Leaderboard

Tis ready for its clean up and paint. I finally got to grips with the smokebox door and made new hinges for it. The rest of the tanks had the castings added. The handrail has been made since the photos were taken. I am pleased with it so far. The water filler clamp handle brass castings are a bit fragile but look lovely. shame the water fillers were not cast in brass too, would of been much better. I did start the big clean up but still some way to go. I also had to do a bit of butchery to get everything to sit nicely with the motor in place. I was hoping to get it all ready for priming but SWMBO had sorted out a dentist appointment for me. I did partly reassemble everything to check that the castings on the 3 main parts missed each other, I did need to move the balance pipe back a little. I think it hangs slightly lower than the prototype, but it misses everything so that will do. Next update should be showing it change colour. It does meean I can get back to my 0395 class. For which I am sorting out a shopping list to send to Laurie Griffin. Along with a couple of bits for my A12 and M7.

Little Iz swears it was her idea - personally I am not quite so sure (she would probably have preferred Wombles living under there anyway!), but here we are with a little underground distraction. Firstly a foamboard box split into three compartments Then some paneling. Note that I quickly grew board of gluing each one so applied some double sided tape to the walls and stuck the coffee stirrer planks to that. Then a bit of wood stain. And some furniture from scraps of balsa; Then it was off to The Range for some battery powered Christmas LED lights. Now I know the sort of down lighting that has resulted is not really correct but I did build a hurricane lamp around an LED but it was just too bright. I then made some candles from fiber optic but, although cool weren't bright enough. I may try these again later but Christmas lights will do for now. And now all detailed with lots of stuff you can't really see; And here it is all in place under the layout; I really enjoyed this little project - a bit slap dash with no real plan but has turned out rather well in the end and should be a bit of a talking point at exhibitions (of which I have several more lined up for next year now), even if it is almost impossible to photograph properly!

Just acquired a mint Hornby R2205 advertised on RMWeb Classified. Not exactly fit for purpose in a BR era engine shed, but I couldn't resist the streamlined maroon/gold version of my favorite loco. The loco runs well and now has the optional extras added. A few things probably need to be done: 1. That plastic coal! A thin veneer of my real French coal might just do the job - they were always fully coaled when leaving shed, particularly the 5A locos going to Perth. 2. The rear coupling by Hornby has been removed and now needs a screw link coupler added. 3. 6235 was the first Coronation Class to have an ex-works double chimney. These are shown in the photo above but the inside of the rear chimney is solid and painted maroon. The simple solution to this would be to paint the interior of the chimneys black, rather than drill out the casing. 4. Should I add DCC? I more or less have to as my controllers are DCC (I tested the loco with a 9v Duracell battery!). Should I go the whole hog and add sound? The set up is pre-DCC and I have modified a parallel boiler Scot (would you like to see the photos?) by Bachmann. It really isn't that difficult. Now I realize I should get some gold/maroon coaches, not that they would ever enter an engine shed. It looks as though I am going to have to start advertising my Southern Pacific HO stuff (1950s era). PM me if you happen to come across this last comment and want some mint or nearly mint beauties!

