Jack P

A thing of beauty it is too! I had wondered about the possibility of an E5x conversion.. hmmm. Thanks for the photos, If you have any tips that come to mind when you do the E5 i'd be a willing audience.

I hate to further prompt the feeling of boredom Mike, but I've got x4 Albion kits (E5/E6's) and wondered if you possibly had any in progress/semi-finished/completed build photos of either? General advice around their construction would also be excellent, I'm not sure which option is best with regards the radial axle, for instance. Thanks in advance

It could be that it's the same/similar size numbering that might have been present on the other small tank engines, P/B4, etc? Another option, to really narrow it down, would be to find a GA of Ironside, figure out the height of the cab side, then use the picture to figure out the approx. height of the letter/numbers.

Thanks Bryan! I too hope the workshop saga finally concludes with some swiftness!! The L, Yes, I took about 1mm off the top of the frames and moved the chassis back by some degree2 (can't remember quite how much). I'm going to see if PDK is keen to sell me jus the chassis from the L1 and I can sub that in, instead of this one!

Another quick update. More progress on the shed yesterday, the framework on the back wall has been replaced. Next step here is to order some flashings, and then replace the (absolutely poked) cladding with some exterior ply. We also removed some of the old exterior wall between the old/new sections. It makes the workshop feel significantly bigger, and with the raised floor, makes sense. The weather is incredible at the moment so making as much progress as I can before the spring rain decides to, um, rain on my parade? I've ordered all my interior ply sheets, and exterior ply needed to finish things off. Woo! Finally in modelling related news, I got my DJH L out to have a peek. I've decided that a really great use of time will be to catalogue my railway items, and the various stages of progress that they are in, what's required to finish them off etc. I'll correlate this information in a spreadsheet, which hopefully means I can also order parts more efficiently (and save on multiple postage costs). As you were.

The lack of modelling facilities has driven me to some odd places, I will admit!

Ooooh, another model project update. I've long been wanting a large gauge display loco. I've toyed with the idea of a 7mm kit, but I fear that will be a slippery slope - Wanting to add motor/gearbox, then i'll need some track to test it on, etc, etc. So my thoughts then turned to Gauge 1 European locomotives. Really my first exposure to model railways was playing with my grandad's Marklin sets, I never met him, but tinkering in his workshop and playing with his trains obviously impacted me fairly significantly. Next issue, cost, can I justify a fairly large bill for a loco that is (incredible, but) static? No. So what other options do I have? A 1/35th scale plastic kit (nearly G1) of a German Kriegslok. A Hattons bargain, and just the ticket. The plan is to finish it in the black and red colourscheme, and while it's unlikely to be perfect, or even vaguely accurate, it will scratch the itch and pay homage in one. Obviously I won't be building it out of the box, so I ordered some extras: Sprung, turned buffers, photoetch detail sets, and some transfers from Archers. I've also got a wealth of photographic material to hand. I'll post a link to the build when it happens, as it probably won't be here. Something different eh!

There is something modelling related that I haven't posted about in a while, and that's the EM conversion of the Bachy WD. Honestly the more I look at it, the more I think I should've just tackled the Bradwell kit. Ah well! Looking back, I'm not sure i've actually posted about this before?? Lanarkshire models Tender chassis and heavily modified brassmasters LMS pony truck. Both are sprung, the tender is CSB and the Pony is just some springy wire bearing against the axle as per the instructions. Gibson wheels with harvested Bachman gear wheel. Testing the return cranks for positioning. Miscellaneous details added + repaired brake column Current state of play I ended up making spacers for the connecting rods big ends by turning down some Markits crankpin washers, a fiddley exercise but worth the effort. Of course I then found some washers that would have been a perfect fit - no matter. I managed to fernagle the loco tender connection, so that it still connects in the regular way. Once it's done, it will effectively be permanently coupled. Still plenty to do, the motion needs fettling + blackening, and the crankpins all need attention. I also need to make a few other detail bits that southern locos seemed to have. It certainly won't be the most accurate WD out there, but the end product should be ok! That's all for now

Ah that's a shame, is the ETA just up in the air for now?

