ian@stenochs

Yes I did build a model of the Ayr harbour pug using the Agenoria kit as a basis. Since finishing the model I have learned that the footplate edge and step backplate should be in crimson lake. I have not yet built up the enthusiasm to change the model! I have researched and modelled the G&SWR for 50+ years and in all that time I have NEVER come across an official company document which omits the ampersand in the shortened version of the company title. Why do enthusiasts think it’s ok to do so? Please guys give the Sou West a bit of respect and use the ampersand. Ian.

My late friend Jim always brought a decent bottle of malt when we took the layout to shows. He opened it on the Saturday night on our return to the digs after eating out. The cork was discarded with the words ' We won't need that again' and we never did! Ian.

That is on the Waterside system, ex Dalmellington Iron Company. Loco been there since new, 1919, and still there but static, part of the Ayrshire RPG collection. The Tender carried enough coal for a few days work. There was a small hopper fitted on the cab back and the fireman would shovel from the wagon onto the floor of the cab, then into the firebox. The side bunkers were seldom used as they had to be filled by hand whereas the wagon could just go under the screens.

Scarfs are one size fits all.

Moscow is only 35 minutes from me. Not much to see when you get there though!

Mike, Here are a couple of views which may be of use. Both early G&SWR but these doors were pretty common in Scotland. Note the cast ‘shoe’ under the hoop. Ian.

Monet paintings look good until you get close then they are just daubs of paint! Likewise models. Some look great until you see them up close, even Ace trains tinplate look realistic from 20 feet. Ian.

Mike, To my eyes your original buffer guides look very similar to those used on some Caledonian railway wagons. I know from experience that it is all to easy to make mistakes packing and labeling small components. However your modifications to the original have done the trick. Ian.

Looks a tidy machine with quick change gear box and a stand too. Long bed super sevens are not very common so the asking price seems quite low. Ian.

S7 back to back is 31.2mm so we can set our frames to scale or very close. You don't need much sideplay, especially in fine standard 0, unless you plan on using trainset corners.

The real artistry is demonstrated by the creators of these piles of stuff in convincing the founders that their work is art!

Only a third!

Even heating and thus oxidation is only really possible in an enclosed furnace. I had access to one in my working life but that was no longer an option for me. Anyway I have now built two G&SWR Baltic tanks with painted boilers so that itch is well and truly scratched.

I tried that and I could get an even blue either. It always came out more black than the blue that I wanted.

Russian iron/Planished Steel could be the same. Blued steel was once used extensively for cylinder cladding on marine engines and widely available. A friend tried to obtain some for his 3.5” gauge Baltic but despite extensive enquiries couldn’t source any. He ended up using anodised Aluminium which started off ok as a deep blue but after a few firings turned a dull brown hue! I tried heat treating the boiler on my Baltic and managed to get a nice deep blue colour in parts but not even. I rather think a torch was the wrong tool as it was impossible to get an even heat over the whole boiler. In the end I used paint! Ian,

Most of the Ayrshire coal was moved by the G&SWR, the Caley tried to move in but only succeeded around Muirkirk. There was a considerable coal export trade through the ports of Ayr, Troon and Irvine which resulted in all the G&SWR mineral wagons having doors at both ends to cut out the need for turning wagons prior to tipping into ships.

On the way to the Manchester show with ‘Auchlin’ our hire van broke down just as we entered Killington lake services. Broken timing belt, quite a common occurrence with transits, so our breakdown man told us. It was a Friday morning, show opened late afternoon. Eventually a relay truck arrived and we were loaded on only to be taken to Bolton, there to wait on another relay coming from Manchester, something to do with areas! The upshot was that we eventually arrived on a low loader outside the venue, Coop hall, about the same time as the show opened to the public. The layout and all our bits were taken into the hall and deposited behind the barriers just as the crowd flooded in. Erecting the layout in a cramped space between to other exhibits while the public watched was interesting. However we gave the viewers an insight into what goes into an exhibition layout. Thankfully there were no other gremlins and trains started running within an hour. The post show beers were very welcome that night!

I can positively identify it as a Model Wagon Co product. The subject is the G&SWR 6 ton van. Quite a rare kit as few were made.

I wonder how ore was handled in these wagons. It must have been difficult shovelling it into and out of the corners under that low roof and through that central door. Ian.

Yes, a real joy especially if you read the ‘Tales’ by David L Smith. 254 has that giant eel with ‘lugs like a horse’ in its tender tank!

I have a friend who spends about the same time on a golf course as I do in my workshop. I know, because he constantly tells me, how much green fees are and it is way more than I spend on modelling bits. Both of us enjoy our hobby but when I go there will be a legacy of models and a workshop full of tools. My friend will leave a set of clubs! Ian.

Absolutely spot on. Glasgow did the same with the excellent transport museum in the Kelvin Hall. Built a new 'prize winning design' mega expensive building which is too small to display most of the collection. Now the vintage cars are on little shelfs, like toy cars, bikes hang from the ceiling and the locomotives are surrounded with cases and boards so they cannot be viewed properly. One exeption is the Drummond pug which is stuck halfway up a wall peeking out like a mouse from its hole. It boasts excellent visitor numbers but they are mostly made up from creches and disabled groups because entry is free, warm and there is a cafe! Ian.

This thread has been fascinating and thought provoking even though my interest is not the NER. I have been building models from the same railway for 50+ years. There is only one preserved engine from the line and that is late period. The only contemporary model, more a toy, I know about is painted in municipal green paint! When I was younger I was lucky to meet and listen to ex employees and enthusiasts who remembered the railway and some even commented on my early modelling efforts. Despite bring painted in differing shades, whatever Humbrol or Airfix produced at the time, the most common comment was 'that looks right'! Since then my philosophy on painting is to ensure that I paint each part in the correct colour, ie, if the original was green it will be green on the model. The colour or shade I choose is the one I think is correct. Having read everything I can find on the subject I am happy that my shade is close enough! 100 years on since the grouping I am sure nobody can be any more definite. Ian

Most Scottish locomotives were not blue they were green! Various shades I admit but green.