Dave John

I have vague memories of my father, a keen gardener, buying sacks of manure off a chap that sold it by the bag, Delivered by horse and cart, I reckon mid 60s. Probably a business going way back to the start of gardens and allotments. There is the old story: Two men, leaning on a fence watch a horse and cart go by. The horse generates a pile of manure. Says the first " och , ye should collect that and put it yer rhubarb " ... Says the second , " nay, I always put custard on mine " ..........

Superb modeling Mikkel. Detailed research, accurate observation and clever implementation. The end result looks spot on, that really does add to the look of a working stables.

Excellent workmanship. I do think having a tell tale to the rear and working blinders makes a big difference. Very neat wiring too, helps with troubleshooting and maintenance.

I came back for another look. I also play about with lighting, so I know how hard it is to get it right. You have got that very close to the images of the real thing, the tracery of the station roof looks superb in those pics . I look forward to more.

I have always had excellent service from Alan Gibson. My latest order did take a while, but it included some milled frames which I think are made to order. I did state in my letter that the parts were for a long term project and that I was quite happy to wait for availability.

Agreed PT , I'm not entirely sure about them myself, though the first two seem to ride well enough. A flick with the finger and they run all the way round the layout, but I think I might make up a dummy coach chassis and try them with that. It is certainly true that they are a lot of work. and I am a bit concerned about lateral stability. Nae wobblyness allowed, I can't have folk spilling their tea. The eighth is on the bench atm, so hopefully some running tests at the weekend.

Hi Jim, I'm happy for anyone to have a copy. I would put them on the CRA forum, but the file size is over the limit there. So if anyone does want them pm me on here or the cra forum with an email addy and I'll send a copy. The rope is this stuff; https://www.modelscenerysupplies.co.uk/brands/EZ-Line/EZ-Line-Rope Fine size. A few places stock it so thats just an example. Since its elastic make the loops short and stretch them over the cleats to look like a taut rope.

I love the word "Strompebukser" . It must be said Mikkel that your english is faultless and that my danish is very limited. However, due to our interests in railways my knowledge of danish is improving, all sorts of useful information we learn from this wonderful hobby.....

I like your progress so far brylonscamel, and I note that you are doing a lot of research. The lum over the windows to the front suggests to me an eastern influence, not many had that feature to the west. Perhaps two different models ? Oh , and a chimney pot factory. This is the tenement block across the road from me, there would have been two more stacks with 4 pots each to the rear, though a lot have been removed in recent years.

Hi Mikkel, Caley coaches kits are always brass castings. I don't think they are any heavier than whitemetal ones, but they are a lot stronger and allow the use of 60/40 solder so the whole thing is much more solid as an assembly. Downside is that they do need more time to fettle.

Over the last couple of years I have made a fair number of wagons, still not enough but I can now run fairly representative goods services. However folk may have noticed that the passengers are poorly served by just two rakes of coaches, and both of those are a bit shorter than they ought to be. So time for a bit of coachbuilding. The Grampian Corridor Stock, built 1905 was really the CRs finest. Large proportions, very comfortable with great attention to ride and insulation, electrically lit and with corridor connections. A successful design, and as more were built their use was e

Very atmospheric as ever Mikkel. It certainly does look like summer when ash yards did go a much lighter colour as they got well dried out. Schooner is right about yards tending to look lighter in early photos, though I think many of the photos would have been taken in good summer weather given that photographic equipment at the time wouldn't be good in wet dark winter weather.

That brass looks a bit yellow . Straight off the etch brass tends to have a coat of the varnish used as an etch resist, it is essential that you clean that off before you start. I use the kind of abrasive block sold as pcb cleaners and give the whole etch a really good going over on the flat before anything else. Then wash it , dry it and wipe any fingerprints off with ipa or similar. As has been said many times, clean metal is essential if you want to solder it.

Looks good to me. Boiler /splashers are excellent . The skirt of the dome is a bit wobbly , but I'm sure a bit of heat will dewobbly. ( nice word that ) I am liking what I see with resin printing. I have been messing about with software, I want to be confidant with that before even thinking about a printer. Your comment about the idea of 3d printing is killing craftmanship I agree with. It isn't , as you say it is just another method we can use. I have in the past thought about a centrifugal caster for making parts , but now things have clearly moved on. M

I researched fading and sealers when I made the backscene. The Ghiant matte sealer was well reviewed so I bought some and used it for that. Time will tell but so far there is no fading, which did happen with Kelvinbank 1. The room has blinds on the windows, I am careful to close them when I'm not in there. Light still gets in, but it stops the harshest levels of evening sunlight.