The Night Mail

[Florence Locomotive Works]

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Kirtley 0-6-0

I couldn’t agree more, on my list of things to get (in 4mm not 7). Easily the best looking engine ever IMHO.

Edited October 2, 2020 by Florence Locomotive Works

[J. S. Bach]

5 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

 ...snip... Also does the offer include free delivery or do we have to collect them ourselves.

Hmmm, that just might be a problem for me!

[roundhouse]

Morning

 

Been a busy week working on numerous different scale models.

 

As the  the weather was good earlier in the week I made the most running the garden railway. Regular use means that very little track cleaning is required so I may try to run through the winter this year as I used to do many years ago, even in deep snow. Most of the track has been down for 26 years now.

 

In the shed I opened up a recent package containing N scale car carriers and fitted the couplings. There's a quite a few more than would fit on the programming track. Lovely models but not sure when they will get a run on the layout. The Ho scale loco is my other halfs recent purchase from across the pond.

 

Back to completing sound decoder comissions on these HO scale items. The Sperry railcar has had a stay alive fitted as the pick ups arent brilliant and the wheels pick up dirt very quickly. Its now had glazing installed, completed earlier this morning since this photo was taken. One of the burlington E6's has had a new corridor connection made up as it was missing - all as requested by the customer.

 

And finally back to layout building, this time its the 009 one that should have been at its first show two weeks ago but progress has slowed considerably with no shows for it till 2022. The first run of point rodding now in place.

 

Edited October 3, 2020 by roundhouse

[bbishop]

Morning,  off to Waterloo in half an hour. I'm taking some German homework with me in case it is quiet.  Back this evening.  Bill

[Happy Hippo]

1 hour ago, roundhouse said:

Morning

 

Been a busy week working on numerous different scale models.

 

It's great to see  some modelling effort, especially outdoors.

 

In one of my frequent flights of fantasy, I did wonder about having a large loop of track around part of the garden at a sensible height for the 7 mm stuff, but I decided that I have enough on my plate with the move of the 7/8ths stuff and the possibility of a 7.25" gauge run along the boundary hedge.

 

 

[jamie92208]

14 hours ago, Florence Locomotive Works said:

I couldn’t agree more, on my list of things to get (in 4mm not 7). Easily the best looking engine ever IMHO.

I've got two of them, both built from Slaters kits, one in black, 2716 and one in lined red. I should really paint it black but it looks so nice I haven't.   I've also got a Kirtley 2-4-0 with outside cranks in lined red.   When we were building the layout I ran it down the branch line into the station and then realised that I'd got the platforms too close to the line for the outside cranks.  It kept going with the cranks on one side walking along the platform.

Here's 2716. a Skipton allocated loco. 

Then 24, built by my late friend Tony Bond.

That trumps any pannier any day.

 

Jamie

 

Must have had  a senior moment last night I forgot to press the submit reply button.

 

[tomparryharry]

15 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

I've got two of them, both built from Slaters kits, one in black, 2716 and one in lined red. I should really paint it black but it looks so nice I haven't.   I've also got a Kirtley 2-4-0 with outside cranks in lined red.   When we were building the layout I ran it down the branch line into the station and then realised that I'd got the platforms too close to the line for the outside cranks.  It kept going with the cranks on one side walking along the platform.

Here's 2716. a Skipton allocated loco. 

Then 24, built by my late friend Tony Bond.

That trumps any pannier any day.

 

Jamie

 

Must have had  a senior moment last night I forgot to press the submit reply button.

 

 

Very nice jamie. What scale, perchance?

[Happy Hippo]

41 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

 

 

Then 24, built by my late friend Tony Bond.

That trumps any pannier any day.

 

 

 

It's a very fine model.

 

Some of my favourites are not even from the GWR stable let alone panniers!

 

An ex LNER A3 with 'bats wing' deflectors and a double chimney coupled to a non streamlined/non corridor tender.

 

A Bulleid unrebuilt BoB with a cut down 4500 gallon tender.

 

A Bulleid Q1

 

Ivatt Moguls:  both large and small.

