The Club builds and operates layouts in a variety of scales.
Ingatestone Update: Field Trip!
One of the advantages of building a modern image layout like Ingatestone is you get the opportunity to visit the prototype to get up to speed on exactly what you are building. So with master craftsman Eric Sainte visiting from Belgium we arranged a field trip which had almost a full turnout from the Ingatestone …read more.
Jul 30, 2017Ingatestone: June Update
A slightly delayed update this month as we handed over blogging responsibilities to a new member of the OO group – me! A lot of progress has been made on Ingatestone in the last few weeks. This is greatly helped by the fact that all 6 scenic boards are now up full time in …read more.
Jul 9, 2017July 2017 running nights for Empire Mills
June’s been a quiet month for Empire Mills, although like the proverbial duck the legs are paddling away under the surface. We’re running on two consecutive Thursdays — 6 July and 13 July — and last night we did a little work towards ensuring that stock prefers to run through a couple of the turnouts …read more.
Jun 30, 2017Prefab platforms
We have started the building of our platforms on Ingatestone 00 which are of two types – traditional brick and the later extensions using a pre-fabricated concrete system (see header picture). This has meant we have been busy making prefabricated plastic components too! And they have to be laid out accurately so that the …read more.
May 27, 2017Ingatestone’s May Update
New member Phil joined us on Monday for the working day on Ingatestone 00. We put him to work to help paint the platform supports that Mo had made at home. Liz also popped in to see progress and is admiring Mo’s model of the cricket club house. The 00 group is in most mondays between 11:00 …read more.
May 20, 2017Empire Mills May 2017 update
We had a great weekend at Quainton Road, so thanks to everyone who paid us a visit. It was really fun to take part in a railway event that wasn’t simply a model railway show, and great to get out into the countryside for a change so we can remember what it looks like when …read more.
May 16, 2017Ingatestone’s April update
Ingatestone 00 is our demonstration layout on Thursday 20 April in the lower hall, and we hope to put up the four front scenic boards to help check for shorts and running. The Monday session was most productive, Mo and Tom put higher ends on the boards to protect all that “knitting” aka OHLE as …read more.
Apr 12, 2017New control panel for Empire Mills, and two chances to see us
Here’s a preview of the new control panel. Wiring work to support this is now in hand with the two main boards done and the two subsidiary modules depicting the clay dries on course. Come and see us this weekend at the MRC open day — we are hoping to have the basics completed! We …read more.
Apr 4, 2017Empire Mills March 2017 update
Although Ally Pally preparations are at the front of everyone’s minds at the moment, we’ve started in earnest on wiring work. We might make a tweak or two to the sections and uncouplers as we go, but the real object is to ensure everything is documented and cabling is standardised so that if and when …read more.
Mar 20, 2017
The real world moves on
I took a trip down to Ingatestone station this Sunday arfternoon to update myself and the team on the referbishment work carried out – although we have to draw a line on when we close our time period for the layout. We had said 2014 to 2016 but its a hard call. The first …read more.
Mar 14, 2017
Point Rodding
We have been doing quite a bit of work behind the scenes in the last few weeks to make CF easier to shift and exhibit – especially as we have Ally Pally coming up in less than a fortnight. We have a truly massive fiddle yard board at the back that has undergone a weight …read more.
Mar 14, 2017
Empire Mills – Feb 17
We’ve had a couple of good operating evenings at Keen House already this year, and the picture above shows my Class 08 on shunting duty this week. Members will have read in our last Bulletin that Empire Mills has new trackwork and a colourful new turntable fiddleyard. Over the next month or two we will be …read more.
Feb 4, 2017