thegreenhowards

Gordon, The 26/0 were very much part of the early diesel King’s Cross suburban scene for the first couple of years of their life (late ‘58 to early ‘60) along with the first 10 NB Type 2’s (class 21) and baby Deltic (class 23). And the 26s actually worked unlike the baby Deltic s and especially the 21s the latter of which hardly turned a wheel as far as I can make out! I’m not so sure about the class 25 though - that would have been a rarer visitor. Andy

Thanks Gilbert, I’m reserving judgement on Isinglass until I’ve finished the steel twin TO that I’m building. I’m at the filler primer and sanding back stage which is taking a while and that would be more difficult on a coach with beading, so I’m not 100% convinced. I intend to get my kit finished for Ally Pally and talk to Isinglass there. Andy

David pointed out the lack of a double chimney on my new 60108 a few weeks back. I thought that was a quick job....but one thing leads to another and Being forced to take a close look at the front of the loco I realised that all sorts of things were wrong. So, it’s had: a new streamlined dome to replace the banjo dome fitted; top lamp iron moved down and placed between a new split handrail directly above the smoke box door hinges front footsteps made from plastic (to avoid any shorting issues) - the jury’s still out on this as the steps keep falling off despite me trying plastic weld and superglue; a smoke box door plate on the hinge; and Complete renewal of the buffer beam which was a mess including new sprung brass buffers. That will teach me not to buy ready made kits off eBay! I hope she now looks the part. If anyone notices something else I’ve missed, please shout.

Gilbert, I’ve heard of the later splitting train (1752 from King’s Cross) being double headed, but I never realised this one was. Are your pictures definitely of the earlier train? If so, could you point me in the right direction? Andy

Today we have another overnight service and another of my favourite rakes on Gresley Jn. This one is the car Sleeper Limited, 20h05 King’s Cross-Perth. This train was the first Motorrail service to run in the UK. It started in 1956 using LNER designed CCTs built in 1939 and 1950. Later on it was upgraded to bogied vans based on some old underframes and then propose built ‘Newton Chambers’ car carriers, but the former is not available, even in kit form, and the latter is only available as a kit from Southern Pride. So when Hornby were disposing of surplus CCTs cheaply I snapped up a batch to form the rake. The train is headed by 60066, Merry Hampton. This was unique in having a raised ventilator on the cab roof. My model is based on the Wills kit but mounted on a Hornby chassis. This gives exceptional haulage ability through the weight of the white metal body. I’m afraid the length of the train and the low perspective has prevented me getting it all in focus. The formation was: 10x CCT Mk1 BSO Mk1 TSO 3* Gresley SLT Thompson BSK - converted to permit use as a sleeper The only kit built coaches are the three SLTs for which I’ve used Kirk kits, either complete or the sides mounted on Hornby donors. Even if you don’t normally watch my videos, I’d recommend this one to see the full train.

John, Thanks for those comments. Yes, ladders and rails will be added in due course. I forgot them on my first order so they’ll have to wait for a bit. The instructions say balance arms should be four feet below the signal arm if the signal is in a public area and 4ft above ground level otherwise. This will be just off the end of a platform, so I’m assuming that’s a public area. Andy

I’ve been building signals again. This one is for our club exhibition layout Oakbourne. It will be a platform starter with the left hand doll for the branch exit and the right hand for what is currently a headshunt and will eventually be a short branch leading to an industrial complex. It’s waiting for finials which I will add later for fear of breaking them. The layout runs in different regional guises, but I’ve based this on LNER practice hoping it will also pass for Southern to the less discerning eye. This is built from MSE components. I’ve built a straightforward MSE kit before, but never a signal from separate components and the instructions were rudimentary. So some questions for any signalling experts out there: 1. It looks too tall. I realise that signals were all sort of different heights for sighting purposes, but is there a standard height for situations where sighting is not a problem? If not I’m inclined to take 10mm off the larger doll and 30mm of the main post. 2. Can I get away with a normal home arm for what is currently a headshunt, or should this be some sort of shunt signal? 3. Have I made any glaring errors with the ‘kit’? Thanks Andy

On PN time stands still in August 1958 (except when you have a DELTIC wobble). Whereas on GJ a tardis is required as each train represents a slightly different time period. I assume the tardis was employed in this case.

