Binky

It looks to me like the F7 made by Model Power.

Thanks for all the advice. I've ordered 2 sets of the MJT kits.

I was lucky enough to be brought up around model railways, my dad and uncle being railway modellers, and was taken to many exhibitions as a child. I can't remember my first "big" one but a lot of them seemed big to me as a youngster! I do remember Tolworth Showtrain being a regular fixture in our household and going to Warley with my father one year. There will have been many others that I can remember particular things about (layouts, trade stands etc) but I couldn't tell you what exhibitions they were.

Thanks for all the advice, links and pics. After a bit of googling I found that Phoenix Precision have this plastic sprue which might be a good place to start? (I notice my Thompson has one battery box on the wrong side so it may be easier for me to remove what's there and start again) https://www.phoenix-paints.co.uk/products/coach-and-wagon-parts/coach-parts/4-bogies-and-underframe-parts/plastic-parts/8870-f Although I do like the idea of MJT metal parts adding some weight too. Can someone please confirm if this kit would be suitable for both the above coaches? Thanks https://www.dartcastings.co.uk/mjt/2800A.php

I picked these 2 OO gauge models up secondhand at exhibitions, they appear to be kit built (Kirk kits perhaps?) and the underframes seem to be missing some components which I'd like to add. Unfortunately coach underframes and suitable detailing parts isn't something I know much about. (Yes I know the Thompson needs bogies! I have some which will be fitted). Can anyone please offer some advice on what to buy and where to fit it? Are there any diagrams or photographs of coach undersides that I could work from? Or perhaps a beginners' guide to this sort of thing? Thanks.

I picked up a Lima LMS GUV at Alexandra palace to add to my ever expanding collection of BR blue era parcel stock. Upon taking it apart to make a few improvements (mostly fitting correct bogies and wheels) I noticed a spelling mistake, the dimension info on the van side says "Lenght" instead of "Length". It reminded me of a photo I once saw in a magazine of a brand new 1/1 scale Rock Island Railroad boxcar in the USA that had been lettered "ROCK ISALND". Does anyone know of any more examples of railway spelling mistakes?

Most of the stock that I had (or my father had) at the family home as a child got sold when my father died and at the time my interest in model railways had waned due to life getting in the way. Most of the items I remember were Hornby and Lima RTR: BR blue Class 37 The Hornby BR blue HST set Southern M7 Particular wagons stick in my memory such as: Lima "Tartan Arrow" CCT Mainline Dinnington private owner coke wagon The first loco that was actually mine was a Smokey Joe, which I cut up to turn into a Gn15 diesel! I'd quite like another one for old times sake.

I have an Airfix/Mainline Siphon H and have a few questions. From 1923 to 1930 were Siphons only attached to GWR passenger trains and used for milk traffic or could they be seen in other parts of the country and being used for other products? (Could I justify one appearing on an LMS layout set in Yorkshire for example?) Reading this forum and elsewhere it seems the popular thing to do with this model is to replace the supplied Collett bogies with American style ones. Am I right in thinking that only a small number received American style bogies and that others did have Collett bogies as supplied on the RTR model? Were they likely to have Collett bogies in the 1920s? Lastly, when were they withdrawn? Did any survive long enough to see BR parcels or newspaper service? Many thanks

My father had one of these repainted into Southern Railway livery!

I stop and look at every layout at an exhibition. Whatever the prototype may be I am a modeller and an operator as well as a railfan, and every layout displays someone's skills in layout design, modelling and operation so this is something I can always admire, relate to and be inspired by.

I've often thought that if one or two of the main "train set" manufacturers could produce a module kit (baseboard, track, connections) then it would really help a UK modular layout scene to develop. Perhaps a set that comes in a hinged wooden case which unfolds to become the baseboard and enough track to produce something like an inglenook layout with an extra through track that can be joined to others for modular running. An operable layout could be assembled in an evening then the modeller is free to add their own scenery as time and money allows. This would allow modellers to operate it as a small shunting layout at home and also take it to events where they can join them up. An OO scale "micro inglenook" could fit on a baseboard that when folded would be no bigger than the boxes that train sets already come in. I used to race indoor radio control cars and the club scene was thriving. Any potential newcomers could be pointed towards the one kit they needed which had everything to get started and because many clubs used the same cars and raced to the same rules it was possible to visit different clubs on different days, any new clubs quickly attracted visitors who also raced elsewhere. These events usually happened in a hired village hall or similar space, with everything able to be set up on a sunday morning and taken away again that evening.

I've always seen them called a "coaster brake" in English. I remember some BMX bikes and childrens bikes having them in the 1980s. The only bikes I've seen fitted with them more recently are USA style "beach cruisers" with swept back handlebars.

