nsl714

Tony and all, Some time ago, I asked for assistance regarding the fixing of the bogie and pony to a DJH A1 I was building, the recommended arrangement in the instructions not being ideal. As of now, the engine is substantially completed, as shown in the below photos. This has been an enjoyable experience overall, and it came together very nicely. I do need to investigate a minor tight spot, which I've narrowed down to the left side center crankpin being slightly ajar (I learned the hard way early on that the nylon centers of the drivers will melt when soldering the retaining washers on the crankpins). The valve gear is otherwise free moving and clear. Please also note the requisite 'wiggly pipes'! The engine will go to a friend to get the paint sprayed on (I don't think my usual brush method will do it justice) and I will add the lining once. When complete, it will be 60123 'H.A. Ivatt' in Express Passenger Blue. Thanks, Zach

It's funny, a lot of the plates look like those that went through auction in America in November.... It will be interesting to see how they make out in comparison to the first auction. -Zach

Tony, The above information was indeed very useful, thanks very much for providing it. This arrangement is much more workable than trying to contort the bogie/pony to fit the body. Onwards! Regards, Zach

Tony and All, I've started in on the DJH A1 mentioned earlier. So far, being careful in chassis assembly has resulted in one that is square and free rolling up to the stage of adding the motor and valve gear. The boiler and firebox here are not secured to the footplate yet, but the prospect of making the engine look more complete was much too tempting for the photo, so they are sat in place. However, I am a bit perplexed at further assembly (hence my sharing here). The diagrams in the instructions outline how the pony, bogie, and footplate are to be secured to the chassis by screws. Fair enough. However, I can't help but notice there's a bit of overlap, and securing the bogie/pony to chassis will not allow easy access to the fixing points for the footplate and vise versa if the footplate with boiler is attached to the frame. Is there a typical work around for this arrangement that differs from the instructions? One thing I've contemplated and made arrangement for is an access hole through both the bogie and pony for a screwdriver. This seems to be the trick for the pony, but the bogie is still going to be much too constrained to get the screw in place I fear. Any suggestions for deviations or other tweaks to make this arrangement more workable would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Zach

Hello Arun, Would the Q23's come back with the other cars as part of this, or are they gone? Once upon a time I fancied a Q stock set, but didn't want a solid train of Q23's, so I never acted on it. Now that the other cars are in the pipeline it's much more appealing. Thanks, Zach

I've been building kits in O scale for the past 4-5 years, and a major inspiration for starting down the path was watching the 'Right Track' films, particularly the loco kit construction one that included a DJH A2. Though they're not my scale or region (7mm GWR for me thanks), it was always in the back of my mind to build a DJH A1 or A2 in OO as in the video, just for the sake of doing so. With rumblings beginning early last week that DJH *might* be winding down the kits, I finally jumped and purchased an A1. Glad I did now, because they're gone from the website this morning! -Zach

The name and two numbers I got will easily fit in my car. I might be in trouble with the other lot I got though, a set of Royal Scot Carriage Boards. Those damn things are 11 feet long! Zach

For those playing along at home, the American auction of GWR names, numbers, etc., was yesterday. https://www.leonardauction.com/auction/auction-310 Looking through the hammer prices, a lot of the plates undersold or didn't meet reserve. There were a few exceptions, like a LMS Princess plate that went astronomical, but things largely stayed down in price. I'm guessing it was because of the sudden saturation in the wrong market. But it was very exciting overall to watch all afternoon. I'm still contemplating the reality that I might have acquired a matched name/number.... -Zach

As an American, I'm both curious about how this lot will sell, and terrified that it's local which means I might have to spend some $$$ on it. There's some tempting O gauge, to speak nothing of the 1:1 scale name and number plates!

Hope springs eternal for someone, ANYONE, to do a proper Saint. One day...

