Michael Edge

White paint on the sleepers works well enough for Chapel -en-le-Frith.

They are used with the gearbox they are fitted with, the one in the 48DS has two plates soldered to the gearbox to carry the bevel drive, the one in the 05 isn't altered at all, just fitted with the chain sprocket. I'll post some pictures of others later, all the kit display stock is still packed up after Railex.

I agree but the LMS did do this with 5MTs, altering some to take different boilers in order to increase the availability of spare ones, I think a similar approach was taken with the Princesses. The need for spares arises from the fact that the boiler takes longer to repair than the mechanical bits so with a spare one the locos are out of traffic for a shorter period. I very much doubt that Gresley had any interest in developing the Raven pacifics but there was benefit in keeping them going for some time.

If it's a Mazak block you really need to saw it off, it doesn't grind very well although it won't produce any sparks if you do.

A search on Ebay reveals any number of these motors, starting at 99p at the moment, the U configuration ones are a lot further down the list and usually more expensive - £3 or so. In answer to Kelly above, these motors might be tiny but the power output is amazing. I don't know what the overall gear ratio is, it's not quoted but 1:1 drive produces an excellent speed range for shunting locos. They are available in other gear ratios, not often specified but look at the number of gear stages in the illustrations. They are also quoted at all sorts of voltages from 3v to 12v but all the ones I have bought are perfectly happy on nominally 12v DC control, the one running in my Hunslet 14" 0-6-0ST has a Digitrax chip in it and is perfectly controllable on the DCC part of Herculaneum Dock.

The only slight fault in the 05's running is a tendency for it to bounce on the compensation if the power is turned up quickly. probably due to a combination of torque reaction and slack in the chain. I'm just amazed at the power output of this tiny motor and its obviously very efficient gearbox.

I've been experimenting with a large variety of extremely cheap motors recently, with the demise of Mashima in mind. The best so far is the n20 with its spur drive gearbox, I've had one of these running in a 4mm loco for some time now but the difficulty has been in finding suitable 1:1 right angle drives, skew gears seem best but plastic bevels work well, although they are a bit big to fit in 00 gauge frames. Since they proved just about unstallable in the 14" Hunslet saddle tank I moved up to 7mm and fitted one in this 48DS which will be finished as DS1169. To use the bevel gears I made up a fairly crude gearbox frame soldered to the end plate, this drives on the fixed axle of the 48DS with chains to the final drive shaft and down to the other axle which is allowed to rock. Viewed from underneath, the bevel gears come with a 3mm hole which is a good fit on the gearbox output shaft, the other one is bored out to fit on the 1/8" axle. Performance of this loco is excellent, no weight in it yet, I'll fill it with lead once it's painted. The only drawback to this motor in 7mm is that it's a little too long to fit between 0 gauge frames, although it might fit in Scale 7, there is however an alternative U shaped configuration. These are a bit harder to find and may be a little more expensive but they will easily fit between 0 gauge frames, consequently the next experiment was in a bigger loco. This is the frame of the test etch Hunslet 05, since it was already built I couldn't fit the motor down in the frames - it might even fit in the loco's gearbox area, driving the jackshaft (maybe a later experiment). In this case the gearbox is simply soldered to the inside of the frame plate with a chain drive down to the leading axle. This wasn't an ideal arrangement because all the axles are compensated and this axle has to move vertically so the chain would have been better horizontal but it serves to prove the concept. With the body fitted and weighted up to about 500g it seems to work perfectly well and can still easily spin its wheels. These motors are so cheap they could easily be used in multiple for much bigger locos - axle hung traction motors for large diesels and electrics?

We've actually sold more than the usual number of 48DS kits since the announcement of the Hornby model and have just had to order some more.

The alterations to fit what was a standard boiler probably weren't that difficult and the locos were required in traffic, creating spare boilers in this way wasn't unusual. Building another boiler to what was seen as an inferior design would have seemed a retrograde step.