Was there a standard colour scheme for station buildings in the BR blue era? If so what colours were doors, windowframes, ironwork and platform canopies painted? Thanks

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. Whilst researching some of them I also discovered the Peco Manyways kits and this video where a modeller combines the "Country Station" and "Station Houses" kits to produce a larger structure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=7ZrfjnqdN3w This is looking like a good option for me although it's a shame that the Peco country station kit is almost 3 times the price of the similar looking Dapol booking hall. The gable ended roof of the Peco kit will be a lot easier to kitbash with compared to the hipped Dapol roof though.

I'm currently planning a freelance layout inspired by Wolverhampton Low Level, depicting a former large station that is now being used as a parcels depot. The station building itself I plan on doing in low/half relief and have been looking for suitable kits that I can kitbash, the idea being to potentially use all four sides of a small station kit to produce a much larger platform facing side of the station in low relief. The side of the station building I hope to achieve is inspired by this photo: http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/w/wolverhampton_low_level/index23.shtml and at the moment I'm leaning towards the Dapol Booking Hall which is cheap and one or two kits would provide plenty of wall sections to use: https://www.Dapol.co.uk/products/c014-booking-hall I'm not particularly bothered about style of windows etc but would prefer a brick building and a kit made of plastic as it's a material I'm familiar with using. Are there any other kits worth considering? Thanks

Enjoyed the show today. One question: Who was the trader opposite the Collingwood OO gauge layout in one of the back rooms? They had some nice secondhand items and I'd be interested in knowing what other exhibitions they are attending.

No hobby is a dead end hobby. If one person enjoys it then it is worth them doing it. Yes if it becomes less popular then there may be less retailers, clubs and exhibitions around and things might be harder but railway modelling could still be practiced, it would just take more effort. The hobby and its industry does seem fairly healthy though. People restore toys and antiques that were made decades ago, people operate bicycles, motorbikes, cars, machinery etc that were made 100 years ago. People re-enact things that happened centuries ago. With the amount of secondhand items around and people who are currently modelling I doubt railway modelling would become impossible for many generations, even if the hobby relies more heavily on secondhand equipment and its restoration in the future.

A very interesting bit of kit. It would make a nice conversation piece stabled on a model railway somewhere even if it doesn't see action. Is the print designed to take a particular chassis or wheelset or is it just a case of finding something that fits?

I believe the ones to get are marked "Made in China" underneath and have the more modern motors which run better. The "Made in England" ones had the older style motor that didn't run as smoothly.

This is very much the sort of solution I was thinking of. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. I think rails soldered to a large, screwed down "sleeper" at each end and connecting plugs/sockets might be the way to go as per stewartingram's reply. Although I might think about building a couple of radio controlled locos especially for garden use and not power the track. I have a while to think about it as the rear courtyard still needs to be transformed into a useable space. Unlike those shows on the television I doubt we'll be able to get it done in a weekend!

I'm thinking of something that can be put out on the morning of a nice day and maybe left out during good weather, but rather than an indoor layout that can be moved and set up outdoors (like an exhibition layout) I was thinking of maybe a series of planks/scaffold boards or similarly shaped baseboards with track on them which can be joined together to make a large circuit around the courtyard. Not as scenic and complex as an exhibition style modular layout, just lengths of track on 6" wide planks or similar, some straight sections and some angled at the ends to make curves for each corner. My main concerns are the robustness of OO gauge track and fishplates on a system that might be assembled and put away again several times over a summer, and how it may work on a ground surface that I can't guarantee is 100% flat to the millimetre. These would both probably be less of an issue in a larger scale and gauge but as I already have stock in OO, O-16.5 and Gn15 I'd like to build something I can run my current collection on rather than starting from scratch in another gauge.

I'm considering building something in OO gauge for my rear courtyard and due to the shape of the courtyard, location of doors and shrubs, and the fact that most of it is concreted I'm thinking some kind of modular system that can be laid on the concrete and packed away in the garage could be the answer. Has anyone done something similar to this? Any ideas or advice? Thanks

Would the Southern built CCTs have been used with Maunsell coaching stock? And if so were they usually added to the front or rear end of a formation? Thanks

I recently modified an old Lima Siphon G with more prototypical bogies and correct size wheels and had to cut away some of the floor to allow the wheels to turn whilst maintaining a ride height that matched my rolling stock from other manufacturers. I'm happy with the result but it took a bit of work chopping up pieces of chassis. My question is, is this an issue with all the old Lima models, especially coaching stock and NPCCS? (I know they used HO scale wheels that were usually undersize) I could be tempted to buy more Lima stuff when I see it at the right price but it would be nice to know if the same amount of work is involved if I wanted to swap wheels and/or bogies. Thanks