New garden layout

Aye lad,

 

We're still trying to sell our house. We've given the realtor a 3 month window to sell our property. Supposedly, the markets in a bit of a slump... Whatever. We'll probably hold onto our home, if our price is not met.

 

I hate the idea of living in a multiple unit complex(townhouse/condo).

 

I was running my Atlas O units today. All CP. A C630, GP9, SD40 and a MP15DC. All brilliant!

 

I'd like to be able to bring those boys with me, and the rest of my O roster. We'll see.

 

Sounds like you've had a wet summer this year. Must make having an outdoors operation a wee bit less enjoyable. You're a seasoned outdoors operator, so ya must take it in stride.

 

BTW, have you ever seen that American show "Duck Dynasty"  featuring the Robertson family. Those lads must be rooted to Scotland. The thing I like about the show... THE BEARDS. I like that look!

 

Take care me son... (I'm still looking for your, kilt clad, grand opening)

 

 

Rick

 

 

 

 

Hi Rick, hope you manage to keep your house.Nah,I don't fancy living in a block of flats either. Where I am is right on the edge of town, jump the back fence and its countryside all the way.

Don't know that TV show you are refering to I'm afraid.

 I've been collecting more European and British outline O gauge stuff.  French and German diesels,one german steamer, and two Italian electric locos so far. I'm thinking to put in overhead catenary down the right hand side of the garden ...anyway we'll see. As for the weather we had great weather in March, lousy weather in April, fantastic weather in May early June then July and August have been terrible.However not in the North West of Scotland where they've had a fantastic summer this year. So the weather is all over the place. No rain here as yet today but its cool and grey like a friggin winter's day.Oh well, not much to be done about that eh ?. catch you later  DAVY I've attached a couple of pics some euro-continental stuff 1) french beer wagon,2)german beer wagon 3)French passenger car A 4)French passenger car B

Hi Davy,

 

We purchased our current house/property a little over 20 years ago. It's been paid off for quite some time. We made an attempt to sell/move last fall, but didn't like the ways of our realtor.

 

We've needed a bigger house for a long time. Our property is a good size, but our house is way too small; and it only has one bathroom. The good thing is... our property has increased in value, quite nicely, over the years. It's best suited for redevelopment. There's been ongoing new construction on our street. Smaller older homes making way for bigger higher-end houses.

 

The problem is... where do we move to? We live in one of the most expensive areas in Canada. Buying a bigger home in our current location would necessitate taking out another mortgage. Not something we want to do, again. We'd prefer to get the best- bang-for-the-buck, using the money we make from selling our current property.

 

That's the tricky part.

 

There are many regions that would be less expensive/more affordable, but that usually means a significant relocation. For example, in Canada's maritime provinces - the homes and cost of living is often considerably cheaper than it is here(in southwestern B.C.) and in B.C., usually, the further out you go... the more affordable things become.

 

My family wants to live in a specific area, and our money won't go as far -  due to the high cost of living.

 

If we don't want to take out a new mortgage, then town houses and condos fall within our price range. There is some detached housing, in the same price range, but it's usually harder to come by. Age and structural quality issues often come into play...

 

BTW, I've seen a lot of water/moisture related problems with leaky condos, especially stucco sided units, in our region. A few blocks down the road, the residents in one building(condominium complex) all had to kick in at least $70,000.00 for major structural repairs, caused by water damage. Now, the building beside that complex is going through the same type of major structural repairs.

 

I've even though about renting a 2 bedroom/bathroom apartment for a year or two, and holding on to our current property, until we get the price we're looking to sell for. That way we could utilize our existing property and the extra space in an apartment. My wife's job isn't secure(she could get bumped by someone with more seniority, which happened in the recent past).

 

Our young adult is still attending university, with a few more years to go. That's why we are trying to stay in a specific area. Once university has been completed, and if my wife's employment situation changes, then it's possible a new location would be required/preferred.

 

In the meantime,  hopefully our current desirable property will continue to increase in value.

 

Re: my trains - I've been boxing up my locs, lately. In case we move. Still have about 10 enjoying their freedom(so I have something to run).

 

I have 3 North American electrics(an EP-2, an EP-3 and a P5a). Having operating overhead cantenary would be tres cool.

