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Tim Lewis

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Everything posted by Tim Lewis

  1. A few more J25 pictures for micklner. I don't remember too much about the construction as it was a long time ago now, though I do remember it was quite hard work, with very little help in locating things and some tabs and slots not lining up properly etc. I think this just reflects the age of the kit, which must have been designed in the late 70s or so I reckon. Anyway, here's a view of the underside of the tender - there is a lot of lead partly because the springs are relatively heavy gauge wire and need a bit of weighting down (maybe I'll change to a lighter gauge at some point, but it runs well now so I'm not in an hurry to change it). I had to cut some of the tender floor away to make space for the motor and the chip : and the underside of the loco body: Mick has mentioned the absence of the sloping bit of the coal space in the kit - this may well be true, but I don't remember it as it was always the intention to run with a full coal load to hide the motor in the tender, and the motor sits where the sloping bit would be: An example of the poor fit of tabs and slots is the join between firebox and footplate, however, I think the prototype has a piece of metal along this join (possibly the top of the frames?) which I've not put on yet, and which should help to disguise it a bit: I used the smokebox door casting and etched straps from the kit and initially used a smokebox door dart from (I think) Crownline: Later on, I replaced the smokebox dart with a homemade version using two Gibson shoulderless handrail knobs, squeezed a bit to make them flatter, which i think was an improvement: I don't have any more pictures, but hope these are of some use. Cheers.
  2. Hi, Do you mean these ones? The one on the left is a NER 17T wagon to diagram P6, perpetuated by the LNER as Diagram 11. You don't see many prototype photos of these, but there were over 5000 built, with nearly 2000 still around at Nationalisation, according to Tatlow. The other two are the much later LNER diagram 193 slope-sided 13T wagons: despite the rather archaic appearance, these were built between 1944-47. All three are scratchbuilt from 1/32" basswood, with plasticard strapping and individual bolt head detail from Grandt Line and Tichy Trains. The boltheads on the strapping are simply "embossed" with a sharp(-ish) point from behind. To add some much needed weight, the P6 has a lead floor (and brakegear from Slaters/Ambis) whilst the 193s have cast whitemetal floors and brakegear from David Geen. Here are a couple of pictures before painting/detailing: Not sure I got the buffers right on the Diagram 193s, and the last one of the P6 reminds me that I originally built it with a Slater's brake lever and guide, since replaced that with Ambis etches. Also, it looks like I didn't use the "embossing" method here, but drilled individual holes, inserted a bit of micro-rod and cut it off - a sufficiently mind-numbing exercise that I now use the embossing method, which has to be about 500 times quicker and just as effective. Hope this helps.
  3. I've found some of the J25 photos. I don't have any from the early part of the build (don't think I ever did have), but hopefully some of these will be useful. Firstly, here some views of the chassis and drive train, starting with an overall view: Mashima 1628 (I think) in the tender driving High Level box (can't remember which) on centre axle. Split frame construction, hence the plastic 'sheet' in the tender to avoid any shorts. UJs were from FourMil - don't think these are available now, but you can probably get them elsewhere. Box is restrained from too much movement by a bit of wire wrapped around the top bolt, which is then clipped through holes in the frames: Another view showing some of the home-made phosphor-bronze springing - crude but effective: Underneath view of the loco chassis, again note home-made springing arrangement: Underneath view of tender chassis: motor rests on a blob of silicon sealant on the middle spacer: Another view of tender chassis showing PB springs, which also transfer current from the hornblocks to the frames, then there are wires from frame to motor. Not shown here, but wheels have shorting strips between rim and (split) axle: Loco frames without wheels, showing fusewire axle retainers. Although the loco chassis has insulated spacers, I haven't bothered to pickup from the loco, as it works perfectly fine just using the tender, and avoids having to trail wires from loco to motor in tender: Painted/weathered: More to come later on.....
  4. Hi Mick, Yes the original instructions are a bit of a waste of time - as you have discovered , the tender instructions are by Nike! I got some updated instructions from John Redrup at London Road Models (londonroadmodels@btinternet.com) - about 15 pages of instructions and the same of exploded diagrams if I remember right. If you don't have any joy via that route then I can scan mine and send them to you, but all my railway stuff is packed away at present (we're having some work done on the house), so I may not be able to do that for a while - they're also full of my scribbles. Let me know if you want me to do that. I can't see the old photos either - perhaps they got lost in a forum upgrade or something. I should still have them on the laptop somewhere - I'll see if I can find and re-post some of them, hopefully they'll be easy to find. I don't have any very recent pictures of the J25, other than the one in the post a few above, but I haven't done any work on it for a very long time. Cheers.
