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Amongst the many other things that I alude to on my workbench in previous entries there have been a selection of horse boxes growing in number for some time. I am currently (still) working on a pair of GCR and an M&GN item from David Eveleigh along with a pair of Lima GWR items, that are the subject of this entry. I know they are branded LMS but from what I can gather from published books and photographs they are meant to be a GWR vehicle to diagram N16 and the LMS didn't have a vehicle anything like this. Lima horseboxes are not so easy to find for sensible money nowadays and I apologise to anyone who thinks such items should be treated as sacred. I was fortunate to collect one for £6 by blind luck and the other for a swap of a Chivers LNER horsebox kit that I never intended to build. As it turns out I could have quite probably scratch built the vehicles with a similar amount of effort because I only re-used the sides. Everything else went in the scrap box on the floor. At least I didn't canibalise models with in correct GWR livery! However, had I have tried, the initial outlay would have been significantly more. The Lima model is actually pretty good dimensionally. Roughly to 2mm scale in height and width, but closer to 1:148 for length. I'd always overlooked the model because I figured that it was probably Limas all too common blend of a minimum of two different incorrect scales in different directions; I realised I was wrong after reading some discussions on internet forums and listening to Jerry Clifford. Diagram N16 was introduced too late for my modelling period, but there are some not too significant differences between this diagram and some earlier ones. To go back to diagram N12 (which is as far as you would go with this body because the earlier diagrams were quite different), to suit my modelling period, would only require the addition of bolections around the fixed windows and some new ends with a turn-under in addition to the details that need changing to make a better model, for example the quantity of roof furniture provided by Lima is excessive. With a couple of tweaks, and a new chassis, this body could be a really nice model, but here's how I went about making something a little different. First I removed the ends completely and cut back the sides so I could get to almost scale length for 2mm when the new ones were added from styrene sheet. The floor is cut back to allow a second thickness of sheet to be added inside the end at the bottom where the outer end piece will be filed to whisker thin in the next stage to form the turn-under. New ends were cut from styrene sheet and the curve of the roof profile filed out. The blue colour is where a permanent marker has been used to allow clear marking with a scriber to show the extent of the turn-under. The body nearest the camera already has this feature complete whilst the one behind still needs filing to shape. There are also The next stage was to add the bolections around the fixed windows. The photograph shows them in the process of being added. I worked carefully around a former made from steel adding 0.010" MicroRod with enough solvent to make it pliable but not enough to make it deform, stretch or break. Careful persuasion with a blunt cocktail stick to prod it around into shape, combined with a lot of patience, has given a result that I think will be acceptable from normal viewing distances once painted. I made the former from steel because I have some available. I did try a wooden effort first off but it failed miserably: the solvent managed to attach the MicroRod to the wood sufficiently well that the bolection was dragged into the window aperture and destroyed when I removed the former. a completed bolection on the other side the bolection in very cruel close up. Much easier after doing five of those was adding the interior. A few pieces of styrene sheet and a length of coach seating strip suitably modified for the groom. The seats were in two sections, so I made a cut and file job in the centre to represent this. You will also notice that I cut the partitions to the wrong width and then rather than cut them to the right width slipped a small piece of styrene in to make things good. It don't think this bodge will be very noticeable once the roof is in place. The floor was cut out to allow the windows to be added from underneath after the exterior paint is completed. After a question on Yahoo! groups I was pointed to a reference for the interior colour, which is similar if not the same as, light stone. A support structure was built up along the tops of the sides and along the centre of the vehicle for the roof with assorted styrene sheet. The roofs themselves were cut from 0.005" styrene sheet and whilst still flat locations marked and drilled for the roof vents and lamp tops. Further details have also been added: The gaps between the sheeting on the ends have been produced with a skrawker (a piece of hacksaw blade ground to have just one tooth), I thickened up the protrusions at the tops of the doors with styrene strip and I also used styrene strip to alter the rather odd rounded shape of the drop lights to something that looks more like it should. To be continued...

