John76

E3109 Great work. I too have an old Triangle EM2 that I have played around with. it too is still work in progress. When I get chance I will post some photos along with an explanation of what I have done.. Sorry I haven’t got round to answering your questions. I haven’t forgotten and will try and do it later this week. John

No they don't but there is no reason why they couldn't. John

PS Here is one I did earlier! A DC Kits resin bodied EM1 sat on modified Hornby class 90 chassis. Just needs windscreen wipers to complete. John

E3109 Good evening and good luck with your venture. There used to be a similar thread on RMWeb just after the EM1s were released but it was taken down some years ago now. On it a fellow modeller had made a number of adjustments and alterations to his EM1s which when they were weathered made them look a lot better. I myself have a fleet of EM1s and had a go at modifying a couple of them to see how they would turn out. The first one started out as a MU fitted EM1 which was modified to become a vacuum only EM1 76003. The second one started life as a vacuum only EM1 but was modified to become an air braked only MU version 76038. My modelling output at present is virtually nil but from memory here is a list of things that I did: - Replaced the lifting eyes on the roof (made them smaller). Changed some of the electrical switchgear on the roof to make it more realistic Changed the pantographs for some modified Sommerfeldt ones Modified the rain strips on 76038 Painted the cab interiors Filled in all the unnecessary holes on the front Used Maskol to cover the lights on the front. Once dry, paint them yellow and drill a small hole through to represent the modified version. Dropped the overall height of the body by about 1mm by taking the top off the cab interior mouldings Replaced the buffers on 76038 because the original ones are too small (will do the same on 76003 at some point in the future) Modified the back of the bogies by moving out the back piece to close the gap between them and then added a representation of the coupling linkage between the two bogies. Personally I never had a problem with the side grills. I removed them and replaced them to respray 76038 (because I thought the Heljan BR Blue was too dark). Once it was back together and started weathering the loco I just painted the grills the same colour as the bogies. Once I get time to get back in to modelling I have thought about having a go at etching and doing something with the front windows as you have suggested. I would also add the lifting eyes and the electrical switchgear to the etch in an effort to make it more robust than what is currently there. Not the best photos but I hope they give you an indication of what I achieved. If you have any questions just ask. I will be watching your own efforts with interest. John

Great track work Mike. I am really impressed by the speed you are working. What are you doing for the point tie bars and how are you going to drive them? Did you get chance to go and have a look at Wharncliffe Sub station over Christmas? John

Have a look at these taken from the 1:2500 scale OS Maps from the 1950s. Not all substations are the same! As you can see, they are all different and the ones at Barnsley Junction and Strafford are larger than the one at Wharncliffe Wood. I seem to recall they were bigger because these substations had additional switchgear for the regenerative braking associated with the 1 in 40 Wentworth incline. Aldham Junction Sub station also had a larger footprint. John

Your in the right ball park. Here is where I think it is. Pin dropped on switchgear.

Mike Give me a day or two and I’ll get back to you. Took me a while to work it out. As a start, take a look on the Old-Maps website and compare it to more recent OS Maps and Google Earth. I’m pretty certain it was shown on the old 1950ish maps. The current sea of green on Google earth does make finding it a challenge. John.

I have found my photos of Wharncliffe. It was 2012 when I was there! A few attached for you to see. John

Mike Re Strafford Sub Station. If you fancy a bike ride and a walk through the woods, can I suggest you go and have a look at the old Wharncliffe Wood Sub Station? It's still there! It's a bit of a trek off the main path through the wood but the main building is there along with all the stands outside for the transformers and switchgear. I went a few years ago, took a load of photos and measured it up but I'm not sure where they are at the moment. I've got a feeling the sub station at Strafford was bigger than the one at Wharncliffe Wood but it would certainly be a good starting point. Also, maybe not relevant to your current layout but if you are interested the Track Section Cabin still exists further down the line at Beeley Wood. It's a little bit easier to get to and makes for a decent walk for a couple of hours. John

Mike I wouldn’t worry about the gradient on the layout. Unless I am mistaken the incline didn’t start until several hundreds yards further on from the junction. It began just after the Down starter (28) signal which was placed nearly 900 yards from the box. I think the change in gradient you can see and refer to above has resulted from mining subsidence. Remember the original track bed here served another colliery (or two) up the line here before the line up to West Silkstone Jn was built. I cycle on here quite regularly and you can still see where the two split (if you look hard enough). This is about where the starter signal was and you can see the significant change in gradient which I think is the start of the 1 in 40. I am also assuming that the 900 yards would allow a train to attach pilot and banking engines here and restart before having to tackle the gradient. By the way I think this location is an excellent choice for a layout and look forward to the its evolution. Personally I have a real fondness for the Worsborough branch and have always thought that West Silkstone Junction and Wombwell Main Exchange Sidings along with Wentworth Junction would all make great layouts. Happy to help wherever to make the layout as good as it can be. John

Nik Do you know when these wagons carried this livery? If you look through the gallery of photos of these wagons (see post 35 on this thread) they do not appear to have the CAIB logo or the TOPS panel. They do have a logo for Anglesey Aluminium. I want to model mine in mid 70's condition so if you can help me out that would be great. Thanks John

Nik Really like these. They look very impressive. I too bought some of these to build but haven't got round to it yet. What buffers did you use? Where did you get the transfers from? Can you give a bit more info on the brake handles please? Any hints and tips you might have would be really useful. John