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Making front handrails:- They are a pain to get right - I use these round nose jewellers bail pliers to form the sharper bends, and a length of dowelling of a smaller diameter for the main smokebox curve. I use a Sharpie marker to mark where the rail crosses the edge of the smokebox and where to make the return bend to the handrail knob on the other side. A bit at a time. Be prepared that the first one might not be right and it might take two or three goes. I'm using brass on this one - it takes paint better than N/S . Unless you want shiny Hornby Dublo handrails or your loco is in for some heavy handling, brass wire is quite adequate.

I am making slow but sure progress with the scenery... I've formed the path that runs from Vernon Road to Brooklyn Road around the back of the station. A removable section of ply has been made up- with the white card on top is for the council house. This will allow access to that remote part of the layout. The road base has been made out of hardboard, that will have a surface added on top. I just need to weather and finish the bridge and then the banks to the wing walls can be finished off.

My van train assembled as they came out of the boxes, with a disproportionate number of ex LMS vans ( Freightman ) There are a couple of Parkside ex LNER wooden underframe vans, an ex GWR or two ( Parkside ) .I really need to dig out some more BR ones ( mostly Slaters ) , and there are several SR vans lurking around on the layout. I really need to find the real rarity - an ex LNER steel underframe corrugated end van ( Freightman ) , that's sitting on a shelf somewhere. They are all kit built.... and I have a list of the diagram numbers somewhere... The containers definitely need resorting and the 'Door to Door' is stretching the period a little late. I remember them from my childhood.. that's my excuse. The Slaters conflat ( with 8 shoe clasp brakes ) has over 100 parts in the kit, not one you'd build in an hour! Parkside ones can be identified by 4 shoe brakes and the last in the train is an excellent ready to run Dapol example. Wagon variety in O gauge is quite limited and most of my Freightman ones were made up from sets of sides and ABS components. The Freightman stuff is rare now, being long out of production. Apologies - I think I did get Franks surname wrong, I've not been able to locate my old Freightman catalogue... Regards Tony

In O gauge there was a woeful lack of fitted five plank opens until Dapol brought out their version. I built a number from ABS kits and hybrid kits made from Parkside components. One also, has to be quite determined to build up a variety of vans and at least I managed to obtain a few Freightman kits, which are no longer available. The late Frank Titman appears to have got the appearance of the LMS van right with it's tall sides, seen here alongside a Slaters BR plywood van. I had a very busy workbench at one time with commission builds as well as my own I must get a picture of the van train to see if it meets with approval! I'm enjoying the year in review Tony. Regards Tony

Happy Xmas everyone - I had a lovely Xmas present in the form of the buildings for Basford North, made for me by Peter Leyland. They are absolutely superb and now the scene of the layout is set, it becomes instantly recognisable as the GN Derbyshire extension. As Tony W says, many layouts are a re collaboration of skills, I'm not sure I would have the time or skills to create these buildings. Basford North was unique in that it was the only stone built station on the line, all the others were brick. I now have to crack on with the scenic work to do them justice. I had a 1962 Morris traveller just like that a good few years ago, I wish I still had it now.

Happy Xmas everyone - I had a lovely Xmas present in the form of the buildings for Basford North, made for me by Peter Leyland. They are absolutely superb and now the scene of the layout is set, it becomes instantly recognisable as the GN Derbyshire extension. As Tony says, many layouts are a re collaboration of skills, I'm not sure I would have the time or skills to create these buildings. Basford North was unique in that it was the only stone built station on the line, all the others were brick. I now have to crack on with the scenic work to do them justice. I had a 1962 Morris traveller just like that a good few years ago, I wish I still had it now.

Thanks for posting the LNER pictures Tony - I wonder how many hours it took to get your stock back on. I remember it used to take hours when setting up Stoke.. Great to see Roy there, I still remember him telling me - 'I'm going to build a model of Retford... ' Tony

Scenic work has commence around the Vernon Road bridge. Geoff T has kindly brought along his skills to help out. It is a big transition for me - from purely loco building... An O1 rumbles over the bridge with a loaded coal train on it's way to Colwick yard. the bridge is in undercoat and yes, they are yellow bricks in the arch...

Yes - definitely keep the engineers train Tony - another vote! It adds character and interest. Mine is probably wrong too, but at least the maroon 6 wheeler is copied from a colour photo... Regards Tony

Morning Tony - I always thought the DJH kit captured the look of the 9F well ( apart from the 1F tender ) but, it looks a little empty under the back of the cab to me, which looks somewhat unsupported - there should be an frame that supports the rear of the cab. That looks like it is an omission with the kit from the other models in your post:- I can't remember as far back as my 4mm DJH 9Fs, if they had them. The 7mm scale one does:- I'm trying to recall, years ago, didn't Chaplin do a set of injector castings for the 4mm 9F? The castings on this 7mm one are from Ragstone as I didn't like the DJH W/M cast ones. Regards Tony

I'm also working up the kit that Geoff Taylor designed and laser cut for me in MDF for the Northern road bridge over Vernon Road. Here it is post closure. It was demolished a year or two later. It is straight - the camera lens has distorted it a bit... I chose not to stand on the swivel chair to get more height!

