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I think it’s 38:1 Mike so that sounds like it might not be low enough, I don’t know. I’m pretty sure it’s not exactly the same motor as yours though, so I will see how it goes when I make it up. I can replace it with something else, and use a different box with lower gearing for this one if I have to. Iain

This larger motor fitted a Comet GB3 fine with a 2mm worm, but I had to mark, drill and open out new mounting holes. Normal M2 screws (don’t come with the motor) work perfectly. I guess you could solder the gearbox to the motor if you knew what you were doing - Mike Edge I think this is what you do? The motor casing has a collar around the shaft of the motor that exactly matches and centres the motor shaft so it aligns perfectly with the gear wheel in the Comet box. So even I couldn’t get it wrong. It runs smoothly and quietly in this form. I’ll take a photo tomorrow and add it here. It is tight on top though. The size of the motor means it doesn’t quite sit parallel to the top of the frames in OO. EM or P4 I think would be a doddle. The very thick DJH frames might be a problem. I could remove a little from the Comet frames here, as it would be hidden anyway, but I don’t think I will unless I have to. A different, more adaptable gearbox, perhaps GB5 with an extender or a High Level one, would give more angles to play with. It will fit nicely in a Coronation boiler/firebox, but I would imagine it’s too big for most locos. I will build this up and see how it goes. The smaller one will certainly have more permutations for use in different locos but hopefully this will work for the biggest. Iain

I can’t help myself…… Iain

My effort from a few years ago, thanks to John’s inspiration: Bachmann LMS bogies, white metal LMS buffers I think from Comet/Wizard, clipped at the top, some spare laser glaze, renumbered and weathered. I’ve got a few (3-4) more to do and will probably do much the same but replace the brake wheel and respray as well. Iain

Duly arrived. The bigger one has a 2mm shaft, quite short too, and is 15x20x32 mm, so somewhat larger than the ad stated. Anyway, it should still fit in a Coronation and we will see how it goes. The smaller one is 12x15x27 mm with a 1.5 mm shaft. I bought 5 of each for the princely sum of half a curry. No real harm done if they aren’t any good. Iain

A couple more views of progress. Some of the inlaid track has been checkrailed but there is still a bit to go. Overall approaches including the signal box. A water tower goes just opposite, this side of the small building. more detail of the inlaid section, or what will be that. I am still not 100% sure of the rationale behind using card to Iain

I’ve managed a fair bit of progress on the goods yard approaches, with all of the turnouts and plain track lightly and temporarily pinned. Once I have the 3rd and 4th rail supplies, I can lay the line through Primrose Hill Station (I say line but I mean lines plural I think as I can have a representation of both up and down lines, either side of a new platform to be constructed, along with an extended station building and better ancillary buildings alongside the up fast). Then I will spray the lot, let it dry, lift it all, then PVA, relay the track, add fine ash ballast with a few stones, weigh it down and vacuum up the excess. I will sort some photos soon. I’ve spent more time on the inlaid track immediately outside the goods shed. Again, I need to sort a decent photo or two and will. But this post is about wagon turntables. And nobody is allowed to laugh. Well, only a bit. I thought about sourcing some (I know Pete Harvey does some beautiful etches). Then I worked out I would never make them rotate - I doubt I will live to be 250. So build static ones. Why not? fail no. 1 and 2 if I’m honest. why make life so hard with plastic and superglue when I could solder some? After a false start I got to this: Scored lines at 90 deg as guides to solder rail parallel Scrap code 75 flatbottom rail Then slitting disc to make the gaps. Needs electrically isolating but it’s ok for something that will be ornamental and scenic at best, and mainly covered with planking. 7 off, please. Iain

Thanks for the recommendation, Mike. I have speculatively purchased a few to see which ones work best. Still have a small stockpile of Mashima 1628 and a few 1626 too, but I’ve never used a Portescap or the Comet Canon. Yet. Iain

