Waverley West

Yes, my idea was double-sided tape along those edges, but that sounds a good idea. I should add that the biggest problem I encountered when fitting the new body was a lack of space for the cab inserts. In the end, I found that some slightly cut-down cab inserts from an old Heljan 47 body fitted OK. That requires you to have an old Heljan body to hand though of course.

Don't give up yet. Yes, the screw holes are in different places, but dimensionally the new body is a reasonable fit on the old chassis. On my workbench at the moment is Kernow's new body 47363 on an old chassis... I have still to work out how to attach the body to the chassis securely, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.

In Waverley station, 37423 was waiting to depart from Platform 15 for Inverness... 37027 was parked in the siding, waiting patiently for its next duty... Three PRAs bringing up the rear of a Speedlink service... Some more wagons in the rake... A close-up of 37026... ...and at speed... An unusual visitor to Haymarket in the shape of 37403...

37260 entering Waverley station... Followed shortly after by Inverness-based 26038 on a rake of Polybulks...

After walking back to Haymarket station, I took a quick trip to Waverley and Princes St Gardens... I was lucky to see 37026 passing through on a Speedlink service... There were some interesting wagons in the rake, including a ferry wagon... A Polybulk bogie wagon... and a china clay slurry wagon... Shortly after, 37260 Radio Highland passed through on another Speedlink service...

Hi folks, Well, a very belated Happy New Year to you all. Not a lot of modelling has been done recently, but I've had quite a few operating sessions over the past few weeks, so I thought I'd post some photos. First up is a trip to Haymarket MPD, courtesy of a depot pass... Eastfield-based 47004 in its Construction subsector guise was on shed... ScotRail-liveried 47461 was also on parked on road 5... As the space-time displacement machine was set to the late 1980s, 47s were in the ascendency, with 47541 The Queen Mother and 47562 Sir William Burrell being given attention... 20227 was on road 8, here glimpsed through the window of the shed... Keeping a fleet going requires long hours into the night... Eastfield-based 20063 was also in evidence (partnered with 20067)...

Thanks Rich. Yes, there's definitely plenty more push-pull and tractor action to come in 2024.

To strike a more positive note for a moment, I thought I might post a few pics of the third Accurascale 37 to be released from the Waverley West works in the shape of 37099, renumbered from 37051. The two locos are very similar as far as I can see, apart from 37099 having a fully welded roof at the no. 2 end. So the roof panel at this end was sanded down and the roof repainted. The depot plaques also had to be removed. Otherwise, it was a simple renumbering/weathering job. All three of my Accura 37s (026/043/051) have so far performed faultlessly and they have done a fair few miles already. 37027 Loch Eil (with the white stripe removed) will be the next Accura 37 to be released into service. Here is the end product, trundling through Princes St Gardens and into Waverley West with a rake of BBA steel wagons...

And that just leaves me to say: May Santa bring you all the trains (and maybe modelling time too) you are hoping for. I have two new tooling 47/7s (11 and 16) on my desk and a banger blue 37027 from Accurascale (with white stripe removed) almost finished now. I'm hoping to finish them off in time to run them over the holidays. Seasons greetings one and all Dave

Thanks Ian! I used filler to remove the centre lamp iron. Not perfect, but it'll do, as the location of the missing lamp iron is not really visible from normal viewing distances. I used Accurascale ploughs. These fit pretty well on the Bachmann version without too much fettling. Haven't decided what to do about the sound quality of the Bachmann 37s. I haven't really investigated any options, partly because I invested so much effort in getting 404 to actually run smoothly after its bogie damage issues and the socket problem. I may have a think about what to do as regards the sound in my new tooling 423 when Santa brings it though (if he does, of course). Cheers for now, Dave

Night falls on Waverley West... ...as 37099 trundles through Princes St. Gardens with a steel train... ...and work continues into the night down at Haymarket MPD...

One final photo that didn't make the cut above: Work continues into the night down at Haymarket depot...

