Mike 84C

Looking good my friend, ingenuity, vision and skill, please keep posting. And when do you think you will have covered the whole Irish 5-3" fleet? must be soon!! Stay safe Kirley. regards Mick.

Calderwood, one of my favourite model railways. I could spend far to long watching the operations.

The comments on tolerances and clearance were also applied to the products of the ell'of a mess by the chaps on the Western. It often felt there was some truth in it when a Black 5 or class 8 which was pretty rough under steam felt as if it would shake itself to pieces coasting. Western engines could be very rough under steam and sometimes for it! but coasting was usually very smooth. Happy days!

The wagon sheets are looking good Kieran. But I am curious how they stopped water getting inside the container because the top ISO pockets are visible and how were the sheets secured? Twenty yrs in the grain trade just led my eye straight there!! Keep your sheets tight 'cos grain and water do not mix unless you want to make spirits. Keep up the good work.

Must be something wrong with my eyes. They happily do not notice the lack of brakes, lamp irons, sand pipes etc; they tell my brain that's a nice old K's O4 pulling a long freight train. Truly a layout loco, reminded me of one I used to own. My eyes think its brilliant and so do I.

Was it on Wright Writes that I read a topic about cleaning up old photographs to show hidden detail? This was fairly recently. I thought there was an A4 on a turntable in the example photo. Sat up this am till silly o'clock looking and failed. I'm hoping the combined brain power on this thread points me straight at it! Mick

Hawthorn is quite a dense bush at ground level indeed at all levels!, I remember it as pretty rampant along railway lines.

Been out with my bin bags and litter picking stick today and if this small part of Lincolnshire that I live in is a snapshot of England then this is a B-filthy island we live on. What gives the great British public the right to lob rubbish straight out of their car windows? MaccyD bags with all the empty food containers put back in the brown bag and YO that's gone in the dyke. And the number of drink cans of all descriptions drivers are either under the influence of alcohol or high as kites on caffine. Bring back random breathalyzers I say. Best stop as I'm not really a moaning old git, or not much! Dare I ask how others feel?

Am I allowed to nominate Andre Chapelon as a true genius of the modern steam locomotive? From my reading, his theories on steam flow and drafting provided the footprint that many others followed. I am reading ,again!, about Coey of the GS&WR and have on my book shelves Aspinall, Robinson ,Maunsell, Chapelon and the History of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. For me it shines through that all these men had many different talents in railway manufacturing but the greatest strength was picking and drawing together a good team and in general managing that team. We as onlookers have the benefit of that wonderful stuff hindsight and use it to make our personal and diverse conclusions.

A camera, the modellers instrument of torture! I looked at least twice before an ahh! its a model moment. I would be applying the two foot rule. Those hoppers are bloody brilliant.

Thanks also from me Dave. Nori=Iron spelt backwards. Trade name due to the strength of the bricks . I believe its all gone now? I was born in Clayton-le- Moors one lot of grandparents lived there and the other in Oswaldtwistle. Mick

As Tony says the preheaters were removed along with all the related Crosti equipment. Speaking as one who shovelled coal into them they were b useless the inability to boil water and maintain the boiler was staggering. Should have been rebuilt or cut up. I will not be convinced otherwise!

I found a photo of Nori some time ago but cannot find the photo again. Any ideas? I believe Nori was an 0-4-0 saddle tank maybe built by Neilsons or Barclay. I know it shunted at the Whinney hill works because I went for rides on it as a 10yr old! about 1957. My grandfather worked in the weigh bridge for a couple of years after retiring .Was it the only loco they had?

Regarding joggles in ejector pipes, Could it be that apart from keeping the ejector pipe a reasonable constant from the boiler, the joggles are arranged to put a backward slope on the pipe so as to drain any condensate? There is what seems to be a drain visible just forward of the cab spectacle in some of the photographs. Its another of those little wiggley pipes that festoon engines.

All this talk of rates of pay is interesting, back in the '90's I was running a small fleet of bulk tipping lorries for a national agricultural merchant and two sayings stood out for me "you can be very busy going bust", a few did and "charge what the market will stand". I once contracted our own lorries to work for a rival because they were paying more per ton. That really put the cat among the pidgeons made my point though. But to run from the midlands to Avonmouth discharge, reload aggregate in the Bristol area and discharge Oxon/Bucks areas five days a week would gross if you were lucky £1000/1200. Not much left after costs taken out. Sorry I'm ranting!!!

Kirley, you are a master and an artist with a razor saw. Brilliant!

Well, Oldddudders that's a rhyme from the past! and not what I'd expect to see here! I worked with one or two, at both ends of the train, who fitted the description perfectly. I was taught the guard is in charge of the train, how would the Driver know his load (train weight/ length) if the Guard had not worked it out? And the driver was in charge of the engine, he could ask for a weight reduction if the engine would be overloaded.

I have the 2P version of this loco which has the "steamroller" wheels. Whose wheels did you use? I want to run mine on Peco code 75. Thanks in advance Mic

I, have a vision----- and it a'int you with the cape and pointy hat on!!!! Broom for sweeping or a Junction?

Your recollections of DJH & Keysers are spot on G. But DJH did have a shop and workshop at North Bar on the left going North, handy for parking. They borrowed one of my American Bowser 2-8-0 kits to see how the Yanks did it. I left the are about 30yrs ago and rarely go back. Mick

Waretis my beauty?

Deffo' put the inspection pits on the east end of the shed and they do not need to be deep. Think rails at chest level on Mr Average and limboing under the engine. Ash pits right to the coal stage, one long pit, the man filling the tubs would not put much coal in the pit. It was b----- hard work and they were not daft men. If you have the room I would bring the three tt roads into one before the tt giving one engine length before going onto the tt. I like the idea of 6 wagons on the coal stage 4/5 being visible 1/2 inside being emptied and 1/2 empty on the "downward" side.

I like your weathering and the detail improvements on the class 4. The cab would be improved by giving the crew seats with a tool box underneath to sit on. From my experience the only comfortable way to drive any standard is to sit down on the seat! Then the right handed fireman could stand in a far more comfortable position or sit on his seat. take a look at a standard cab interior they were all quite similar. Mic

Sorry about my incorrect spelling of the incorrect word to describe the brown finish on the cylinders, frames and wheels of 73068 but we all seem to understand where I was coming from.

73068 what stunning weathering, if it was stood on a shed/pit scene I could almost believe it was full sized. About the only thing missing I believe is the ash pan door opening lever which went between the middle & rear LH drivers. The mud/brake block brown verdigree is about the best I have seen.