w124bob

Are there any images of the blue versions showing the opposite side, does it have exposed boiler filler tank and steps or plated over. It's the only one where there are no images of both sides.

The MMRS O gauge layout has quite a few elderly wagon kits sitting around, sort of unloved. A small team is slowly refreshing many aspects the layout, new scenery, signals and electrics . So I volunteered to weather some old freight stock and hopefully make it more appealing for other members to run. Much of it is from the big 4 era, so a little different from my usual projects, sadly a lot of the coaching stock really needs full repaints and is beyond my limited skills. These two kits although representing the same coal merchant are different makers, the smaller of the two is probably Slaters.

Any links to the 14xx autogear components and Shepard vac and steampipes please, I fancy adding them to my own especially the vac pipe. I can find PR Components with an address in N. Ireland which I assume is PRC.

I take that as a great complement, just need to get one of his books down from the loft for inspiration. I'll be happy when the plates arrive from Narrow Planet/LRS, there's also some fire irons enroute from LG Minitures too. Living in Manchester just five minutes from the MMRS gives me access to their O gauge layout and a trip to a certain Blackpool emporium is on the card soon before the hoards descend! Watch this space for the goods stock on the bench now.

Crew on board and a brew has been made.

A crew has been dragged out of the pub, judging by the lean of the fireman! The new number and totem arrived from Railtec this morning, ordered and printed yesterday morning , brilliant as usual!

First picture and the majority of the weathering is done, inspired by a DVD showing 1420 running along the soon to be closed KIngton branch. A crew and various fire iron bits are awaiting painting, and were are not going anywhere without coal! New number from Narrow Planet, then I just need to get some lamps. The last thing to do is add a new Totem and smoke box number(Railtec) and that bit of hose that always adorns anything vaguely GWR steam. Whilst doing the research I noticed the toolboxes differ in position oneside to the other, so that has been remedy.

More picture on the Manchester Model Railway Society layout. A couple of small details to add, reverse the buffer foot steps as per the prototype and add a ETH cable.

Passed over to me from my brother for a bit of ageing and a number, 31442 was a regular in the NW around the time I was driving at Victoria so I'm sure our paths crossed. He's had it fitted with RC battery power for his garden system so I've not had the chance to run it! Weathering is with lots of thin washes and powders, numbers from Railtec. A spray of Dulcote(not on the decals) seals and adds a further fade effect, then retouch some of the powders. I've finished my supply of Dulcote now, so need to find an alternative.

Just to clarify the 24/0 and 24/1 conversation, it wasn't the weight which designated the class difference. Infact pre TOPS there was no 24/0 or 24/1. The difference between the the first 50 and the next production batch was the electrical equipment variations. It would have been line control allocating the correct loco for any axle load restrictions in the 60's. I have the original Brush printed driver manuals and it simply refers to D5000/50 D5051 onwards and the technical variations . Further to this the 25/0 class were regarded simply as uprated horse power freight only locos of the same spec, covered in the drivers manual for D5000 to D5175. Boiler differences were covered in a different publication for issue to 2nd men.

I did two Baccy ones,it was an easy conversion. See the Bachmann 24/1 thread. Only difference I can see in doing an O gauge conversion will be the need to add a bit more detail to the roof boiler blanking plates.

Still from Jaw Tooths latests video This the full video , also 5366 sounds really nice too.

"But wait there's more" This little set has spent the weekend on display at the Manchester Model Railway Society, flying the flag for US HO, a bit of a contrast compared with the usual (superb) UK stuff.

I'm still plugging away, lots of new freights cars weathered. A heads up for 5 new Alco/MLW projects including having a go at a proper MLW CP C424. I've collected all the detail bits, CP pilot, 4 sqaure airfilter mouldings and the correct bell, just need to get stuck in. Also in the weathering shop are an ex CR C420(a rare Ebay find) and a Bowser CN C630M, finished but awaiting pictures an ex SP black and yellow Bachmann S4. This loco has had all the grab handrails on the nose added and only modest weathering . This Ahearn Genesis car was another Ebay bargain, inspired by one still in GN colours in 1993!

It would seem the phantom heritage painter has struck again, Former RF&P GP40-2 142, now CSX 6394 has gained an RF&P painted nose job. Look closely and you see the RF&P logo is a vinly print, so someone is going to a bit of expense.

Worth noting too that in as built condition the class were MU fitted and had 4 sand boxes per bogie, the MU stuff was removed fairly quickly but the sand boxes lingered into the mid/late 60's. D1 retained the boxes in 1967 but they were gone by 1969. MU gear is easy to add if Heljan miss it off, but I hope they notice the sand box variation. Hopefully they'll pick this up and make it a pop off item on the green SYE variations. Good gallery here https://www.flickr.com/photos/35296891@N07/galleries/72157706515707581/with/5550263204/

Nothing for me in the first run but with such a small fleet and Heljan's habit of doing several liveries in future production runs it won't be long before a green FYE comes along.

There are a couple of pictures I've seen somewhere on Flickr of a Craven 105 dmu somewhere in the Bamber Bridge area with a parcels vehicle or two circa mid 70's. The Norwich Birmingham service was usually formed with a BG in the train but I've seen pictures, again on Flickr, where the formation included a GUV. BR retro fitted a small fleet of GUV's with B4 bogies and dual brakes/dual heat for mainline passenger service(not motor rail). This is not the picture I had in mind as it's taken at Hitchin

After a sticky start my Dean Goods is done, lamps and a HO scale crew came from Modelu3d, fire irons from Springside.

I'd like to add a second coach to my Bachmann autotrailer, what non driving diagrams had the equipment fitted? Pictures seem to be varied and could well of trains being worked normally.

Just thought I'd add a bit following a couple of US online purchases, particularly after my comment about getting stuff from the US. I have two small detailing projects on the go at the moment, the bigger of the pair( jobs wise) is a CP MLW C424. A few detail parts picked up from Miniatures By Eric(many Canadian specific bits), online order wanted $100 for shipping for less than $12 of parts! An email to the owner and this resulted in a Paypal invoice for about $17, items arrived about 3 weeks later with no customs. Another company supplied a few parts for an Athearn NW SD40-2 from Details West, ordered direct online from their website cost less than $20 in total and arrived in under three weeks. TMR have a very good range of small bits from all the detail suppliers. https://www.tmrdistributing.com/presta/index.php Miniatures by Eric https://www.miniaturesbyeric.com/ There are also three decal suppliers I use. Fusion Graphics, Highball Graphics and CMR https://fsdecals.com/ https://highballgraphics.com/index.php https://www.cmrproducts.com/

Would the tender as supplied by Oxford have had the water filler arrangement changed to a separate dome and filler?

You stupid boy! Check under tender top and find a decoder, replace with the blanking socket(which was in the details bag)and reassemble. Happy presto one sweet running DG.

My DG is a non runner and I made a classic mistake in not testing it when purchased over 2 years ago. I've found the problem , which is an odd one. The small circuit board that sits under the cab has no printed circuit! So the two motor wires are soldered to tabs which have no connection, same for the four wires from the tender and the two nickle silver loco pickup studs under the circuit board are all unconnected to each other. Anyone else come across this issue? I should add the motor works fine if connect wires directly to it.

Having now done a bit of research via Youtube I know I really need to use the NCE interface to connect the Procab to a laptop. I asked the question because the Procab manual doesn't go into detail, the NCE interface has 4 small jumpers which need to be setup correctly this information is only in the interface instruction booklet or website, then a driver downloaded from the NCE website.