As a true super hoop, I would have had Chelsea going bust if there was a B17 so named. But they weren’t anywhere near LNER territory - at least Loftus Road is close to the GC. My respect for the Mortimore family has increased if you have a hoops blood line!

John, The brakes at both ends have no toilets - four out of six coaches with toilet access. The rear brake was the fifth coach because (I think) of platform length restrictions somewhere on the route. I think the white window on this is the guard’s compartment. The rear Coach was a SLO. The GN was the only part of BR to have mark 1 non corridor stock with toilets. It was designed for these services which had toilets going back to the 1903s if not before. As you say, very civilised. Andy

Today we have the 1915 Royston to King’s Cross - a standard non-corridor outer suburban 6 set. The excitement comes in the form of the first run on Gresley Jn for 61027, Madoqua. You’ve seen this engine before as 61008, Kudu, but I’ve now got round to renumbering and naming it to Madoqua, a Hitchin stalwart through the mid ‘50s. I’ve also augmented the Bachmann weathering with some of my own. ...and the video.

...and I thought my broadband was bad! I suppose I really ought to find an app in which I could put in sky etc. and reduce the size. But if I started doing that there would be no time for modelling and that would never do.

My wife’s from Preston and I went to Ewood Park a couple of times to escape the in laws. I think we lost both times, but that was in the early -mid ‘90s around the time when you were champions.

Yes, I think I sort of half knew that. Of course, Accrington Stanley did go bust and I think they were a founder member of the league. But of course, there was no B17 named after them.

Today we have the 19h55 down Cambridge Buffet Express in its 1958 formation. According to the carriage workings, there were two very similar rakes on these services; one had mark 1 BSK(4)s on each end, but this one had Mark 1 BSOs, so I had to go digging in the loose stock. In practice, I suspect they had one or two more ex LNER coaches in the formation, so I need to do some photo research to vary the rake a little. The train is headed by 61662, ‘Queens Park Rangers’. It’s a little known fact that there was a B17 named after the mighty ‘R’s, but in my parallel universe, Manchester United went bust after the war, and British Railways decided to rename 61662 after QPR who had just won the 1st division title! She’s come out today to celebrate last night’s victory over Derby. Sorry if I’ve offended the purists (or Man U fans) out there. I managed to get this down to 1.4MB by cropping. I can’t find any way on my iPad to reduce it further and I can’t face transferring it to my laptop and editing in paint or similar. I guess I could take a wider view and crop more heavily but does anyone know of a more elegant iPad solution? Here's the video.

Ah, cunning plan. Logging out sounds a better better than waiting for the next day!

I’m not inclined to go that low in case anyone wants to click and expand the photo. I’ll try just under 1mb.

I do shrink them a bit to between 1&2MB each. The problem arises when I try to upload more than 6 or 7 photos in a day. Do you think I should go further with the shrinking?

Final photos of the Aberdonian now that RMWeb isn’t complaining that I’ve used too much data. A pair of end vestibule SKs made from Kirk kits. One is standard Kirk, although with Bachmann bogies, the other I bought half built in P4 with MJT underpinnings and finished it off. I don’t think you can tell on the layout which is which! A D.20 SLC which provided the sleeping accommodation for Fort William. Mousa sides on a Hornby donor. ...and finally the D.11 RU which served dinner as far as York. This is another Kirk cut ‘n’ shut with MJT underpinnings. It’s a bit rough, but is the only way of creating this coach AFAIK. I hope I didn’t bore you with all the coach pictures. I’m afraid that this train is a favourite of mine as I built 10 of the 14 coaches, so you’ll have to indulge me a little. Andy

That looks like a much bigger job!

