JonKing

You are right, in the scheme of things they are very minor - if I could find some split box noses it would become 37065 however there are none around at the moment, I have considered resin casting some but not sure how they would turn out. The Bachmann weathering definitely needs removing like you have, factory weathering can be a bit hit or miss at times.

Thanks, a bit of progress has been made to the layout however I have been mostly focussing on rolling stock and making some timber cladding / access panels for the bottom of the layout to stop little hands & cats getting at the wiring (yes I learned the hard way!). I have also been fiddling about with my camera trying to take some "good" photos of the layout, not up to the quality of other RMWeb photos yet and still no backscene however the photos are below: Amey tamper "Lynx" stands outside of the admin block with sister tamper "Puma" standing behind (must be engineering works this weekend). These are clockwork ideas tampers which I originally built and posted on RMWeb some time ago (see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/93329-clockwork-ideas-08-16-c80-rt-tamper-kit/ ), I was however never happy with the shade of yellow I used so have recently re-sprayed both and added DCC chips. The transfers (logos, bodyside stripes etc are custom made by Precision Labels): Whilst the layout is step in late 90s / early 00s I also have a modern collection which occasionally gets run, here 60054 (a re-spray of a Hornby 60) sits outside the Depot waiting its next turn: Fastline unbranded 56301 (again a Hornby re-spray) waits outside of the admin block prior to working the Cattewater scrap for DCR:

Evening all, some progress has been made recently - ballasting and track weathering is now complete and some weed growth & clutter has been added to some areas making the layout suitably unkempt. The dodgy iPhone photo below gives a good indication of progress (it must be a quiet day as the only rolling stock in sight is a line of EWS scrap wagons waiting for the daily trip to Cattewater). Lights have also been added to the buildings (no pictures of those yet): One minor disappointment this week is a Bachmann bodyshell for Mainline 37242 purchased off ebay, no complaints about the seller or transaction however when it arrived I was disappointed that Bachmann have got this one completely wrong - the bodyshell has the steam heat boiler filler panel and steps (which is incorrect for 37242 in Mainline livery) and features the trench below the cant rail grilles intended to replicate the removable grilles installed on the first 10 37s (and therefore completely incorrect for the majority of locos, particularly 37242 and anything without a split box). I was hoping not to have to do a full conversion and respray job but just can't find an appropriate prototype unless anyone else has any ideas?.

Progress has been a bit slow however all the track is now ballasted with excellent ballast form greenscenes, generally the 6 foot (bits between tracks) have been covered with very fine dk grey and ash ballast whereas the tracks have mixtures of dark grey and light grey ballast. I have then weathered the track with soot colored weathering powder and gloss varnish to give an oily sheen in places - not the traditional way of weathering track but it looks OK to me (please note as described previously the track was also painted before hand). Next steps will be to add some weed growth, a back scene and lighting to the buildings at which point I will get the "proper" camera out and start taking some photos with that as opposed to my iPhone. Jon

Thanks Rob, Its a 3d printed body on a Bachmann SSA chassis. I drew the body in CAD based on drawings in the railway wagon plans book, I did scale up the drawings slightly as the original width was a bit too small. It still looks slightly under size compared to the standard Bachmann SSA but looks acceptable. As with all my wagons its hand painted (cant be bothered to airbrush wagons for some reason!), the body has been distressed by pressing it with a screwdriver (one of the advantages of the flexible 3d printed plastic). If you want some I can upload it to shapeways and send you a link, TBH (as with all 3d printing) they are expensive for what they are. Jon