One major obstacle in converting to studs in 3 Rail O is the pickup method. The vast majority of American 3 rail O gauge trains use a roller arrangement as opposed to a sliding shoe that Marklin trains appear to utilize in HO. While the shoes bridge the gaps in the studs, the rollers wouldn't do as well with frequent opportunities to get jammed. Since the roller arrangement is so widespread, that would be significant conversion effort to some to accommodate a stud rail as opposed to the continuous rail arrangement. -Zach

The discussion about where one started their modeling adventures got me to thinking about mine. As a child I had a selection of ready to run Lionel trains, no real 'modeling' in the sense generally seen here. It was only after college where one weekend in 2016 I opened up and decided to make a go of a Revell Spitfire that had been in my closet for at least 5 years. It was rough but I got through it in the end. Note the canopy complete with the telltale fogging. Completing said model opened up a world where I wanted to try more. Over the next few years I built numerous aircraft and ships until, (thanks to the coming of the Dapol Autotanks), I shifted to 7mm O. Little did I know while completing the Spitfire that 7 years later I'd be building Great Western locomotives in brass. The latest is a David Andrews Bulldog, as below. It's fun to look back and see how far one has come. -Zach

Yesterday a GWR 15xx arrived stateside for a friend (Hattons' trunk makes it very easy for me to be a 'dealer' for said friend's OO obsession while I whittle away at O scale). I checked it out to see how it was and looks to be just fine. No real evident wonky-ness unless looking SUPER close. Any glue marks are minimal and entirely manageable. Having assembled many an O scale kit, the degree of absurd assembly required here in half the scale makes the little niggles perfectly fine in my view. It won't run until said friend has received it, so I can't comment on how this one behaves. But my is this a proper heavy boi. I also appreciate that the inherent humor of the Canadian Mothership has seeped over into the owners manual. A very convenient page break after "If you fry your electrics, we will be pleased" and the general concept of "Acts of You" had us in stitches. Overall it's a lovely model, and here's to more! -Zach

Before this, the signboxes were empty, and there were vinyl stickers over them, as below.

London RM1133 made it to the Illinois Railway Museum about a week ago. It's going to stay there through October. Now being in striking range of myself and co-owner, it's getting some attention. Early items on the agenda were solving some electrical issues with lighting and installing correct destination blinds in the bus. Before it goes home, we're hopeful to give it a good buffing to put some shine back into the red. -Zach

The interurban network in the US is another topic well worth studying. They varied in substance from overgrown streetcars to heavily engineered electric railroads. Most sprung up between the 1890's and 1910's, and were long gone by the 1930's, though a few (such as the Pacific Electric above) hung around into the postwar era. A particular favorite study of mine is the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railway (North Shore Line for short). That railroad had about everything: fast multiple unit electric passenger trains, heavy freight operations, local streetcars, even a pair of streamlined electric trains. Trains would operate from downtown Chicago over the 'L', sprint north to Milwaukee, and operate over a few miles of street trackage to reach downtown. Here's another archive video (with street running smattered in to keep it topical!)

To be fair, the US used to have a quite sprawling network of streetcars (the American equivalent of a tram). The construction was as you would expect, rails laid and paved over in the street where the cars could commingle with other traffic. Most cities gave them up between the 1930's and 1950's and replaced them with buses, as the systems aged out and reached the economic point where they either needed rebuilding or replacement. An interesting comparison to the LA Metro videos is this one from the last days of the Pacific Electric "Red Cars" in the LA area. The route followed to Long Beach is much the same as the "B Line" today. As on the Metro, a portion of the route at either end plies the streets of the cities.

I've weathered maybe a dozen pieces of my O scale stock. Most are still in pristine condition, with a bit of trepidation on my part to attacking items such as locomotives with hand applied lining! Of the ones I've done, my favorites are these two, a Connoisseur Macaw and Toad. These were both done with a mixture of an acrylic wash and powders. Thanks, Zach

It has, hasn't it? We're not 100% sure if it's been repainted over here, or if this is still the early 90's London paint, either ways it's chalked and faded a bit. The scale tips a bit toward repainting, as there's no evidence of the 90's style London Buses lettering or logo compared to what's on it now. We want to buff it out a bit and see if that will bring back some gloss/shine.

