Langstead – Episode 23: Brace Yourself…

July 5, 2014December 10, 2014Andy Carter 2 Comments

Today I drastically changed my layout. Not in a way that has changed the track plan nor altered the scenery as I have done in the past… No, today I joined my two base boards together.

Why is this such a drastic change? – I hear you cry. And for those just joining this story (and hello, by the way) you might be wondering why my layout was in two halves and wasn’t joined together already?

Original design concept showing how the track would be laid across two boards.

Well all the way back at the beginning I implemented this design for two main reasons: Continue reading →

Review: Hornby Railroad Class A1 “Tornado”

June 2, 2014October 7, 2017Andy Carter 7 Comments

Next up for Review I’ve got a loco I’ve had in my collection for a couple of years now, the Hornby Railroad BR Class A1 Tornado 60163 (R3060). Despite a few flaws this is now one of my favourite steamers in my collection. Let’s find out why…

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Review: Heljan Class 17

May 31, 2014March 3, 2015Andy Carter 4 Comments

Next up for Review the Heljan Class 17 in BR Blue (Item no. 17081). I bought this a couple of months ago having never bought Heljan before, let’s check it out…

Overview

Class 17 – Image By Paul Miller

117 Class 17 Clayton Type 1 Diesel-Electrics were built in 1963 in Derby and spent the majority of their short life in the Scottish Regions.

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NEW! Review: Hornby Class 67

May 30, 2014October 8, 2014Andy Carter 8 Comments

It has been my intention for a while to offer some insights in to some of the models and stock I run on my layouts: why I’ve chosen them, what I think of them and would I recommend them to a friend. To accommodate this, welcome to the new Review section of the CAS site! Recently inspired by similar bloggers and vloggers, (noteably IC82 and LocoYard – both worth subscribing to by the way) overtime I hope to offer focus on new models I purchase as well as taking a retrospective look at some of the older parts of my collection.

I’m going to start with my most recent purchase: The Hornby DB Schenker Class 67 (R3039). My plan is to give you an overview of the model and different versions are available for purchase and then give the loco a score out of 10 for Packaging, Features, Details & Finish, Running and Price before totting these up to give you an average mark.

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Langstead – Episode 22: Station Upgrades

May 2, 2014December 10, 2014Andy Carter 2 Comments

OK, it’s been a little while and it’s time for an update. As always, here’s a reminder of how things looked last time...

Well, sort of last time, this picture was taken before I added the 2nd bay platform to the station under the bridge (Langstead Junction) seen here top left bellow the speaker. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture after this was done, and before I’ve done some more work. But anyway, you get the jist… Continue reading →