jwealleans

Brian has nailed the French van - 'Couvert a primeurs' built in 1935 for the PLM and then repeated by the SNCF. There's one in the NRM which has the lower vents - the one sbove either doesn't have them or they're covered over. It looks like SNCF brown to me - like Southern brown but with a slightly blue tint, if the paint I bought from a French supplier was accurate.

Hmmm, been a while. George RR Martin can take a deal of the blame for that. Still, we're all up to date now and back to the bench. I sat down and made the new cylinder stretcher for the Ks atlantic this evening. The slidebars took a great deal of thinning down to allow the brass Comet crossheads to slide freely. I think they're about half their original width. It attaches to the forward stretcher on the chassis which I'd filed back quite a way to clear the bogie. I have built up a new Comet 6' 3" bogie as well which I'll try to pivot from somewhere between the driving axles. I expect I'll need to make up new frame sections as well once we see how much clearance there is down there. I need some brass tube to replace the missing piston sleeve on the rear of the cylinder and I don't have any the right size, so that'll be a Doncaster purchase, I expect. Still no bits from Dart Castings so no more coaches started. The ones I was building have come on a little: SFO - bit more filling and smoothing and the rainstrips over the doors and it'll be into the paint shop. BCK likewise, there's just a bit of finishing on the roof ends and an approximation of the alarm gear to make. Have we seen this before? RDEB ECJS D 49 BTK. This is awaiting an MJT roof so the Kirk one is just there to give you an idea. This is a 58'6" coach I think. One of the expanding range available from Andrew Hartshorne.

According to this, N7/1 and N7/2 had Belpaire boxes and N7/3, 4 and 5 were round-topped. I don't have any authoritative literature in the office, though, so that's to take with caution.

American pickup?

The SEF N7 is the Belpaire version (N7/3?). Jim McGeown used to do a round topped firebox version (N7/5?) in 4mm. He stopped that with all his other 4mm production some years ago, but as he's just done a few of them as a limited production run, it might be worth seeing if he's planning to do that one in the future, if that's the one you want.

I'd read a book on Little Bytham as well, if that counts for anything. I thought you and the regular readers here might be interested and maybe amused by the following. I read this today in a railway modelling magazine editorial: Unfortunately at many exhibitions the layouts show a lack of imagination, with far too many proprietary models being run 'straight-out-of-the-box' whereas with a subtle repaint, some extra detailing and a change of name and number would make all the difference. On the letters page a correspondent wrote: Kit manufacturers at the moment must feel that the quality and variety of current r-t-r models pose a real threat to their future. The editorial was by S. W. Stevens-Stratten, the magazine Model Railway Constructor of June 1982. Plus ca change.....

Following on from Jol and others' comments, why not do an RCH wagon to the 1907 spec? Plenty of bright coloured liveries for the train set buyers but a different wagon which the serious modellers can go for as well. It would work behind an LSWR liveried 0415 as well. At nationalisation only 25% of PO wagons were to the 1923 spec, so there are an awful lot of others they might have covered. Maybe a trick missed.

Are those Lego bases to the pillars in the engine shed?

That's about as attractive as Littleport ever got. 13 years I lived there (they burned down the waiting room just as I left) and at the end of it I was rather disappointed they stopped at the station and didn't burn the lot.

Ideally the Hudson books will have a works photo - there's usually a painting spec visible. Otherwise that's just the kind of logic we may have to apply.

Are you suggesting that it being on its side is an error? They were often tipped over when not in use, I assume to prevent them filling with water/blowing away. Apologies if I've misunderstood your post.

I'm afraid I wasn't even that scientific. I laid down three lengths of wire - length worked out with a bit of thread - spaced them with plastikard (30 or 40 thou, can't remember) then stuck them down with blutak at each end. One wire in the middle, one at each end to preserve the spacing, then put in the intermediate ones using my lumps of plastikard to check the spacing as I went along. To bend to the tender shape I put the whole thing on upside down, having left a long tail on the middle rear support post. That tail went into the hole for that support, then I bent each corner in turn around something 1/8" diameter (a file handle, I think).