Good afternoon, Having had the day off work today, I have managed to finish the basic construction of the station building for Par. When I was down in Cornwall last week, I dragged my fiancee down to Par to measure the station building so as to make the most accurate model possible. I checked permission with the station staff first. So permission granted, and a half hour later (with a very embarrassed wife to be!!) I had my measurements. The main structure is made of 1mm thick card which I collected in my previous job and has been sitting in a box for the last 8 years. I knew it would come in handy one day! I'm still not sure how I am going to represent the stone work as I am struggling to find stone/brick papers with this colour stone printed on. Any ideas would be most welcome. There is still plenty of work to do but here are a few pictures of the progress made over the last week and today. I've also included a few prototype shots. As always, any comments and tips for the rest of the model greatly appreciated. Rear view. Prototype rear view. Side view. Prototype side view. Front view. Prototype front view. Best regards, Jeremy

My Cambrian modular layout is now nearing the stage where I need the proper power supplies for testing. (Also tied in with this entry is this thread from this forum entry on RMWeb.) As a qualified person I am quite capable of building my own electrical equipment for my model railway projects. However I must state here that anyone contemplating building anything involving 230V mains equipment should be aware of the consequences of their workmanship, and if in any doubt do NOT even think about building a project like this. The electrical requirements of my modules requires three separate and independent supplies of 16Volts a.c..at 1.5Amps for the Fulgarex units, lights and l.e.d. panel lamps and two further 12V a.c .at 2 Amps for the two track controllers. One thing that any modeller who knows about electrics will tell you is to keep any 230V stuff outside of your control panel. To this end my PSU (Power Supply Unit) is housed in its own aluminium box which connects to the layout via a multicore cable and heavy duty polarised multi pin plug & socket. The PSU then sits on the floor away from the layout and out of harms way. Here's a couple of pictures of the PSU showing the construction. Note from these pictures that the 230V mains wiring is first of all protected by a 2A fuse, in the panel mount fuse holder just above the mains cable entry. The 230V wiring is all kept to the nearside of the case well away from the low voltage side of the PSU. Note also that the case and the frame/screen of the transformer is well earthed. Both transformers are salvaged ex equipment types that have been thoroughly checked and tested before being used. The Transformer on the right is the 16V supply and the one at the left has two separate 12V windings. The view from the other side shows the low voltage wiring. The 16V supply is protected by a glass fuse of 2A rating and the two x 12V supplies have their own Thermal over current self resetting cut outs. (Ex H&M I think) The flying lead and multipole plug to the layout can be seen on the right. Take note that since these pictures were taken I have made and fitted some Plasticard fabricated shrouds to cover the exposed terminals of the transformers and on/off switch. When I built a bigger PSU for a club layout some years ago, I also incorporated a cover interlock switch that disconnected the supply if the cover was opened. I have not done so in this case as it will only be me that opens it and I hope I don't have to for a long time! Once again before closing I will repeat, if you have any doubt what so ever then do not attempt this sort of job, get some one who is qualified to do it for you. Cheers for now frank

Hi Pete, After a brief search, I found this.... back to days when travel was simpler ? Jon

I've spent a couple of evenings making a mock up of the proposed layout. It's really helped me visualise how the finished article might look. Everything seems to fit in O.K, but I've labelled the points with their "hand" and code number in the hope that if anyone spots an obvious cock up they'll let me know! I think it has a nice flow about it and should have enough operational potential without being over complicated. I like the idea of my liitle Manning Wardle wheezing along the private siding with a couple of wagons while a GWR tank engine simmers in the platform. Plan view of scenic area, works out at 12 feet 6 inches long Left hand end Right hand end Overall view Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! Dave

Good afternoon all, I have managed to progress board 3 of the layout (or the London end of Par station) over the last week or so. Ballasting has taken place and the track has been painted. I first painted the rails in Phoenix "rusty rails" colour, then a week wash of track dirt to take the sheen off the sleepers and blend the rusty rails a little. The ballast is a 70/30 mix of Woodland scenics buff and brown. I used this successfully on my swiss layout and having studied the many photos of Par during the 80's, this colour seems to fit nicely. Once the ballast was dry, I then dry brushed sleeper grime across the tops of the rails and ballast on each side, giving the ballast a subtle weathering and again blending in the rusty rails and the earlier wash of track dirt. Below are some photos with some stock appropriately positioned to add a little realism. Almost forgot to say, I have also started building up the embankment next to the bridge with some polystyrene blocks, which have been carved to shape. More to come and a separate blog on that one to follow soon. Early progress shots Ballasting finished and painted (Class 37206 lurks in the background! ) View from the other angle Overall view From the bridge looking West My "work in progress" weathered 37206 emerging from underneath the road bridge. 37672 on CDA's bound for St. Blazey Peak leaving with cross country service Paved section on platform now painted. Still needs some weathering, any tips would be greatly welcome. Best regards, Jeremy