Thanks everyone for your feedback, especially Simon - those container pictures were very useful (especially the Freightliner box with the side removed). I think I have landed on using the container instead of grounded VEA vans, I did want to go for a grounded Railfreight VEA but it didn't look right and for some reason visually jarred with the privatisation era locos. My inspiration was "grounded van city" at Laira TMD where a number of grounded VDAs(?) were used as store vehicles, see the image below from Bing Maps where around 12 grounded vans are visible: The layout is now fully wired and up and running, as a result of this progress has been fairly slow as I have been "playing trains!", this has delighted my 18 month old son who accompanies running sessions with shouts of "Choo, Choo", random clapping, laughing and concerned shouts of "oh no" or "gone" when a loco enters the shed. Some work has progressed on the hard standings, the skip area in front of the depot stores is now concrete slabs (painted with layers of beige, grey and brown and then weathered) and has some road markings in front of the stores area door. The yellow crash barrier (yet to be weathered) at the rear of the skip area is made from code 75 bullhead rail soldered together (the use of bullhead railway on the real railway to make this type of barrier is very common). A few photos below with 47287 and a heavily modified Bachmann SSA on shed (the SSA has a new body built to represent the re-bodied SSAs): One major change has been to move one of the back roads from behind the admin block to infront of the admin block. I have done this as when playing trains it became apparent that with locos on shed the layout looked very constrained due to the close proximity of the admin block to the layout front, by moving this one road to the front of the admin block (three remain to the rear) the layout has opened out and feels less constrained:

Thanks Sam, the bluetak idea has helped reduce some of the light bleed - with a bit more fettling I should be able to eliminate it entirely. It seems that the problem with the Eckon ground signals is that there is excessive bleed from the LEDs around the base of the fibre optics forming the signal aspects. I would be interested to hear if anyone has managed to get one of these working without having to modify as I am assuming that I have build them incorrectly but cant really see how!. Photo below shows progress made from the last update: The track has been weathered, first by spraying with Tamiya nato brown and then misting on matt black, as I am using standard Peco points the theory is that the darker colours will detract from their deficiencies and also be more representative of depot track which tends to be oily black, each individual sleeper has then been brush painted with a wash of sleeper grime. The weathering may look rather heavy in the picture but when ballasted with a contrasting grey ballast should look pretty good (well that's the plan anyway!). A hardstanding has been installed around the depot formed from 0.75mm plasticard on a 1mm plasticard base (the 0.75mm plasticard creates a lip above the sleepers allowing it to be tight against the outside edge of the rail without fouling wheelsets), hardstanding in the 6ft is formed from 1.5mm plasticard. It took me about five attempts to cut the plasticard to shape and get a good fit, once complete this was then sprayed with Halfords light grey primer followed by misting of a beige coloured spray paint, edges were then sprayed with a weathered black colour using an airbrush. I have also done the hard standing under the admin block but I'm not happy with this so its going to be redone, whilst working on this area I have also been considering how to create a view block at the end of the admin block where the end of one of the "false" sidings can be seen. As the layout is fairly small I am deliberately not going to over clutter as I want to create the illusion of space but wanted some form of view block here, so far I have three options a) - shipping container in use as a store, b) 2 grounded VEA vans or c) a parking area. Options a) & b) are shown in the photos below, I would welcome peoples comments on what they think works best (these are mock ups only - I will repaint the container if used, the plasticard base is not finished etc): Point motors and some parts to get my powercab working are at the post office - so hopefully I will be able to run trains by the end of the week.

Evening all, not much progress to report - the layout is now wired and the track now just requires weathering prior to installation of hard standings / walkways before ballasting. Point motors are not yet installed, I am trying to source some DPDT rotary switches so that I can make a mini control panel based on a "proper" IFS panel to control the points. I have also been assembling some old Eckon ground signals for use as the Depot Protection signals, I haven't really seen Depot Protection signals modelled but they are usually installed (in addition to derailers) to protect personnel working inside Depots by protecting against unauthorised movements into the shed building. Unfortunately the Eckon Ground Signals don't really work as expected as light bleed from the LEDs at the bottom make it look like all three aspects are lit (the red and white aspects at the bottom of the signal should be lit for danger with two diagonal white lights for proceed). The picture below shows the issue (LHS should be proceed and RHS should be danger): Has anyone else experienced this problem and come up with a solution to stop the light bleed or is it a case of purchasing some alternative ground signals? (its not a cross connection as the correct LEDs are lit - it is purely light bleed leading to false aspects displaying) Thanks, Jon

Thanks, a very useful link. I have calculated that 10/0.1 would equate to 28 AWG and therefore undersized for use as a dropper - that's saved me a lot of hassle installing the wrong sized wire!.