Do we have any indication of colours for those wagons? The W H Garton one is also illustrated in Private Owner Wagons by Bill Hudson [Oakwood Series X57] (ISBN 9780853614920), if anyone has access to a copy.

Do you have/have access to a copy of that book, Paul? The one by 'M Pointer'? We've been talking about suitable traffic for the works and that might be very helpful to us.

This is where that saloon is now.

That's less than half the committee which had formed when I walked in later that evening. Mind you, that may have been for Paint Drying Supervision by then. No comment on who was generating the hot air.

Still going strong, still being enhanced and available for viewing at the Pennine Model Railway show in Huddersfield the weekend after next. (The layout is Peter Simmerson's Uppingham for those who dont' know it).

Blimey.... I was doing some ballasting on that layout last evening.

I'd like to be able to more obvious progress, but we're at the finishing and fettling stage which always takes ages. Still, we can test run again on Monday which will help. 3276 (DJH) is just down to final details to add now. This is undoubtedly the pick of the bunch but demonstrates the same issues Graeme had with the rear axle on his. 3275 (Ks) is playing up - I've clearly altered the relative position of some of the body components when I stuck back the bits which fell off in the paint stripper. I also removed some material from a slot under the footplate which allowed the body to sit fully down on the chassis for possibly the first time. I had to remove a fair bit from the rear splasher at one side to allow the wheels to rotate (plenty of clearance at the other side - which tells its own story about the kit). Running was very poor, though, which I traced to the crossheads and cylinders. Fettling those took a lot of this afternoon and finally one of the whitemetal crossheads fell apart. I'll get hold of some Comet ones next time I make up an order to Andrew H. To be fair that was the original plan until Comet went into their sad hiatus. 4412 (WSM) is moving through the paint shop and catching up the others. Mechanically this one isn't causing any issues. I may try to mount the cylinders of 3275 onto the chassis as that K's arrangement is a nightmare to reassemble. You can see the colour difference between loco and tender here, but both my spray cans of Precision Doncaster green have clogged irrecoverably so it'll have to be repainted when I next acquire another one. I haven't done as much with coaches as I'd have liked over the holiday, but this one has moved on a little. Comet design their coaches to assemble body and roof to chassis as I like to and their single nut and bolt fixing at each end will be ideal for mounting the couplings. I was minded to put a fitting on each end to allow this coach to go at either end of a set. I have had to move the mounting nut and hole towards the end about 1mm to allow the coupling to pivot freely. I have also made and fitted all the hinges, which was one of those tasks you don't look forward to, don't enjoy but is worth the effort afterwards. I have another two to do as well. Yippee.

I've still got mine.

