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Distracted by Trains

@distractedbytrains.bsky.social

21 followers 32 following 200 posts

Big trains, small trains, steam trains, diesel trains, electric trains, experimental trains, freight trains (or goods, pre-containerisation), passenger trains... Terribly adorably distracting the whole lot of them!

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Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · Mar 25

All the best adventures begin at a railway station!

A pair of cabin bag style suitcases stood on a railway station platform underneath the dot matrix train information display. On top of the front suitcase is a brightly coloured plush toy parrot. His name is Peter, and you may be seeing him fairly often in photos & videos of our travels. He's a very adventurous little stuffed parrot, especially when it comes to trying new foods, and he's often obliging when it comes to showing relative size in photos.

Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 11d

Thank you 😊

Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 11d

@janusxuk.bsky.social I took a very different approach to you, as you can see!

Inspired by Welshpool with its cattle docks that used to serve the mainline & narrow gauge railways.

I ran out of time to build the cattle dock how I wanted so decided to have it in the middle of refurbishment 😆

Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 11d

Here we are, for anyone who's been waiting, Tigg' favourite photos of her entry in the Peco Rail 200 'modular' diorama building competition.

These aren't the exact ones used in her entry. The close up of the cattle was taken later in the week :-)

Small model railway diorama in OO scale.

There is a straight piece of standard gauge track near the front, with narrow gauge tracks behind.

Between the standard gauge track and front of the baseboard is spring green grass and a row of telegraph poles. The ground beyond the standard gauge track is all packed dirt.

From the left the narrow gauge railway starts off parallel to the standard gauge track, running between that and a pair of semi-detatched red brick houses. As it passes a water tower, the rails curve away from the standard gauge track, and diverge into two tracks behind a pub. From the points, one set of tracks leads off into the distance while the other is a short spur allowing access to a cattle dock platform sited between the narrow and standard gauge railways.

The cattle dock has no fencing - there are concrete posts stacked on the ground at the near end - and currently holds a large flock of sheep clustered around a man holding a bucket. Two other men look on.

In the background of the scene, a horse and dray are making a delivery to the pub and there are more men sitting on benches outside the pub, watching the goings on at the cattle dock.

A view of the diorama from the cattle dock end, showing the sheep and the various people watching their antics as well as showing the posters on the side of the pub and a clearer view of the horse and dray.

A view of the diorama from the houses end. You can't really see the scene at the cattle dock as it's in the distance but you can see the sooty weathering I did on the model houses.

Close up of a small part of the scene which you couldn't see in the other photos: a farmer is leading a small herd of Welsh Black cattle away from the cattle dock.

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Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 11d

& in the car on the way there & back we were discussing potential TT:120 layout which could be built with transporting to exhibitions in mind...

Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 11d

Been a long day but a good time at GETS.

Tigg acquired another Peckett W4 (Jaffa - been waiting for that one & got it at a nice price) and also some road vehicles.

Tom picked up some nicely-priced container wagons & a restaurant car.

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Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 11d

Hey, don't go dragging us into your crustacean-based love fest 😆

Reposted by Distracted by Trains

Tachyon Eddy @tachyoneddies.com · 12d

Interesting if you're into making model railroad bridges and want to learn more about short bridges. There's an actual "Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance" with some learning pages and studyable pics. Just don't get talked into buying a real bridge.😅

www.shortspansteelbridges.org/products/sub...

diagram of a bridge showing the parts, from https://www.shortspansteelbridges.org/products/substructure-foundation/

Steel bridge with sheet still abuttments from https://www.shortspansteelbridges.org/products/substructure-foundation/

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Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 12d

Still waiting for the announcement of Thistle 💗

Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 12d

Will be driving over there as it's quicker than going by train so I won't be posting during the journey.

Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 12d

Heading off to Milton Keynes to look at little trains again today!

Haven't been to this show before but one of the ads had us in a photo* so we let that persuade us 😆

*photo was taken at the April NEC show.

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Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 21d

Ooooh! This is exciting news 😊

The Man in Seat 61 @seatsixtyone.bsky.social · 22d

Breaking: Caledonian Sleeper's highland sleeper to Inverness, Aberdeen & Ft William will call at Birmingham International from 15 January onwards, picking up northbound at 22:42, setting down southbound at 06:20. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
More about the sleeper: www.seat61.com/sleeper-to-s...

