Caley Jim

I had to trace it through my 1910 Bradshaws reprint. It was attached to the 10:00 am 'Corridor', arr Carlisle 12:18 pm; Crewe 4:07 pm; Shrewsbury 5:45 pm; arr Bristol 10:47, so 12h 47min. Jim

Izzy, what solvent were you using with the 5-thou strip? I, and many others, now use DL-Limonene which is much less aggressive than other solvents and, as a bonus, has much less pungent smell. Jim

There was a through coach ran daily between Glasgow and Bristol, similarly shared between the GWR and the CR, each supply a vehicle with the same balance in the working.. The CR coach was lettered 'Glasgow and Bristol via The Severn Tunnel'. The route was Glasgow-Crewe-Shrewsbury-Bristol. Jim

I had been debating for some time as to what to do about both the fence between the road and the railway beyond the livestock landing and that at the end of the landing. While the board was in my study I came to the decision to make both as sleeper fences. Accordingly a slot was cut along the line of both fences and that at the end of the landing can be seen at the bottom of the first photo of the signal box above, in line with the buffer stop. This let me create a profile of the ground so that the fence could be made to follow it. Both sections were made with 'posts' at intervals which reach down to the baseboard and so keep the fence at the correct height. these can be seen in this photo of the long section ready to be painted. The bottom edge of the card is baseboard level and the card at the top has the ground profile and was used to align the tops of the sleepers. 30 x 30 thou styrene along the bottom gives it some rigidity during construction and is buried in the 'ground'. I learned early on that is wise to paint the edges of the 60x40 strip from which the sleepers are cut before assembly as it is difficult to get in between them to paint there afterwards. the vertical lines help to ensure that the sleepers are kept vertical to the horizontal and not the line of the ground. Here the two fences are bedded in by pressing them into some DAS slurry run into the slots and the wall on the other side of the road has been made from DAS putty. This was taken with flash, so the colours are a bit 'off'. A closer shot after the verge along the wall had been 'grassed'. This was done by dribbling lines of PVA onto a tile and covering them with static grass from an applicator. Once the PVA had dried the excess grass was gently brushed off and the strips cut down the centre so that they could be peeled off with a straight edge. Bits of these strips were then glued in place with the straight edges against the wall. Small blobs of PVA were then dabbed on in places and small clumps of foam off foliage net pushed onto them to simulate weeds etc. This final shot shows the board back in situ with the slot cut in the adjacent board for the length of fence up to the bridge. Jim

First class as always Mike. You've earned that ale! Cleaning out cupboards is a bad idea IMHO. You can never find anything afterwards! Jim

Ah! So it's a drone loco! Jim (windae picked)

If that was on a lorry the police would have him for a dangerous load!! Jim

Naughty driver! Didn't whistle when he started back in reverse, nor when he started to go forward again at the end! Jim

No experience with 'distressing' transfers, but I would think thin washes of paint, of a similar colour to the body, might be the most flexible way to do it. Use acrylic and have a separate brush without paint on it to wash off immediately if you're not happy with the result. Using acrylic means that subsequent washes will not affect those already on, provided they've had a wee while to dry. That way you can build up the effect gradually and area by area. Just my 2d worth. Jim

I trust that there were no emergency repairs required to your good self? Jim

Glad to see I'm not the only one who hits the key next to the one intended without noticing the error! Jim

Well, if the Caledonian managed to get away with appropriating the Royal Arms of Scotland without incurring the wrath of the Lord Lyon King of Arms, it's worth a try!! Jim Edit to add that they did replace the motto 'Nemo Me Impune Lacessit' (wha daur meddle wi' me) with 'Caledonian Railway Company'

It's not even that! Jim

Well, if you hadn't told us we'd be none the wiser, but we won't tell anyone if you don't! Jim

Do they do models of Para Handy and Sunny Jim to go with it? You wouldn't need one of McPhail as he was always down in the engine room! Jim (in sunny Biggar)

For the flagstone pavement I'd say printed papers are your best bet. Embossed plasticard is too coarse for 2mm scale. Same applies to brickwork and dressed stone. Jim

The very finest grade of wet and dry gives a good representation of tarmac or ash surface. The colour can be varied with dusts of powder colour or ground down pastels. That's what I used for the platform surface on Connorburn. Jim

I wouldn't worry too much about the wide insulation gap. My experience is that as long as there is good horizontal alignment and smooth ends to the rails, stock will cope with that, though there might be a slight 'bump' as wheels go over it. Not un-prototypical in a yard setting. Jim

Well, any piece of good news is welcome in these difficult times, but to get three in the one morning is a bonus!! Yesterday PPD sent a link for me to make payment for my order, which I did thinking that it would at least help their cash flow. Today I got an acknowledgement saying that they hope to resume limited production next week, so maybe i'll get relief from my soldering withdrawal symptoms before I need to delve into my stash of etched kits. Secondly, a surprise package arrived by post this morning contain these, courtesy of @Skinnylinny. There are another 6 in the bag, so plenty spares - and they ARE octagonal, though I had to look at them under magnification to be sure! I have thanked him in a PM, but thanks again, Linny. I am very pleased with these, being my first foray into 3D CAD (see 3 posts ago). The third good news was in the same postal delivery. The arrival of another sheet of £5.20 modelling card as part of an envelope containing a rather nice magazine with several 2FS articles in it. Jim

But Jerry's will be finished at that stage - North Somerset Light Rly livery!! Jim (with big stick in hand for stirring it!) Edit to add that my £5.20 piece of modelling card arrived today along with a very nice magazine, which was well worth waiting for.

It wasn't just other companies freight vehicles that could be brought in for seasonal traffic. The Caledonian borrowed stock from other Westinghouse using companies for the extra traffic generated by the Glasgow 'Fair' holidays. Jim

History of R Y Pickering can be found here. Jim

There was a similar arrangement at Peebles (CR) which I replicated on Kirkallanmuir on the turnout dividing the two up sidings,the toe of which is very close to the crossing of the turnout off the up main. I also recall seeing a photo in MRJ which showed one with pairs of switches, i.e. one on each rail. Jim

Whatever put that Idea into your head? 'Poor English Skills'? Twaddle! No-one on here has ever suggested that, quite the opposite! Fantastic modelling as always, Mike. Wish I could get anywhere near that standard. Jim W

That must have been where I read it! Jim