sulzer27jd

Very, very nice. Well done J

It may be the lighting you used, but it gives the photo a vintage feel. Don't know why but it made me think of Leeds Holbeck. Very nice. JD

Magnificent Bruce, you just keep producing more and more interesting photos. A great selection. Just one small point - 47342 would be inside Dundee West shed, the old Caledonian shed in Dundee. keep them coming. cheers John

Newcastle - Welcome to the Scottish Region.

I've added the step and its very simple. The question though is why when they seem to have worked to photographs did Bachmann miss it. And all of the reviewers in the magazines appear to have also. As for the footplate I understand the difficulty of manufacture and its not the thickness of the plate but the fact that the vertical member supporting the footplate on the prototype does not follow the edge of the footplate as it falls down to the cab floor. It means that the vertical member is further inboard for want of a better expression, during the sweep down. I think it is made worse by the fact that the lining on the model is very noticeable. I know it is a detail but it is something that catches my eye, as the graceful curve down past the firebox is quite a signature of this handsome class. John

The photograph in the link also shows up the missing step on the curved section of the footplate and just how thin the footplate edge is at this point. For me the rendition of the curved footplate is the worst part of the Bachmann model. Some of the minor detail points are things that I can live with and many of us will be adapting for specific locos, but the footplate is just wrong. That and the droopy cab leave me a bit disappointed overall with what is otherwise a great addition and something I personally have waited many, many years for. On the plus side - there is no problem with the motor (remember the A1 saga) 12 mark 1's round Balbeggie Sidings without any hesitation. John

Hi Dave, I haven't had a chance to check in recently and had missed the depot scene. Fantastic! I know sound units can make a loco seem alive but personally I don't think they do much for a layout on the scale of yours. They also do nothing for still photography. Your photos however have captured the atmosphere brilliantly. I can smell the hot oil and hear the ticks and clicks of cooling locos and background thrum of idling engines. Lovely. More than anything else I believe that's what layouts are meant to do - give a bit of escapism. I can really imagine walking up that brae, as I have done countless times, into the depot and seeing the line-up. Very nice. And a great deal more interesting than the current scene - jam packed with broken 170's that can't cope with the cold. Great work. All the best for the new year, please keep posting. John

An interesting mixing of metaphors - but perhaps now that its here the bird in the hand will save a stitch in time! j

Thanks CR, normally this time of year is when I do work on stock, but I have been exceptionally busy at work and haven't really had time to do anything. Oh, except for a minor distraction which I have illustrated below. I have also been battling with myself over what signalling to use. In the early 1980's this section was converted to CLS, but I really do like the whole semaphore thing and the layout does get used in a mix of time periods so it will always be a compromise somewhere. I now have some of both on order and will hopefully settle when I see them. Anyway, in keeping with the theme of this thread, here are a couple of shots from the archive:- It is June 1956, Lavandin has just won the Derby, Rangers had won the league, the blockbuster to go and see was Giant, with Elizabeth Taylor, Dennis Hopper and James Dean. Rock'n'Roll hadn't quite made it to these shores but a kid called Elvis Presley was changing that forever in the USA. Our photographer was lineside in central Fife recording some railway action. Working the 2.15pm from Edinburgh Waverley to Aberdeen, Peppercorn A2, 60527, Sun Chariot powers past the loops at Dysart No3 pit on its way north through Fife. The loco will work as far as Dundee Tay Bridge before being replaced. She will then head to her home shed for servicing and turning before working an evening freight. As the train passed the photographer, power was shut off before the level crossing and the curve ahead. The train will next pass Thornton Junction before heading towards the River Tay and Dundee. [/url] Thanks again. JD

APT was far from a billion pound failure. I'm sure someone on the site will know the figure but the amount spent on it was in real terms very little. It also spawned many separate advances that have found there way into current rolling stock. At the same time as BR were developing APT on a very limited budget, the French really were investing billions in their infrastructure. Who did best out of those two choices? In fact if the many millions that have been paid in subsidies from the privatisation fiasco had been invested in the railways, we probably wouldn't have the shambles of a network that we have now. j

I travelled to London to go to the MRJ show, which was for the time a complete contrast to the normal local shows that we were forced to endure. The Hursley phenomenon and the long queue of admirers reminded me of the lines of mourners shuffling past some dead Soviet leader. (for younger members Google USSR!). It was simply the most sensational model I had ever seen. I thought it had been sold so it will be interesting to see if it is still in existence and if it can be tracked down. Wouldn't it be good to have these iconic layouts all on display in one place? j

I scraped the line off with the back of a scalpel blade and it came away easily, no need for rubbing down. It does lighten the green colour around it but that is easy disguised. I never mentioned "Gateshead" weathering.

