Some followers of this thread may remember, back in March, that Bill Bedford threw out a link to his etched P4 chassis for this loco. I spoke to him afterwards and he agreed to do the chassis in EM gauge. Well, yesterday, the chassis kit arrived in the post:

I now have the challenge to build my version before Bachmann come out with theirs. The basis for the model is an elderly Cotswold whitemetal kit:

The brass lump in the picture is supposed to be the chassis. The X04 motor is going in the scrap box.

John

There are a large number of good, clear photos of LBSCR loco crews posing with their steeds, and in every one that I've seen they all wear a cap (can't tell if they are grease-tops), with well-polished large badge, waistcoat (drivers have large watch chains), what look like denim trousers, quite dark, and in cooler weather a typical (denim?) jacket, sometimes fastened at all buttons, often fastened in that old-fashioned way by the top button only, to allow access to watch and waistcoat pockets. About 50% are wearing collar and tie, usually both men, the rest no collar, but shirt buttoned right up ...... it looks as if the driver set the tone, because if he has collar and tie, so does the fireman. One or two pictures show drivers wearing what look like pea coats, and I wonder if they were issued for use in very cold weather, or whether these men are actually some sort of inspector. The men and their engines are as clean and neat as the job permits.

One thing that does come across is a sort of 'jack the lad' cockney pride among the London suburban drivers, some of whom seem fairly young (mid-thirties?) and have their cap sides turned-down and the peaks tight on the forehead - these guys have neat moustaches in what must have been The Style c1905. In contrast, there are some older guys with "full set" beard and moustaches, which might suggest either a naval background or continuing tribute to William Stroudley, who wore that style. Respect for Stroudley among drivers was immense - they actually marched in his honour when he died.

All-in-all, the impression of 'working class elite and proud of it' is very strong.

PS: Have you seen the absolutely superb "Sussex Motive Power Depots" website, run by a group of ASLEF guys? It has hundreds of photos of loco crew in everyday attire, from !870s to date.

Some more photos of Robin and Denis taken at Whifflet Foundry.

Three [possibly all four] of these are preserved. Denis and Ranald at the Scottish Railway Preservation Society base at Bo'ness, Robin at the Summerlee Museum Coatbridge. The whereabouts of John seem seem uncertain. One list says it's at Boness, but the SRPS don't list it on their site.

Jeremy.

32 minutes ago, DavidLong said:

 

That ferry van is seriously good, Paul. Ferry vehicles are the great neglected area of wagon modelling. The general lack of readily available information may have something to do with it. 

 

David

Hi 

Thanks. I’ve built quite a few Ferry vehicles over the last few years and have plans for a few more.

I use the BR diagram books from the Barrowmore website along with as many photos as I can find in order to build them.

Cheers

Paul

I've used two of these motors so far, both with bevel gear drive to the axle but this is the first one of the other configuration I've tried. This has the output shaft underneath the motor, still in the same plane.

This is an LBSC D1 0-4-2T being built from an Albion kit in 00 gauge, the motor is entirely in the firebox of this quite small loco.

View of the bevel drive from below, I leave a small gap between the gearbox and the bevel gear so that it can be slid back along the shaft (levered with a screwdriver) to disengage the drive. I wouldn't normally fit pickups at this stage but I wanted to make sure the loco's speed range was acceptable (it is). The motor's gearbox is soldered to a plate across the ashpan, coupling rods temporarily held on with slices of wire insulation.

Another view from the top showing the gears more clearly. The plastic bevels are bored out with a 3mm drill for the gearbox shaft and 1/8" drill for the Gibson axle.

Cadbury No.9 back from Dave Studley superbly (and very quickly) painted.

Safely delivered to Don this afternoon, only  a little late for his birthday.

Philadelphia NCB

Slightly OT, but for some nice modelling details/inspiration....

Spotted on Flickr and immediately thought of this thread:

17 minutes ago, 2ManySpams said:

 

Hi Grahame, great work on the buildings. What's the source of the glazing sheets please?

Thanks.

They're called Scenesetters glazing bars from Freestone Models. There's a choice of grid sizes.

HTH.