NXEA!

Cor, they look lovely! Only two comments I have are the printing of the smokebox door numbers instead of a plate, and that the cabside numbers look too 'yellow' (not sure if anyone else has mentioned this already). Bring 'em on!

No dirty secret Old Boy,

 

 

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/125023-bleat-wharf/page-2

 

 

Rob.

Ah, that thread had passed me by... 

I like the look of it so far Rob, I will watch with interest. It actually has a passing resemblance to White Swan yard in Yarmouth, what with the hole in the wall and subsequent sprawl of sidings. It would suit those forthcoming MR J70's... Oops, that's your dirty secret out in the open. 

Minor observation, but I notice having already delivered R3546 (61576 in E/C) that Hornby have delayed R3545 (61556 in BR with Gill Sans lettering) to August 2019 which seems strange. Production issues, or are they being pragmatic and spreading them out so they can sell the previous releases? Has the B12 been a slow seller? Just curious. 

Thanks all for your input. I think I'll keep an eye out for a NuCast kit to put in the 'one day' pile, and focus on building up my kit building abilities at some point before I attempt it! 

The problem I see is that if it becomes the main project, one needs at least two.....

 

 

Rob.

Go on... Have a look at White Swan goods yard at Yarmouth, Ipswich Docks, the W+U, the Mid-Suffolk and the Kelvedon & Tollesbury line, particularly Tollesbury Pier - a wonderfully brooding location. There's no going back. Two J70's will become two J70's, two J15's and an N7, take it from the voice of experience who has amassed a lot of Great Eastern stuff after falling for the J15... You and a few of your Western/Southern pals bad mouth the LNER, so try it for yourself - I guarantee you'll be converted. 

Any chance of revisiting this one Dave? It's been a while since the idea was first floated, and several crowd-funded models have been delivered since then. 

Thanks for all the feedback. Definite no-no then. Must say this thread has been very informative - I didn't know the E4 boiler was pitched higher for example. RMWeb at its best!  

Seeing as the NuCast kit sounds like a difficult kit to build for a beginner, I think I will have to resort to hoping a built one comes up on eBay or elsewhere and taking it from there.  

34, two of your suggestions turned my head, the Radial chassis (which would be too much of a butcher for my skills but a good idea nonetheless), and the J67-69 kit. What's the SE Finecast kit like to build? 

All,

Thanks for your replies, by the sounds of it you’re right, not the way to go. I was aware of the difference in driving wheels, but hadn’t considered that... that would make butchering rather more difficult.

The Nu-Cast suggestion is a good one, however I am yet to build a brass or white metal one. Does the NuCast one lend itself to being built by beginners?

I ask this as someone who has never attempted bashing in his life, but does anyone have any thoughts on how easy it would be to convert a Hornby J15 to an E4?  

I'm conscious the length of the wheelbases themselves were 16ft 1in. for the J15 and 16ft 6in. for the E4, which in OO gauge would be a discrepancy of 1.6mm, however is this difference down to the difference in size between the pony truck wheels of the E4 and the front driving wheels of the J15? From the info I have the E4 was longer over buffers at 48ft2in vs 47ft3in, which in OO gauge would be almost a 4mm difference in the length of the engine chassis. 

I'm not a rivet counter, more someone who wants a fairly accurate representation of something - I think butchering a J15 could achieve this and I think I'd be happy to overlook a difference in length as long as it didn't stick out like a sore thumb. Do people think almost 4mm difference in length is a compromise worth living with? 

The main question for me would be the chassis, as I'd be wary of chopping it about to remove the front driving wheels. Does anybody with any familiarity with butchering chassis', or the J15 chassis' workings give their thoughts on how easy it would be to convert it to a 2-4-0 wheel configuration? Bear in mind with your responses you're talking to a novice here...  

Thanks in advance. 

The one model I’m desperate for is an LNER E4 - they already have the tender and boiler for it, and I suspect the J15 chassis is adaptable. And there’s one in the National collection!

Something else which would go nicely with the GER models in the Hornby stable are some GE 50ft coaches.

I think we’ll see a retooled 8F, Princess Coronation and D49 before too long.

Wow! This is going to be an absolute corker from Oxford by the looks of it. 

Nothing wrong with the mechanism's running qualities on the sole Oxford loco I have tinkered with (Radial) nor does this aspect appear to be a problem on the Dean goods either. So the mechanism aspect should be sorted, 'only' the external appearance to get right! Oxford's photos awaited with interest. As a model with no previous or expected RTR competition if they get it right it should do well in the market.

 

LNER pre-group design smaller secondary power is at last beginning to fill out a little with recent releases: D11, D16, J11, J15, J50; and the G5, J36, J70 and N7 to come. Wonder when it will occur to some maker that a small GNR design tender type would be appropriate?

A J6 is a no-brainer, they were widespread. Very attractive loco to boot! 

Amateurs, I knew I stopped getting that mag for a reason.

Yep, the same amateurs that have given us highly accurate models of the Sentinel, USA Tank and forthcoming J70. The b*stards... 

