Tony Teague

Thanks Jeff, but I don't think I am crazy enough to take that on! I did cover some of the less 'usual' coaching stock back in 2017, and to be honest I don't really have a wants list for either coaches or wagons, but that is not to say that I won't acquire any more - if you follow me.... What I do have is a number of coach and wagon kits awaiting building and I'll certainly show these as I get to them - plus I will also be working through the stock to get trains weathered - so another good angle would be to cover each train as it goes through the weathering process. Yet another option would be to cover the operating schedule through a complete cycle - but I haven't yet finished it and it is over 150 movements..... Not sure I'm any clearer ! Tony

I too am a supporter of Falcon Masterpiece figures; I have crew in every one of my locos and his are in the majority, but I have also used Hornby ones where provide, Dart Castings and Modelu - which are certainly very good indeed. Martin Hill at Falcon will certainly send you a list which includes both painted and unpainted versions, if you e-mail him at: masterpiecefalconfigures@yahoo.co.uk and I find his delivery is quick and totally reliable. (No connection other than as a satisfied customer). Tony

Thanks Jack No need to apologise, I enjoyed it - just trying to think of what to tackle for 2019! As above, reduced the 'missing' by 5 and also added the Hattons P and Bachmann H2 that I can think of, so a bit more modest than perhaps previously. No chance of a book from me I'm afraid - too busy modelling. Tony

Thanks John, and a great 2019 to you and yours! I personally doubt that all of the missing locos will be completed this year - perhaps by end 2020? - but who knows; I shall certainly be putting some effort behind it! Best wishes Tony

I just love the level of detail that you achieve with such ordinary ingredients! Amazing! Tony

This feels like the right time to undertake a 'Review of the Year', although I didn't do one last year - so here goes. I started the Churminster & Stowe Magna thread in October 2016 and during the last three months of that year there were just 42 posts, whilst there were 80 during the whole of 2017 and that has grown significantly to 304 during 2018 - which is gratifying because they are not all mine! The thread has also now been viewed 27,000 times which in my mind, makes it worth doing. At the start of 2018 we had just completed a photo-review of some of the more unusual coaching stock, I had built and installed the 'Brewery Tap' P.H. and Churminster Goods Shed, whilst Geoff Taylor's magnificent 'Wadleys Brewery' had recently been settled into the industrial scene around it. At that point Jack P proposed an "A-Z review of Southern Locos" - a challenge that I picked up and ran with for the several following months! When we started the "A-Z" I had thought that there were just 9 locos missing from my collection but irritatingly 11 more were added during the run through - albeit they were fairly obscure types - so I started to regret having taken on Jack P's challenge! Nevertheless, during the year, five of the 20 missing locos have been delivered - DLT's almost - scratch - build of the Ex-LSWR K10, Chris Phillip's builds of EKR No.4 and DS74, my own efforts with the Shapeways E6-X designed by Javier L, and Andy (thegreenhowards) stirling efforts with the L12 kit of parts designed by Arun Sharma - which has reduced the total missing to its current level of 15, but better still - solutions have now been identified for all of these 15 missing locos! DS1169 shunts fellow departmental loco DS74 within Churminster Shed At the same time the Z class was rebuilt and there were a couple of other additions to the fleet, including Hattons excellent model of the P class - with fairly brutal weathering by myself: Whilst all of this was going on, I had embarked on a rebuild of Churminster Shed, based around the original Metcalfe Models shell, but completely re-clad, re-glazed and significatly weathered. With more recent scenic touches to the yard, the whole area around Churminster Station now feels more complete. On the infrastructure side, with the help of Giles Walburn of Elite Baseboards, a number of roads within the top fiddle yard have been split, increasing storage in that area by 6 trains and 8 light engines. The operating schedule that I have been slowly building is already complex, so this should ensure that it becomes almost completely unmanageable! After attending two excellent weathering courses at Missenden Abbey - each superbly led by Mick Bonwick, I started, during the year, to make noticeable, if not significant, in-roads into the back-log of weathering needed to the operational fleet. A number of locos have been completed, plus the short milk train, two pull-push sets, the Kent coalfileds train and an Ocean liner set - although the last of these is awaiting coupling changes before it goes back into service: On the scenic front, my other half completed the gardens for a pair of semi's opposite Churminster Parish Church, whilst with the help of Mike Gascoigne I have all but completed the area around Churminster Quarry. So all in all, a very successful year with significant progress on many fronts! Thanks to all of those whose help I have relied upon. I will cover what is planned for 2019 in my next post, but in the meantime, a Happy & Prosperous New Year to all who follow this thread! Tony

Dave I really am most graetful - I think most people would have given up on this a long way back! Tony

I've found that my standards go up over time, along with practice and improving skills; if you go for perfection from the start, you may never have time to build a layout to run things on. Yes, there are now things that I would have done differently but I have been getting pleasure from my layout for years already - and if I live long enough I just might go back and do some early bits again! Good luck with whatever you decide! Happy Christmas Tony

Merry Christmas to you Dave!

