thegreenhowards

Thanks. That confirms the one photo I found which seemed to have some coal in the space between the divisions. So if I fill it with a fine layer of coal dust that would presumably be about right?

No new train tonight as I have spent the last couple of days trying to sort out the footbridge which Tony identified as too high. It was certainly more than a 'five minute job with the Xurons', mainly because Hornby seem to have built it out of a plastic which is resistant to all known glue! In the end it was a combination of plastic weld, evostick and strengthening with epoxy. Then it needed some filler and touching up. And I then decided to weather it which has been on my list for a while. Anyway, I think it looks better now. I have tried retaking the shot of the N2 and quad arts. I tried using my Nikon SLR on F22 for this shot to get a better depth of field. It's marginally better than the iPhone photo, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. These low angle shots are particularly difficult. It does seem to have highlighted just how wonky the Superquick island platform building is. But this is due for replacement fairly soon, so will stay for now.

Indeed, more vital than the five diagrams that they do produce. The ordinary stock was relegated to secondary services and strengtheners by the late ‘50s. I’m sure a RF/ RSP (or RSO) pair would sell well.

Thanks Tony, I think you’re right. They’re already soldered in place. I think I’ll round them off at the edges as the prototypes were rounded. Mine is also a DJH kit - another eBay purchase ready built I’m afraid, but for £78 with a (fairly quiet) Portescap I don’t think I could go wrong. I’ve renumbered it and I’m sorting out some detail (lamp irons etc.) as well as the roller bearing stuff. The bridge never looked wrong before, but it certainly looks tall now. The new one is a big improvement. Andy

David, I’ve always found Southern Pride excellent. Dave is old school so you have to send a cheque, but he turns it round quickly and his stuff is very good vfm. It’s worth emailing him first to check that everything is in stock. I’ve made the whole Elizabethan rake of his, plus a few mark 1s (mainly BSOs before Hornby did their version) and some other Thompson catering cars. Still got a couple of Gresley artics and the Cravens mark 1 prototypes to build. Highly recommended. His interior seats and tables are also worth considering. Andy

Tonight I feature the 1758 New Clee to King’s Cross fish train, the second of the two daily trains. This is headed by EE Type 3 (Class 37) D6801. 37s and 47s replaced 9Fs on the New Clee fish trains in the early ‘60s. I think it was mainly 47s on the London run with 37s doing the cross country trains. However, I regard 47s as the spawn of the devil and no 47 will ever tarnish Gresley Jn’s metals. So tonight’s train involves a 37 substituting for the more normal 47. Here is the video. This one is sound fitted.

`Tony, Going back almost a month and 37 pages, I have tracked down some Romford crankpin washers. Here they are in position on one side of 60154, Bon Accord’s tender. She will be my engine for the ‘Night Scotsman’ as one of the two Gateshead roller bearing examples seemed to be ever present on that train during the 1950’s. I suspect having re-read your post that these are the retaining ones rather than the spacing ones. They are slightly smaller in diameter and thicker in depth than the last ones I used. The depth seems fine, but the diameter is a little small compared with prototype pictures, but I think they’re probably the best I can do in the absence of any other source - do you have any comments? Should anyone want some they come in packs of 10 (just right for converting a roller bearing A1) for £1.50 from 247 developments. Andy

Tony, Given what I’ve seen of your modelling is to a very high standard, it’s a sad inditement of some people of RMWeb that you feel like that. I never achieve perfection but I post all sorts of stuff of different standards and, as long as I write about them with humility, I have found the support both encouraging and often very useful for improving things. Andy

I’ve had a frustrating morning working on the footbridge. Cyano proved useless with bits of plastic slipping all over the place. In the end I found that Plastic weld did the job, strengthened by epoxy in one or two places. There’s still some work to do, but I should be able to post a photo in the next couple of days. This evening’s train is the 2221 King’s Cross Baldock headed by Hitchin’s 61027, Madoqua. Here is the video.

Thanks Paul - I think I’ll go for one. Did you use the Gibson wheels he seems to offer with the kit? I always use Romfords so would prefer to stick with them if they will work with the kit. Andy

Peter, All the best for as speedy a recovery as is possible. Just thought I’d show my iPad with keyboard. This is an excellent solution as the keyboard doubles up as the case and stand. I can take photos on my iPhone. They transfer almost instant doubly to my iPad without me doing anything. Then I can use the photos via the keyboard to put updates on RMWeb. I wholeheartedly recommend it. Andy

Very impressive - I wish I could get my kits running on DCC so quickly! Where did you put the decoder in the end - tender or boiler?

Thanks for sharing that. Your T1 model looks great, although if I was being picky, the lining could be straighter. What did you use for that? I find Modelmaster lining easy to apply and, while not as good as a bow pen in the right hands, it generally produces good results. I’m slightly nervous about building an all brass or nickel silver kit having only built white metal kits (some with brass tenders and/or cabs) in the past. Do you think a 52F kit would be suitable for a first time all nickel silver modeller? I also note that his chassis is compensated with the gearbox built in. I don’t quite understand how that would look but it sounds scary. Was yours the same and did it go together OK? Andy

