Mike Huxley

Thanks for the information Chris. It's a toss up between this and a 5750. Have to see how the pennies can be gathered before the end of September, as I've just spent a lot on baseboards, track and such like for my new inner city warehouse shunting layout. Unfortunately I can't get to Telford, A bit of a trek from Cornwall. Cheers, Mike

Beautiful little loco Chris. What sort of retail price do you expect this to be? Mike

"good but a bit pricey" All things from Peco are over priced, Take their micro switches, at over £5.00 each. You can get equivalent from "Rapid" for less than £1.50. Same for their turnout awitches. I would never buy their electrical bits because of the price they over charge.

Thanks for this information, It's just what I was looking for. I had the feeling that this traffic would be handled differently from ordinary goods, and "Bloaters" being classed as passenger rated, although still carrying wagon dia numbers. would make sense to be unloaded where you said. Cheers, Mike

Thanks guys for your input. Maybe I should have explained that I was talking about the 1930's period. I am sure that platform 1 would not have been used for this traffic, but maybe as "The Stationmaster" and Richard have said, 11 or 12 could have been a possibility. Billingsgate had no direct rail connection, so all fish traffic had to be taken there from the main Goods or arrival depots in London. Dave, I don't think "Westbourne Park was used for this, It was mainly for Container traffic on the South side and Seasonal Traffic on the North in the warehouse. As described in "GWR Goods Services" by Tony Atkins. I know that Milk was unloaded at the platform that was opposite to Royal Oak station and was thinking maybe the the daily fish trains composed of GWR Bloater wagons was also dealt with within the goods side of Paddington and not taken into the main station used by passengers. Any further information would be gratefully received. Mike.

Something got me wondering about fish traffic from Cornwall and the West Country arriving at Paddington. In particular, was it handled separately from normal goods, or did it have a specific unloading area, same as the Milk Platform that was opposite Royal Oak Station, just outside Paddington. As this is perishable traffic, I was thinking this would have had a special area and be dealt with away from normal goods. Please can anybody enlighten me on this? Cheers, Mike

Hi all, Well today I had a call from "Rails of Sheffield" to say that all Dapol 5700's had been recalled by them as there was a problem with them. The guy couldn't tell me why, but my back order was now delayed because of this. I hope it's not going to be too long before replacements are sent out. Cheers, Mike

None I know of here and probably rare over there. You could always get them made up by someone if they aren't available if you find the photos and match the font. Probably worth starting a separate topic on it or it will get lost in this thread with other posts. Railroad Line Forum is probably your best bet for that info. http://www.railroad-...asp?FORUM_ID=69 Paul, thanks. for some reason I can't log into the site. Says my user name or email is already used, but I'll keep trying. Deerfield River Laser has kits to covert Bachmann On30 coaches into ET&WNC coaches. http://www.deerfield...eCarsSides.html You might try contacting him to see where he would suggest. (and might want to get a few of the kits in the process) I have a few of his kits (for the EBT) and they're very nice. Mike, I'll give them a try for sure. This is all good information to a newby to On30 and American railroads.

Gent's, I have another question for you. Where the hell can I buy correct Decals to letter up my ET&WNC cars and loco's? Is there any UK retailers that might have them or is it something I will have to try and find from a US retailer? I've tried looking online, but can't seem to find any company that sells them in O gauge for On30. Your help would be appreciated. Cheers, Mike

Thanks Shortliner & Mike, I'll make sure I look your suggestions up. But, I have a feeling that I'm set on he Tweetsie, so I'm looking for inspiration on something in that area, even if it's not a prototype depot, but something that will give me the general idea for a "Might have been" spur off of the line. Mike

Thanks Paul, I'll order a copy of that. Mike

Hi all, and thanks now for your many replies and suggestion. As I said originally, I'm wanting to build a layout in On30. Now I know it's not a prototypical gauge for American Railroads, but it offers the easiest options for obtaining ready to tun stock in narrow gauge. Being, for many years a dyed in the wool British GWR railway modeller in O gauge, I wanted to try something different, and having bought several Bachmann On30 locos and stock, wanted something to run them on. At first, I was thinking of pure Logging Lines, however, this would limit what I wanted to portray. Then I was thinking along the lines of a connection depot, between logging line and common carrier. It's all new to me, in the American sense of railways. I think I've found, in a book, something that would give me lots of ideas for a layout, and includes track plans for many places along the route. The ET&WNC route looks perfect for me, includes mine and ore work and logging connections, something that ticks all the boxes for me. The book I was looking to buy is, "Blue Ridge Stemwinder". I was wondering if anybody has this, and can give me any feedback on it, before I buy it? Thanks again guys for you input. Mike

Does anybody visit this thread any more to help answer questions, or is it DEAD?

