Apart from Hugh @Perthsouth I haven’t seen such a precision built real train on line layout on anything like this scale. Obviously a labour of love. Would love to see this something like finished, but I suppose it’s the journey and your vision of the working of Preston station that is more important to you. Nothing but respect from me. I spent many Saturday afternoons on Preston’s platforms mainly in the 1980s and it was a hotspot of traction.

Pinning the brakes! Not seen that in 4mm before. Super representation of the ‘feel’ of steam days, locos and stock with sounds are wonderful. The little details like the forcing shed and stained stone walls, collapsed embankment, the pub and former pub, full of character with the weathered finish 👏👏👏👌👌👌

Speechless…..

Thank you for this brief opportunity to step back through a door into the land of lost content.

Thank you for sharing. I remember cycling to Eridge in the 70s. It was a surprise find and although the Bluebell was not far away little did I expect it to become a preserved station many years later - thank goodness. Your work in replicating this station and its yard is really impressive and brings back much of the atmosphere. Just need to hear the bells ringing in the signal box!

I love a layout that operates prototypically, and I've operated on some, but for me there is something that is absolutely imperative that a model railway should have and without it the whole exercise i.e. all the other realistic qualities, are rendered pointless in my eyes, and that's locomotives that cannot move in any other way than like the real thing, no matter what you do with the controller. It should be done preferably via the locomotives' mechanics i.e. massive flywheel bigger than the motor, spur gears etc. If not, do it via a controller with simulation / momentum mode, and it should be fixed so that momentum *cannot be switch off* or turned down to zero. Most important that. I've done it with a battery powered locomotive. I've made it so that momentum cannot be turned down to zero. The lowest setting is the momentum for a light engine which means it has a stopping distance that, like with the real things, you always have to take into account when operating. Realistic accelerations and decelerations should not be at the whim of the controller. That is not realistic. Locomotives have certain acceleration and deceleration rates and that's it. A driver cannot make a loco start and stop faster just because they are late in the time table. There is nothing that ruins realistic operations worse for me than to see a locomotive darting about the place like a toy because the operator is late in the timetable. For me it's when a model does what is impossible in the real world that is the biggest illusion spoiler. Realise, in the real world it is *impossible* for such high tonnage to stop dead on a sixpence, but it is *possible* for a train to be late in the timetable (as we are all very aware of). If you are late in the timetable then you should have to deal with it like the real railways have to deal with it.

Very atmospheric indeed. Well done !

Super stuff - model railways done properly! Marvellous 😊

This is fabulous video... I have an old outside light fixture made of copper and its upper crown/dome has fallen off of the portion/cover (this is the upper cover that is removed in order to replace the light bulb) and this video made me realize it was more than like resistance soldered... now I need another tool and even if I only use it once, at least I will always have it in my accoutrement of tools that every man should have in his garage, 🙂

Excellent presentation, really fascinating. As a body of work, it truly is an incredible achievement. Most inspiring!

Hi i remember going for a walk with my dad when i was a kid they were taking the lines up. P.s it would be nice to see a layout of the leeds new line.

It would be nice to see the leeds new line .

Hi Steve just brilliant I remember when I was a kid me and my dad went for a walk upto Drighlington station and they were lifting the lines . Cheers Peter.

What a wonderful, professionally-produced video! I shall build an RSU next month (I'm an electronics engineer). I couldn't have asked for a better teacher! [complementary, I think, not comlimentary, at the end]

As the station closed to passengers in 1951, this can't be "sometime in the 1950s".

Just magnificent, superb work, thanks for showing us !

Thanks so much for the excellent, comprehensive, and entertaining reports. This is much appreciated as just too far for me to travel.

Didn’t know Butley Mills still existed! amazing I still have Ian Rices book detailing this layout and found it most inspiring, thanks for the very detailed filming and narration, seems you was a bit more ‘relaxed’ on this last presentation, well done. Eddie 🤓

Thanks for this lovely series of videos. I particularly enjoyed seeing the Wantage layout, and its demonstration of how three-link couplings are perfectly workable in 4mm scale. One idea I haven't seen developed yet is working brakes on rollingstock to enable engines to back down on to trains realistically; I'm sure in the DCC age it could be worked, and maybe also non-digitally, with brakes (only one set needed per set of vehicles) turned on/off with a magnetic 'wand', or even an actual working hand-brake on a goods wagon.

There were quite a few Proto4 and Scale4 enthusiasts in NZ. The late Bill Richmond’s famous (in NZ) LMS layout was actually built to exact 4mm scale complete with transition curves. There are two modellers in Napier who follow Proto4, going back to the mid 1960’s.

