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I always have at least 5 minutes actual modelling on Christmas Day. This year it was easier as we were on our own with no guests so not so many potatoes to peel! So 20 minutes making the footsteps for the loco I have been building was time well spent. Ian.

I use plungers almost exclusively. My solution is home made , costs very little, virtually invisible, does not catch fingers like wipers, permits wheels to have sideplay without loss of contact and can be easily removed for cleaning without taking the wheels off. The photo below shows the construction but basically a piece of brass tube soldered into the frames behind the tyre has a plastic tube liner glued inside. The pickup is a piece of brass or copper wire, I use brass, with a scrap brass fret tag soldered near one end and the wire to the motor goes onto the tag. Opposing plu

If you get one of the professional painters to paint your model it will never be your own work which is recognised, it will always be an xx paint job! At least have a go at painting, it’s not rocket science, read up on techniques and give it a go. Even if it’s not perfect you can strip off the paint and try again. Ian.

Nice thought. Some of the Fower wheelers lasted until after the Great War, this one didn’t but is seen here in rude good health in 1908!

You are correct Mike. There are so many different patterns and sizes of Industrial locomotive wheels that it would be impossible to cater for all. I have made wheels, it’s not that difficult if you have the equipment, but would prefer not to have to do everything. If a range of wheel tyres in different sizes could be produced that would make wheel making a lot easier. I have no experience of 3D printing but would that be a suitable material for making the centres? Industrial wheels are small and usually quite chunky, would the spokes be robust enough? Some of my bigger l

I have had this story from a number of people. They cannot all be making it up!

Snap Mike! I followed a very similar path. Moving to 7mm scale from P4 I did build one loco in fine standard 0 but soon converted it to S7 and have never looked back. Being able to lift dimensions straight from a GA drawing makes modelling so much more satisfying. I am thoroughly enjoying following this build of yours. It is a bit of a cliche but modellers tend to favour the less usual prototypes when in reality they were quite rare. We have seen you produce some exquisite 'ordinary' wagons and this special you are building will truly be a 'special' example! Ian.

and one hell of a jump for the fireman filling his shovel!

Facts are fine but don’t let them get in the way of a good story! It is worth remembering that the G&SWR had a close working relationship with the Midland and almost took them over, 3 times! Ian Middleditch, Chairman, Glasgow and South Western Railway Association.

Getting a rigid chassis square and free of twist with all the axles in the same plane is very difficult. There is only one perfect and an infinite number of almost right! By fitting sprung or equalised bearings you remove the need for absolute square completely. Even if you can built a perfectly square chassis you will only have three wheels in firm contact with the rails which compromises current collection. Of course if your track is perfectly flat!!! Ian

That most have been a different modelling experience for you Jim. The parts are actually big enough to see! Ian.

Hi CKPR, Would it be possible for you to take the photos with your back to the light please? The back lighting of the subject makes the detail impossible to appreciate. Ian.

Mike, I get my small drills from Drill Services Horley. Excellent quality and the common sizes we need are not as expensive as those usually sold at exhibitions. They do mail order and in normal times delivery is quick. I also use an Expo 'wishbone' drill sharpener which is great for when a drill does break. Ian. https://www.drill-service.co.uk

I enjoy the odd browse through catalogues of yesteryear. This is one from my collection. A time when most modellers were scratchbuilders. For 1951 there are some interesting items illustrated especially the views of custom builds. Ian.

Yes the 0-4-2 was popular in Ayrshire but this one spent most of it’s time in Galloway working on the Port Road and Portpatrick branch! Hence the tender cab.

Mike, I have an optivisor and am now using it for all my modelling instead of just on fiddly bits. One of the downsides of age! However I also have a a fancy phone which does get used quite a bit but not to the detriment of the modelling time! This reply is being typed on the phone because it is handy to do while I finish my after dinner coffee in front of the tv news. Ian.

The different sizes certainly make a difference Mike. The moulded nuts certainly look better than the rod or glued on cubes of styrene that I have used in the past. You certainly are leading the way in quality wagon building! Can I ask a couple of questions please? Are you drilling the holes by hand or using a powered drill and where do you buy the moulded nuts? Ian.

This enforced lock-in has been great justification for putting in some workshop modelling time! With no distractions I have made the most of my time. Another plus is that the recent spell of bright and warm weather has come just at the right time for painting! The subject of my build was the little Andrew Barclay pug which was the Kilmarnock works Shunter for the Glasgow & South Western Railway. Barclays works number 258 was an 0-4-0 piano, or ogee, tank locomotive. Built in 1883 it went to work for Ireland & Co, civil engineering contractors, who were building

Agree with you completely Mike, the P4 wheel thing got me too! I don’t have a stash of kits either but I do have quite a stock of wheels, motors, metal sheet and sections. I won’t weary for something to keep me occupied plus it is good to have a legitimate excuse to get at the workbench! Keep safe and sane, Ian.

I am the G&SWRA person responsible for the sale of the etches. All gone now. They were designed some time ago by John Boyle, not as a full kit but as an aid to scratch building, and utilised a bit of spare sheet on another kit. There were no mainframes on the etch so we commissioned profile milled ones. Original drawings and information on early Barclay locomotives is thin on the ground so John put together a drawing from basic dimensions and photos. Purchasers of the etch got a copy of the drawing but part of it is reproduced here. The wheels on these early locos were varied, on

I can recommend the nylon worm/brass worm wheel from Ultrascale. Quite a few of my 7 mm scale locos are so fitted and run quiet and very smoothly. The gear boxes I use are similar to the fold ups but home made from heavier gauge metal and very rigid. They have had about 15 years exhibition running and there is no obvious wear on either the worm or wheel. Ian.

Hi Mike, I don’t know how my reply has repeated out of sequence! I have been out all afternoon and not online. The photo doesn’t show too well, just taken on my iPad, but I measured it tonight and there is just over 1mm of metal between the bottom of the recess and running surface so you could reduce the tyre diameter by almost a scale 3 1/2”. That would go a long way to reproducing that well worn look! Ian.

Mike, Here is a photo of a Slaters driving wheel tyre in section. It has been turned down from fine standard profile to S7 and you can see that there is still a lot of metal which could be removed to reduce the tyre thickness. The limiting factors are the groove and how you hold the wheel to reduce the diameter. The wheel got damaged so I thought I would have a look at the design of the tyre. Hope this is helpful, Ian.

Mike, Here is a photo of a Slaters driving wheel tyre in section. It has been turned down from fine standard profile to S7 and you can see that there is still a lot of metal which could be removed to reduce the tyre thickness. The limiting factors are the groove and how you hold the wheel to reduce the diameter. The wheel got damaged so I thought I would have a look at the design of the tyre. Hope this is helpful, Ian.

Mike, You are not alone. My scrap box is full of bits of metal which I have cut to the wrong size. You would think that at our age we would remember, measure twice cut once! However even with our little lapses, It’s still more satisfying than stamp collecting. Ian