Annie

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

The operators guide is a very very good idea

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.

Picnic Saloons are fun and are a very good way to add colour to any pre-group passenger train. They sometimes tended to go outside their owning company's area of operations and sometimes a long way from home where you wouldn't expect to see a coach from that particular company. I've got a GWR 6 wheel Family Saloon and a LNWR 6 wheel Picnic Saloon which I'll be adding into passenger trains on Valleyfields from time to time. This is the LNWR Picnic Saloon. And this is the GWR Family Saloon.

GER bogie 3rd now done and sent to DLS.

GER bogie coaches to be available on the DLS very soon. The corridor 3rd is still being worked on.

Only just fits on the turntable! Still some final texture colour adjustments to do. I'm thinking of doing a second one lettered for the GC&EJt. Same basic lined green, but with different lettering on the tender and the coat of arms on the front splasher changed.

I would never use anything else and all my old bicycles have them. Accept no imitations!

The GER C53 tram engine came from Darlington Works James https://darlington-works.weebly.com/ger-wisbech-stock.html It was part of a pack also containing J70's in LNER livery as well as BR liveries, and also the GER luggage van as well as 4 wheel tramway coaches in GER lake and LNER mock teak. Unfortunately there was just the one GER C53 in the pack along with multiple versions of the others. I may have do a little texture editing in order to make another one as I have plans for a wharf and a certain amount of roadside running through a town on Valleyfields. The GER Y14 had only just been done by someone on the Auran Trainz forum as a reskin on a LNER version so it was very timely. There's also some very nice GER teak 4 and 6 wheelers been done recently as well. Not strictly correct as they are texture reskins of MR coaches, but they look magnificent. Some clerestory GER teak coaches are presently being worked on by the same chap who made the 4 and 6 wheelers after I suggested the possibility of doing the same thing with some MR bogie coach digital models that were available for Trainz. I have a 'Claud' 4-4-0 in GER blue as well, but it was out on the layout with a train when I took the engine shed screen shot. I've tracked down an older digital model of a 'Crystal Palace' 2-4-2. It may be available in GER blue and I'm still thinking about it as it is an older model with some faults and it might not have been especially likely for one to be found out in the rural countryside.. It's definitely a good time to be modelling the GER though as more models are becoming available along with suitable pre-group goods wagons.

I think the old coarse scale wooden buildings that were made for 'O' gauge are nicer than the tinprinted ones that Hornby made. I've seen pictures of Midland Model's repro Bassett Lowke buildings and they are really lovely. http://www.binnsroad.co.uk/railways/midland/index.html

Thanks. The nice thing is that the original creators of the base loco and tender I used have seen it over on the Auran Trainz forum and approve of what I've done. They even gave me some advice on how to improve the colour matching between the loco and the tender. I'm still working on the Valleyfields layout and one of the things it was lacking was a proper MPD. There was a small engine shed at one of the stations, but it couldn't really be called a MPD and wasn't anywhere near suitable for servicing the perhaps dozen or so locomotives that are going to find homes on this layout. It's still a bit WIP at the moment while I'm sorting everything out, but here's three of the GER locomotives on shed at the end of play yesterday.

This is something I hadn't seen before, - a wooden special order Leeds Model Co engine shed.

That GNoSR 4-4-0 is a really sweet looking little locomotive James. It definitely should have a place on your Castle Aching layout.

I use Paint.NET for just about everything I do Kevin. It's completely free and can be downloaded from their website.

The machinery wagon with its furniture pantechnicon load is lovely nice and the pantechnicon itself is seriously nice. Did you hand paint all the lettering yourself? - because if you did I am very seriously impressed.

Oh my word! The tattooed young lady is rather striking though.

And here's the last two....... Novelty. Pen-y-daran.

James I'm very pleased to see that you are of the elect who actually know how to photograph a railway carriage so that it is a useful document for further research. The internet is full of glossy coloured pictures of Edwardian carriages that are of no use at all to anyone except for recording livery details in a very vague and haphazard kind of way.

I love old bicycle advertising from the Edwardian era. And yes the French ones could be a bit risqué, but they are stunning pieces of artwork often with a wonderful dramatic flair. We have to remember the safety bicycle very much caused a transport revolution in the society of the time. They were a leading edge technology and there was fierce competition between the various bicycle manufacturers of the time to get Joe and Joanne Public to buy THEIR bicycle and no other.