Leaderboard

Quiet time at Kirkby Malham

Grassington in 1965,1966 and 1967 along with Cracoe in 1973. Cracoe Tilcon Class 31 running round Aug 73 J3360 Grassington BR Class 4MT 75039 Aug 65 J289 Grassington Class 4 75041 Dec 66 J721 Grassington Class 4 75041 Dec 66 J722 Grassington Class 4 75021 July 67 J938 David

Chaloners Whin Junction, south of York in 1966 and 1967 for this tea time. Chaloners Whin Junction Class 25 D7509 up freight Oct 66 J652 Chaloners Whin Junction Class 55 D9007 down Oct 66 J656 12.00 Kings X to Edinburgh Chaloners Whin Junction Class 40 D258 up freight Oct 66 J657 Chaloners Whin Junction Class 47 D1523 down March 67 J797 11.00 Kings X to Newcastle Chaloners Whin Junction Class 101 Leeds to Scarborough March 67 J801

And continuing with the East Anglian theme, we have a view of a J70 at Ewe, a now forgotten extension of the Wisbech and Upwell tramway. Rob

In Scotland for this morning. Some of the photos may of use to those who have model harbours on their layouts. The first of the Stranraer photos was taken while I was a student, we had arrived there in a coach from Manchester on the way to Northern Ireland for a Biology field trip very early in the morning so we all went for a walk, I took a few photos. I remember we were all hungry and it was too early for anywhere to be open, in the end we found a bakery (not a shop) which let us have some very freshly baked rolls. Stannergate Dundee Class 101 Arbroath to Dundee Aug 74 J3934 Stirling Class 27 up Aug 73 J3337 seen from the castle Stonehaven (nea)r Aug 74 J3926 Stranraer harbour Class 27 April 70 C211 Stranraer Harbour July 74 J3833 Stranraer Harbour July 74 J3834 David

Before clearing away the unfixed buildings and model structures, so that I can get on with some more sawing, gluing and screwing, I took a few quick snaps that might be of interest:

Around the Southern for this afternoon together with a ship which provided passengers for boat trains. Graveney Class 411 Ramsgate to Victoria Feb 77 J5630 Hollingbourne Class 414 6077 Lenham to Maidstone30th April 78 C3812 Hollingbourne Class 414 6105 Maidstone to Lenham 30th April 78 C3813 Hollingbourne Class 414s 6077 and 6105 30th April 78 C3814 Swale Class 414 6159 Sheerness to Sittingbourne 25th July 78 C3918 going away Queen Mary approaching Southampton circa 1962 JV558 David

Now we go back to the East Midlands with photos at Stanton Ironworks, Stanton Gate on the Erewash Valley line and near Sutton Bonnington on the Midland north of Loughborough. Stanton Ironworks Rolls Royce Sentinel 0-6-0 diesel in scrap iron furnace shop April 69 J1626 Stanton Iron Works level crossing Sentinel April 78 J5987 Stanton Gate LMS Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0 down empty coal, in mist April 66 J449 Sutton Bonnington Class 45 up Jan 71 C452 Sutton Bonnington Class Class 45 down empties Jan 71 C453 David

More Kirkby Malham in 1908

I've been making a little progress on my layout recently. I had to get some of the previously made buildings and structures in place to check positioning and working out the track bed board sizes that needed to be cut. Before clearing them away to be able to get on with the wood mangling (sawing, gluing and screwing) I took a few snaps. Although I posted them on my layout thread I doubt many visit it (being N/2mm and mainly third rail electrics) so here's a couple of them that might be of interest to Tony's followers:

Some WCML photos around Hademore and Harow and Wealdstone. Hademore Class 87 Euston to Carlisle Jan 76 J5028 Hademore Class 310 Nuneaton to Stafford Jan 76 J5029 Harrow and Wealdstone Clas 86 Liverpool to Euston June 76 J5291 Harrow and Wealdstone Class 501 Watford to London June 76 J5292 going away Harrow and Wealdstone Class 501 down June 76 J5293 Harrow and Wealdstone Class 310 down June 76 J5294 David

Just a Dovecote! Brooding too...

