Michael Edge

This what the DE2 and Hunslet 0-6-0DH looked like Both from our kits, the YE runs on Black Country Blues, the Hunslet was painted by Ian Rathbone.

I've used Super Steel epoxy in the gaps (in plastic based track) on Wentworth Junction, all seem to be OK so far.

All over wasp stripe livery was a common feature in Rotherham steelworks, the same was applied to both the YE DE2s and the Hunslet 67T 0-6-0s which successively replaced the YE 0-4-0ST on that MRN cover.

This is a photo from a few years ago under the junctions at the north end of our model of Citadel. This is DCC but there's still a lot more than two wires.... You can see the "only two wires" for the track power - red and blue at top right plus black for point motor common. The relays control route setting and signal setting, I'm not sure if all the signals were wired when this photo was taken though. It is actually quite pleasant working under the baseboards - they are 5ft off the tiled floor so I can sit comfortably on a chair.

There's a circular cover over the roller bearing but the bearing itself has to move up and down in the horns so your white bit has to be rectangular - I think you may have drawn this part too small though.

Your first option is well worth doing, even though it isn't full compensation. You do need to articulate the rods though - if they are in two layers just cut them in two so that they overlap on the middle crankpin. One middle crankpin hole on the outside layer, the other one on the inside layer. You only need sideplay on the middle axle. Compensating beams just inside the frames at each side work far better than central ones - and you don't need much movement either, 0.5mm up and down is sufficient.

The earliest Hunslet loco with wasp stripes I can find was the first of the second batch of BR 05s in October 1959. After that date they started to appear on industrial locos, there may have been earlier ones but most of the works photos aren't in finished liveries.

I don't think it's St Helens.

Yes, in the Finney A3 kit etc. but it always gave trouble with sticky slides in practice.

Watch out with the alignment on those overbridges - both these have a high central girder between the tracks.

Living only a few miles from the remains of the Worsbrough branch does make research a bit easier. These are the cable supports along the Moorend Lane bridge, the top ones would have fitted round about 2.3mm diameter in 4mm scale, they are only on one side, question was what were they for? Delving into books and photos it was soon clear, there was a 33kv cable connecting all the sub stations - and here on the branch it was carried very conspicuously on concrete posts, most of it in steel box section but some of it obviously round. There were some smaller cables as well, presumably these rested on the lower row of flat supports on the bridge. This called for another research visit, this time a walk up to the junction from Kendal Green crossing to see if we could find any remaining posts. First thing that came to light was this interesting artefact - looks like a concrete cable support, I've no idea what the other object is but it looks as if it belonged to the railway. Next, these castings on one wall of an overbridge - I've photographed these before without realising what they were but they must have been to carry the 33kv cable along here. There's a trough along the bottom of the wall so the other cables may well have been down there, Near the bridge we found three remaining posts in place, at 14ft and 7ft spacings - so presumably they were set at 7ft intervals and one is missing from here. On the way back this was spotted in the undergrowth - a complete post, uprooted and thrown on the other side of the line. 4 1/2in square with a flat top and 8ft long, not clear how much was buried in the ground but the bolts for the main cable carrier can clearly be seen. The other holes were presumably to allow the cable to be lifted to combat colliery subsidence which always plagued this line. the OLE equipment was also adjustable for height along here. All this gave an excellent picture of what the cables looked like, I now need to work out where to put them. They were mostly along the down side (Strafford sub station is on this side) but near WJ they run for some distance on the up side - possibly because this is where the signal box, point rodding etc. was. I can't quite identify where the cable crossed sides though.

