Michael Edge

It could be my K's 40ft brake van, certainly my scratchbuilt Cravens DMU - aka the growler - and one of my Triang Met Cams creeping into shot (one of these is the infamous unpowered two car set. The K's van still runs, I still have the DMUs here but they have nowhere to run these days.

It doesn't help at all with track twist but it does make the frame flexible in one plane. Many of our track imperfections are simply vertical, particularly at baseboard joints, this does at least stop the loco rocking lengthways on its centre axle. The diesel example I quoted above does seem to defy all logic to me though - I walked round this loco twice to make sure of what I had seen when we measured it - but they do work.

Looking over the shed with an Overhead train passing, Hunslet No.32 with a couple of tank wagons below. This angle and the light behind shows up the lack of interior detail in my LOR trains though, View under Brunswick's coal hole with a 4F on the turntable. There was an electric coal hoist under here but it wouldn't be visible either from the front of the layout or to the operator. Using a small camera gets into some very inaccessible locations. I like this view from ground level with the LOR silhouetted against the sky background. The leaning yard lamp needs some attention. Looking down into the coal hole, the 60ft turntable is a venerable item, originally built in the 1970s for Bradford London Road on our ols club layout Leeds Victoria. View along Herculaneum Bridge towards the station and car shed, the line's original terminus before the southern extension to Dingle. A WD 2-8-0 has managed to get left in the old MR coaling area, this was normally used for the shunting locos but occasionally saw use for main line locos as well. Two other LOR trains in the car shed, this is half the length it should be, it coul;d actually hold four trains. Close up of part of the same shot, the far siding is useful for parking brake vans. The CLC and Dingle tunnel from Herculaneum Dock station. A J10 leaving with some steel empties while an O4 waits to go off shed. The signal showing red is not for the main line but is the shed exit signal, there was a telephone here to contact the signal box as it was out of sight round the curve. This view from the back of the car shed looking over Herculaneum dock as an LOR train leaves the tunnel on the big girder bridge. MDHB small Avonside No.7 pulls full coals across the weighbridge. Some of the casemates were used for storing explosives - this is the explanation for the gunpowder van parked there. Close up of No.7 by the weighbridge hut, fulls at both sides, there is a weighbridge at each side of this building. Just about the view from Herculaneum bridge into what was left of the shed after the Luftwaffe had finished modifying it. Storage space was almost non existent and coal wagons were often left in the shed and that poor bu66er has been halfway up the steps with his bike since 1997. The new Hudswell would have been delivered by rail so here it is paying a quick visit to Brunswick. Way out of time though, the shed had been closed before these last locos were bought by the MDHB. Last one from ground level in Brunswick goods. Steel empties on the departure road and the J69 with the loaded Trestrol.

It isn't intended to be full compensation as I'm sure Nick knows but it is much better than all rigid. With regard to central beams, a quick look at full size practice (always a good idea) reveals that compensating beams are always placed as close to the wheels as practicable, I don't see why we should do something different. In case anyone thinks there are rules about this, have a look at the GEC 6wh diesels built in some numbers for British Steel, NCB and ICI and still in use. These have the first and second axles connected with compensating beams on the LH side and the second and third axles connected on the RH side - I haven't built one of these yet but I'm fascinated to see how it will work. These locos do of course have springing as well but the compensation is intended to help with uneven track. This is quite a bit more complicated than the average model system but it's compensation nonetheless.

With most of the layout up and working, though not connected to the fiddle yard, I've taken the opportunity to take some photos. All are taken from somewhere it would have been possible to stand - no "helicopter shots". Viewed from outside the car shed, a 40ft motor set leaving on its way to Dingle. Down on the ground by the old MR coaling stage, imported timber loaded on bogie bolster wagons. The view of Brunswick shed yard from an Overhead train, newly repainted compound on the sheerlegs road and two time travellers, the B16/3 with the later BR crest and the new MDHB Hudswell in the shed. Same stock, slightly different viewpoint. A closer look at one of the shunters, ex MR 3F 0-6-0T is ready to pull a train of coal empties out of the exchange sidings. Under the Overhead this time, a stray point cover lying in the middle of the Dock Road but no trains in sight. J69 shunting a loaded Trestrol EC in Brunswick Goods, the CLC gantry crane in the foreground. From the inside now, looking down from sandstone cliff, the MR 3F shunting full coals down to the dock. More to follow.

This system isn't complicated, it's very simple and just about foolproof. I does not and isn't intended to provide full compensation but it helps a great deal. I've been using this system, scratchbuilt and etched, for many more years than I care to remember and it's included in nearly all our kits. The way to move on to full compensation isn't to put a beam in the middle which in my experience is a good way to get wobbly running but to add a rocking arrangement to the third axle. It does break down once more than three axles are involved, with four axles I leave one of the intermediates lightly sprung - I haven't done anything with more than four axles yet. This photo of one of our North British 440hp 0-6-0s shows full compensation on the same system (bearings not fitted, this is only a test etch/display model), the trailing axle runs in swinging arms pivoted as far back as practical. The arms pass round the jackshaft axle, the axle itself is allowed to rock under a knife edge. The whole thing is based on round holes, etched in these cases but it can be done by jig drilling, and no fitting is required as with hornblock systems.

