Dave Holt

Peter, Now I'm showing my ignorance of all things plastic! For the coal drop pillars, I've been using Plastic Weld - till I knocked the bottle over on the work bench - and since then , some stuff called "Plastic Magic", bought from Squire's (I think), which contains dichloromethane (apparently). It seems quite agressive but doesn't appear to flow into large areas by capilliary action, as far as I can tell. Where do you still get MEK? ANd, what is a MEC brush? - I've just been using a small artists brush. Cheers, Dave.

Robin, Thanks very much for the explanation. I'll keep an eye out for you at exhibitions and hope for a small demo of technique. Not sure when Watford is, but it is a show I've attended in the past (when it was in November). I'll definitely be at Scaleforum but can't wait that long! You may have seen from my Delph blog that I'm on the verge of colouring the brick pillars for the coal drops and your method sounds much more attractive than painting in the conventional way - some comparative trials may be in order before I start the actual parts! Really enjoying your progress reports, so please keep them coming. Regards, Dave.

Apologies to those who managed to find this update and request for help in the history during the recent posting problems, but here it is again. Better luck this time? A bit more progress with the coal drops, this week. For the first time since before Christmas, I've been able to access the workshop and trial fit the coal drop deck with the rails attached. Fortunately, the alignment with the track already fixed either end was very good, although a packing shim (.020" plasticard) was required at the LH end to get the top of the rails level at the joint. The trial fitting also allowed re-checking of some dimensions which affect the scenic part of the drops - the retaining walls. These photos show the deck in position. I've also cut the LH end stone retaining wall from Wills coarse stone sheet. This is shown below, with a photo of the real thing behind. I really could do with a bit of help here from someone who remembers the drops in working order. In the 1991 photo, there are obviously modern concrete steps leading from the coal yard area (then a car park - now a road/houses) up to the goods yard level, complete with a right-angle turn near the bottom. The capping stones on the upper part of the wall look original, so my questions are: - were there earth or stone steps originally, or just a steep path? - was the right-angle turn there or did the original just carry on straight down next to the wall to ground level? I have a copy of an old photo which shows some sort of access way up the side of the drops, but I can't make out if there were steps or not and the lower section is obscured. Any help answer these queies would be most gratefully received. Anyway, here's my effort so far. Finally, I've finished the wall at the RH end where the deck sat. This wall is split, with the inner section, directly under the deck, on the base-board which carries the drops and the outer section on the adjacent (station) board. Hopefully, the joint won't be too visible when the boards are assembled. This post seems to have dropped off the end, so please forgive me re-posting as I really would appreciate any help with the questions raised. Unfortunately, no one seems to remember any details of these drops, so I'll plough on with something "in the spirit of" rather than a scale model - which will fit in with my "model based on Delph", not an exact replica approach. I've now made the cosmetic brick support pillars which took the deck and divided the cells. The structural supports are MDF and built into the layout, as previously illustrated, so these are made from plastic sheet to replicate the bricks with stone block bearing pad inserts. Being white cards at present, the details don't show up too well in the photos, but these might give some idea of progress. Here's the deck balanced loosely on the 5 pillars which are more or less in the right positions. At this stage, the ends of the pillard had not had the brick card applied A closer shot of one end, where a bit more detail is visible Two of the pillars with the end faces completed. Next job is to paint (or crayon - see Barrowroad blog) to represent a sooty, coal dust encrusted condition. Help!!!!! Dave.

Yes, Peter has made a superb job of the shed. Due to problems on the site, there are now two sets of photos on here and it is worth also following Peter's suggested link to his full post. On there you'll find the station building, platform and canopy - all to the same excellent standard and equally realistic, with the shed photos below. These models are being made under commission for me to fit on my layout based on Delph. If you want to see how the layout is comming along, check out my blog by searching for "Dave Holt" or "Delph", if you haven't already. If you have any information regarding Delph I'd love to hear from you. Hope Peter doesn't mind me highjacking his blog in this respect. Dave Holt

Looking really good. You mention using colouring crayons which has resulted in a very convincing appearance. Can you expand a bit on how you do this, colours/coulour combinations used, etc? My memory of "crayons" is of big, clummpy sorts of things, OK for childish scribbling but far too course for fine detail work like round the windows and the dendritic brick decorations/embelishments - I'm obviously a bit out-of-date! What sort of finish do you get (old crayons were quite "greasey" and left quite a sheen. Do you use a matt varnish to protect/flatten the surface? Looking forward to further installments. Dave.

Peter, Found it at last!!! I've run out of superlatives. All I can say is thank you very much. I'm sure these buildings will be the focal point of the layout - I just hope I can do them justice with the rest of it! Fantastic! Dave.

Peter, I'm with Larry. Can't find your photos. Problems with the site don't help and the indexes you refer to are off the RH side of the screen and not visible to click on. Thanks for the photos you've sent off line - look fantastic! I don't know if there any different ones on here, but it's nice to know what's in the public domain. Or it would be! Regards, Dave.