More progress over the weekend. Joists in place for the new floor. There's still a concrete lip at the front, where you go from the new to the old. Better planning on my part would have meant we had raised the joists up and had the new floor go out over the lip. There's still time to do that, we will just need to add strips to the tops of the joists. Otherwise i'll just add some grip tape and call it a day. It was absolutely bucketing down on Saturday, so we had to work inside to do all of the cutting and measuring etc. Sunday was nicer. Windy but sunny, so we made a start on getting the door in place. Had to cut a whopping great hole in the side of the shed, put up some new studs, and then get the framing in place. Bad news, the door is upside down in the frame. or more accurately, the door is the correct way up, the frame is upside down. This means the frame and door will need to come out again. It's not so bad though, it's only been tacked in place. There's also a gap around the bottom of the door where it isn't sealing properly. I'm a bit confused about this, as the door appears to be straight, and so does the frame. But the frame is metal, so maybe it's warped somehow? I'll have an expert come and have a look and see what can be done. The door isn't a standard size either, so if the frame is poked, my options are a new, custom made frame, or a new door and the associated work to get it to fit in the gap. The weather-proof tape is temporary, The lowest part of the building where it meets the tile was not raised when the shed was built, so we are going to need to figure out a belt and braces approach to water tightness in that area to stop any leaking/damp creep/etc. Slowly slowly, but this photo shows the space I will have available for a big L shaped workbench. Reeeeeeeally hoping to get things sorted before the end of the year, It's been a long time without the ability to do any modelling, and with all the new arrivals (both on their way and imminent) I have plenty to be getting on with. Not to mention my unfinished projects. The Z is getting on for 2 years WIP.

When are the malachite examples due into stock, I had thought it was around the end of the month?

Possibly the Mk.1's, but the Maunsell's are missing a fairly significant portion of the diagrams available. R0/R1 stock + all the other oddities, like the nondescript coaches. I appreciate that you're making a (very valid) point. But this is me moaning about the lack of maunsell stock 😆

I'll scan the required pages, (and any other that may be useful), and then forward them on to you. I assume if I look there will be a method of contact on the website, or should I PM you on here?

Quick update on the workshop: The floor in the 'new' section was very roughly cut out, and really needed surface finishing. It didn't need to be dead level as the benches will be fixed to the wall, and checked for flatness against them. Having said that, I was a bit anxious about having a crack myself, because I didn't want the end result to be absolute garbage. One of my friends runs a flooring business, so a quick call to him, and some bags of self levelling compound (at cost even!) and we were away. Came out really nicely. After it dried I hit it with a scraper to remove any bubbles and other little nibs etc. It isn't the prettiest floor (although with a proper polish it would come up nicely), but it doesn't matter because it's going to have carpet tile over the top. The next major thing was the door. This has been one of the major hurdles of the job so far. What I really needed was a proper external door, but finding one that fit the existing hole was borderline impossible, as it's not a standard size. I managed to pick up a decent timber external door with an Aluminum frame (in this gorgeous red colour). The next job was to strip it back, and it was a bit of a mission - but the end result is this very well made door, that is in excellent condition. I've bought a new handle/deadbolt set that are keyed alike, and will go in once the door has been painted. It will go in on the right hand side of the existing door. It's an internal opening door, so i'll also look at putting an awning in over it. One of the unrealised knock on effects of moving the door location is that I will have more internal space for a big L shaped workbench! I managed to rope my brother in to helping me out with digging around the outside of the shed. The concrete blocks had a little bit of damp creep onto the internal walls. So my intention was to seal them up, and while I'm in there i'll backfill with gravel and put some weedmat down, and pavers around the outside to stop any vegetation ruining my hard work. Once the wall had been cleaned and dried I applied a tar based sealer. In the first image you can see what looks like a plumbing pipe. This houses the current incoming power for the shed. The next step will be to take this out, and run new 6mm cable + data out to the shed, and re-locate it into a much more accessible spot. Once this is done, I'll cut the pipe away and fill the hole, before finally filling the trench in. There's no massive rush for this - which is great.. because the sealer takes 30 days to cure fully! The final major exterior job is the cladding. Unfortunately the cladding is a bit worse for wear, and above the section i've dug out, the exterior wall has clearly had some serious moisture ingress. Thankfully none of the internal framework is damaged, but i'll need to re-clad most of the 'old' side. Even worse, I'll need to lose the windows. The frames are absolutely rotten through and very leaky. I might see if I can find some second hand/reclaimed double glazed windows, but worst case I'll just need a really good internal lighting setup. All the internal ply will be screwed on, so if it's really dire, I could fit something later on. I've done some measurements of what's needed (excuse the crude drawings). Standard sheets are 1200 x 2400 and I've done some measurements/further crude drawings to really minimize waste. I can get the odd shaped bit, Long thin bit and the short angled bit out of a single sheet. and then I think with some careful planning i'll only need 4 more sheets to get the rest. I feel like progress is being made. The list is definitely getting much shorter. Once all the exterior work is done, it should be (relatively) quick progress getting cables run internally, insulation strapped in and interior ply cut to size and fixed in place. My Partner's dad is going to help me make a false floor for the 'old' side. Which will make the finishing work a bit easier as there's less battening/attaching wood to concrete. That's all for now. Apologies that this isn't train related. But we are getting much close to train related content resuming!