Around Grantham in black and white about 1950/1. Grantham rear of down pullman c1951 JVol1173 Grantham A4 l e for down Northumbrian c1951 JVol7010 60015 Quicksilver Grantham Barrowby Road A2/2 60504 Mons Meg down ex pass c1950 JVol7366 Grantham Barrowby Road Junction A1 down ex pass c1950 JVol3176 Grantham Barrowby Road Junction A1 up pullman c1950 JVol3168 David

Another look at Grantham this morning. GranthamClass 105 Grantham to Skegness and Class 114 to Nottingham Sept 71 J2776 Grantham Class 55 up Sept 71 J2777 08.10 Newcastle to Kings X Grantham Class 114 Nottingham to Skegness May 72 J2926 Grantham Class 55 down Flying Scotsman Jan 77 J5617 Grantham HST up Oct 83 C6289 David

Long aerial view of LM yard.

Once again couldn't make my mind up which version to post so here are both....

J15 on Upbech Quay, I think the crew have gone to the pub behind.

A batch of photos from Swayfield on Stoke Bank this morning. Swayfield Class 55 up 15.25 Leeds to Kings X June 73 J3213 55021 SwayfieldClass 47 47448 08.41 Halifax to Kings X Aug 74 J4000 Swayfield red flags on fast lines for engineering works Sept 74 J4030 Swayfield Class 47 up Dec 74 J4124 probably a special working Swayfield Class 56 up test train Sept 77 J5818 Swayfield Class 55 down Kings X to Edinburgh 30th May 78 C3874 55012 David

Little and large

Local passenger service approaching station and getting ready to stop.....

Some photos taken at Southside on the ECML in Northumberland. One shows the Whittle colliery exchange sidings . Southside Whittle colliery exchange sidings Aug 80 C5158 The NCB wagons got about a bit, we are nowhere near Lambton. Southside 254003 up Aug 80 C5159 The line to the colliery diverges to the left. Southside Class 254 up April 81 C5328 Southside Class 37 down oil Nov 82 C5877 Southside Class 47 47401 up ballast 24th June 85 C6964 David

Some photos taken around Derwenthaugh just west of Gateshead to start today. Derwenthaugh 0-4-0Ds in yard of Raine and Co Delta Works Jan 84 C6341 Derwenthaugh 37068 Jan 84 C6344 Derwenthaugh Class 101 Hexham to Newcastle Jan 84 C6345 Derwenthaugh Cobra coal containers Jan 84 C6346 Derwenthaugh coke works 08370 on loan to NCB Jan 84 C6355 David

46521 next to a small England

A trip to the Lake District this morning to look at Lakeside station on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway in August 1975. Lakeside station from Gunners Howe Aug 75 J4603 Lakeside Fairburn 4MTT as CR 2085 Aug 75 J4604 Lakeside Fairburn 4MTT as CR 2085 Aug 75 J4605 Lakeside Fairburn 4MTT as CR 2085 Aug 75 J4606 Lakeside MV Swan Aug 75 J4607 Lakeside MV Swan Aug 75 J4608 David

Hello Steve45, Thanks for your comment and question. The situation around exhibitions is as follows: We have discussed the way forward for the layout and decided reluctantly that we will not be taking it out to any more exhibitions. The reasons behind this decision are 1. The Lime Street Crew, currently some seven strong are beginning to feel the passage of time. Three of our team are already in their eighties, and only one is not a pensioner. 2. Consequently we have decided that it will always be necessary to have extra accommodation both before and after an event. 3. The size and weight of the layout now demands the use of two vans - a Luton box van with tail-lift and a long wheelbase Hi-Top. We also need to take a car. 4. The usual drivers are now past the age at which it is possible to hire the necessary vans. 5. The financial consequences of the above mean that very few if any Exhibition managers can afford to invite us even though we usually take some of the cost ourselves. We now see the future of Lime street involving regular and frequent operating sessions in its home location. In this situation we envisage hosting small groups for one-day visits where they will have the opportunity to "get under the skin" of the railway and have hands on operating experience if they so desire. The maximum size of a visiting group would be six persons. Such visits would be strictly by invitation. There will definitely not be any "Open Days". There are still one or two technical developments to be completed before the whole layout will be fully operational, but we are anticipating have "proper" running sessions by the summer, hopefully 2024! I hope all this is clear and we await reaction with interest. Steve

N7 69621 shuffles around shed after a strenuous suburban duty.