Part 4 already, and I've not actually touched any metal yet! My thanks to all who have given encouragement by their 'Likes' and a warning not to expect any 'model engineering' in this thread - it's more like cut-out scrap-booking - but I enjoy it and it might lead to a working model. Since my last post, I've re-visited the cab area, so that it can accommodate the rear pair of drivers. On my paper model, I've cut slots in the front of the cab and floor, to allow for the 14.4mm back-to-back separation of 00-gauge wheels. It seems reasonably firm and I can build up the wheel-boxes inside the cab, in the final model. The following early view of the footplate of a Dean 2-4-0 shows the 'look' that I wish to achieve, with its very simple backplate. A more tricky problem is posed by the boiler. It was easy enough to roll a tube of paper to the correct dimensions. After a few trials, I decided to make the tube extend the entire length from the front of the smokebox to the cab. Photographs of the real engine indicate that, although the top of the firebox casing is raised, the sides are flush with the boiler cladding, so I could add the firebox as a 'wrapper', fixed to the sides of the boiler. I'll leave the problem of creating the shaped fillet needed between the firebox and the top of the boiler for later. The immediate problems begin, when trying to fit the boiler assembly between the wheels. As I discovered when building my 'Queen' model, the real boiler diameter scales to something larger than the 00-gauge back-to-back dimension, so some cut-outs are essential. This proposed model raises the additional problem of how to accommodate a motor and drive unit. For this, I turned to the 'High Level' website , from where you can download a very useful 'Planning Sheet', with scale drawings of motors and gearboxes. By copying the relevant drawings and pasting them over my own scale drawings of the engine, It appears that I should be able to accommodate a 'RoadRunner' gearbox with 'Mashima 1220' motor, within the profile of my model. I've also indicated how it should fit within my paper template My plan is to cut away the underside of the boiler, where it will be hidden behind the wheelarches and firebox sides, sufficiently to allow the superstructure to be lowered over the motorised chassis. I have not scratch-built a working chassis before, so intend to keep it as simple as possible. I shall use my kit-built model of a Hudswell-Clarke 0-4-0 (TVR 'S'-class) as a basis for the design. The kit chassis consists of two brass strips, separated by Markits-type spacers. Providing that I can manage to drill the holes in the right places, it does not look too difficult, though when I look at Snitzl Works amazing Wheel Quartering Jigs , I wonder if I might be fooling myself. I feel that I had better turn my attention to trying to build a working 0-4-0 chassis, before I do any more on superstructure design Mike Continue to next part

The 56xx class of 0-6-2T tank engines were infrequent visitors to Oswestry, from what I can find only one a year would receive attention during the 1954-1959 period. These were predominantly 84E Tyseley or 84F Stourbridge Rd locomotives employed on freights and passenger workings in the Midlands. Locomotives of the Red route class had to navigate their way to the works at Oswestry via Gobowen with only a handful of sidings unrestricted for their weight category. This chart shows the entries recorded for the period 1954-1959 (excluding 1955): This trend continued right up until the closure of Oswestry Works, with 6644 being captured on camera as late as June/July 1965 (note 9F behind!): [Photo courtesy of Oswestry Family & Local History Group] I picked up a late crest Bachmann 56xx from the RMWeb Classifieds recently, this will be detailed an likely modelled as one of the later visitors to the works. I'm really looking forward to working on this class, it's always held a fascination with me since seeing the layout "Blaenavon" in Railway Modeller in the mid-1980's. 5643 is currently visiting the Bluebell Railway which was a nice surprise when I was there recently to get photos of 9017. Only problem was there was no chance to get any detail from the boiler/tank tops! 1. 5643 on shed in the evening sunshine 2. Buffer beam detail 3. Lubricators 4. R/H Sandbox linkages 5. R/H Cab Step and injectors (?) 6. Buffer detail 7. Vacuum and Steam heating pipes 8. L/H Cab Step, Sandboxes, Injectors 9. L/H Front pipework behind the bufferbeam 10. L/H Sandbox linkage and lubricators 11. Smokebox door 12. R/H front frames and sandbox 13. R/H rear pipework 14. Unknown device on R/H - any ideas? Full set here - https://www.flickr.com/photos/cambrian_al/sets/72157644247589256/ Cheers

In the end, we decided Minion was a better name than Munchkin and the loco has emerged from the finishing shop for running in. I daresay it will get grubbier after such exertions. Happy that it seemes to work ok. The pickups are going to give a bit of grief but I wanted to avoid using top bearing wipers as recommended in the kit. Time will tell if I have to revert to this system. Saddle tank is full of lead which helps. Nameplates are from Narrow Planet and the works plates something I've had for ages from Golden Arrow. Both fixed with Klear. I'll give the engine a light waft of weathering when I have time but that will have to wait for now. Am operating Cirencester at the Farnham show this weekend so may take Minion down for a bit of running in when Dave isn't looking.

