ian@stenochs

Marc , I have just had this thread pointed out to me. As you may be aware I model in S7 and have built a considerable number of locos using wheels from a variety of sources. The Barclay pug which was on display at Telford has Slaters wheels thinned down and reprofiled using the form tool from the S7 Group. If you have access to a lathe it’s not that difficult but there are a number of people who will do the work for you, some advertise in the S7 newsletter. S7 axles are available and Slaters will supply them with their wheels if you ask. There are a lot of myths about S7, mostly spread by folk who have never tried the standard. It is no more difficult than fine standard O and in many cases easier as one doesn’t need to compromise for narrow frames or make cutouts in boilers to accommodate wheels. As you are starting with a simple 0-4-0 with a short wheelbase you could just build it rigid but for better pickup I advise three point suspension with the rear axle rigid and the front one having about 0.5 mm play. Ian.

There was more than one 08 at Deanside. I recall my mate, no longer with us, who worked at Barclays in Kilmarnock telling me they had been called in to sort out one which slipped a crank causing ‘lumpy’ running. I think he said it was cheaper just to acquire another rather than repair! Ian.

Hi Guys, There are only a few of the etches left and no more will be available when they are sold. They were designed by John Boyle when he did the G&SWRAs ‘Greenock Bogie’ kit and used up the spare etch space. The etches have been lying, forgotten about until recently. The kit is for the basic version without a cab but can build the Kilmarnock Works Shunter if one is prepared to scratchbuild the cab. I did but chickened out of the elaborate paint job and produced a contractors loco. Wheels on mine are a Slaters Barclay type but some locos had 6 spoke ones. The G&SWRA can supply a 7 mm drawing of the ‘Works’ version, contact me offline for more details. Ian.

The Handrail has popped out of the knob on the cab side too. Ian.

If it’s not as good as Carling it must be pretty bad! . Ian.

Not a Neilson box tank but one from Hawthorns of Leith. My model was inspired by David Smiths Dalmellington Iron Company and is built to depict the condition after her 1903 rebuild at Dunaskin. Ian.

The better railways drove on the right and painted their locos green! Ian,

Excellent work beautifully observed. I particularly like the partly applied brakes on the 2nd wagon. The subtle rust and stained wood is very well done. The only thing which says model to me is the ‘broken’ link on the coupling and I mention it purely as constructive criticism. A touch of solder or smear of epoxy will soon sort it. Ian.

I’m afraid too many folk think they can’t and never even try. If you don’t have a go how will you know what you can do? Good teachers have the ability to persuade their pupils to overcome their lack of confidence and that they can achieve. Determination to do something is a great way of overcoming problems and improving ones skills. Ian.

The G&SWR had quite a lot of “Fower Wheelers” and sinuous colliery branches. David L Smith describes how on some lines the water bag between loco and tender had to be uncoupled on some of the more severe curves. He also describes the sea saw motion of Stirling tenders as being rather like a “jigger scree” the shaking table used to screen coal!

Since I built R39 more information has come to light including a photograph of R47 so I built another one!. Handy engines if you have sharp curves.Ian.

I also “won” a Duchess on that site and it too was badly packed and suffered damage. It was returned to the seller and I got a full refund of the costs including return postage although I had to fight for the return postage costs. The loco, it was a Martin Finney 7 mm scale one, appeared again on the site shortly after! Ian.

I was painting this morning and even the Precision stuff dried within minutes! However that doesn’t explain your problem it could be a mismatch with the two types of paint. Strip off and start again?

I got my first train set at age 14, Dublo 2-6-4tank and freight wagons. Can you imagine a 14 year old wanting a train set now? Or even admitting he had one!

Why not just say it’s British instead of raising more devisive nationalism?

David L Smith in his book on the Dalmellington Iron Company describes how the driver of No3, Hawthorns of Leith wks No138, stopped multiple leaks from the firebox by feeding a mulch of peat and water into the boiler through the injector overflow. He says it was amazing how each leak stopped hissing almost with a click as the peat got to it! The same Author in his Tales of the G&SWR also describes how the crew of a 22 class sealed up the gaping smokebox door with turfs cut from the cutting sides. Would current engine crews do anything similar now? Ian.

We used Dingham’s on our industrial foundry layout. They were easy to make, fit and use on the quite sharply curved sections but did not take kindly to gradient changes. Stock frequently uncoupled behind the loco when the train came to the down gradient. Especially bad when the loop was at the leading end. Turning stock round did help but as there were gradients in both directions they were never completely reliable. Ian.

Hi David, They were Midland and Scotch Joint Stock later M&GSW and M&NB NOT WCJS which was LNWR & CR! However to answer your question the redundant/replaced stock was distributed between the owning companies. I have pictures of MSJS 6 wheelers and bogie stock in G&SWR livery and use. Incidentally some of the 6 wheelers were built by the G&SWR at Kilmarnock, albeit to the Midland design. Probably the NB built some also and you could conceivably have Midland coach in LNER livery! Ian.

The Girvan and Portpatrick Junction Railway bought a number of all third and composite carriages, brake vans and roofless cattlevans from the North London Railway. They also had three 4-4-0 tank locos from the same source for working across the 38 miles of wild South West Scottish moors between Stranraer and Girvan.

The standard 3MT 2-6-0, 77000 series, were mostly shedded at Hurlford and worked passenger and freight turns until the dmus did away with the former. These were a great favourite with me as they looked so modern compared with the Caley 0-6-9s they replaced. The Ayr - Glasgow and a Largs - Glasgow Lines were very early converts to DMU working with the 2Ps and 2-6-4 tanks being relegated to the cross country and branch services until they succumbed to Beeching. After 62 the scene was dominated by Hughes Fowler moguls and Black 5s on coal trains which formed the bulk of the loco hauled traffic. Mention has been made of David Smiths books but they cover an earlier period, G&SWR and LMS, Still great reading about the railway and its men. Derek Cross lived at Maybole, just outside Ayr, and photographed and wrote about the area in the 50s and 69s, mostly in the magazine press but some picture books too. They are worth seeking out. Some more info here http://www.gswra.org/redirect.html Don’t forget too that steam lasted right up to the 70s on the NCB Lines with Barclay locos predominating. The recent rtr pugs from Hatton includes West Ayr no10! Ian.

Ayrshire Locos! 1890 & 1960 style both shedded on Hurlford shed. Ian.

Hi, The Corpse van was one of the last kits MWC produced and it only sold a few examples. It must be around 35 years since production ceased. I can help with a couple of pictures, this is the official G&SWR view of one of the vans. This is my model which shows the livery quite well. As befitting their purpose the vans were kept in very tidy and clean condition and allocated to Kilmarnock which was roughly the centre of the system so easily despatched? where required. Ian.

Hi, All my train spotting was spent in Ayrshire and I still have my Ian Allan’s with a lot of underlined numbers! The early 60s saw most of the Caley 0-6-0s and 2P 4-4-0s cleared out to be replaced by standards and ex LMS types. From 1962 most of the coal trains were either Mogul or Black 5 turns with a few WD 2-8-0s. I never saw any Stanier 8Fs but we did get the odd WD 2-10-0s on the long road to Dumfries. Passenger turns were mostly in the hands of multiple units but with some loco hauled trains usually with standard or Fairburn 2-6-4tanks. We did get some LNE V1/3 2-6-2tanks displaced by the Glasgow blue trains but they didn’t last long. Equally there were a few B1s at Ayr but were not well liked due to their poor brakes! You cannot go far wrong with Moguls, the Hughes Fowler ‘crab’ was a there to the end on coal but the Standard 3 & 4 were also quite common, Ian.