  5. Excellent weathering on the Q6. What did you use?
  6. I would be interested in a P4-compatible version of the body. I have a Branch lines chassis stashed away in the drawer.
  7. Here's something that's been puzzling me.... A few months ago, this consignment note was for sale on e-bay. I didn't buy it but a friend of mine sent me a picture of it as he knew I was interested in Coldstream. As you can see, it details a consignment of 3 cattle wagons to be sent from Coldstream to Bradford on 11 March 1949. The first (196357) is an LNER Diagram 122 and the third (302589) is probably an LMS diagram 1840 (possibly 1661). It is the middle one that is of interest. My first reaction was "Oh, excellent, that proves the use of ex-NER cattle wagons at Coldstream in my period of interest", but then I thought "wait a minute, the NER didn't have any 'Large' cattle wagons" (they were all medium). A bit of trawling through the relevant volume of Tatlow shows that the wagon listed (106836) was actually a Diagram G2 ordinary covered van. Now, I thought it was against the rules to transport cattle in anything other than a cattle wagon, so what's going on? I would be very interested to hear people's thoughts on this. Cheers for now.
  8. I haven't been able to find that reference on the SCRAN website (which I'd never heard of till just now!). Incidentally, there are a couple of pictures in the Middleton (or is it Oakwood) Press book of the Tweed Valley Line. From memory one of the Flying Scotsman (A4) and one of the Queen of Scots (A3), both at Kelso (IIRC, I've not actually got the book). Also, the line was used for diversions for a period in 1956, though I don't have precise dates. Edit - found it now (I hadn't put all the zeroes in the reference when I first searched).
  9. Apologies if you've said already and I missed it, but where are you getting the etched roofs from. Thanks.
  10. I'm not 100% certain, but I seem to remember that a Preston to Blackpool service was the 180? (This would be mid-60s or thereabouts)
  11. Oooh, now this (i.e. the 3D printed stuff) looks like an interesting development. I do like building Rumney Models stuff, but it has to be said, it's not necessarily a very quick process! Methods of speeding up builds are therefore of interest (so I can make more of them). The absolutely key thing though (for me at least) is the "not at the expense of quality". In the last year or two I've seen quite a lot of new products on the market where people are 3D printing or laser-cutting things simply because the technology allows them to, rather than because it's the most appropriate way of producing a realistic representation of whatever prototype. In many cases the quality and finesse is just not there IMHO. Having said that, I'm sure that with the exacting standards that you set yourself, the Rumney Models products will continue to be excellent. Certainly the trial prints look very good indeed (assuming they're 4mm). I look forward to seeing further developments. All the best.
  12. Just the normal 2mm spacing washers from Alan Gibson. I used 2.75mm each side on front and rear, and 2.5mm each side on the centre. Note however that I did file the boss off the back of the drivers first (later decided it wasn't necessary, but I'd done it by then), so if you didn't do this then fewer washers would be needed. One day I may get around to some cosmetic frames.
  13. Hi Mark, Yes, I have kept the Hornby chassis. It has 2mm axles for the drivers (and the tender wheels). Colin at Alan Gibson has now done the correct wheels for 2mm axles - I don't think they've appeared on the list yet but they're certainly available, so give him a call if need be. The inside of the splashers measured something like 21.7mm (if I remember correctly, didn't make a note of it at the time) and I widened this to around 22.5 or thereabouts, which seemed to be enough. For the gouging I used the tools below: Most of the work was done in fairly agricultural fashion using the round burr/cutter (don't know if it has a proper name) in the middle of the picture, then used the sanding/cutting disc to smooth off a bit. I used the smaller thinner burr on the small crankpin splashers, though I'm not sure this was absolutely necessary. I also gouged a bit of a channel along the underside of the footplate (using the cutting disc) to provide a bit of extra clearance for the rods - again, I'm not sure this was really necessary. The end result looks a bit of a mess underneath, but it does the job: (I've no idea why the picture above is in a portrait orientation, the original is landscape). I need to do some more adjustment of the pickups, but the tender pickups do a pretty good job by themselves. Unfortunately yes, it is possible to gouge through - I got a bit over-ambitious/careless on one of the splashers, so a bit of tidying up will be required. However, I did have it running perfectly well before I gouged through, so it is possible to complete the job without making a mess of it! The re-wheeled J36 runs pretty well though it is essentially a rigid chassis so gives an occasional jolt at some track joints - it may be possible to engineer a little bit of vertical movement in the Hornby chassis (there is virtually none as it comes), but I haven't bothered with this as yet at least. All in all, a pleasing conversion and a useful addition to the loco roster. The rods aren't brilliant, and I'd quite like to change them. Perhaps that nice Mr. Franks might like to oblige. Just need to decide which class member to model now! Hope this is useful. Cheers for now.