Hey Tony! That's ok, it's a great learning curve! Thank you! I managed to keep the ring a surprise so it was a nice little addition to our holiday away! Much better now thank you! I'm certainly glad we are coming out of winter. Thanks for your kind words, I'm reeeally hoping I'll have some updates to the modelling at some point!

I have a few questions, and I thought possibly it might be worth asking in here, rather than making a new thread. I'm specifically curious about the Red Oxide vans, and what happened between the end of the war, and pre nationalisation. Apologies for the format of this post, but I just want to confirm my understanding of things, and with plenty of time before these arrive, further information might come to light. - Pre 1948, the red oxide vans would've looked as they do below, but with SR branding above the number, below the small 10T (correct?) This appears to be correct, but unless anyone can provide a photo I can't 100% confirm, can only get close with a best guess. - Aside from this, would there have been any differences in the final livery from what is seen below? the XP and WB markings would have all been the same, and in white? Plate 93 SR wagons illustrated vol 4. suggests that WB & XP in white are correct and were added before markings were removed for common user pool. - By the time Banana traffic ceased, (Nov 1940) these wagons were already in the common user pool (March 1940) (correct?) This appears to be correct - So this would mean that the Post-1936 Stone liveried vans would've lost the 'N' from their liveries? Appears correct, light/intermediate repairs/shopping would usually result in 'Return to..' and the 'N' markings being removed. - After Banana traffic ceased, it's noted that some of these wagons were employed on other duties, what were these duties, Meat, fish, general goods stock? Lots of evidence would suggest that they were used without the steam heat as insulated vans, so meat traffic seems most likely. - When employed on these other duties, would the wagons have been re-liveried to reflect the changes? E.G would the 'Banana Van' & 'Steam' brandings have just been removed? Or would they have been removed AND had new liveries applied that reflected their intended use? Or would they just have been left as is? - Did any/many wagons go straight from Stone into Bauxite, skipping the red oxide phase? - An excerpt from one of Mike King's volumes on the subject, reads; "In 1941 it was decided to change to main body colour to red oxide, with lemon lettering, but on the basis that a wagon is normally given a heavy overhaul every seven years, it is doubtful whether all were repainted thus. The seven year overhaul period was probably adhered to fairly closely before the war. Thus one might conclude that any wagon built before, say, 1932 was probably repainted in the 1936 style, while those built later would probably have fallend due for overhaul during the war years, when probably only the essentials were dealt with" In this instance, what are the essentials? I assume that patch repainting was a thing, and that a van would not have just been repainted in a wholesale manor if there was only minor repainting work to do? Essential work would mean removing 'N' and 'Return to southampton' branding - other work likely mechanical - Say a van was still Stone coloured in 1947, what would it look like? One assumes that if the 'N' was removed, then maybe the Banana Van markings would have been too? (Am I correctly understanding what the N is for?) Is there anything else that I'm missing, or that's worth being asked, or noting? I sometimes struggle to find information, as when people say 'Post war' they usually just mean post Nationalisation, things pre-war, and even during the war to some extent, seem to be easier to nail information down for. If there are any good books that might be worth browsing for these answers, then I'd appreciate the suggestions. I've already tried the Illustrated history of Southern Wagons Volume 4 & 5, but there isn't much about that specific interim period. A huge thank you to everyone in advance! Edit: Have highlighted the answers I have so far in bold - if you know better, please do let me know!

The GWR sheet would be good for numbers, and you could probably cobble together SR, and definitely 'Meat' (if they were rebranded as meat vans when banana traffic ceased). There's no yellow Banana Van that I can find though, and the SR lettering vs the BR lettering for 'banana van' looks to be slightly different fonts. I'll post in the Special Southern group and see what can be amassed there.

I'd also be really interested to know when the reinforcing plates were applied around the roofline on the D.1478 vans? I'd assume it was when they were repainted into red oxide? Does anyone know of any photos taken in Southern days showing the red oxide livery and lettering? Have checked the usual Wagons Illustrated (vol 4-5) and haven't found anything.

Some vandal has stuck their gum to the bottom of that siphon! The grey roof version, is that a late GWR version? (luddite me)

Could I just get some clarification please, The SR Mixed Transitional pack, it's stated as being era 3, but the number is an S prefix number? I'm just trying to figure out if this is how they would've been in before 1948 when painted red oxide, or this is a post BR numbering thing. IF it's the former, i'll likely have another pack (or two..)

