tomparryharry

I still have 42xx kits in whitemetal, and when I compare the weight of those with Hornby; well.... For any hand-built model, you ideally need as many reference points as you can. If you go over to RTR, then you are relying on the manufacturers to make those decisions for you. This means, of course, is that you might not get exactly what you want. " That colour green is not the right colour green, and that black is not dark enough" sort of thing. There must be about 1,000 posts on the forum about top feed; mostly put there by me, sadly.... Finecast make the Taff Vale U1, which can make the Taff Vale N, O, O1 and O2 without much bother. Whitemetal allows us to get into niche models a lot easier than RTR. Manufacturers are closing down the gaps, but only up to a point. Would you commit to a production run for an Andrew Barclay 0-6-2t for the Alexandra, Newport, Docks & Railway? Only three of those, and were very location specific? Somehow, no.... I think we've honestly seen the last Western model for Bachmann, where the 94xx model was completed, and then held back until the RTR value had risen enough to make the model financially viable. You can't blame Bachmann as such. After all, they are a business, but the clamouring doesn't help. Bottom line is that personally, I'll buy what I need, for when I would like to buy it. People like Dave Ellis & associates fully deserve all of recognition & credit for getting us this far. Western Top Feed, anyone?

Well, I guess so. I can think of a dozen sheds within a 10 mile radius of my proposed location. However, I'm not sure I want to do a shed location, or a station, for that matter. A locomotive 'on shed' although nice, is not uppermost in my mind right now. Of course, I could change my mind.... Mrs. Smith has just informed me that "you've got several gallons of paint 'in stock' that I have apparently forgotten about, so to quote the Pythons:- Ethel the Aardvark goes quantity surveying.

Many thanks one & all for your inputs and observations. I'm off this afternoon to have a serious look at Goose Down as a ceiling. Before that, however, there remains a lot of 'stuff' that needs moving to one side to allow Michelangelo to do his stuff. I'm not Michelangelo, BTW. Some have said I look like a short Pavarotti. Pavarotti? I'll pinch his biscuits... BAH!

Aha! Drebben Junction!

You can do a lot of things with that size of availability; very nice indeed. What scale would you envisage? If you have worked a layout before, then which ones do you have most recall with? Personally, I have 2 or 3 locations which I know to the inch in 00, but my operating desires will most probably lean towards a roundy-roundy, because I like to sit & watch the trains go by. Apparently, it's very theraputic for a nutter like me. No stations, but a bit of working, such as a pair of loops in an artistic setting. Bliss; pure bliss.

Well, a mile in 4mm is what:- 70 feet? I'd dearly love to be able to recreate something on that overall scale. The last time I seriously considered a properly scaled layout, my neighbours on both sides were alarmed when the bulldozers turned up... A 40-wagon mineral train is somewhere about 10' in 00. Proper length passenger trains even longer. Any station is longer as well, so you might want to leave out things like platforms, etc. There is a fine line between a properly proportioned scenario, and a highly squeezed Waterloo Approach. A lot of railway locations are way off-scene, sometimes miles away. Getting from one railway route to another is commonplace with junctions within junctions, all on the same line. A classic example is the station throat for Waterloo, which commences at Clapham Junction, Queenstown Road, and finally Waterloo itself. If you have the space & resources, then go for it. if I could, I would. On the other hand, Mrs. Smith might complain... "Ian, the neighbours at number 3 are complaining about the pilot working, and the Down Starter signal is disturbing the budgie...".

Cheers John. The legs for the baseboard have been 'in stock'* for about 9-10 years. That said, it's still early doors. The last segment of 150mm Kingspan has just been fitted, so I'm having a cuppa as I write this. The last piece of OSB (about 4x4') is the last bit, so I might do this after tea. * One of my mentors was one Malcolm Rowe, a third-generation steelworker from Cardiff East Moors. He was forever putting stuff aside for 'that'll come in handy for....' As industrious as he was for collecting stuff, he would also pass stuff on if he thought it would help. Some might have called him a scrounger, but he was an excellent facilitator way before the phrase became popular. 'I've got that in stock' was his regular phrase. I still use it, and I'm glad to say others now use it. A true gentleman of his time; sadly missed.

Thanks to one & all for your kind comments. So, what's happened? I stopped completely for the last year, but progress has started to pick up. I'm currently putting the ceiling up, in 10mm OSB. Prior to that, the insulation is 150mm Kingspan, but I think I've mentioned that before. I should finish the ceiling this week, and then some painting. After that, some surface mounted electrics. I will get some photos, weather permitting. Naughty Black Dog! Down Boy: Down!

If I recollect, about 3 years ago.

My sister had a train set; bought by dad.