I don't get all this waffling on about Panniers and the like? Why's that Well, we sit here and watch all these trains pass by, most moved by a big hand from the sky, and we never get asked or mentioned what we like or how are we getting on....! Thanks true, all this talk about Jimmy, the crate, farm workers and the engine shed door to name a few but we just sit here, passing the time of day without a mention? We don't even have a name? I think that has to stop and from here on in to get noticed we are going to start throwing coal at any passing train.....!! I don't know about that? it seems a bit to radical for me, why don't we have a chat down at the White Horse over a pint? Yeh, I like that and also if we get mentioned we might also have to actual start doing some work? That's true, mums the word then and lets just keep chatting and smiling.......

Thanks for the information about the J20 photo so I now know it is at March. I've updated the caption. Now for today's photos. These are again from Switzerland at Zweissimmen, an end on Junction between the MOB (Montreux Oberland Bernois) metre gauge line from Montrues and a branch of the BLS, standard gauge, from Spiez. Very recently trains have been developed to allow through running from Montreux to Interlaken with aoutomatic gauge changing at Zweisimmen. The photos are from August 1991. Zweisimmen BLS Re4/4 175 Interlaken Ost to Zweisimmen 16th Aug 91 C16450 The loco is in the middle of the train. Zweisimmen MOB ABDe8/8 4003 Zweisimmen to Montreux 16th Aug 91 C16451 Zweisimmen MOB BDe4/4 5004 Zweisimmen to Lenk 16th Aug 91 C16452 Zweisimmen MOB BDe4/4 37 16th Aug 91 C16454 Zweisimmen MOB BDe4/4 3002 16th Aug 91 C16455 Zweisimmen MOB GDe4/4 6003 16th Aug 91 C16457 Zweisimmen MOB GDe4/4 6002 16th Aug 91 C16458 David

Backstreet Boys ..

It's stopped raining and the sun has come out but it's phenomenally windy so I've spent a little time jiggling buildings and structures in to place to check on positioning and space, and to be able to cut the station board to fit. The room available for the terminus platforms is quite restricted and will need quite severe compression - but then I knew that compromise and compression would be necessary and the layout is only a representation. Here's a couple of snaps:

Here's the chassis, after spraying with rattle-can etch primer and matt black: The bare bits left of centre are where the motor scraped off some paint when I checked the fit - which, as you can see, is nice and tight. The various little highlights are from the natural light, not bare brass or solder. Some paint has flaked off the middle spacer, probably because I was a bit lazy when cleaning up before painting. It won't show, so I'll leave it. The middle PCB pad is uninsulated and the black wire will be soldered to it, while the two outer pads are insulated and will carry the red wire and the phosphor-bronze pickups. Next, I'll paint the wheels then I can reassemble everything as a functional chassis before starting the body.

I'm not having much luck with batteries. The car problem turned out to be a near deceased 12v battery too. There were more twists in the story, but eventually I managed to get a new one fitted. While sorting all that my phone went dead too. It is a special one which plays through my hearing aids, and is a great boon. I had only put new batteries in on Saturday, the first time it failed. Checked again, as it would be just like me to put things in the wrong way round, though I know that should mean it wouldn't work at all. Close examination of new batteries I bought on Saturday showed their use by date to have expired.😦 I will sort that tomorrow, Also managed to communicate with DVLA, a near superhuman feat. Enough of that, for those who like to look at the coaches, here's what is behind the A3. Not particularly exciting, but typical of some of these Saturday formations. The front seven came from Notthingham, and the rear four were attached at Grantham. I've just noticed that one image posted twice, dunno why.

