Annie

NER C1's waiting for signals.  These are from Paulz Trainz, but with sight texture modding by me.  Older models now, but still very nice.

Yes best of luck Gary and a speedy recovery.

I actually own a cutter Simon, but with the cognitive deficits I'm afflicted with due to narcolepsy I can't use it.  Anyone want to buy a brand new hardly ever been used Silhouette cutter? - coz I've got one going cheap  

Some folk won't have access to laser cutting machines though Simon.  I live waaaaaaaay out in the rural countryside and I'm housebound as well so I would really need to have a proper kit.

Out and about on the Seaside branch with a J70 on a local train.  Part of the route is roadside running so the J70's have been needed on the branch for a while now.

There were a lot more screenies than that from this passenger run, but I think these ones are the best out of the collection.

I think initially Linny just the coach bodies in card would be fine; - or at least for me anyway as I have suitable coarse scale 'O' underframes to hand that could be adapted.

I know you've got your hands full at the moment Linny, but will there eventually be 7mm scale kits available too?

What lovely locomotives.  Locomotive designers certainly knew about aesthetics back then.  If I had to pick one it would be the 'Sharpie'. 

That was indeed a good haul Sem.  The clerestories and the Coal Tank would be considered good enough, but three baseboards for free really slathers the icing on the cake.

Once coal trains have crossed the river bridge they are handed over to the care of more serious and powerful 0-8-0's by various shunting and setting back manoeuvres into a long siding provided for the purpose.  Once the NER T1's take over it's out on the mainline.  Which as it happens is owned by the GWR, but by virtue of inexplicable running powers granted to the GNJt.R back in the dim mists of time the newly devised LNER are still able to use.

On the climb up to Debton station (GWR) it became very plain the the lead T1 was neither producing any smoke from its chimney, nor was it actually doing anything to help and was in fact being pushed up the hill by the second T1 which was also having to struggle with the whole weight of the coal train.  Sooooooo the leading engine got sent to the naughty chair of shame by being shunted into the GWR MPD at Debton until it could be fetched to be mended.  I think the poor thing was ashamed to be still carrying a BR number on its cabside so I'll have to fix that.

Fortunately there were no further problems for the rest of the journey.

Which ended at my steampunk version of a gasworks which may or may not actually look like what a gasworks is supposed to look like.

And that's all from my latest episode of playing with my trainset.  

As the grouping begin to take hold the newly devised LNER has sent ex-NER J73's to work the coal trains over the slightly fragile wooden river bridge on the GNJt.R's Seaside branch.  At least two young schoolboys (Their Mum supervising with a stern eye) seem pleased to see them even if the GNJt.R crews are still a bit doubtful.

And the aforementioned bridge.  Some strengthening work has been carried out, but heavier locomotives than the J73's are still banned.

Earlier snaps taken with my virtual box Brownie of the coal train in transit.

On the approach to the river bridge.

The J73's are by Paulz Trainz and are older models from his stable, but are still very nice.

The fate of the GNJt.R's second hand Wainwright R1's is at present uncertain.

And ex-NER J72's in the livery of their new masters are also starting to appear on the GNJt.R's Seaside branch.

Where will it all end?!     (A small point of explanation: - The Grand Navigation Shipping & Railways Co's joint partner is or was the NER, - hence the GNJt.R or Grand Navigation Joint Railway.)

Excellent. I'd just found that "over 110 years ago" simultaneously too precise (implying not long before 1908) and frustratingly vague.

Personally I find that 'vague' is a good thing when it comes to the pre-group era.  

Yes I thought it would be one of those nice little touches to add to the general village scene.  

If you're going to have cyclists in and around Castle Aching the local hostelry might need one of these on an outside wall.

http://www.wingedwheels.info

I've been looking at old photos of GCR 0-6-2 tank engines and this one doesn't seem to be lined out, but of course it's impossible to tell if it's black or bronze green.  There seems to be a different colour toning between the smoke box and the boiler which makes me wonder if it's unlined bronze green, but it really is difficult to say if it is one way or the other.

 

 

I know. I remember your articles.

Oh dear my mis-spent past finds me out  

Gosh, - that seems so long ago now.  Life, bringing up two children, my marriage going down the tubes and then later on training as a social worker all conspired to take me away from railway modelling for quite a long time.  When I started again it was in coarse scale 'O' gauge which was a lot of fun.  And now I'm a digital railway modelling girl.

With their 7ft driving wheels GER 'Clauds' are just soooooooo much fun to drive.

And on a more mundane level here's a GCR 9F (N5) 0-6-2 tank engine on a semi-fitted goods train.

