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Hopefully I won't disappoint anyone if I reveal that I don't mean interior details. Rather, I've added the spectacle plates, beading and vertical handrails on the outside of the cab. For the spectacles I made use of the etch I made previously for the Banking Tank. I already had a spare copy from which I had "borrowed" some other part during construction, so I thought I would make use of this. On the Banking Tank, the spectacles were part of half-etched overlays for the cab front and back, so I had to cut these out and carefully file/sand around them. Here you see this operation done for the first of the front rings: And here are all four. A major factor in deciding to reuse this etch was to save having to make the vertical bars across the rear spectacles by hand. I then soldered them in place on the outside of the cab front and rear You see them in the next two photos. Although not perfect, I think the result is neater than I could manage by fabricating them. Next up, I tackled the beading around the cab windows. This was made with 0.3mm nickel silver wire soldered on the outside of the body (a little subterfuge that works perfectly well). I toyed with using 0.2mm wire but decided it looked too thin. The photo below shows my technique, which is to solder one side, then bend around the corner, then solder the next side, and so on. This is what it looks like when the whole side is complete. I file the ends to length after attaching the handrails. Here's the finished article. The handrails are made from the same 0.3mm wire, cut over length, soldered behind the beading wire, then filed down to height. I find this simple method of construction is surprisingly effective, and it is not obvious at all that the beading is made from wire. The holes I had carefully drilled in the footplate for these handrails turned out to be in slightly the wrong place (of course), so I just soldered the bottom ends on top of the footplate.

In the last entry I dealt with the assembly of the Roxey Mouldings bogies. Having built and finished the pair, it's time to move onto the underframe. There's no set order here - you could just as easily build the body next - but I always feel I'm getting somewhere when I've got something that can be trundled down the track. The first job is to separate the main underframe etch from the sheet and remove the droplight window frames which are included as part of the same unit, which went into the two rectangular gaps you see here. Next, two folds have to be formed in either side. I've had a Hold and Fold tool for about 10 years and find that it makes this kind of job so much easier. This is the underside of the etch, with the half-etched lines in the inside of the intended fold. As you can see the coach is just about at the limit for the size of my Hold and Fold if the job is to be done in one step. For a longer fold, I start the bend, work along a bit, start it a bit more, hopefully ending up with something reasonably crisp. Note the very clever design of the bogie bolsters, which are ingeniously simple to set up. Moving om (below) I've completed most of the main work on the underframe. There's nothing worth dwelling over here, as it all just fits quite nicely. Footboards have been soldered along both sides using slot and tabs for location, and battery boxes, brake gear and trusses have been added. There's another battery box on the etch which I may need to add. Being just 3-sided boxes, it will probably be an idea to add a forth side using scrap etch or plastikard, althoigh I imagine it will all look all right once painted black and lost in the gloom. I make no claims for the neatness of my soldering; it is what it is but it gets the job done and evething looks fine under a coat of primer. Now onto the bogie mountings. As mentioned, the folded-up design is excellent. The only remaining job is to solder a nut onto the top of the bolster: This is achieved by first tinning the area where the nut is going to sit, then positioning the nut over the hole using a cocktail stick jammed through it. Reapply flux and solder with a hot iron and you should see the solder form a nice cusp around the base of the nut. Depending on the position of the nut relative to the hole in the floor, and any solder that may have wicked into the thread, you may find it difficult to put a bolt back through. Rather than force it (which usually only gets you into worse trouble) it's best to re-tap the nut. Taps and dies were a mystery to me until a few years ago, but I bought a small set from Maplins and then had a mate give me a tutorial. Here the tap is being gently eased into the blocked thread, using back and forth turns to allow it to bite into the brass and solder than clear the waste, before proceeding. My set was metric but I found an online chart with gave metric to imperial equivalents for various threads. As it happens, I've only ever used the one tap, but you never know when the others will come in handy. Tapping is very satisfying because the bolt will now go into the nut with no resistance. There are four more nuts to be tackled like this when we get to the coach body, but that's for next time. cheers!

