145 Squadron

Phil, The parts at the the very right end of the bottom etch are the sides of the duckets, with tabs to solder onto the body sides if I have understood your Sounds like we might be helping each other on this build! I will have a look through my borrowed copy of Weddell and see if there is any useful info that is not in the King books apart from drawings. Unfortunately my progress has been halted for the moment as have been trying to finish a self-build garage and have two lots of locos to repair for others before I can do something for myself! Tony

I had by coincidence recently dug out my set of sides from the now defunct 247 Developments range as I was also going to have a go at one of the PP sets. Looks very similar to your etches Phil. As others have said there are drawings in the Mike King Pull Push book if you can get hold of a copy, but beware I believe the roof profile is wrong on the drawing (doesn't match the etches or pictures of these coaches). There is also some good information in Weddell's LSWR Coaches of the 20th Century book (if you can find a copy) as well as useful information on bogie types fitted (there were several) to Ironclads. Like you I have been pondering on what frame to hang the etches on, especially with the 'cut ins' to the sides in front of the duckets on both coaches. Also there will be some nifty bending required as it also goes from a tumblehome to flat sides at the same time! I will be watching your progress with interest. Best of luck! Tony

Southern Pride Models? Good source of all sorts of detail parts for Mk1's Tony

As petethemole has said the shop is opening restricted hours as well as applying all the COVID measures; they have had to move all their spares stock from next door into the one shop and all will need relisting on Ebay and Amazon. I had no problem contacting the shop during opening hours despite Clive, Annette and Lawrence being very busy with the shop customers and they have been open for several weeks now. This shop is a small business and works very hard to support the model railway community and in turn I believe need our support in the current circumstances.

Thanks to all for your helpful replies - corax67 that was just what I was looking for! Tony

Thanks for the replies; both helpful, however I have to confess I became stuck at 'Take bottom off of motor housing'..... I see there is a very small screw in one end, which if removed allows the bottom case to move back and forwards but it cannot seem to actually remove it - what am I doing wrong? As you can see I have not helped matters by already constructing the bogie frame around the motor body (although I can still access the bottom housing)! Regarding the issue of CV29 I had intended to wire the motor through the 8 pin plug and socket I had installed behind the weight so that I could swap the blanking plug I would use on my layout with a chip when running on the club layout. I am sure you are correct about the use of a second motor but as this unit was being built on a budget I could not stretch to that and have already run the 3 coach set on my DC layout, which with the added weight it just about manages with my 1 in 100 gradients and 3' curves (the club layout is flat) so will make do with just having the extra set of pickups on the second DMBS bogie. Tony

I have started a DC Kits 3 coach class 205 DEMU kit purchased second hand that I have had in stock for some years (waiting a lockdown?). It came with a Tenshodo motor bogie which fitted nicely in the DMBS vehicle. It runs well using its own pickups (although I intend to add pickups from the trailing bogie as well) but would not pull the other two vehicles, merely slipping on my 1 in 100 test gradient. This is partly because the trailing vehicle bogie wheels do not turn very freely but also because the motor vehicle was quite light being mainly plastic. To resolve this I used a large lump of steel from a scrap Hornby ex Lime class 73 which is a tight fit in a plasticard box in the luggage/guards section of the vehicle - this does not show when the body is on in most lighting conditions and means the motor will now haul the three coaches up the gradient at a reasonable speed and power consumption. My query is regarding the possible use of this motor bogie for DCC running. My layout is DC but I would like to run the unit on the clubs Redbridge layout, which is DCC. I have installed a DCC socket from a scrap loco but when I came to look at the power bogie closely I noticed that the bogie pickups seem to be attached directly to the motor, although I could not work out how to get it apart to see exactly how it is configured. Has anyone converted one of these bogies to DCC, and how did they do it please? Tony

Rob Could the mystery part be one of the slidebar supports? I have seen a couple of this type of loco where the crosshead fouled the support each time it passed through it. Looks like one of yours may have broken off completely.

3H unit constructed from MJT sides and parts with a second hand Triang motor bogie rewheeled with scale wheels. Goes like a startled rabbit! I have also constructed several centre coaches for the Bachmann 2 car sets from Replica parts for fellow club members. Hardest job is matching the paint colours (fellow club member did the Connex one!) Currently constructing a second hand DC Kits 3 coach set.

