Rods_of_Revolution

Was it 37408 "Loch Rannoch" by any chance? I have seen pictures of 408 at Weymouth in the late 80s, working Cardiff - Weymouths in 89 I think?

I would say not enough tractors, but that would be pointless, because even an infinite number of tractors still wouldn't be enough tractors! I know should know having spent several hours operating it, but where's the long grass at the front right of the layout from? It looks especially good in the low down shots! Cheers, Jack

Very nice! You've put the TDA 3D model I knocked up to good use! Just need a 1:148 Westerleigh to go with it now! Cheers, Jack

They look great Jo! Well worth the time taken to rub them down, I'm really looking forward to the Murco livery one! When you're finished can I be cheeky and have photo to go in my Shapeways store? Cheers, Jack

That's looking great, really brings it to life having the dirt on there! Cheers, Jack

Overall a very nice model and miles ahead of the Farish option! Nitpicking - 013 is a loco I have studied a fair bit seeing as it's the only one in BR days to stray into Cornwall (where I model). Firstly it should have the full bufferbeam cowling, the cowling should also be black not yellow. The darker grey on the body side should be level with the black on the windows, and the yellow on the nose should be level with the black too; Perhaps this is haste in the masking, or perhaps the cab shape (as mentioned above, doesn't seem quite right) doesn't fit the paintwork like the prototype. The colour of the grey looks a little green to me, but that could be lighting or the white balance of the camera. Also as mentioned above the shoulder grills are incorrect being a later modification. That said, I'm sure I'll still buy one ;-) Cheers, Jack

All these shiney red Tugs are making everything EWS look positively drab! I can't wait for the first rake of coal hoppers to get a lick of the DB Red! Cheers, Jack

That looks great! It's amazing how similar the wagons are in cross-section, up to about 2/3s of the height! Not sure whether that trip we made to Peak Forest was a good idea, no doubt your wallet is cringing! Cheers, Jack

Looking good Pete! Every time I see your layout I get reminded just how high those tractors had to climb to get back onto the mainline! I also like how you have modelled the settling tanks, were those rectangular ones still in use during the 1980s or had the circular pools taken over? I'm thinking of modelling the circular type settling tanks on my layout, so if your pools are to be filled with clay I'll be interested to see how you do it. Kindest Regards, Jack

The converter wagon looks nice, is it based on a prototype at Laira? For the Golf windows you could try keeping the light gray at the top and create a gradient down to almost black at the bottom, then glaze with some gloss varnish it should look more natural. I'm looking forward to operating! Cheers, Jack

Closer to DRS brown at the moment! With the creamy coloured birds muck on top I could find my Escort being required for Northern Belle! Cheers, Jack

Very nice! Especially the stock in the little Pway scene! Make that Golf around 148 times the size and I'll swap it for my Escort! Can't wait to operate it at Showcase, a) because it'll be a good laugh and B) it means I can avoid any participation in the Reptilian Jubilee! Cheers, Jack

Hi Mark, I used the Peco TTA chassis on mine, the ladders are fragile, but are a little more solid once they are glued to the underframe. Kindest Regards, Jack

Sorry for the slow replies chaps, Guy, typically the rakes of PRAs were not too long and were normally part of speedlink workings, I think the most I have seen together was six. Perhaps this method would be well suited to the TDAs I have done to create the barrels? Scottish Modeller, you can find the PRA model here: http://www.shapeways.com/shops/rail3d Kindest Regards, Jack

That tractor is looking really great, the weathering has come out well, I wouldn't believe it was a first attempt at weathering that's for sure! The layout is a great picture frame for your Scottish stock and it really has the feel of a wind swept coast on a typical Scottish gray day! Cheers, Jack

Hi Tom, Thanks for the complements, Kernick was certainly one of my inspirations when designing the building. Yes, both the Tiger and PRA are both made from 3D prints, both are available in my Shapeways Shop's; Valve Design for the Tiger and Rail 3D Prints for the PRA. Kindest Regards, Jack

Thanks Pete, I don't have the skill or patience to do 2FS, besides, half the track is buried in concrete! Hopefully once weathered the deficiencies won't be as badly noticeable as plain Peco. Kindest Regards, Jack

Nicely made adjustments Jeremy! Even the wonky dots and white rim on the headcode box! Certainly a candidate to have bash at weathering, 206 was always filthy, especially compared to 207. Kindest Regards, Jack

Thanks guys, N Scale defintely enables big looking structures even in a small space, modern clay works are huge so although I have a small space I'm trying to recreate that aspect. Cheers, Jack

My small Cornish layout is based around a China Clay works, I'm planning on calling the layout Trevowgwyn. I made the name up using a book of Cornish etymology, so there is no real place, though I imagine it being on a branch north of the Cornish Mainline between St Austell and Par. Trevowgwyn is supposed to mean White Towns. The first structure is the clay dries itself, I wanted something quite big as my layout represents a modern dries. As I wanted to keep the layout small I have modelled a slice of the dries. The building has a wooden frame which is then clad in Evergreen sheet; The doors are 3D Printed and glued on in various states from closed to open, this helps give a feeling that it is alive, rather than having the doors uniformly closed or open. Main overview of the dries. Close up showing the 3D Printed doors. I have some additional vents, steps, doors and walkways to add. Once they are added the model will be complete. Kindest Regards, Jack

Thanks guys! rcmacchipilot, I took a screenshot in Railworks and then applied a couple of filters in Photoshop so it looked more like it had been painted. Now I just need to get a few N scale casks of St Austell Brewery's "Proper Job"... Cheers, Jack

Now with the clay dries almost done (bar a few details, pictures to follow) I'm moving on to building another structure, as you may have grasped from the title it's the pub! So far I have the name, and the sign, it had to be something Cornish and Railway related...

Looks an interesting project, good job in East Somerset Models I was too distracted by the imminent pub visit or I may have purchased something Heljan and O gauge... It's going to be tricky moving the steps on the bogie, I look forward to see how you tackle that. As well as rebuilding the cab, that's gotta be a more difficult job than John Merrick's plastic surgeon has! Cheers, Jack

So if you had a couple of vac braked spoil wagons on a work site and an air braked ballast train, of perhaps 15 Seacows, was departing they'd have run two seperate trains rather than have the couple of spoil wagons effectively running as unfitted on the back of the air braked train? I've seen photographs of Speedlink trains, with one or two vac braked wagons running as unfitted at the rear, I was wondering what the requirements were with regards to brake forced required per unfitted wagon and what the other procedures are when operating a train as such? Kindest Regards, Jack

How much brakeforce would several loaded Seacows generate? Would it be possible to have, for example; 37 + 6 Secows + Shark + 4 Dogfish (unfitted)? Would the 37, Seacows and Shark generate enough brakeforce to enable the Dogfish to run as "unfitted" at the rear?