NeilHB

Completely agree about the chimney, I just decided in the end that I fancied something different for mine.

I like what you’ve done so far with the Hudswell Clarke Argos. I’ve done something similar to my own; I found changing the smoke box door hinge makes a big difference in its own right. IIRC, I also changed the chimney (not sure of the origin though as it came out the spares box) and fitted Slaters pre-group buffers (the round base parallel ones) - just little things to give it a slightly different look to the rest of them. I’ve contemplated moving the sandboxes to the footplate, but without access to a lathe etc I didn’t fancy trying to do it by hand. Really must get on and finish mine off properly now. I think the green livery will suit nicely, and as you say a nice contrast to the LNWR black.

Ooh ooh ooh - a Furness Sharp Stewart tank - dribble! Really just get on and finish off my 7mm scale scratch build... Very impressive so far TurboSnail, I particularly like the 2-2-2ST/T - rather nice, especially in the blue livery render.

Thanks Martin - hopefully it will help to keep the cattle van somewhat squarer than it was previously. It’s also rather useful as wagon and coach underframes, being near enough the right size.

Jamie - many thanks - PM inbound shortly! Dave - many thanks :-) Am really quite pleased with how it’s turned out so far. Hopefully I can get the chassis sorted soon. Marc, much appreciated for the info. Will have to sit down and have a serous think about going down the commissioning route. If I did go down that route I’d want to try and include as much as possible on one sheet, so that it would make it worthwhile (I.e rare load, end numbers for the wagons etc.). The LNWR large cattle van has made some progress tonight in the workshops. A new floor has been cut and fitted, and bracing added inside the ends to stop them from bowing too much lower down. I’ve also cut but not yet glued in place a long strip of 250”x125” plastic strip at the top of the ends to straighten them out here as well. It’s now up on its wheels, and I’ve started to fit the brakegear to one side. Still more to do, but this one is starting to get there slowly now.

Jamie - just checked the English Pre Grouping sheet again and sadly no LNWR - I only want that one for the FR and possibly M&C transfers unfortunately. Marc - personally I'd prefer waterslide transfers, but at this point I'd take any transfers over none - are the rub-down type like the old letraset sheets? I'm happy to help in any way possible with these, as I really don't fancy trying to hand paint numbers/letters etc. At least the Furness tended to stick to one standard size of lettering, unless the wagon side wasn't high enough to accommodate it. Is it worthwhile including various other words etc. (Barrow, Ore etc.) on the sheets of transfers, or perhaps a separate smaller sheet with the additional lettering required?

Thanks all. Re the HMRS - this message appeared on the Cumbrian Railway's Associations e-group on the 27th August 2018: For anybody that uses HMRS transfers you should know that the HMRS are desperate for somebody to step up and take responsibility for the transfer stocking and sales etc. If nobody is forthcoming then sales will cease in the new year. In case you want to stock up I suggest that you do so now! They will have a stand at Telford this coming weekend where lots of O gauge versions will be available. They also need volunteers for various other roles and if they do not get filled then they are looking at HMRS disbanding (not me I do enough volunteer work already). I did stop by their stand at Telford, but could not see any transfers for sale. It is frustrating that they appear to be the only ones producing pre-grouping wagon transfers in 7mm, but for some companies only as part of a larger set of other companies which would probably not get used (Furness Railway transfers are a prime example - the HMRS sheet only has enough for 4 wagons - last count I had 8 wagons and more planned, but the sheet that they are on the rest are pretty much of no-use to me...). I must admit I am surprised that no-one like Fox or similar produces any suitable transfers. Is it time to start commissioning some suitable ones?

A plea for the assistance of RMWeb please... The LNWR wagons seen on the last couple of pages have been added to the fleet for a bit of variety for the early period of the layouts operating schedule (Opening in 1904 to grouping in 1923) - I'd like to paint the wagons in an accurate livery, but my knowledge of the LNWR is limited, and I know that they had different lettering styles over the years. My question is - which is the most appropriate style - the diamond, or the full LWNR lettering - please? And then, suitable transfers - who produces them please?

A brief report from the Wagon & Carriage workshops at Ulpha. The five compartment third now has a floor, and the partitions and seats have been fixed in place. The workshop staff then turned their attention to the ABS Kit for a LNWR Dia.5 2 plank dropside open. A very nice kit, except for the buffers which need to be drilled out and then brass drawing pins used for the heads - no thank you. A new set of buffers will be ordered when the man with the wage slip arrives at the end of the month! This really is a nice kit, with very a crisp one-piece resin body, and nicely cast white metal fittings for the chassis etc. Below is about an hour and a halfs work tonight, and all that’s left to do is the fine detailing (brake lever guide, horse hooks etc.) and then some paint etc.

I do like that blue Ruston - a very accurate rendition if I do say so! I’m sure Tamiya must have taken a paint sample from one of the surviving CVMR structures. Ah good old Albert Tatlock - a fellow member of the F.F.S...

Glad to see that a solution has been found to the problem Argos - the checkrail does make a big difference to the look of that bit of line.