Thanks Richard - Progress grinds along, I've made the mock up for the good shed. This has had to be reduced by half to fit reasonably in the space. I'll also might leave off the weighbridge office on the other end as it will just look to crowded around the loading dock.

I think I would have thanked them profusely!

Thanks Byron - I suspect the reds were original and that the blues were used later on in repairs. Well, by happy accident, I got closer to the appearance I wanted with the Park Lane bridge abutment. I plastered on too much dark brick colour and they looked awful. So I tried some fine sandpaper to rectify the situation, and it is actually getting towards the look I want. It now needs toning down with some dark grime... Work in progress... With some weathering on the abutments the bridge is now starting to look the part, the next stage will be interesting as the wooden parapet appears to have been painted white... I'm working on the pilaster caps, experimenting with DAS clay at the moment. In the meantime I've been working on the platform faces ( York Modelmaking ), they came from a design by Paul Scott. The main platforms should be in stone, but I wanted to do them in brick. I've also been working on the topography around the Vernon Road bridge. The area is temporarily functioning as my painting station. It feels like there is a long way to go...

I've now added the wooden ( brass ) parapet, the base colour to the brickwork will need toning down. The original brick colour is quite light, it looks like there have been a lot of repairs and the original arches were bricked up a few years ago. The deck was replaced around 1964.

Yes - I think the rodding is essential, here it is in 7mm on Heyside, made from C&L components and 1mm brass rod:- Regards Tony

I enjoyed the J6 photos Tony, apologies if I have posted this before. Just out of interest, it uses an MSC motor gearbox designed by Ron Chaplin. I wouldn't make up a gearbox unless I absolutely had to. Just personal preference, as I don't like making them up. In my 4mm days I liked the DJH combos and used them in preference to anything else. Some of my early models had Portescaps, but as we found, you didn't get twice the performance for twice the price, twice the noise on occasion though.... I have made up some High levels - and they went together ok. The J6 kit was the original George Norton design for 4mm, later blown up to 7mm scale for Four Track models. Often that doesn't work well, but wasn't too bad on this occasion. 64219 was one of the last survivors at Colwick. Regards Tony

I've been exploiting the good weather while it lasted - garden, outside jobs and out on the mountain bike for some great rides exploring the remoter parts of mid Wales. Now the weather has turned, it is back to the railway and I'm concentrating on the Park Lane bridge. This was a wrought iron structure with a wooden parapet that was declared weak during the war and blocked off for road traffic. It was not replaced until the mid '60s shortly before the line closed. They did a good job, its about the only structure still in place in that location. The main beams are made from sheet brass with 3mm brass 'T' section obtained from Barry at Metalsmith. Yes, I didn't have any sheet quite long enough.. It should be covered in rivets really, but it is set back on the layout and there is only so much time available. Here they are temporarily in place, I just need to decide on the deck structure. It will look better with the parapets and pilaster caps. 90437 passes underneath with empty minerals. I run trains from time to time, and curiously after 6 months or so of being down, it does show up the odd dry joint or unconnected section of rail. But they are gradually being eliminated. The platform faces are next and then..... the ballasting...

I always preferred the V2 over the A3, I think the look is more purposeful. I couldn't resist building the Finney one in 7mm scale, even though it is not really suitable for my line - although they did turn on the Bulwell/Basford triangle when the Annesley turntable was out of action, so I do have an excuse.. I don't think I'll run to an impressive fleet of them like Tony though.. Here is 60886 - a GC line regular from York shed, on my weathering turntable... Have you any Pro Scale V2s Tony? I remember Allan Hammett moaned like hell about building the two that I had.. The boiler always looked a bit too long for me.. Regards Tony

I've been away from the railway for a bit as we opened up the garden under the NGS scheme for charity. I was just doing odd jobs here and there. There was a warm day where I could open up all the windows and dig out the Sparmax spray gun and spray the track. That went pretty well, once I started using the right thinners... I tried using a piece of hardboard to get the wet paint off the rail tops, but it made an awful mess. So I made up a scraper from some scrap N/S rail to do it after it had dried. That took a few days... well nearly a week... A steel scraper did too much damage to the rail head.

Apologies if I have posted this before, I honestly can't remember. I'm a lot more suspicious these days when building locos and never assume that anything is right, so refer to photos in preference to drawings. Had I still got my 4mm B1s, I would have had to do something about that motion bracket... Anyway I think I got this DJH/Piercy B1 right. Don't say anything now as it is away being painted by Paul Moore! Regards Tony

I've been away from the computer for a bit - but I still have my old list and indeed, I had a trio - 61063, 61078 and 61206... I recall even installing a lead crew in one and that lead lined cab roof would be good protection from any nuclear incidents... Its heart warming to see them still in action and being enjoyed. Regards Tony

I'm trying to imagine Tony shopping..................................... no........................... cant do it..

I've not had much time for modelling recently, but I have made further progress on the Park Lane bridge abutments. The next step is to make up the girder section and wing walls.

I've been laying out the Brooklyn Road and Park Lane intersection and have curved Park Lane to avoid the straight road to infinity...