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  • SouthernRegionSteam

    Coastguard Creek - 15 months of planning!

    By SouthernRegionSteam

    Hold on to your socks - this is going to be a lengthy one! (In fact it's so long, I've now split it into 2 separate posts - the next will be up soon...)   I think it's fair to say that you are all long overdue an update on Coastguard Creek. Due to other commitments, no real progress has been made since the last post way back in March 2021; almost 15 months ago! If anything, things went backwards for quite a while, as I kept finding more and more inspiring locations that I really wanted
    • 8 comments
    • 2,851 views
Best of British Haymarket Diesels

Smethwick's finest (other products of B66 available, that may or may not be considered quite this fine)

The first of what must be, in anyone's book, one of the most successful of the Pilot Scheme classes, if not the most successful Type 2 of all, entered service at Hornsey shed on 30th July 1958. An unbelievable 52 years on, it's hard to contextualise how this gritty progeny of the even grittier district of Smethwick marked the beginning of the revolution of suburban services out of Kings Cross. Curious too how this turned out to be something of a false dawn, because hard on the heels of the unb
'CHARD

'CHARD

3
Smallbridge

A Little Light Relief

Much has happened since I got made redundant a fortnight ago. Although searching for a new career is a priority, I have managed to get quite a bit done in the last fortnight.   Some relief has appeared on the terminus side of the station, and along the back scene, I have also managed to finish the inset rails. Awaiting to see how my finances go before the station buildings start to appear, but the space has been made ready for it. Photos of work so far below.   As usual any comments or criti
wollastonblue

wollastonblue

1
Fen End Pit's Blog

An approach to UK signalling with JMRI and MERG CBUS

Over the last week I've been experimenting with my MERG CBUS components and JMRI with a view to producing a way to make a mechanical signal box frame which is interlocked and interfaced with a PC. The requirements I've set for myself are as follows:- I want a mechanical lever frame, with proper chunky levers to pull. I've already build one from the Scalefour stores produced by the Shropshire & Herefordshire Area Group (######). I want the frame to prevent me from setting conflicting
Fen End Pit

Fen End Pit

1
Kingsbridge Branch N

Wiring progressing slowly...

Am currently wiring and soldering everything! Apart from trying to find an all encompassing idiots guide to code 55 point conversion all suggestions from here have been adopted for the wiring, so thank you for encouragement. I will hopefully have a day modelling on Tuesday so will post some more pictures of the track development. I hope to complete the simple tracklaying on the scenic base pretty quickly so I can experiment on it with ballast.
devondynosoar118

devondynosoar118

2
harkins77's Blog

Big day finally arrives when something actually runs on the layout.

As the title suggest it has been the first day that anything has ran on the layout just to make sure that I've laid the track right. I only tested the loco on the scenic board just now but that is because I only had one wired up line at a time and with the points being dead after the the trailing points I just couldn't wait to have something running.   I've made a video of the brief run and I thought you might like it.   The loco is one that was painted by a member on here and I did the tran
harkins77

harkins77

0
RJRs Branch Lines

Mk1 seating and side panels

Today's update is a double day effort as I didn't post yesterday.     On the one side that had been seen previously I have now added the second skin made from 20 thou (0.5mm) plastic. In this' the window aperture's are 1mm smaller all round and have radius corners.     On the other side I have started the thicker first layer of side panels.     I have also fitted the seat backs and bases, which pointing man seems to find quite interesting.       This last picture shows the w
johnteal

johnteal

0
Claude's Blog

Pulborough - A UK prototype in T Gauge

It has been well over 6 months since I last added something here!   More ideas have been formulating over the last few months, some of which have manifested in other threads, however something struck me in the world of T Gauge the other day...and the source of this was none other than Electra Railway graphics.   http://www.electrarailwaygraphics.co.uk/ A very naughty Mr Warr has decided to start producing his tranfer sets for T Gauge...mainly to fit the Hankyu 9000 sets that have recently
Claude_Dreyfus

Claude_Dreyfus

5
bmthtrains' N gauge projects

New Vids

A few shots of some newer stock having a run in, including the Dapol 58   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O3FRokJf2A   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI9G6QsLF-g   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L9bBxf7FB8   David
bmthtrains - David

bmthtrains - David

4
barrowroad's Blog

Barrow Road - STOP sign

I have spent some time researching the wording for STOP sign that is at the entrance to the roundhouse at Barrow Road.   This appears to be a standard sign at most Midland Roundhouses but obtaining a clear photograph has proved a challenge. Last night I found a good colour photo of such a sign at the entrance to Toton Shed and have identified the following wording.   MIDLAND RAILWAY NOTICE TO ALL (DRIVERS FIREMEN) AND ALL ??????????????????? STOP. ALL ENGINES ?????????? TO ENTER
barrowroad

barrowroad

5
halfwit's fantastic workbench!