Check your transfers, standard size should fit. Try the ones you used on the BR 3MT.

Cadbury No.9 back from Dave Studley superbly (and very quickly) painted. Safely delivered to Don this afternoon, only a little late for his birthday.

C14 is nearly finished but work came to a halt when I found that I'd got the wrong HL gearbox for it. The right one turnec up yesterday so it won't be long now. No further work on the Ashford DE.

Quite so. The J10 is still stalled on the absence of end view drawings with particular reference to the cab spectacles. The variety of MS&L tenders for this is a bit problematical as well.

Not yet but I would like one. Locos for Wentworth Junction are taking precedence at the moment though, next on the drawing board will be the Q4 and I've really got to get moving with the EM1.

I would have made the cab sides in two pieces, either side of the splasher top.

That's my L&Y 2-4-2T facing the camera and my modified Hornby Dublin BR 2-6-4T on the buffers at the left. I've still got them but they haven't run for a long time.

It's a long time since but my usual method then was to make the splasher tops from brass sheet of the appropriate thickness, leaving it standing proud of the splasher face. Solder up the splashers, clean up the joint and sand it to the thickness of the beading. All these were built before I got into etching but I did do some etched splasher faces for the L&Y Atlantic in 4mm and 7mm.

I use 62/s solder - tin/lead with 2% silver, melting point is 179. It flows really well and changes soldering techniques a lot. Available from Warton Metals, RS and Hobby Holidays at least.

Here's a couple more L&Y locos, again built many years ago (1992-4), painted recently by Dave Studley. Nothing visible from this angle but the 4-4-2 has inside motion (Joy valve gear) - I did an Aspinall 4-4-0 with it as well but it's not this one. Looking back through my files I did build a few locos from kits, Craftsman and George Norton ones. My photos of these are all pre-digital, not so easy to find and post on here.

No kits involved here, all his locos are scratchbuilt. I think the Millholme kit was a bit of a mixture between the L&Y and subsequent LMS versions of the Dreadnought but It's a long time since I built one.

This customer has at least three of them including the only original version I have built.

I am slowly working my way through my own older locos putting more modern and efficient motors/gearboxes in them. Latest one at the weekend was this venerable Buckjumper. Built way back in 1987 with Herculaneum Dock in mind this is just the bog standard Wills kit - I know it's not really an accurate model of any one of these mind boggling varied locos but it looks the part to me. The J69s were used for many years shunting at Brunswick. It's old enough to have Sharman wheels which are still OK but it's been grinding round all these years with an Airfix/MRRC motor and Romford gears. Now it has a High Level gearbox (Highflyer) and a 15mm square motor from China, the big lump on the left is what came out. These motors are extremely powerful and just about silent but they do seem to run a bit warm. They also run very slowly and need a high gear ratio, this is about 30:1 and gives a top speed of about 40mph or so. 68601 now runs silently and smoothly, current consumption is so low that it barely registers on the ammeter so I'm not too worried if it gets a bit warm. The screw holes in this motor are nowhere near the ones in the HL gearbox so it's just soldered on.

Some photos turned up this week of a loco I built in 1995. An L&Y Dreadnought running with an 8 wheel tender, EM gauge. Although this model is 25 years old it has only recently been painted, superb job by Paul Moore.

We still use the detect circuit on all LMRS controllers and it will do the same thing with some Portescap fitted locos - you just have to remember to switch the section off when the loco has stopped. The green light on the controller (I think Victoria was the first application of this) is absolutely invaluable for operation if it's used like this. Before moving a train: 1 make sure the direction switch on the controller is on (either way) 2 check that the green light is off 3 set all the route 4 switch any required link section(s) on and check that the green light doesn't come on - this would show that something else was connected. 5 switch on the section where your intended loco is - at this point only, the green light should come on 6 drive away There is also a red light which tells you you have done something wrong.... Other commercial controllers have a similar green light which tells you absolutely nothing....

We have the 14" as well in 4mm scale - others also in 7 and 3mm scales.

No I'm not that sure but I've never seen any photos of Hymeks on any other possible route from Gorton.

This might have been what was supposed to happen but Garsdale is a pretty remote place and there were never more than a handful of passengers. There's never been a footbridge here either and everyone was supposed to go down to the road and back up again but in my experience all the passengers used the barrow crossing at the up end and might still do for all I know (they did when I was last there in 2013). Looking through all the photos I can find the covers over the fpl equipment are clearly visible everywhere else but there aren't any in the main running lines at either end. It's not very clear on the signal diagram what the EFPL at the down end crossover is referring to.