Michael Edge

I've built a few Jamieson kits, the pressed shell for the LMS streamliners was the best way to produce one for a long time. This is the only Jamieson loco I still have though. 45156 was the first Jamieson kit I built, it has been altered a bit now with mostly etched motion (not sure if it's K's or Eames etch or a mixture of both). It still had K's wheels when this photo was taken but it now has Gibson drivers.

Trestrol EC drawing was in Model Railway Constructor September 1958.

It’s the rim shape that was pure Horwich.

I have thought about doing this but the centre throwover would be huge and with our sharp curves it might cause problems - probably by demolishing ground signals. I have an empty one as well and they look OK to me, they are big enough as they are!

Not just that one, all the BR standards had a Horwich pattern chimney as selected by Cox himself.

Here's another rarely seen variant, an O4/5, rebuilt with a shortened Gresley boiler Some of my own etches in this and a Judith Edge tender, seen here on Wentworth Junction at a very early stage 63745 has since been weathered. The Triang Trestrol behind it is one of their best models despite the fact that over an inch is missing from the length in the middle - not visible in this photo though.

Still a lot cheaper than commissioning an etch design today.

Yes it's Liverpool with the floating crane Mammoth.

That photo is taken from Nelson bridge which is the continuation of Victoria viaduct at the north end of Citadel, the bridge also goes across the river here. We have a low relief version of that goods shed alongside a line which just disappears into the wall - we just have the through goods lines, no room for Dentonholme yard (the building wasn't big enough....).

The nearer track did go right through Dentonholme goods shed so you could have a bit more in the space......

Don't worry about the theory, just try it out - and don't forget that shunting with steam was a lot faster than most modellers seem to think.

I think the kit built one looks much better, more like a loco and less like a shiny toy - even with the repaint it still looks like moulded plastic.

You will find the end footboards come quite close to the platforms on curves, there is quite a big throwover here - also obviously in the centre of the underframe truss, the coach body should all be above platform level anyway. Our model of Carlisle has the platforms built at correct width/spacing from the tracks (most modellers leave a big gap) and as a consequence we've had to make sure all stock really is in gauge - a great many models aren't.

It’s only the test track that’s tidy, the bench is the usual tip! The test track only contains items being worked on ( or likely to be) , there are also piles of boxes in other places.

This is the G train etch for the B7. Some of the B7s ran with self trimming tenders so I used a Perseverance kit, I didn't bother building up the axleboxes and springs from the parts supplied so I used ours. Boiler and firebox scratchbuilt in my usual way. Now painted in very early BR livery it runs on Herculaneum Dock and Wentworth Junction. Incidentally we have plenty of the etched "ship's wheels" and also etches for the Iracier axlebox covers which some of these tenders had.

I think the lack of beading on the coal raves is the result of open rails plated on the outside.

I sent this away unpainted as usual and if it was Larry who painted it they didn't always reappear as the loco I built..... Some real howlers occurred in this way including one Duchess which eventually got to Carlisle but with the wrong tender for the number.

It's a long time ago but I don't remember any problems with the frames and I think they are probably 26mm Romfords - I will have machined the flanges down though. There isn't much clearance between leading and driving wheels on a Star or a Castle anyway.

Looking through my books I've built 33 Proscale kits over the years but don't have digital photos of most of them, here's a few anyway. I don't recall any problems building this Star. A3 in BR blue, looks a bit pale to me but Ian Rathbone painted it. Another A3, I don't know who painted this one but possibly Larry Goddard with the partly green cab roof. Finally a couple of P2s, I've built 13 of these in total, it was definitely the best way to get one. No readily accessible photos but I've also built the A1, Princess, K3, B1 and V2, some of them in 3mm scale as well.

I knew you would find something wrong with it! The actual mechanism is all Hornby, the new frames are essentially cosmetic, fitted outside the Mazak block on spacers. We have two A3s with this modification as well.

This is the Hornby A4 on new frames and motion. This runs on Carlisle and is EM gauge, the etched frames are fitted around the Hornby mechanism and it has Markits wheels on 3mm axles. Motion is all etched and includes the slidebar bracket which most rtr seems to ignore, leading to silly angles when the slidebars are just stuck out of the cylinders. To my eyes the body shape is just about spot on apart from the bottom of the cylinders, I've rounded them a bit but it's still wrong. The loco runs well but even with cerrobend poured into every cavity in the body it still won't pull our heaviest trains - it doesn't really need to though. This is the original Hornby finish with Barry O's weathering.

You’re using the wrong flux, stick to phosphoric acid, fluxes everything you’ll ever solder and it’s rustproofer for steel. It sounds like you’ve got Bakers fluid (or some other name) - I won’t have it in the workshop.

You don't need solder paste for laminating, just clamp the parts together and run flux and solder along the edges, capillary action will take the solder in.

The drawing in MRC January 1970 is fairly comprehensive and accurate.

How about Lancashire Derbyshire and East Coast?