ChrisG

A marvellous issue - I love article about railway operation, and I love Plumpton Green very much indeed. I want to highlight a point made by Barry Luck in his article about the layout. He says, "I am sure that I am not the only person who finds it necessary to adjust handbuilt track after it has been laid. I am puzzled, though, as to why all the layouts I have been involved with suffer from under-gauge track after a couple of years, despite being built as accurately as possible using all relevant gauges." This was something I raised elsewhere on RMWeb a couple of years ago and I think it was Hayfield who explained why my track was turning out to be under gauge. Accurately modelled chairs (such as those available from C&L and Exactoscale) incline the rails inwards. If you force the gauges down on the rails when building the track, they force the rails apart, but as soon as they are removed, the plastic in the chairs recovers and inclines the rails inwards. The trick is to place the gauge lightly on the rail and allow the inclination to place the base of the chairs a little wider. What puzzles me now, however, is that Barry does not use chaired construction, he uses rivets plus cosmetic chairs. So it shouldn't be happening to him.... The plot thickens because I thought Hayfield's intervention had closed the subject. The cover had me wondering too - A Terrier with a 2-4-0 wheel arrangement? Solved by a quick Google search but I did wonder if it was a little Christmas teazer. Chris Gardner Alton Hants

Here's a shot which shows the completed SECR composite saloon coach in Malachite Green at Ventnor West. I was treating this model as a proof of concept, and so it is not fully detailed (for example, it has no door hinges). Nevertheless, I am pretty pleased with it. Construction as follows:- Bogies - Roxey Mouldings Fox Heavyweight bogies; Roof - custom laser cut plywood former (York Modelmaking) covered with styrene strip (for planking) and painted with acrylic paint and liberal use of talcum powder; Body sides - Bill Bedford etches; Body skeleton - custom laser cut from black Rowmark by York Modelmaking Chris ]

Bravo Nick. Looks great! Chris

Well, we made it to the Farnham and District MRC show on 14th & 15th October. Things went pretty well. There were some electrical problems which were hard to track down but turned out to be failures with proprietary connectors rather than poor quality work on our part! Re-assuring in a way, but we could have done without them. A last minute effort to get more stock ready for the show paid dividends and we had varied traffic running on the layout. Met and made lots of friends, and I think we made a good impression. Next stop Alton in February 2018 and in the meantime we will give thought to how to run the layout better and improve communication between the operators at each end, 30 feet apart! Here's a rough cut video Chris

Here we are, ready to go at the Farnham and District MRC exhibition

I've just finished a new loco for service on Ventnor West. I haven't found any pictures of an E1 at Ventnor West, but apparently they were used on the branch to pull ballast trains. This model is built from the trusty Wills/Southeastern Finecast kit. It's fitted with Romford drivers and a Mashima motor, and it is finished as No. 1 "Medina". One week to go before the layout's debut at the Farnham MRC exhibition in Aldershot. This week has been spent doing lots of little detailing jobs, cleaning loco wheels, etc. etc. Whilst periodically playing with (no, testing!) the layout to reassure myself that it still works. Meanwhile, here are a few photos of new additions and latest work. Come and say hello if you come to the show in Aldershot. This will be the layout's exhibition debut, attached to the end of Mark Pretious's model of Merstone. Chris Roxey Mouldings 9 LBSCR compartment 3rd - recently refurbished and re-painted View of the station throat looking towards St. Lawrence Weathered Portland Cement wagons loaded with chalk Weathered "Vectis" wagons loaded with locally quarried sandstone A Coopercraft Bedford lorry in the goods yard

Well maybe not light, but at least the means with which to attach LEDs to illuminate the layout. This is the result of a few hours' work in the sun today. Still a lot to be done but the rest can be largely done indoors (rain is forecast for tomorrow). Chris

No doubt still a number of backward steps are possible, but today saw some progress with the improving of some of the layout's wiring and testing of all the electrical functions. There were some backward steps today, but it was a lovely afternoon in the garden attaching the nascent lighting gantry to the layout and then discovering that my idea for attaching lighting strips was not as good as it might have been. Nevertheless, failure quickly gave way to a new plan which will require another trip to the timber merchant during the week, but should enable a further woodworking session which will result in a lighting pelmet along the front of the layout. Meanwhile, here's a photo of the station throat board bathed in "English Mediterranean" sunshine a la South Coast of the Isle of Wight.

