Monday, May 22, 2006

Metcalfe 0801 0 gauge Goods shed






I purchased this cardboard building kit in a small British hobby shop. It was one of the few items they had in 0 gauge, but I liked it straight away. Since, normal model railroad shops in Europe will seldomly have an 0 gauge item in stock, I was quiet happy. Metcalfe is a English model company, making predominantly cardboard building sets in scale 00 and also a goods shed and backdrop buildings in scale 0.

The construction of the freight station took me three evenings. It is nice work, with regular intervals to let the glue harden. The building description is clear and the work progressed fast. You will need a sharp hobby knife to remove the objects from the cardboard sheets and to cut through the connection points straight. With a normal knife you will get a white fluff spot on the places where it was connected to the rest of the board. The resulting freight building is remarkably heavy and solid for a cardboard building set.

Lionel Boxcars (like this 6464-525 Minneapolis & St. Louis boxcar from 1957) fit right into the station. The freight station doors are about 7 cm in width and 10 cm high. The length of the station equals about the length of one boxcar.

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Ilkley train show 6th May 2006




On the 6th of May 2006 the UK Lionel lines collectors club organised a train show in Ilkley. Without a doubt, this is the largest European gathering of Lionel lines collectors. There were about a dozen layout and it was great to feel the atmosphere and to see some of the engines and cars that you always wanted to have. A few pictures will tell the story.