Evening, hopefully someone can assist me with this query. I am currently building a small TMD layout (see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/123483-embankment-road-tmd/?p=2768210 ) and have got to the point where I am looking at installing the power droppers which will connect to the main layout bus. I will be running the layout on DCC with my NCE Power Cab and I am intending to use some spare wire I have at home. I am however concerned that the wire I am using may be undersized, having looked at the serial numbers the wire appears to be 10/0.1mm Stranded Copper AWG - which appears to have a maximum current of 0.5A (if google is to be believed). Is this too small for the NCE Power Cab and should I use an alternative?. Thanks in advance. Jon

Thanks Mal, Having done some research it appears that the wire I have is 10/0.1mm Stranded Copper which appears to be slightly smaller than the Gaugemaster / Peco wire - I may just but some which is a similar gauge to the Maplin wire tomorrow. Couldn't resist posing a pair of Freightliner Grey 47s this evening and taking a quick snap on the iPhone:

Thanks, like your photo particularly the RF coal 56 with another one lurking in the background - I do have a soft spot for 56s but cant really justify them on the layout as they were never a common sight in Devon, in the future I may invest in a couple of Hornby ones and have some "northern" running days!. Track laying has commenced and almost finished on the layout (helped by the fact the layout is fairly compact with only three turnouts), points are slightly modified Peco code 75 electrofrogs and new Peco code 75 bullhead track. I particularly like the new Peco bullhead track which looks the part and does not look too out of place with the standard turnouts: I did give the track a quick spray of sleeper grime before installation in the hope this would reduce the amount of spraying I had to do indoors, unfortunately this proved to be a waste of time and the track will need to be weathered in the more traditional way later. Next step is wiring which is one of my least favourite tasks (particularly as I like every rail to be electrically bonded), I do have two spare roles of wire which I intend to use for the power droppers however it appears the wire diameter is less than 0.5mm which I am concerned is too thin for the amps put out by the NCE powercab - does anyone have any thoughts on this?! Thanks, Jon

No problem!, these buildings are the first large buildings I have constructed, having previously only built smaller half relief buildings and lineside huts etc. Not much progress on the layout to report, I have the track which is in the garage in the process of being weathered however due to the weather (I much prefer sitting out on the Patio with a beer in the evenings whilst the weather is nice!) and some long days at work I haven't really progressed much. This is however slowly taking shape on my workbench: Its a plasser tamper kit by clockwork ideas in the process of being re-sprayed as Amey Rail's DR 73912. I built this a couple of years ago but tried to take a short cut and sprayed the yellow using a Humbrol rattle can which I was assured would be a good match for warning panel yellow, unfortunately the yellow was far too lemony however I didn't fancy re-spraying so just persevered with it. I haven't been happy with it ever since and have finally bitten the bullet and stripped it down and re-sprayed with post 1998 WP yellow which is a much better colour, the picture shows it nearing completion (decals are by Precision Labels). I must say that the Clockwork ideas tamper is the best kit I have ever built - really easy to build, clear instructions and quality parts. Originally I had built this as DC controlled however I am planning to update to DCC and possibly add working lighting, I am not however keen on hardwiring in a DCC chip (as this will make future maintenance / chip replacement difficult) - does anyone know if you can get the appropriate harnesses / sockets for DCC chips which I can then install?. Some people will realise that the later style Amey logo I have used is slightly too late for my era (being introduced around 2001), there is a reason for this as my first "proper" job was working for Amey Rail and I have a particular soft spot for DR 73912 in this livery. I have another of these painted in the wrong shade of yellow, once DR 73912 is complete I am planning to do the second as DR 73911 in the original Amey livery with original Amey logo circa 1999 which is not something I have ever seen modelled but was a very common sight in the South West during the late 90s.