‘Mess about’ [British, informal] > to spend time doing things that are not useful or serious: to waste time Merriam-Webster dictionary Here’s a 1½ minute video showing my new traverser in action. Or frankly: Just a bloke enjoying his layouts. The trains run daily at the moment, maybe it’s operating in a living room environment that makes it a more natural and sociable part of my daily routine. To my surprise, I hardly miss my man cave in the old house. Not to everyone’s tastes I’m sure, but I’m enjoying it.

Continuing my BR(NE) saga I have resurrected a couple of elderly Bachmann B1s that have been quietly slumbering in their boxes. Bachmann B1s – Widlebeeste and Hartebeeste There is an issue with these particular early models and mine were not immune! For whatever reason the black plastic wheel centres expand with time and catch on the coupling rods preventing the wheels from freely turning. The affliction does not affect the centre driving wheel and rather puzzlingly it is the rear pair of driving wheels that is most at risk. Fellow modellers report that Bachmann BR standard 4MT models of a similar vintage are also affected. Bulging rear wheel centre Another view of the problem. Bulging Plastic The wheel centre appears to be a type of nylon and can be poked out from behind the wheel using a cocktail stick or very small screw driver. I think it is a push fit into the wheel casting but I cannot be sure. Bachmann B1 rear wheel set I guess it is possible to remove the wheel centre whilst leaving the wheel set on the engine. However I think it makes life a whole lot simpler to unbolt the connecting rods and lift out the complete wheel set. Bachmann B1 plastic wheel centre The outside edge of the plastic inlay can then be carefully rubbed with 400 grade wet and dry (emery) paper, at the same time gently massaging the spokes back into a flat shape (a bit of warmth seems to help). The ‘nylon’ is tough and it is a slow process to reduce the diameter such that the plastic centre is a snug fit into the cast metal wheel. I have repaired two models and have not used any adhesives to hold the resized wheel centres back in place. There is a short video here comparing before and after running: http://youtu.be/BaXy6XUSMoA Comments from fellow modellers suggest that the wheel centres will continue to expand with time. I have no knowledge of the type of plastic or the chemical mechanism that is causing the expansion, but given that the models are now at least 25 years old I am not expecting a huge increase in expansion over the next couple, or even the next five or more years. We shall have to wait and see! Bachmann A4 Split Axles The other issue with these old ‘split chassis’ models is the fragile state of the nylon axles. Bachmann refer to the axles as ‘isolators’. They are a force fit onto the ‘squared’ wheel stubs and over time they will crack and break even without any use. http://youtu.be/YWP0htE-4qM EBay has lots of listings where old Bachmann models are offered ‘for sale’ – tested working, where subsequently it is obvious that the nylon ‘isolators’ have failed. Even in their broken state the bits of nylon will offer sufficient grip to propel the mechanism backwards and forwards in a straight line. It is only when the wheels are subjected to side forces such as when negotiating a long curve that the wheels will be forced apart – revealing the true nature of the problem. Insulators and Circlips courtesy of Bachmann Salvation is at hand and sets of isolators are available to purchase direct from Bachmann Technical Department in Leicester. Thank you for your recent e-mail, we can supply a set of axle isolators (2 plain & 1 geared) for £3.00 and 4 circlips for £1.00 plus £2.00 p&p. The isolators may have different tolerances due to the wear on the tooling. If they are a little slack our technicians use a small amount of glue to keep them in place. If you wish to order please contact us on 01455 245 575 to pay via card, alternatively please send a cheque/postal made payable to Bachmann Europe with your order details, name and address. Please quote SD##### on all correspondence, offices are open 8.30am until 5pm. Why buy ‘circlips’ you ask? In order to replace the ‘isolators’ I find it best to remove the whole wheel set from the model. On Bachmann split chassis locomotives the valve gear and connecting rods are held by a circlip which slots into a groove on the end of the middle axle. Prising the circlip out of the groove with a pin or fine screw driver allows the valve gear to be disconnected, the connecting rods lifted off and the coupled wheel set lifted out from the chassis. The only problem being that the circlips are very ‘springy’ and if they haven’t shot off the model whilst being first removed, they are likely to disappear out of sight whilst being replaced. Life is too short to spend time searching for missing circlips – you just need a supply of replacements! Bachmann B1 – spot the circlip My experience over a number of years is that the ‘standard’ isolators fit the majority of Bachmann’s split chassis models. One exception is the old Bachmann J72, where the centre gear wheel is offset. Bachmann J72 Split axles – from an advertisement on eBay I have not tried to source isolators from Bachmann for the J72 but I have seen 3D printed copies offered ‘for sale’ on eBay. Bachmann isolators are ‘nylon’. I am guessing that 3D printed isolators will not be nylon and may have different mechanical properties. Bachmann B1 – disconnected valve gear Handling elderly models can be quite stressful! Bits just break and ping off – almost without touching! On one of my B1s the plastic motion brackets supporting the valve gear just fell off the mazak chassis casting. Luckily this is an easy repair - use a drop of Wilkinson’s super glue and push back into place. http://youtu.be/MKVoG1SsIOI The proof of the pudding is in the eating, and I now have two nice smooth running models. Two Elderly Sisters For the moment I have two good runners which can be bought for a fraction of the price of the latest offerings from Hornby, Bachmann and Dapol – food for thought? A proper wheel centre - (19thC?) un distorted cast iron, from out of our garden

