Tag Archives: small layout

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1 August 2025 – The Journey of a Thousand Miles

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First channel video (talking about the channel and what I intend to make of it) releases to YouTube on Sunday, August 3rd.

It has been a journey

This common saying originated from a Chinese proverb. The quote originates from Chapter 64 of the Tao Te Ching, attributed to Laozi. This saying teaches that even the longest and most difficult ventures have a starting point; something which begins literally where one stands.

I have had to relearn almost everything I knew since my last time working in this arena. My family has been wired, mic’d and are listening through good basic pro gear. Everyone has come on board to help out and get this done. Talk about standing on the shoulders of giants.

Thanks also have to go out to the following YouTube creators:

  • Wayne Fick (Created by Wayne) for his outstanding Canva video learning videos
  • Kevin Kolbe for his, unknown to him, continuing support and encouragement over the last several months

I aim to have a second video out by mid-August to kick off the topic of small layout operations. Then, one video will be released each month, on the first Sunday of every month, until the end of the year.

And yes, I know I said I’d do that last year, too. What I’ve learned since then is that I was overestimating my knowledge. My skills weren’t up to the level I needed them to reach a standard I believed the subject and those of you who’ve been reading this blog deserved.

I am at the bottom of the ladder now, but I’m pleased with what I’ve created, and I aim to better my skills as I go forward. I look forward to your feedback on the next post that will be out on Sunday morning, my time here in the freezingly cold South-Western corner of Australia.

Staying in Contact

Interested in keeping in touch or discussing posts, pages and ideas?  You can do that in several ways by:

    • Leaving a comment on YouTube starting Sunday, August 3rd 2025
    • Commenting on this post (I read and answer each one)
    • Sending me a note using our About page (email)
    • Connecting with us on Facebook at Andrew’s Trains
1. Small, 1:43.5 (7mm Scale), Exhibition, Inglenook, Layout Design, Layouts, O Scale, Site seeing, Sites of interest, Switching, UK, Web

Site Seeing – April 5 – Small O scale layouts 3

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With many thanks to David Bromage for sharing photos of his visit to the 2016 Bendigo Model Railway exhibition let’s take a look at a new O scale layout on the Australian exhibition circuit: Filching Road Yard.

Site 1: Filching Road Yard (courtesy of David Bromage)

Photo courtesy of David Bromage
Photo courtesy of David Bromage

New on the Victoria model railway scene is Filching Road Yard. A simple and not overly large O scale of 8 feet (2400mm) by 18″(450mm) wide. The layout is a budget build and was designed to fit into the back of the owner’s car (a station wagon).

With only two turnouts and a cassette fiddle yard this could be the ideal O scale starter layout. To keep your costs down you could also build your own trackwork, a project that I’ll be undertaking later this year as I attempt to increase my modelling skills into trackwork.

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