I was umming and ahh’ing, but decided to order the lovely blue PLA one before they all sell out. £76.50 from Colletts, can’t complain. Now to build a layout set in East London based on some dockside exchange sidings, with the Peckett and a couple of grubby J15’s and Class 15’s shunting wagons...

Getting very excited for this one... I realise that some were not happy with the Dean Goods or Mark 3’s, but even if this has similar issues this will still be of a standard far beyond my capability. When Hornby are charging £205 for a Duchess, and I’ll be paying £170 for this with DCC Sound, you really cannot complain.

There has been progress - just not as quick I had intended. The fiddle yards have been b*stardised and are fully functional - I've fitted hinged legs to allow the fiddle yards to be folded away and put under the bed when not in use. It keeps SWMBO happy! Connection is via luggage catches, and electrical conduct is via opened out rail joiners - simple. Pictures are below - eventually, I'll get round to building cassette boards out of 2mm ply, but for now this'll do.   

I stuck offcuts of wood (part of a bed slat!) at the end to ensure I don't have any nasty or expensive accidents.  

This also means that for the first time I've had a fully functional layout which is a massive milestone for me, and so I've indulged in lots of thorough 'testing' (playing).  

There's also been a bit of progress in other areas. I've cut back the siding in the foreground, as I've decided there will be small open country road crossing and a cottage to the left to act as a view blocker. I've bought a lovely Bachmann Scenecraft cottage which I'm very pleased with. I'm planning to model a front garden with vegetable patches between the cottage and the road which will allow me to get some of that lovely fen-like black earth in. The station that can be seen is a Wills halt from the spares box so I can visualise, as I'm still toying with the idea of a small halt. 

Some photos:    

A Claud passes the cottage with a train for Heacham.  

Another Claud brings in a short 1 coach local.

Some shots of a J15 bringing the afternoon freight for the branch past the cottage and through the junction.  

Two wagons after being dropped off in the siding, including an arty-farty B/W shot.   

And finally, a some shots of the overall scene from a viewing perspective. Needs a lot more work! 

I'm pondering a location change - I would love to move the layout to the fens, but I think space precludes me building in a fen drain and windmill. I need to have a think about the view blocker on the r/h side of the layout, and there isn't much space to work with. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear!  

Finally, i've also been dabbling with some ballasting as you can see in the above photos - I used the Chris Nevard method with some DAS modelling clay to do the siding.   

I'm very pleased with it and love the effect, I just need to get hold of some matt emulsion tester pots to finish it off.  

I've also bought some of the legacy/DCC Concepts 2mm brown blend ballast, and tested it by putting it loose onto a bit of track and brushing into place.   

Again, I like the lightweight look of it, and I think it'll look even better once its been toned down and the sleepers and chairs picked out. Hopefully I'll get some ballast down tonight and tomorrow. Lets see! 

I really like the look of this. Looking forward to seeing more! 

Not much to report recently unfortunately. I've been very busy with work during March, doing courses and in London a lot of the time, and money has been tight. However it has given me lots of time to think about the layout and get some inspiration. 

I'm desperate to get something running properly so I can crack on with scenics and developing the layout, so I've plumped for a simple and cheap solution for now. I've ordered some Ikea Lack shelves which will act as fiddle yards. These will be fixed with clasp locks for alignment and supported by Wickes trestles which I already have.  

The downside of this is that I will only be able to have a few engines in steam at any one time - like most of us do, I have more stock than a layout this size requires! Over the summer I will build proper fiddle yards and cassettes with ply so I can use more stock during an operating session and have variety.  

I'm also pondering putting in a station after all - the premise was that it was a junction in the middle of nowhere, but a small timber halt about a coach long really appeals - the lefthand platform ramp could allow passenger access to a road with a level crossing towards the left hand side of the scene with some kind of building in the foreground to act as a view blocker for trains exiting. The siding at the front of the layout would be cut back by about 15cm if I do this, but it's something I'm seriously considering.  

Hopefully there will be progress next weekend - watch this space. 

I bought a copy this morning from WHSmith at Norwich station. Orford is so atmospheric, and those GE 6-wheelers in Stratford Brown are exquisite. I liked the article on improving RTR wagons too. More editions like that please! 

I don’t recall Oxford (or Heljan) being present at Ally Pally.

That’s a shame. Hopefully we’ll hear something from them soon!

Hattons have told me that the LNER black version 8011 is due between October and December 2018 for £87. This looks like good value for money.

Indeed, £87 in the current market is a steal. I have the sound version on order from Rails for £170. That’s not much more than some manufacturers charge for standard releases.

Was there any news about this at Ally Pally? Having seen an EP not long ago we should be seeing some decorated versions soon shouldn’t we? Not a nag, just genuinely excited to get mine!

I'm probably late to the party, but if the 4-wheelers sell, then I would definitely be interested in a couple of Holden 6-wheelers. 

It does give me an idea for Sheeps Wharf, the cafe in particular.

More warm baps for Mr Lockhart then?