Yes, but the boxes are also being inserted from the inside of the frames. Imagin having a box in its correct position, then drop it down out of the horguide, turn it upside down - sort of end over end under the frames, so the retaining flange is now inside but the front and rear of the box remain unaltered. The axis of rotation is the horizontal centre line parallel with the frames, not the axle centre line. A diagram might help, but I'm not at home and haven't got access to a scanner.

A couple of issues, here. 1) Splasher width. It might be possible to make replacement splasher fronts from thin metal and cutting the moulded plastic fronts away completely. That way you'll gain the full plastic thickness each side. A bit drastic and I don't know if there are beading issues with the splasher fronts on A3's - saw loads but didn't notice that level of detail - only the numbers!!! 2) In my experience, Gibson drivers are slightly narrower than Ultrascale, but the Exactoscale will be dead scale width (but solution (1), above) might obviate the need for this route. 3) I well remember a P4 converted original Hornby Stanier 8F (die-cast with ringfield motor in cab), which simply had P4 wheels packed out with washers and the rigid coupling rods re-fitted. Never saw it derail once - but the track was exceptionally well laid and flat (Pendlebury layout). I think that the narrow "oo" frames allow a little bit of slop, magnified at P4 gauge width, which allows for slight track irregularities. A very accuratly machine made chassis block and a bit of weight help. I would suggest copying the Hornby dummy rear truck wheel idea by having a fixed axle with wheels raised slightly above track and the bottom of the flanges removed. Sounds horrendous, but I've seen an EM converted Britannia done this way and it was barely noticable, in practice. It might be worth raising this issue on the P4 forum, as I know Phil Hall has done several (GWR) P4 conversions, including a Hall (might give ideas for a Castle) and appears to have had great success. Regards, Dave. PS. Do I understand from another blog that you were at the leamington show last Sunday? Wish I'd know as i was there too (I live locally) and would love to have said "Hello" - and discuss Clan Line conversion.

Yes, having the axlebox flange on the outside only will prevent the use of springs to hold the horn-guides against the frames (my normal method). You might be able to get away without springs and keep the axleboxes in place with Blutac or there is high temperature adhesive tape available which might be useful to hold the horn-guides in place till tack soldered. Finally, a thought which will probably get me drummed out of the loco builders guild - if you turn the axleboxes upside down (not back-to-front), the flanges will be on the inside, allowing the normal assembly method. Turning the boxes this way will not affect the longitudinal position of the holes in case of any eccentricity in the fore-aft direction. Please don't hit me, it's just an idea! Chassis coming along nicely, by the way. Dave.

James, Great detailed shots - but I'm not convinced about your dughter's interst - in fact it looks like she'd prefer to watch the paint dry on the platform fence than admire the loco! Dave.

Yes, Dave's kits always have beautiful etchings - so good in fact, one's almost tempted to just frame the etches and display them rather than build them! Instructions very comprehensice and thorough, with excellent diagrams. I've got three of his kits to build (eventually) - WD, B1 chassis and 9F chassis. I've been a bit put off starting for various reasons - not least that I'm not at all sure about tender mounted motors with shaft drive to the loco, as per Dave's design intent, and certainly the WD will require some fair modification to the fold-up inner frames to allow a loco mounted motor and gearbox. Anyway, you J39 chassis looks very good, so far, and best of luck with it. Hopefully, you'll keep us updated with your progress. Dave.

This does look a fantastic way to make large or complex buildings - and probably less risk of taking a slice off the tip of your thumb with a scalpel than cutting the parts out of plastic sheet. Not cheap, I imagine, plus the need for highly detailed CAD drawings? Dave.

Have just tried to put some photos and notes on my blog, as promised - but I get an error message and it wont upload the photo files. I'll try again later. I have managed to scan in selected sections of the BR drawings showing the rear of the loco frames and a half-view of the rear of the cab support. You'll have to scale from the drawings based on the visible dimension(s). Alternatively, I could just e-mail them to you, although file size might be a bit big? Dave.

Actually, the Horby truck sides look very good to me. Perhaps re-positioning rather than replacement is the answer?

I'm following this thread with interest 'cause I've got one of these to do, myself. Regarding the rear truck, it looks to me as if the rear of the truck is too low. Comparing the top of the pony-truck frame with the lower edge of the ash pan and the generator support vs a photo I took of Port LIne. Unfortunately, I don't know how to add photos to a comment or else I'd put it on for you to see. As you say, on the real thing, the rear of the frames pass between the truck wheels, but in a model this might restrict side play unless you use prototypical curves - or narrow the frames. The rear end of the truck should bear up against supports extending out from the frames at an angle. There is a pad at each outer corner, so the truck frame has three-point mounting so it can move sidewaysbut not up and down. Of course the axle is sprung so it goes up and down within the truck, to accommodate track irregularities. I replicated this arrangement on my Taw Valley model and it both works well and looks very convincing - no daylight visible through the truck area. I actually have the full size BR drawings for the modified MN frames & cab support but they're far too large to scan (generally 1.5"/foot scale) and I'm not keen to send them through the post (cast & risk of loss). I'll try and dig them out and sketch some details. The underside of the rear frames is 0.67 mm below thr driving wheel centre line and the bearing brackets 2.77 mm below. Allowinf say 1.5 for the bearing pads, that would put the top of the rear of the truck 4.27 mm below dring wheel centres or about 8 mm above rail. I'll create an entry in my blog with the photo and some sketches in the next few days - but with the current problems you might have to dig a bit to find it! Good luck. Dave.

