Jules

Hi Mikkel The horse and dray are from Dart Castings, there are a variety of horse and carts. The castings are very good, little flash and the cart goes together very easily. Jules

Thanks for the links, nice 517 and a lovely layout! I'm hoping the balance weights and quartering were completely different, otherwise mine is completely wrong! However, looking at the rel\relationship between the cranks and weights, I don't think I could get it right with the existing wheels, the trouble with mixing Airfix and Dapol wheels. I think I'll just have to live with it for now. Cheers Jules

Great link, thanks for the pic. I can't quite see the balance weight on the inner driving wheel, but it looks as though my model has got the weight in the correct 180deg at least!

Thor brings his empty dray across Frog Lane... much to the annoyance of the driver of 5812!

Thanks for pointing out about the balance weights - it was something I admit to not even considering, my main aim was to rid the loco of traction tyres and I happened to have a spare set of wheels from a previous wheel change. I might get round to correcting it in the future, but then again, I might not! Edit : After checking the loco, the balance weights are in different positions on the leading and trailing drivers, they are 90deg different.

A few weeks back I had a PM from a member on here asking if I was interested I receiving a copy of the 'The Minehead Branch 1848 - 1971' - free! I thought this a most generous offer, and duly accepted. I few days later I received the book, and enclosed with it was this little beastie : I was doubly gobsmacked not only to be given the book, but the loco as well was a real surprise ( as I went to the WSR gala the following weekend, I thought it appropriate to distribute a few donations about the various groups as way of a thank you). As I already had a 14xx (which should really be renumbered as a 48xx), I thought I would make this one into a 58xx, just to be something a bit different. So I loped off the top feed, replaced the molded handrails with wire, removed the box associated with the auto gear from the rear buffer beam, replaced the smokebox door and handle with items from Mainly Trains, added separate lamp irons on the bunker and added cab glazing. From when I re-wheeled my 14xx, I had a spare set of wheels without the traction tyre groove, so I replaced the ones on the loco, so it now has no traction tyres. I had to ease out the wheels on the axles so that they would negotiate the code 75 points, and I cleaned off the original grease and then lightly lubricated all relevant bits. Brass cabside plates were added, and Fox transfers for the buffer beams. Here is the (almost) finished loco, I have noticed I haven't painted the axle on the leading wheels. I need to add real coal to the bunker, and a lamp. The loco runs really well - my last Airfix 14xx (around 1980 ish I think) was a really bad running. This is very sweet, although it does growl a bit! edit : I forgot to say, I know the toolboxes should be further forward, but my saw blade is a bit bent so I need to get a new one before attempting to remove the boxes and reposition them!

Hi Robin, I thought I was chancing it a bit with the red lamps, I think replacing them with white ones will be easier than changing the locos insignia! Cheers Jules

A couple of snaps showing the newly planted bracket signal controlling entry to either the platform (main) or loop. If the prairie is waiting for the signal to come off, it will be waiting a long time...both arms are fixed as I managed to break both of the plastic rods on the back of the arms when assembling it.

The final few - the pannier arrives with a freight, first seen passing over Frog Lane again (must be the photographers new favorite location!), before entering the loop and after running round, removing the brake van and positioning it in the platform road ready to be on the rear of the departing train then the wagon shuffling commences... Hope you liked the shots Cheers Jules

Continuing the b/w theme, the Collet goods arrives with a passenger/milk train combo, shunts the dairy etc. Running over the crossing at Frog Lane Passing the 12 1/2 mile post After leaving the tank and fruit D behind, takes the coach into the station Then re-arranges the dairy siding

After owning my point ans shoot camera for about six years, i have discovered that it has a black and white function. So here are a load of b/w shots... First up, just to let you know where we are... Next, a few general views: Next up, the small prairie on the B set :

That's rather nice!

Superb piece of modelling, I have yet to tackle producing a roof that way, I'm not sure I've got the patience!

