Lacathedrale Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 Are those the Dapol easi-shunt couplings? I'm slowly building up a collection of N gauge BR(s) items which have the Arnold/Rapido-style couplers and automatic uncoupling (ideally delayed) is very much on my mind. All of my stock is new(ish) - how much of a faff is it to swap the couplings out? Simple as a push-pull into the NEM pocket? Dapol and Farish? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted July 23, 2022 Author Share Posted July 23, 2022 1 hour ago, Lacathedrale said: Are those the Dapol easi-shunt couplings? I'm slowly building up a collection of N gauge BR(s) items which have the Arnold/Rapido-style couplers and automatic uncoupling (ideally delayed) is very much on my mind. All of my stock is new(ish) - how much of a faff is it to swap the couplings out? Simple as a push-pull into the NEM pocket? Dapol and Farish? Yep, the Dapol. The NEM pockets on Farish stock seem to be quite tight, so they do require a bit of force to fit. The Mk.1 stock is particularly tricky, and I needed to gently ease the pockets slightly apart to accept the couplings. The main thing to avoid is accidentally letting the tiny coupler spring pop out as they’re very hard to locate! Once secure they work really well, but I’m assuming they were designed with Dapol stock in mind. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lacathedrale Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 Thank you - I've got a good deal of Mk1 NPCS stock so they'll have to work there someway, somehow and being forewarned is as they say, four armed. Thank you! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted August 8, 2022 Author Share Posted August 8, 2022 After some thought, I’ve decided to replace the turnouts as my next ‘to do’. However, I’m eliminating the crossover for plain line as it feels like too much extra work, so the layout will just have a single scenic turnout. I’ve been procrastinating endlessly about this, as turnout construction was easily my least favourite part of this layout and I really don’t want to do over three turnouts from scratch (particularly given the number of shared rails on the crossover). With the one, I can still do loco runarounds, and actually focus on the stuff I want to do, which is detailing the layout. I’m fully intending to have more complex code 40 track work on future layouts, but I’m thoroughly burned out on this one and just want to skip to the fun stuff. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted August 12, 2022 Author Share Posted August 12, 2022 Things are looking up again. After removing the crossover, I managed to completely sort out the issues with the remaining turnout so it won’t need to be replaced after all! Just waiting for British Finescale’s shop to reopen so I can lay the remaining plain track. Ballasting is finally on the horizon. (P.S. the platform isn’t glued together, hence any wonky gaps.) Getting to work on some more bridge detailing, using thin brass strip and bits of plasticard tube. This section will be painted mid grey and weathered. Experimenting with a low angle shot… 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post jonhinds Posted August 13, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 13, 2022 Anyone remember when England used to be cold? 18 1 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted August 15, 2022 Author Share Posted August 15, 2022 Twilight of the 101s. 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post jonhinds Posted August 30, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 30, 2022 Finished up some new bits of scenic detail. First, the platform shelter. I used the ‘sticky label’ method to score the frames around the acetate windows, although the glue on the label paper was too strong and left some residue when peeling off the window sections. It does make it look sort of ‘grubby’, which actually fits in well with the era. Rest of the shelter is plasticard airbrushed with Tamiya XF-55. I also added details like the door handle and window partitions with microstrip. When the canopy is complete, the shelter will appear like so: The car park and part of the bus station road entrance have been added. The tarmac is textured paper sprayed with light grey, dark grey and black primer, with darker sections masked out as more recently patched. Parking bay lines and drainage channels still to be added. Barriers and road markings are Scale Model Scenery. The metal panelled sides of the overpass are also complete, with only the support columns still to do. The sides were painted Tamiya XF-19 and weathered with DCC concepts rust powders. So, with (almost) all necessary track relaid here’s the state of the layout. The sole turnout is still working okay, although I’ll probably replace it a few years down the road as stock does wobble a little over the frog due to some minuscule alignment issues. No stalling though, so I can overlook it for now. These Model U figures are amazing, and will be quite a challenge to paint! 17 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted August 30, 2022 Author Share Posted August 30, 2022 My decoder budget has run out for the month, so the Dapol gang will have to wait their turn. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBM37404 Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 1 hour ago, jonhinds said: My decoder budget has run out for the month, so the Dapol gang will have to wait their turn. Enjoying the updates! Those Prov 156s are rare as anything. I ended up buying an orange one for my Scotland project just to have a DMU!! I have been ballasting my code 40 track its a challenge!! John 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted August 30, 2022 Author Share Posted August 30, 2022 46 minutes ago, JBM37404 said: Enjoying the updates! Those Prov 156s are rare as anything. I ended up buying an orange one for my Scotland project just to have a DMU!! I have been ballasting my code 40 track its a challenge!! John Yeah, I was lucky to get the 156 Sprinter on eBay a year or so back; they do seem to be difficult to find these days. I think the Provincial 142 is among the more popular Pacers so glad to snap that up at RRP as well. Good luck with the ballasting! Not far off that stage myself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloucester Road Posted August 30, 2022 Share Posted August 30, 2022 Model U figures are amasing and look really good when painted. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted September 5, 2022 Author Share Posted September 5, 2022 After much procrastination, I’ve finally completed the hydraulic buffer stops. These are a distinctive visual feature of the Interchange, so I’ve attempted to replicate them reasonably closely. 10 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted September 6, 2022 Author Share Posted September 6, 2022 On 30/08/2022 at 23:18, Gloucester Road said: Model U figures are amasing and look really good when painted. They really are! How do you paint yours? Thinned Vallejo acrylics applied with fine brush seems to be a common recommendation. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloucester Road Posted September 6, 2022 Share Posted September 6, 2022 3 hours ago, jonhinds said: They really are! How do you paint yours? Thinned Vallejo acrylics applied with fine brush seems to be a common recommendation. Yes. I use a black Vallejo primer first, then set "face and skin tones" and "basic color" set. Using a micro detail paint brush set and magnifying glasses. Followed by a dullcote. There were images of my painting starting on pg 46 of my thread but they haven't repopulated yet 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted September 6, 2022 Author Share Posted September 6, 2022 Things are a little quiet today… In other news, the 156 is chipped. I went down an obscure Flickr rabbit hole today in deciding whether to fit snow ploughs. They seemed to have been uncommon before 1990 apart from services through Scotland and some parts of northern England, and universal thereafter. These are the important decisions! Also, it’s noteworthy how different Dapol’s interpretation of Regional Railways blue is from Farish’s. Sort of annoying when running the 150 and 156 alongside one another. Here endeth the epistle. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted September 8, 2022 Author Share Posted September 8, 2022 Quick test of the momentum function before I send the Sprinter off to Steve Jones Weathering for some late 1980s muck. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 (edited) Wondering if I could justify one of the upcoming Revolution 120s on the layout. They appear to have been relegated to parcels work in two-car sets by 1987 (the earliest date I’m modelling), but not sure whether they ever ran through Bradford at this time. Rule 1? 120 + 105 mixed set, 1987 A more common sight at the Interchange earlier in the decade, before replacement by the new Sprinters: Edited September 11, 2022 by jonhinds 8 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold D9020 Nimbus Posted September 11, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 11, 2022 Presumably they appeared in Bradford when the class 110 “Calder Valley” units were in decline? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Flying Pig Posted September 11, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 11, 2022 9 minutes ago, D9020 Nimbus said: Presumably they appeared in Bradford when the class 110 “Calder Valley” units were in decline? Presumably - railcar.co.uk notes that there were 17 sets at Newton Heath by 1983: https://railcar.co.uk/type/class-120/operations-lmr 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 33 minutes ago, Flying Pig said: Presumably - railcar.co.uk notes that there were 17 sets at Newton Heath by 1983: https://railcar.co.uk/type/class-120/operations-lmr It looks like many of the units that ran through Bradford until 1986 were based at Derby Etches Park, after which they were transferred to Ayr or converted to DPUs. Some NH sets were also allocated to routes via Bradford. The 110s on Calder Valley routes actually seem to have clung on longer than the 120s, until 1990, with the units’ reduced capacity during the 1980s coming as a result of cost-cutting. I’m not sure whether the 120s were allocated to the same services? The latter workings of 1st generation DMUs were certainly very storied! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Flying Pig Posted September 11, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 11, 2022 1 hour ago, jonhinds said: It looks like many of the units that ran through Bradford until 1986 were based at Derby Etches Park, after which they were transferred to Ayr or converted to DPUs. Some NH sets were also allocated to routes via Bradford. All I can see regarding Etches Park units is the phrase certain services to Bradford which to me implies the diagrams weren't particularly numerous. Did you find something more specific? I started to look through the photos, then noticed there are over 70 pages of them... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 8 minutes ago, Flying Pig said: All I can see regarding Etches Park units is the phrase certain services to Bradford which to me implies the diagrams weren't particularly numerous. Did you find something more specific? I started to look through the photos, then noticed there are over 70 pages of them... You’re absolutely right; doesn’t look like the services were numerous. My wording ‘many’ implied something a bit misleading! I think what I meant was: “of the services that did run through Bradford, most units were based at Derby (and some at NH)”. In any case, not something that would have been seen on passenger workings during my modelling period & location. Over 70 pages you say… 🤯 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonhinds Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 (edited) 25 minutes ago, jonhinds said: You’re absolutely right; doesn’t look like the services were numerous. My wording ‘many’ implied something a bit misleading! I think what I meant was: “of the services that did run through Bradford, most units were based at Derby (and some at NH)”. In any case, not something that would have been seen on passenger workings during my modelling period & location. Over 70 pages you say… 🤯 Hmm, having reread the page on LMR operations it’s not apparent which sets on Bradford diagrams were allocated to Derby as opposed to NH. So I might’ve been off the mark on both counts there! Edited September 11, 2022 by jonhinds Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Davexoc Posted September 11, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 11, 2022 Definately Rule 1 for DMUs. So few available that I run mainly 101 and 108s due to the lack of suburban varients. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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