved through weathering but clever use of lighting.

Then again when you take a look at Chris’ model railway photographs you realise there is little this guy doesn’t know about lighting!

 

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Oct 31

Weather or not? The race is on!

Categories:

model railway blog

by Paul

October 31, 2011

Anyone in the model railway hobby who knows me, knows my one pet hate is clean unweathered stock straight out of the box!

Collectors who buy stock and then never even take it out of the box are a complete mystery to me!

Anyway, each to their own is I guess, the politically correct thing to say at this point.

So consider this… here are two new brewery wagons from the great Wessex Wagons range. Perfect stock for the Iron Brewery on Ingleton Sidings. In the picture, a collectors dream perhaps, but to me they look hideous! Hideously clean, toys not models if you like. Before they get anywhere near the layout they need some (always heavy in my book!) weathering. This week I thought I  would blog the before and after pictures of the wagons and perhaps in the next blog talk a little bit about the weathering process I used.

The real question is that with Ingleton Sidings appearing at Wycrail this weekend, why on earth am I messing around with stock with just 5 days to go. Proper modellers like Chris Nevard whose Catcott Burtle layout is also appearing at Wycrail this weekend, would surely not  approve!

 

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Oct 12

New Ingleton Sidings exhibition dates for 2012-13

Categories:

model railway exhibitions

by Paul

October 12, 2011

Ingleton Sidings has been invited to attend the following exhibitions in 2012-13:

Saturday 21st January 2012 – Astolat Exhibition, Guildford

Saturday & Sunday – 14th & 15th April 2012 – Trainwest, Melksham, Wilts

Saturday 21st July 2012 – Linslade, Leighton Buzzard

Saturday and Sunday – 20th & 21st October 2012 The National Festival of Railway Modelling, Peterborough.

Saturday & Sunday 16th & 17th February 2013 – Watford Finescale

New for 2012 will be some new weathered brewery wagons and maybe if Father Christmas is feeling generous this year, some new motive power! Any Exhibition Managers looking to fill a 6ft square corner or space on their exhibition floor plan, please give me a shout as I am looking to put a few more dates in the  2012 diary!

I’m looking forward to meeting and chatting  with as many shunting fans as possible so come and say hello sometime!

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Sep 12

Pack your layout in your old sleeping bag!

Categories:

model railway exhibitions

by Paul

September 12, 2011

I can report a great weekend at the Farnborough Show in Woking this weekend (yes why is that??!!) Friendly helpful club members made the weekend a lot of fun even though we were situated in the Woking equivalent of the London Dungeon. (have you been down in that room?!) Lots of great comments and plenty of people already reading the Model Rail Micro layout special. It’s even inspired me to think about a 4th Gronk – as if i haven’t weathered enough of them already!

Now we have three weeks until the next appearance at Beaconsield, a friendly little show we attended in previous years with Stratton St George! I hope there will be further upgrades in place by then, so please watch this space! However, the burnt out box van did receive some damage in transit so the roof bars will need to be fixed before the end of the month!

More excitingly, at the Woking Show, I managed to pick up the Dapol BT Brakevan kit as seen (burnt out) on Ingleton. I hope now to repeat the exercise once again, however this time taking photos and making notes on the way for a future Model Rail article… right now that all feels a little daunting, but exciting!

Anyway,  just thought this parting shot would be of interest. The layout woodwork can often get damaged in transit, so why not pack everything away in a sleeping bag?John’s ingenious design has meant that all the panels stack into a pretty neat package. Wrapping them in the sleeping bag and then securing them to the sack trolley ensures a swift and secure exit from the exhibition….. and believe me when you’ve been shunting for two days solid, that’s just what the doctor ordered!

 

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