A.R.

Hi Michael, Thank you! It absolutely is one of your excellent kits, good spot- really enjoyable build! It's from a couple of years ago when I wasn't as used to soldering so I am not sure I fully did it justice but as you say I think it finishes off the model nicely! Cheers, Alex

Next up is (after about a year) a Bulleid Booster (coincidentally at pretty much the same time the EFE version was announced!). I am pleased with how this loco turned out as it did feel at some points like it may never be finished! It is DCC, and a mixture of laser cut brass and 3D printed parts, all to my own design. I used a Class 40 bogie and motor setup, heavily modified to fit. It also has full custom lighting boards too! More than happy to provide more info or more progress photos if people are interested! Cheers, Alex

Hello All, Apologies for the long break on updating this thread! However, I have been doing a number of projects recently, and thought it was time to put up some pictures here. These projects are now finished but I have included some in-progress pictures too! I will spread them out over a couple of posts. Firstly, I finished a tiny little gasworks loco (Beckton No25), which is laser cut brass and 3D printed. This was a challenge to get everything to fit and work, but it does have space for a decoder and stay alive (yet to be fitted!) Cheers, Alex

Great to see this poll, some very interesting items! It was great to see Beckton No25 listed - I am in the process of making a 4mm version but it would make an excellent RTR model too. Here's a picture of my (unfinished) version in case of interest! You'll note, it is absolutely tiny, but still has a coreless motor, DCC, NEM pockets and a stay alive! I have the number plate all painted ready to put on when complete Cheers, Alex

Hi All, Just a quick update on the GWR 1101. I have now completed all of the rivetting and added most of the brass details to the loco. I have now commenced painting and most of the block colours are now done. It does look a little bright, but this is mainly the lighting - plus, I will be weathering the loco which will tone it down further. Next up is finishing the chassis and getting it painted - I also need to order the motor/gearbox from High Level at some too so I can actually finish it! Look forward to hearing your thoughts. Cheers, Alex

Evening All, I have started on another project - a GWR Class 1101. Not Southern, but I saw a picture and thought it was a really interesting loco so decided to model it. I am building the chassis from scratch, and the I designed the body for 3D printing. Progress has been fairly quick and I now have a half done chassis and have begun detailing the bodyshell. I hand cut the chassis frames (including the spacers) from brass strip, fitted axle bushes and soldered it all together. I have also done one side of the motion (which is adapted from a 2MT valve gear etch). I have also modified some Gibson buffers to have bigger heads as the industrial ones never seem to be in stock! Next up is adding more brass details and rivets before painting etc. and also finishing the valve gear on the other side! I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Cheers, Alex

Very good point, I had half intended to do that and forgot to draw it on. I will be running the bay platform as an auto shuttle whilst I control the yard and mainlines but it would definitely be beneficial to have it all connected up! The drawing doesn't show it very well, but the bottom right corner is quite a tight fit becuase of how the boards fit in the shed but will definitely see what I can work in! Cheers, Alex

Hi, Thank you! I have done a quick sketch that gives an idea of the track plan although this will likely evolve. It is a very simple track layout, and plan is quite out of scale. I very much want the scenic section to be railway in a landscape - a rural location with a mainline, hence only a small yard etc. Let me know what you think, only half the track is down so I can still make changes! Cheers, Alex

Hi, No problem at all, here are a few of the build from just printed and primed shells to the complete thing: It is a very smooth runner with the little motor/gearbox combination. Cheers, Alex

