queensquare

Morning all, a quick progress report on the new loco which I am still hoping to have ready for St Albans in january. All the excess detail has been carved off and holes for new hand rail knobs and lamp irons etc have been drilled. The new chimney and dome are simply balanced in the photo and need a bit of bedding in and fettling yet. Quite pleased with how well the motor is hidden in the side view but I must tidy up those wires! Jerry

That looks fabulous Will. With regards to adding weight, the more you can pack in the better. Go for solid lumps of lead rather than the fine shot as too much space is lost in the way they pack as another poster has correctly commented. Lead can be shaped by making a crude mould and melting it or simply cutting it roughly to size then litteraly beating it to shape with a hammer, finnishing with a fairly course file. This latter method is fun and with practice can result in surprisingly fine results. Look forward to seeing the finished results. Jerry

any of the early Dylan live sets released in the 'Bootleg' series - particularly 1964/65 Van Morrison 'Too late to stop now' Christy Moore 'Live at the Point' Jerry

Hi David, I shall be following this build with interest. I have built a couple of these and they go together very nicely. There is a picture on my thread http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/38581-highbury-colliery/page__st__50 of the completed one which represents the van sold to the North Somerset Light Railway. Best of luck with the build and keep the pictures coming. Jerry

Regularly heard when exhibiting Highbury.... - is that N gauge mate? - you must have good eyesight! - if its not N it must be Z - does it go any faster? Jerry

HinNigel, good to see you making a start. I've no idea about the rail lengths but, as you are working in 2mm, does it matter? :-) regards Jerry - who didn't realise bullhead rail had a top and a bottom until after he'd built Highbury which means the law of averages says at least half of it is upside down!

Thanks Andy, as I said I am going to make it look a bit more pretty with a new dome and possibly replace the stovepipe chimney. I,ve not decided on a name for it yet but I don't think it will be 'The General'... cheers Jerry

. Thanks Natalie, it is a little chunky but does have a certain charm. It runs remarkably well and is surprisingly controllable considering it only has a simple 30:1 reduction off the Tenshodo motor. Jerry

I'm bored of this now so it will be my last comment on the subject but as I and others have noted and the photo clearly shows it is a GP tank, albeit an earlier and different incarnation than the one you showed. Jerry

Hi Armchair (!), your picture does indeed show the later GP tank but the little one I have converted is much earlier and is different to the GE Holden tank as outlined in Natalie's post. The picture below shows my little tank engine alongside a Farish, GE Holden tank in untouched condition, also sporting a new chassis, and they are quite clearly different locos. For the record they are sat on the train table/fiddle yard of Tucking Mill. Jerry Edit - forgot to add the picture!

No problem. I have a copy of the 1970's edition of the much missed Model Railways mag which featured the layout and a cracking photo of a very youthful looking Tim! Will try to get the general purpose tank finished in time to make its debut at St Albans show in January although 'Kimberly' (see opening page of this thread) spent a number of years running unpainted before I finally got around to finishing it off. Jerry

Hi Tim, thanks for that. I didn't realise it was a general purpose tank. I thought it was one of their Holden tanks - that would explain why the dome is in an odd place. I think I have one of the Holden bodies in the odds box somewere. It will make a nice, quick, if slightly chunky, addition to the North Somerset Light's roster. Now I know it is freelance I think I will remove the cast dome and replace it with something a bit more attractive - brass and shiny I think. Jerry

A quick update to note a couple of new arrivals. First up is the new Dapol bubble car which will constitute the passenger service when I eventualy get enough stock to run Highbury in very late steam/early diesel mode c.1963/64. Its a lovely little model and a very nice runner, even managing to run - well more climb really - through the point at the entrance to the colliery. When I've finished having a play I will turn down the wheels, detail and weather it. The pictures show it strait out of the box, albeit with the couplings removed. I mentioned a few posts back that I want to give Highbury and Tucking Mill more of a light railway, Colonel Stephens feel. To this end the Squire, on the Colonels behalf, has aquired a new loco - obviously surplus to requirments in the east end. The body is the old farish casting with Association wheels and gears and a Tenshodo open frame motor. A lot of detailing still needs to be done both above and below the footplate but the running trials look promising and the loco could soon be seen hauling coal through rural somerset rather than commuters in the east end of London.

