There has not been a lot of progress with the layout so instead some ideas on close coupling and corridor connectors for Bachmann Collett coaches.
Coach Couplings as bought
As with so many Ready to Run models there can be quite a gap between coaches. Can the gap be closed up? Is it cheap to do and will it significantly reduce the value of the original coach?
Coach Couplings as modified
I can remember the introduction of the first Collett coaches by Mainline (Bachmann). At
Some weeks have elapsed since I first wrote about using sieved sand from the garden for ‘scatter’. I can now report on what happens when you add coal dust.
In the view above the area of ‘ground’ at the end of the platform is a mixture of my original sieved sand and paste mix with the addition of 25% coal dust (three teaspoons of sand and one teaspoon of coal dust). This Station is a busy junction and the dark colouring seemed perfect. However to differentiate between more rural and l
Following my last post with ideas for improving the haulage capacity of the Bachmann A4s (old and new) I am suggesting ways here which I think improve the performance of the Bachmann A1s.
Coming from the North East I have to say that I think Thompson’s A1 Pacifics were one of the most handsome and certainly most powerful engines to grace the East Coast Mainline. The photograph above dating from around 1961 shows Silurian, 60121, at the south end of Darlington Station (light engine), wai
I noticed a thread this last week asking if anyone had comments on the ‘new’ Bachmann A4s – here are mine!
I have fond memories of A4s speeding past Darlington Station hauling the Elizabethan. Hence it did not take much persuasion for me to buy one of Bachmann’s latest A4s with a new DCC ready chassis. Initial impressions are of a well engineered model that I think looks the part and compares very favourably with the latest Bachmann A1s and A2s.
Bachmann A4 DCC Ready Chassis
Time has been spent these last few weeks covering up the bare baseboard and the shiny screws:
The aims were to find a series of scatter materials that could be easily replicated and were cheap – better still ‘free’. In our case the answer lies in the garden. We had a quantity of gravel left over from some construction work.
Waste Gravel straight from the garden.
First the material needs washing – you should be on good terms with the lady of the house as you will need the sta
I feel this entry might be slightly disjointed. It is potentially a huge subject and it is a case of not knowing where best to start. I did think of using the title “What’s black and white and read all over?”
Hornby Scenics Medium Black and Medium Light Grey gravels mixed + Maroon (not Red) Morris Minor Traveller
Ballasting all the visible trackwork with Blue Poppy Seeds is becoming just a distant memory and it is time to stop making excuses and get on with some more scenery.
Not a sunny day so an opportunity to make up some plastic kits. I have had couple of Victorian Toilet kits put to one side for some time. Time now to get on with them.
The plan was to use the toilets alongside some existing Hornby Skaledale ‘North York Moors’ buildings – so one of the first jobs was to paint over the green plastic with a ‘maroon’ colour. I also rubbed some matt black paint into the tiled floor and wall surfaces to pick out the joints. A touch of ‘gold’ picked out th
So how was your weekend – wet and wild? No gardening here so in between the showers I had time to revisit my Bachmann V2s.
60862 Bachmann Catalogue No. 31-565.
‘60862’ is one of Bachmann’s latest offerings which comes DCC ready and has a ‘fixed’ Cartazzi rear axle. Straight out of the box the engine feels very light weight and at 310 gm it is not as heavy as the models that it replaces. As I have said here on this Blog before – I like playing with my trains and at 310 gm the resu
The starting point for this Blog entry is the Bachmann Coaling Stage:
This was bought in full knowledge that the steps were in pieces and would need sticking back together. I used ‘Super Glue’. A couple of the joins are still visible but not in my opinion sufficiently obvious as to need immediate repainting.
What was more obvious was the twisted and warped loading chute. This had to be fixed!
The chute is separated from the rest of the loading stage by pushing out the ‘hinge
After playing with the New Hornby Castle I decided it was time to give my elderly Bachmann Halls a fresh airing.
When I returned to railway modelling back in 2007 I already had Castles and Warships from a previous 'life', but no Halls. This was just before Bachmann upgraded their Hall and at the time I acquired three BR variants off eBay (6969, 6990 and 7915). The plan was to use the Halls on four coach sets on my 'branch line'. However at 1in 50ish the branch line proved to be over ste
Some six months have elapsed since my Blog entry here commenting on the Hornby New Castle:
In fact I have acquired three or four models, all 'new' and with one exception, all from UK retailers. During this time I have been able to run the different engines and make a few adjustments.
First a view of Hornby's all purpose nylon washer or spacer. Apparently they are used to position the front bogies on the Schools Class. They are used here on the New Castle to pack the gear tr
First a view of my completed version of the Tees Tyne Pullman:
I would say that the Deltic hauled train with a mix of Bachmann saloons and Hornby brake coaches compares favourably with this early 1960's view of the down Yorkshire Pullman passing Hadley Wood - with all grey roofs:
As I suspected my attempts to cut and re-glue the Hornby R8220 couplings using instant glue were less than satisfactory. The couplings are probably nylon and need a more specialist adhesive. However
Bachmann are gearing up to launch their new Blue Pullman. Here I am just getting to grips with my version of the Tees Tyne Pullman:
For some time I have been collecting together a rake of Bachmann Mk1 saloons and have also acquired two Hornby Brake Cars. Stringing the cars out for the first time raised a couple of issues. Firstly the ride heights of the Bachmann saloons were not all the same and then there was the perennial problem of the 'gap' between the coaches.