What to do when your railway requires a 5-compartment 6-wheel All Third, and all you have is a part built Slaters kit for a GW Dean Clerestory Third, with bogies...well you introduce it to a sharp object and pray for the best! I won a part built Slaters kit for a Dean All-Third a few years ago on eBay (grand total of £10 incl P&P - bargain of the year that was!). However it was always going to be too big for any layout I was going to build, so nothing happened with it. Looking through my boxes of stuff last night I came across the box containing this kit, and had a little lightbulb moment. Below is the result of an hour or thereabouts modelling tonight: It’s by no means perfect, and the compartment dividers are only loose at the moment, but it’s a start. It certainly won’t be remaining in GW colours for long, that’s for sure. I need to sort out some suitable chassis components for it next, but there may be something suitable in one of the spares boxes hopefully.

Mr Edwardian sir, I must ask you to desist from posting these oh so delightful photos of elegant Beyer Peacock locomotives - I want them all! The BNCR example is particularly delightful...

VoR was taken over in 1913 by the Cambrian. With regards to the R&CT - sometime ago I hypothesised a short extension with some street running to enable an almost cross-platform interchange at Rye station - this may well have done wonders for their prosperity...

Coat of paint on the brakevan tonight as a base - the main livery will be much lighter in tone but this was a useful starting point to cover up the old paint job and any uncovered areas of the resin body. I also managed another coat of cream on the waist panels of the passenger brake van, but nothing else really tonight as feeling a bit lousy - the joys of working in Higher Education means the start of a new term usually heralds a round of new germs...urgh!

The North Midland Railway example at Derby was built in 1847 - I think it would be ideal for the West Norfolk as it’s not particularly big as can be seen from this aerial view in the 70s: http://www.northernvicar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/derby-1978.jpg The roundhouse and part of the Carriage and wagon shops are still standing, and in daily use as part of Derby College. Indeed should you wish to visit, the Derby Model Railway Exhibition in May each year takes place at ‘The Roundhouse’ (as it is now known).

Thanks toffee - no issue so far with the paint adhering to the MDF - though the only MDF parts that are visible and painted are the headstocks and sideframes - these have only had one coat of acrylic paint so far which seems to be doing ok. I’ll stick another coat on them when I come to assemble it all together. The bodywork itself is all card, so no issues there with paint coverage thankfully. In the meantime in the Wagon & Carriage works, the ex GSWR Brake Van now has a set of shiny new axleboxes courtesy of Invertrain at Telford - proper GSWR brakevan boxes they are too! Much better! Brakegear to add next, then I can start to repaint it, hopefully making a better job of it than the last time...

The Wagon and Carriage works on the Broughton & Dunnerdale Light Railway continues to make progress on various items of rolling stock. Last night they were all products of the LNWR. The Design3D 21’ Passenger Brake Van continues to progress slowly through the paintshop in the livery of the Broughton & Dunnerdale. A further coat of paint is required on the waist panel cream as it’s a bit patchy in places. Once that’s done I can start to assemble the layers for the sides... Next up is a Mercian Models 4-plank open. The chassis is built, though the side/end are just balanced in place for the photo. A very nice kit and one that seems to be falling together. Lastly is the NMRS kit for the large cattle van. The mouldings are lovely, but the ends are a bit of a pain - they are a bit flimsy and will not stay flat! Much bracing will be required I think, though I am hoping that once the floor is in it will stay somewhat squarer in shape...

Not much modelling to report tonight, other than the waist panel is now cream. It’ll need another coat, which is tomorrow nights job. Rather pleased with how it’s looking overall now, and looking forward to being able to assemble it at last!

That backscene is great Andy - really good job!

Very nice work James.

A good day was had at Telford yesterday, and much was purchased! Lots of parts, and some paint, plus some new additions to the Duddon Bridge/Broughton Mills wagon fleet: ABS LNWR 2 plank dropside, Mercian LNWR 4-plank open (not a 2-plank as the box says!), NMRS LNWR cattle van, and a Furness Railway box van, courtesy of Marc at Furness Wagon Company. I’m looking forward to building these over the next few weeks (more likely days!) once I get some more superglue. The LNWR wagons will make a nice change from the usual Furness and Broughton & Dunnerdale stock. Talking of Broughton & Dunnerdale stock, I’ve made some progress today on the ex LNWR passenger brake van, with another coat of paint added to all parts/layers. I’m rather pleased with how this livery has turned out (Precision LNER Tourist stock green and cream), though I think I should paint the waist panel cream to match the upper ones. This should be easy to do whilst the layers are still separate. Plus it will mean if I do decide to add Broughton and Dunnerdale lettering it will have somewhere to go... What do you think folks?

Spotted on the Dapol stand at Telford yesterday - looks very nice!

Lovely to see the engineering prototype in action at Telford yesterday - looks exquisite and I am very much looking forward to mine arriving

Thanks David. Yes the overall length will include the FY - I only have a 9ft wall at home to play with, and part of that is already taken up with a bookcase full of some of my railway books. First draft idea for the track plan below: Clockwise from top left we have: loading bank and crane, cattle pens, workmens bothy (grounded coach), sector plate/traversor fiddle yard, mill, warehouse/mill, water tower, level crossing and sized mineral extension, and the coal staithes. There should be plenty of shuntability on the layout, and enough types traffic to justify some variety in the wagon fleet. Traffic wise it’ll be similar to the ‘main line’, in that coal and cattle will be the main source of traffic, plus the output from the slate quarry (I’m assuming that this is loaded at the loading bank to the rear of the layout), plus the outputs from the various mills that are located at Broughton Mills. Lastly a little sketch showing the water tower/level crossing end of the layout - the line over the crossing will be the disused mineral extension to the interchange wharf with the narrow gauge timber and slate tramway - no space to include that at home sadly.