JaymzHatstand

Excellent work! Its always best to keep the domestic management happy, especially with requests like that! Cheers j

Finished paying off my first order of these last month, and went straight on and placed another! I've still got a rake of part built Parkside mins, which will get finished eventually, probably! One lot can be loaded, the other empties maybe. I keep toying with the idea of adding a colliery exchange siding to my layout, to give my Planet Industrials Victory somewhere to roam, especially with the HUOs I already have (any chance of some more of them one day please?!) I think having a number of 16t to mix in will more or less seal the deal on that permanent way development! Looking forward to seeing more development progress, and, of course, them clanking around my layout! Cheers J

The lamp tops and pots arrived the other day, and I'm very impressed by the quality of the printing, theyre certainly an improvement over the Peco equivalent. Sensibly, I ordered enough to convert all of my current L&B stock, which will happen in due course. Now to make another acetylene cylinder control box and associated pipe work! Cheers J

I had a quick browse as a result of the discount, as I've been after some L&B carriage lighting pots (acetylene variety, as Peco have started making their with oil pots), so added a couple of packs of them and some barrels for a bit of background clutter. I couldn't find the discount code section, so just presumed that as it had passed the weekend that it had been deactivated. The 'message to seller' box was there, but not the discount one. It didn't stop me ordering though, as its something I've been meaning to do for ages! I'll report back when they arrive! Cheers J

Oh no! No! Please, no! I've been trying to resist the urge to delve into 7mm scale narrow gauge. I sense this resistance will crumble with the inevitable announcement of Britomart! I've not had the chance to watch the launch video yet, but will in due course, but I'm wondering if it'll be a reasonably simple conversion to 14mm gauge. I was speaking to Paul at EDM at the York show, and he was telling me about the complex process of converting the Lionheart Manning Waddles despite them being initially touted as easily converted. I'm certainly interested, my bank account might not be, and nor might the lack of space I have for building a layout, but those are future issues! For now, I'll just drool a little! Cheers J

That's excellent! I've not been brave enough to wield a soldering iron when Seb's about yet, I can guarantee an inquisitive hand would appear somewhere! The flux probably wouldn't get sampled, more likely spilled everywhere! Cheers J

When last I posted, I was waiting on some loco crew from ModelU, who did arrive before my holiday so were duly packed in my travel paint caddy and were ready to install by the end of the week. I have also added a bit more colour to the cab, it's by no means immaculate, or the neatest job, but it's enough to add a bit of visual interest. The vent on the cab roof was part of the whitemetal casting, and as such was rather brittle and delicate and while trying to adjust it, of course, it snapped off so a new one has been fashioned from a piece of scrap brass and some rod for the support. This has been soldered to the roof casting, and the area tidied up before painting the same black/black grey mix used on the smokebox, running plate and tank tops. The next job will be to replace the screw couplings with standard 3-links, as that's what the real loco carried. This is quite the fortuitous, as the Slaters brake van I have lined up next requires screw links, and the kit only comes with 3-links. More on that in a future update! I'm hoping to have a goods train available for traffic by the Whitby Club show in July, so a brake is essential in that, and probably another wagon or two! Time will tell! Cheers J

I completely agree, they Re gmcommendably fine etched items, but incredibly difficult to get into place. I'm glad mine is a black loco, as I wouldn't fancy trying to match the green when some glue inevitably got smeared on them! A removable cab roof ymwould have made things easier, likewise for adding a crew, but that would have presented its own tooling challenges, and a slightly ill fitting one with the firebox glow on would be very obvious! Still, now that mine has its doors and crew, it really is one of the best locos I own, and have seen in RTR. The sound is excellent too, and really makes it fun to play with! Cheers J

Lovely! I've been contemplating one of these, and this canny video is making my wallet shake with fear! The NER green examples are lovely, but a bit out of period for me, c1917 so it'll probably have to be a lined black one, but that's equally smart! It'll go nicely with my E and U class locos, once I get them finished! Cheers J

