dpgibbons

A Loksound setup is very pricey, especially with the highly desirable stay-alive. So I'm tempted to try a cheaper hardwired solution, such as the Zimo sound install from YouChoos here. Any thoughts please?

The main ingredient of lacquer thinners is acetone, which is mildly polar. So better than IPA, but not the best cleaning candidate here. To put things into perspective, relative polarities of proxies for common solvents are (v water =1.00): IPA 0.62, acetone (lacquer thinners) 0.35, hexane (WD40 contact cleaner) 0.009. Lighter fluid and white spirit are mostly low-polarity hydrocarbons so they would be at the bottom of the scale. However, an essential quality of a track cleaner is that it should not leave greasy residues, so more volatile hydrocarbons such as hexane are desirable. I'd guess lighter fluid is probably better than white spirit in this respect. WD40 contact cleaner looks the best candidate, but some of its rivals include lubricants and these may fail the greasy test.

Not sure if these are the ones in the pic, but Hornby model the Maunsell rebuilt 58ft LSWR stock commonly used on the branch at this time - see here

Prior to DMUs the Torrington-Halwill Jct passenger services were usually a single (non-auto) coach, sometimes with goods traffic attached.

I have a Scorpio Buffalo to build. The pics highlight something I'd wondered about - were there hornblocks on the outside frames, as the photo of 1176 suggests, or just a gap as per the model?

My V1 baseboard also used 6mm board and 50mm sides without diagonal bracing and like yours flexed very readily. So I tried 80mm sides/cross members with bracing provided by a 3mm baseboard bottom with large cut-outs (pic). The orange pieces pair up to provide double thickness for the ends. This design has cured the flex but adds weight and lasering expense, hence my thinking about other bracing options.

What are the dimensions and material thickness of your board please? That much bracing would give me issues locating point motors etc - did you find that you needed it, or was it a belt and braces approach?

Slanted baseboard cross members (ie at angles other than 90 degrees to the sides) seem to be the best way to get torsional rigidity. But these would require angled joints, so I'm wondering how I might design them into a laser-cut baseboard so as to provide a secure fixing at each end. Any thoughts please?

Dapol have inadvertently spilt the beans. I won't spoil the surprise - but told you so...

Going forward I think the likely progression from RTR will be 3D printing rather than scratchbuilding.

Hattons have just told me that their timescale to entertain a non-delivery claim from Australia has been extended from 25 working days to 3 months.

Corfe Castle (if ruins count)

Impressive.

Small locos are the best commercial prospect, especially in a scale that is heavily geared to small layouts. So a small tank engine is a good bet and a tender engine would be a surprise. I'd add the LSWR B4 to the list of candidates as it's already in their OO range.

Acetone (dry cleaning fluid) and many other gaseous solvents are heavier than air and will accumulate in low places, posing a danger of toxicity and even explosion.

Apologies - it was SirBud's document I was addressing

Piemanlarger - thanks for the tutorial. Is there a reason why you didn't just space the aluminium angles a suitable distance apart and use them as rails? Non anodised (aka mill finish) aluminium is a good conductor.

BR 1950 Rule Book, Rule 138 - "Each train is under the control of the Guard, who must give the Driver any instructions necessary to the working of it".

What costs two grand today will cost two hundred soon enough. Clearly CAD is the future of this hobby.

You are describing O-MF turnouts, which Greenwood also supply, with the crossing vees having finer clearances. The Scale7 Group shop (members only) has a range of O-MF gauges and jigs, although it seems have supply issues at present.

Not long ago you were happy with Peco, so I think you're making rapid progress.

I believe C&L sell the Ambis stretchers, but good luck finding them on their website. MM1 also sell 7mm stretchers here which are less authentic but more robust.

The webbing is not designed to be cut off, as it's almost invisible once ballasted, especially in an engine shed environment where the ballast is very fine and often covers the sleeper tops. If you do remove the webbing you will likely find that some sleepers will come loose, because butanone gives a poor bond between chair and rail. Best to experiment with a trial section and see if it's worth the hassle. Attaching the tiebar to a pinhead is unlikely to give you a robust joint, so better to go with plan B. Or investigate more authentic 7mm stretcher bars, such as these.

Instructions can be downloaded here

Ken - I greatly enjoy your thread. As one of the most capable and prolific 7mm loco builders, it would be a particular service to those of us less gifted if you could comment on quality/instructions/ease of assembly etc for each kit you build. Perhaps you might even adopt Raymond Walley's grading system.