Thanks for the kind comments. I have now been able to add all the external transfers to the coach sets. Coach and set numbers are waterslide from CCT with the remainder being Methfix. I prefer the latter as they do not need varnish protection in normal handling but have given up trying to apply individual coach numbers using Methfix as I find it very difficult to get them evenly spaced and in a line. Apart from testing and final fettling the sets are now complete: I seem to have forgotten the Dining Trailer First but there are pictures of this vehicle on preceding pages of this post. In due course I will be selling these sets to recoup costs as I already have one set previously constructed for use on the clubs Redbridge layout. I am looking forward to starting some different projects as I have had enough of coaches for a while!

Another months worth of work (interrupted by spells of gardening) I have now added end details to two of the three rakes (12 coaches) The ends/sides have been filled, communication gear 'eyes' added from plasticard then filler pipes fashioned from 0.38mm piano wire plus a short handrail knob and support from some iron wire from some old Sprat & Winkle couplings, all superglued in place. I use piano wire in preference to brass as although harder to bend it keeps its shape better, but does have a tendency to ping across the workroom if you are not careful! When painted with coach end grot it all hardly shows! When I have finished the ends on the final rake I will start on the last job - external transfers.

Just a short up date to show progress on the first of the three rakes. Not visible in these photos but I have changed the inter-set couplings from the hook and bar the donor coach came with to my adaption of the Keen Systems dummy buckeyes, only retaining the hook and bar at the end of the rake. The dummy buckeyes are a force fit in the NEM pocket but I have had to fit them upside down to clear the buffer beam but this is not very apparent from normal viewing. As the donor coaches came with an extending cam system this means that the coaches have the corridor connections touching on straight track but move apart on curves sufficient to negotiate at least 2'6" radius curves. The interiors are now complete on the first rake but there is still significant work to do to complete the rake; external transfers, making good the coach ends (gaps due to different bodyside profile) and roof tank filler pipes and end handrails.

I have not posted any entries on here for some time as this project (3 X 6 coach Bulleid Bournemouth sets) has taken a back seat whilst other work has been required, mainly associated with rolling stock and other work for our clubs Redbridge Wharf layout now on the exhibition circuit. Enforced isolation now means I can spend more time to hopefully finish these vehicles in the near future. Having completed the basic interiors on all 18 Bulleid coaches the next stage is to add the remaining interior details on the 6 restaurant coaches. These are the table lamps, window curtains and tableware (perhaps!). Today I started on the table lamps; there are 48 tables over the six vehicles and each has a lamp. In the past I have looked at various commercial suppliers of coach lamps, but could not find any of a suitable style for Bulleid vehicles. In the end I have used the lamp shades available from Southern Pride Models, which I have cut down, drilled no.78 to fit .31mm brass wire bent to shape. A base is then added from a small sliver of wire insulation. The whole lamp measures 6mm tall when glued into a hole drilled in the edge of the table. I managed to make 24 today before I had to leave it and uncross my eyes. No, they do not light up!

Tried Southern Pride?

Not had any problem with any unvarnished Methfix transfers on my coaches as it would not be possible to varnish the whole coach and my efforts to patch varnish always show against the finish on the rest of the coach. I find the Methfix transfers weather in quite nicely with normal handling and the only problem I have had in the past is removing unwanted Methfix transfers which seem to have fused into the coach paint finish. Pressfix and waterslide always (in my experience) come off easily, even when over-varnished. Hornby have emailed to say the revised close-couplers will be arriving today. The only problem I can envisage is having to cut and re-solder the wire to each bogie to fit them (having already done this to one wire in each coach to fit a resistor to stop the DCC controllers shutting down when the stock is put on the layout. Again thanks for all the advice. Tony

Understood, but Methfix are more forgiving in that respect. The problem is what to do with the shiny patch afterwards, which does not match the rest of the coach side (apart from a full varnish respray. Tony

Thanks all for your help; I have ordered some X9089M replacement close coupling units from Hornby to be able to fit the Keen knuckles (thanks Dunsignalling). I note the responses to the emblem removal; I have used the T-cut method on loco numbers before but have always had to remove most of the number by carefully paring with a curved blade first. The T-cut always leaves a shiny patch which is not a problem with a loco cab side (and helps to disguise waterslide transfer film), but I don't fancy having to re-varnish the whole coach side. Unfortunately I don't have any spare coach bodies to try it out on. I will leave this till last while I decide whether I want to risk it or not. Once again many thanks for all the helpful advice. I will let you know how I get on. Tony