Tony, Are you sure that the gears are split on the newer Hornby locos? I often find that the motor worm disengages from the lower gear attached to the drivers. This is easily cured, sometimes by re-tightening the screw holding the motor in place, and sometimes by wedging a sliver of plasticard into the motor mounting to force the gears to re-engage. Apologies if I'm stating the obvious. Andy

Tony, I'm in the process of converting a DJH A1 (eBay bought I'm afraid) to 60154, Bon Accord, with roller bearings. Could you remind me which washers you use to represent the roller bearing axle box keeps? I've done it before with my 60156, but I can't for the life of me remember where I sourced the washers - I blame the onset of senility! I've done a search on 'Wright Writes', but I can't find any reference which is surprising given how often the topic comes up! Regards Andy

In this post I will run through the formation of the Aberdonian. It was made up as follows: BG (from photos normally Thompson or Gresley steel) BSK(4) (Gresley) SLSTP (Thompson) SLF (Gresley 61ft) SLF (Gresley 66ft) SLC (Twin Gresley d.161/2) CK (Mark 1) 2* SK (7) (Gresley end vestibule) BG SLC (Gresley d.20) BCK (Mark 1) RU (D.11) The first 11 coaches went to Aberdeen, while coaches 12/13 (SLC/BCK) was a portion for Fort William and the RU served dinner until York and then returned to London on an up service. Most of my rake is kit built / bashed, so I will describe the more interesting vehicles below. The BG is a D.198 Gresley steel version based on Comet sides on a Hornby donor. For those interested I have written up the build here. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/135510-coulsdon-works/&do=findComment&comment=3547353 The BSK(4) is built from Mousa sides on a Hornby donor. Next is a Thompson SLSTP based on Mousa sides on a scratch built floor with 247 ends and MJT roof and under frame details. The build is written up starting here. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/135510-coulsdon-works/&do=findComment&comment=3324289 The 61ft SLF is standard Hornby so I haven’t bothered photographing that. Next is the the 66ft SLF is another Kirk cut ‘n’ shut - the one which delayed me running this train. It is written up here. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/135510-coulsdon-works/&do=findComment&comment=3851471 The twin SLC is D.161/2 of which only two were built and dedicated to service in the Aberdonian from new until the late ‘50s. These were built from Kirk cut ‘n’ shuts which I wrote up here: https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/135510-coulsdon-works/&do=findComment&comment=3246132 I seem to have hit the limit again, and it won’t even let me load more in a separate post, so I will continue tomorrow. Does anyone know a way round the 10MB limit?

I promised the Aberdonian would feature on Saturday, but when I dug the rake out of the cardboard box where it’s been living for best part of a year, I realised that there was some work to do. I’ve been backdating the rake to fully Blood and custard livery from mixed maroon and blood and custard but I’d forgotten that I still had to finish off the 66ft SLF as well as replacing roof board/ corridor connectors etc. Hence the delay. Anyway, I managed to do all that over the weekend, so here is the full rake as per the 1956 summer carriage workings (FX and SUN to 30/06 and from 10/09). I’ve given you a line side view in which the focus fades out towards the rear and a high level view so that you can see the whole train. This is 14 carriages and my heaviest passenger rake with which my Bachmann A1s struggle, so I use a DJH A1 with plenty of added lead. Here we see Patrick Stirling. I will need to change the tender emblem or find another DJH A1 to finish the backdating process, but you’ll have to bear with me for now. The headboard is light blue which I think means that it’s Scottish Region. Does anyone know whether this would have worked through to King’s Cross, or do I need to repaint it? In the next post I’ll detail the formation (needs to be a separate post because of the 10MB photo limit) , but here is the video of the full formation. Andy

I’ve just finished another Kirk cut ‘n’ shut. This time it’s a Gresley 66ft SLF. These are very elegant coaches and a particular favourite of mine. I’m hopping that Isinglass will do some kits in due course, but until then Kirk cut ‘n’ shuts are the way to go. Here is the coach. The sides and ends come from the shorter SLF which Kirk did. The roof and under frame is MJT with Heavy Duty bogies. This will form part of my Aberdonian rake which I‘ve been backdating from 1957 (mixed Maroon & C/C) to 1955 (all C/C). The displaced maroon SLF will form party of my Night Scotsman rake.