kingfisher24

a couple of locos which i have been working on. both still need weathering. gary

Another few shots taken tonight showing more progress with work on the platforms and scenery progressing. Gary

Some more progress made through the week

this began life as a railroad a1 purchased at the perth show for only £35, the loco has been changed from right to left hand drive, new dome, chimney and alk the other necessary changes to make it into a reasonably accurate a3. A friend saud to me why don't you just buy one of the "full fat" br locos and then I wouldn't have to change anything other than names and numbers etc. However me being me i like a challenge. And with a spare railroad p2 tender with a set of disc wheels and a full repaint the combination doesnt look too bad, just needs the name and numbers for 60100. Gary

Another update on the glendevon extension with the base of the platforms taking shape, everything has been measured and clearances checked. More pics to follow.

i have literally just came across this thread, i particularly like the 2mt conversion, i myself a thinking of doing the same conversion indeed i plan on buying the donor mode at perth if a suitably cheap one shows up. i have just completed a conversion of a std 5mt to a caprotti version so a new challenge is needed. gary

Sorry i only half read the post before posting my reply. Gary

Very nice work, i have also seen similar conversions done using the Hornby gwr/mr corridor clarestory coaches and they look good, if you take the remaining brake sections from the coaches used here you could make a full brake?? Gary

Vaguely reminiscent of corstorphine in this shot - with bigger/different canopies perhaps north berwick as was. Very nice work. Gary

Tony It Tony Its very nice to see brian's stock on holiday as it were, the 439 and j83 would i think need a bunker wagon or two to get this far south. i look forward to seeing these loco's tomorrow at the glenrothes show. A busy weekend ahead. Tony the platform surfaces are really coming together and i look forward to seeing more of the layout in brm. Gary

Tony I have all but completed a conversion job, namely converting a great british locomotives collection j39 in to a j38. All necessary modifications have been done to the loco which was stripped down to its component parts, the static chassis was consigned to where it belongs (filed under b ) and a comet chassis and an old set of romfords from the spares box together with a smooth running 50/1 gearbox and mashima 12/10. The loco has been weathered to match photographs and just needs some small tweaks before it can begin service. The unfortunate thing about modelling two cylinder inside motion locomotives of this kind is the fact that i am left with a blank area between the frames where ofcourse the inside motion should be. Off hand so you know if there is a kit for the inside motion for a j38/39 which would do the job. Or will scratch building again be the answer? Gary

Thanks, i was unsure about doing the conversion for that very reason but i then found out that a few received larger tenders later in life, notably 65917, 65921 and 29. I have found many shots of the locos clearly towing a larger tender. Apoligies for thevarting size of image here as i zoomed in a bit on them to show the tender. The locations are leslie, alloa and kincardine. Lastly quite a clear shot of 65917 at alloa which more clearly shows the larger tender. Gary

Another update of the j38 running in tonight with some weathering removed to make a loco which someone has attempted to clean. Another light coating will be airbrushed on to blend everything in. Gary

My latest, just completed conversion of a gbl j39 into a j38. Shown as running earlier tonight. As a kit for the class, when adding the cost of the kit, wheels, motor and gears etc i decided to have a go at the gbl j39 and i dont think it turned out too bad, ok the wheelbase is slightly out but everything else i matches the photo of the real loco. Gary

Ive just finiahed a conversion of a gbl j39 to a j38 69521 which had a larger tender, i have all but finished the loco save for weight and a few tweaks here and there as i need it to haul long trains. One thing is the lubricator driven from the middle set. I have set it up and runs ok but not quite right i think as i am unsure of the correct degree of movement it should have. Has anybody a shot of a j38/39 with the lubricator as i no longer have any Bachmann locos to compare it with. Ps apologies for the giant green frog in the shot. Gary

Well thats my j38 conversion complete and ready to go. First pre weathered and then mukki. Hasn't turned out too bad and i now have a j38 for less than £30 ( i used a lot of spare parts and an old set of romford which kept the cost down. Gary

