BernardTPM

Ah, the second Farish 'General Purpose ' tank. A sort of big Jinty with a Royal Scot sized boiler.

The first 'GP' tank was the lightly modified J69 which was available in LMS and Southern liveries and had an awful plastic chassis.

Lucky! One clear view. Straight, quite chunky and with hardly any slope (maybe just a hint of downwards to the middle). Also very little wider than the openings themselves. The loco would also be an interesting weathering project.

Yes, finding sufficiently overhead shots to show the roof isn't easy and I'd agree that in later years they would have been likely to have been replaced with straight strips, but as to which way and how much they sloped that varied enormously. I suspect the model isn't technically wrong, but represents some of them as they were originally built (or what was on the works drawings).

Here's one. Perhaps the proportions aren't quite the same, but they're definitely both curved. Look at enough old photos and you could probably turn up loads of variations.

Nile is right, it is 009. Also as the TR is 2'3" gauge the 9mm gauge is correct too.

Those Gresleys date from 1977 when they replaced the mixed bag of Mk.1/Thompson/Caledonian coaches (all Triang Mk.1 based) with a new "57ft" range. Still a lot of common components, but the Gresleys are quite nice. You have one of the later Gresley pattern bogies at one end of one coach. Thse were an upgrade in the early 1980s. Not only did they look better they actually lowered the ride height of the coach too. Well worth looking out for some more to replace the BR1 bogies.

The darker scumble does improve them. Proper LNER markings (HMRS Transfers) would finish them off nicely.

Have a look at this earlier RMWeb entry. You only really need the Cl.37 body. (The article is for TT scale, but cutting and shutting is much the same in any scale).

So very familiar! Oddly enough you can find almost identical overhead in Australia too (still 1500v DC).

For your period I guess you'll be having then new 315s rather than the old Shenfield sets.

Hornby Dublo was three rail DC, with the centre rail insulated. If you're starting with a 2-rail model you could route one set of the pick-up wires to a third rail skate. I don't know about Lionel controllers though.

You might be able to get skates on ebay, like this one.

The middle 'window' (actually a headcode box) should be smaller and the divisions vertical, all three with a level base, as shown here. Less significantly the marker lights could do with being smaller and they don't really stick out. Otherwise not a bad rendition in such a small scale.

The olive green van is a standard BR van, though you would have the TOPS code (ZEV) on it at that time.

Blue/grey became increasingly widespread throughout the '70s, though it didn't reach non corridor suburban units until the '80s. The early VEPs (outer suburban) were originally all-over blue but by the time they finished building them (1974) they were being turned out in blue/grey from new.

From what I remember of these trains only the Q31 and Q38 were really flush glazed on the sides (the latter the same as the R stock, of course).

Brings back memories of going up to Westminster for the MRC exhibitions in the late '60s, Jeff!

Super 4 actually has sleepers closer to proper 4mm scale size and spacing, but the rails are heavy duty with a rail section going back to the original Rovex sets. I see most of your System 6 is the proper stuff with half-sleeper joins like the Super 4. The point at the top left is the second series with cast blades. Very early ones had a fixed section with just around half the length pivoting with blades very like Peco Streamline.

Interestingly it does bear some resemblance to the skinned APT POP vehicle shown here.

If it is the plastic kit I think it is, the CA van was part of a set of three the others being an Austin LD and a Morris J* by Classic Model Company. Previously the same people had made a plastic bus kit, unfortunately just before the same type of bus was made RTP (by Original Ominibus/Corgi) so they switched to vans just as the Corgi Trackside range started which included a CA and an LD... (though to 1:72). Unfortunate timing which they didn't survive. Earlier there was another firm with the same initials - Canterbury Miniature Commercials, but their models were whitemetal.

* I'm pretty sure that was the third one.

Good luck with the show, Pete. It looks great!

Good luck with the show, Pete. Glad you like the token catcher (and that it fits the Dapol model too).

Bernard

I would have to say that 1:200 scale would be the most obvious 'two foot' scale gauge combination for 3mm track. Neat little brasses though.

The excess height was all to do with Tri-ang's high level system of gradients and bridges to allow clearance for front bogies and couplings when they started the ascent - the bogie on a 4-6-2 or 4-6-0 starts to move up before the body, supported by the driving wheels, does so all their bodies were raised by 2mm to cope with the entry angle. The very early wagons with cast chassis inherited from Pyramid actually have the correct buffer height; later chassis do not.

Nice job on Spencer!

Branchlines do a bracket to mount a Mashima M16K on the Minitrix 2-6-2 chassis. Nothing online, but their try telephone sales on 01373 822231

For nameplates it might be a good idea to enquire with Narrow Planet http://narrowplanet.co.uk/products - drop them an e-mail as they may have already done Spencer.

There were normal height versions of the 2 foot gauge Peckett too: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tHQGyCBToCE/T4GBRgQbtvI/AAAAAAAAA_I/4eNLUKCpvOs/s1600/120401%2BDSC_0491.JPG

Below the footplate they are almost identical. Apparently the section of 'saddle tank' over the firebox on the ex-Harrowgate example is dummy (and has always been that way).

Welcome back, Pete. Nice to see Kyle again; hope it works OK!

Wouldn't the Peco body be to 1:148 scale, rather than 1:152? I know 0.06mm per foot doesn't sound much but around 2mm sounds about the right difference given a 64' Mk.1 is 4mm longer in British N compared to 2mm scale.

On those Hino cabs you should paint over the kerbside window as they're not fitted with them in the UK, though there's still a pressed recess in the door panel - so no filling to do!

http://i.autotrader.co.uk/merlin-image-server/view/13174c66-fd12-469e-b9e9-439b018ff45f/400

Sorry Ray, yes, Pampisford; my typing isn't always too good. Not a place normally associated with sleeping cars and long since closed.

The Hornby n