I'm back once again, This update is mainly to bring you to speed with the build... With the cab, tool boxes, backhead (removable) and other controls fitted, the loco is starting to come alive!! Sadly I have reached the stage where I have in fact made a mistake with the back of the cab(which you cannot see). However, Nothing is ever permanent and brass is so forgiving as I have found out, that I will correct the back of the cab to get the back into the right place!! It's all about learning, but thinking now, having worked on the footplate you would have thought I would have noticed this mistake, must be the lack of actual footplate work I haven't done in the last 4 months!! Once the cab was built up, I quickly moved onto building the Smokebox, the non-riveted GER early LNER type, once completed the boiler is fitted with the boiler bands and the brass strip which splits the boiler and smokebox apart...Something to paint in brass once the kit is painted!!! This then moved to fitting the top of the tanks and preparing for the cab roof and foot steps. With those things completed, a test fit was in order, sadly this was the point where I had run out of 145 solder, the cab was completed and the footsteps put in. The only major parts I could do were the white metal castings and the start of clean up!! However, I had plenty of electrical solder, this meant I could get on with getting the motor moving the loco, firstly I began with putting the loco between the lid and bottom of the box to see where the tight spots are on the wheels. I did this by loose fitting some wires to the motor then testing it, following the problems being resolved I fitted all the wiring to the pickups. After running and filing for while the loco was prepared for operation with all the axles, bearing and connecting rods receiving oil, allowing me to put the J68 on the track and ran for the first time without assistance!! I must admit for a first brass kit I was very proud, further proof will come in the form of my You Tube video's of this running in the future!! As you can see the loco is starting to look rather nice, this is how the kit now looks, as of the today ( 12/07/2020) I was kindly given the decals I require from fellow club members, which are the correct type I require for the tank-sides!! More clean up is certainly required, but I am steadily getting though it all, I should have it finished by the next part in terms of the build then it will be one big clean up job before the etched primer goes on and of course PAINT!! Anyway thanks again, Tom

I'm completely baffled by the interface of this website these days. Navigation seems like a challenge game. Anyway, here is some progress on the engine shed I'm building for my O.16.5 engine. It's modelled loosely on the shed at Maespoeth on the Corris Railway. Painting the stone blocks is a slow process and it'll take a while before I can move on to building the roof.

