jwealleans

He might not be happy about having number ten either - didn't it have a pretty poor reputation for steaming? (That's probably another echo of Top Shed coming through).

A long wait between updates - a few shows, the odd busy weekend and some trips away for work can really mess up your modelling time. I have some things I need to get on with now, though, so hopefully there will be a bit more activity. In anticipation here's a summary of what's cooking on the bench at the moment. This is one of the locos from Ormesby, which usually hauls the 'Coronation'. In about June of this year, while I was operating Corfe one Sunday afternoon, a small boy there with his family asked me whether we had 'Mallard'? 'Yes', said I, 'you can see it on the other layout at the far end of the corridor'. As they turned to walk out of the room, Colin came in from the other end of the corridor with it in his hands, it having failed. It has been in and out of shops several time since then over the summer. The problems have been pickups and electrical each time. It's got round to me; I've picked up a spare chassis on Ebay, stripped it down, replaced the motor and removed the DCC gubbins. The loco to tender coupling seemed to be part of the problem so that's been replaced with two wires and terminal blocks each end. I'll take it back on Sunday for running trials. I'm still working on extensions to the Thurston fish train; this is a GWR H6 conflat (David Geen) with two of the adapted Bachmann containers I was working on back up thread. These LSWR vans, also David Geen, were built by Peter Simmerson for Corfe I'll paint and weather these over the winter so we can put them into traffic for the new season next year. There are three (I think) different types here, all based on the same basic design. This is also for Corfe. I was in London a few weeks ago and finished up early at the client. Being fairly central, I went down to Bond Street and dropped into 'Wheels of Steel'. He usually has a few interesting things in and I picked up two of these. It's a K's SECR van for those who don't know. This one had been glued together so I've disassembled it and soldered it together. This will be painted along with the LSWR ones and I'll put better brake gear on - Wizard Models do the necessary. The other was unbuilt and I'm keeping that one for myself. I have managed to get the V4 brake van painted and it's now awaiting lettering. The Toad E I've just acquired from another member at Ormesby. This was a buy at Peterborough last weekend. I could see it hadn't been very well build, but it was only when I got it open that I found it was the first brass kit I've ever seen which had been assembled with superglue and sellotape. The builder had also packed it up on the bogies which made it look very odd. It is complete, though and has stripped down pretty well. I've put roofs on the French vans and have almost got all the rivets stuck on. There's some more detailing to do and then they'll be ready for painting. I'd like to have these ready for Tolworth. Joining the French wagon forum turned out to have been a good idea as when JonHall posted some pictures of the one in the NRM the members over there pointed out that it's painted completely the wrong colour. I have found a French supplier for the correct colour. This is for Steve Pearce; I found a drawing in the Edwards Collection and used my two trips to London to make a start. They're on the back burner for the moment but I have finally started! Finally the focus of activity at the moment; I have agreed to build the Framlingham branch train for the next Ely layout and have had the kits from Dan Pinnock since before Easter. At the time we're modelling it comprised a CK and BTK from the former Norfolk Coast Express 50' stock. I want to get these to a running shell state by Tolworth so our Sprat and Winkle Engineer can take them away, mount and test his couplings over Christmas. I've started with the Composite as you can no doubt spot. I have a question about this set; there were folding steps, operated by compressed air, which were used at the branch halt. I have one photo showing them reasonably well, but I wondered if anyone could suggest any more. I've also assumed they were only on the corridor side of the BTK - is this correct?

Didn't it get Peter Townend into trouble when it failed at 34A just before working a special for which it had been specifically requested? He sent out a 'ringer' but was rumbled by a trainspotter?

I picked one of those bogie bolsters up at Manchester. How was it to put together?

We chose 'The Suffolk Regiment' for the B17 for Thurston when we decided to build one. Apart from the valid reasons above, it isn't a 'castle' or 'footballer' and is also one of the few (5 spring to mind) with air/vac tanks high on the back of the tender. Mind you, I seem to recall that that tender has a few differences to the others. Worth investigating carefully.

Can I expand Mick's post above? The LNER Study Group have published information sheets on these coaches which are available as pdfs (view or download) on the LNER Encyclopedia site here.

Larry would be your man, Rob, but I'd have thought coaching stock livery, fully lined in the earlier days, certainly gold lettering.

I worked over there in the early 90s and I've kept it up ever since. Using it regularly is the key.