Loco move today Stafford to longport and back to toton DRS flask train 69004/66783/66795 freightliner 90s passing through Changing ends in alsager shunting round longport, dropped off 66783 and took the 69 and 795 back Into toton and home off tomorrow then conducting the sleeper train on Wednesday

This afternoon we travel to Bentley, between Manningtree and Ipswich on the Great Eastern Main line to loo at trains in May and June 1975. At the time Dad sometimes had a few days in Ipswich for his work and used to go out in the evening to take photos. Bentley Class 47 Liverpool St to Yarmouth May 75 J4299 Bentley Class 31 Peterborough to Parkeston Quay June 75 J4374 Bentley Class 47 up June 75 J4375 Bentley Class 47 down June 75 J4378 Bentley Class 47 Norwich to Liverpol St June 75 J4491 David

In all the disruption caused by the faulty new equipment, I forgot that I had intended to photograph my latest goodie, which Steve@31A delivered on Thursday. Here, belatedly, it is. Gresley CK to Dia 8, an early LNER diagram, with turnbuckle underframe. This is the coach I wrote about a while back, which seems to have had its first and second class accomodation altered at some time in its life, though none of the reference books say anything about it. This one is as built, two first plus coupe first, and four second. I have them recorded on locals and through trains in my period on the main line, and they may have also worked on the M&GN. I say "may", as in the Express Publications book on train formations there is constant reference to CK 2-4. The LNER had no such thing, so it seems likely that It refers to Dia 8/116. If so, there would be one, in theory at least, in all my M&GN trains bar one. I really love this coach, so it will be seen a lot from now on. Many thanks to Steve for a great addition to PN.

Just some Panniers.... Brooding...

Another plonk. I quite like ths one.

Good news and bad news. The bad is that when I went to start my car to go and collect Timara, it would not start, so she had to come via Nottingham. Car is now booked in for diagnosis, but not till next Wednesday. The good news is that the problem with the Power Pro was indeed just the battery, which when checked was effectively dead, registering about .7 of a amp. New one did the trick, all macros reentered, and we turned it off and back on after an hour three times, and all was well. I really do think that is the end of that saga, but at the moment it seems that when one thing is dealt with another immediately appears. Not good for someone with an anxiety disorder. Very strange about the battery, as the unit had not been standing idle for any length of time. Just a bad one, I think. Another shot of Melton tonight.