The GCR 9F tank engines were complete all rounders that could cope with shunting, trip freight working and working passenger trains as well.  They were really useful engines.  I think my one should be in lined bronze green, but I don't feel brave enough to try modding its textures yet.  A lovely flexible digital model to drive with nicely done physics and engine spec.  More then likely the GCR section on the Valleyfields layout is going to be largely worked by GCR 9F tank engines simply because they are so versatile.

After a bit of fluffing around I discovered that the Y65 'Crystal Place' tank engines have been made to be black engines only with the way the textures have been arranged.  Not terribly keen on digital locos that use blanket textures as you end up being stuck with a loco that can only be one colour scheme - usually black, - and they can't be lined out.  BUT in this case they are going to be fine as GC&EJt. locomotives and will get used for passenger workings of the semi-brisk variety from the GCR and into GER territory.

My lettering is much nicer then Paul's with 3 layers of colour and no nasty shine either.  The Y65's look reasonably smart with the way I've done them even if I do say so myself.  I used the loco's GER numbers just because, - and it also saved me from attempting to make up number schemes. The other two locos will be Nos. 192 and 193.

I was a bit intrigued by the safety valve casing which looks like a square section brass biscuit tin, but apparently they really were like that.

That is one very nice model locomotive; - and 'S' Scale too.  Over 20 years ago now I used to work in 'S' Scale and I thought it was the ideal scale for finescale work.  I tried P4 and that way madness beckons..........

Sem, there are NER signals on the DLS.  They are under 'Sig NER'.  They're for TS2012, but it's easy to change them over to TS2009.

Stone Blocks And Iron Rails, by Bertram Baxter, David & Charles, 1966.  This is one really excellent reference book.  When I was modelling 19th century railways in P4 our local library must've got tired of me taking it out on loan on a near constant basis.

Y65 Crystal Place tank engines have arrived.

GER ones aren't done anymore, so I had to take black and modern image LNER instead.  Not a problem though as me and Mr Paint.NET should be able to fix that.  I am thinking that since the Crystal Palace tank engines weren't a great success........... in my imaginary little world they might have got palmed off on the GC&EJt.  I'll try one like that and see wot I think.

The NER coaches have just arrived too.  I like pocket money day  

 

 

Go DCC they said.............. It only needs 2 wires they said............

The operators guide is a very very good idea  

Hornby may well release the 0-8-0 Terrier on 1/4/19....

I want one!  

When I'm having a not so good day with not being well I seem to spend my time making coaches.  This one is based off a scan of about a third of a faded Leeds Model Co coach litho that had a bit of damage to boot.  It's something I've been meaning to do for a while just to see if I could restore the litho and after quite a bit of exercising both my brain and Paint.NET I achieved what I think is a reasonable result.

I have no idea if the NER actually had a 50ft low arc roof lav composite like this one, but since the remains of the old litho was for the North Eastern Railway I decided to go ahead and complete it as a NER coach.  Now it's all tidy and restored I could just as easily letter another version for the GER since it does look something like their coaches that were finished in the later Lake livery.  Anyway I'm reasonably happy with it and it can joint the ranks of my other litho based coaches that are so very useful for strengthening passenger trains.  The most important thing with running litho type coaches like these is not to couple them up right next to highly detailed stock with proper windows and modelled interiors otherwise they start looking like poor relations.

I have a train of GCR clerestory coaches made for TS2004 (not by me) and these are litho type coaches as well.  They could really do with their sides being properly overhauled and detailed in the way that I do with my own litho coaches so that's going to become an ongoing project for me in between building GC&EJt.coaches using Linny's coach side artwork.

I went and purchased 6 Worsdell NER clerestory coaches from Paulz Trainz since I want to work on the much neglected NER section of the HUGE UK layout so it actually has a presence on the layout; - which was difficult since I didn't have any NER coaches and I wanted to retire the Gresley stock.  I have plans to purchase some NER 4-4-0's from Paul in about three different varieties as when my pocket money fund allows me to do so.  Goods engines I already have due to my imaginary GNJt.R being mainly about hauling long trains of coal across the landscape; - it was the passenger service side that was lacking.

The coach types are: -  Lav 1st, Compo (D47), Compo (D88), Compo (D93), Van 1st, Van Compo, Lugg Compo.  Apparently these 45ft bogies were meant for the lines around Whitby, particularly between Malton and Whitby via Pickering.  BUT of course I won't be taking much notice of that as the HUGE UK layout's location has never been stated and I'm not likely to either (because I haven't a clue).

I did go and buy a GER 'Crystal Palance' tank engine, - well actually three of them, - since it was cheaper to buy three instead of one.  This means that I will own exactly one quarter of the whole class.  Such things might make a purist sweat as they try to justify them, but not me  

From the pictures on Paul's website the models seem to use a one colour texture piece that includes the cab roof so any GER version will end up with a blue cab roof.  So while I have asked for GER engines I will be changing the colour to wartime grey which should take care of the problem.

Anyway that's enough rambling on from me.