Love to... but I'm going all 7mm this weekend and then there isn't a club night because of the Bank Holiday. With a fair wind and a bit of luck I'll have the brakes fitted and painting complete then I can do a proper picture of it somewhere round Pilmoor.

You're not wrong, Paul and I had a few similar observations on the LNER forum. I renumbered my Sentinel at the same time and I must have gone onto auto-pilot. They came off easily enough - didn't even go through the paint - and are now correct.

We're painted, lettered, weighted and about finished and the first real running happened last night down at the club. It's not quite complete - crew and backhead are to paint and install, crankpins to cut off and file down, coaling and weathering and remove the blobs of Araldite I got on the side when adding the lead weight. Here it is as it stands, though, with the added attraction of a video to show it passed the haulage test. Not a duty you'd have seen one of these on.. shunting the drops at Brafferton. More care, less Araldite. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w4Q1xAj8bY

Ca y est, je suis deja inscrit. Il n'y a pas de probleme pour la traduction, alors que je rames un peut dans les termes plus techniques.

Can't see much without joining, can you? I might sign up - I'm looking for a font for the markings for this wagon, save me cutting them all out of photos. Someone may know what was used, or what i can get away with.

Be very happy, Brian. What site is that? I'm always interested to read other forums, you can pick up all sorts.

Well it's been a bit of a lull, but I didn't think photographs of paint drying were worth the effort. It has been drying all that time, too; after I put the black on (Games Workshop), I painted the buffer beams with Precision white primer. Five days later, when it was still tacky, I put the red over it anyway and that has at least dried off. I did have the chassis to reassemble and here it is on the rolling road with the body in black and primer. I have no p/b wire for the rear pickups so I'll have to acquire some at Blyth. Here it is today along with the repainted Dapol Sentinel. I've added the works plates and sander operating rods to the latter. In the meantime I've been fiddling on with this and that... I acquired another pack of Bachy AF containers. John Isherwood gives some very useful hints on remodelling these to earlier diagrams in his instructions for the replacement transfers. I don't have either of the book she refers to, but there is a photograph of one of the boxes in question at the start of The 4mm Wagon Part 3. This is the 'before', two with the necessary detail removed and two untouched. I'm going to use the untouched two as they are, the Bachmann lettering and finish being pretty good. Here the other two with replacement door operating mechanism and handles. There are still some hinges to make. Different enough to be worth the effort, I think.

You've got it, but the pun stretched a bit further than that... 2509 - 2512.

Ok, try this: Father and son both built locomotives; father was singularly eminent while both their designs were noted for their lack of a singular eminence. These were a product of the son. They were never abundant; saw the first war but not the second; were Grouped twice within two years. They bequeathed their boilers and numbers to other locomotives, some of which went on to give sterling service. Which locomotives are we talking about?

Bridgnorth, then? I have to hold my hand up to Googling that and it still doesn't ring any bells now I've seen it. I'll have to check my photos from when we went.

Kidderminster Railway Museum? ( I don't remember seeing it).

It lives! I've made up the motor and gearbox and had it running with a pair of power leads attached. I've also made up pickups and had the motor powered from the track. It's now being dismantled for chassis painting and then the final (I hope) assembly. I've made up representations of the injectors, tank fillers, oil boxes on the tank fronts and also added works plates and the fire iron holder on the left hand tank top. I've used a different gearbox to the one Arthur recommends (I insist on grubscrews and being able to disassemble things, which limits what I can use from the High Level range) so I had to remove quite a bit of the chassis spacer behind the firebox and a bit of the footplate to make it fit. The sharp eyed may notice there are only sandpipes at the back: there was just not enough room for the front ones so I attached them to the brake gear. I've missed a bit of linkage from that as well so it may have to be tweaked again before painting. Bits for this are on the way but I didn't show it with the duckets attached. It seems to be staging 'Snakes in a Guard's Van'. I've been looking for axleboxes for the French vans with no real success so I made a set for this one. There are several different patterns so I may have a crack at a different type for one of the others.

Someone posted a GA A4 on the LNER forum and there were quite a few livery errors pointed out.

Yes, that's a better answer - although the OP's question would imply that the EM2s were also a Gresley design, which they aren't generally regarded as being (http://www.lner.info/locos/Electric/em2.shtml).

A3 and A4, in 1966?

I don't think anyone's mentioned yet? (Apologies if I've missed it).

My wife volunteered to feed and keep an eye on the neighbours' cats a few years ago. They hadn't been gone two hours before she went next door to find one of them stone dead and stiff as a board. Never again.