One of the key pieces of Hemerdon will be the wooded area that runs from the farm house to the end of the passing loops and one of the things I did not consider when choosing Hemerdon as a layout idea was how on earth was I going to cover the area with trees. I guess in my mind I though it would not be that expensive to buy them - wrong on so many levels. Gven that I need around 150 trees to cover the area, and decent tree is between £3 & £4 I could have spent between £450 and £600 which was not a sum I had thought of when planning the layout, and more importantly is not a sum which will get past SWMBO. So that leaves me with a clear option of making them for myself. Hmmmmmm. How the heck do I do that, and how do I do a silver birch compares to the more generic bush trees on the site. The silver birch is much finer and means I will need to work out how to paint the distinctive off white trunk with the odd dash of darker brown that peaks through evey so often. Luckily I am finally getting the hang of searching this little beasty of a web site and there is some great stuff on here. My initial starting point has been the fact I have a load of single core copper wire so I have been playing around with this and my scenic test piece to create some trucks of different forms. One key conclusion I have come to is that the copper wire is fine for the main trunk, but I need something finer for branches, so an idea I am going for is to mix in some picture wire for the branches along with either some static grass for really small twigs or chopped up twizel string. Will see how this goes.

Morning all. Recent events had kept me from actually posting the following article, which I had, in fact, prepared a while ago - based on an earlier version of it, which I would think some of you may remember from Old RMweb. In this earlier article, I had presented a DB Schenker class 155 electric in the now-standard traffic red and basalt grey livery, which but I have since exchanged for a different version of this trademark locomotive from the former East German Deutsche Reichsbahn. So, the model we shall be looking at today is Roco's item 62437, representing one of two 155s still wearing the oriental red livery which had first been introduced on Bundesbahn engines in the late 1980s, and eventually been applied to numerous ex-DR locos as well. This variant of Roco's model was released only this spring, and while I believe pronouncing this livery to have been controversial may be a prize understatement, I did want to have more visual variety in my motive power inventory - which is why it suited me fairly well. Development and historic background After Germany had been split into two states in the aftermath of World War II, railway operations on both sides of the inner-German border continued under new names. In the West, the legal successor to the late Deutsche Reichsbahn was called Deutsche Bundesbahn, and created on 7 September 1949. Meanwhile, and perhaps a bit oddly, the East German state railways, which were created the same year, retained the name „Deutsche Reichsbahn“. There are several explanations for this detail, one of which being the fact that an Allied decree had mandated railway operations in West Berlin to explicitly remain in the hands of Deutsche Reichsbahn. As the GDR leadership felt it to be politically important to keep its hold on these services, it was feared that a possible name change would void their claim. This but is just one example of how differently the railways in both German states would evolve in the following decades, given the political situation of the time. The first types of electric locomotives to be newly designed and built in the German Democratic Republic were the classes E 11 and E 42. They were largely identical to one another, with the E 11 – first built in 1961 – being the passenger variant and the E 42, whose production began in 1962, the freight variant – much as was the case with the West German E 10 and E 40. Interestingly, the GDR had, in fact, attempted to obtain permission for licence builds of the West German E 10 and E 40, but been unsuccessful, resulting in the need for developing suitable locos domestically. Also, there appears to be a claim among railway historians that, assuming a reunification of the two German states in the near future, Deutsche Reichsbahn chose their class numbers – E 11 and E 42 – deliberately, so as to allow for easy integration of both railways' motive power inventories – with Deutsche Bundesbahn having procured classes like the E 10, E 40 and E 41 around the same time. In general terms, it should also be mentioned that the German Democratic Republic‘s Deutsche Reichsbahn was initially slow in adopting electric traction on their network, which in 1979 comprised a total length of 14,164 kilometres, of which only 1,621 were electrified. This, of course, also had much to do with both post-war reparations which had resulted