Thanks to all for the helpful replies regarding the coupling/derailing issue; I have a plentiful supply of the Keen fixed knuckle coupling (which I use on my Bulleids) so will try that solution first. I will post how I get on. Regarding your comment on the interiors, Thane, I have no detailed knowledge of Pullman interiors (which seem to be a real can of worms) so have tried to keep it a simple upgrade to try and emphasise the Pullman experience. Has anyone any ideas regarding removing the emblems on the coach sides? Thanks Tony

Hi. I hope someone can help; I am trying to assemble a train of Hornby 4 wheel bogie 1928 type Pullmans for a 'Bournemouth Belle' train for our club layout. I have assembled an 8 coach train (I know it should be 10 or 12) from my stock but have a couple of issues; 1. The coaches consistently derail when coupled as a train using the standard hook and bar Hornby coupling. I have seen mention of this issue elsewhere on RMWeb, but could not find a solution. I would like to closer couple the coaches anyway, but the close coupling mechanism on these coaches is a strange one with the tension coupling mounted using a simple Phillips screw. 2. A couple of the coaches have the pre-1960 Pullman emblems on the coach sides which I would like to replace with the later version. What should I use to remove the existing emblems without damaging the brown paint? Meths seems to work on the interior curtains, but the emblems seemed to be impervious to this treatment and I didn't want to start removing the underlying colour. I have painted the roofs a darker colour and added roof board brackets, as well as some simple detailing of the interiors. I know they will only be representative coaches as from my superficial research every Pullman coach seems to have been individual (I have too many projects as it is!). These seem nice models so it seems a shame not to spend a bit of extra effort on them. Thanks Tony

On more recent models (with the Satan plug) it is fairly easy to replace the bar coupling with brass strip or similar with holes spaced to suit your layout. On the older models it is more difficult as you need to retain the complex coupling to retain the pickup connection to the tender. I drill a new hole and reinforce with a washer soldered the required distance, but it is a bit of a fudge; this narrows the distance between loco and tender to about 8mm, sufficient to cope with curves down to about 2'6". This enables the tender footplate to overlap the back of the loco footplate and the fitting of a representation of the loco/tender flexible cover which I think also enhances the close coupling impression. It must have been Sunday when I took this picture..... This is one of my MN's showing the arrangement, also a Series 1 tender. Tony

The ex-HD body is quite easy to fit to the Hornby chassis but to be correct needs the bunker extending slightly, according to the RT (ex Albert Goodall) drawings. Tony

It has been some time since my last post on here regarding the Bulleid Bournemouth 6 coach sets; in part due to waiting for the weather to warm up enough to spray paint the coaches but also due to having 3 sets on the go - 18 coaches! The sets have now been painted excluding the underframes, which is the current process. I thought people might be interested in a couple of pictures of the kitchen coach showing the amount of undeframe equipment that needed to be fabricated to represent the coaches with the later propane boxes and ancillary control equipment. Most of this has been gleaned from prototype photos and I make no claims for accuracy - it is only a representation! This will shortly be covered in the universal 'grime' paint with which I hand paint all my coach underframes. Tony

Looks like one of the tender/cab doors - normally fixes to the front of the tender. I have not got a photo to hand but if you look up on the web you will find photos showing how they are fixed. Like the shutters on the Q1 tender they are frequent casualties. Hope that helps Tony

Here are a couple of pictures of one of the plastic SP spacers that I use with Bachmann SR steam bogies. Note I have removed the coupling and added footsteps to this bogie. I found that Plastic Weld was needed to firmly attach the spacers to the Bachmann bogies. I have used these on my Hachette conversions to Bulleid coaches so do not know what adjustments, if any, are required for your Hap kit. Also SP do several different types of spacer (one I have seen is thicker) so as I said before you need to check with him which ones you require. I don't know why you did not receive them with the kit as SP is usually very comprehensive. Hope this helps. Tony

Southern Pride do plastic bogie spacers for Bachmann bogies; you just make the Bachmann bogie centre hole round using a sharp knife (there is usually a handy moulded circle as a guide) then glue in place. I think the reference you want is P163 off the SP website but you may need to contact him for confirmation as it is not a type I have used. Tony