A problem I'm having in tying to design my On30 layout is finding original depot track plans for a location from around the 1900/20s time. Unlike in the UK, where you have track plans for most stations published, I just can't find anything on USA stuff. Can anybody point me in the right direction? Cheers, Mike

CME, I can't agree more with your comment. Adrian was the biggest help to me in my early years of modelling, enabling me to improve the appearance and accuracy of most of the kits you could buy in the 70's. He is a very knowledgeable guy and is/was willing to share that knowledge with all. Manufactures of RTR should seek out the assistance of his like, before starting to produce a model. Maybe then, we would get a far more accurate item as the end product In this day and age, the average railway modeller wants far more accuracy and detail than was required 20 years ago. The information on correct prototypes is out there, so why not use it before cobbling together a RTR model that's not correct. Sorry, hat and coat time I think. Mike

I just want to find some good suppliers of On30 or O gauge model details in the UK. It seems to me that our American cousins are not so well supplied with kits for such things as, water towers, switching signals or buildings and the parts that make these things up as we are in the UK hobby. So here in the UK can I buy the bits and pieces I need to detail an On30 line like the RGS, and before anyone says, I know it wasn't 2'6" gauge, but I use it as an example. Any help would be useful. Cheers, Mike

I would have thought that as sf315 hasn't sprayed the underframes as yet, then they wouldn't be fitted until that's done.

John, but with a nicely fitted LED in a hurricane lamp, suspended from the roof of the Toad, and with the windows and an open door, there will be enough to see of the interior. Also, the guard, sitting on his bench, reading the latest Daily & Weekly Notices, while his tea is brewing in his billy can on the stove. All good stuff for the modelling imagination. As Siberian Snooper said. Yes these are the sand boxes for the non veranda end, they will be connected by an internal rod from the veranda end, to save the guard having to run from one end of the van to the other to operate the sanding. This was retro fitted to earlier AA3 Brake vans along with the connecting bench and Dry Sanding gear on the veranda end. Mike

CME, http://www.petersspares.com are advertising the blue version in stock as well. Mike

Hi all, An update on my "Toad" progress. Thanks to some great detailed pictures supplied and some further information from you guys, I'm feeling quite happy so far with it. Peco kit, brake detail added, and a slightly over the top fitting out of the interior. Well there is a lot of empty space in there. Cheers, Mike.

GWR 1835, Those pictures are great, very helpful indeed. Thanks a lot for that. Cheers, Mike

No John, .My period is late 1920's to mid 30's. In those days Toads were not piped. GWR brake vans were not favoured by British Railways, as they only had a one end verandah, unlike the LMS and LNER, which were both adopted as standard for BR. I have to build about 100+ wagons for the layout I'm planning and starting to put together. Long term project, but wagon heavy, as I love shunting. I don't think my 16' project, built to an actual location and to scale, would be able to fit into the "Cameo Layout" field, although I do intend to build it at almost eye level and include a fully enclosed setting, with lights. Plenty of fun ahead for me, and problems. But that's Railway modelling for you. Cheers, Mike

John, I made up most of the parts from brass strip. Nothing in regard to brakes are supplied in the Peco kit, hence my need to build them up. The Peco footsteps are not bad, reasonable strong and fit well. Mike

Well gent's, I've made progress on the brake rigging on my Peco Toad. With the information you supplied and help from the Parkside kit, I've managed to cobble this up. Not accurate, in so far as correct engineering, but it looks OK I think. At least it fills in the voids under the frame and in theory it would work. I've still got to fit the sand pipes. After that, it's onto the body. Oh I love model making. http://postimg.org/image/b6m3m6wf9/ http://postimg.org/image/ym40rjg6d/ http://postimg.org/image/mlikqt8rp/ http://postimg.org/image/qj5ug7vl1/ Cheers, Mike

Thanks GWR, That will help me a lot. I di. d find out that the Parkwood Dundas kit includes most of the parts needed and also provide a reasonable drawing of how it all fits together. However, nothing beats looking at the original layout to bring the drawings into context Mike