checkrail

Green locos, green trees - looks like a camouflage exercise. But i wouldn't have locos any other colour! I see the fireman has left a class B lamp on the bunker end of the Prairie. I'm blaming him because it's not the sort of thing I'd do. 🙂 John C.

Is that just coincidence or something to do with the availability of transfers? Just had a shufti at mine, which shows it to be from a kit, maybe Cambrian? Any maker's name under the floor is obscured by lead tape.

Excellent work Andy. Miniature electrics are not my forte at all, so my 'dummies', as I believe the GWR called ground signals, really are dummies.

Manor and E set. It's much easier to take a panorama shot of a complete train when it only has three coaches! John C.

Indeed. Otherwise a great model.

Enjoying catching up with RMweb after a week's hill & coast bashing in the far north of Scotland. That Dapol autocoach looks nice! And wouldn't the bogies be handy as spares? Here are a couple of random shots taken a week or two ago featuring 6305 passing through on an up goods while 4574 sits in the yard. John C.

.... and Castles concluded (for the time being). John C.

Castles continued ..... John C.

Love those last three shots with the light reflecting from the boiler barrel. Great sense of depth to the whole scene.

Definitely the latter - I rely on happy accidents. Never quite sure where to place the photographic lamp to augment the layout lighting. Trial and error all the way! Glad you liked this one. John C.

Now the heatwave has gone and the temperature in the loft is bearable again I've been exercising my thoroughbred Castles. This was inspired by a couple of very nice - and very tempting - pics of Hornby's latest Castle iteration over on ANTB recently. The following sequence shows 5000 'Launceston Castle' on a North to West train while 5041 'Tiverton Castle' heads towards Paddington. John C.

The 15xx is well outside my period but the Duck's review almost makes me want to get one. It certainly bodes well for the 44xx. (and the other small prairies if they're still in the plans).

Looks absolutely delicious but I don't need another Castle. (Repeats to self, 'I don't need another Castle!') Time to give 5000 and 5041 a bit of exercise I think, now that it's cool enough to go into the loft again.

Wait until they come out in T scale.

Most of the minor damage to 7801 has been patched up for now. All due to my own clumsiness I know (except for the missing smokebox door lamp bracket). But I can't help feeling that IF there had been a non-sound 'DCC fitted' version and IF the plastic coal could have been lifted out easily (a la Hornby), I wouldn't have had to remove the tender body in the first place. This model is very fragile and in my hands just putting it upside down in a Peco foam loco cradle was enough to break bits off! John C.

But maybe this is a more plausible late 30s south Devon scenario? 7801 Anthony Manor of Bath Road depot heads towards Plymouth with a fast freight from the Bristol area. John C.

It will get some attention in due course!

Well, following Mike's @Coach bogie interesting pic, here's Anthony Manor with a B set. I couldn't find a model of Temple Meads at short notice so it's posed at Stoke Courtenay, running wrong road. John C.

Nice pic Mike. Thanks. I've seen photos of almost everything from a King downwards hauling a B set, but usually on a running-in turn when new or after overhaul. That's probably not the case here given the somewhat less than ex-works appearance of the Manor - though it is in its first year if the dating is correct.

That looks pretty good to me. You have to stop somewhere!

Outside-framed Siphon G.

Sounds good! Tell me more. I gently pulled it up with tweezers until it came unglued, then glued it back in after I'd prised out the plastic coal. But today's work has reinforced Accurascale's warnings about taking the loco apart. This warning is obviously aimed at clumsy oafs like me. To get at the coal I had to remove the tender body, which in my experience so far is highly likely to dislodge the front handrails. It did. And In trying to glue them back I also managed to shear off the top of a brake standard while squinting into the gap between loco and tender wielding a pair of tweezers. Now all fettled after a fashion with cyano. but the Manor from Heaven looked like turning into the model from Hell for an hour or so. John C.

What about this threads @toboldlygo when he's fit and ready again .😉 That's a good suggestion Robin. ANTB is a great shop window for his work. Obviously I don't want to mither him at present, but when he's better ...... BTW, I finally managed to extract the coal load from Anthony Manor's tender today. As @Harlequin Phil suggested I need to remove the fire-iron rack first. Even then I had to be careful cutting through the adhesive that stuck the coal load in there - the tender sides are so (commendably) thin and flexible. Won't put any real coal in there until after weathering. Look forward to seeing your Manor in service. John C.

What does it look like? Pretty well stuffed I'd say. Here are a few pics. John C.

Whoops! Must be my eyesight.