I’ve not built any more locos lately - the last ones were 44875 and 46251 a couple of months ago. However, I can see a few on the horizon: 46229 (DJH) 46238 (Hornby on Comet) 46250 (ditto) 46256 (another one……) 2 Princesses (haven’t worked out which locos yet, but I have a Mike Edge etch, a Proscale kit, a new Hornby bodyshell and tender, a set of Comet frames and sundry castings etc) 2 more Jinties, one Comet and one High Level under Bachmann bodies 2 Jubilees - one will be a LFB variant although I haven’t sorted which locos yet 2 Rebuilt Patriots (Hornby on Comet) At least 2 more Rebuilt Scots (46120 and 46127 for a start - Hornby on Comet) An original Patriot (Bachmann on Comet) At least another Black 5….. I guess that says something! But a fair bit of progress on the layout itself. I’m just trying to get it all put together so that it doesn’t look a shambles in photos. I will post something on the layout thread soon. I have all 4 mainlines running well which is a huge milestone. There is a bit more testing to do because I haven’t connected up the Down Empty Carriage line to the scissors on the down fast, but the mainlines themselves are smooth through the long formations. To know that I can run long heavy trains smoothly and reliably past the shed area means the whole concept can work. I’ve done almost all of the scenic diorama-with-a-bit-of-movement that is the goods yard approaches. Inlaid track by the goods shed needs some more work and the checkrails added. Then I will have all the setts to do…….. Hope all well with you. Iain

I will go and check my things maybe tomorrow but is it a flat rectangular white metal casting, with a large rectangular hole in the middle? If so I am pretty sure I soldered it to the inside of the tender back. The steps protrude through the etched back of the tender and into the big hole, and can be soldered from the inside. One thing I would say about the DJH Coronation tender is it weighs about as much as I do. So I hope you have a big motor in the loco! Iain

Thanks Brian. No problem, none of those tracks are fixed yet, and they will be cut 6-7 mm short of the edge on the appropriate angle, so that the backscene board will fit neatly. Iain

Down slow is wired and tested. I will complete the same with the down fast and then a celebratory video will be released! I might need to get a few bits of stock back from Shap temporarily to make up a few more trains (delighted as ever to continue and repeat the loan into the future, Graham). Getting somewhere close with the goods yard approaches too: This section (including the bit of the North London line through Primrose Hill station) is laid on some very thin cork sheet. It will be painted in situ, then lifted, pva applied, the track relaid using the paint shadow as a guide, and ash ballast applied. Then the excess ash ballast is vacuumed off. It is leftover thin sleeper C&L from the old layout, so it works well to ballast it that way. I don’t need to be quite so paranoid about the running as I am on the rest of it, mainlines in particular. There, making sure it runs smoothly and reliably before all the scenic work is crucial. The goods yard will be largely a static scenic backdrop, with just a small amount of possible movement at really slow speed of goods stock. The trackwork is simple enough with some B8s on a very shallow curve. The track immediately outside the goods shed is inlaid with setts. I have to sort some wagon turntables (no they won’t be working ones!) and probably I should try to pick Jason T’s brains to see whether I can copy what he did with The Mill. Iain

Yes for sure use the Comet deflectors. The DJH ones are undersized and therefore the handrail pillars are too low on the boiler and smokebox. The handholds are also better on the Comet ones. They are a bit fiddly the first couple of sets you do, but they get easier. I used Gibson pillars. Iain

Ian, Terry, yes I forgot the type 3 and 4 tender cut out differences. Good point. If I build any of the three DJH Coronations I have in the drawer, I will also use Comet deflectors and reposition the boiler handrail because the DJH versions are too small and the handrail too low. It really changes the face of the loco. I understand and applaud both the fun and the challenge of making something into something else, as you can see from my own thread! So best of luck with it Ian and do show us how you get on. Iain

Hi Ian, I admire your willingness to have a go à this, although I also think that altering the Ivatt Coronation to a Stanier version is a quite challenging task, to be honest. The Comet Stanier cab etch is for an 8F cab I think, so the wrong size for a Coronation. The way the DJH cab folds up means that joining different or additional sides even of the correct size isn’t easy. The trailing truck and rear frames are completely different as you know, but I’m not sure how easily you can convert one to the other. You could use a Comet spare etch for the rear frame extensions and a separate Comet LMS Pacific trailing truck, but quite a bit of head scratching may be needed. Not sure what plans you have for the tender but the part-welded tank was used on (I think?) 46253-5 as well as 46256/7. For the latter two, the roller bearing axleboxes on the DJH tender frames are not separate, they are cast in one piece with the frames, so altering them will be a massive job. You could remove them completely and replace with Comet plain axleboxes The DJH cab roof is the wrong size and shape (although I don’t think it’s any more or less wrong for each of the Ivatt and Stanier versions). Anyway, just a ramble through my thoughts. Intrigued to see how you go about this. best wishes, Iain

Hi Ian, I’ve not tried to rechassis a Wrenn or HD tender, but the Comet ones are pretty accurate and go together well. The only thing I would say is that using the correct 4’3” wheels will mean you have to remove some material from the baseplate, and the brake shoes need filing back a fair bit. Now whether the Comet tender might then draw closer attention to the less detailed loco body, I’m not sure. Matching the Comet frames to a Wrenn or HD loco body, I’m not sure about. I am fairly sure they were designed for the Hornby body. But I would suggest to make the adjustments to the frames before you start assembling, or at least before you get very far. Iain

