Second hand Duchess
At the Reading show last December, I made a bit of an impulse purchase, looking at Duchess on the BnB with a pal, he decided to buy a Minerva pannier instead, and, for reasons of pure nostalgia, I treated myself. In 1964, or thereabouts, Mr-and-MrsD-the-elder has provided a young SimonD with a Hornby Duchess of Atholl.
When I got home, MrsD promptly said “I’ll give you that as your Christmas Present” which was rather nice. History sort-of repeating itself.
So it sat in the cabin
I wasn't happy with the all-black frames, and repainted them in red oxide spray, and then brushed a dark grey Vallejo acrylic outside coat.
I turned up a set of pickups, I think these are better than the typical plungers as they float freely from side to side - if the axle has sideplay, the pressure doesn’t change. These are my third iteration of a sketch that David LO Smith kindly provided a while back. I think they’re the easiest version to make. There is a simple flanged Tufnol bu