Latest workbench photo from yesterday. The GKN 0-6-0T has moved on a bit now, in the centre the next loco for Wentworth Junction - a Q4 - and on the right my current 7mm job is well under way now - GW 1361 0-6-0ST. Boiler fittings for the GKN 0-6-0T - it's getting to that time of year when I don't much like going out to the cold garage to do bigger machining jobs. A closer view of Arthur Keen, the sandbox is the mostly plastikard pattern for moulding, temporarily placed on the footplate. Coupling rods still to be built up, this is just one layer placed on the crankpins to show what it looks like - they were articulated, the front section has a vertical joint just in front of the knuckle. Step plates fitted now that the boiler is on and I don't need the bottom edges of the buffer beams to check that it's square - it's impossible to twist the loco body now. Not much more to add before going back to the frames, there are two tank straps over the boiler, cladding bands will go on after painting, tank fillers, safety valve lever, whistle control rod and step treads - buffers I'm not sure about yet, two different varieties were fitted at different times and I don't have clear photos of either of them. Some moulds poured this morning, the sandbox for the GKN is in the centre one, other parts are a Hunslet control desk and preliminary moulds for the remaining fittings for 7mm 05 and HE twin disc 0-6-0DH. Patterns are stuck to the bench top with double sided tape and lego boxes built round them, this is at the first stage with moulding rubber poked around all the possible undercuts and places where air bubbles are likely to form, the rest of the rubber is then poured in up to the top of the Lego bricks.

Moorend Lane bridge girders have to in place before I can finish the ballasting. The girders are set in concrete on the trackside, first stgae is to make up the concrete parts from laminated Plastikard and set them out on the drawing. Girders built up and added to the concrete bases, only the top of the central one is visible. There are ribs all along the inside of the main girders but only one at each end on the outsides. I then checked the fit on the layout, I've had to deepen the main girders a bit to cover the baseboard thickness - they should be only 4ft deep. Walkways and handrails added now, (the cable supports are still in place on the bridge today), there is another row to add below this one to carry some smaller cables. Painted now, ready to fit in place today.

Yes, we've got the rivet overlays for the Fowler 4P in stock - £16 + £1.50 postage. (and the limousine cab conversion - £19 + £1.50).

No cut outs at all on the C14 4-4-2T I've built recently, including behind the bogie wheels. I did mark the frames there for cut outs in case they were necessary though. That one has the frame plan exactly as the GC built it, just narrowed for 00 gauge, other railways may well have had different frame widths and joggles.

Give us a chance! We haven't got the production 4mm ones yet and I'll have to build a test of one in 7mm first.

Narrowed frames work, at least down to 28" radius, for all the radial axles I've done.

It does if the gearbox is in the same place as the pivot - think about what BR had to do to get round this with the 1-Co-Co-1s.

I've built a few locos with actual radial trucks but they haven't been conspicuously successful, I prefer internal pony trucks on the same radius now.

I think this is just a case of including a standard tender but length might have been a consideration for turntables. The Horwich Mallet proposal referred to above did include a bigger than standard tender but a leading pony truck was omitted to enable it to fit on 60ft turntables. The 2-10-0 was based on a Belgian boiler design and seems to have ben an exercise to see if it could be squeezed into the L&Y loading gauge. The latter was very generous in height but the the safety valves still had to be moved off the boiler top - I'm not sure about forward visibility round that huge firebox either.

If you want a really good Barnsley chop you'll need to come to our local butcher's in Royston - nothing else come close.

I think all that should work OK, I would usually put the radial pivot exactly where it was in full size but that might be awkward if it does coincide with a driving axle. Which axle will the model be driven on?

I've built a lot of Mickeys over the years, here are a few. Another 44767, this time in 3mm scale, I painted this one as well as building it. This one built in EM from a K's kit for Carlisle, I think painted by Graham Varley. Another one i built for Carlisle, this time from a DJH kit. Finally two of my own, 44752 is all scratchbuilt and 45156 from a Jamieson kit - K's wheels on the latter, since replaced with Gibson after difficulties with 16.2mm gauge pointwork. The paintwork of both looking a bit battered now after many years use on various layouts.

It will look a lot better if you can get something in the bottom of the check gap - even plastikard strip might work although the running rail chairs may get in the way. The rest of the sleepers won't show anywhere because the setts cover the whole area.

I did eventually make one that sort of worked, assembled from square tube with a phosphor bronze strip running through. It's on a 325 set I built for a customer.