 

You're building up a nice European collection.

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Rick

 

 

 

 

Hi Davy , What makes are those passenger cars Roco?

Hi George,

          No,they are models made by Lima back in the 70s and early 80s. No longer in production but can still be found fairly regularly on Ebay UK and Ebay Germany,France etc. As far as I know they only actually ever produced five locomotives , A british 0-6-0 tender loco and a British diesel. They produced an authentic French mainline diesel loco and an authentic Italian Electric loco. Plus a small 0-4-0 switcher which may be based on a real prototype or freelance I don't know.It was produced in various colours and national railways insignia. See here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdZJDwyXkYc  and here....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRDwD9CAZ0YThere is also another earlier catalogue online but Lima never produced every locomotive that was slated for production. Only the ones I've mentioned as fas as I know. However Rivarrossi also did an authentic O gauge German diesel and an authentic German BR80 0-6-0 steam loco. I have both.They did some items of euro rolling stock too but I'm not exactly sure about what all Rivarrossi produced and am still trying to find out. Lima produced those 4 wheel vans in many different beer and other companies' logos. Likewise they did 8 axle oil tankers and some other freight items.     DAVY

Davy... Lad,

 

Do you still live in Scotland; and do ya still have a garden... with trains lying about; and do you don a splendid kilt... when the mood strikes; and do ya still entertain; and what's HAPPENING/HAPPENED to your...

 

It still can't be raining... can it?

 

 

Rick

Hi Rick,

         Weather really has been awfull, and unfotunately most days its been good I've been doin other things that need doin. Things with the railway have progressed a bit but hardly worth showing, I am just back from a  4 day holiday break to Paris,France today. So between one thing and another the railway has had to take a back seat the last wee while. The way things are goin it'll probably be next spring before it gets all the way round the garden,but it just depends on weather etc,but theres a real nip in the air now and the leaves on the trees are gettin ready to fall. But,hopefully I'll get a bit more done yet. catch you later Rick   DAVY

 

Hi lad,

 

Hope Paris was a good time. I've never set foot on the continent; wouldn't mind, though.

 

Too bad, about your weather. You were on a roll, for a while, and got a lot done.

 

My area is having a great long, late, summer; with only a wee bit of rain... one day. The sun has been with us for over a month, now; nice comfortable temperatures, too.

 

Maybe, the break did ya some good, helping to keep burnout... at bay.

 

Myself, I'm looking forward to getting a couple of 2007 locomotives; they're brand new. I was looking for something different, and they are... I'm not saying what they are... until, I've got them in my mitts. No point in getting ahead of myself. I asked my regular dealer to make the purchases, for me. That's me, playing it safe. I don't like giving cc info to unknown dealers.

 

Our house is still on the market, but weren't not pressing for a quick sale, by dropping our price.

 

Aye, ya mentioned signs of fall... A great season!

 

Seems like the Guinness trestle... was a long time, ago.

 

Well I'll be off, me son.

 

Cheers,

 

Rick

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Guys, Rick, Paris..... one word,...fantastic. yes it has its downsides ,for sure it has its not so nice areas but the Champs Elysees, Eiffel Tower, central paris in general, the architecture ,views along the Seine etc, as cities go 2nd to none in my humble opinion.  Anyway, not much doing on the garden railway construction but I'm still gathering European O gauge by Lima. So thought I'd post my latest freight aquisitions which just arrived from Italy this morning. All by Lima of Italy.    DAVY

Greetings me son,

 

Glad to hear Paris hit the spot...

 

Re: your new Lima gear... is it all scale? If so, Europeans seem to favor smaller proportions, for their rolling stock. Over here, big often rules. Is Lima, from Italy, a big outfit? Never heard of them before. Just Lima, the old North American steam builder.

 

I bought myself a few experiments, today. a 330ml bottle of Duvel, Belgian Specialty Strong Beer; Maredsous, Abbaye-Abdij(in a 330ml bottle) and Fraoch Heather Ale(500ml's worth) Apparently, it's Scotland's native ale. Froach is Gaelic for heather.

 

The back of the bottle says -  the Picts were known to brew the legendary heather ale. This stuff( the brew I bought) is supposed to be brewed from a 16th century Scots-Gaelic recipe.