Caledonian Sleeper train to link Scotland with Birmingham

The new service will start in January linking Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William to the West Midlands.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Reposted by Distracted by Trains

Tachyon Eddy @tachyoneddies.com · 22d

Next year, this model railroad in Chicago will have been in continuous operation for 70 years.

South Side Weekly @southsideweekly.bsky.social · 22d

Founded by thirteen World War II GI’s from Chicago’s South Side, the model railroad has been in continuous operation.

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Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 22d

Photos will be tomorrow at the earliest as I have no brain-space left for composing alt-text but I just submitted my entry to the Peco Rail 200 model railway diorama competition.

Over an hour before the deadline too!

Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 24d

Since you're working in z it may be worth dropping a comment on the video asking if the same bedding might look overscale for you?

Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 24d

Chinchilla bedding with artists pigment to colour it by shaking in a jar. Can't remember how he glued it down though.

I didn't realise until he started this series but he's a professional model maker, used to work on films & all sorts so there's a lot of good tips & info.

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Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 25d

Ugh. Don't have time* to make the cattle dock fences the way I want to so it can just be a platform with people herding sheep 😆

*competition deadline

Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 25d

Well I still hate masking tape but the ballast stayed where it should be even when I knocked the baseboard against our concrete floor.

I've marked out the final positions of the buildings as they are here & I'm psyching myself up to ballast the points.

Also need to finish the cattle dock today :-/

Part-built model railway diorama. Standard and narrow gauge track has been laid & ballasted - except for the points - and scenic items such as buildings placed in position. In the foreground is a paved platform that is going to end up as a cattle dock.

Part-built model railway diorama, viewed from the opposite end to the previous photo. From this view you can see that the standard gauge track is up on a small embankment and has nicely laid ballast with the tops of the sleepers mostly visible. The narrow gauge track is laid straight on the ground and the ballast is very mixed with dirt and covering most of the sleepers.

In the foreground a pair of semi-detatched houses back onto the railway with only a path between their back gates and the narrow gauge railway.

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Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 25d

Just had to drill a 3mm hole for fitting one of my street lights & it felt huge compared to all the 0.5mm & 0.65mm holes I was drilling for the track pinning 😆

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Reposted by Distracted by Trains

JonCinville Railroad @strawberryfields-1.bsky.social · 25d

Since I bought this set and it came with a coal car, how do I know if it's Beautiful Clean Coal or just the plain dirty crap it's always been?
#toytrains
#modelrailroading
#nscaletrains

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Reposted by Distracted by Trains

ralphmurre @ralphmurre.bsky.social · 25d

Port Arend, 1959
A breezy day, the wind lifting the tarp over the open engine room of the tug under construction, which is coming along pretty well. The ship awaits the 1/48 scale shipyard to be built around it.
#ModelRailroad #Oscale #scratchbuilt #BoatModel #papermodel #Shipyard

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Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 25d

I wasn't quite sure what you were asking when I first saw this post last night (I think ballasting track made my brain leak out of my ears or something), but this recent video has some great advice - it's TT:120 scale but should work on any I think?

youtu.be/nFfHRIc-BhI?...

TT120 Part 5 Peco Rail200 Model Layout Competition

YouTube video by Peachy TT120

youtu.be

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Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 25d

We had burgers & beer by model train in Prague!

Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 25d

Right, that's everything off the sprues. Now I just need to clean them up & get painting.

Just.

(50 fence posts, 10 gates, 20 hinges, in case you're wondering 😆)

#ModelRailway #DoubleO

Plastic tub holding many moulded plastic scale model pieces representing concrete posts, wooden gates, and metal hinges. The pieces are a brownish grey as they are currently unpainted.

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Distracted by Trains @distractedbytrains.bsky.social · 26d

Just remembered I was going to listen to the #TrainTracks feature on #Radio3 today while I worked on my model railway.

I guess I can listen again on Sounds when I'm not swearing about ballast & glue & pizza cutter wheels.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 3 - Train Tracks, Live from Edinburgh Waverley

A railway extravaganza celebrating 200 years of the birth of the modern railway