Nonneminstre Models Fowler Resilient - more bodywork.

I've added the bonnet top and cab roof and started filling and sanding the body ready for painting. Some of the detail castings have been added, the sandboxes (but not the pipes yet) and axleboxes. The bonnet top details (filler caps, exhaust, air filter) will be added after painting as will the brake column in the cab. Some pics;       I've also added the couplings, the kit gives you a choice of sensible 009 Bemo type couplings or scale buffer blocks and link. I went for the scale optio
halfwit

halfwit

0
North Marsh Road - Eastern Region - BR Blue - OO

Progress update – well non really

My word how time flies and unfortunately modelling progress has not been made during this time.   I have spent a large part of my recent spare time working on home restoration work and my job has also taken up a lot more than just my basic hours, so with these two things added up, railway modelling has taken a very big back seat.   However, the repair work, plastering, woodwork, painting, wallpapering is now complete, the carpets are laid, the furniture back in place and one bedroom and ne
Jaggzuk

Jaggzuk

0
Jon020's Workbench Blog

Further Deltic modifications - chassis dropped on bogies

Dear all. I finally got around to reducing the gap between the bogies and chassis on two of my deltics. I'v ebeen meanign to do this for a while and whilst a number of people have mentioned it, I could never find anything that showed how it was done... so here's how I did it. First picture shows a before shot... there is clearly a bit of a gap between the bottom of the brake lever and top face of the bogie. Whilst this allows the loco to be used on layouts with 2nd radius curves - my move to Co
Jon020

Jon020

17
harkins77's Blog

Final height of upper boards decided on and fiddle yard laid out

Well I thought I would update on the progress I've got done today and it's been relaxing and fun even though I've had to get up once or twice from the floor as my legs have gone dead. The update is that I've made use of the 2 a1 sheets of 5mm foam board and I've used them to raise the upper level from 10mm high to 20mm high and I'm really pleased with the results. I tried it with just 1 board of 5mm on top of the already laid 10mm but it still didn't look right so I placed the 2nd board down an
harkins77

harkins77

0
The Fatadder's Modern Workbench

July ramblings

Not a lot of modelling done over the past few months, the highlight begin the work on 50031. This has seen a little more progress with jon's cast side grills now fitted along with the new windscreens. Just need to drill out the new exhaust ports and it will be ready for painting in august.   The main event of the past month has been buying my first house (ok apartment), although it will not be finished being built until December it does mean that I know know how much space I have for a layou
The Fatadder

The Fatadder

0
Best of British Haymarket Diesels

Fruit Machine Jackpot

Well, after the hectic postings of yesterday and my knee-jerk reaction to EE Type 3 feedback, there seems to be an unprecedented level of traffic to my mindless number-crunching, so here goes with one particular Haymarket Best of... that I was dreading, Class 24s. And it turns out to be as benign an allocation history as it's possible to get.   Every oral history of Waverley dieselization makes great fanfare of the same classes: Peaks, EE Type 4s and 'BRCWs,' probably because they were the us
'CHARD

'CHARD

1
Meadow Lane, MSC Railway in P4

Yellow black and blue all over...

It's been a busy few weeks with work and mountainbiking but I've found time to progress my Judith Edge Sentinel - and couldn't resist 'semi finishing' one side to get a feel for what it would look like...   I often find that doing something like this (like with the Pacer) eggs me on in some way to finish... the end is in sight and it's looking good! So what steps to get us this far...   Well primed, then the yellow (which was faded with a touch of white), then masked, then the blue (again
James Hilton

James Hilton

5
Avonwick South Devon in 2mm (Kris' Blog)

Less than 8 hours muddling time to go..... panic time!