Nice looking layout plan of a very interesting location which isnt often modelled. When I worked for London Midland I was part of the team responsible for the maintenance of the wash plant at Soho Depot which was located on the depot headshunt adjacent to the junction - quite a long walk from the depot and probably something that would be pointed out as "it wouldn't have been built like that" if modelled. I like the original idea of the column guided gas holders. They would make an impressive and intricate model in N gauge - just make sure that for anything post 2012 the lifts are modelled in the lowered position, you could also copy the holders at Aston which are still standing and painted in villa colours.

Great idea for a layout, I particularly like the backscene which gives no doubt of the layout location. I would echo previous comments around basing the layout in the late 90s when a wide range of locos appeared on the bins (I remember 37s 47s and 58s). You mentioned possibly stabling a tamper on the layout, as you are probably aware there was until very recently a tamper training depot at nearby Westerleigh adjacent to the fuel depot sidings which could be relocated with a bit of modellers licence.

Chris, Thanks for your feedback, unfortunately I don't have any in progress photos (I was fully intending to take some but never got round to it!), I can however give a brief overview as to how I constructed the buildings: 1. I always base my buildings on prototype structures (although I don't ever make 100% copies), having chosen a suitable prototype I then trawl the internet for suitable reference photos and use the measurement tool on google earth to get some rough dimensions which I then use to estimate other dimensions such as height, door size etc. I have to admit that I am at a bit of an advantage here having spent 10 years in the construction industry I find it fairly easy to estimate approximate sizes. 2. Having gained enough information I then produce a scale drawing of my proposed building usually in CAD so I can export as a .dxf file. Once complete this drawing is then used as the cutting plan for the 2mm MDF building shells, I do however cheat a bit here as the 2mm MDF shells for both the Depot and Admin block were laser cut for me by York Model Making using the .dxf version of my drawing. 3. The 2mm MDF shell is then glued together using contact adhesive (not superglue as this doesn't allow enough curing time for adjustments etc). 4. Once the shell is glued together I laminate with embossed slaters plasticard using plastic weld to glue the plasticard to the MDF which provides a good bond. Door and window openings are cut and filled to size once the plasticard has been glued to the MDF. Other details such as flashings, plinths, fascias, rainwater goods etc are also then made from plasticard and added to the building - this made constructing the depot building particularly easy as rough joints between the cladding material can be hidden by flashing or fascia details. 5. Doors, door frames and windows are then fabricated using plasticard and installed in the openings (windows are glazed at the end of construction using whatever transparent plastic material I have available, usually old packaging). The admin block was slightly different to the depot building in that the doors were recessed into the brickwork by approximately 150mm, the door frames for these doors were therefore made oversize and stuck behind the door openings (the 2mm MDF giving almost a scale 150mm recess). 6. I then prime the entire structure using Halfords grey primer and paint all of the brickwork with humbrol red brick, once this is dry I paint the other areas (cladding etc) various greys and browns to suit the prototype. A light beige colour is then painted on the brickwork and wiped off to represent the mortar courses. Other items are painted an appropriate colour - I do however try and stay away from reds, yellows and other bright colours. The photo below should give a good overview of the different construction layers / laminating used on the admin block (it looks a mess when viewed internally but no one will see that!).

Thanks everyone for the positive feedback, I am hoping to start laying track in the next week or so time permitting. Thanks for your feedback, I cant take credit for the road D idea - I first came across this idea on Lance Mindheim's layouts. Lance is an American modeller and his layouts are simply awesome, I would strongly recommend taking a look at www.lancemindheim.com. The road D possession is a good idea, I had been thinking about how I would stop locos from developing an "earth fault" once the track is laid and road D in use. Rob, I used T-Cut and cotton buds to remove the sector logos. The key was patience - leaving the T-Cut to soak in for a few minutes and then very gently rubbing with a cotton bud. Too heavy and the paintwork is damaged, I have a 37/9 waiting for a re-spray into Transrail livery for this reason, unfortunately once the Bachmann TTG livery is damaged its almost impossible to get a good matching paint job without a full respray (the exec. dark grey cant rail and bodyside grilles are a complete PITA to respray and require a level of patience I don't usually have!).

