Woodcock29

I've made quite a few over the years, mostly for ex GC locos. It's simply a matter of trial and error - just take your time. No one should fear this. I always start with one of the front corner bends and then work up over the smokebox curve. Just ensure you have enough for the straight sides when the curve is done. Andrew

No interference after moving each step in by about 1.7mm. I also chamfered the vertical edges of the steps for two reasons - to make them look thinner and also in case for any reason the valve gear did catch at some stage but it seems to clear nicely behind the repositioned steps. I should add I generally have min 3ft radius. To aid platform clearance I also took maybe 0.5mm off the depth of the individual steps. My plan was if this didn't work to make up some brass steps from spare etch offcuts. But all seems good. Andrew

Yes the steps still clear the motion okay. Chamfering the edges is for two reasons - make them look thinner and also ensure should the valve gear catch it will slide behind but it doesn't catch on mine. I don't think I could move them in much more. I'll be writing a review for our BRMA Journal The Clearing House over the next couple of weeks. That seems to be a task I've set myself for all new LNER 4mm scale models over the last 10 plus years. Andrew

Tony Here's a taste for you of 10000. These were taken before I started to play around with it. The detail in the unusual cab is most impressive. Since then I've removed the troublesome steps and have refitted them below the valence and further in from the edge. I also removed a small amount from the top of the step fittings and reduced the depth of the actual steps. On one side I've also chamfered the edges. Its all a bit of trial and error to see what works best before I decide whether I need to make some from brass. I'm also likely to remove the moulded handrails on the steps and replace with wire but I've left them there for strength at the moment. I've reduced the overall width from 44mm to 40.6mm. It doesn't interfere with any of the platform edges on my layout now. Andrew

I've removed the steps on mine and after removing a fraction from the top I've re-positioned them below the footplate and set back by about 1.6mm on each side. It now clears all my platforms ok. Andrew

Mine arrived safely here in South Australia today from Kernow with no damage. The loco to tender coupling was the wrong way around as others have noted. The steps over the slidebars appear to have sufficient clearance from the valvegear that I can move them in a bit, otherwise they do hit my platforms However, I have a bi-directional centre track between the two platform tracks so no problem being able to run it. Andrew

Hi Gibert I also hope you have a happy Christmas and that we all have a better 2022. As to photos, any with ex GN, GC or GE engines in them. Andrew

Hi Sandra When I built a Ks P2 back in the 80s and fitted Romfords I found they wouldn't fit unless I turned the flanges down. So I expect whoever built the one you have simply fitted flangeless to the centre two axles instead. Of course today with Markits wheels or indeed the later Romfords with RP25 flanges this wouldn't be necessary. I would have turned mine down by placing a wheel on an axle in the chuck of a drill and using files and emery paper! Andrew

Did someone mention the W1! Here's a photo of the version I built back in the late 80s - so its over 30 years old and definitely a product of its time. Don't think I've shown this before? Its built from two Trix A4 bodies - joined in the firebox, which used to be available from Dapol for £3.50 ea. It has a Comet Gresley A1/A3 chassis, Crownline valve gear, cylinders made from a block of laminated plastic card, home made slidebars (you can't really see them!). Its has an old Triang bogie as the basis for the rear frames - which I've made as a bogie as it needed to traverse 2ft radius curves on the layout I had at the time, which has a plastic frame built around it. The tender is a modified Triang/Hornby A4 tender - this definitely needs replacing. On the loco the cab windows use brass frames I got from somewhere but they are not high enough and the colour, which is my own mix is too light - at the time I thought the Humbrol Garter blue was much too light and Precision too dark. I think I darkened the Humbrol Garter blue with another Humbrol blue. Its fitted with a large Portescap which is quiet and runs really well. Its probably a candidate for a rebuild at some stage. I have several of the GBT magazine A4s so could use a couple of those bodies or just fix the cab windows and repaint. Mind you there are probably a 100+ projects ahead of it! Andrew

Good morning Tony I thought it was time I showed you what I've been up to recently. A D3 from a Premier kit with a severely kitbashed/scratch tender using the sides and rear from a Nucast GN B Type tender. The equal spaced tender frames are from Graeme King as are the tool boxes, the water filler box and the smokebox door (from Graeem's J6 ). The loco is awaiting the start of painting during which the boiler bands will be applied and brakes fitted. Plus the beginnings of a B8 using a Graeme King resin boiler and custom etches (body parts in the photo and the chassis) I had done locally here in South Australia about 10 years ago from drawings I did at the time. The boiler is only placed in position as are the PDK D11/1 chimney and dome. The bogie is one of Mike Edge's etches. The cab roof is from an old Ks B2 I picked up for a song which was the whole reason I started to plan this build as initially I intended to use the Ks boiler. I plan on using a Bachmann tender with some modifications. More detail on these can be found at: https://www.lner.info/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14225&p=143731#p143731 Andrew

Tony with all your wiggly pipes I'm surprised you've left the cast smokebox door handles. Andrew

Gilbert I like the view and one option is to simply crop the top so making it a nice wide photo with not much sky. Andrew

That photo of the J6 is just superb Gilbert. I had to look twice as I thought I was seeing one of Keith Pirt's photos! Andrew

And an interior

I also had Bayko. I still remember playing with it. I never had Meccano. I think Dad was more interested in buying Hornby Dublo. I gave the Bayko away for a church fete when we were cleaning out my parents home 16 or so years ago. I wonder if they were able to sell it or it went to the dump?

