Londontram

Very much enjoying this thread its my sort of modelling. With the Atlantic could you not ad pickups to the front bogie? A small bit of copper clad some nickle silver wire and some very fine flexible wire all available on the web. I've done this on a few bogies like this in the past and I know other on here have too. It's worth giving it a try and might be the answer to the problem. It might be possible to swap the bogie for one already fitted with pick ups there's plenty coming up all the time on the auction site or available from one of the parts suppliers. I have thought of trying to do a "loose" scale version of the 1F myself starting with a Hornby Jinty and seeing yours has encouraged me to maybe give it a go some time. Keep up the good work and keep the updates coming. Steve

That is really looking the business now and just goes to show what can be done with a bit of effort. I've got a couple of old Triang Hornby 3F in the bottom of the cupboard this makes me want to dig one out and do something along the same lines.

Going off at a sort of tangent there's a Jameson Caledonian Jumbo 0-6-0 on that auction site at the moment. It gives you an idea of what an assembled kit looks like. No connection to me I just spotted it on there. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/153819464046

Check out Oxford rail as there bringing out a new crane that should help feed your passion.

Coming along nicely my friend I like the method you've used for making the chimney in the past I've built chimneys and domes up from brass tube, washers and solder but I can see this method has some merritt. Keep up the good work I always look forward to your updates and progress reports Steve

That really starting to look really great. The L1 the 3F (tender version) and (ok I know it's a little out) the 2P all respond well to a little bit of fettling and extra detail. There's so many box openers who will turn round and say why bother? Because it's fun and you get the satisfaction of running something that you've worked on and restored. Keep up the good work and keep the updates coming were all really enjoying them

I've not done the numbers yet but how about sticking a front truck on the 812 chassis it might make a good starting point for a Caledonian 34 class 2-6-0 The Tenders the same and you might even be able to adapt the body in some way as well giving you another loco option. As to the 700 chassis theres so many Scottish 4-4-0 to choose from i wouldn't like to start to suggest where to go next. Me I've got a bit of a thing about the G&SWR 153 class big bogie so that's going on my to do list. Steve Caledonian 34 class 2-6-0

I used a Bachmann Pannier for my Caley 782 class where the motor sits inside the tanks without the need to turn it. But used some Hornby 0-6-0 jinty chassis under a couple of Jumbos though as standard the wheels are slightly under sized I've got two more Jumbos in the kit stack and would go that way again though I did come by a Jumbo kit built around an Airfix tender drive and free wheeling loco chassis it actually works surprisingly well.

I think your right Andy even as it stands that D has a very strong G&SWR look about it, I would say its the splashers If you changed the dome for safety valves new Sterling style cab and some smoke box wing plates and you've already got a very passable G&SWR Smellie 153 class in pretty much as built condition. But as always its down to the price as no one is going to be mad enough to butcher a £200 rtr model to make a near scale only loco. Well maybe Ben Alder he's nutty enough (In a nice way Richard) to chop up a brand new loco to get what he wants lol Quick look at a G&SWR 153 class

I'm sure that chassis would be ideal for no end of Scottish 4-4-0 locos and it says it comes in at under £200 but if the upcoming Caley 812 class is anything to go by that will be £199 then! Or better still let's see the price at its launch. Perhaps if enough of us get together and contact Bachmann they will sell a chassis only on its own (dream on) Anyway keep up the good work Andy I'm very much enjoying the thread.

Why not make the train battery powered and radio controlled so there would be no need for a metal elliment to the track its self, there's plenty of links to threads of people who have gone full battery and radio controlled on this forum. As to the grove is there a way it could be routed into the clear sheet it might be possible that once one track is done a simple jig running in one grove guides the router while it cuts the second grove keeping the guage correct. How this would work in practice is unknown as its only speculation but it might be worth exploring further.

Well if thats the case perhaps the model of the Princess should never have been built as that class only made it into low double figures. As to the body yes it was very much of its time but was no better or worse than many offerings about at the time, the loco now a ripe candidate for breathing over and adding some sympathetic detail.

Draw and score the shape on plasticard with a silhouette cutter. The cutter won't cut thick plasticard but will score it to create a cutting guide. It would be possible to cut thinner plasticard and laminate it together to form the truss. The advantage of the cutter is a perfect replica of the first truss every time.