I never met Iain, but he had one of the loudest and most influential voices in my modelling journey. I'm deeply saddened by his passing, but am thankful that his words have been immortalized in multiple books. No one else has made Finescale modelling feel as achievable as him.

Hallelujah!!! Finally we have made it to the promised van!

Time for a quick update, I think. Had a fun ride the the hospital a couple of weeks ago. Managed to get (mild) Pneumonia (on the back of a particularly nasty cold, that turned into an inner ear infection). All is well now, but it presented as shooting chest pains on the left hand side, and the inability to take full breaths, this meant I started to black out from lack of oxygen. I had considered it might be something much worse, so counting myself lucky really! In much more important matters, all modelling work has now ceased. I have packed up shop. But only 'briefly'. My workshop has been damp from the moment we moved in. Frustrating when metal starts to rust, and paper documents go soft. The primary cause of this was the equipment left on the decromastic roof that was the pre-heater system for the pool. Basically a large copper pipe run covered in a glass panel. The pool equipment was removed from inside the shed (long before I arrived), but the roof had never been dealt with so all the old leaky crud ended up turning the roof support framework into this: Yikes! Further to this, there is also leakage around the windows on both sides (I call this section the 'old' shed). This has cause some serious rot in the exterior cladding, but for the most part the framework is totally fine. You can see that on the far right hand side of the above image. You'll have to take my word that it's also present on the left. So first things first, A new roof. Greyfriars coloursteel to match the house. This came out really nicely. Luckily my Partner's (well, Fiancé now actually..) dad is a builder, so he had a connection for the roof and we managed to do it for about half the price of the quotes we'd got. Future father in law also provided me with all the timber i'll need to fix the rotten stuff. The next step was to tackle the interior on the 'new' shed. This is where my workbench is and was added by the previous owner. Transform! (sort of) All the miscellaneous shelves and bits and pieces have been removed in advance of the next steps. The plan is to put builders paper down and then insulate the wall, new wiring will be run while we have space, and then the walls will be clad in some nice interior ply. The same will happen in the 'old' side, but we will need to batten out the brick and deal with the wood rot first. This will allow me to install some creature comforts like decent power outlets, a new workbench, good lighting and a small wall mounted TV. The main thing stopping play at the moment (aside from the weather) is the door, as designed it's very crude. So we are getting someone to look at installing a decent door, which will provide a weathertight seal and a proper handle. Exterior lighting and security cameras are on the list too, we'll run some bigger cable into the shed to support the upgrades, and Data while we're at it. The end result of this rather large project is that I will have a comfy space to work from, and when it comes time to move we can market it as a hobby room/home office/etc. Really hoping to have this sorted before the end of spring, so that I can enjoy it during summer. I've not done any modelling for the best part of 2 months and i'm champing at the bit to get back into it! The old side of the shed will have workbenches set up that will allow me to have a permanent location for me 3D printer, curing machine, as well as some new tools.. I had been reaaally hanging out to get my hands on a Proxxon lathe, specifically the 250/E for it's powered lead screw. The issue with that is getting one to NZ ex-europe, not only are they rather pricey (for a mini lathe), shipping and import tax kicks it into the price bracket of a lathe with significantly more features. (Approx. $3kNZD or £1500gbp) So when this popped up from a local machinery store, on sale at $900NZD, it was too good to pass up. I've also got my hands on a live centre, tailstock chuck and some cutting/boring/parting bits. So once everything is set up, I should be able to crack on and start teaching myself what to do. I've also picked up a Proxxon Mini Milling machine rather cheaply, which should be another tool that will be exciting to learn to use. I hope that these tools will come in handy and make a meaningful difference when it comes to modelling. As a quick reminder that I do more than waffle on endlessly, here are some pics from the last 12months (a reminder to myself and you guys that I actually do something!) Until next time!

I'm sorry, I feel like a Luddite, but I can't tell the difference between the two cabs, could someone please clarify?

I took some glamour shots last night - they definitely aren't perfect, so please excuse the dust and other debris! Untitled by Jack Pedersen, on Flickr Untitled by Jack Pedersen, on Flickr Untitled by Jack Pedersen, on Flickr Untitled by Jack Pedersen, on Flickr Untitled by Jack Pedersen, on Flickr Untitled by Jack Pedersen, on Flickr Untitled by Jack Pedersen, on Flickr Untitled by Jack Pedersen, on Flickr Untitled by Jack Pedersen, on Flickr Untitled by Jack Pedersen, on Flickr Haven't really done much over the last few months, but hoping to finish a couple of projects and provide an update!