I’m detailing my goods depot, something I’ve been looking forward to. As the layout is designed for close-up viewing I’ve been searching for goods items that could pass muster at a reasonably close range. To begin with, here is a selection of crates. I'm afraid it's my usual unholy mix of kitbuilt, scratchbuilt, modified and ready to plunk! Hopefully it will all blend in with a bit of weathering and careful positioning on the layout. First up are these rather nice crate kits from US-based Rusty Stumps (above). The kits are laser cut plywood and come in various types – these are for horizontal crates. They are HO but quite large. The instructions are very good and the kits are easy to build (I used wood glue). If you prefer a plywood side rather than planks, the kit can be modelled inside out. Parts fit together well and with care the lid can be made as a press-fit, meaning you can take it off if you wish to leave it open. Above are the built up kits next to another offering from Rusty Stumps: Ready-made resin versions of the same crates. The latter clean up reasonably well, but I think you’ll agree that the kits are worth the extra effort. As an aside, Rusty Stumps also do a range of resin workshops scenes. I have no particular use for these right now but couldn't resist having a closer look. Back to the crates. This laser-cut high quality card kit is from the German company Kotol, which Job brought to my attention some time ago (thanks again Job!). The products from this company are not cheap, and some of their items are distinctly continental. But it’s attractive stuff for those who like small details, especially as they use wood, cotton and card for their goods items – so you get lots of texture. Above are the Kotol crates built up (I made the front one different just for variety). The kits are a bit fiddly and the card is quite sensitive to glue and scratches. So care is needed. The smaller HO scale was an advantage here, as I couldn’t find any decent small crates or boxes from UK manufacturers The Kotol range is quite varied and has some unusual items (anyone fancy working bicycle lights in H0?). This wood kit for a set of makeshift steps was a quick and pleasant build, and comes with a convenient jig. Scratchbuilding is another option of course. Having built the above kits, I used some of the scrap ply and card to fashion a few extra crates such as the one above. This added to the output from these otherwise somewhat costly kits. The scribing etc does take time, but other than that I would certainly consider scratchbuilding as an alternative in the future. Good old Hornby do these nice ready-made crates (there are others in the package, this is a selection). Some of them are very large and would probably have been dealt with outside the goods depot, not inside. But I find the medium and small ones useful. The one at the rear is as they come, the others have been heavily dry-brushed to add texture and do away with the slightly translucent look. I found this and a couple of other bottle crates in my spares box, and thought it loooked a bit dull. So I decided to have some fun. The result was these three machinery crates from Carr & Sons, a well-known Farthing company. A tad fanciful, but I had a fun evening making them. The sharp-eyed may have noticed that “Carr & Sons" looks suspiciously like “To Carry 10 Tons” on a transfer sheet. As many will know, Carr & Sons were leading manufacturers of round tuits. The one at the bottom is the basic model. The middle one is the advanced version. At the top is another of the company’s products, the square bloke (a development of the regular bloke). PS: I have no connection with any of the above companies - except for Carr & Sons, where I own 51% of the shares ;-)

So, it's been a while and a quick update is in order. The photo has brought out all the as yet untouched blemishes, etc after meddling with the Hornby shell. But the progress is there to see. Loco brake rodding, smokebox dart, spare lamp brackets and top rear tender lamp bracket. I still have those pesky lamp brackets to fit on the buffer beams and smokebox top. The connecting rods need to be permanently fixed in place but there will be one more teardown of the wheels and motor before final assembly of the crankpin "nuts". The Hornby shells will be given a thin coat of grey primer which should reveal any remaining imperfections after a final cleaning up. Then off to the work's paint shop. I have the decals (oops, I mean transfers!) but not the brass plates as yet. The two black wires have been connected directly to the motor and everything runs nicely with no binding at all. The motor has been fixed in place so as to clear the interior of the boiler without needing the shaft extension to be cut off. The slow progress has been for a reason - I have become a house painter during the past few weeks. Wednesdays at B&Q (10% senior discount) have been the over-riding priority!