AJCT

Quite so. The side lamps are double-ended (white glass one face, red the other - I have one of the real ones) with sockets on both sides to fit the side brackets on a brake van. I think I'm right in saying that for an unfitted goods, the side-lamps would be mounted with the red facing the rear and white facing forward: this was so that at night the engine crew could look back every so often to see the white light to check that their train was still complete. For a fully-fitted goods the side lamps were not required, as a train becoming divided would mean parting of the vacuum bags and the resulting brake application would alert the engine crew ! So in the pic above the presence of side lamps on the brake at the rear of what looks like a Consett iron-ore train (which I understand were fully braked) is surprising, unless there were special regulations for these workings. As I understand it, when an unfitted goods was "put inside" a loop or refuge siding at night, the guard would turn round the side lamp nearest the running line to display a white light to the rear, to indicate to an overtaking train that it wasn't on the same line. Presumably the guard of a fully-fitted goods would have to remove the single tail lamp for the same reason, but perhaps some-one on here more kowledgeable than me can confirm? Alasdair

You could have a look at http://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&id=1600&type=S&loco=1600 Use the blue arrows to work your way through the class. Beware of the 2 (1646 and 1649) which ended up in the north of Scotland ! HTH. Alasdair

You're welcome ! Alasdair

Have you tried Hatton's ? https://www.hattons.co.uk/stocklist/Preowned.aspx Enjoying following your progress with this. Never got to visit 64B in steam days, though - it was green diesels by the time I first got there. Alasdair

Thanks, Dave. My copy of the BR General Appendix certainly spells it "Instanter", anyway. I've assembled 3 wagons' worth of the etches you sent: they're a bit ticklish and I decided to bend the link etch only to 120 degrees (rather than the suggested 90) and superglue it to the AJ shaft, to hold it in place while crimping the 2 halves together. It's also important to ensure that said link hangs vertically, and to close up the iron link once fitted as I think one of mine has gone MIA. Non-magnetic tweezers are a good idea as well.... They've been tested on a permanent magnet on my bench and also on an electromagnet on "Burntisland 1883": the extra leverage afforded does pull them right down to the sleepers, so I may experiment with some sort of limiting device. But they certainly look the part - roll on the "Instanters", though I can see that a screw coupling version will be a challenge ! Alasdair

Thanks, Dave... order for 2 sets submitted. Alasdair

I think it's supposed to be "wi' " (with) - "wae" would be the Scots version of "woe". Sorry... this is all getting a bit OT, probably because I used the word "lum", as my dad did in his 1966 RM article.... Alasdair

"Lum" is the Scots word for chimney, as in the trad Scots greeting - "lang may yer lum reek" - literally meaning 'long may your chimney smoke', this is the best way to wish someone a long and healthy life - frequently used for wedding cards or (in past times) telegrams.... Slainte ! Alasdair

Here are a couple of B&W pics of my dad’s model, taken by the late Henry Julian, who ran the “Homecrafts” model shop in Edinburgh’s Gillespie Crescent – any RMWebbers remember that ? Dad’s model was built on a separate piece of board so it could be worked on away from the main layout: as you can see, the malt barn was turned at right angles from that in the original plan and elevation, due to space constraints. As I said earlier, the model is very much of its time - some of the buildings were adapted from Superquick and Bilteezi card kits, the water tank is obviously Airfix, and the “lum” is actually solid oak turned on a lathe by my uncle and covered with brick paper. The pug “Kilmorie” is the Airfix L&Y one – no 00 Barclays (kit or RTR) available back in the mid-1960s…. A comparison of my dad’s plan (see yesterday’s post) with the relevant NLS map view – https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=18&lat=56.6247&lon=-3.8501&layers=168&right=BingHyb would indeed confirm that it was based on Aberfeldy. The pic of Aberfeldy taken in 2011 does show the similarities, even though some buildings have obviously been modernised in recent times - I have other Aberfeldy pics from 2011 if anyone’s really interested. Anent rail connection (which is where we came in…), the OS plan appears to show 2 sidings and a release crossover, allowing working by branch goods trains in either direction. The model just has a short siding at the back rather than one along the front, which doesn’t really justify a pug ! Anyway, I think that’s just about all I can contribute to this – hope it’s of interest. Alasdair

I’ve had a rummage round my archives with rather limited success, but here to be going on with are a scan of a couple of my dad’s original drawings - they’re both drawn to the scale of 1 inch to 40 feet – and an early pic of the model itself as a work-in-progress. I’d have to say that the model is very much “of its time”, being built using traditional cardboard and building-paper methods. The actual model kiln roof structure measures 5.5” square over gutters, 3.5” high to the bottom of the kiln vent, and 5.75” to the top of the pagoda roof: the vertical section just below the vent is 1.125” square. So far I haven’t found an original version of the kiln roof drawing, but as you can see from the model pic the kiln roof shape is very similar to the ones in the top right and bottom left pictured in Brylonscamel’s post of 4th Sept. So it does look as though you have some leeway with the kiln roof shape: with the vast resources of the internet, there’s so much more information now available to modellers than there was back in the sixties, and the Longmorn and Tamdhu drawings posted above are rather better than those I have. Sorry about the quality of the drawing scans: the elevation is from my dad's original pencil drawing, and the plan seems to be a Xerox-type copy as I haven't yet located the original - if it still exists. Hope this is of some interest, but probably not of much help ! Somewhere I’m sure I have some better B&W photos of the completed distillery model and I may try to post one or two to complete the picture, just as soon as I can find them…. Alasdair

