Alex TM

Hi Douglas, The local lord obviously didn't fancy the MR or LNWR as options either. Interesting idea, and will watch with interest. One of the settlements on the map is 'Edith Weston'. I once knew a woman of that name who lived not far from the village. She told me that, in the local hostelry, if she showed proof of her identity she could have a free round of drinks. Good luck with this. regards, Alex.

Hi again, As time seems to fly by, and indecision rules at the same time, it's taken longer than planned to post a few updated images. For the time being I have decided to stick with the original plan and timeframe, though I would like to get around to the other options at some point. Unballasted areas of track are where I plan to bring the ground level up to just below that of the rail top. The kickback will probably be for a small coaling facility and water tower. The plan is for most of the buildings to be wooden, with as little brickwork as I can get away with. I'm hoping to keep everything fairly small and to not overcrowd the board. Not visible in the above images are the point control mechanisms. These are piano wire in plastic tube buried in the cork underlay, and relying on the Peco over-centre springing to hold the blades in position. The track was wired with DCC in mind, though I may now introduce a couple of very short isolating sections to facilitate DC usage instead. As ever, thanks for reading. Regards, Alex.

Hi everyone, I've had a look around the forum but couldn't find an answer to the above. Has anyone tried this? If you have, what did you find as the most effective solvent to use? I'm looking to remove the markings from mine to use it as owned by a fictitious railway. I am hoping to do as little damage as possible to the main livery. I've removed markings from other locos in the past, for renumbering purposes, using t-cut, thinners, etc, but thought I would ask before experimenting. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Regards, Alex.

Hi, Sorry for being boring, and dragging us unto the subject of modelling but I have a questions about how you prepare the shelves for track, cork, etc. I've had a look at the shelves in our local Swedish enclave and wondered abou the following: 1. do you require to gently sand off the sheen so as to allow adhesives to grip the surface; and 2. what glue did you find most effective for fixing cork, track, scenics? Thanks in advance for any wisdom offered. Regards, Alex.

Much prefer 'disco tents'.

Hi, I believe the Airfix figures may now be manufactured by HaT; the other make to look out for are Revell who also made 'cowboys' at one time. Have a look for the 'plastic model soldier review' site to get some ideas of figure sizes, poses, etc. Somebody (Pegasus?) make log cabins in 1:72 however they are eastern European in design, however they could be Americanised. 28mm buildings are around 1:56 in scale so may appear too large compared to 1:72 or smaller figures. Would h0 scale buildings be a better fit? Another option would be the following for town/city buildings: https://sarissa-precision.com/collections/north-africa-colonial-20mm Hope that's of help. Regards, Alex.

That's a nice piece of handiwork. 28mm? Could never master elephants on the miniature battlefield - always seemed to lose initiative, and end up standing around trying to look hard.

Threnody - isn't that the working title for Morrissey's new album?

I don't read this thread for twenty-four hours, and return to find it's descended into an Eddie Izzard comedy routine .... The real question is: why am I the slightest bit surprised by this?

Maybe the little marmoset was lost, and looking for the 'Jungle'. (With apologies to the late, great, Matt McGinn.)

Hi again, Finally had returned to me my copies of David Larkin's two books on 'Non-Pool Freight Stock 1948-1968'. These contain images of the kind of tanks that @hmrspaul referred me to earlier. Again, many thanks for that. Additionally it shows some of them later in life, and with dates in the early 1970s. Once again, thanks to everyone who contributed to this. Regards, Alex.

At least you seem to have got his number; did you report the driver to the police?

... where 'sex' is what the refuse is placed within.

Hi everyone, Sad to say that GDPR is being invoked by an increasing number of people. In my own line of work a number of people have claimed that they have the 'right' not to be seen on camera in a public place that they have chosen to visit. The people claiming this right, to not be seen in a public space that they have chosen to visit, are regarded as 'competent' in law. Regards, Alex.

Hi Phil, Many thanks for the reference. I'll look up the location, out of curiousity, to see what their purpose was. Regards, Alex.

Hi Paul, Many thanks for the link. There are some very helpful links there of both the type I am looking for as well as some of the later styles too (e.g. anchor mounts). The ones that are particularly useful are those wagons built in 1949 and 1950. Do you have any thoughts as to when they would have finished in mainline service for ICI? Again, thanks for the help. Regards, Alex.

Hi everyone, Sorry, but it's another question about tank wagon liveries. I have a Bachmann model of one of the above (37-656A). I can find images of very similar tanks, all of ex-works examples. What I cannot find are images of these tanks later in life. Can anyone tell me what their likely load was, and the flows that they were used on? It would also be interesting to know when they were withdrawn. Thanks in advance for any help. Regards, Alex.

Hi Becasse, Many thanks for your response; it's really useful as it'll help me narrow down the dates of a few images. (May I also apologise for the missing acute accent - I couldn't find a way to insert one.) Regards, Alex.

Hi everyone, I am trying to find out in what years the above class transitioned from plain green to having wasp stripes; my particular interest is in numbers D2000 through D2030. I have found plenty of photographs of most of that group however very few seem to be dated, or are datable from other items in the image. Those that are dated are often from later in the 1960s onward. The end purpose is to establish how early the locos received the stripes, and from there work out what steam classes I could run with them at the same time. As ever, many thanks in advance for any assistance. Regards, Alex.

Hi everyone, Since my previous post on this thread there has been an extended period of inactivity. This was simply because I had lost all interest and enthusiasm for the project, and for modelling in general. This contributed to a decision to dispose of much of my locomotives and stock. With too many ideas, and a fair amount of indecision and false starts, there are now three options that I am looking to choose from; for each I have suitable motive power and rolling stock. 1. keep to the original plan; or 2. stick with the back-story but using my Edwardian era stock; or 3. stick with the original but make the scenics such that I may also use my late 60s East-Anglian diesels (classes 03 and 04). While I endeavouring to make up my mind I have managed to fix, wire, paint, and ballast the track. A few building kits have also been acquired. I may simply play about with a few of the kits, and rolling stock, and come to a decision based upon what I enjoy most. Some up-to-date images should appear during the next few days. As ever, thanks for reading. Regards, Alex.

Oh dear, what can one say about this? At least the perpetrators of this can remain fairly anonymous behind the costumes ... or are they protecting us from what they actually look like ... ?

Hi Jason, Many thanks for those links. I had found the chassis kit but not the other parts. Soldering them could be fun! Regards, Alex.

Hi everyone, I am looking to renumber my Bachmann early BR livery J72 as one of the batch built after nationalisation. Amongst other things it will mean replacing the current fitting, which is a pair of short handles and a wheel, with a more 'standard' looking pair of handles. Anyone know who might manufacture something suitable in metal? Thanks for any pointers. Regards, Alex.

Hi Clive, Don't you just want to hear what Radio 1 would do with this ... bleeper machine in meltdown, or switchboard failure as large numbers of offended listeners phone in? Regards, Alex.

Hi there, This is impressive and oozes atmosphere. Your first photo is reminiscent of the line that came down from Powderhall to Granton, and was only ripped up in the '80s. At the foot of the gradient the line took an almost ninety degree turn as it crossed the local road, and continued down an embankment to the harbour area. Although the line and bridge are long gone, it has only been a couple of years since they sorted out the road junction underneath it. Looking forward to seeing this develop. Regards, Alex.