Middlesea John

Thanks both of you. Of course that's the only one of the Mike King books I haven't got ! I could try the Bluebell.

Hi. A plea for help. Well, more of a request than a plea. Does anyone know where I might beg, steal borrow (or buy) a 4mm scale drawing of the SECR 10 compartment 100 seater non-corridor coach please. Thanks in advance.

I was lucky enough to buy one at a Pontefract show a few years back which was really well made. I've re-bogied it (if that's actually a word) and it sits well in a southern region train next to a Replica Buffet Restaurant, both in green. I'll try to get a photo. Well made is maybe the key.

Ken was at the Hull MRS clubroom on Monday doing some last minute preparations for our annual show on11 and 12 November. He seemed fine though we only said hello as he walked past our layout, Ladycross. To say it's a shock to the society is a massive understatement. As has already been noted, Ken was a very talented modeller who was always happy to share his knowledge and experience but was also a friend to so many. He will be sorely missed not only in Hull but throughout the modelling world . .

Thanks - I'll have a think about this. I know I couldn't do it myself but I know a man who ... er ... might. Thanks again.

Thank you both of you.

My 6-year old grandson has a Hornby tender drive 2P 4-4-0. Sadly his 2 year old sister dropped it and part of the flange of one of the rear wheels of the tender drive has snapped off. Any idea how I can remedy this please ?

I have a number (probably too many) Hornby Bulleid pacifics. I attach the brake rodding because they just look wrong without it and the crew and headcode discs but not the underneath stuff. I don't understand why Hornby don't factory fit the brake rods because they're horrendous to fit. I actually emailed them about what glue to use and a guy from customer services rang me to say Hornby use the superglue you get 3 for £1 from Poundland.

I have "done up" one of these old Tri-ang coaches. Apart from the wheels, the main thing for me was that it is not a composite. The window spacing and number of compartments suggests first class so I have made it into an old first class coach downgraded to second class which I found a photo of in a train at East Grinstead but now can't find ! Flushglaze helps too, along with amended roof detail - rainstrips and correctly placed vents. I managed to break one of the bogies when I was replacing the wheels so I have modified both bogies to look a bit like (as opposed to being a proper model so to speak) those found on an old SECR coach. I've since broken them again as you can maybe see in the photo.

I'm building a layout with a flap. I'd really appreciate it if someone could do a diagram of the angles I need to cut the track on both the hinge side and the "landing area". My O Level maths has failed me I'm afraid. Thanks - John

About 20 years ago I used the mesh you got (and maybe can still get) from Halfords to fill holes in car bodies. I glued it to the track side of Peco level crossing gates and it looked fine to me.

Thanks everyone for the thread and the input to it. We have a 10-car set on Ladycross that masquerades as the Bournemouth Belle. Not all the correct Pullmans we know but it suffices - and it derails regularly. My Hull MRS friend/colleague Adrian owns most of these and has had so many goes and changing/altering/adjusting/hitting with a hammer the couplings that it's almost driven him bonkers. We've also relaid some of the track to try and help ! Finally at the Hull show this month it seemed to work OK but what a pain. If nothing else it's good to know it's not just us !

It rather upsets me to read that because I don't possess certain skills and don't have the time/inclination/wherewithal or whatever to learn them that I may be considered not to be a modeller. There is a very easy way to get over this - though I appreciate it's not within everyone's grasp - and that is to join a club. Were were only talking last night at Hull MRS about the sharing of skills. A new person came to visit and see what we were doing , hopefully with a view to joining. One of our group was relaying some track, two were rewiring some of the electrics and I was doing some touching up of the scenery. Of the others, we demonstrated how one has done the lighting, one is working on point rodding in the scenic area, one made the trees and one has gone through every item of rolling stock checking the wheels and replacing where necessary. We are all modellers, we pool our skills to make a better layout than any one of us may have built.

Much as I love my trains to be as accurate as possible, like a couple of people above, I do enjoy a bit of tinkering with coaches. So I took an old Tri-ang Pullman (Anne, Jane, Mary or Ruth- who knows) and cut a bit out of one side then turned that round so the window positions were reversed. I then filled in what I believed to be the correct windows, painted it green and fitted flush glazing. It looks a bit like the Pullman that was used on the last train on the Kent and East Sussex which was quite well photographed though mainly the Pullman was in the background. It does OK in a Summer Saturday extra to Bournemouth on our Hull MRS layout, Ladycross.

The Poundland superglue is the one recommended by Hornby to stick the brake rods on their Bulleid Pacifics. I Emailed the customer relations department as I couldn't get them to stick and a guy rang me with this advice.