Hello All, After a number of years without a layout, and a focus on designing and building locomotives, I finally have the opportunity to build a continuous-run layout. Housed in a shed, it is an 00 gauge layout that measures approx. 12ftx8ft so, although it's not massive, it does provide a decent size scenic section and fiddle yard. Set in the south of England in the BR Southern Region years (loosely!), it will feature a two track mainline with a mid-size country station with a small bay platform and small yard with a few sidings. The boards are partly open-framed and partly standard full boards, with the aim being for the station/yard to be on the level and for landscape to then drop away to take the railway on an embankment. There will also be a small narrow gauge line incorporated to serve a small quarry tucked away at one side of the layout. Although these are the key design philosophies, I am content to let the layout develop and change as I progress. I am currently at the stage of all the boards being built and installed and the very first track (Peco Code 75 Bullhead) having been laid (and the first board joint also complete). I have also started building some signals (that are lit and will function) and some large Scots Pines that will be crucial to the landscape! Here are some quick pictures to get you up to date: I really look forward to keeping this thread up to date with progress and hearing your thoughts, suggestions and (hopefully constructive) criticisms! Cheers, Alex

Hi All, After a bit of time away, I thought it would be good to give a quick update on some projects I have completed recently, and kickstart this thread again for upcoming projects. I have also started a new layout which I will create a seperate thread for in the layout section of the forum. This is a real mix of weathering projects, kitbuilds, 3D printed designs and scratchbuilds. All run well, apart from the 009 that needs a new chassis. This is a freelance 009 loco made entirely from scratch. It just needs a better chassis... This is a Hornby Railroad 9F that has been fitted with lights, sound and my own water vapour steam generator.... This is the BR never-was 2-8-2 which I think I have posted before. Scratchbuilt chassis and heavily modified body BR Class 28 designed by me and 3D printed. I have made two of these as they often ran in pairs, although only one is currently powered Class 89 made from a SilverFox resin kit and lovely Judith Edge pantograph. DCC fitted with lights An old design of colliery locomotive. This is entirely 3D printed, including the chassis, tender etc. Only the wheels, axles and crankpins were bought plus a very small integrated motor/gearbox. I have many pictures of this build and can post more detail if people are interested This is the finally completed Maunsell 4-8-0 in a rather splendid fictional SR livery. Just needs a light weathering and it can pull a rake of pullmans in spectacular fashion! A Hornby Q1 weathered by me. Finally, I have weathered my rake of Pullmans...here is just one that will help form the Bournemouth Belle. That gives a quick summary of what I have been up to, and for most of the projects I have more pictures so if there are particular ones that are of interest, I am more than happy to post some more detail! Cheers, Alex

Hi All, Apologies for not posting in a while! I did eventually finish these locos and am really pleased with how they came out! They are both cosmetically completed, but only one is currently fitted with a motor - they look good as a powered and dummy pair though! I ended up getting the windows laser cut and it has worked really well! I won't post anything else on this thread, and will update my main workbench thread with some other projects that I have completed recently to keep it all in one place but thought it would be nice to round this thread of with some complete pictures! Cheers, Alex

Hi All, Just a quick update! I have now finished the underframe details (I restarted them as I wasn't pleased with the first iteration!). These have been sent to get printed now and should arrive soon. I have also added these to the overall CAD drawing and I created a render so you can see how the finished locos will look! I am hoping the buffers arrive soon as I always these make locos look a lot more "finished"! I look forward to your comments! Cheers, Alex

Hi @rka I use FreeCAD for all my CAD drawings. Its the best free software I can find and has served me well for a while. I then use a separate online rendering tool. Hope that helps! Cheers, Alex

Hi All, @jessy1692 Apologies, I forgot to acknowledge your good spot of the steps being misaligned - something I had completely missed! It's a bit late to change them now, so they can remain as a point of interest, but thank you for pointing it out! I would be interested to see your Class 28, so feel free to upload pictures of it here if you'd like. I mentioned a few posts ago about laser cut windows for these locos. As I have now started to detail the cab ends, I test fitted some of the windows and, to my delight (after a tiny bit of sanding), they slotted straight in. These have been laser cut to drawings I made from the original CAD out of 1mm clear acrylic. There are tiny lugs in the window frames as part of the design that allows the windows to sit at the correct depth (see CAD picture below). I will admit, they are not 100% perfect but I think for homemade glazing, they go a good way to achieving a similar result to modern RTR flush glazing! It also highlights one of the key benefits of using CAD and how this can be used to create other parts. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this, and whether anyone knows if this has been used before as a way of doing glazing. Cheers, Alex