No fault on Jidenco, but man am I bad at this soldering thing. Real happy I didn't dive straight into the 3F. So; Old kit, methinks. I have option B, the 12t 1-planker. I also don't have wheels for it. I fussed with it some years ago, when I first picked up the $10 stick-iron from Radio Shack. Back when there were Radio Shacks. The mess on the bottom is from back then. Trying to tin the thing. Never got it quite clean. I'm a little better equipped now, though I guess 180-grit sandpaper isn't enough. This is what I ended up with at the end of the night; I also really don't have good clamps for this. Smallest clamps I have with any grip are 2". Ended up bending the body at one point. I also couldn't get the solder to flow. I may have been generous with the flux. I was under the impression that was right, though. I don't know. I need to order one of those scratch-pens. George Dent suggests such a thing in his guides, and I've found myself agreeing with his methods before.

So with the last parts of my degree finished, I can give myself a few weeks before I move to pastures new... So it's worth mentioning what has happened too me since writing and planning for the Hattons A3, I had a sudden realization that getting something such as a RTR A3 would actually cause more hassle than it would be practical. Of course the original intention for the A3 would be to operate at a friends garden railway. Which is still very much the case, however, in the time since finishing my degree it has become very clear to myself that getting something smaller for a operational layout would in fact be better, the cost of owning and running the A3 would in fact be harder as it would probably spend more time in the box rather than running, in addition it has allowed me to look into investing my money into more rolling stock, as plans develop for a kit of an LNER Sundry Van or LNER Fruit Van. So, much like previous projects where I have changed my mind, which I find myself fully entitled to do! History Briefly the J68's or GER C72 Class were built in 3 Batches of 10, producing a total of 30 engines, the first 10 were built for passenger services in mind ( Fitted with Screw link couplings, Screw reverser's, Vacuum and Air breaking) and the last 20 were build with shunting duties in mind. The first 10 are where my interest lie's, as the locomotives flexibility can allow the engine to pull small passenger & mixed freight trains. The Kit What has struck me is the ability to develop these kits, looking through the instructions it is very clear that a locomotive can in fact be modified to appear in multiple different forms, in this case the locomotive can have Ross Poppet Safety Valves, Ramsbottom Safety Valves, Condensing gear and GER or LNER type Chimney's. It's very clear that attention to detail is key here, although most modelers would take this kit to the next step in development by looking to purchase extra components to adapt the model to look and perhaps operate to a higher standard. For those who follow my modelling and know my M.O. it was almost destined that I take the kit as it came and develop it further to become a better kit overall. Replacement parts This is where we begin with the first major parts that I am replacing between the kit and other small companies, in this case I have replaced the buffers from the white metal versions to turned brass & sprung buffers by Markits for GER Tank Engine Locomotives. The next major change has come in the form of the couplings, as Connoisseur produce a basic coupling for show more than anything else, however I went to H&A models and got myself some working screw link couplings. The final major part which I have replaced is from Ragestone Models, in which case we have the replacement Ramsbottom Safety valves next to there counter part and the replacement reversing wheel, regulator & gland. The only part not being used is the GE whistle which can be used for other project's in the future. Frames Any solid base for a model or even a real locomotive lie's in the frames, as per the instructions we will focus on the frames and get them to a good state before I even look at doing the body. surprisingly this was rather easy to sort out. However this being my first O gauge kit I thought right I'll take my time anyway. I am rather impressed how quickly the instructions move to get the frames together for the loco, after 4 major segments of the instructions I had the frames together and ready for major assembly. Swiftly moving to fitting the rest bar the brakes everything was rather straight forward. Body Following this the body was a pure joy to build nothing too complex other than the beading which fits into the cabsides and the smokebox but after stopping and thinking all came together rather easy. The tanks all fairly easy to put together. All in all it has been rather enjoyable to get the kit to this point. The kit is very quick moving once you reach this point Anyway that's all for part 1 I will produce part 2 tomorrow and bring you up to date as to how the locomotive looks right now... Thanks Tom