House of Guinness

Whilst pondering decisions about the 7/8ths line, I decided to remind myself what it looks like with some stock on it. I think this is the first time in 2025.

Simplicity

Many years ago, when I was a lecturer in a management school, I always recommended this book. 

Simplicity is powerful, but not always easy. Some of you might know Moravec's Paradox that powerful AI tools cannot accomplish some tasks that a three-year-old can master. I spent four hours this week trying to record a simple fifteen-minute video on agenetic AI that will be edited down by the client to simple soundbites. 

To save you watching it, I was being paid to say it was a good thing.

I've never built anything but simple layouts. I sometimes thing I would make more progress if I built a Big Project.  I had one in mind at the old cottage, where I had the space for permanent benchwork. There is something appealing about a layout you can work on as and when, without having to clear space and dig out boxes. which is what I've been doing to recover from the podcast stress.

First of all though, we've had an Autumn clean up in the garden. After eighteen months we are slowly working out what works, what doesn't, what is too old to be saved, and what needs to be showcased.

I've never been happy with the putative 7/8ths line. I took the radical step this week of removing the siding.

I'm happier with this, but not "Happy." It may be different when I replace the LGB track with the planned hand-built track, and it is ballasted and sceniced. I'm not convinced, though, and for now it will remain a test track. Two other options I've considered for this space are using it for a more complex E2E 16mm line, or even as a scenic 5" gauge line, continuing on a bridge across the steps into the flower bed.The track to do that is already sat in the garden. The bridge would need to be a hefty but removable structure, and it would mean finding the right loco and rolling stock - vintage first-generation Maxitrak being ideal.

So where would the 7/8ths go? It would have to be a simple oval and a siding in one of the flowerbeds. Not the end of the world, because I could just watch the trains go by and not worry about them flying off at one end or hitting a concrete wall at the other.

Meanwhile, back in the office/studio/workshop...

Two things struck me this week. The first is that I have more 4mm "stuff" in here than I realised, especially taking into account what is in the display unit on my wall. The second is that the brackets currently holding up a long Mosslanda shelf could equally hold up one of the other old, shorter but wider shelf units I've got. More to the point, I've got two of them. So one could be a fiddle stick/yard and the other could be the scenic module on display.

My first thought was to reuse the surviving Tanat Valley buildings from Apa. It is tempting, but since they were built, I've acquired a rather large industrial fleet. Those black corrugated iron buildings are rather dark and dingy. I still love them, but they need a larger space to look their best. Something like TAoC if it had been built in mid-Wales.Don't hold your breath.

The industrial fleet is intended for something based on the local Cromford and High Peak, and that is an option.

A simple canal (or narrow gauge) railway connection.

But I'm drifting towards an old idea of a mash-up between the North Sunderland and the Wisbech & Upwell that inspired it. A generic light railway terminus on the fringe of somewhere that isn't anywhere, despite the hopes of the investors. Barren, bleak but beautiful. An East Coast version of Shell Island. 

Nothing to see

 James Hilton recently posted a layout idea that has struck a chord with many people.

The simplicity reminded me of a section of my old OO9 layout, which was essentially a scene inspired by a panoramic painting of the Talyllyn Railway on a postcard, combined with an Airfix turntable featuring 9mm gauge track, allowing it to turn a whole train.

I'm thinking now I could do something like that now, but using a boxfile, with most of the long side cut out, to frame the view a bit like a letterbox. Getting the Cadeby layout out for a quick photo today reminded me how satisfying a very simple scene can be.

Read This

 No, not this post, but the one it links to.

Several of us, notably James Hilton, have tried to be brutally honest about the link between model railways and mental health in recent years.

In my own case, and a few others I know, the link isn't always positive. Yet another failed project hitting the WPB doesn't help your sense of self-worth.

However, there is a link, and it can be helpful. Many of us need help, even when we don't recognise it. In fact, I wonder how many people the hobby has saved without them even realising it.

It isn't just about white men of a certain age, who can feel marginalised and isolated. 

It can be those who struggle to find their own people - and those who, frankly, don't need people.

https://uk.hornby.com/community/blog-and-news/news/hornby-unplugged-are-traditional-hobbies-antidote-digital-overload?