Mike 84C

JD that 350 could be the Patent Shaft jocko shunting at Wednesbury. A Bescot turn back in the day and a very boring duty for a second man, believe me I know!

The white pipe will be the feed pipe to the exhaust steam injector, which should be under the footplate outside the frames somewhere near the cab steps on the firemans side. I presume they were fitted with one and one live steam.

Thanks for posting this info on the Far North line. My wife and I love the whole area from Inverness northwards with Brora being our favourite spot. If in Helmsdale in the evening a visit to "La Mirage" is worth it, some of the decor just makes me smile! The food is excellent and also, in Helmsdale is a very well restored late 1950's Albion lorry that is worth photographing.

  The community museum on the old colliery site is well worth visiting if your in Brora.

B15nac, your Manor looks really good. I like the chimney you have fitted which is far,far better than the thing that Bachmann put on. A heavy dose of weathering  and it will remind me of all the Manors  I fired back in the 60's!

Meant to say I like the Courage cockerel, remember them well.

Ford D800's, I took my HGV test on one of those but it was a 28t or maybe 30t one as it had a V 8 Cummins I think. The cabs were mounted  higher to get the bigger engine in! I think your tractor unit should really be a 28/30t one with that twin axle trailer. I never really liked Ford's much, more of an AEC man! but they must have been a tough bit of kit as firms like British Vita and the biscuit companies ran them with large single axle box trailers and they always overtook you!

Do you mean the range of Irish Models John Mayner produces?  Quality is very good. I have some etched coach sides and they work well.

Your post prodded me to look and see what I have got. Drawings for the ex T@D carrs 21&22 and the bogie van and a drawing for a Passage 2-4-2 plus some stuff from other ng lines. If you pm me your address I will post them to you.  

        Regards Mick

Thanks for the pointers and suggestions I shall be tyring them.

An oops! moment.  I remember being with Bennie Bennett on a Type 2 Sulzer which split the 3 way point in the Down local yd at Bescot. I was surprised how much angle we got before the loco stopped! It didnt seem to have done any damage  'cos we drove it down the depot for inspection! The guy in the little loco office Norman John ? gave us a lot of grief, ca'nt remember getting a form 1, but the PW were out repairing the switches bloody pronto. Happy days ! 

Who is the Driver with the pipe in the Saltley notice board shot? I remember him from my Bescot days but think he was from Tyesley.

Bernard TPM,  Thank you very much, just what I need if any more surface from others I shall be a happy person.  

     Regards Mick

 Sir Douglas, that was my first avenue of attack. Chivers has not replied to my email and my letter to Backwoods was returned. So this is plan B. Plan C?????

One thing to remember, the lid/door is not a dome shape more of a Wainwright smoke box door shape with the knob on the pointed end. On the FR locos the securing catch is just a piece of threaded bar with a catch which rotates on the bar and a screw down knob to hold all in place. A very basic bit of kit.

I am disposing of some 009  loco kits for a friends widow. My problem is I have several kits, no drawing instruction sheets and a box of loose parts! so I dont know if any locos are missing parts.

   Please pm me if you kept instructions for Chivers RC 7 Lew,  RC29 Peckett,RC 44 Bundaberg Fowler, RC45a  freelance Forney, and what looks like a Welsh Highland 0-6-4 Moel Tryfan.  Also need Instructions for A Backwoods Minatures Russell,  Cambletown & Machrihanish 0-6-2.

  Thanks in advance for any help.   MIck    

Hi JZ,  looks like you had a good time in Colorado, followed the trail I laid 25 yrs ago! Did you get to Leadville?  That place left me well out of breath!.

     If you are interested I have a lot of HOn3 stuff that I want to go to someone who will enjoy it. I dont want to leave too much stuff for the memsahib to clear up!  I  am clearing up a pals estate and have learnt some lessons!

      PM me if you are interested but bare in mind mine is all analogue stuff.

 Mick

If you need an idea of what a Fowler 4MT looked like then the Derby designed and built (some not all)  2-6-0's that ran on the LMS/NCC in Ireland  are your answer. And for those that want build a 4mm scale one a kit is available from Worsley Works

Would the guys who expressed am interest in my disposal sale please pm me as I sent photos and lists and would hate to put stuff on Ebay that others wanted.

   thanks Mick

As an ex Fireman, stoker was used as a casual jockular  sort of term. As in someone who heaved a lot of coal in the firebox rather than fired the box.  If you watch Winter on Jinpeng Pass there is a footplate sequence where the fireman is firing the QJ at the same time as the  mech; stoker is running. But look at the coal ,if there's a bit as big as a finger that's a lump.

Also in the USA. The C&O  and N&W had I believe one each.  The N&W was called the "John Henry" or maybe "Jawn Henry". Both locomotives had very short lives and  must have been a huge investment for little return. 

  On a totally different tack, I spoke with Tony some time ago to  ok, me offering some "niche" models from an estate. There are  Branchlines Midland/LMS coach kits, Gem loco body kits , Anbrico bus models. If their is any interest pleas pm me, any unsold stuff will go on the well known market  place.

           Mick

HI Corbs,

    can you remember how the smokebox front is fixed on a Bachmann N class? I want to remove it to cast  a different  style of door in resin.

  Mick

2999, a thing of beauty. Some of the " old boys" at Banbury thought the 29's were the fastest thing on rails! Lets hope you get the chance  to try her out ,would I like to be there? Yes please!

During my four yrs as a steam fireman on BR I experienced  GW,LM, BR stds and a very few ER types. I can say that without doubt that the GW locos had the most sensitive regulator of all, a very positve open and closure. Why BR did'nt  adopt the type is puzzling. And I will say that in general GW locos of all types were more surefooted. Black fives, class 8's slip like goodun's, 9f's inc 92203which I have fired on real freight trains, no slipping there.

  Total loss lubrication plays a huge part in plastering an engines wheels in oil and I dare say that today's drivers  display a certain amount of bravado in their handling of the engine. The engineman in the past did not have a gallery to play to. To most it was just a job but we all know the names that were the exception.

  In my memory there was nothing better than a 9f on a fitted tomato special 45/50 vans Banbury to Bordesley in under the hour. Or belting seven bells out of an 8f from Tysley back to Banbury on a coal train, sky rockets all the way up past Fosse road box, or my driver walking all round the framing on a WR 38 at night and sticking his face around the front of the cab on the way to Reading, nearly a brown trouser moment.

 One observation on firing styles, the Eastern crews seemed to do a lot of shoveling when stood waiting for their train to arrive, drinking tea and having snap, then back on, right away, a huge slip that livens up the fire, lots of smoke and blowing off in five minutes.

  Sorry this is'nt teccy with theory and calculations, which has its place, just based on my small amount of experience. Its all a bit academic really.

    Mick

If you say the siding nearest the wall was a shunting neck. Could that bracket have supported a hooter/bell to give audible shunting signals to the driver? What you need is a sectional appendix which should give the locations of strange things like that.

   Layout is looking good.

That looks so good; seeing the corrugated  steel that the track sat on just jogged childhood memories, spot on! Like so many other things a shame the LOH did'nt last longer. Would it be an asset today?

    Hope you had a good w/e/at Wakefield your stand was busy every time I passed.