Looking good Rob, particularly liking 37274 - there was something about the Mainline Blue livery that made it very attractive. Once I can hold of a pair of split box nose ends I am intending to model 37065 in Mainline Blue (this was a bit of a pet loco of mine as it was unusual having split boxes one end and a flush front the other). I tend to use Strathclyde Orange for my load haul locos as this appears to be a relatively good match, unfortunately I don't think Railmatch do an aerosol so its an airbrush or nothing.

Thanks everyone for your feedback so far, its good to see there is more interest in this era than I anticipated!. Thanks, whilst my slightly "rough around the edges" buildings are not as high quality as some of the RTP stuff I wanted to scratch build mine to give some flexibility to the track plan and a bit of individuality. I can however see why RTP buildings are so popular particularly the single road shed produced by Bachmann based on Peterborough fuel point - this building has so many possibilities for a small layout. Thanks, glad you like them (as you probably guessed I am a fan of 37s!). Yes these are Bachmann models: - Mainline Grey 37705 is a straightforward rebrand and renumber of a Bachmann Petroleum 37/7. - 37695 is a renumber of EWS liveried 37408 with sandite filler points added and other minor mods. - 37717 was a bit more involved as I converted this from a TTG 37/5 before the heavyweight 37/7s became widely available. This involved body mods (including new bonnet grills, window filling etc) and a respray into EWS livery (getting the gold line straight & level being a particular challenge). Other stock includes a few more 37s, I also want to run a fleet of RES 47s and Cross Country 47s (Cross Country 47s being a regular sight on EWS depots at the time): I am also using the excuse that Freightliner operated a fictional container service from Devonport at the time enabling me to run a few Freightliner Grey 47s such as this pair:

Its been some time since I last posted when I was pondering over the idea of creating a layout based on the sidings at Plymouth Friary, unfortunately I have come to the realisation that I don't have a) the space to create the layout I wanted and b) the time (especially as child no.2 will be arriving in October!). A more realistic proposition is to model a portion of a fictional TMD set during 1998 / 1999 in the Devon area. The late 90s is an era I remember fondly as living next to the Exeter to Plymouth mainline I would regularly go and watch trains with my Dad after school and see a number of freight, parcels trains and loco hauled passenger trains. Freight trains at the time would usually produce class 37s (either in pairs or single) with the odd 60 thrown in for good measure, parcels trains would be allocated to the ubiquitous RES class 47/7s with Virgin 47/8s on cross country services and the occasional Great Western 47/8 on Paddington services. Trips to Plymouth (usually to watch Plymouth Argyle) would always be via Tavistock Junction yard which at the time was still bustling and would usually have at least a couple of locos stabled between turns, we would also call in at Plymouth North Road where a handful of RES 47/7s were usually stabled between turns in addition to the regular Class 08 station pilot. To be honest I am surprised that more people don't model this era as GM 66s had not yet taken over, Railfreight was buoyant and growing rapidly - its sobering to think that in 2017 there is only one scheduled freight service south of Exeter other than the weekly china clay to Stoke. Even the china clay traffic in Cornwall is a shadow of what it once was. This photo of Newport stabling point taken by my Dad in the summer of 1998 really epitomises the era and is the look / feel of what I am trying to achieve: Given I only have a space of 7ft x 18in available I have decided that I can only model a portion of a TMD and achieve some degree of realism. I therefore wanted to include tracks going off scene to imply that there is more space and some non working sidings (as a partial scenic backdrop and also to display wagons which I also enjoy modelling), the non-working sidings also convey a sense of purpose for the TMD as I didn't want it to appear in isolation (there are not many TMDs which are remote from the mainline or adjacent freight yards). I also wanted to avoid access to the hidden sidings from being under a bridge etc and wanted to create a natural scenic break by using the depot building. Track is not laid yet however the photo below shows the general layout overview and proposed track layout in red (with some stock to give a sense of scale). Features marked with letters are as follows: A - This siding will go around the rear of the Depot Building to the hidden sidings, the Depot building acts as a scenic break. B & C - Depot siding 1 & 2, Road 1 is a through road whilst Road 2 is dead end. D - A siding going off scene to the "rest of the world" but can also be used to stable locos. E - Headshunt F -Scenic sidings creating a partial scenic break, a "purpose" and will also double as a programming track. Some people may recognise the name "Embankment Road" as a road near Plymouth Friary, this is broadly where I am assuming the Depot is located. A complete work of fiction because there would never be another TMD so close to Laira TMD! (although there were two depots in the steam days). Track will be Peco Code 75, I had considered hand building the track however don't feel I have the time or the skill. Some careful weathering and detailing should improve the Peco points however they wont look as good as hand built track. Eagle eyed people will also note that I have approached this in my usual a*se about face way and built some of the buildings already. The Depot building is loosely based on Blyth Cambois Depot which is about as far away from Plymouth as possible but I liked it due to its compact size and unusual shape, the shell is formed from 2mm MDF laminated with plasticard, painted and weathered a detailed interior will be added as construction progresses. The admin block is loosely based on a building at Tavistock Junction yard, again I liked the unusual shape and utilitarian look. The frame is 2mm MDF again (cut to my design by York Model Making) laminated with embossed plasticard and then painted. I still have some details to add to this one: Just to show how this is coming together 37717, 37695 and 37705 sit outside the TMD. Hopefully people have found this thread interesting, as usual all feedback, advise, constructive criticism, discussion etc is welcome!. I will aim to post regular updates as this progresses. Jon

