thegreenhowards

I’ve got some 24mm, 18 spoke Romfords - all insulated. Is that what you’re looking for?

Rob, This link is our club OO gauge exhibition layout. We made this river with normal casting resin available off Amazon for £18 per kg. I think it was this one but will check if you’re interested. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Water-Clear-Casting-Resin-Polyester/dp/B06XPSL1MW/ref=sr_1_5_pp?crid=16CFVMA69S7WU&keywords=casting+resin+clear&qid=1707037717&sprefix=Casting+Resin%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-5 The base was painted and detailed first and you can add dye if required. We used modge podge blown through a straw to make the rippled effect on top…but you probably wouldn’t want that for a lochan. Andy

I’ve brought another board inside to work on the scenery. This is the area in front of the station building - the far side from the tracks. I’ve struggled to find photographs of the area. Stuart Wright ( @4firstimes of this parish) provided some invaluable ones from, I think, the 1980s. But most stuff online is post conversion to the museum and tidying up. Google street view has been useful but that’s very recent. I’m assuming that the landform won’t have changed. It’s just that what is now manicured garden was scrub in the 1980s and the brick wall was a run down fence. This photo gives an idea of the layout I’m trying to replicate. https://canmore.org.uk/collection/1507436 Stuart’s photos give more views of the area between the steps and station, but I’ve got nothing for the area down the slope (approach road) from the steps. If anyone knows of any photos, please let me know. This is my progress on the landform to date. Any comments welcome. The area right of the steps needs a run down fence to link it to the station building. The area left of the steps just seemed to fade into the driveway. I’ve marked where I think the driveway goes off scene with a blue pen to the left of the steps. Andy

Wow! Can’t wait to see it all printed!

Nice to see the green and cream mark 1s. How often did 37s work this set? Was it just following steam failures or was there a regular turn? Andy

I’ve been playing with electronics which I don’t really understand today! As long term followers of this thread will remember, I have a lever frame which I want to use to control all my points and signals in line with the original Glenfinnan signal box frame.I’ve been using this diagram. The lever frame I have has DPDT switches attached to each lever, so I had to work out how to control all the point motors and signals using them. The nearer points (Fort William end) I changed over to Tortoises and the signals are servos which were fine with DC power, so that worked OK. It was the far (Mallaig) end which was causing me problems. I either had to change the point motor to a tortoise and dangle 20ft of wire across the garden, or use DCC. I tried the wire method for the signals last summer but it was very messy. So DCC it had to be. DCC Concepts’ ESP came to the rescue as that can take any switch input and convert it into a DCC signal. I spent a while sweating over the instructions and had two phone calls to DCC Concepts help desk who were fantastic. But I’m happy to say that it’s now working for the point. I need to buy a decoder for the Dapol signals and then I should be able to add them. And it’s all with no wires - the signal is transmitted by Bluetooth. As with many DCC concepts products this is a superb bit of kit but quite pricy and with not very good instructions. Luckily their help desk makes up for the instructions!

I’ve also been working on the B1 which you might remember from my posts in mid December (too if this page and bottom of the previous one). I’ve sorted the valve gear out so that it looks more convincing…if not perfect. And more importantly, there’s less slop in it so it doesn’t lock from time to time with unfortunate consequences. I’ve also removed the valance one side to see if I can tidy that up. It proved a big job but I think has made a worthwhile improvement. The valence, as it turns out, was held on by an unholy combination of epoxy, solder and filler hence the deep sides and general mess. I removed one with some difficultly, cleaned it up, tinned it and the bottom of the footplate and tried to reattached it. This was quite hard even with my 150W iron on 480C. I had to resort to 145C solder and a lot of pressure for a significant period of time. It’s one now but the curve at each end aren’t quite as neat as I’d like! I’d welcome thoughts on other ways of attached the valence and whether the improvement is worthwhile. Here’s the side I’ve done. And, by way of reminder, the untouched side. Andy

I’ve been working on the N2 and it now has the correct chimney and buffers and has entered the (touch up) paint shop. I know these look a mess but I’m confident she will be much more presentable shortly. I will post more photos at that stage, but thought I’d show these now in case the changes aren’t very evident once she’s all painted! Andy

Hi Ellis, Mine arrived yesterday and I’ve been playing with it today. What a fantastic model! The most expensive model I’ve ever bought but well worth it. Once I’ve got the transfers and my garden railway is set up for the summer I will feature 5407 with a rake of your green and cream Mk1s. A questions if I may: How do I move the working lamps? I want an express passenger configuration for the West Highland Line (I.e. bottom left and right). Is it as simple as just picking them off? If so fine, but I don’t want to damage anything! I got the 18 page glossy but didn’t get the leaflet mentioned above on DCC installation which I would like as that will be a job for the medium term. I will email Hannah for that. Andy

Thanks for that Ian. A Class 29 is on my list. Steve Beattie is bringing out a 3D printed kit of one which I’m hoping to pick up fairly soon. I noticed Backtrack had a WHL feature, so it was on my list to check out - sounds like I will need to buy a copy. the postman brought a new goodie today - an Ellis Clark black 5. This will become 5407 to head my green and cream Mk1s on the Jacobite. More once I’ve unboxed it. Andy

And some coal when I remember to bring it! looking great - even better in the flesh. Andy

I’ve changed my mind. I want Rob to 3D print the retaining ropes so that I can enjoy seeing him paint in the coloured threads!