I have some positive news! The screw in question is used in a number of the places on the O2. I removed the one which is screwed into the chassis underneath the bunker (i.e. just back from the trailing bogie mounting). It does not seem to have resulted in the model falling apart. I bought some steel compression springs from Eileen's Emporium (Steel Compression Spring 4.0mm Long 3.0mm Dia 10 Pack SPRC300), one of which seems to have done the job. Chris )ompression Spring 4.0mm Long 3.0mm Dia 10 Pack SPRC300

Here's the latest on my proof of concept SECR coach build. As a reminder, the body shell and false roof are constructed from a custom laser cut kit which I designed and had produced by York Modelmaking. The sides are Bill Bedford's. Bogies (not in picture) are Roxey heavyweight Fox. So still to do are roof (custom brass etch to be folded over the wooden former, buffers (Markits spring SECR clipped buffers), and underframe (not yet to be decided how to do it). Seats, which can't be seen are Ratio. This was the most nerve-wracking phase so far - attaching the brass sides to the plastic body shell. I used Evostik in impact mode - which gives a very small opportunity of a second chance if it doesn't go on quite right. The glazing was stuck with Superglue using a special odourless formula from Deluxe Materials which takes longer to set but doesn't cause misting or crazing of the glazing. The livery is SR Malachite with BR numbering as might well have been seen in the early years of Nationalisation. Chris Chris

I find there is always something interesting in every issue, regardless of whether the item is of specific interest to one. Always something to learn from other people's modelling when it is of such a high standard, and always at the leading edge. MRJ is now the only magazine I religiously buy every month and I have every issue going back to 1. Chris G

Have you had an answer to your question? I am waiting for an answer to two recent e-mails about the rear bogie screw and spring. There are Companies who make a business out of stripping models and selling the spares. Might it be beneficial for all parties (certainly for we modellers!) for the returned O2s to be sold to one of those companies who would then sell the bits as spares? Chris G

That is indeed positive news. Did you see my e-mail to you a few weeks ago (sent on 28th May to your "info" address) enquiring about the availability of the retaining screw and spring for the rear bogie of the O2? Chris

And intends to return it to the circuit in due course having replaced the trackwork with handbuilt and simplified the electrics...

Thank you! Spares were specifically promised for the O2 and have not materialised. We have been let down... Chris

I have finally cleaned the wheels on mine after weathering it savagely. The basic mechanism works fine, but put back on the track with the trailing bogie not screwed on, and without the spring, the running is most unsatisfactory. It badly affects the haulage capacity and the rear wheel on the trailing bogie no longer revolves. Pretty unsatisfactory. I will start searching on the internet for possible replacement screws and a spring. But mainly I am just angry with Kernow (for passing the buck) and DJM (for failing to commission a supply of spares). Chris

Life's often like that unfortunately: other things come first. Still, it sounds like progress and doing a little whenever you get the chance soon accumulates. I've just sent off the CADs for the Ventnor West water tower. Base to be cut from 2mm ply and the tank will be plasticard.

Brilliant. I found the photo in an online search. Click the image to enlarge. http://www.crecy.co.uk/southern-way-issue-no.-10 Thanks Chris

It's been a month since we last heard from you Nick. Have you been able to make any recent progress? Chris

Thanks, all these comments have been helpful and certainly encouraging because it seems that almost any combination of livery and lettering was possible. The narrow window I have in which to run BR stock to Ventnor West (my exhibition layout project) is 1948 (Nationalisation) -1952 (when it closed). This makes Malachite green with Southern numbering with BR prefixes the most likely combination. What one really needs is good dated photos of the relevant stock, but unless someone has bothered to ensure the lettering is in view it is going to be guesswork as to which vehicles are involved, except of course the push pull sets. In any event, recent attention has been on the layout itself so the coach in question has made no progress! Chris

