James Harrison

Well, those three and more. I think it would be quicker to list the railways he wasn't involved with in some way or another.

I think you mean Edward Watkin.

I've got some Ratio ones but these are closer to what I want. I've gone for the GNR type myself as I need a teak/mahogany sort of finish, with gas lighting. Now it's just darkening that down. I'm sure I'll find a more appropriate starting point, but GNR seems to fit the bill. If they were offered undecorated that's the option I'd have chosen too!

What is the difference between modifying a kit, and modifying one of these though? And what if the kits that you're asking about are either 1) difficult to come by 2) in materials that I don't feel comfortable with 3) the manufacturer has assume a degree of ability that not everybody has 4) more expensive than this RTR alternative 5) require additional materials and components to be sourced, at additional expense (assuming that between the kit being tooled and the present, they haven't been taken off the market) Or what about if 6) I'm buying these sp

Because the livery I want isn't on offer.

My experience with re-wheeling Hornby chassis has been that half the time the axles are different diameters, so you end up swapping the complete wheelset.

My only worry is, when mine arrive, will I decide they're too nice to risk repainting?

Mouthwatering. I can't wait for mine to arrive.

Yes, I was rather surprised by that as usually I build an interior and marvel at how it then becomes practically invisible. I think it just goes to show that a little bit of effort (and really it was the work of maybe an hour) to fit even a basic interior can pay off.

I'm now the very pleased owner of one five carriage rake of GCR clerestories, after completing the last of the hatchet jobs. The other rake of clerestory stock is simply repainted Hornby, with scratchbuilt interiors. On, now, with the brake carriages for that second rake.

A12 'Jubilee' class?

For the last few weeks I've been quietly getting on with a few projects... The lavatory brake third clerestory, which I made the sides for just before Christmas and then put aside for a few months. I've stripped down the donor vehicle, fitted my new sides, painted them and built and fitted an interior. I'm now just waiting on some new material before I can reinstate the roof. These two aren't quite so involved. They're Triang-Hornby clerestories, which have had their cookie-cutter wheels swapped out for ones which will be happi

Thinking ahead for the future, does anybody know where I could find drawings of Chesterfield Market Place station? I've drawn a blank in Chris Booth's excellent LDECR trilogy, I don't recall seeing any in volume 3 of George Dow's GCR trilogy, nor in Cupit and Taylor's work. I could crib something rough from the few photographs I've found, but I'd sooner be working from the original designs.

So, presented in no particular order... Rufford Red Lion Square station. No provision for goods at all, except for parcels traffic- and a couple of carriage sidings. The plan is based, quite loosely, on C J Freezer's Cretun design (see the PSL book of track plans for that original design). The passenger trains have to have somewhere to go, so I looked to Chesterfield Market Place for inspiration. The goods yard I scaled right back to the bare minimum, and this deck I'm actually thinking as presenting as two separate scenes, rather than one L

I've scrapped the helix idea... I mentioned a few days ago what I considered my maximum train length- 4 50' carriages and a loco- well the 50'ers that's obviously 200mm per carriage (say 210 including a coupling), a Sam Fay (the biggest loco I anticipate running) clocks in at 260mm, that's (210*4) + 260 = 1100mm, or a little under 4'. The room is 8' wide, I'd be losing half of that width for a helix, at least, assuming trains can even get up it. Why not just have a 1200mm length of straight track on a lifting system... I'd need to keep some room in front of it open to