Here are some general views looking from the west. Of particular interest is 37423 (an older Bachmann version renumbered) at Platform 15, ready to depart for Inverness. A nice change from the usual 47. The Perth push-pull set is in Platform 17 and the stock from a service from Aberdeen is in Platform 16. A blue/grey 3-car 101 is in the bay platform, Platform 18. Plenty of buses on Waverley Bridge too... 😀 An interesting selection of rolling stock in Platforms 12 to 15, including two Strathclyde-liveried units (a 3-car 101 and a 156)... 47704 is still on the Perth service... 47550 arrives on the evening sleeper service... A look along the path above The Mound Tunnels... Well, I think that's all for now, folks. Hope to be back soon with some more pics of my latest projects. Happy Modelling! Dave

Hi folks, Just thought I'd post a few pics after a trip down to Waverley West last night. Some interesting new stock passed through. First up is a new Accurascale 37 in the shape of 37099 Clydebridge, renumbered from 37051. As 37099 has a fully welded roof at the no. 2 end, I have smoothed off the roof here. Otherwise, I couldn't find any significant differences between the two locos, especially as they both have fabricated bogies and ran for a time with the car headlight-style headlights. Here it is in careworn condition, passing through Princes St Gardens at the head of a rake of steel wagons... Another new 37 on the layout is 37404, this one a Bachmann version, renumbered from 37430. This loco has had a difficult birth. I originally bought it at a knockdown price only to find that it had a damaged gear wheel in one bogie. I bought a replacement bogie from Bachmann and fitted it, only to find that it still ran extremely poorly. It turned out that the other bogie had suffered exactly the same damage. So another call to Bachmann's excellent spares centre was made. The replacement bogie arrived and was duly fitted. The loco now ran very smoothly. However, during removal of the body on various occasions up to this point, I had managed to pull off one of the plug sockets at the ends. And yes, I had read about this weakness on here, but still managed to do it. I managed to solder two of the connections back on, but could not get the other two to work, so I ended up hard-wiring those wires. The loco then passed through the WW works and I now have a very nice, smooth-running 37404 Ben Cruachan for a (reasonably) affordable price even with the two replacement bogies... Another new item of stock on the layout is a 2 x 2-car class 158 in Regional Railways Express livery, fitted with legobiffoman sound chips. Both units have been renumbered to Haymarket-based units and weathered, fitted with passengers, etc., etc. Their liveries have been changed slightly through the addition of the "Express" branding on the bodyside stripes. These units mark the end of the period represented by WW, i.e. 1990ish. I decided it was a step too far to recreate the miniature snowploughs, at least for now. These units did apparently run for a short period of time without them after their construction. Also new on the layout is another Accurascale 37 in the shape of 37026 Shapfell. I haven't got round to photographing that yet, so hope to be back soon with some piccies of it. Having now tried both Accurascale's and Bachmann's new 37s, I think the Accurascale version wins it for me, mainly because of the better quality sound/speakers. It really does sound like a miniature 100-ton locomotive. I do still like the new Bachmann 37s though and if Bachmann produce the right number/livery combinations, I could still be tempted. I've noticed some of the earlier releases now being heavily discounted by some retailers, including 37423 Sir Murray Morrison, which I think Santa may be bringing (well, OK, I know he will be bringing it, as I ordered it 😀). Another couple of 47/7s are now in the works, again picked up as "bargains" (in the modern sense of the word). These are likely to be renumbered as 47716 "The Duke" (to replace my existing version) and 47711 Greyfriars Bobby. Also soon to enter the works is Accurascale 37027, which I think will have its white stripe removed, but otherwise remain as 027. Plenty of work in progress! I've reached my upload limit again, so onto another post...

To copy 37111 in that photo, I think I would be starting with all-over standard Rail blue, rather than faded blue. Faded blue never looks right until weathering and other variations have been added to the body sides. 08s and 20s seemed particularly prone to fading. I guess they were a long way down the repainting list as much as anything. That 37 looks unfaded to me and ready for darker weathering on top of standard blue (I would be looking to use Railmatch Sleeper Grime, Frame dirt, Roof dirt and Weathered black). I did use a base coat of Railmatch Faded blue for my 20048 below, but it was only after the final stages of weathering that I became happy with it. I spent most of the project wondering what on earth I was doing with a £150 locomotive. It only came to life after I added lighter faded streaking and darker patches and a coat of matt varnish. It's actually one of my favourite locos now!