Thanks chaps, Kim and I were very surprised and flattered to win two cups at Hull. That said, the real icing on the cake for me was getting an invite to go and see Buckingham in its new home - comfortably my favourite and most influential layout ever. Kim laughed at my excitement and reverence as I handled and studied some of the stock whilst chatting with the new owner - she said we were like a couple of big kids - I hope so!! Jerry

Thanks Pete, I think Andy is alligning one of the cassettes - no turn tables on this one. As for cakes, the provision was excellant. About the only complaint I heard all weekend was that by the time the boys headed off for lunch the chocolate cake had all gone (I blame the Southamton club but don't tell anyone!!). That said the Carrot cake was pretty good as was the gateau Jerry

No visiting motive power this time but a couple of visiting operators - Andy Hanson (2mm Andy) and David Long helping me out last weekend at the excellant Hull exhibition - thanks chaps. The Hull club were great hosts and looked after us extremely well making our long trip from the south west very worthwile. Highbury is next out at Leamington and Warwick followed by St Albans in january - I will try to update the website in the next few weeks with all the 2012 dates. Jerry

Hi Tony, its a bit scary that the picture is 26 years ago!! Great to see a picture of the late and much missed Pete Wright, one of the nicest and most helpful men you could wish to meet. I used to spend hours on the phone to him when I was making my first blundering steps in 2FS as he patiently went through all my questions - he used to call me 'Wiltshire Jerry', suggesting I had a bit of a west country accent!! I still have the letters and sketches that always accompanied orders for loco bits and pieces from Pete - including a Deadwater Jinty chassis. Best of luck with the house move cheers Jerry

Julia's solution is probably the neatest. I use heavy grade tin foil and an old coffee pot lid which has fine serations around it. The foil is taped at one end to the lid and the corrogations scribed on with a cocktail stick. The roof for the screens at Highbury were done this way. Jerry

Welcome aboard Graham, I think we must be of a similar age! 2FS is great fun, what do you fancy building?. If you have any questions ask away, there are a number of old hands on here - check out the 2mm special interest group there are some very useful threads on the go - see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/forum/147-2mm-finescale/ cheers Jerry

Looks to me like it was during! Jerry

With you so far Pix but where do I find a virgin around here? Jerry

As others have said, these are superb buildings. Personaly I feel it would be a shame to use Peco track as the poor appearance would detract from the very high quality of your modelling. Obviously, as a 2FS modeller myself I would always encourage others to have a go although superb results can still be had using easitrac and building the pointwork to N gauge standards - see the Ropley layout thread http://www.rmweb.co....general-update/ The improvement in appearence of using easitrac over Peco is huge and running can be improved as well by tightening up the unneccesarily sloppy clearances of the Peco points. I have no doubt, looking at the pictures of your work, that you are more than capable of making good looking and reliable track work that would enhance those beautiful structures. regards Jerry http://www.rmweb.co....hbury-colliery/ http://www.jerrycliffordmodels.co.uk/

Hi Alex, Your knowledge of North Somerset Light history is spot on and a credit to you although I wanted to do the coaches in the livery that preceded the pink and grey(sic)! Seriously, I had considered the Titfield livery but its horrible!! It was evidently repainted in that scheme as it looked good in technicolour, likewise the cattle wagon had its ironwork picked out in a darker colour for the same reason - sadly I don't think it would work in 2mm! That said, I am seriosly considering putting in Mr Valantines bar when I get round to fitting out the interior. regards Jerry can't go yet, Squires not 'ere....

I certainly missed you on here. Welcome back Julia. Jerry

Hi Lisa, a fun idea and nicely put together with lots of interesting material. However, with 2FS on the cover I don't quite get the planning example using peco setrack. I'm not sure your plan would work in 2FS. Jerry