 

Stanier 4P 2 cylinder 2-6-4T.

 

That's just off the top of my head and excludes narrow gauge locos or US or European outline stuff.

[Happy Hippo]

I thought I would experiment with a pencil! I've used an HB2 to draw into the grooves of the floor of a Dapol 'Hybar' to highlight the planking. This wagon will be very lightly weathered.  It's sister will get similar treatment once the broken bar has been repaired. Then I'll get started on the box vans. 

[Happy Hippo]

I'm getting back into the swing of railway modelling. A wash of dark brown over the factory applied paintwork is giving a dirty slightly worn appearance to the floor of a nearly new wagon

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, tomparryharry said:

 

Very nice jamie. What scale, perchance?

The Senior scale of course, 7mm. 

 

Jamie.

[Happy Hippo]

16 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

The Senior scale of course, 7mm. 

 

Jamie.

Pensioner's Paradise?

[tomparryharry]

Regardless of size, I'm lucky to appreciate nice things regardless of origin, be it 2mm or 12" scale.  

[Happy Hippo]

16 minutes ago, tomparryharry said:

Regardless of size, I'm lucky to appreciate nice things regardless of origin, be it 2mm or 12" scale.  

I'm ok then!

[roundhouse]

4 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

It's great to see  some modelling effort, especially outdoors.

 

In one of my frequent flights of fantasy, I did wonder about having a large loop of track around part of the garden at a sensible height for the 7 mm stuff, but I decided that I have enough on my plate with the move of the 7/8ths stuff and the possibility of a 7.25" gauge run along the boundary hedge.

 

 

My brother has had his offer on a large property accepted obviously subject to survey. It has the space for a miniature railway or even narrow gauge but unfortunately he dislikes anything Railway.The house even has a fantastic railway room above an extra large triple garage. What a waste.

[Happy Hippo]

2 minutes ago, roundhouse said:

My brother has had his offer on a large property accepted obviously subject to survey. It has the space for a miniature railway or even narrow gauge but unfortunately he dislikes anything Railway.The house even has a fantastic railway room above an extra large triple garage. What a waste.

My problem is time.

 

Because I have hobbies and pastimes away from railways, I really ought to be cutting back on my railway projects and concentrate on just one and get it finished.

 

Fat chance of that happening,  so I end up with lots of interesting things on the go but with a very distant light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Big gardens are great, but you either need to be keen on gardening or employ someone to do those bits you don't like doing.

 

A lot of folk just do not like gardening and this is evidenced by the reducing sizes of garden around new builds in the UK.  I appreciate that you can also get more houses onto a plot and maximise your profit if you are a developer, but we visited a new development to pick up some stuff the other day.

 

It was like a rabbit warren, with properties crammed in close to each other, and absolutely no where to park.  I make this particular point because Nyda and her brother have been building a house in the garden of their late parents place.  One of the conditions laid down by the planners was that there had to be as many off road parking spaces as there were bedrooms!  That did not include the garage.

 

It can be enforced by a local authority for an individual build, but I'd suggest they don't give a stuff when there is a big development going ahead. 

[Winslow Boy]

8 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

My problem is time.

 

Because I have hobbies and pastimes away from railways, I really ought to be cutting back on my railway projects and concentrate on just one and get it finished.

 

Fat chance of that happening,  so I end up with lots of interesting things on the go but with a very distant light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Big gardens are great, but you either need to be keen on gardening or employ someone to do those bits you don't like doing.

 

A lot of folk just do not like gardening and this is evidenced by the reducing sizes of garden around new builds in the UK.  I appreciate that you can also get more houses onto a plot and maximise your profit if you are a developer, but we visited a new development to pick up some stuff the other day.

 

It was like a rabbit warren, with properties crammed in close to each other, and absolutely no where to park.  I make this particular point because Nyda and her brother have been building a house in the garden of their late parents place.  One of the conditions laid down by the planners was that there had to be as many off road parking spaces as there were bedrooms!  That did not include the garage.