 

Sounds like the old Pict, Richardo, is going to have himself a wee bit of a tasting adventure... this afternoon.

 

I'll drink the Pict brew in your honor, lad. Wish me luck!

 

Cheers,

 

Rick

Taste test report:

 

The Pict beverage had a fruit(peach or apricot) flavor... it wasn't what I was expecting... something dark and complex! I'm with the Belgian number, as we speak, and that is nothing to brag about. So far, besides the short history lesson... these brews don't compare to my usual, my Guinness. 

 

These both seemed more like pop, re: their flavor. I guess I've lost my taste for fizzy brews. To me, the rich brown and the dull, flat texture of Guinness... wins out, so far.

 

Don't get me wrong, there is a buzz with these two; just not as rustically tasteful.

 

Still have the Maredsous, to try...

 

Rick

The Maredsous has a richer colour, but it's fruity taste... not my thing.

Combined, that was a wee bit more than 2 pints. Results: a decent buzz, but not the adventure I had expected; especially, when the word Picts was involved.

I'll take the full-bodied FLAT THUD of Guinness... any day!


Rick

Hi Rick, European loading gauge is a good bit bigger than UK but not as big as the states. They use some seriously powerfull electric locomotives though. Lima was an Italian railway model outfit,they went bust a few years back,They made models in N,OO/HO,and O gauge. Thier O gauge stuff was built to 1/45 scale. British O gauge is built to 1/43 and US O built to 1/48. All these Lima O gauge models I'm buying were produced in the 70s and 80s as far as I'm aware. The British firm Hornby took over the Italian Lima and Rivarrossi brands and also the French brand Jouef,and recently also took control of the Spanish brand Electrotren. These companies come under  "Hornby International" thse days. Hornby has been releasing certain models from these old ranges but re-motored and re-tooled. So you can still buy certain Lima,Jouef,Rivarrossi and Electrotren, but only in HO so far as far as I'm aware.

 The old Lima O gauge is the cheapest way into the European O gauge market. Lenz,Kiss and other current makes are mega expensive. 

 As for your drink-tasting, I'm no really a great drinker Rick,but I don't like Guinness,tried it once....not for me. I've tried the Fraoch before.Liked it.   DAVY 

I do remeber when Lima, Roco and Rivarossi were huge here in the states back in the 1970's especially with N scale and abit with HO scale.  I do not see much of the European models advertized here at all, I guess I would have to get a magazine such as "Continental Modeler". So its great to see your posts of these models.

Hi George , today  the sun is shining so gettin a wee bit work done for a change. Just took these pics . The loco is Rivarrossi. The wagons all Lima. Rivarrossi made a few O gauge locos and a couple of wagons too. 

By the way George, if you want to get some of these models your best bet is ebay.

1) Ebay.de (germany), Ebay.fr (France), Ebay.it(Italy),Ebay.co.uk (Britain),Ebay.at (austria).

 In France you are looking for "echelle O" (scale O) , Germany and Austria ,check out "Spur O", in Italy Lima 1/45, or Rivarrosi 1/45,or "escala O". In UK searches look for Lima O or Rivarrossi O. In the UK searches you tend to get more of the British outline Lima O gauge but you also get some of the continental stuff showing up. I found it impossible to bid on the continental sites,however what I do now is log in using my ebay name and password then click their version of "follow this item". I then bid from my UK page.

 In Germany you want guys who sell "Weltweit" (Worldwide).  France "tout le monde",and in Italy "tutto il mondo".  Hope this helps   DAVY

 

Aye, so yer a manly milk man are ya, lad. Just as well, I guess? More money for your trains... JUST HAVING SOME FUN... AT YOUR EXPENSE, me old son.

 

BTW, yesterday, I was having my own private little celebration. A family member did me proud...

 

I wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing, with Hornby acquiring all the...

 

 

Rick

 

 

Our new garden railway got rained on!

Hi Ricardo,

          Thanks for that. I will keep that in mind. I have a mind to modernise an E444 turtle one of these days.....       Ciao, Molto Grazzi  Davy

Davy looks like nice progress on the layout.Hope your weather holds up for you to make more good progress.