Sorry guys, it's the next instalment of the big 'Brushathon'! Whilst many might be pondering the merits of the new Bachmann vs Heljan 'Duffs', my recession-busting advice is to leave both and tart up the old cheap ones instead..! 😂 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr Joining the possibly-monotonous but adorable fleet of '47's are former Railfreight Distribution examples 47236 Rover Group Quality Assured and 47286 Port of Liverpool, modelled in late 1998 condition. 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr Both were based on Bachmann's classic 2013-release of 'Diamond Jubilee', stockpiled after once being knocked out by Rails of Sheffield for a mere £59.99 to clear, oh to return to the glory days! 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr As with all my others, the old branding was stripped away from the bodyshells using enamel thinners, given a coat of gloss varnish and new Railtec decals added, in with Fox's etched plates to complete. 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr The fun weathering stage began in earnest, applying base coats of dark brown paint over the body, which was then wiped down with cotton buds and kitchen roll, to a background track of the superb Rose Gray. 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr After the initial paint was wiped away, then cotton buds laced in enamel thinners could be dragged vertically down the bodyshell to remove even more of the brown pigment - the desired end look was a generally clean appearance, but with some streaking and track grime. 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr More of the brown & dark grey paint residue was removed from the sides, leaving marks around areas such as the nameplates where rainwater has washed gathered dirt down the sides of the bodyshell, following prototype pictures for guidance. 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr The final stage of the bodyshell weathering was adding the little extra marks - especially around where the Tinsley depot plaques used to be attached. Using a spare etched plaque as a guide marker, small amounts of brown and grey paint were dabbed on with fine brushes to recreate the ghosting on the bodyside - the more shades of paint, the more depth you can add! 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr Down on the chassis, the Bachmann detailing parts were added, and a few pipes substituted for fine 0.45mm brass wire, where the original packs were robbed for previous loco projects..! Once sorted, the chassis were given a blowover in Phoenix Paint's brake dust and track dirt. 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr 47286 Port of Liverpool has been a long time coming, being a good one from back in my early trainspotting days! Starting life as D1988, the 'Brush 4' was delivered to British Rail's 52A Gateshead depot in February 1966, and seeing subsequent allocations at Tinsley, Leeds Holbeck and Bristol Bath Road during the '70s and '80s. As Sectorisation took hold, the machine would return to Tinsley as part of the Railfreight Distribution fleet, until closure of the depot and falling under the remit of EWS at Bescot. 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr Small touches on the underframe included drybrushing with Humbrol Metalcote gunmetal. 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr The nameplates were applied using matt varnish, giving hours of drying time and the benefit being that any excess is hidden under the final coating of matt varnish, sprayed across the entire bodyshell, and covering a multitude of sins! 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr There's so many fun 'Distribution' 47s, and with a big stack gently being drawn down on, I couldn't do just one more..! 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr 47236 Rover Group Quality Assured was always on the agenda to be modelled at one point - you might've guessed my love for giant nameplates, and there are few 'Duffs' that can match this ensemble of castings! 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr In contrast to 47286, this machine had a long time Welsh association, being delivered to BR as D1913 at 86A Cardiff Canton shed in October 1965, where it would remain allocated for over two decades, right through until transfer to Tinsley in 1987 to join the Railfreight Distribution fleet. 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr Those marvellous nameplates would be inherited from sister machine 47323, which had carried them up until 1996 when reallocated to Freightliner. Whilst always being more of a Ford fan myself, one cannot fail to be impressed by those giant metal slabs with the iconic Rover and Land Rover logos! 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr At one end of each loco, my usual wire-loop coupling was added, allowing it to work with tension-lock fitted stock whilst retaining the full complement of bufferbeam detail. 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr Meanwhile, up on the roof of each loco, washes of browns and greys had been applied to get dirt gathering in the grilles, before a dusting in Phoenix 'Roof Dirt', 'Dirty Black' and my custom mix of dark blue and black for the exhaust weathering. 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr Other small weathering details include the greasy buffers, after having dusted each loco with the traffic grime via airbrush, these were then gently dabbed with a cotton bud that had been dipped in more gun metal paint, leaving a semi-shiny greasy splodge! 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr Tracking what came of the beloved trainspotting locos of the period can be somewhat pot luck, but sadly these two didn't have the greatest fortune - having served almost 35 years a piece, both would be withdrawn from service by EWS in February 1999. 47286 would be swiftly cut up in September 2000, meanwhile the remains of 47236 would linger on until eventual cutting at Carnforth in November 2017. 47236 and 47286 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 3, on Flickr I'm excited to eventually put both of these machines to work on the many automotive trains that passed through Didcot Parkway - bring on the Revolution 'Cartics' and of course the KSA Rover car-cubes! Cheers, James

It's another sunny day in the Vale of Pickering as Class B No.860 passes Wilton Carr gatehouse with the daily Scarborough to Helmsley pickup goods.

What an excellent job, Tony. A loco like that for £5.00? Wonderful! I bought one of these back when they first came out. I had no where to run it for many, many years, so it only got a little test running now and then. When wanted to use it on my S&D layout 'Engine Wood', I found that the wheels were no longer retained on the axles, the usual Mainline split chassis problem. My solution was to put a Comet chassis under the body and apply some weathering. Should I start exhibiting my remaining S&D layout again, the Standard 4 still remains in 'front line service'. 75023 was a Templecombe loco for a while in the early 1960s. Here it is on 'Engine Wood': And on 'Bleakhouse Road':

Found some plonks I don't seem to have published, so here are a couple.