The seam is actually quite easy to remove and if you are weathering any marks can be hidden. John

Have been doing a little work with the Bachmann A2. As Dundee's 60527, Sun Chariot; Hard worked, dirty but having been cleaned. JD

I have waited a long time to get one of these on to a layout; A few minor adjustments before taking it's first train, but Dundee's 60527, Sun Chariot posses for the camera. JD

I've been looking over the loco for a few days trying to figure what isn't right about the footplate. If you look at where the footplate rises up in front of the cab, the graceful curves of the prototype have been captured but the depth of the lip is wrong. The prototype has a small lip where the horizontal plate of the footplate overhangs the vertical member making up the 'thickness. This vertical member carries the lining. In the space between the top curve at the firebox and the bottom curve at the cab front there is a considerable depth to the plate overhang. It is wide enough on the top surface to carry a footstep and that depth is repeated on the underside as the plate passes along the outside of the firebox. Bachmann have continued the small lip over the entire length and between the curves. This is where I think the error is, as this should have a much increased plate overhang in this area. I hope that all makes some kind of sense There is a good view of the top of the plate here - http://georgestrainp.../p64136891.html and a view of the underside showing the depth - http://kettlesgalore.../p63237572.html I don't think the model captures this at all. JD

Very nice Geoff, great atmosphere which is something you can't buy out of a box. Looking forward to some more photos. John

Not necessarily, there is the lowered numberplate , high lamp and single handrail option, in the early crest. John

I have 60537 (until it gets renumbered). The middle axle is driven and has a lot of play so that the first turn is noticeable in that it is out of sync with the coupled wheels, obviously just for a second but it does catch the eye. It has a sprung Cartazzi axle that when it comes off of a tight corner (9') fails to recentre and gives rise to a misalignment between loco and tender, but i think that will be treatable. Traction seems good, I've had it with 10 mk1's and no problem with haulage or speed. If anything it seems smoother under load. As for the step between the tender and loco (discussed above) I think the additional lining on the loco footplate throws the eye off. All in all its a nice model. I did have to re-gauge the front pony wheel which you wouldn't expect having paid nearly £100 for something and there are a couple of detail errors but it is a good deal easier that having to kit build. Especially when you can use a lot of them. My problem is that Balbeggie Sidings has concrete track and colour light signals! Mmmmm, do I back date it or build something else? John

The colour shot is superb, nice textures, subtle use of flowers to add a bit of colour and the backdrop works really well. Nice work. J

Well done Bruce - great shots. You have brought back a lot of good memories with that, loved it. John

Try here - www.eurobatteries.com JD

Now that brings back memories. Such a shame that Dundee now does not get one single thing delivered by rail. J

It much depends on the time period you are talking about. In steam days it was more a question of "what wasn't up there?" Dundee was a very significant railway town. Trains Illustrated ran a series in the 50's called Resorts for Railfans and Dundee was in the mid 30's (34 or 36 I think) In BR Blue the areas immediately to the sides of Tay Bridge Station were above the retaining wall and were yards. Goods shed to the south and the National Carriers good shed to the north. The NCL shed was home to a number of class 20's the last time there was a major recession:- The line leaves the platforms to the north in tunnel, including at the platform end a signal box - the working of which must have felt very dark. Through the tunnel the line twists and turns and given that the whole thing is pretty much under the water table it is usually running with water. At the far end was Camperdown Junction where formally the line into Dundee East station branched off. By BR Blue days this was home to the cement sidings that at the time received a regular rail supply - like below Dundee Tay Bridge as a model? if you had that much space - it would certainly be nice, it is however very long and the yards around it very large. J