How about a London Routemaster a ways away from home? RM1133 wandered a bit after being retired in 1996. It originally was sold to someone in France, but the deal fell through and it went to a scrapyard. There it was purchased by someone who moved it to near Bristol Tennessee. A few years later it moved to Northern IL. In 2022 I had the opportunity to purchase it. It now lives on a farm in Central Illinois. The juxtaposition of a London city bus against the flat expanse of Illinois is a funny one, and it gets lots of strange looks. RM1133 was re-engined at some point in the USA with a Cummins diesel and Allison transmission, so it should run for quite a while with minimal fuss and attention. We're planning to keep it up as a historic vehicle, no caravan conversion here! -Zach

The latest project is now complete, an Ian Kirk Siphon G. This one was lots of fun for all the scratchbuilding and detailing that was desired and needed to reach an appropriate level of detail. First, here is the basic construction of the body as supplied. Next, the detailing of the underbody with (what I hope is) appropriate brake gear. Third, cutting the roof extrusion and fitting rainstrips and gas lighting. Then the fitting of a myriad of brass, whitemetal, and styrene to represent the various fittings. And finally, the painted and lettered van. As I do weathering in batches (and have yet been brave enough to attack carriages as well as NPCCS with it), it shall be weathered at a future time. Thanks, Zach

I am much too late for the previous discussion of Ian Kirk vehicles, but here is an O gauge Kirk Siphon which I just completed. There was plenty of opportunity for added details; the brake gear and steps were mostly scratch-built, castings/etches were added for items such as door handles, vacuum and steam hoses, and lamp brackets, etc. Some weathering in the future will finish it off. Thanks, Zach

Now in the new year, 5041 'Tiverton Castle' has been completed. As noted above, the body was done to a good quality, but the Chassis was only started. I've now completed it, with various ailments corrected, including filling the smokebox dent, adjusting the ride height of the tender, and changing out the buffers for the correct types. The frames were luckily pretty square, so they didn't need much adjustment and it runs relatively well. The painting already completed was pretty good, so I just finished the frames and lined out the footplate and cab front. Overall a very nice project for what I paid for it. -Zach

What's new in the midwestern US outpost of the GWR? Quite a bit actually. There was a lull this fall after major completion of the Star, but suddenly there's a large backlog of projects for the winter (some premeditated, and others spur of the moment!) First on the planned list are a half dozen Parkside kits, first of which is this NE van. Other planned items include a David Andrews Bulldog and an Ian Kirk Siphon G, both of which are in hand now and awaiting their turn to be built. But first, something rather unexpected came up. This Malcolm Mitchell Castle came up on the American eBay earlier this month at a price I couldn't say no to, so here it is. As seen here, it was mostly complete and painted as 5041 "Tiverton Castle", with the engine chassis being the largest item to complete. There was a lot of fitting and grinding/filing to do to the boiler and frame to get the wheels to roll freely without shorting against itself, but a week later it now runs with the rods on, if anything a bit noisy (are Portescap motor/gearboxes normally loud?) Other work items completed to this point are filling a nasty dent around the chimney, adjusting how the bogie attaches to the frame, and adding injectors. Items to complete yet are sanders and cylinder drains, painting the chassis, adding cab detail, gluing any other wayward detail that's fallen off, changing the buffers for a more appropriate style, and lining the cab front and footplate. All in all it's been a great project to add a Castle to the roster for much less than I expected, and it'll be a fine model when complete. One more surprise project was that the seller had a pair of Blacksmith Toplight kits for an equally bargain price, so those have been added to the queue as well. Much to do now! -Zach

I found what may be considered a good buy, this Malcolm Mitchell 7mm Castle, nearly completed as 5041 Tiverton Castle. Price? $300 USD (about £260 depending on the day) For the most part, its beautifully built and painted. There's a few items which disassociated in transit (such as the chimney, steam pipes, and safety valve bonnet) and a few minor paint scuffs which need to be touched up. Otherwise, the chassis and cab are the final items to complete. It did come with wheels (including 6 extra drivers) and a motor, so I'd call this a good eBay buy. -Zach