It isn't at the moment, more will be posted when I get back to it. Frames, footplate, cab, tanks and bunker assembled so far - boiler next.

That was only because there were no spare boilers for the Raven pacifics and they were too new to scrap. Fitting one with an A1 boiler left one boiler spare for the others.

Some more progress with the 150hp Fowler. The radiator is a resin moulding, easy to add to the casing since it is slightly wider, the later radiator casing will be included in the etch. Frames are complete and painted now for 600s, this is 00 gauge and it's becoming apparent that clearances will be minimal in wider gauges. The motor fitted is a small square one on a High Level gearbox, the engine casing is very narrow and there isn't much length available without intruding into the cab. There were two superb examples built from our kits at Railex last weekend, this Hunslet 75T 0-6-0DE on Bottom Works Sidings, well finished and weathered in British Steel livery Another incredible 2mm model from Alex Duckworth, the EB1, seen on Alan Whitehouse's MSW layout.

At least you won't be able to do it on Wentworth Junction - no passenger trains at all unless we have special or a diversion and no room at the front for all the stock in the fiddle yard.

Nice to see lots of pictures of our Hunslet 75T 0-6-0DE on Bottom Works Siding, maybe we'll actually sell a few more kits now. It did look superb in British Steel livery.

In order to make it run it needs new wheels and a more modern motor, if I do that I'll run it myself on Chapel en le Frith - it will still be a b****r to paint though.

As in doing one's best to empty the fiddle yard? Both of my layouts, Cwmafon and Herculaneum Dock, largely work on the basis of real traffic to be worked, coal and steel shifting in both cases with some other goods as well. Passenger trains fitted in gaps between the goods trains.

Don't forget the Jubilees from Hong Kong which were gold plated - and very difficult to paint according to Larry Goddard. I've got No. 063 but I don't really know what to do with it.

I put graphite everywhere, haven't cleaned any loco wheels for more than three years and nothing stalls or needs finger poking.

The dock railway is built with bullhead rail soldered to copperclad sleepers, the checkrail is slightly smaller flat bottom rail soldered on its side in the web of the bullhead. The flange forms the checkrail and is about right for 00/16.5mm. Round switch blades a vertical strip of n/s is soldered to keep the fill away from the rails, this part is concrete, done with ordinary filler, most of the rest is granite setts which are impressed into grey tile grout. There is a short section of track at the Herculaneum Dock end (not connected to the rest of the railway) which was built from drawn tram rail. This was produced experimentally by the wire mill where most rail was made but I don't think it went into production. It was very difficult to curve - which is why it was used for this short straight section. This is the track leading in to the MDHB shed, all still "concrete". Southport 2014, when the LOR had been added but not weathered. A notable feature of the MDHB system was that very few sidings turned out of the adjacent track, most came from the opposite track via a diamond crossing like the shed entrance here. This does cause a few operating headaches on the layout. Ganite setts around a crossover under Herculaneum Dock station.

Interesting drawing from New York, very similar construction but no decking. I don't know of any other elevated railway which was waterproof - and that's what killed the LOR, not the steam locos underneath. There are similar stretches of the Paris Metro and of course the EL in Chicago, all are open to the sky and let the rain fall through. The rain falling on the LOR was supposed to drain out through tiny holes at each side of the troughs in the deck plates (which were of course horizontal), these must have blocked up pretty quickly judging by the state of the top of the railway. Why on earth the dockers were entitled to an "umbrella" when they didn't have any protection before is beyond me.

That must have been Herculaneum Dock's first visit to Southport in 2002, long before the LOR was added to it. I had to squash Brunswick shed a bit to squeeze it into the corner of the layout and it now gives us something of an operating problem as we can't see which locos are in there. We do also have a 7mm kit for this loco. photo by Ian Rathbone who painted this one.

That's what I do, solder on one end only.

No1 is smaller than the other Avonside B3s, 26 is one of these.

Good, you'll have to get it finished now!

GT85 works very well for this.