Have made a start on the stone retaining walls for the coal drops. These were along the back and both ends of the drops and also a section set back at an angle where the road entrance was located. The walls were of coarse stone and appear to have been a 76.2 times scaled-up model of the Wills coarse stone plastic sheets!! So far I have cut the basic wall facing sheet along the entrance section and part done the right-hand end wall. Later this will be split into two sections, one each on the two base-boards which a have a joint in this area. Hope I'll be able to paint and weather this stonework to match the magnificent station and goods shed which Gravy Train has made for the layout. Here's a couple of shots of the two Wills sheets loosely set up on my work table. Visible in the background is a photo of the real thing I took in 1991. My wife, Sue, is standing roughly in the middle of the right-hand end wall, acting as a 21 mm scale rule! Unfortunately, the Wills sheets are too short for the longer wall, so it has a joint which I've tried to disguise by carving of the stones. Hopefully, when painted this won't be too obtrusive. Also, where the corner joint occurs in the wall, the moulded stones didn't quite suit, so some smaller or very short ones have been replaced by plain Plasticard pieces carved to roughly match the moulded sheet - those are the white bits on the corner. Again, when painted, hopefully not too visible. Happy New Year and good modelling in 2010 to all. Dave.

Here's another shot of my part finished D333 ex-LNWR coach taken from a similar angle (but a rather drunken angle and poorly lit, in my case) to the shot Coachman has put on his blog - I would have posted this as a comment or reply to Larry but can't find a way to put photos into either. Anyway, here's my coach again for comparison. I've just noticed that although this is an ex-LNWR diagram, I've fitted standard LMS buffers (only the stocks, so far) rather than the LNWR types on Larry's example - must have been a reason for that..... Mine's a bit more advanced (roof detail) but I bet Larry's is finished first - I've been putting of fitting the glazing for ages - all those separate pieces to make and fit! Stick to large window corridor coaches I say! I'm surrounded by brick and stone embossed plastic sheet at present, so hoping to get some of the scenic work for the coal drops done before fitting the deck/track unit. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. Dave.

Thanks both for the comments and advice. I haven't installed anything yet - just planning, and I suppose my idea of omega loops was based on seeing other layouts which used solenoids for point operation. I appreciate that the output throw of the Tortoise is adjustable but had rather overlooked the flexibility of the steel operating wire to give the effect I need. So, thanks again for putting my thoughts in order. Regards, Dave.

I'm working on the point operating mechanisms for the layout just now. In the connections from the Tortoise motors to the TOU's, I'm intending to fit omega loops or Z sections to allow for any over-travel of the motor output bar (I'm using the Exactoscale conversion units). Any suggestions about suitable wire gauge and approximate dimensions to be sufficiently flexible not to wreck the TOU/switch blade actuators but still hold the switch blades hard against the stock rails? Cheers, Dave.

In a comment on part of my blog, Coachman mentioned making model of a digram D333 ex-LNWR non-corridor brake third. Here's my attempt at one of these (part of my fictional non-push-pull local train) which was made from a 51L Models kit, modified to represent the version with just two end windows. The model is not yet complete - lacking the glazing and buffer heads. Model was painted and numbered by Coachman - and very nice, too! The odd contraption visible at the left-hand end is a cast coupling bar (one of Bill Bedford's, if I recall).

Have laid the track across the coal drops for the layout. The deck beams are obeche strip spaced at 20 mm centre-lines. The track uses Exactoscale functional bridge chairs fixed to the wood using Plastic Weld solvent. For added security, there are brass locating pegs at three places along the length on which the chairs plug and the last two chair positions at the base-board joint are soldered to brass panel pins for strength. Had a minor setback when after all was fixed, I noticed I'd put one of the chairs on back-to-front, so the key was in the 4 foot! Luckily, it was on the rear track, so with a bit of scalpel work i managed to make the visible side look like an inner jaw and no-one will be able to see the lack of a key on the far side of the rail! I only found my mistake when I slid the track gauge along and it bumped over something! Final fixing will be left till I've added the decking, hand rails, etc and also done the cosmetic parts of the drops area and cell dividing walls/support pillars. View of the whole deck section with rails attached. The extension along the front edge supports the decking walk-way and hand rails.

Larry, Good choice of prototype; I think they were fairly common in our area in the 1950's. If you recall, I built one from a kit but had to hack the brake compartment end about to get two larger windows. I'll pop a couple of photos up separately (don't know how to add them to a reply/comment!) Dave.

Robin, This looks a very exciting and ambitious project - I very much look forward to following progress. Eventual scope for visiting locos? I can only agree with Peter's earlier comments. The extent of trackwork makes my layout seem very simple and straight-forward. Best of luck. As a matter of interest, are you planning to make the series of small turntables near the workshops functional? Regards, Dave.