I wasn't planning to attend, thinking I could wait for Telford in September, but as I happen to be in the area and I am in need of some Gauge O bits and pieces, then a day at Kettering is very much on.

I have been vaguely alluding to a number of future projects and this is probably the time to disclose the next locomotive project. Though the LMS 4F still needs to be completed.

The Jinty and the 4F are inside motion six coupled locos, so excellent for starting out. The next locomotive is just a little bit more difficult in that it has outside cylinders but no external valve gear. It's also a 4-4-0. Yes, it's an LMS Compound, courtesy of David Andrews, the kit for which should be delivered in mid-March.

I already have the wheels, crankpins, etc., from Slaters. The motor gearbox has been selected for purchase at Kettering - on David's own recommendation it will be an MT gearbox with Canon motor having a 30:1 2 stage reduction This will be bought from M.S.C. Models. I will also buy brass steam heating hoses for this and the 4F - white metal is simply too vulnerable.

The big question, to which the answer is probably going to be a reluctant "no", is whether or not to fit working inside Stephenson motion between the frames of the Compound's chassis. The kit is available from Laurie Griffin. It is not inexpensive and could really tax my capabilities. Interestingly, my library photos of Compounds nearly all were taken from ground level so really do not show the under-boiler complexity that will be missing on the David Andrews kit (the valve gear is also missing on the Connoisseur 4F which has a larger space, whereas Connoisseur's Jinty has some components which don't actually move). We tend to watch our locomotives from above rather than from scale ground level which is why these extra details become more important.

As I understand it, the working inside motion requires that the crank for the inside high pressure cylinder is soldered to a Slater's axle and then the axle is cut so that the connecting rod will work. I assume the valves would be driven from eccentrics so no additional cutting would be necessary. I am sure this is all very easy to do, but there is a certain fear of the unknown - Laurie Griffin has to give me the confidence to do it! A very good reason to visit Kettering.

My prototype Compound is almost certainly going to be 41168, the last to be scrapped, in 1961, and one that was shedded at Monument Lane, 3E. Its livery choice is probably best put as "dirty" but underneath the grime of the last photos taken I cannot see any lining, so it is possible that it would have been painted plain black with the early BR totem on the tender. In its later years it had extended front frames, a Stanier chimney, LMS flat-topped dome and Fowler tender with coal rails.

For the Compound I am planning on buying a Poppys Wood Tech chassis jig, but exactly which one will have to wait until the show - my email conversations with Anthony at Poppys need some further discussion as the axle spacing between the two driving axles on the Compound is 9' 6".

The Compound was a beautiful locomotive (in my opinion) with a long history as the Midland's "big engine class". It was often used as a pilot on the 2 hour expresses from London to Birmingham and back, typically when the demand called for 14 coaches . In later years the pilot was more likely to be a Black 5 (or as we called them, Mickeys). The combination of a Jubilee and a Compound working together was a sight I never saw.

As well as these purchases (and a few other bits and bobs) I want to enjoy the show, learn from people with more knowledge and experience than myself, and watch some trains go by on the exhibition layouts.