Thanks Tony, Their layout looks good to me. Obviously not up to finescale standards and I do hate setrack, but it looks much more finished than mine. I think I can honestly say that I have never built a Metcalfe kit. I built lots of Superquick stuff when I was a lad and some of it still ‘graces’ the town area of Gresley Jn and more recently I have built some Scalescenes stuff which I think looks much more realistic than Metcalfe. The only Metcalfe on Gresley Jn is the coaling stage which I picked up for £2 at a show and the engine shed which was free and is definitely a ‘holding’ building. I think the coaling stage is really GWR so should be banished, but Hatfield had something similar in the 1930s. I think Metcalfe stuff is fine for bulking out a layout but needs is crying out for detailing and particularly weathering. As built it looks too ‘chocolate box’. The bridge is on today’s todo list. Watch this space. Andy

Tony, Yet again you notice something which had completely passed me by! Now you mention it they do look too tall, so I will have a go at the surgery you suggest. Surely Hornby designed it to go on a platform, so I don’t understand why it’s too tall, but I agree it looks that way. I had already done some surgery to join the two halves together to make a double span and I found it difficult to get them to glue together - poly cement was useless. What glue did you/they use? I think I ended up with cyano. They are also crying out for weathering which I will do at the same time. Coming back to cameras/ photos as discussed on your thread, I realise that the camera has focussed on the footbridge rather than the loco. This is a definite weakness of my iPhone approach and difficult to control particularly for the low angle shots. I may have to dig my Nikon D80 out for the ‘after’ shot! Andy

Ahh, was it you fighting me on eBay for the Bill Bedford kit?! The Night Scotsman varied over the years, but had up to 7 of these long Gresley SLFs - at least according to the CWN. I think I will have to find a slightly more practical formation. I will probably start with the SO version which needs two and a artic twin (which I have built). The 61ft version was quite rare by the late 50s except as a weekend/ summer strengthener. When required I use the Hornby version. I know its a bit fat, but the rest is better than I could achieve, and I think it looks fine in the middle of a rake (where the tumblehome is partly hidden). Andy

Next coach fresh out of Coulsdon works is another Gresley 66ft sleeper, E1156 E. This is another of my Kirk ‘cut and shuts’ and it will form part of my ‘Night Scotsman’ rake as you can see from the coach roof boards. The roof is MJT as are most of the underframe fittings. Sadly, I have now run out of old Kirk sleeper kits to cut up. I was relying on Isinglass to produce some resin 3D printed kits, but speaking to Andrew last weekend at the Basingstoke show (was that really only 9 days ago - how the world has changed!) he has had to go back to work so the kits will not appear anytime soon. I have enough Kirk bits left to do a corridor side and had started to scratch build a D.227 berth side to go with it, but that got put on the back burner when isinglass seemed like a good prospect. I may need to revisit it now. Andy

Those who know me will know that having retired from my main job with the railway, I am a part time forester owning a piece of woodland in Shropshire. I was intending to head up there tomorrow to ‘socially isolate’ myself while hugging no more than my trees. But sadly Boris seems to have other ideas, so it looks like I will have more time for ‘playing trains’. Therefore I don’t have to ration the couple of shots I had in the bag. So tonight we have The 2154 from King’s Cross all stations to Gresley Jn arriving with an N2 which I don’t think has featured before, 69498. She’s hauling a standard quad art set. I know it looks derailed, but it isn’t - just a slightly sloppy articulation joint.

Gordon, I have lots of live frame locos running on DCC, some with Portescaps. It’s not recommended and if I’m building from scratch I fit pick ups to both sides, but if I buy a live frame loco, I don't convert it. You just have to make absolutely sure that the live body can’t touch either motor terminal as this will blow the decoder and may blow the Portescap as well. Any shorts (which are more likely On live frame locos e.g. when the bogie hits the cylinder) are more annoying on DCC. But they shouldn’t blow the decoder. Zimo are great with Portescaps. They list some CV changes in their instructions which work really well. Let me know if you can’t find them. Andy

I meant from the rail to the top of the roof!

Tony, My photographic equipment comes from the other end of the price range. A camera which came free with the iPhone and a mini tripod, iPhone holder and LED floodlight costing under £30 in total. The big tripod comes from over 40 years ago when I had a more serious camera. Obviously it doesn’t take pictures anywhere near your standard, but I wouldn’t have the patience for all that ‘processing’ anyway. I feel it takes amazing good record photos and videos for the price point. It’s what I use for all my Gresley Jn photos. Andy

Andrew, I think I should found a mark 1 appreciation society to protect them from such abuse! I find them rather pleasing to look at, although I would agree that they get boring en mass and I enjoy having an excuse to mix it up with some pre-BR rolling stock. I also agree that, in general, one should know the dimensions of what one is trying to model and get it right. However, I’m 56 and only have one life time so, as John has said, given the number of Mark 1s that I need, I will make do with the Bachmann dimensions for them. However I have some good news for the dimension police. I have just gone and measured a Bachmann Mark 1 and it is spot on for the 12ft 4.5inch ride height above rail that my diagrams show. So I think I can go back to worrying about how to make my Southern Pride kit conform to Bachmann ride heights. Andy

I’m sure you’re right. Although in practice I wont be altering the ride height of the 11 Bachmann/ Hornby coaches in the rake, so the two kit built ones will have to fit in with that. I think I’ll have to file 1mm off the mounting plate.

I agree about Bachmann V2s. They seem particularly poor and I have fitted tender pick ups to mine. I have no fear about the wiring of electrfrogs - with DCC autofrogs it’s dead simple...just bring them on.

I don’t know about A5s at Saunderton, but the A5/2s were built with cut down chimneys and domes and I think A5/1s were rebuilt to comply at some point. Other changes were to brakes etc. But relatively minor I think. Others will know more than me.