Mine has to be the Fawley to Tavistock Junction fuel / bitumen train in the late 90s. I used to live 2 minutes walk from Rattery bank at Tigley and remember walking "up the railway" with my Dad after he finished work to specifically see this working which at the time was booked for a single heavy weight 37 which at the time could be in a myriad of liveries (i recall seeing triple grey, EWS, Mainline blue, Mainline grey and load haul). I remember waiting with my Dad anxiously listening for the sound of the train leaving the loops at Totnes (where a down passenger working was booked to pass) and hearing the distant growl of the 37 as it began to climb towards Rattery. The noise would gradually get louder for the next 10-15 minutes until the train came into view by which time the train was at walking pace with the loco on full power trying to get its train up the steeply graded and sharply curved bank. The roar of the loco quite literally shook the ground as it passed and heat & sparks from the exhaust were particularly welcome on cold evenings. On summer evenings you could occasionally hear the fire bells ringing if the driver had the cab window open, set off by the combination of heat in the engine room and over sensitive heat sensors. The Enterprise workings to Tavistock Junction and St Blazey hauled by pairs of 37s were also notable. Later on during my early railway career I would learn from a driver that the more "enthusiastic" drivers would operate the control cut out switch on the rear 37 (basically preventing it from taking power) to increase the thrash!. The locos and trains are all gone now, there being only one booked freight through Totnes A WEEK now (there used to be 2 or 3 on a typically weekday EVENING when me and Dad went up to watch trains). I wish I had taken photos at the time but assumed they would be around forever.

Following the slight issue encountered with the width of the original 3d printed MFA wagon body (see previous blog entry) I have revised the CAD and received another body from shapeways based on the latest 3d model / CAD design. Having undertaken a test fit to a HEA chassis it appears that the previous width issues have been resolved: My fleet of MFA conversions is now looking healthy with 7 conversions undertaken to date, all of which have been painted in EWS livery with graffiti on a couple based on prototype photos. All that is needed now is to replace the plastic wheels and they are complete. My spoil wagon fleet now numbers 10 wagons (7 MFA and 3 MTA) as shown below, the high end MTAs (yellow and black wagons) are scratchbuilt from plasticard on Bachmann POA underframes. Thanks to a kind offer from another RMweb member I now have a number of AME MEA bodies (swapped for the HEA bodies) which will be used to convert the remaining HEA chasis to MEAs. In order to fill the resulting gap in the spoil wagon fleet I will be 3d printing a late build "coalfish" body and using this to convert some Hornby HAA MGR hoppers into MAAs.

