ahardy

It will be running in the Vic set this week and next.

You missed it by mere minutes then. I was driving the Manor and was taking water at RN and followed the Manor up when it got out of section at Tenterden! Its on the 1st, 3rd and 5th departures from Tenterden all week and weekend. Andy (KESR Ops Assistant)

Cheers guys, I used to work for the NRM and also did some work for Armley Mills so have seen examples from their collections. The collection at Statfold Barn seems near impossible to get at. Thanks for the link re the Ruston archive, that's most interesting and i'm sure I will loose a few hours in that this afternoon. Andy

Hi all, A bit of an odd request with this one. I'm currently doing some research work on private locomotive manufacturers and am interested in the different styles of drawings and work they produced. I wondered if any members of this forum had any copies of industrial locomotive (steam or diesel) works drawings that I could compare? Ideally a GA or similar so that a fair comparison can be made. It might also inspire me to do some more scratchbuilding! Thanks Andy

Any chance of some photos of the raw item Phil? I'm sorry that I havnt yet got all the Ford info together yet. Work is somewhat mayhem with a visiting GWR Manor and lots of uncovered turns I have hardly been in the office! Andy

Gents, Firstly I apologise for my rather tardy reply. I have been somewhat preoccupied getting Foxcote Manor to the railway and helping to get it into traffic. I will happily bundle up the bits I have. If people would like to drop me a PM with some contact details then I can happy get it sent off to you. Simon, that photograph is fantastic. Do you have any details where it came from, or indeed any more material? Many thanks Andy H

Right chaps, having got to work I have looked out some of my notes I have on file. Firstly are 5 drawings of unknown origin. Now a few photos of the locomotive. Some of these having been shared on the IRS email group and other places. Hopefully they may be of some interest to people. I also have scans of some contemporary articles about the locomotives, plus a brochure from W H Allen. Cheers Andy

I have only just seen this thread, sorry! I work full time at the K&ESR and have been collecting some information on the FORD. I have some drawings somewhere along with scans of contemporary articles and historical photos. I will look at my notes and if I can I will make it available. I would be VERY interested in a 4mm scale version. Andy

Not quite sure where to post this one! As some of you know my day job involves me working for the Kent and East Sussex Railway. Between driving engines, volunteering as a Responsible Officer with Tornado and building models i'm also an AFOL ( an Adult Fan of LEGO). Its a huge community with some really varied interests within it. For ages I have wanted to put on a large scale LEGO exhibition here at the K&ESR. Working with a firm called Bright Bricks I have finally managed to do so with the railway hosting an exhibition entitled Bricks Britannia throughout April. The centre piece is a (roughly) 1 in 10 scale model of Flying Scotsman and three Pullman cars. The latter have a fair amount of artistic license. It is however a stunning piece of model making. I also couldn't resist the opportunity to pose on of the Pullmans alongside our restored 1920s Pullman Barbra. Every component is genuine LEGO. What amazes me the most is how certain parts are are re-purposed to create different shapes etc. For example a pirate musket has been used to create shaped conducting on the ends of the Pullmans and a car door brick used to represent loo roll! All very clever and some really inspired model making. The exhibition contains 30 models charting the history of Britain from Stonehenge to Concorde. My favourite model is a working model of a James Watt beam engine. If anyone is interested in visiting the show is FREE to K&ESR Travelcard holders and can be pre-booked at www.kesr.org.uk/bricks Cheers Andy

32670 and 32678 are both in service at the KESR. 70 has until the end of this year until its withdrawn from traffic.

Lovely models guys. The Terriers are by far my favourite locos at work to drive. For those that are detailing models I can certainly vouch for one thing. If its not needed in the cab on the move it lives outside. Often the fire irons are on the firemans side bunker, with oil cans and lamps stashed away behind pipework in front of the spectacle plate on the drivers side. Buckets on a lamp iron and tools in a toolbox or if not available in the bucket! If anyone wants too see a Terrier in action the KESR is worth a visit. Drop me a PM and i'm sure I can arrange to show you around our pair. Andy

Beautiful. As someone lucky enough to get to drive 30065 regularly at the KESR I am really pleased to see these and they are stunning. I just hope I can persuade the MR team to come down and have a play on the real thing in 2016 and bring a sample down to photograph with the real thing. The only thing missing is the the blood splatter where the drop down front plate traps your fingers whilst your doing disposal! Lovely stuff Model Rail, congratulations. Andy H

Some lovely weathered P2's there. More often than not the engines were in dirty condition, and I have some in the P2 archive that show them really dirty. Some will be in the new P2 book published next year in conjunction with the Trust. Andy

Cheers to everyone who has put up photos of their models. I am very tempted to acquire one. I was the fireman on 32678 for the sound recordings on the KESR earlier this year. It was a great morning running around for the guys to record it. Andy

Well I thought it was about time that I posted something on here again. As some of you know, I work in the world of museum conservation and am lucky enough to have a job at the NRM. I get to work with a whole range of objects from the large locos right down to some tiny items such as models. I always enjoy the very fine work in the studios and it has led to me and a colleague to conversations about small model making (he builds models of a non railway variety) and this lead onto me showing him some T Gauge Videos on Youtube. A challenge as thence issued asking if I could be a "serious" model railway, as detailed as possible of an British prototype. This set me thinking, could I? I decided to have a crack and firstly re-scaled a small goods building that I printed at home and assembled, below is the finished item.... It does not look to small in that images, so I better show you it next to a 1p coin.... Now the problem next was what to run on the railway, as all the units were Japanese prototypes. There are now a few British bits available, mainly an HST and a few diesels, but I fancied something older. Well today in the post from Shapeways came my GWR diesel railcar body. This fits on a Japanese 103 unit mechanism that had been stripped down this morning... The body recieved some primer followed by a coat of cream for the upper body panels, although my camera has made it look white! Next job is to add the grey roof, and brown sides, followed by darkening the window recesses and a dab of gold for the monogram logo... Next stop is a few more buildings, the eventual plan is a 6ft layout where the railway very much runs through the scenery. A single track branchline with a GWR railcar.. Please feel free to comment, I would love to hear your thoughts. Andy