in significant lengths of overhead lines and associated equipment in the Soviet zone having been dismantled, and numerous electric locos from the pre-1945 Reichsbahn inventory having been shipped to the Soviet Union along with it. However, much of this equipment was returned in the early 50s in an effort to stabilise the GDR economy, resulting in electric operations recommencing in 1955. In addition, economic obligations for the entire East Bloc set by the COMECON resulted in GDR locomotive builders having to concentrate on manufacturing diesel locomotives, and the GDR having access to cheap oil from the Soviet Union till the second oil crisis of 1979 also affected the Warsaw Pact states. Consequently, railway electrification was speeded up again by the early 80s, obviously also generating a large demand for suitable electric locomotives in order to replace the fleet of pre-war class 204 (E 04), 218 (E 18), 244 (E 44) and 254 (E 94) locos, as well as augment the GDR-designed class 211 and 242 Bo‘Bo‘ and 250 Co‘Co‘ locomotives. In addition, a replacement for the class 251 Co‘Co‘ electrics used only on the 25 kV AC Rübeland Railway was also considered desirable. However, let us turn our attention back to the 1960s for the moment. By the middle of the decade, rail traffic in the GDR had increased to a degree which began to exceed the capabilities of both the E 11 and E 42 – especially in freight service. Operational experience showed that even multiple units of these classes was not always sufficient, so it was soon accepted that a Co‘Co‘ electric locomotive would have to be procured, in order to handle both heavy passenger and freight trains. Initial plans for a Co‘Co‘ configured locomotive had, in fact, been made in parallel to those for the Bo‘Bo‘ classes E 11 and E 42, but could not be implemented immediately as production capacities were insufficient at that time. While the new Co‘Co‘ locomotive was given the preliminary designation of E 51 during the design phase, the changeover to computer-formatted numbers – which Deutsche Reichsbahn implemented in 1970 – led to the production locos being designated as class 250. As those of you knowledgeable in the field of German railways may know, Deutsche Reichsbahn had reserved the 200 range for electric locomotives and EMUs, and the 100 range for diesels and DMUs, whereas Deutsche Bundesbahn used the 100 range for electrics and 200 for mainline diesels, with separate ranges – 400 and 600 – being used for EMUs and DMUs respectively. Three prototypes, designated as 250 001 through 003, were presented in 1974, and production began in 1977. A total of 270 production locos was built until 1984 – the prototypes visibly differing from the production locos in having significantly larger windscreens and the centre headlight above these rather than below. These three locos thus became known by the nickname of „Granny“ (German: „Oma“), while the production 250s are usually referred to as „Container“, „Suitcase“ („Koffer“), „Tin Loaf“ („Kastenbrot“) or „Pan Loaf“ („Kommißbrot“) by railfans – owing to their boxy and unadorned appearance. Like all GDR electrics, the 250 was designed and built at the People-Owned Locomotive and Electrical Engineering Works "Hans Beimler" at Hennigsdorf near Berlin. In terms of its technological level, it could be said to be a kind of forerunner to the famous class 243 Bo‘Bo‘ electrics, now known as class 143. After reunification, the class was redesignated as 155 in 1992, and became part of the DB AG motive power inventory in 1994. While 155s could be seen working passenger services during the early DB AG years – much as they had often done in the GDR – they were later allocated to the freight branch now called DB Schenker, at which point passenger operations for this class ceased altogether. In the early 2000s, a number of 155s was plagued by material fatigue around the bogies, leading to the entire class being temporarily restricted to 80 kph (50 mph). However, as the 155 remains an important part of DB Schenker's inventory – being frequently used for container, chemical and coal and steel services – a good number of locomotives remains in service until this day. Revisions are carried out at the Dessau repair works in Saxony-Anhalt, one of DB AG‘s principal repair facilities, which are now also open for locomotives owned by other operators. Technical description The 155's body and frame are welded steel assemblies, with the frame consisting of two longitudinal beams, two transversal end beams doubling as buffer beams, two primary inner transversal beams also carrying the pivot pins, and several auxiliary beams for reinforcement. The bufferbeams were prepared for installation of the standardised UIC automatic coupler which was planned to be introduced in the late 1970s, but then postponed indefinitely. The production locos were also fitted with snow ploughs located below the buffer beams. The body is a