  14. Thanks for that Mick: I'll bear that in mind next time I need a small motor (though Mashima's are getting hard to come by of course).
  15. Getting a bit bored of only having the J39 and D11 running, so I've been trying to make some more progress with other locos, some of which have been on the production line for a very (very, very) long time! First up is the J21 that I started in 1988! This had been running previously, but was misbehaving a bit, and consensus amongst my friends was that it needed a new motor and gearbox. It had a Mashima 1220 and a Branchlines 67:1 Multibox. I've replaced these with a new 1220 and a High Level 60:1 Road Runner+ (or was it a compact+, can't remember). It runs more reliably now, though I'm still slightly disappointed at its' haulage capacity. It has a chip in the tender, but is wired to allow DC running/testing as well, which is why the wires are protruding. Still a lot of work required, but at least I can watch it run round while I think about it. Next is my G5, which I started as recently as 1993! I had put this to one side ages ago as I messed up the smokebox wrapper, but have recently fettled it. I have changed the prototype that I'm making, which now has a wooden sandwich buffer beam, so I've actually taken bits OFF! (not put the new beam in yet). A fair amount of weight in the tanks and a chip which obviously needs some tidying up. Runs quite nicely and will pull 5 or 6 non-corridor coaches easily enough, so that'll be plenty. As with the J21, lots of work still to do. Don't pay too much attention to the roof on the adjacent coach - I know it needs attention! Thirdly is the J25, started in around 1999 I think. This has been running for quite some time, but I've only recently put a chip in it. The rivet on which the the coupling rods are jointed has a nasty habit of coming adrift (there is only the merest hint of solder holding it in place), but I think I've managed to make it a bit more robust now. The front springs need adjusting to level it up. Here it is pulling a hopper train out of the down headshunt, and again in the down platform: Finally for now, a definite newcomer - a Hornby J36 conversion. Not the easiest conversion I've done (not that I've done too many) as it requires a lot of gouging away inside the splashers, but it's getting there. Runs well forwards (most of the time), but is a bit lumpy backwards - I think the drivers or crankpin nuts may still be catching on the inside of the splashers when the wheels are at the limit of their sideplay - a bit more gouging required I think. It will eventually be re-numbered to one of Hawick's allocation and will need a tender cab. So, the loco stud is slowly expanding, though they all have some way to go yet. That's all for now.
  16. So, not posted anything on here for quite some time, but things have been happening (slowly). Haven't done much on the trackwork recently, but some time ago I did the main crossover between up and down lines - here's an aerial view showing it: Since that picture was taken I've connected the down headshunt (the long siding on the left, though (temporarily) I haven't done the other two roads that lead off that towards the turntable and the coal drops) and a bit of the up yard road leading to the end loading dock, but I don't seem to have a picture to hand. More recently, I've mocked up the platforms from card: It's surprising how a few bits of cardboard can make such a difference to the look of it - starting to "feel" like a real place now somehow. I've also started work on the first building - these are the component parts of what will be one of the blocks of station cottages. Obviously some way to go! That's all for now. Really should get back to the trackwork, but I keep getting distracted by other aspects!
  17. Like Steve, I've also been stockpiling Arthur's kits. In the drawer (along with many other things) are a J73, Q5/1, Q5/2 and two D20s. I'll also get a Q7 and a C6 as and when they come out, and may find it hard to resist some others as well! The D20s are top of the queue for building, but I need to make more progress with other locos that are nearing completion (I think!) and the layout before embarking on another loco build.