Hi there, Just came across this thread and the talk about No.14 at Middleton. The owner of the loco is a very good friend of mine and I have bee helping him with the rebuild. The loco is about to move onto another railway, hopefully where the owner can get on with more work at a quicker pace. I certainly hope to still go and help him out. The locomotive was described by MW as a "Special" although most locomotives were desrcibed like this in various orderbooks etc. The cab was quite heavily modified and at one point it carried two sets of works plates. Cant wait for the day it turns a wheel under its own power. Andy

Im rather pleased with the flatbed. I plan to build a complete sleeper train, but need to find some more parts before that idea comes to fruition. Smallbrook make a few figures, which I can hopefully modify to suit my needs. I shouldnt need to many, so hopefully with different details etc, I should be able to get away with it. Thanks Andy

Another update for anyone who may be looking at this... Well Nellie's shed is now finished with a few more details added and given a name. Once installed on the future layout I plan to add some lighting and a smoke generator in the floor so when the loco is parked inside, steam can ooze around it. Photo attached. Two more items of rolling stock have also arrived. The first is a standard open wagon, fitted with a temp barrell load. The second is a flatbed waggon, converted by the workshops into a sleeper. Few more details etc to add, but getting there. Work will continue on Wylam's Wonkey Waggon Works next, followed by a potential power generation building complete with beam engine. Any thoughts, comments or questions are more than welcome. Andy

Hi all, Another update with some bits and pieces I have been working on. As part of my propsed Emett style layout I fancied a wagon works. This would not be moddeled as a full building, but just part, allowing vehicles to be shunted into the building and fiddle yard ready for repairs etc etc. Anyway, off I went thinking about its construction. Looking at Emetts drawings I realised that mixing components from different scales may work, along with steep pitched roofs etc. Anyway I trundeled off into town for a think. I had a look in a local dolls house shop and started looking at the range of fittings etc, particularly windows. Several were bought (some have since been used in the Engine Shed) along with some brick paper. After a sketch on the back of an envelope I formulated a plan. So fare the shell of the building has been made from thin MDF offcuts and blasa stuck with a hot glue gun. Holes for the windows were cut and the hole lot covered in some brick paper as seen in the photo below... The roof is being made from scored MDF sheets, again intended for the dolls house trade, but look ideal here. Gutters, down pipes, doors, signage etc will be added next. Also, I decided that Nellie's little side tanks would not hold much water and that she would need a water column. The photo below shows my first attempt, made from brass tube and wire, along with beads obtained from a local custom jewlary shop. Its all a little of square and not straight, all of which is intended for a slightly obsecure look. Once painted and fitted with a handwheel, bag and chain I plan to put H2O on the left hand ball. Hope you enjoy. Any questions or comments, please feel free to ask. I really hope to get on with a layout in the not too distant future, and would love to get it on the exhibition circuit as something different. Next update will include some more rolling stock kits which arrived yesterday, and further details on the buildings. Andy H

Hi All, This is the first blog post thingy from me. Anway, some of you will know that I recently built a Smallbrook Studios kit of Rowland Emetts "Nellie". This kit has been one of the most enjoyable I have built and led me onto thinking about building a layout to run it on. Before I start commiting myself to the layout (which will be called Wylam's Wonkey Waggon Works) I thought I best start with a few buildings to see if my scratch building (and imagination) are up to it! Obviously, Nellie needs a shed to live in. As such I have built a small loco shed. Its not quite finished, as there are some details to add, along with a weather vane of a witches and the name "Black Cat Workshop" or similar. I quite enjoyed making the "Beware of the Trains" sign. Anyway, here are a couple of photos of the loco and the shed. More to follow once it is complete. Next on the build list is a water column, and the waggon works. Many thanks Andy

Hi there, That looks really good. Out of interest, what is the size of the wheels and also the wheelbase? I havnt got one of these locos yet, but would like to do something similar to you. Thanks Andy

Very, very nice.. Andy

Looks very nice to me. I wondered to about any interior, but with the space etc inside im quite happy without it. Defiantly going to get one of these and number it up as the one we have at Middleton. Hopefully we may see work start on ours in the future and a return to traffic.

I really wish we did rely on them at Middleton! Other than as a visitor once, we have never had a resident one. Its only my personal opinion, but I would love to have one here! Andy

Well I tell you what. If anyone hs a spare one running around anywhere I would love one at Middleton! Especialy a real Leeds built one. Other than a short visit by Whiston, we have not had one at Middleton. I see them as an important part of railway history (along with all the other forgotten industrials) not only whilst they were working earning money, but in preservation history. Not many railways can claim to have started with an ex-mainline loco, most started with industrials. Although again, Middleton is an exception to this, in that we actually started with an ex mainline loco (LMS 7051)followed by 68153 as our first steam loco. What did we then do with them? We ran commercial freight trains and turned them alomst into "industrials". Andy