Have you tried precision ‘roof dirt’? I find it excellent, either on its own (generally on roofs) or mixed with black and 62/ leather.

Thank goodness for that! Much better off with some cotton or thicker thread.

Thanks Keith, I think they got Ross pops from late ‘20s/ early 30s when the boilers were replaced. There is a comment in Yeadon but I can’t find it this morning. Anyway, I’m modelling mid ‘20s so I think I’m safe with the Ramsbottom type. I’ve based my model on 4608 on P92 of Yeadon. I chose 4612 because I didn’t have enough ‘0’s and ‘8’s on my transfer sheet, but I think they should be the same. The picture seems to show the safety valve slightly above the cab roof, so I think I’m ok there. Andy

I’ve dug out the shipment from my unbuilt Slaters/ Rising Star N2 kit, and @mannais right. This shows the white metal chimney placed in position next to mine. Hats off to you, because I’d never have spotted that difference! The question is whether I will see it when running, but now I know, I suppose I’d better change it! I’m not sure what the chimney I have is supposed to be as it’s too short for a Scottish version. It may just be another random LNER chimney which the builder sourced when building this loco. I think the loco may be scratchbuilt, so that is perfectly possible. Andy

North Eastern was the second A1 produced by Bachmann and Ithink the dodgy motors were in all the Aberdonians and some of the North Easterns. I avoid both on eBay. Although many of them will have benefitted from the recall and motor upgrade, one never knows whether the example being sold is OK or not. Andy

I thought you’d commissioned a new layout control panel. Looks great overseeing the whole operation.

Well they’ve mainly got some bids but I started them at £25 each, so I would hope so! I won’t know until Friday whether I’ve got my money back. I’ll give an update on here if people are interested. I can’t remove the items from eBay (they get stroppy!), but I’ll send you a PM about the other two DJH A1s. Regards Andy

All this talk about stashes of unbuilt kits made me go and take a look at my OO stash. I found three unbuilt and one built but not working DJH A1 all acquired second hand. Along with three V2s, two B16s, one O 2 and quite a few other built kits in poor condition which I bought to renovate and never got round to it - often because I bought RTR instead - I hang my head in shame on this forum but I can’t see the point of building a kit when there’s a good RTR alternative. I used to think that it was necessary for haulage capability, but all my recent RTR pulls my longest trains with some added weight. As I’m largely kit building in O gauge now, I decided to have a clear out of my stash and put several of them on eBay last Friday. I hope there’s still a market for kits! Andy

Really?! I know the Scottish ones had taller chimneys but this looks more like a southern section one than a Scottish one to me. What do others think? Andy

Is that the J65? Looking good. I thought you couldn’t print when it’s cold!

Back to O gauge today. I’m working on an N2 which I bought for the club layout Smithfield before we decided it would be set in the 1920s. So I now need to back date it. It’s also a Scottish one and I hadn’t realised how many detail differences there were. I’d already added the condensing pipes, but on looking through Yeadon, I also need to add another coal rail round the bunker and change to GNR buffers. There are also probably a lot of other changes required. If anyone spots some obvious ones, do let me know. The BR paint job was actually quite good, so I’m trying to keep it and only change the bits I need to change. This basically means the bunker and water tank sides which had BR numbers/emblems and the wrong lining. The lining on the boiler bands and front wheel arch is good (better than I could do) and I intend to keep it. I sanded back and repainted the sides and have lined and applied numbers/ LNER to one side. I’d be grateful if someone could confirm that I’ve got these right as I always seem to get the wrong colour or font size! The works plate needs to move to the wheel arch - hence the brass on the front sandbox. Any comments welcome. Andy

It’s almost worth putting up with the DMU for that!

I agree that social media has been fantastic for the hobby and I have made many good friends through meeting them first online. But I don’t think online alone can replace physical interaction and I think clubs still have an important role to play. As well as being chair of my local small club, I have just started a role as SE area rep for the Gauge O Guild. One of my jobs is to ring up each new member in the South East and welcome them to the Guild. Generally people have welcomed that interaction and one of the main things I do is encourage them to visit their local club with an O gauge presence. One or two have taken me up on that suggestion and I think it’s been a positive experience for them. Andy