Thane of Fife

Thanks for all the replies. Thane of fife

Good morning all from a damp Surrey, I suspect, like many other modellers, that there are many building rakes of ex-NER P7 20T hoppers being built. I have a rake under construction in instalments, as it’s soul destroying bending and fitting the handrails. I am looking for a little variety in the models. Tatlow shows several with end brake levers, and mentions that these were for the Central Division (ex-S&D). I am wondering if these end brake examples found their way into trains of side brake hoppers, or were they kept to trains of wholly end braked hoppers? Thane of Fife

I travel from Reigate to Alton to visit the model shop. It has a fantastic stock and friendly service. Alton also has the Mid-Hants preserved line, and several good pubs, so it's worth the train and bus journey. Thane of Fife

My first metal kits were purchased from Passmore models in Coulsdon (1969/70). I remember going there looking for a Wills K3, which he didn't have in stock. However, he showed me a new GEM kit of a D21. It suited me, and was designed for the Triang L1 chassis. He didn't have a chassis in stock, but broke a RTR L1 to sell me the chassis, saying that someone would buy the body. Sadly, such service is long gone, like the model shop, which is now a hairdressers. Thane of Fife PS; I found a K3, a couple of weeks later at Alex Bowie's modelmania.

Evenin' all I remember Alex Bowie's Modelmaina well. I used to catch a stopping train home on friday, so I could visit the shop. Alex could chat for England, but he was an interesting guy. Hobbytime in West Wickham was another interesting shop. The owner smoked a pipe, but was full of free advice. It wasn't an easy journey from where I lived, so I didn't visit very often. Alton Models is a shop in the old school. It is a train and a bus from where I live, but there are a couple of good pubs in Alton, so I enjoy making a day of it. Thane of Fife

Good??? morning all I bought the Little Engines T1 over 30 years ago. It was the first kit I encountered with an etched chassis. I only built it when I retired 10 years ago. As it was designed as a slow moving hump shunter, I fitted it with a Mashima 1428 driving through a High Level 108:1 gearbox. It is slow, but can it push (haul)! I built the Little Engines A7 just before the T1, and fitted it with a Portescap, as I hadn't discovered High Level gearboxes at the time. I had to cut away the back of the cylinders to get the bogies through 3ft radius points. I quite like Little Engines kits; I have the A6, N1, and O4/7. Thane of Fife

How inaccurate is the old Hornby B12. I have a spare Kays O4 boiler, which with a little shortening would match a B12/1 boiler. I was wondering if it were possible to to fit this boiler to a Hornby B12/3 footplate make a B12/1 loco? Any ideas? Malcolm

Also a good morning here in Surrey I use Plastic Weld, which is stronger than other solvents that I've used. It will stick most/all plastics that I've tried. If Plastic Weld doesn't work, I resort to Superglue. Malcolm

P.S. One small point: Looking at 145 Squadron's brilliant interiors, I notice that one (3rd class?) has 2+1 seating with two coupes, each with six seats . I have never seen a Pullman seating plan with six-seater coupes. Was this a post-war modification? I have always assumed that the coupes were only fitted to 1+1 interiors, and had four seats. Malcolm

Good morning all I have very limited knowledge of R-T-R items, as the vast majority of my models are kit built. I did buy a job lot of eight Railroad Pullmans for £5 each, and set about converting them following Penguin of Doom's methods posted on this site. I wrongly assumed that all Hornby Pullmans had the same bogies. I shall retreat to my railway room (spare bedroom), and continue working on my Queen of Scots set. Malcolm

Evenin' all I am currently building an eight coach Queen of Scots set based on Hornby Pullmans. I am using Keen systems bogies, as the Hornby bogies are not Pullman bogies. A more expensive solution would be to use MJT bogies. Malcolm

Evenin' all I bought a job at auction a couple of years ago. It included a Midland 3F tender loco which I intend fitting with a home made extended smokebox to produce a J41. I think London Road models do a Midland 3F tender loco. Malcolm

Good morning all I like the MJT articulation units. If used with MJT bogies, one gets tri-angulation on all carriages in the set, with resultant good running over bumps etc. I have no connection with MJT, other than a satisfied customer. Malcolm

Thanks for the info. Hornby should re-introduce the 12 wheel pullmans as they seem to be wanted and fetch good prices. Malcolm

Good? morning all Do Hornby produce a Pullman Brake with the sliding door as fitted to many of the wooden bodies brake cars? Malcolm