self-supporting structure and consists of three subassemblies, namely the two cabs and the engine room section. Additional strengthening beams and braces are provided throughout, and the engine room sides are corrugated to also provide additional structural strength. The engine room roof consists of three independently removable panels for better maintenance access. As is common on East German electrics, there also is a rooftop hatch, allowing personnel access to topside equipment from inside the locomotive. Large ventilation grilles are placed in the upper half of the engine room sides. Inside the body, there are a primary and secondary corridor through the length of the engine room. Four outer doors permit access to the cabs, which in turn are laid out with control desks located on the right-hand side. The power controller is wheel-shaped and placed centrally in front of the driver, with Cab 2 also containing a small fridge and sink for the driver, located to the left of the footwell and in the rear bulkhead respectively. An overview of the cab. Note the TFT screen, which is for the electronic working timetable, also known as EBuLa. This 155 here would appear to have retained the cab instruments from the original GDR-designed PZ 80 train protection set. This system is, of course, compatible with the standard trackside RLC circuits used in all of Germany as well as Austria, but as delivered was different in offering braking curve monitoring based on maximum speed settings at 10 kph intervals. By contrast, the West German Indusi I 60, I 60 R and PZB 90 devices offer only three speed ranges: U, M and O, calibrated for maximum speeds of 100, 120 and 160 kph respectively, and with different speed check thresholds. Meanwhile, those ex-DR locos which still have the PZ 80 onboard devices have but been given the common PZB 90 software, as this is now a standard requirement. Interestingly, the PZ 80 cab instrument – which is the one on the supporting arm in the right-hand corner of the desk – also includes a digital speedometer, thus eliminating the need for a standard analogue instrument. To the left and slightly in front of the power controller, the reverser is located, with the handle being removable and only one handle per loco being provided as a safeguard against both reversers possibly being set separately by accident. In fact, the handle is removed in this view. Image taken and uploaded to Wikipedia by user „Solaris2006“ under the terms and conditions of the GNU Free Documentation Licence 1.2. As such, re-use in this article is subject to the same terms and conditions. Meanwhile, the bogies feature a welded steel frame with two longitudinal and four transversal beams – three of which carry the traction motors – and a pivot pin bearing. There is an inter-bogie coupling assembly, for the purpose of the bogies steering each other through curves. The three wheelsets per bogie are spaced asymmetrically, with the distance between the outer and centre wheelsets being larger than that between the centre and inner wheelsets. The axleboxes are held by levers which are attached to the bogie frame, and supported by two helical springs per bearing. The outer wheelsets also have vertical shock absorbers, while the centre wheelsets have ten millimetres of lateral motion to both sides for better curve running. As a whole, the bogies are suspended from the frame by way of four double helical springs per bogie. The transformer is an oil-cooled three-core design with a high voltage LNSW 12 type tap changer, which has thirty-one power notches spaced at 500 V intervals and is assisted by thyristor modules for bridging notches and more accurate power control. There also is a background tractive effort monitoring function, whereby each power notch has a tractive effort target value assigned to it. Notches 29 through 31 are designed as reserve notches for low OHLE voltage situations. In case of malfunctions, the tap changer can also be operated in an „impulse“ mode without tractive effort monitoring, notching up and down for as long as the controller is held in the corresponding position. Additional transformer taps for auxiliary systems, ETS and dynamic brake excitation are provided as well. The traction motors are a nose-suspended twelve-pole design, utilising a variation of the double-sided LEW quill drive for power transmission. They have a gear ratio of 1 : 2.72 and provide a maximum rated output of 900 kW each. The motors can work in dynamic braking mode, with each motor having one rheostat allocated to it. These are located in a cooling tower inside the engine room. In braking mode, they have a maximum continuous output of 2,500 kW and a maximum continuous braking force of 159 kN. The dynamic brake is blended with the pneumatic brake, which takes over below 35 kph (22 mph). Rooftop equipment includes two pantographs, which were VM 28-31 type diamond types originally, but have been replaced by