The very dab... when can I order some ? As well as a screw-coupling version, how about an "Instanter" one ? Alasdair

OK - I'll have a rake round my "archives" and see what there is, and if the lighting conditions permit I may even be able to take a colour pic or two of the model. With current commitments it'll likely be early next week, though. Alasdair

Way back in the 1960s my late father built a model distillery for his 00 layout, and it was featured in the Railway Modeller for December 1966. It was originally conceived as a corner-filler for the outside of a curve, and the inspiration for it came from the Revd Peter Denny's gasworks as featured in the June 1961 RM. Like the gasworks, the distillery wasn't just a piece of scenery but a focus for goods traffic: however, my dad decided that a distillery would be more appropriate for his North Highland branch-line than a gasworks ! That layout is long gone, but for sentimental reasons I still have the model distillery - and in fact the day I write this it's 40 years since he died. If I recall correctly, the Dec 1966 RM article may have a drawing of the kiln pagoda roof/vent with dimensions. Copyright reasons would probably prevent scanning the published article, but if it would be of interest I'll have a look and see if I have dad's original plans and notes which might be scan-able. In his article my dad referred to his “selected prototype”. Unfortunately my siblings and I can’t recall him ever divulging which one it was based on, but a few years ago my wife and I were driving eastwards out of Aberfeldy and I spotted the close resemblance of the distillery there to the drawing which accompanied my dad’s article… mystery solved, perhaps, but I believe the Dalwhinnie distillery had some inspiration too. Then in October 2002 I was helping to exhibit a friend's layout at the Manchester MRS show and whilst having a look round the other exhibits I found a group showing an under-construction layout featuring a model distillery which looked familiar. It turned out they were using my dad’s RM article as inspiration, so I introduced myself and said I was pleased that his model had inspired them, and wished them well. If I recall correctly that layout was being built in 3mm finescale by the North Cheshire Group of the 3mm Society, and I was wondering if any RMWebbers know how that layout progressed? Alasdair

Indeed. Now that I've had a more in-depth read of the article, I see the team have actually used a mirror-image version of the original along with a few other changes. Alasdair

I picked up the September Railway Modeller just yesterday, and a preliminary look through that issue reveals an 00 gauge Southern Region layout named "Titherleigh" based on these plans. HTH. Alasdair

Likewise for the BR Palbrick.... Alasdair

Yes, so am I - I'd hoped to come as I enjoyed last year but it clashed with a running-practice day on the home club layout... next year, perhaps. Alasdair

For my J37s, on advice from an NBR expert I used Alan Gibson Drummond Standard LSWR sprung bufferes, ref 4910. See pic here - HTH. Alasdair

Well, you learn something every day... look forward to reading your info on this IDC. Just what I need to run my pair in multiple.... Alasdair

Quite a lot of useful info on here - http://www.derbysulzers.com/ , specifically http://www.derbysulzers.com/66.html - this mentions the batch of Class 25s D7611-7623 delivered new to Eastfield from April 1966. These were the only 25s fitted with cabside tablet-catcher recesses, though I've never seen any pics of them with catchers actually fitted. According to BR Database http://www.brdatabase.info/locoqry.php?action=locodata&id=7599&type=D&loco=D7599 , D7598-7601 were allocated to Eastfield around 1966/67 (but not from new) and D7602-7608 to Haymarket from 1966-69 (again, transferred from elsewhere). A list of diesel locos seen at Hawick, which I got from the Hawick & District Club several years ago, shows D7599, D7601-8 and D7617: there are a few pics of 25s on the Waverley on RailScot, eg https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/23/820/ , https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/17/882/ (unfortunately without numbers) and https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/40/103/ . I'm modelling D7604 and D7617.... HTH. Alasdair

Photographic evidence suggests they were usually fitted to locos with tender cabs (as here) to enable crew access to the tender top for water filling, shovelling coal forward, etc. Alasdair

Nice work there. What paint did you use for the crimson ? Alasdair

Sorted... new link here - Alasdair

While looking for something else (as you do) I came across this - http://www.poppyswoodtech.co.uk/ - look under "4mm scale" and scroll down to "Valances". I've pointed out to them that Mallaig is on the "West Highland" not the "Highland", but some searching through published pics suggests that with a little adaptation this type of valance might be suitable for other locations on the NBR system, eg Fort William. HTH. Alasdair

Way back in the 1960s, my Dad built a viaduct for his (never finished) 00 layout. I think it was influenced by Glenfinnan, but it was a much scaled-down version with 8 main arches and a smaller one at each end, on a curve radius of about 3', and also on a gradient. I still have said viaduct stashed away in my attic and a cursory check says that the arch spans are 4" on both sides, which would confirm that the piers are tapered as per your first diagram. Given that my Dad had an engineering degree and wartime experience as an army engineer, I would assume he'd got this right.... HTH. Alasdair