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Am I right in thinking that you are looking for Flangeless wheels in the style of the left hand one in the photo ....if so what is the crank throw as I'm fairly sure that I have a bag of 15mm Romfords that I acquired somewhere along the line and will gladly let you have some if they are compatible. Regards, Ian.

Wonderfully workstained, Dave !

Thanks for the reply Mark, I sold all of my old Poole era Farish stock many years ago but having seen your J94 conversion thought that I would have this one, I probably won't need it to be quite as controllable as you require but I was a little disappointed in it's current state so will consider replacing the motor at the very least. Great link to the Tramfaberik site. Thanks. Regards, Ian.

Hello Mark, In your opinion was it mainly the original Farish motor that was mainly responsible for the 'disappointing performance' of your original J94 ? I ask as one came up for sale recently with a 5 pole motor, which I bought plus an RT Models detailing etch (suitably impressed by your improvements) but when tested it seemed to need a heck of a lot more juice than any of my modern N gauge locos just to get it moving. It gradually increased in speed as I let it run around my little test track as it warmed up. As you described ...a bit disappointing ! Regards, Ian.

Loving the cab ride journeys, Rob, they really show off how evocative the mountains on the backscene are (I scaled Ben Arthur (The Cobbler) the other day) and also how prototypical the reverse curves are on WHLv.4. These (the reverse curves) are causing me to rethink my N gauge layout at the moment as luckily I realised during the initial planning stage just how much the VGA vans struggle around these if they are less than 4th radius, being the longest fixed wheelbase vehicles on the WHL. At least I can now plan around them. Do you have the same issue in '00' ? Regarding the Ethel clip on the vol.7 DVD, so far, I've found it impossible to see visually as it is too dark and in the shadows, I'm going to have a play with my TV settings to see if I can improve this, I don't know how you've found it ? Whilst the commentator draws attention to the still present blue sign on Spean Bridge platform in 1985, I thought that I also glimpsed one in the final evening shots passing through Crianlarich. All the best, Ian.

Very neat Dave, can I ask what you use for the milling, please. Regards, Ian.

The other 'wild' animal I came across in Scotland was me as I turned around to find and smell that somebody else had been getting 'close to nature' with me distracted ....with a 5 hour car journey ahead of us I was raving !! I just, really, hope that it was fox or deer poo ! Dirty Boy !

Year of the Chiff-Chaff for me so far, a bird which I suspect is more common in my local woods than I've ever regularly managed to identify. However I have seen several over the last few weeks, one only a few feet away. That was then 'topped' by this little chap that I came across whilst ascending Ben Arthur yesterday. I spent several minutes watching it from almost touching distance as it pretended to be a 'flycatcher' darting out and back as midges passed by, nearly landing on my camera phone more than once and not bothered by either myself or my dogs. 4 hrs later on my descent it was still performing in the same spot, marvellous.

A little heads up .... have just received a copy of British Rail Motive Power 1981-1999 Vol.7 from Videoscene which contains an 8 min West Highland journey section (Crianlarich - Mallaig and back) taken in March 1985. You'll find the shadows frustratingly dark and not helped by the time of year and snow, but it gives a good feel of the period. You'll recognise all of the locos, although some have made into Large Logo by then. Filmed on Super 8 it's not as good as your Sugercube but I think you'll pick out something of interest. Regards, Ian.

Do either of you use any particular product or method for keeping your tips in good order, please ? I use an Antex 15w iron for most of my 3mm kits (and one small 7mm loco kit built so far) but seem to have 'lost' the tips effectiveness recently. Even though I've now re-found my tin of tip cleaning 'stuff' I still haven't got it to improve much which is discouraging me from finishing several part built kits at the moment as it's just not fun. It may just be time for a new iron. Sorry for the slight veer off topic but I'd value your experiences. Regards, Ian.

Very interested to see this build, Ken, as it's one that I fancy building myself at some point and keep looking at it every time that I see Jim's stand ....the only problem being that I probably will never have a use for it other than as a display model. Best wishes, Ian.

I also enjoyed this photo but it left me wondering just what the base colour of the locomotive is under all of that grime, light blue , grey or a shade of green ? Anybody any idea, please ? (Apologies to all, I realise that this is a thread about 16t wagons and not about locomotives, so please make any responses brief. Cheers.) Regards, Ian.

At least you pin pointed the source of the fault straight away otherwise you could have wasted several more £20s before you'd found it. Chin up, I'm sure that it will be worth all of the hassle in the end ....and it's keeping the brain working which I think is very important, particularly at the moment after all of these lockdowns, I've spent a lot more than £20 on newspapers recently just to get the crosswords ! LoL. Regards, Ian.

Black all over with red buffer beams, coupling rods ....and valve gear ! The reference to being unkempt refers mainly to the smokebox which is badly scorched from just below the handrail upwards. The cab door and valance from this point backwards is rusty along with the top of the cylinders and the first boiler band. All of the wheel rims are rusty although the centres are still black. The nameplate is red with white lettering. Hope this helps. Regards, Ian.

Found the photo that I was thinking of, a very good full page colour photo in Industrial Steam by Ian Allen (ISBN 0-7110-2230-5) showing the loco in an unkempt condition.

Have just read through the other thread, now that looks like a nice, rugged industrial loco. Whilst I didn't recognise the prototype, the name 'Emanuel Clegg' does seem familiar to me, possibly from photos seen either in Bylines mag or one of my many Industrial railway books, I'll have a rummage. Great work with the 3D print / RTR chassis combination.

Yes, caught me by surprise when I visited my local shop this afternoon (Frizinghall M&R) to find 2 nice blue class 40s waiting for me as I thought that they had been put back again. Turned out to be an expensive afternoon as that wasn't what I'd gone in for ..... but luckily 'the wife' is still at work .... so she'll never know !!

There's something 'fishy' going on here .....that cream coloured one thinks it's a Cat !!

See all ..... hear all ..... say nowt !

Thanks for today's pictures, Rob, that answers a long standing question that has always puzzled me ...."how long is the Crianlarich headshunt ?" ?.... as it never looks to me to be more than long enough for a Class 37 and a medium length wagon, which when I have seen photos of longer trains or vehicles in the Engineers' sidings has always left me wondering how they were worked in or out. A 37 + 4 Grampus seems practicable to me. Afraid that I can't offer any help with the electrical 'Black Magic' ....other than make an offering on your behalf at my nearest stone circle ! Good luck. Regards, Ian.

That's a great photo, Clive, full of detail and interesting train information, I'll bet a 14 coach train was a sight to see on WHL journey ! Thanks for posting. Regards, Ian.

This is interesting to know, particularly for us working in minority scales where etched kits are unlikely to ever appear for every prototype desired. Looks superb as ever, Mike.

Just came across this thread and thought that it would be of interest to others on here as we seem to keep raising questions on this subject, only 5 posts so not a long one but good information from two very respected members from the world of wagons.

This wouldn't look out of place in the company of @Ruston's Charlie Strong Metals (and Watery Lane siding's) thread ....and vice versa ! Wonderfully atmospheric.

Thanks @Alcanman you couldn't have posted that photo at a better time for me as I am looking into making some N Gauge timber loads and was wondering what sort of diameter the cut logs would be, I reckon that a mixture of cocktail and kebab skewer sticks suitably treated with a tree bark mixture should work well. Regards, Ian.