Rannoch Moor

Very timely. I recently read John A McGregor’s “All Stations To Mallaig” which mentioned this trial. I had taken the impression that these may have been the Class 2 Moguls (which I know worked the Ballachulish line in its latter days) but your photos have saved me posting in the quest of further details.

Just discovered this fabulous thread - spent the last hour or two reading through the story of this super layout. All the best in your new parish Jonathan!

I'll post an update when I get back from my holidays the week after next - I plan so send off for the servo control unit and the 2 servos from MSE then. Then it will be the mor complex home signal arrangement. This has 2 home arms and 2 shunting arms to include. If youre content Steve (and they go well!) I'll put a short piece on them here if that helps others take the plunge.

Steve Thanks for the guidance and inspiration. Your work is great and I have enjoyed your post. More importantly I have taken some of your ideas on and progressed well on the way to my first working signal - the Caledonian starter for Kilbrannan Ferry. It is still to have the servos fitted and have the control wires attached behind but close to the (non-working) pulley wheels.

I posted pics of this West Highland stalwart on another thread but thought these might be of interest. Loco built from LRM kit to EM standards. Great runner (by luck!) and since the photo it has been toned down a wee bit through selective weathering.

Loch Treig has now been matt varnished, which has blended in perfectly the transfers and made consistent the finish that the Future/Klear had made a bit patchy. I have also glazed the cab side windows and spectacles. The sides with plastiglaze, but because this was a real challenge for the spectacles (backhead and roof in the way) I did them with Kristal Kleer PVA. It worked OK but I feel that they are never quite flat and even enough. Some light weathering will follow - working but cared for. Rather like the K1 in Tim Shackleton's weathering locos book... Phots to follow.

Thanks Horsetan, the Future is ideal for giving a metallic sheen although as Loch Treig is modelled in her twilight years (actually my layout is set a year or two after her withdrawal in reality) so she will have a reasonably weathered look that will matt down much of the sheen. Although that will be nothing compared to the layer of filth to be applied to the Standard 4 Mogul (Motherwell's 76001 which worked both the west Highland routes in 1960) seen in the background of some of the photos above...

Well, despite a paucity of reporting, I have actually made steady progress, and in about a year (between a new job, other modelling etc etc) Loch Treig is now nearly complete. She only needs a final coat of varnish, to detail and glaze the cab, and some light weathering. She runs well and despite a few challenges I enjoyed this project hugely. This loco is certainly not excessively difficult to build if you have some experience (at least one etched loco plus one or 2 with outside Walschaert's valve gear - a Comet kit/conversion probably ideal). Here are the photos for perusal.... The loco was primed with Alclad Grey Primer/Microfiller and painted with Humbrol Satin Black and lined with a mix of Modelmaster (ready made numbers, nameplates and crests and tender lining) and some Fox for the red boiler band lining) It was all prepped and then sealed with Future wax polish other than the cab roof and smokebox so looks a little stark in close up.

Will, Just discovered this - great work on bashing these locos. can't wait to see how your Glen will turn out. Sure it will be a smasher. Must get my K2 (Loch Treig) painted now it's finished. Gus

Just had a check after digging the test track out of the garage - no sign of any wheel drop on the tender or pony, although it was an unpowered push through as a quick check. It was conclusive though, particularly on the tender I feel. I did, however, detect that the pony and a tender wheelset had drifted slightly out of gauge though...! BTW, running the tender through by itself did also show that the wing rail did appear to provide support to the wheels.

I need to dig out my test track which has a 1:6 crossing incorporated in it! I do remember that the pony truck, which has smaller dia wheels than the tender did not seem to have a drop when passing the crossings on the layout. But then I was paying more attention to the valve gear and the avoidance of any hunting/tight spots so may have missed it....

Alan, Many thanks. Haven't had the chance to run the whole ensemble through the pointwork on the layout yet although the pony (which is quite heavily weighted with lead for track-holding) didn't suffer from this. One of the advantages of EM standards perhaps? As the layout is under a snowstorm of polystyrene shavings as I progress the landscape of Kilbrannan Ferry, I haven't yet had opportunity and won't for a wee while yet but will check and see. As to complexity, I saw this from the start as a potentially challenging build but although I had some prior experience of simple 0-6-0 etched locos and rolling stock (Connoisseur and Comet mainly) as well as some whitemetal outside cylinder locos and RTR conversions, this has been in some ways easier that I expected (although my obsessive reading of Rice etc over the years, and previous experience, have undoubtedly been essential). Posting on this thread has also been important - to both push my standards and to continue progress as I would hate to give up publicly! Whilst my main motivation has to been to share, I would be extremely flattered if it inspired anyone else to have a go - and particulary to support LRM or their other manufacturers by purchasing their wares. I felt that Tony Wright's article series in BRM overstated some of the difficulties in this kit, and from my perspective at least, as well as shortcomings in the instructions, but I have found this kit to be well made and the instructions to be generally as logical as a complicated kit's can be. I have found Tony's articles to be extremely useful though and would recommend anyone contemplating this loco to obtain copies unless they are experienced in etched loco construction.

PS The wire was actually parallel - it just doesn't look it in the phot above because the camera wasn't at 90 degrees to the line of the loco. (Well that's my excuse!) Gus

Sorry things have been slow but I have been settling in to my new job and also taking the lucky opportunity to refurb the model room into something presentable and properly user friendly to both railway and aircraft modelling - as well as my music collection! Here is a snap of the "man-cave"... As well as cracking a long progressing Lancaster and an RN DH Chipmunk (that was my first solo 30 years ago...), I have dug out Loch Treig and sorted out the floating tender and some other details, not least epoxying on the Scottish chimney, dome and the snifter valave aft of the chimney. The complete ensemble has been road tested and as well as looking reasonably adequate (IMHO!) is running OK too. The tender chassis has had its rear wheelset kept in fixed bearings whilst the middle and front wheels are floating in MJT 2mm bearings. These are left with reasonable vertical and rotational freedom and the front half of the tender is weighted using a small roll of lead sheet epoxied in place under the coal space. A hook rests on a loop soldered onto the loco drawbar which helps spread the weight load (relatively) equally on either side of the rear driven loco axle. The loco also has a similar roll of lead sheet as far aft as possible inside the boiler in order to concentrate tractive effort. The cab roof is not soldered on yet the way! The drawbar loop can be tweaked up and down using pliers to adjust tender ride height. Once all secured, the smokebox front can be secured. To ensure that this is level (as the ends of the boiler handrails need to be secured on the smokebox front...) I ran a piece of straight drawn wire through the adjacent holes for the handrail pillars (checking it was parallel to the buffer beam) ... ... and then used a wooden straight edge (trusty clothes peg!) across the holes in the front of the smokebox to ensure all was parallel before solder tacking in place as indicated by the wire in this old photo: Well, off to do some more... Happy New Year to all by the way :-)

Needless to say, bearings "reappeared" in the bag of brass bits and the pony is now completed and secured temporarily in place - will get a snap up when I get home. Regarding the blackening JB, certainly sounds worthwhile, although much to my surprise, the rivets really worked a treat and were used in all but one of the joints this time. I have, however, dipped tweezers in the blackening stuff to prevent them getting soldered if holding things together or acting as asbestos fingers!