A few shots of "LIttle Pax", the house which was built in the 17th Century as the Summer residence of the Governor of the Isle of Wight. It also happens to have been the childhood home of Godfrey Glyn, a member of this august forum. The model is now finished. It was constructed on a 2mm ply shell which I had laser cut from CAD files by York Modelmaking. The stonework is "Coursed Rubble" from the Scalescenes range, and the windows are again laser cut (from Rowmark) by York Modelmaking to my design. Some lovely leaded glazing came from Model Railway Scenery, and other bits from Wills Finecast. Another job completed, just another 26 to finish before the layout is exhibited. Chris Gardner Alton, Hants (pictures below)

Here's a large handful of shots of Ventnor West taken this morning. The signals are at odd positions and angles because they have not been permanently mounted and the servos rest in odd positions when they are unpowered. Everything works and the basic scenery is nearing completion. Obviously there is a lot of detailing to be done, fascia boards to be added and a lighting rig constructed. The excellent backscene with tantalising glimpses of the open sea is by Mark Pretious, who has built a model of Merstone in 4mm scale. Come and see Ventnor West and Merstone operating as one layout at the Farnham MRC show on 9th & 10th October, Chris G

That really sounds like a one-off rogue model because generally speaking these locos are lovely runners. Chris

I thought I would break cover to report on my latest IOW coach exploits. The one I'm showing here follows a number of exploratory and ultimately rejected attempts based on Ratio Midland coach sides. It is intended to be more prototypical and is based on Bill Bedford's brass sides for a diagram 377 saloon composite. this one numbered S6364. It will be running on my Ventnor West layout and has therefore been finished in the malachite green I am assuming it would have carried between 1949 and 1952. It has BR style lettering which could be wrong as it may not have received that until it was painted red. In the pictures you can see 1) The Bill Bedford brass sides (one has been glazed the other not yet); 2) The main body shell (floor, chassis, partitions and ends) which were custom cut from 1mm Rowmark by York Modelmaking from CAD files originated by me. Two drawbacks of this approach are that the footboards are a bit thick and the material is harder to stick than styrene sheet; 3) The false roof, again custom cut, this time from 2mm ply. It will be clad in thin brass sheet which I have had custom etched to the precise dimensions, with half etched lines to aid the bending; 4) Roxey Mouldings SECR heavy Fox bogies. After one failed attempt I managed to master the art of soldering the footboards to the whitemetal bump stops. Not the easiest modelling job I have ever done! Still to do are finishing the roof, couplings (Kadees which I use for fixed rake coupling), underframe, end details, and weathering. Chris G Alton Hants

I finally plucked up the courage to weather a locomotive, the chosen subject being one of the Kernow O2s. I started by renumbering it to 32 Bonchurch in late BR livery and then as per Martyn Welch's book spraying it with acrylic varnish to provide a protective layer against the assault which was to follow. In the process I chose the wrong time of day and ended up with the loco misted with large white spots. At first I thought it looked horrible and then I warmed to it, deciding that it would probably work well if I weathered on top of it. The white misting was not unlike certain shots of life-expired O2s in the mid 1960s on the Isle of Wight. Especially good was the effect around the smokebox door which looked like limescale. In the process I ended up with a locomotive more heavily weathered than I intended, but pretty much looking like Bonchurch in her last days of service. Then the tale took a turn for the worse. I had recently had a letter published in the Modeller essentially replying to an article by Steve Flint about the difficulty of servicing and maintaining modern RTR products. There was considerable discussion on this forum about the lack of spares for these Kernow/DJM models. John Flann was particularly vexed that he couldn't get a separate smokebox door... In the process of weathering said beast, the screw and spring which attach the trailing bogie to the chassis took a dive to the floor, and resisted all attempts to find and recapture to them. A polite though buck-passing reply from Kernow referred me to DJM who, at the time of writing of this, have not replied. Hmmm. I own 4 Kernow O2s with no visible manufacturer's support, and I have no idea how long they may last - they get heavy exhibition and home use. I also have a number of kit-built O2s for which I have many spare parts in stock, plus the ability to perform any maintenance task from re-wheeling to re-motoring to refitting detached detailed parts. I am confident they can be made to last a lifetime, and have no such confidence in the RTR equivalents. Does anyone happen to know enough about screws and springs to advise where I might find said articles from an independent supplier? I am guessing they are standard products and not proprietary to Kernow or DJM. Chris Gardner Alton Hants