Model railway photography can be a hobby within a hobby (though I made it part of my later career). Though I no longer earn a great deal from taking model railway pictures, I still try to 'push the boundaries' with regard to the images I take. Such an opportunity occurred a few days ago........ Our younger son is moving house, and to make the whole process easier, he's been dropping items off with us in the interim. One of those items was a large metal camera case full of cameras and lenses. I'd given these to him some years ago, their being surplus/superseded, but he no longer has use for them (any pictures he needs for his work he now takes on a phone!). Rummaging through the box, I found two lenses of possible use to me; a Nikon prime 24mm lens and a Sigma 18-50 zoom (normally, I'd only use Nikon's own lenses - those made in Japan - but I think the latter was a 'cheap' purchase which he made). So, I've tried a few 'experiments'................... This is the Nikon 24mm on the front of my Nikon Df. With a minimum aperture of only F22, I thought depth of field might be an issue. However............. The depth of field is incredible. Granted, it's more suited to an 'overall' view, but the resolution is tremendous. I can't explain how the ex-NER Dynamometer has ended up in Bytham's loading dock. Now............ With the Sigma on the front (set at 50mm), the principal subject matter is further away, and, with an aperture of F36, depth of field should be more than adequate. Which it definitely is; definite enough to reveal how 'bendy' Bachmann's Mk.1s have become (this has nothing to do with lens aberrations). This is a tighter crop, but I think it 'works'. With the Nikon 24mm lens on the front, I took some more Down fast shots, in some cases quite tightly cropped.......... 60111 (SE Finecast/Wright/Haynes) on a Down express (a tight crop). 60156 (DJH/Wright/Rathbone) on the Down Flying Scotsman (not as tight a crop). 60516 (DJH/Wright/Rathbone) on a Down express (almost full-frame). Apart from some horizontal cropping, this is a full-frame image. Seen from the other side, 92042 (Model Loco/Wright/Haynes) heads a Down fast goods (another tight crop). It's a lens I'll certainly use a lot of in future. As I will the Sigma.............. 60014 (Wills/scratch/Wright/Rathbone) dashes through Bytham on the Down Tees-Tyne Pullman (a slight crop). And, 60114 (DJH/Geary) on the Down Queen of Scots (a tight crop). Who needs stacking? In all the images, I set the parameters, nothing on the camera being used in Auto-mode. Anyone else tried any photo-experiments on the model railways?

Seen on Facebook and we see Grange class 6880 Betton Grange looking splendid in the spring sunshine. A lot of hard work, patience and deep pockets from those involved to get to this point.

Off to Corby at 9.15am to pick up Timara. If you hear a very loud scream around 12pm, that will tell you that changing the battery hasn't solved the problem. Your image this morning shows the fireman's side of Melton as it runs past the water tower, brakes on.

By way of light relief after finishing the latest coach for Peterborough North and a full on Easter weekend behind Grantham, I've been making a wagon kit. This one to be precise: https://www.cambrianmodelrail.co.uk/store/C59-SR-LNER-12ton-8-plank-Mineral-Wagon-SR-D1390-LNER-D192-p94211402 At first sight, 'only a mineral wagon' but actually something a little bit different, being a wagon built in the 1940s by the Southern Railway for the LNER, and with a few distinctive features - 8 plank sides, prominent external angle iron 'side knees' either side of the side doors, and no kerb rails. Cambrian kits are great, but I decided to replace some of the bits with metal parts from my stash because They're better detailed Cambrian wagons have a tendency to riding too high - something to do with the underframe mouldings I presume I had the parts in the stash anyway and thought I might as well use them So, I replaced the axleguards and buffers with ABS white metal castings, used etched parts from Wizard Models / 51L for the brake gear, and drawhooks from Ambis. I really like these 51L brake gear parts: https://www.wizardmodels.ltd/shop/wagons/blgva/ They can be a bit fiddly to put together but as long as you follow the instructions they go together well, make a big improvement to the appearance of the wagon and result in a more robust model. As the parts cover a range of prototypes, I had to modify the brake lever for length, drilling a new hole further in from the thick end and cutting off the thin end after it had been bent to shape. Here's the underneath of the wagon, with the work in progress. Although as mineral wagons they had independent brakes, I put a single cross shaft through the V hangers to keep everything in line, then cut away the middle section when everything was set. The inner V hangers and Evo stuck to the inside of the solebars, with the outer ones being cranked round the lower flange of the solebar. Always fun soldering metal bits attached to plastic bits, but at least soldering the stay between the brake lever rack and the axleguard was easier with the axleguards being white metal! This shows all the added metal parts. The door bangers are from brass strip, threaded through slots in the top of the solebar so that they could be glued securely to the underside of the floor. Their angles were adjusted after these photos were taken! Another unusual feature of these wagons was that they evidently had 'standard' buffers at each end, rather than the buffers with upstanding lugs that mineral wagons usually have at the door end, to hold the floor in place. I then cut back the cross shaft, just leaving enough of it to thread the brake shoe moulding onto the remaining stub, having drilled through the centre of the moulding. I'd cut away the moulded safety hangers, and replaced them with the brass ones from the 51L etch. That was all fairly straightforward; in fact I think construction took less time than painting, but I'll come onto that later....