Stemmann DSA 200 single arm types on most of the remaining 155s. Also, two manually operated pantograph cut-off switches are provided – which were a common feature on GDR-built electrics – , as is a measuring voltage transformer, air blast circuit breaker and current limiter. Safety systems include a distance/time-based alerter („Sifa“) as well as the PZB train protection system, though several 155s also have had LZB cab signalling fitted. The GDR Sifa variant is set up differently from the West German variety, in that it performs vigilance checks at random intervals up to a maximum duration of 30 seconds, so as to avoid the issue of drivers often getting so used to the fixed 30-second interval of the West German Sifa that they unconsciously trigger the alerter pedal, possibly reducing the system‘s effectiveness. Auxiliary systems are powered by a 380 V/50 HZ three phase AC circuit, and include one 125 kW inverter, one 12 kW main compressor, one 14 kW braking rheostat blower, six 6 kW traction motor blowers, one 3.5 kW coolant oil pump, two 2.2 kW transformer heat exchanger blower, and one 500 W blower for the tap changer thyristor elements. The pneumatic brake is multiple lapped with direct shunting brake valve, and has the common settings G, P and R. Driver‘s brake valves are DAKO BS-4 types, while the direct brake valves are BP types. There are two brake pads per wheel. And this is what all these paragraphs describe in dry, technical prose: There can be no doubt that aesthetics played a fairly minor role in the 155‘s design. Like most other Roco models, their 155 – since released in a variety of guises, including DR maroon, DB traffic red with both single arm and diamond pans, and indeed the prototype variant – is finely detailed all around. As mentioned further up, this model is distributed with catalogue number 62437, and represents 155 214, one of the two 155s in DB Schenker‘s fleet still wearing the oriental red livery. Interestingly, both 155 214 and 219 combine this livery with single arm pantographs. On the 155, the handrails around the cab doors are actually made of metal, which appears to be a new standard on several recent Roco models. As usual, a small bag of add-on bits is included, containing the PZB receivers (which have to be slid on a retaining pin at the right rear of each bogie) as well as brake pipes and fake UIC couplers. Right side of the Cab 1 end, with the following inscriptions: last revision completed at the Dessau repair works (LDX) on 27 March 2007; Knorr-Einheitsbremse with settings G, P and R and direct brake valve; operating weight of 123 tonnes; braking weights: R 143 tonnes P 124 tonnes G 106 tonnes The Cab 2 end with several additional inscriptions, including the owner's inscription (Railion Deutschland AG, Berlin) above the second wheelset. The bogie frames are just as finely detailed as the rest of the model. Looking into the cab, you can see that Roco actually highlighted the control desk details with fine touches of paint, which has not been common on most of their other models of electric and diesel locos thus far. Large, round headlights like those installed on the 155 were actually fairly typical of GDR motive power. Also note the horn being attached vertically to the cab face. And finally a look at the roof - the circuit breaker being located between the air reservoirs and the central superstructure. I believe I will yet see to amending the busbar here and there, much as I did on my 181.

...but perhaps don't ask 'your bride to be' to hold the other end of the tape again...

Hi Pete, Thank you for your comments. Think I'll get all the structure ready and then create my own "wall paper" on the computer. Another trip to Par then!!! I have no problems with that! Best regards, Jeremy

Well, I've finally managed to get Pete Harvey's excellent etches soldered together and fitted to the Sentinel, and mighty fine they look too! Just need to do some final fettling with a glass fibre pencil and then it's primer time. Should have it in satin black for the Member's Day.

A quicker way of covering the wire trunks is to cover them with superglue and dip into talc. The mixture goes hard almost instantly and nicely hides the fact the trees are not made of wood!

Just a quick post to show the hut painted as it now stands. Transfers were created using GIMP with BR typeface working from photos of the original, then printed onto transfer paper. You will notice the signage is in English as well as Welsh. Paints are a mixture of Halfords, Revell and Humbrol (both old and new). There are still a few details to be added to the doors on the container as I noticed they were omitted while uploading... I shall try and post something on the yard soon so stay tuned.

Heard from Model Rail yesterday that the 2-8-2 will feature in the next issue! Can't wait now until next month, there's also going to be a superb pic of it taken by Chris N on Catcott Burtle too