ian@stenochs

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 the Fairlie to Largs railway for the G&SWR. On completion of the work the loco was sold to the G&SW for £350. For a time the engine worked on the dock lines at Greenock but in 1894 she moved to Kilmarnock where she became the works shunter. In 1919 she was renumbered 734 and given a very ornate fully lined livery. She was scrapped by the LMS IN 1925. The loco in Kilmarnock works in 1922 alongside one of the Sou West’s ‘Big Pugs’ or Baltic tanks. However my preferred period is 1906 so chose to model as she would have been then. Here she is finished in ex works condition but still to have works plates fitted, however due to the lockdown they haven’t arrived. Once available and fitted there will be a wee bit of weathering applied to simulate a working locomotive. Almost everything is scratchbuilt, including the wheels. The only purchased parts are the Slaters motor and gearbox unit, 6 handrail knobs and 4 buffer springs. Most of the rest is nickel silver and brass but the buffer planks are boxwood salvaged from a broken rule.

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 this example they were 3’ diameter , 6 spokes, but some had 8 spoked wheels of a different diameter. Needless to say there are no commercial wheels on the market which look anything like the originals. When we got the etches originally I used some of them to build a model of 258, which became the G&SWR Works shunter on completion of the Largs branch where it had served the contractors. In actuality I didn’t finish it as ‘Works’ but made it a freelance loco which let me use the Slaters Barclay wheels. See my post of September 18 above. However I still wanted to build ‘Works’ which had 3’6”, 8 spoked, H section wheels, so during the Christmas holiday I made myself four wheels. I have now got the loco finished to painting stage, see below. While I was in the mood for wheels, sounds like a song, I made a pattern for the 3’, 6 spoke, at the same time. Currently away to be cast in resin but with the virus problem I don’t know when I will see the finished castings. I did however make one in solid brass just to see how it looked. Ian

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

Nice one Jim. I do like the look of those archaic Caley pugs! Only one criticism, the figure on the footplate looks as though he has lost his bow and arrow. I know that Caley crews threw coal at their Sou’ West rivals as they ran on parallel lines at Ardeer but shooting arrows is a bit drastic! Ian.

Mike, On the few etched plates that I have painted black with white raised lettering I painted the whole plate white, rattle can spray usually. When dry paint all over with black and quickly wipe it off with a paper towel to leave the raised letters showing white. Ian

I thought about ordering one on Saturday after reading Jeffs post. However when I looked it up on the bay it said ‘Last One’ so thought about it and didn’t bother. I looked again today and it still said last one but also 2 sold in last 24 hours! Marketing ploy, dodgy stock control or what? Do I really need another tool? Merry Christmas, Ian.

Oh I don’t know! A bit of masochisim is good for the sole and the Sou’ West NEVER omitted the ampersand. That’s why I invested in custom made lettering decals a long time ago. I find it hard enough drawing straight lines without hand painting lettering but Mike has got the later just right. Sorry for invading your thread Mike, keep up the good work. Ian.

David Cross, Derek's son holds the copyright. I know he lives down south somewhere but I don't have an address. Ian.

While reorganising part of my workshop I decided to sort out the component storage area. Lo and behold I discovered that I have sets of wheels for over 20 locomotives! I better get a move on and get the locos built before I fall from the tree. Ian.

Mike, That is a very neat idea which I must try on my next wagon build. I have a few wagons with the self tappers showing through the floor, easily hidden by a load but not all wagons run loaded! In the past I have soldered the w-irons onto a piece of brass which I have then glued under the body but I have usually left the under frame timbers off the model. Ian.

Every little helps, perhaps add a piece bag made from a sliver of lead too! Many a mickle makes a muckle! Ian.

Can you get a fat driver and equally fat fireman in cast Whitemetal? I know that helps my Edwardian 4-4-0s pull a decent train. Ian.

I’ve got a S7 Thomas! Ian.