Thanks for all the likes and compliments, it's always nice to receive them

HI Mikkel The shed with two doors is, according to the instructions, meant to be for pigs! The other open fronted shed is a wood store. A privvy is included in the kit, but not in the pictures - it's round the back out of view! Cheers Jules

Continuing the theme of slow progress... Some pages back in this thread I added the extension board with the dairy, and just before the entrance to the fiddle yard, a level crossing. The part of the baseboard bounded by the road, railway and backscene had not been finished - actually it hadn't been started! It was just the baseboard painted. I had always intended putting a small dwelling of some sort in the space, and that process has now commenced. The first couple of snaps show the empty space, with the ground level made up to the same level as the road : I decided to use the Wills 'Farm Cottage Scene' kit as the building, as it is quite small and stone built. I hadn't realised it was one of the craftsman kits, so a bit more work was involved than I thought! As it was built from the provided plans, I made one change - rather than the slightly strange roof shape given in the plans, I changed mine to have a chimney at both ends and a more normal roof. Unintentionally I also reversed the front aspect. The snaps below show the current state - the building is basically finished, along with the two outbuildings. The are currently just placed to give me an idea of the layout. I still need to build the front wall, and then do a garden of some sort.

60010 at Westerleigh this morning. This was taken from the newly opened section of the cycle path on the old Midland route to Bristol/Bath. I had hoped that it would present a few opportunities for morning pictures, but there is too much lineside vegetation. This was the only spot where I could get a glimpse of the loco. I wish I'd had my camera yesterday, both 60010 and 60019 were there at the same time.

Hi Gary Thanks for the interest and compliment The cut down signal is the Ratio GW Home signal (cat number 460 I think). Cheers jules

Hi John The stock does try to escape when I rotate them, stopped by the use of a thumb on one piece of stock to stop the whole train moving. So far I've had no accidents, but it is not really a very good way of restricting movement. Saying that, it only tends to be the coaching stock cassette I rotate. With the freight stock, it is more a 'lift and replace'. I remove the wagons bought in from the station, shift the loco back to the other end of the cassette and replace with the wagons to go out. So a freight cassette just needs to be lifted (with a thumb of a wagon to stop movement) and moved to an empty spot on the fiddle yard frame. The previous picture showed all the cassettes, they just move about on the fiddle yard frame and I replace the stock (freight and parcels) as required. I think a traverser would as good (or better) for current operation, unless I make lots of cassettes for all the spare freight stock, but that would mean handling the locos more, which is something I try to avoid. Hope that all makes sense! Jules

Seems like Biggles has got lost.... (it is quite faint, but it is a big u-turn vapour trail!) I assume it's military, rather than a Queasy Air passenger forgetting their toothbrush. Taken 10 mins ago out the back window

Hi again The cassette bases are 9mm, as this is the same thickness as the main ply base boards. when I remake them, I will get a piece of 9mm ply and cut them to the desired width, the existing ones are about 42mm between the sides, I will probably make the new ones about 55mm. This should be wide enough to enable fingers to go deeper, but not so wide to take up lots of space. I shall probably experiment a bit before cutting all the strips though! Just for info, the original strips were bought straight from the large orange logo'd diy store, hence the width and length. hth Jules

Spotted on the quayside of Bristol harbour at the weekend

Interesting set of pics - it's interesting to see some of the 'reserved for xxx railway' white paint, and to see where the locos actually ended up!

Hi Simon As mentioned in my previous reply, the only problems I have got is some slight warping of the wood, and the part they are a bit too narrow. I don't think I would want them any longer than they are (3ft), as they are a bit unwieldy to rotate. If/when I remake them, I would make them a bit wider, and probably make the sides a bit lower, I don't think they really need to be that high. After saying all that, I have been using them for almost four years as built, so there's obviously nothing inherently wrong with them else I would have modified them by now! There are other methods (as Sarah has described in her useful post above), but mine were quick to make - the base strip and sides were straight from B&Q, bit of glue on each side of the base, a couple of pins through each side, whack whack and the sides are attached!! Leave to dry, pin the track down and off you go! Hope that helps, Jules

Hi Simon Thanks for the compliment. You have described the cassette operation perfectly! I have attached a couple of pics that show what you describe. This pic shows the cassette butted up against the layout - the wires taking power to the croc clips can also be seen. View along the layout showing the croc clips on the end of the cassette. I want to replace the cassettes, as they are a bit too narrow, which makes changing wagons a bit fiddly. I leave the coaches and loco on the cassette and just lift the whole cassette and turn it, being careful not to catch the curtain! The wood on all bar one of the cassettes has warped slightly, so under the end that connects to the layout, there is a strip of removable card to ensure the rails are as close to the same height as possible, although one rail usually ends up a bit higher or lower than its adjacent one. I did think the croc clips might mangle the rail ends, but there is very little damage in almost four years of use. Cheers Jules