I've not had a lot of time for much modelling since late summer, but have finally got round to doing a few conversions etc. to P4. I've also built a couple of Ratio clay opens (non-hood fitted), as a kind of experiment to look at what kind of standards we want for the new DRAG layout project, although these will certainly see use on 'Callow Lane'.

Here are a few photos.

First up is D7042, which I bought second-hand a few years ago, and finally got round to converting a couple of weeks ago. It's had screw couplings and pipework fitted, plus the main front handrails at either end have had the two missing inner stanchions added. Weathering will follow at some stage...

This Hymek is one of the 'BR blue' era locos, the layout will mainly operate in early 1960s mode, so here is D7042 with an unlikely bedfellow:

Last night, I finally tested some newly-converted wagons on the layout, plus the two china clay wagons (although the two Presflos have appeared on my blog before). Apart from the two clay wagons, none of the other wagons have any compensation or springing at all... I find that provided the wagon concerned has a nice, square chassis and sufficient weight (the three opens all weigh 42g), then that is sufficient to avoid any derailments. One clay wagon is sprung, with Bill Bedford 'W' irons but solid (Lanarkshire) buffers, the other has internal rocker compensation, and sprung (Lanarkshire) buffers.

The Class 20 (another one in the weathering queue) was used to haul and propel this rake at pretty high scale speeds through all the pointwork and curves. Fortunately this was accomplished without any derailments or other 'operating incidents'...

These two Bachmann ex-LNER 'high bars' will acquire some of Dave Franks' buffers in due course:

The buffer shanks on the china clay wagons scale down to 3mm, and with the overall buffer diameter not much more than that, the ever-helpful Mr Franks was not able to drill them out to that diameter. However, he did kindly suggest drilling them out for 2.5mm, which he duly did, and I think that the result, when fitted with sprung heads, isn't too bad:

Next up for 'Callow Lane' is to produce a part-relief/part-'backscene' factory building, using the new Scalescenes 'northlight' loco shed kit as a basis...