Twas the night before Christmas GJLC and all was quiet. Well that's not true for a start. Planned modelling time yesterday evaporated so today has been designated a day for muddling testing and generally trying to get everything done.   Plus points   The layout is up and test running has commenced - minor issues have been tweaked and most of the track is clean. The locos seem to work! Fingers crossed. Most of the points still switch - soldering iron is out to attack the problem one.   M
Kris

Kris

2
Best of British Haymarket Diesels

More marauding Celtic Co-Cos in the Central Belt

For completeness, here is some additional info about tractoring's infancy at the sixty-something depots, Polmadie having a massive early input but action concentrating on Eastfield in 1972. Obviously it's Celtic in the genealogical sense, not the football one, in which I have no interest and even less knowledge.   I'm keeping the Haymarket contingent in here - amazingly the drive to rid the Fife coalfield of steam meant that 64B started off as a major player. We barely associate HA with the
'CHARD

'CHARD

4
The Saltney Railway

Pie in the Sky(trex)

Just a quick update on the Skytrex “L&Y style†signalbox kit.     Looks more like an RSCo. Box as supplied to the LYR.     Seems to be fitting together ok but I’ve had to shorten the cast whitemetal handrails for the staircase by about 5mm.     The interior kit is (as usual) a bit Great Westerny so I’ll use the lever frame but scratchbuild the rest   I think it’ll look suitably Lanky-ish when its done and painted.      
Jon Fitness

Jon Fitness

0
SNCF stephen's Blog

24 hours of progress on a new Micro Layout!

I was about to make a start on the fiddle yard extension to Nevic Entier when I noticed that I had enough materials to construct a reasonable sized shunting plank. This made me change my plans somewhat considerably. A new micro layout would give me somewhere to take pictures of stock and also allow me to finally use all those buses my dad purchased for me.   So last night I used the scraps of wood I had left over to form a pretty crude baseboard and this morning I layed the track, created the
SNCF stephen

SNCF stephen

0
Best of British Haymarket Diesels

Lesser spotted Borders tractors

Possibly the least-photographed and recorded class based at 64B to feature in Waverley route (re)collections. A dozen strong for the majority of the Waverley's diesel era, the tractor fleet remains elusive, despite Neil Caplan attesting to their late mastery of the route in the Railway World WR Special (Ian Allan 1985).   However, there is probably a solid explanation for this. The Clayton fleet was still retained in quantity until inroads were made during '68, matched to a degree with ro
'CHARD

'CHARD

9
RJRs Branch Lines

The coach has a roof !

This afternoon I got home earlier than planned so i used the time to block up and sand the roof section with some Balsa wood           This method was a lot quicker than the one I used to make the loco roof !!!   John
johnteal

johnteal

0

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  • Blog Comments

    • Fen End Pit
      J17 - Kit finally available

      By Fen End Pit · Posted

      Hi Stewart I've described the kit as 'designed for P4/EM' but we have included frame spacers for OO. The tender chassis will need a little modification to solder the two side frames at a suitable OO width rather than just folding down. You also will need to file a little bit of the 3D print behind the front wheels to clear the narrower wheels.  The chassis uses Brassmasters' hornblocks and the 'Continous springy beam' principle to spring the chassis (not flexichas that uses equalizing beams
    • Miss Prism
      J17 - Kit finally available

      By Miss Prism · Posted

      Looks to be an excellent mixture of materials.
    • stewartingram
      J17 - Kit finally available

      By stewartingram · Posted

      I like the look of this, I really have the feeling that it is time to replace my trusty old Bec kit (made when I was still at school, 60 years ago)! Now for peace of mind for a luddite (please excuse me, (silly questions probably): 1) You model in P4, is it suitable for a 00 build. 2) It is a flexichas, is that necessary or can it be a solid chassis 3) For a number of reasons I won't use coreless motors. I do use HL gearboxes and have been very satisfied using them with the C
    • rockershovel
      Boots and saddles

      By rockershovel · Posted

      Coming to the end of this job now. It's been nearly 3 years of steady work and provided welcome continuity during my wife's orthopedic problems.   Seems I have to find my own next job with my current employer. This means I need to hold through the HR rigmarole again. Historically I have little success with civil engineering HR depts, I was rejected at the present job before being "referred internally" by the Discipline Lead and anyway, I'm now past retirement age.    I'll pro
    • Neal Ball
      GWR WR Diagram E116 B set

      By Neal Ball · Posted

      Nice carriages.  

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