Last night I transformed an old Hornby goods shed into something new. It was a pretty standard building in the Hornby range, with its recognisable shape and brick texture, and I decided that needed changing. I don't want my railway to look the same as anyone else's. So I designed and printed off some new … Continue reading Covering a Hornby goods shed
Author: Matthew Dawkins
Planning out the station
Having done some experimentation on an old piece of track, and with the help of a friend, I have taught myself to solder again. It's taken a few evenings, but I now have the entire layout wired up with cab control. Now I can move on to planning the layout of the station. But before … Continue reading Planning out the station
Code quality matters
We've all been there. Time is short, so just bash out a bit of code, and as long as it works we can move on. Code is for computers anyway, right? Who cares what it looks like? Actually, how our code is formatted can totally save our bacon later, and save us time in the … Continue reading Code quality matters
Jesus’ authority
This is a sermon preached at St Peter & St Paul Shepton Mallet on Mark 11:27 - 12:17. Jesus enters our lives, as he entered Jerusalem, with authority. Our response should be submission. We should find our identity in him, the anchor in the storm, defining ourselves first and foremost as children of God. We should … Continue reading Jesus’ authority
The importance of a role
At work the other day we were having one of those team-building sessions, led by an external 'facilitator' to help us get the best out of ourselves. A little cheesy at times, but there was one part that really made me sit up and think. At the beginning of the session he asked each of … Continue reading The importance of a role
Two words that changed everything
Yesterday I was idly reading the latest posts on the Model Railway Forum, as you do, and found myself on a post about a wiring diagram for a DC layout. Nothing too extraordinary there. Until someone commented the following: I see nothing wrong with that as a starting layout. As you expand , then cab … Continue reading Two words that changed everything
Base coat of brown
Here are a few photos of the latest progress on my railway layout. I've given the entire layout a base coat of brown acrylic paint, and then added a layer of green on top in a few places. It's still a little thin, so especially on the areas that are covered in newspaper you can … Continue reading Base coat of brown
Sticking with GWR
After much dithering, I've taken the plunge and started glueing my styrofoam base together. There's no going back now! I've also decided on a GWR colour scheme for the layout, and have started repainting some scenery in readiness. I've spent quite some time refining the styrofoam boards, adjusting them a millimetre at a time to … Continue reading Sticking with GWR
Scenery paint test
Today I started testing out some paint for my model railway scenery. I bought a little pack of acrylic paints off eBay last week - not nearly enough to cover the entire layout, but enough to test out a few colours on an offcut. Bottommost on the picture opposite is green, applied pretty much neat … Continue reading Scenery paint test
Landscape refining and engine oiling
Another successful evening in my garage saw a host of subtle improvements to my styrofoam landscape, smoother running from my Smokey Joe 0-4-0 thanks to some sewing machine oil, and a slightly longer siding to accommodate a two-carriage DMU. I have to say, the blue is starting to get to me. It really needs painting. … Continue reading Landscape refining and engine oiling