So this is my first blog entry which I will use to describe my first attempt at 3D printing in order to convert a HEA coal hopper into a MFA spoil wagon. From around 1989 redundant HEA coal hoppers were converted into box body MEA mineral wagons, during 1999 the MEAs began to be superseded by new MBA "Monster Box" wagons and the decision was taken by EWS to convert some of these wagons into MFA spoil wagons by cutting the body height down by 1m (depending on which works this was undertaken at depended on whether this reduction was undertaken top down or from bottom up). Over the years I have amassed a collection of around 20 HEA coal hoppers, mostly the Bachmann model but some from the earlier Mainline(?) all of these are showing their age now having been stored in various garages for around a decade and having also been subject to various "over enthusiastic" weathering attempts in the past. HEAs do not fit my primary modelling era / location (South Devon 1999-2009) and so I have decided to convert them to MFA spoil wagons, retaining the HEA chassis but producing a new MFA body. Whilst I have scratch built 2 MTA spoil wagons in the past using plasticard in order to achieve a level of consistency I decided to try and use 3D printing techniques to produce the body. Probably at this stage I should mention that Bachmann did produce a MFA wagon in their range however it will hopefully be more economical (and fun) doing the conversion myself. Using the MFA drawings in the book "Railway Wagon Plans - 1960s - Present (John L Fox)" I attempted to produce a 3D model using CAD software, whilst I have in the past used CAD extensively to produce 2D drawings for work purposes (when I was at a level where I could do fun things like draw and get paid for it!) I have never produced 3D models. Luckily I found producing 3D models fairly intuitive and after a few sessions of trial and error I had produced a 3D MFA body based on the drawings. Once ready I uploaded the body to Shapeways for 3D printing, first shock was the price was higher than expected mainly due to postage. Hopefully if I do a bulk order for 20 wagons once the prototype body is tested then some economies of scale will be realised, as it stands it is only slightly less expensive than buying a new Bachmann MFA off ebay. On arrival of the body from Shapeways it originally looked promising, the length and height appear to be spot on. The body is shown above with the demic HEA hopper which will donate its chassis (no laughing at the weathering please it was done about 15 years ago!). Unfortunately on closer inspection all was not well, whilst the length and height were fine the width was well off. There should be an over hang on each side of the chassis but as shown above the body is currently sitting flush with the chassis frames, some quick checks showed that my body was 32mm wide whereas it should be nearer 36.5mm wide. So, some modifications have been made to the 3D model to increase its width, moral of the story here is to make sure that dimensions are checked thoroughly against more than one source - hopefully when the modified body arrives it will be a better fit!

Personally I don't get the extreme prices that supposed "professionally weathered" locos go for on eBay. A case in point, surely no one is going to pay £119 for this garbage! http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bachmann-31-655-Class-47-47301-Centurion-BR-Railfreight-Heavy-Weathering-/311087048378?nav=SEARCH I do all my resprays / weathering myself so items like this would be ideal for me if the prices asked actually reflected the work required to make something that looks acceptable.

Having stumbled across this topic thought I would post some of my recent Tug shots for everyone (most from the Midlands / Lincolnshire area): 60001 at Great Rocks Junction (combined with my other interest in photographing the slowly vanishing old railway). 60091 at Barrow on Trent with a Kingsbury to Humber working. 60024 at Brocklesby Junction with a Humber to Kingsbury working (and another signalbox). 60100 at Melton Ross with a Santon FOT (Furnace Ore Terminal) to Immingham empty ore train. A bit of an experimental shot of 60024 at New Barnetby with a Immingham to Santon FOT working. 60021 East of Barnetby with a Preston to Humber train.