If you ha
In between the showers there has been time to make up some of those excellent Cooper Craft GWR seats:
Those of you familiar with the kits will know that Cooper Craft provide a choice of end frames, the original Edwardian frame with entwined GWR crest and the more modern roundel or target version of the crest from the 1930s. The notes provided with the kits suggest one 'target' seat to two 'entwined crests'. The painting instructions that are provided suggest all over brown ‘although
Ten days of continuous sunshine - must be a record for the west of Scotland. However the rains have set in again so back to normal and time for another platform update.
In my previous Blog entries I touched upon basic platform construction and gave some pointers as to the sizes of paving stones. This entry contains some reminders on techniques for marking out the paving.
Work commenced with a nice simple island platform with 'parallel' sides. First I marked out two lines wit
This week I am sharing some thoughts on the excellent kit from Mike's Models for the ex GWR Medium Yard Crane.
I had a full set of instructions for constructing the crane but there was no mention of how to model a base for the crane. A Google Search highlighted a couple of results in this Parish but both acknowledged that the cranes had been assembled without instructions. There was a suggestion that the base should be circular.
A search of my own books showed that the cranes at L
The gales and hailstones continue so luckily no gardening. There has been plenty of time to progress the platform paving.
My previous layouts were made from chipboard and I used the off cuts to form the platform bases which were then surfaced with 3mm plywood.
The current layout is built with 1/2 inch MDF and again the off cuts have been utilised for the platform bases.
This time I chose to use 5mm balsa wood for the surfacing. This gives me a top of rail to platform
I needed a self contained task so this week I have been making up a batch of Ratio Loading Gauges of the GWR and GWR/LMS varieties:
The kits are relatively straightforward and I fixed them together using Butanone solvent. The kits do however contain two different diameters of plastic 'rod' with the suggestion that the smaller rod can be used to make up the rigging for the operating mechanism.
However it seems to me that if the rigging is to be fitted then there is a pulley mis
I am taking a break from scribing the paving for my platforms. Just for a change the weather here in the south of Scotland might have been better than down in England. So, a chance to do some gardening!
Yes, the greenery will be coming, but probably later in the year. (Well hopefully much later if we don't have a repeat of last year.) We have a square of lawn in mind plus a vegetable patch.
Gardens do take a lot of time, especially when there are model railways to attend to
The list of jobs to do is endless but finishing off the platforms must come near the top.
This could be quite a long task but first what size to make the paving? The British Standard suggests that paving stones should preferably be 900 x 600, 750 x 600 or 600 x 600 (mm). However my layout represents the late 1950s, early 1960s, long before metrication. In those days, and for some considerable time after, the standard size of paving stone was 3ft x 2ft equivalent to 12mm x 8mm in 00 s
The sun has come out and the garden beckons. With the sunshine we can also see which of our double glazed units have failed. Upstairs the sudden warmth is likely to be responsible for the spontaneous failure of the glazing in one of my Bachmann Mark One coaches:
This need not be a major problem. Many of us will be familiar with the 'stress test' applied to items sent by post and will have received coaches with displaced glazing. I must have been inside over half a dozen Bachmann coa
A change of scenery, well a change from running trains. There has been a gap between the two baseboards ever since the layout was started and it was time to block up the opening:
I wanted an arched retaining wall. Time and economy are important and I favour the use of card kits. In this instance I decided to make the wall using parts from the Metcalfe Two track Viaduct Kit (PO241).
The first task was to form the arches. The picture above shows how parts of the internal viad
This Blog entry is about making good a Bachmann Manor. It could equally well apply to an older Bachmann Hall and I dare say might also apply to Dapol / Hornby Counties, not to mention Granges and the new 28xx.
This view above is my version of the Cambrian Coast Express. I have fond memories of the ex GWR Manor Class engines and Dovey Junction. As mentioned elsewhere on this web site 'Dad and I' had a little look round Aberystwyth Shed in the very early 1960s and couldn't fail to be i
Following from my earlier Blog I have been asked by a friend whether I have had any problems with the front bogie of the latest Hornby Super Detail Castles. In short the answer is 'no'.
Seemingly there is a recent review in the model railway press that says that on first removal from the box, the front bogie was detached. I have included a few pictures here of the bogie on my Castle highlighting what I would describe as Hornby's cheap and cheerful means of attachment.
Undersi
I do like the rolling stock to be close coupled. This Blog entry is about close coupling ex GWR Siphons of the Airfix / Mainline / Dapol / Hornby varieties.
I like to keep the rolling stock in as near 'mint' condition as possible. I am against cutting and gluing. For close coupling rolling stock of Airfix origins my usual procedure is to fit Bachmann Mini Couplings (Long). This solution is totally reversible should the rolling stock need to be sold on. It also enables trains to neg
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