You think that's a problem! I've got 6 suitable buses and 2 overbridges. However, I do have an underbridge and a level crossing.

Is the motor one of the very earliest to be used in Portescaps? The first Portescap I bought would have been around 1982 I think and didn't have that motor then. I've never had much satisfaction from using that style of K's wheels but I did use them back in the late 70s and early 80s on a C12 and a K3 when Romford didn't make a 22mm wheel. Andrew

Our most well known ex Cornish mining towns are Burra and Moonta, as mentioned in the web reference. Out of curiosity I lived in Rosevear St, Hawthorn here in Adelaide after we emigrated in 1964, until 1978.

Also the strip along the edge of the roof which will hide the join. Still the timber work looks very nice. Andrew

I have a P1 I built from the Crownline kit plus a D16/3 and a J17 to build. Years ago I was able to buy lots of spare chimneys from Dave's Crownline kits and more recently I got quite a lot from PDK. RIP Dave King. Andrew

Normal 3ft 1in wheels. I built the D&S kit back in the 80s. Unfortunately the kit is based on a one off version. It has one door each side on a diagonal basis which are placed at the end of the verandah, whereas the other GN 8 wheel brake vans built had the doors on the inner end of the verandah. The kit could be kitbashed into one of these with a bit of work. The steps are rather fragile and benefit from some reinforcement. They are covered in Tatlow's LNER Wagons Vol 1. Note the example at Tanfield has a rebuilt body without the larger GN style verandahs, more LNER standard style. Andrew

Last year I posted some photos of the Spirsby layout built by Gavin Thrum based on the Spilsby branch in Lincolnshire to which I contributed some items and on which we run some of my LNER stock. We assumed that Spilsby became more important and the line was signalled to allow more than one engine to be on the branch at the same time. Hence we named it Spirsby rather than Spilsby. This last weekend should have been our annual BRMA Convention here in Adelaide. But due to Covid restrictions on travel across state borders here in Oz we've postponed it once again. We were intending to show Spirsby at the Convention venue but will now need to do that next year. As we had a free weekend locally I had a BRMA meeting at my place on Sat (split into two sessions to allow for Covid restrictions of a max of 20 people in a residence at one time) and as Spirsby is in storage at my place I set it up for a week. This will allow its use by two operating groups I'm in, one of which was last night. Consequently I took the opportunity for a bit of a photo shoot. Hope you like the shots. Andrew

Below is a photo of my Hornby O1 (possibly shown before?) to which I've fitted a Graeme King resin smokebox front and chimney. These changes turn what is a fairly good looking O1 into what an O1 should look like in my view. It still needs further weathering of the chassis and the valve gear in particular which currently is still Hornby's weathering. Also I should fit a new pony truck to get rid of the ugly NEM pocket. I have an unbuilt Little Engines O1 picked up for an absolute bargain (~£15) at a BRMA Convention which might become a source of parts for a range of other projects so I could fit that pony truck as its likely to be too difficult to carve up the Hornby cast metal pony truck. As indicated above by Headstock, most retained this earlier style of smokebox door which I believe is of NE heritage. The chimney is an interesting problem with all of Hornby's LNER locos with flowerpot chimneys except for the B12/3 which it got correct. I've had dialogue with Simon K on this matter and understand its something to do with the moulding process that prevents the correct curves being incorporated into the stem of the chimney, although Hornby got it right on the slightly shorter chimney fitted to the B12/3. I've got models of all the relevant Hornby models but as most are for a BR period I've not bothered to change them yet as I really only run my railway in a 1930s LNER period. However, I've fitted a replacement brass chimney on my black LNER D16/3. Whether I'll upgrade all the BR locos only time will tell. Andrew

On the subject of the DJH Atlantic's - both are far from accurate being based around an extended driving wheelbase as suggested above. I built a C2 about 20 years ago and made some corrections such as shortening the length of the loco (footplate) and narrowing the footplate. If I had known more at the time I could have made a few other changes such as reducing the height of the frames above the springs below cab and on the tender. At the end of the day whatever you do with these is going to be inaccurate to varying degrees as you can't change things like the boiler diameter easily. One unfortunate fact is that the overscale dimensions are not consistent across the models. One of the most significant overscale parts is the boiler and smokebox on the C1. I bought an unbuilt C1 secondhand many years ago but will probably never build it. I'm more likely to reuse the parts from my dismantled Ks C1, built originally in 1976, when I get around to building my model of 3279. Andrew

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