Bit of a change today. Over the winter the locos we run at Ormesby are all taken off the layouts and serviced. I generally do the ones on Corfe. Last winter I didn't get them all done just working on club nights so I brought most of them home this time and went through them this morning. The test bench suddenly looked far more like Eastleigh than Doncaster: I don't pretend to know much about them all but if anyone has any questions please ask and I'll do my best. Servicing consists in this instance of a thorough wheel clean, light oil, quick inspection and test run. Any for heavy maintenance will go to Peter. There are one or two which have excessive chassis or coupling rod slop which he'll need to look at. When wheel cleaning, I use the burnishing pencil then a cotton bud dipped in clean white spirit. You'll be amazed how much more comes off. I generally then use the other end of the bud to dry the wheel so you don't get any residue. Don't forget to do the back where the pickup bears as well. After that and a very convivial lunch, I had a good session with the Bob Moore this afternoon. There's more to do but you can only use it so long before it starts to dry up and clog and you go cross-eyed. The sharp eyed will note that the proposed 3296 has become 3275. This was due to a realisation that it had the wrong tender handrails. The loco boilers are lined with SMR transfers - they went on OK, but despite careful pressing and use of Microsol they have silvered to some extent. The tender of 3275 has been done with HMRS and the difference is quite apparent. Question - is there any red lining at the top of the tender frames? There's no valance to line along and anything underneath would be invisible so I'm inclined not to bother. The WSM body was so rough that it was impossible to line successfully so it's been through the paint stripper. Irritatingly the brand new Railmatch aerosol I've been using has clogged, apparently terminally, so I can't do the tender until I procure a new one. Still, the loco will keep me busy enough for a while. In between bouts of spraying and lining I have managed to finish a few wagons. You can't go all week without working on a wagon - t'aint natural. The one on the right is K's, with a plastic roof and Dave Franks buffers. Brake gear came from Mainly Trains. I intended that one for Thurston but we can get away with it on Grantham as well, although it is from the 1943 batch. I also spent a happy hour or so making handrails and footsteps for this Smallbrook brake van. This will probably end up numbered as one of the batch sold to the North Eastern. They do come with a resin chassis these days but I'm afraid I was too hamfisted to get the wheels in without breaking it, so it's had to be scratchbuilt. It needs some cosmetic stepboard struts and a bit of solebar gubbins adding.

B12 and C12. How could it get better? (unless you get the J6 in shot as well).

Thanks, Mick. I had made a note that there were panels on each side of the A2 tender and lining up the corners. Maybe that's wrong? Be much easier if it wasn't there. I don't have that Yeadon so I'm a bit short of decent pictures to work from. The wheels are all lined by hand and yes, with the Bob Moore. I have an idea for a small device to make it a much easier job and will be talking to a man with a lathe after Christmas. I almost forgot. I made this as well. I claim no credit for the design, it's a copy of the one Derek Buck uses for the Ely MRC shunting stock. It's a jig for setting up Sprat and Winkles. One end has a magnet set under the sleepers to make sure the hook drops (note OO wagon on EM track): The other end has a goalpost to make sure the hook rests at the right height and the wagon goalpost is also correct. The visible discrepancy here is because Derek has set the wagon up with the hook through a slot in the buffer beam, but the stock on Uppingham, which this will be used for, has the hook below the beam.

Well despite the silence things have been happening albeit not perhaps as quickly as I'd have liked. Most of it has been me applying paint, wiping it off and trying again, which doesn't make for thrilling reading. Mr Markits did come up with the correct goods second time around and so the last of the C1 mechanisms was made up and tested. This is a K's chassis for anyone struggling to follow. The flywheels came back drilled out to the right shaft diameter and have all been fitted. Some applications of paint later this is where we are: DJH (3276) Ks (3296) As I was painting apple green I also brought the 4025 gallon tender I built for the Raven A2 out and that has been done at the same time. The lining needs tidying up but overall I'm not too unhappy with it. I'll use transfers for the rest. While waiting for paint to dry I started on a couple of pending coaches. I had an MJT brake compo to build, but some of the components turned out to be for a standard rather than a brake coach. Instead it became this: This is a D 5 SFO (semi-open first), which I think was almost unique to the ECML. The sides are Bill Bedford's, I think; they were bought on Ebay as part of an aborted build using resin cast Hornby ends and all sorts of bits and bobs. It's come to a halt for the moment while I wait for some more parts from Dart Castings. We do need a number of brake coaches for Grantham, so while that's stalled I've also started this Comet D 175 BC. It's interesting to compare the two different approaches to the same coach: the Comet sides are much quicker to assemble as they're in two pieces, but the time saved is then spent making and fitting all the hinges, which aren't provided. I have to say I prefer the appearance of the MJT at the moment, but we'll see when they're both complete. Finally a very happy Christmas and a prosperous and productive new year to everyone and a collective thanks for all your help and encouragement throughout the year.

I'd have thought from where you are, they're an ideal 'Personal Needs Break' train.