Perfect viewing throughout 👍💜😊

Thank you for sharing all these 4 reports. Really well written and presented.

Exceptionally fine models but amongst them all Blackfriars Bridge is truly outstanding.

Another interesting video, Id love to know more about RC in smaller locos🤔🤔🤞🤞👍👍

Truly admirable layouts in every respect. And an excellent video presentation. Thank you for sharing.

Another great video, looked a fantastic exhibition 👍💜✌️😊

It would've been oh so nice to have been able to come even just for those Exactoscale locomotive and tender wheels, or if someone sold them on Ebay or some other place.

Is it possible to sound more disinterested?

Inspirational. The very highest standards of model-making are maintained throughout.

Great video, it's been a long time since I was last involved in such endeavours, it's now beyond me. Huge amount of effort for and by all concerned. I have to say it - because I care a great deal about our wonderful hobby - I had hoped to see, by now, after the TV publicity of the past 5-8 years, at least a few younger faces setting up layouts🤔🤔🤞🤞🙏🙏💜💜 So many wonderful layouts👍 I was pondering what had happened to Ditchling Green, I wonder what Gordon Gravett thought about seeing it again?

Very interesting layouts and stories behind the layouts. May be nice to see some more video footage of the layouts

Wonderful evocation of the period, and less tedious times.

In the late 1970s, I was lucky enough to ‘borrow’ some of my uncle’s ‘Railway Modellers’ from the early 1960s; these frequently seemed to have articles by Peter Denny and his wonderful layouts. It’s marvellous to see this video and know that this great layout is being treated with the respect it deserves. Thanks for keeping this layout running and for the brilliant presentation.

Wow just came across this video what a wonderful model I hope my own modelling can reach this standard

Great video, when I first viewed this I thought it came from the pendon museum archive, sound and narrative excellent. Reminds me of when we were taken to school at Faringdon from uffington by freeman's coach. We sometimes would glimpse the goods train making it way to Faringdon as it crossed the bridge over the road to Shillingford making its way over barrowbush, we used to know it as the Faringdon jonnie by then only goods traffic was using the line before it's closure, shame you have not got a diesel rail coach on your layout which they operated with for a time during the demise of steam, I had a antie that lived opposite the dairy in park road, your models of buildings are quite excellent, I'm glad it have found this, great memories thanks

My layout @ 00.02 and @08.38.....

Ive seen this layout in MRJ when I used to take that publication, always admired it, beautifully done. I know Faringdon quite well, my father helped, sadly, to demolish part of the line and yard and was pleased that the station building was saved. He ran a nearby plant hire company. Also later hauled timber products from the area. My uncle and friends also worked in Faringdon. The 'new' builds remind me of contemporary new builds/ council houses in Shrivenham too. Rose tinted glasses, I know, and times were hard, but people still worked at the speed of a horse - after the past four years, I long for calmer, more genuine times. Stunning model, beautifully executed.

Modelling at its very best.

Very impressive. large and not so large things come to notice. Things like the glazing effect on the Collett Goods; the thin plate-steel effect; the superb starting and stopping of the 45XX; Hand built locos, stock, buildings, and scenery. And the painting. That pass coach with all the gas tanks seems familiar from the Wild Swan series on coaches. What are the pedigrees of the locos? Are they Mitchell or Finney kits? Today - 'head scratching', snips in hand, trying to solve scratch-building problems. So few of us now. I wonder if you know how encouraging films like this are? It gives something to aspire to. As I write this the thin plate-work on that tender flashes in the mind, as it will continue to do. Strange how imagery works. Thankyou

A very informative and well presented video.

Really nice to see this layout in action.

Beautiful and interesting narration.

Great show, thanks for sharing 👍👍👍👍👍

Beautiful!❤

Bit late to the party but this is an extremely informative and demonstrative video and helped answer a lot of my questions regarding the process of resistance soldering. Sent by Paul from Scale Model Workshop, you are a great presenter my good sir.

Brilliant modeling. How was the grass done? Looks like it used a basket liner but I can't find any videos showing the process to create something like this in Faringdon

I needed this 2 months ago, would have saved me so much grief and frustration; 2024 is the year I went back to buying brass kits and attempting to make use of that blasted RSU.... what a bleeding mess..... oh, now I know why. Thank you.

Excellent video. If only all videos explained things so well. I suspect David is a naturally tidy and organised person but maybe we can all learn from that. Despite having had a LRM solder unit for many years I learned some things.

A joy. Thank you for posting.

Very beautiful & realistic!!! Love the narration