 

It can be enforced by a local authority for an individual build, but I'd suggest they don't give a stuff when there is a big development going ahead. 

Having been asked to comment on the provision of open spaces as part of the planning process I can state that open space loses out every time when it comes to choosing between the built environment and money. Open space is seen as something to be tolerated as it's function is to promote the sale of property. Houses are squeezed onto the smallest piece of land. The business model is that if you want more land you have to pay more. We are building houses that within fifty years will be demolished because they will not be fit. We are in effect trying to squeeze more out of an ever decreasing commodity.

[Florence Locomotive Works]

Evening,

 

My sisters horseshow was attended today, nothing to report. After that another few hours of testing the kart at the track began, which was semi successful. Now in about 40 I will be departing with great trepidation for my schools Homecoming Ball & Dinner, on top of a roof downtown. 
 

stay healthy,

 

Douglas

[tomparryharry]

Raining today;  Harumph, harumph, letter to the Times, etc.  However, promise of a bit of brightness later. 

 

Speaking of The Times, people write in to claim of hearing the first Cuckoo. Nowadays, it's the first Slade record of the season... 

[Happy Hippo]

These past few days I have been going into the conservatory and getting about 30 minutes of painting and weathering done.

 

not much to show for it but the various wheelsets I have removed from some wagons are getting progressively grubbier.

 

I've decided not to emulate the 'master weatherers' but to go for an overall effect rather than to model every wet cobweb and drip of oil.

 

Just taking the shine off makes a big difference.

 

Of course I should have modelled the Midland, who had an army of small boys running around with rags and polish and cleaning everything from Compounds to platform barrows.  Then everything could have always been bright and shiny.

[Happy Hippo]

Whilst various bits and pieces are getting the painting treatment, I've temporarily turned my attention to other members of the wagon fleet to assess how best to proceed.  Batch work, or individual desecration?

 

First up was a wagon I got cheap from the Dapol factory outlet as it was missing the 3 link couplings. 

 

Now this wagon had factory applied weathering:  More akin to a blast through the spray gun of some rusty cowpat.

 

I can see why Alan (Westerner) over in the 'Change of size and direction, Blakeney (Glos.) thread has commented that now he is modelling in 7 mm scale, he has reverted to weathering using brushes.

 

Second is a pristine BR brake van in grey which somehow looked odd.

 

I gave it the once over, then the twice over.  It was only on the third viewing of 'there is something wrong' here situation, that the penny dropped and I realised it was missing a hand rail .................. Another cheapo from the factory, and now I know why!

 

This afternoon's task is to remove one of the other rails, and put it into the handrail jig I have, so that I can measure it and then create another to make a matched pair.

 

I'm tempted to respray this van in bauxite, and then fit some brake pipes to represent a though piped van, as I do need one to run with my fitted stock.

 

I have now been banished from the conservatory as this has now been commandeered as an extension to the curtain making factory and the subsequent manufacturing being carried out in the sitting room.

[Tony_S]

5 hours ago, Happy Hippo said:

Just taking the shine off makes a big difference

That had been my approach to weathering. I rarely do more than a light dust with something like Mig Vietnam earth powder. 

[bbishop]

I like to use chalks.  Almost dry or dry, especially after a gentle spray with a matt varnish.  I try to time it when the tack has almost gone off.  Bill

[Steamport Southport]

6 hours ago, tomparryharry said:

Raining today;  Harumph, harumph, letter to the Times, etc.  However, promise of a bit of brightness later. 

 

Speaking of The Times, people write in to claim of hearing the first Cuckoo. Nowadays, it's the first Slade record of the season... 

 

I've already seen the first Christmas advert on the Forum. Right above "Summer Days"

 

 

And it wasn't me looking for Xmas things or Lego.

[tomparryharry]

54 minutes ago, Steamport Southport said:

 

I've already seen the first Christmas advert on the Forum. Right above "Summer Days"

 

 

And it wasn't me looking for Xmas things or Lego.

 I thought you'd got it wrong, then I saw the advert, which roughly translated, means "play Hard".