  18. Re. ex-NER coach liveries in BR days. This is far from conclusive evidence (as it's a B&W picture!), but here is a cropped part of a photo I bought somewhere or other. It's an ex-NER coach (D178 I think) taken in 1952: to my eyes it looks to be in crimson (compare the shade with the crimson and cream coach to the right) but I suppose it could be brown?
  19. Now why on earth would you want to move to Bristol (rhetorical question!!). Hope it goes well, but we'll miss you here in Shrewsbury. Now don't forget those NER platform lamps... Cheers Tim
  20. A bit late in the day now, but just a quick reminder that Kerrinhead will be at the Cardiff show this weekend (19/20 Oct). Gavin is probably too modest to say, but the layout was awarded the MRJ Chalice at Scaleforum in September 2018 - a real honour. No new pictures at the moment (so you'll have to come and see it!), but there's a bit more Lancashire and Yorkshire stock in evidence now compared to previous outings. Looking forward to operating over the weekend!
  21. That is sad. I used to visit Chicago regularly and always paid a visit to the shop where there was nearly always some interesting find (tools or materials) that I hadn't seen in the UK.
  22. Not posted anything for quite a while.... Things have been progressing slowly, having done a bit more trackwork and I've also been trying to fettle a loco or two (without complete success so far, but they're getting close!). But I keep getting distracted by wagons: I find the urge to start a new wagon quite irresistible at times. So, I've been working on some more cattle wagons. Before this latest batch the train consisted of 5 x LNER, 2 x LMS and 2 x SR. The SR ones are Hornby which, apart from swapping the wheels, haven't had anything done to them as yet (they don't need much). When I first started planning the cattle train many years ago now, I assumed that I would need lots of LNER wagons so I bought around a dozen of the Parkside ones. I also wanted a few LMS ones so I got some David Geen ones. There's one of each in this photo: I built these before all the debate about the relative proportions of cattle wagons from the Big Four in early British Railways days (which was partly provoked by the release of Oxford Rail's attempt at the LNER one). From this debate, and also from photographic evidence elsewhere, it became apparent that 5 LNER wagons was probably enough for the train I want to build, and that I needed quite a few more LMS ones. So, I'm currently building 3 more LMS wagons. When Parkside released the D1661 LMS cattle wagon a few years back, I was surprised to read (in more than one place) in the model railway press that they had "filled a notable gap" in the cattle wagon market. I found this strange, because the perfectly good David Geen kit had been available for many years prior to the Parkside one (although it's not currently in production of course). I thought it was unfortunate that Parkside chose the D1661 (i.e. the same as the Geen kit) rather than the later D1840 (which is quite similar but is vacuum fitted and has detail differences) or, even better, the D1944 (which has internal framing, and really would have plugged a gap in the market). Don't get me wrong - the Parkside kit is excellent, I just wish they'd done a different diagram, especially as I really wanted some of the later ones. Anyway... In terms of the body work, the main differences between the D1661 and the D1840 are in the drop doors and strapping detail. As I understand it, the D1661 had either 2 or 3 plank drop doors, whilst the D1840 always had 3 plank doors. In terms of brakegear, the D1661s were either unfitted or piped, whilst the D1840s were all fully fitted. As 2 of the 3 I'm currently building will be D1840s, they need to have 3-plank doors: the David Geen kit included alternative castings for 2 and 3 plank doors, but the Parkside kit only has a moulding for the 2 plank door. The photo below shows the Parkside side with a Geen 3-plank door casting (not yet cleaned up): it is fairly obvious what needs to be cut away to make the casting fit into the plastic side. The final photo shows where I've got to with the rake of three wagons (obviously some way still to go!): Left to right these are: i) D1661 using the Parkside body, sitting on Masokits sprung W-irons. The rest of the (piped only) gear will be from the kit, plus some vac pipes from MJT. ii) D1840 using the Parkside body with a Geen 3-plank drop door moulding. This sits on a (currently incomplete) underframe from Bill Bedford (available from Eileen's) iii) D1840 using the Geen body, again sitting on a Bill Bedford underframe Eventually, I'll probably make some more D1840s - I have one more Geen and 2 Parkside kits in the drawer, but don't have any more spare 3-plank doors, so they will have to be done in Plasticard for the Parkside kits. Some D1944s would also be nice, but I don't have time for full scratchbuilds at the moment!
  23. Yes, yes, yes!!! Gresley bogie subframes! I'll need a few.
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