More progress on my j38 with the tender now almost sone just needing the coal space modelled, or i may just put a flat sheet of plasticard over the gap and coal - easier but, itd be nice to model the coal space. Anyhow the front tender cut out has been altered to match the photo i have. Gary

Yes it is i moved it slightly further back to match the drawings. I completed the the chassis of the loco this afternoon, i had planned to take my girls on an easter egg hunt but fat chance o that when its p**sing with rail all day. So was a relaxing sunday afternoon in the shed for me and the soldering iron. I managed to get these couple of shots during a brief period of sunshine between the downpours. It was stoatin down most of the day. Gary

Some progress shots of my gbl j39, part way converted to a j38. The basic comet chassis has been put together, the body has been modified by removing the splashers and slightly lengthening the smokebox. The loco has had handrails fitted and the tender also. The tender needs some more modifications to its front end, the mods to the rear of the tender have already been done. I found a shot of a j38 towing what looks like a k3 tender which is unusual as they usually towed a shorter tender. The front cut out will be modified to match the photo i found. I hope to have the loco finished before the perth show in june. Gary

Tony I know it would be make believe but a p2 in what might have been br green sounds attractive. I am assuming they would have the same numbers as were given to them in the late 1940's? If and when Hornby get round to doing an a4 nose version i may attempt a what might have been. That is ofcourse wife, children work and money permitting. Gary

Tony What a bonni looking loco. I am currently working on converting a Bachmann standard 5mt into a caprotti fitted example - which will keep me busy for the moment. Then in may little girl number three is due (more grey hairs to come). Once the conversion is done i plan on doing one of the scottish region k2's, using as many r-t-r parts as possible, together with a lot of scratch building. Personally i think that when you open a Hornby or Bachmann loco box, the contents always look lovely. But when you make something, be it from a kit or a scratch build job (or a combination of both) you always have the feeling of having achieved something. Sometimes things do not always turn out the way you would like, you swear a lot and start again. Such as when you carefully solder up some valve gear etc taking what you think is the maximum care and paying attention, then discovering you have soldered up one set the same way as the opposite side, even more four letter words ensue. This is all part of the fun. Personally if i didnt build kits or convert and kit bash things, i would just never have half of the loco's i like. For example i dont think an ex nbr j36 or caley jumbo will ever be produced. I think red snow would fall before this happened. Only with making things yourself do you get the satisfaction of knowing you made it and be proud to show it off to others. For instance her a couple of examples, the c16 from a kit and the j36 which started life as a Bachmann 3f. Neither loco is likely to appear ready to run. Gary

A little update on the latest progress on the glendevon extension. With work being mainly focused on builing up the cereal packet card mesh at the fiddle yard end of the layout. I am deliberately not doing the scenic first layers at the extreme ends as i want to have the smp track laid and finalised before i do the scenics as there will be a tunnel mouth at one end and a bridge at the other. And whilst at model rail i was looking at the 57 study group layout hewisbridge and took a few shots of the layout as the layout is similar to what i have in mind. The main differance being the fact that the new aection will keep the two platforms. But as i said a similar layout but with only two sidings as opposed to the four on hewisbridge. And here ar a couple of snaps of the continued work on the latticework. Finally thoughts have been turning to scenery proper. Whilst at work a took a few shots in the lammermuirs, this was a few days ago when a large warm thing appeared in the sky for a while, which is a rare. Anyway here are a few shots taken miles and miles from any railway but some nice scenery. Finally i met a couple of interesting characters. Its me on the right.

Very nice indeed i was watching the layout for a while over the weekend and it was very good to watch. Is the layout going to be in scotland again any time soon? Gary

I have been plating about with photoshop on a few snaps, the first taken at the glasgow show on sunday just after the lights weant out and the large door was opened right next to my clubs layout. The others taken over the last few months on my clubs layout glendevon.