Yes, that is exactly how I read it, Corbs. Iain

Thank you Lez, very kind. I should have added for anyone who didn’t know and wants to, that this is all OO-SF transitioning to 16.5mm on the final 3 timbers to join the C&L plain track at the end of each formation. With thanks to Martin Wynne for explaining so clearly why OO-SF works so well, and for the brilliance of Templot to plan it out. I’m dedicating at least this section of the layout to my friend Gordon Stolliday, who set me on my way with both Templot and trackwork construction, and to whom a huge gathering said an emotional farewell on Wednesday. Rest in peace my friend. Iain

Overall view from the south end Shows the change in pairing better I think. Iain

With the construction of two long crossovers and the scissors off the down fast, we now have the down lines completed: Excuse the mess. You know how these things are. I simplified the track plan at the south end by removing the formation which started with a trailing left hand turnout off the up slow, single slip on the down slow and then joining the up fast. I couldn’t see (a) what movement it served and more importantly (b) how I was ever going to build a single slip to work reliably. I had to get the mainlines to function impeccably (without having Norman Solomon to build them) or I could never have Tony to visit. Part of the reason for going to all this trouble was the effect of long shallow crossing turnouts - C10 to D12 - on a gentle curve. You can hopefully see the change in track pairing from 1-2-1 at the north end to 2-2 at the south. The stock runs through these smoothly and once wired, I hope testing will be as successful on the down as it was on the up. In the yard area I am almost certain to try to use some of the new British Finetrax kits as there are few B7s there. I ran out of slide chairs so I have a few to add as can be seen, but overall I’m pleased with how this turned out - especially the scissors which took some time, just doing it bit by bit and trying to make sure I got it right. Yes my tie bar arrangement is less than perfect, but with such long switch blades there is minimal stress. I tried the C&L ones and almost lost my mind. Iain

I’m fairly sure they are on the chassis spacers, Ian. The cylindrical screw-in spacers have a nut soldered to them and you fix the bogie and trailing truck through the spacer into the soldered nut with a bolt. The instructions say to fix the bolt through the spacer and then screw on a nut from underneath but as per TW I do the opposite. I always use a Comet bogie mounting rather than the swinging arm provided. There are a few photos in this thread somewhere I think. Motor and gearbox for a Coronation - I have used Mashima 1628 and 1626 with Comet GB3. I still have a bit of a stockpile of Mashimas. I don’t know enough to say that this is a better combo than anything else but it works well enough. Iain

A little research trip: now that my son lives a few minutes from Camden this sort of trip becomes a lot more straightforward. I snapped a good number of useful photos, principally of architectural details etc. I won’t flood the thread with all of them, but a couple bear posting I think. This one is of the Dumpton Place wall after the render has been removed, referred to by Peter above. I think it possibly shows that the doorway was once where the Pilates ad is hanging now. I’m not certain but this part of the wall looks as if it was perhaps completely rebuilt rather than patched up or filled in. Anyway, I will try to copy the photo in the post above when I finally get round to it. More currently, there was a discussion about wall mounted derricks a few posts ago and I have searched extensively and in vain for information. Then what do I find on the E wall of the Roundhouse? I am leaning towards assuming that those on the Goods Shed wall were at least similar, and it gives me a plausible way to construct them. Any views welcome. A somewhat more momentous update to follow soon. Iain

I can’t remember Dennis, sorry. I know the large and small air tanks are on each side of the footplate, but I don’t recall adding a battery box to any of my Black Fives Iain

I’m glad it wasn’t just me who thought that! I ended up effectively making new mountings using wire and drilled holes as I would have done had it been a Comet chassis. I can see that might be useful although how the two baseplates could be joined and attached while still enabling pickups to be fitted may be beyond my skills! More likely to be helpful if building 46220- 46225 (or was it only up to 46224 I can’t remember….) which had single brake shoes. The rest had twin shoes. The Hornby shoes are single only, even on the new model I think. I’m not sure whether the Gibson items are suitable, sorry. I would recommend (from a baseline of far lower experience and competence than many contributors on this thread) that fashioning something out of metal and therefore maintaining single medium construction, is preferable. Iain

27mm 6’9” wheels will fit, but then the brake hangers won’t. You will need to make some adjustments perhaps but not necessarily like I did: (Scroll down the attached post) Iain