Does it matter that much? The poor chap might be put off before he even starts. Let him get established first he can go for the level of detail and authenticity when he's ready. I would guess 90% of people on here do or have at one time run a loco on a line that wasn't 100% correct. There's even sections on RMweb for fictional locos and companies so using an 03 instead of an 04 to get your self going is hardly the crime of the decade though no doubt some will see it as so Such is the nature of this hobby

Hello Mr Wolf My goodness you've dragged this thread up from the distant past. Thank you for your kind words I'm afraid serious health issues have brought any modeling progress to a complete stand still for the last two years and I'm reduced to lurking in the shadows on the side lines watching with envy other people's efforts and progress. That sounds like a good idea with the rivet jig and I look forward to seeing any progress with it. Going back to my last post in 2017 the other coaches mentioned have been cut on the Silhouette along with some other projects but that's as far as they've got. The only coaches that has been built over the last two years is a cir. 1870 by comp with central luggage compartment shown here which has since been painted and a small six wheel TPO

Great work I love a bit of kit bashing, I'll follow this with interest. Any chance of a photo of an original loco?

Sorry to come late to this but have only just found the thread. I was looking for a mesh to convert an old Hornby stone bridge and found in one of the "Pound shops" a plastic mesh sheet reputedly for cooking/draining chips on. It looks ideal for 4mm scale with the mesh being 3mm wide or in real money 9 inchs which seems about right for bridges etc. The mesh is folded up and rivited at the corner to give it a slight "bowl" effect but when the rivits are cut out the mesh can be flattened out. I'm not at home right now but if anyone wants I can take a photo later.

Now that looks the Dogs ........

Hmm... Not really in my case thanks but that looks more like an excavator taken of its tracks and sat on a railway bogie rather than the big old upright steam crane in Jacks original photo

I was thinking about something along these lines a while back with a semi free lance designs in 4mm scale using a Peco style yard crane mounted on a black beatle or tenshodo bogie clad in corrigated plasticard cab. That was the general out line and as far as I got with the concept but it seemed like it would have been a fairly easy project. Here's the sort of crane I was thinking about.

Thanks pH I think it's got to be the big bogie as nice as the 119 class is its small and low slung boiler would make getting a motor/gearbox combination in hard so it looks like it's the 153 class. Same looks as the 119 but a real beast.

Really enjoying this topic and have been following with great interest a modeler after my own heart Poor health has held me back over the last couple of years so I've done a lot of arm chair planing and collecting materials for when I can hopefully (soon) get back to modeling. Future pre grouping projects I'd like to look at are G&SWR Smellie 2-4-0 a standard Hornby 0-6-0 chassis will be the starting point believe it or not the wheel base is the same G&SWR Smellie 0-6-0 (Cass 22) again a Hornby 0-6-0 chassis G&SWR Smellie 4-4-0 hmm still thinking about the chassis on this one. I know I know all Smellie locos but I love his designs and who doesn't love a sterling style cab. Also some HR locos and at the moment am collecting parts for a HR Loch to complete a partial kit that Andy UAX6 gave me. I've such a backlog of Caley kits that I've got it seems a life time of work building those lol but I'm also looking at a Conner class No.1 2-4-0 built on a modified M7 chassis. A Conner class 67 2-2-2 single using a modified Bachman Emily chassis and finally a Brittains 0-4-2 670 class and the chassis for this was a very old Triang princes flat plate chassis (Trust me the two leading drivers match the wheel base of the 0-4-2) Many parts for this last three with there tenders have already been drawn or cut on a silhouette machine and I've also got a selection of GBL T9, C Class and Caley single tenders to assist as well So as long as I live to 120 I should be able to get most of this done. Steve

I want to alter a tender with "normal" tender springs over the axle boxes to an earlier type with underslung springs. This photo came off the Caledonian forum and dates from about 3 years ago the chap that posted it thought he'd possibly got the underslung springs and axle boxes from 5&9 developments but Chris at 5&9 insists there not his. Does anyone recognise them or have an idea who might be able to supply them or something similar. Thanks Steve Here's a look at the type of tender I'd like to build, it's an early Caley Drummond Jumbo tender

Stewart I'm back in hospital at the moment in fact I'm nil by mouth right now waiting to go down at 10.30 this morning for another minor procedure before a bigger op in about 4 weeks time. As soon as I get home I'll drop you that line and we can sort something out. Steve

Thanks tiger I had seen those pages and are typically vague as some Google pages are also apart from the little full 6 wheel brake most of the carriages are to late for my needs. I can't understand why no one from the association has got back to me dispite two emails to the addresses on the contact page of there web site. Ps I've just won an original picture of a full third on the bay of E which looks about 45ft on four wheel bogies which look to be cir 1890 which is the sort of thing I'm looking for.