As a final pre-Christmas update, here is where I have got to with the quarry building: seen above from the railway bridge on the Old Churminster road, and below from the headshunt to Churminster Goods Yard: I have made a clumsy attempt at blocking out some of the background intrusions that add nothing to each picture! A couple of the quarry's narrow gauge shunters (of indeterminate origin) have crept into the pictures. May I wish everyone who follows or visits this thread a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year! Tony

Well certainly the Southern Railway had a few more than that! Happy Christmas to you too! Tony

Your determination is amazing, but I am worried that what you are doing might be, as we say, "lipstick on a pig" - it is still a pig!

I think you will need that loft extension!

Hmm, I sense a bit on cynicism creeping in here! But yes, I certainly have room for more than one train in my fiddle yards (well 74 in fact) - so I suppose you are right! (However, I certainly don't have 74 spam cans - that would be quite excessive! Tony

I admire your single-mindedness & determination!! Tony

For clarity Mick, I mean "more than one" - does that make sense?

About a week back I mentioned having paid a visit to Tony Wright & Little Bytham, and in the process I asked the 'loco doctor' to look at 5 problem locos that I had been unable to get to a satisfactory level of performance; Tony very kindly fixed four of these - and in at least 2 cases he did this so quickly as to make me feel completely inadequate! Following my visit, problems remained with two locos - one works well but will not navigate the over-tight curves on my layout - of which more later, whilst the other, a Hornby Battle of Britain loco was diagnosed as having a split cog in the drive train. This seems to be a common problem with these and other large Hornby locos of the same manufacturing period; I was able to get replacement gear sets pretty quickly from Peter's Spares (no connection) and finally managed the repair today. It is not simple - because it involves removing the driving wheels, and then getting the quartering right when replacing them - but I seem to have managed it, and as a result 21C104 'Yeovil' has returned to the operational fleet. (Please excuse poor picture!). I was keen to master this repair because I have, shall we say, "several" WC & BoB locos and I suspect that this will not be the last to fail through this fault! Returning to the loco that will not navigate my 2'6" curves, it is a nice-looking kit built ex-LB&SCR E3 and it has a fixed open frame motor; Tony has suggested that replacing this with a can motor and gearbox will allow more movement in the centre axle, and so we intend to tackle this in the New Year; sadly I think is too late for me to fit wider radius curves! All this is part of a continual effort to eliminate poor performace - which is something that I find really irritating! Tony

No I'm just always nice - but i know what you mean about looking back and knowing that you can do better! I have a whole area of my layout that was more or less completed about 10 years ago, and whilst it doesn't look bad at first sight, I know that it is not up to the standard that I now want / and/or achieve. Conversely, I don't have time to go back and do it again as I there are other areas that are yet to be started! Life's too short! Tony

Hi Jack Surely the key thing about weathering is inconsistency! You would not want every loco to look the same - which is the big problem with factory weathered stock - especially D*pol which has a characteristic brown tidemark about half way up each vehicle! My biggest struggle is to get each loco to look different - less or more airbrush weathering, the use of pigments in different places and so on; in particular I find light weathering far more difficult than heavy weathering! By the way I think your loco painting is excellent, so I have no words of criticism. Best wishes Tony

Dave Don't worry about a front coupling - just a hook will be fine; already looks many times better than I thought it ever would! Many thanks, most grateful. Tony

Maunsell Z class No.954 returned this week, looking good following fairly substantial boiler repairs: Those who follow this thread may remember that she had to be withdrawn from service following the discovery of a lead shot and PVA mixture inside the boiler which had caused it to split at the seams! I am grateful to Chris Phillips for putting her back together, and he also gave her a light weathering which I have since tittivated by use of some pigments. Another loco that has finally entered service is ex-LB&SCR E6-X No.2411: Although I had posted pictures previously, some small touches such as cab interior, crew and a means of coupling were incomplete, but all are now 'signed off' - so here she is having backed her short freight train into Churminster Yard: At the same time, scenic work has continued, and the industrial scene around the Wadley's brewery is now pretty much complete: As is the adjoining goods yard: Now I have no excuse not to complete that ex-LSWR L12 and bring her into service too! Tony

Amazing attention to detail.

Looks pretty good to me! It will be interesting to see how you improve on something that is already pretty darn good. Tony

Great work Andy - I must get back to the coach we started when I visited! Tony

You are probably right - but I wonder what the equivalent word would be for "weathering" when it comes to smells? - "odouring"?