RichardW1

Reminds me of Madder Valley- not sure why- I think just 'cos it is so convincing - Must give up the telly!

Hi Richard Yes the floor, sides and ends fold up into a box. The framing is an overlay, from thicker material. There are a lot of bits to add on. There are w irons and chassis parts, but the w irons are 12 mm and too tight even for 12.25 axles, I'll raid the bits box. Two end varieties plain and with end doors are catered for.

At Chelford I managed to acquire three of these kits from Jerry's bits stand, and thought that they would compliment Lambourn well, I later learn that fish was also carried in these wagons. Anyhow two weekends later and progress is good. The kit goes together well, but in future I'll add the details to the framing before fitting to the sides. Less of a heat sink that way. So a few bits to tidy up then the paint shop.,,, Then brake rigging and decals

... and talk to them!

John You had a Pentroller with Lambourn-- It's so old the printing has worn off the facia though. mmm wondering about the comments re beer bellies and backscenes.... How do you hide the belly when you operate from the front?

I'm glad your work bench is tidier than mine!

Today maybe the day to stay indoors- we've had one sunny day, surely a second is too much to expect

As their name implies they would come on in an emergency- often linked through fire alarm detection. But there is usually a local switch for non emergency use, maintenance access etc. I'll not delve into maintained and non- maintained systems or lighting levels, but there could (certainly on modern buildings) be a number of permutations for operations and lighting levels. Richard

Hi Chaz Picture attached. These show a modern bulkhead fitting. Older ones would be similar in size, but have a more rounded appearance. You could of course consider a small LED (running at very low power to stop being too bright) .. but that may be a thought to far!!!

Hi Chaz, Don't forget the emergency lights. Even pre-war these could have been fitted. These would typically be wall mounted bulkhead fittings above each landing. Probably nothing at the bottom level. Wiring conduit may also have been surface mounted on the outside. They would certainly add to the atmosphere IMHO Richard

Really good to spend some time with you all. I wish I could have stayed a bit longer, but had chores to do at home- followed by an evening concert in Kettering to see Fairport Convention ( bit off topic). As with many good models each time I see St Ruth I see more, not just as the model develops, but as detail emerges from the initial impression. The backdrop is especially good. See you at Chelford.

That looks really good Ian, Will you be bringing Modbury to Chelford? R

That is the colour, I am sure you can get local trade paint mixers to make up a batch I'll pm you with a picture as I can't post in a comment here

By far the best colour is BS10B25 Matt, not vinyl. Black is just crude, and adds nothing to the display. The BS no above is a drab olive green, and will compliment ground scenic tones of either greens, in vegetation, or Browns/ greys for rocks or roads, even brick in townscapes.

Hi Don Yes they are all manual, operated from a lever frame, and wire in tube. I may well experiment with minx micro drive TOUs, using the lever to operate a microswitch to control the unit. ...on the other hand I may simply use MERG servo system, there are already a spare two outputs on the servo controller. Depends on how strong I feel the tie bars are. The minx unit can exert quite a force during calibration. Richard

To be fair Mark did say the Aveling was 'nearly' ready for painting! I reckon sometime next year would be a possibility.

I am sorry to hear of the earthquake- I hope you have someone nearby to help you with setting things right again.

The show at Epsom went well. (Thanks to Justin and Mark for their time operating etc). The new MERG Shuttle work well enough, although the deceleration/delay times could be longer. This may need either a reset chip or adjustment to resistor /capacitors. The Platform siding rails at the board joint took a bash loading into the car - although repaired a bit they will need relaying. Valentin brought along his new C Class which runs as well as it looks. The operating schedule didn't last long- too complex- I understood it , but no-one else could so rethought required there I think. There was a microswitch failure two days before the show that would have stopped everything, so temporary measures were taken to rectify this and they worked well over the two days, but the operating linkages are getting a bit slack after 30 years so a review of these will be needed, with a program of TOU replacement. R

Enjoyed the show- and Saturday evening's foray into Cheam for a spot of Italian nosh was a blast. Advertising signs etc on the rear walls- or signage on dock roof gables..........I was going to mention weathering the road vehicles , (but I won't do that !)

The bridge is good - up here these were also referred to as "turn over bridges" . For those who haven't worked it out the tow horse can pass under the bridge (with the tow attached) turn over the bridge, then continue on the opposite tow path without having to release the tow. The extra effort (and cost) in construction for this type of bridge, was worthwhile not for the canal company, but for the boatmen(and women) who used the canals. I wonder how many infrastructure projects today would consider the extra expense worthwhile? Note to self- worth researching if passage tolls on the canals were affected by the presence or absence of such bridges. Must speak to my local canal historian, whist partaking of some ale! Jerry - is that the old Roxey stone work?

Justin, They look good to me, even if a little dark. Varnish would age and get dirty. Lambourn is kinda thirties, so for a wagon 10+ years old I wonder what colour the underlying teak would appear through layers of varnish and general grot. R

Well done- I have noticed a trend in 2 mm layouts from, your own work to big layouts. That. Is how neat the work during construction remains. ......now if the camera was turned around!

After spending a great day at the controls of JBS' Ashburton layout, I was very impressed by some of the very simple conversions of proprietry stock. Operating to a schedule was fun too, giving some meaning to driving trains- at least it is not aimless. Trying to get a particular movement for each train adds purpose and keeps the mind going. Lambourn needs horse boxes, the last outing at Aldershot exposed a real lack of appropriate stock, and Richard Brummitt's great conversions of the Lima box described here some years ago showed the way. From the soapbox this took a two nights of graft, and an hour in the pain shop, definitely worth the effort.

Thanks Andy, That's a good idea. I have heard very good reviews of Morley controllers. But will need to try one on my locks with coreless motors before I buy this time.

I managed to get my self talked into obtaining a hand held PICtrollerfor Lambourn, to replace the original AMR hand held. It works great on Farish (Poole) mechanisms, but is frankly hopeless with coreless types. Nothing wrong with the controller, so I'll not return it, but not really a happy buy ????