So here we are approaching Expo EM at Bracknell.

My plan was to have had the complete model built or at least minus a few finishing touches by this weekend. I imagined myself proudly showing off a beautiful model that purred around the test track getting admiring comments.

So what do I have... well little has changed since the last blog entry. I now have the tender picks ups fitted to the chassis but only seem to have the options of either having the pick-ups touch the wheels or having the wheels go around.

I have also to shim up the height of tender coupling so that it doesn't lift the leading wheels off the ground.

There is a also a clunking noise from the valve gear but only when the engine is in reverse

So all is not lost, I can at least get the basic chassis rolling around the test track.

By the way anyone is free to test out their EM or P4 locos and stock on the test track this weekend. Note that only EM and P4 stock works...

While I have not been doing much to the actual model I have been busy with some research. Mrs Brightspark and I went to Yorkshire over Easter where I was treated to train immersion therapy. We stayed at Pickering (Bridge House B&B...recomended, right next to the station, good breakfast). Running up and down the NYMR was 76079 so I took one or two pictures especially of the tender height. I am not sure that those warning signs are original.

I also had a stop over at the NRM and had a visit to The Search Engine. This is a fantastic resource and I spent an hour or two looking through the oficial drawings of the Type two tenders as well as a few drawings of the 76000's. I have ordered up some of the drawings and await their arrival. Hopefully these will arrive by the weekend.

I will be with North West Surrey Area group at Expo, we are demonstrating and trying to get local members involved.

EM member or not, if you are attending please drop by and say hello.