Thanks for the links, most useful again! The decals I found were for an automobile 40', so would need a completely different car. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126147812201?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=svnD02QfSGm&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=TDhArKjYQwW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY I think tprevious us owner of the car I got had it for a long time, hence its age, but as it was free, I wasn't going to complain! He did say I could do with it what I wish, so I might investigate improving it detail wise eventually, I found a handy guide with some ideas for improving it https://hedley-junction.blogspot.com/2022/02/a-second-life-for-athearn-40ft-boxcar.html?m=1 Those caboose look rather nice, I do like the brown livery. Would the non-central cupola variants be suitable too? They do look older and would presumably have been in service? Thanks for all of your advice, and sorry to have hijacked your thread! Cheers J

Thanks for all of that, plenty of interesting reading and ideas there! I think a manifest freight is the way I'll probably head, as the variety will keep it a bit more interesting, and give me wider scope for choice of car! An old Athearn UP boxcar has been donated to my cause by a friend who found it during a clear out, and I'm not going to turn that down! Livery wise, it looks older than the previous car, so hopefully a bit more era suitable! If not, I'm quite happy to have a go at rebranding it in due course. <A bit of further research shows it is an earlier livery than the previous one, but still a little too modern! Assuming the body type is correct, I think I've found a source of decals with 'Route of the streamliners' on one side and 'Serves all the west' on the other, I think!> A caboose I think will be the next thing on my list to keep an eye out for, with a view to probably adding a few details such as lights, and maybe some interior details (as I don't fancy shelling out a lot on one with those features already!) as a bit of a slow burn project. Thanks once again Cheers J

Wow! What a layout! I've spent my evening at work catching up on the whole thread, and have found the whole thing fascinating! My main interest lies in LNER modelling with a hefty dose of Welsh 009 (which I'm sure will appeal!) Ever since I was young, I've had a fascination with the BIG American locos, and always looked in awe at the old Kittle Hobby adverts on the back of the old RMs which always featured the Rivarossi Big Boys. I just couldn't comprehend a model of one! The closest I've come (so far) to seeing a real one was at Dobwalls, and totally agree on it being a wonderful place, and terribly missed. Fast forward a good few years (probably around 2020), and Father Christmas surprised me with the Hornby/Rivarossi 60th Anniversary edition. I'm still blown away by it! #4014 gets to stretch its wheels around my room, but until recently only light engine. A friend was in New York for a long weekend, and picked me up a UP boxcar. Blue touch paper lit! I've been trying to work out what I need to make a reasonable representation of a train for it to haul, and your consists have provided plenty of inspiration! I've tried looking things up online, but haven't managed to find much of use (not that I can make sense of anyway!) I'm not fussed about a scale length train, as I have neither the space or funds for that, but I think that picking up the odd wagon here and there should do nicely, the only issue I have is not knowing which ones are livery appropriate! If you could offer any pointers, I'd be most grateful! Thanks for sharing such an inspirational and astounding layout! I hope you don't mind me posting a couple of photos of Dobwalls, though im not sure why they have uploaded sodeways! Cheers J

Of course, we got one for our little boy for Christmas, with a couple of extras. Might have to get the proverbial skates on to pick up a few other bits! Ah well, he enjoys what he has atbthe moment, and there's always 'daddy's room' to provide further rail based entertainment! Cheers J

It's relevant to the topic, and as long as you have no affiliation, other than as a customer, I think that's allowed! Also some photos of what you've done would be welcome too! Cheers J

A quick update on Peco bowsider 17. I've got in! With a bit of investigative unclipping, I've achieved full interior access, and as a result got some paint onto the seats. Reassembly was a bit tricky, but I think I've got it sorted now, so if I need to do it again, it should be much easier. I'm now toying with the idea of lights, but that'll take a lot of research and experimentation! Cheers J