Tony and all, Some time ago, I asked for assistance regarding the fixing of the bogie and pony to a DJH A1 I was building, the recommended arrangement in the instructions not being ideal. As of now, the engine is substantially completed, as shown in the below photos. This has been an enjoyable experience overall, and it came together very nicely. I do need to investigate a minor tight spot, which I've narrowed down to the left side center crankpin being slightly ajar (I learned the hard way early on that the nylon centers of the drivers will melt when soldering the retaining washers on the crankpins). The valve gear is otherwise free moving and clear. Please also note the requisite 'wiggly pipes'! The engine will go to a friend to get the paint sprayed on (I don't think my usual brush method will do it justice) and I will add the lining once. When complete, it will be 60123 'H.A. Ivatt' in Express Passenger Blue. Thanks, Zach

Like many modellers, I often have too much on the go at any one time. That said, for me it prevents me getting bored as the variety of tasks provides the opportunity to do something different each time I have the time to model. This last week has seen some heavy sessions with the soldering iron as I have three brass kits on the go. The first is this oldish Pocket Money Kits (maybe Connoisseur Models) S&DJR 6-wheel 4 Compartment Luggage Composite. I acquired it quite recently from the family of a modeler who is no longer in a position to complete it himself. There were/are a few items missing such as buffers, W irons, axleboxes and a roof so I bought some bits and pieces from Wizard Models, less the roof which I’ll do from brass or plastic sheet. Other bits will come from the spares box. I’ve formed the tumblehome, added the door hinges and door droplights and end steps. I haven’t added the vents above the doors as I think it will be better to do this after its painted. The etches are lovely and the brass cleaned up nicely with a toothbrush and some Jif. Next is this (I think) older Mallard Models LBSCR Balloon Composite; the kit was incomplete when I received it, the biggest problem being there were no ends. Dave at Roxey Mouldings kindly provided me a suitable end drawing, so I cut and finished two pieces of .5mm brass sheet to the correct profile… …to which I then added thin brass strip, to represent the beading (it looks much neater ‘in the flesh’ than the image below portrays) and drilled holes for future detailing. I don’t have any spare brass that would be suitable for the end steps, so these will likely be made from plastic ‘L’ section and added at the end. I also made up the bogies (Roxey), formed the carriage side tumblehome and added the door vents and droplights. The above composites were often paired with a Driver Third which is the third kit on the go. This is a Roxey Moulding one, I’m not really sure what caused me to purchase it as it doesn’t fit in with my intended location or era. I haven’t decided how it’ll be finished, it might be SR olive, malachite or even SDJR blue(!) who knows, I’ll see how the mood takes me when I get to that point. It’s at about the same stage as the other two; tumblehome formed, droplights and passenger doors added and ends all prepared. It has been a standard build so far. I do like the ‘daintiness’ of Roxey kits and yet the robustness as they go together. I don’t have any plan or pictures of the interior layout, so any advice, particularly in relation to the partitions and seat orientation and placement, would be gratefully received. If time allows this week I will try and get them soldered up as bodies and work on the S&DJR carriage's running gear. Kind regards, Iain P.S. For those with a photography interest: Images taken with a tripod mounted Pentax K-3 w/Pentax 16-50mm/2.8 @f16, ISO 100, processed in Photoshop.

A quick follow up on my previous post. All painted and decorated. Croesnewydd wass assembled from an HMRS pressfix sheet. Neat enough and in my opinion satisfying the 3 foot test. Light weatheringusing an enamel wash and light airbrushing of made up dirt colour. What was the point with excellent RTR? Lamps and couplings to follow.

Some sunshine is forecast for this morning, so hopefully rationing can cease. Still only one image now though. 61142 is working the 8.59 Grimsby-KX, another train that we see every day of the week. Things will soon start to change though.