pbkloss

Dear Phil, I realise that, and thats why I put them on, like you have, and I intend to do this for all my Mk1 rakes likewise. My little query was, are the Markits ones overlong for an extended buffer? It *seems* so to me but I'm willing to be wrong, the coach is packed away again and I forgot to actually measure it.

Next time its out I will check

Oh and for the number list I'm sure I've seen a photo with 34105 Swanage (now on the MHR) on the S&D ... it was shedded at Bournemouth and ran on the S&D according to https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/34105-swanage/ 

When I get around to it my S&D unrebuilt will be 34043. Fated to be one of the first to be withdrawn in 1963, Bournemouth shed seemed to send it up the S&D when ever it could.  Something to do with a modification done in the early 50s that impaired its steaming (!). It got the first cut down tender at the same time. I think it even features in the opening sequence of the Titfield Thunderbolt (!). I've been trying to find out when it got AWS fitted, and struck gold when the front cover of the recently published book of S&D photos by Derek Cross it appears in soot livery (in contrast to the coaches behind). I won't be able to bring myself to weather it like that. (the photo shows it AWS fitted and is dated in the summer of 1961). I have something of a strange affection for this unfortunate loco ....

(So to make a point - if you are trying to model around a particular date there are four main changes to take into account: rebuilding (big change), for those left unrebuilt the tender type and when it got one with sides cut down, livery change from lion & wheel to totem with lining changes to cab side and tender, and finally AWS fitting, all happening at different times)

Postscript: I thought of two the things that are visually obvious: 1. The cab windows that were small and 'flat' on the original cabs, but they were changed very early on to the 'sloped' or angled variety 2. In a top view of the unrebuilds, originally the boiler had a cluster of three safety valves forward of the dome. Later, during the rebuilding period they were changed for two safety valves rear of the dome. There is a great top view of 34043 in Ivo Peter's 'The Somerset and Dorset in the 1950s - Volume 2 1955-59' photo 29 taken in July 1955 where the triple safety valve cluster really stands out, as well as the cut down tender, small lion & wheel centred on the tender side and the number on the same level - lower than the  unrebuilts with high tender sides. Unfortunately the lining can't be seen!

PS my rebuilt will be 34028 Eddystone, having seen it and photographed it so many times on the Swanange Railway ...

One massive advantage of the new plan, without the facing and trailing crossovers crossing each other as in the old compact layout of the station throat, is that from an electrical point of view the wiring is much simpler.  In the old, both crossovers could not be simultaneously reversed as it would cause a short at the diamond crossing, in effect I needed interlocking for electrical as well as operational reasons.  Now, it will be just for operational / signalling reasons, much easier to wire. Avoiding DCC as yet, I plan to have the track feeds at the destination end, i.e. arriving trains will be fed by an 'arrivals' controller that can be switched to each platform end track, and departing trains from a controller at the fiddle yard end, I will still need to ensure by some means that the two controllers don't get inadvertently  connected!

Brilliant, I'd like to give it a try!! Thanks for posting, kind regards, Peter

 yes I know they are on the sheet, but I think having fitted the windows and knowing how delicate the SE finecast glazing is I'll have to go very carefully applying them

Oh I did also use flush glazing on the interior corridor window and paint the interior

Sorry Jack I've only just seen this, and that by accident! The mods done are:

Bogies compensated with MJT frames, Airfix / Dapol frames stuck on, wheels 18.83 3'6" disk

Door handles and grab handles carved off and replaced by filed down dress making pins (for handles) and wire (grab rails)

Under frame detail added - regulator box fattened, cross bracing added to frame struts, checked for right way round-ness as above

numbers and class markings added, HMRS press-fix

Flush glazed with SE fine cast parts

Cards duckets windows carved out and PVA glazed 

Buffers sprung

Outer couplings of set replaced with Dingham, loop both ends (so I can run them either way, something I've not explained at all yet in my blog, like 'Why?')

I'd like to do 'First' and no smoking labels if I can (!)

Still need to fix roofs and do the internal coupling

Regards, Peter

I wish ... I'm still working on the room finishing off its insulated lining. Bits of board lying around and bits of wood to make the remaining baseboards.  The workbench has a Mk1 composite under construction ... I will post something when I have something to show!  Thanks for asking.  BTW I love what you have done.

Thank you Ravenser, I've checked and what I didn't say is that my intention is to only use Hachettes coupled to Bachmann Mk1s, which also appear to have the pockets at the wrong height - photo to show with my Hachette bare chassis coupled to the Bachmann BSK I've been working on ... (the Bachmann one droops a little, will be interesting to see how this works in a long rake)

thanks for the warning, I've yet to do a trial couple up, better try really soon!

At least you have something to show and it looks good ... mines still at the talk stage :-)

Oh dear - truss rods!! Shame none of the originals have survived into preservation.  And yes that broadside picture of the E145 looks like there could be four. I've now cut the extra ones off!!!!

I've updated the text file following Miss Prism's comments!

Miss Prism you are absolutely right about the buffers and I have  a set of sprung square shank buffers awaiting a swap with the rigid ones currently fitted.  And yes if I hadn't mentioned those awful curved buffer beams on the old Airfix chassis I certainly should have done! (I haven't checked that text file for a long, long time!!)

I am so glad that gwr.org.uk rescued Tim Venton's notes, they are such a useful guide as there seems little else about B-Sets out there!!

Now all I've got to do is pull them out of the box and finish them off (It was the bogies that I was going to do a bit more to, I wasn't happy with the mods I had done so far to those somewhat skinny (underweight might be more like it) Airfix mouldings and the replacement tie bars need to be higher up ....

this blog entry just might be incorrectly shown as new .... I've been adding header photos to my old entries and accidentally ticked the 'publish now' box. it dates from march 2016! ... i'll try not to do that again.  Still getting to grips with the new system!

sorry guys i'm psyching myself up for running a few real models once I'm back home and done some more to the layout ....

oh I do actually enjoy analogue drawing!

4mm P4 - ply and rivet pointwork, various plastic sleeper based 'RTR' flexi track - SMP Scale way in the station area, 'Fast track' gauge widened for the bendy bits ...

Obvious mistake with a shifted roof - they're not fixed yet! However almost ready to work a local from Weston super Mare (S&D) to Glastonbury...

Worse still -both under frames are the wrong way round :-( (from the same photo)

Aargh -looking at 'a modellers guide to the Somerset and Dorset' - it looks like I've got the brake underframe the wrong way round :-( ....this is from a photo at BGP of a two set made from inter-district coaches taken in 1954

Now mainly trains has ceased business anyone know if someone else has taken over production of their really useful etched parts?

The later photos are the flush glazed versions with black (ink drawn) bars behind.  Methinks a big improvement - rather cruelly enlarged!

sadly now in bits awaiting a house move ... and a dedicated train room!!