Well Folks, a fortnight onwards, and much improved. The work regarding the shed has re-started, and I should complete it sometime this summer. Common Branch Junction awaits....

Gender shouldn't be entirely relevant in this day & age. Anne Diamond is well known for her model-making, and I guess it's only a lack of publicity that more ladies aren't involved. As for driving, gender is most certainly not an issue. I've met highly competent & skilled lady drivers. On the other side of the coin, I've worked with men who can't drive if their very life depended on it. And that's regardless of scale. 'Right person, right place, right time, right job, right result.

Depending on what you are doing, those little N20/30 motors are pretty good. I've converted the gearbox to accept Romford/Markits axles. They are a bit 'tight' for 00, but with EM or P4, I'd guess they are a better size fit. Lots of posts on the forum about these. With the proper gears of choice, they are indeed quite powerful.

Not my scale, but that A4 pacific in TT does look good.

Going for a Pong; the swage inspectors cut. From here to Elstree. One Flew over Robins Nest. Golf From St Andrews Liver salts. Mary Popped Out (Red Triangle). Thought for the day ( Did I put the cat out?). The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardroom (Navy version). Mutiny on the Bounty Funsize. Singing in the Rainham. Stanstead & Deliver! Doctor Kildare (Sligo) Have I got Newts For You. Leastenders. Heartburn. Whatever Happened to the Ilkley Lads? North by North Circular. The Cruel Seaview

Oh dear, there's more! News at Tents Questionable Timing lighter of the Day A Question of Spawn Mock the Weak Would I Lie on You? Play Your Curds Right

Entertainment has left a magnificent legacy upon us, which we can watch again & again. Here are some of the legacy that never quite made it. Roobarb & Mustard The Old Grey Washing Test Zzzzzzzzzzz cars Top of the Popes Taupe Gear Fireball XL Spreadsheet Tizwasn't Bless This Hose Watch with Mothers Pride Saturday Night with the London Palladium The Mickey Mousse Show Charlies Angles Rugby Leagues under The sea Who wants to be a Minionaire? Monty Pythons Training Circuit Captain Pink and the Mysterons Washing machine One Foot in the Gravesend There must be thousands...

The dreaded Mojo has given me a kicking for the last couple of years, but thanks in large part to the RMWeb community, I'm still here. Well; I think I'm still here.... The problem is this... I keep seeing nice things on here. and naturally, I want to emulate those nice things. However, the model railway scene is somewhere down the 'to-do' list, behind turning lead into Gold, anti-gravity mats, etc, etc, etc... Anyhow, thanks for being hereabouts. Cheers, Ian.

A quick addendum to these posts. Internal condition of the water spaces varied enormously area by area. Whereas locomotive boilers were washed out on a regular basis, tanks were very rarely washed out. Water from the Thames Basin is fairly hard, but the water coming off the Brecon Beacons is very soft, almost acidic* Locomotives working in south Wales were prone to shorter working lives, especially if they stayed for a long working life. Boilers were less of a problem, due to the inspection regime, but a leaky tank only showed up on a drivers' fault card. When TVR 28 was first steamed, you could hear the chalk coating 'pinging off' as the boiler warmed up. This softer hot water got underneath the chalk coating, and effectively cleaned it all off. Later on, the side tanks did start to rot through, especially at the riveted joints below the normal tank water line. 56xx locomotives spent almost all of their working lives in soft water areas, at least for the majority of the class. * The people at Pontypool & Blaenavon regularly check the PH level, and make additive on a daily steaming basis.

I've been on a food preparation course. It's a bit difficult; My lecturer said my sandwiches are a bit margarinal. Psst. Don't spread it about....

In his book about Caerphilly Works, Eric Mountford mentioned that a 'Tank Shop' was proposed for the works. It never happened, as closure overtook the proposal. However, side tank locomotives, such as the 56-66xx had renewals to the lower portions, on an 'as needed' basis. In addition, the 42-52-72xx, as well as the Prairies, came under this repair requirement. Seam welding is the better repair, although somewhat unattractive. If you don't have the time or money, then welding is quick & efficient. In terms of era it will limit the scope for modellers. I wouldn't think that the Western would allow a non-standard repair prior to the 1950's. You wouldn't see a 1960-repaired loco on a 1930 era layout!

Sorry, see previous post...

An idle browse though 'Bay reveals that some 'Brand New' DJM 18" Austerities are on sale. Are these re-discovered models from some long-defunct retail source? Perhaps my ambition of re-creating Haulwen No2 (Mountain Ash) is still alive after all...

On a serious note, how do we know we haven't passed through a black hole already, and not known? After all, this here compressibility is pure conjecture at the moment.

Vacuum pump lubricator.