thegreenhowards

My favourites are the views of northbound trains snaking out of the station taken from Spittal Bridge. I also love it when you show all the stock but those are for interest rather than artistic merit!

A good summary Tony. Seems like reasonable progress for a ‘low mojo’ year! Are the parts for the S11 available for me to work on? Merry Christmas, Andy

Well if Jonathan says it has to be black ends, then so be it. I’ve given it a light weathering and it’s no entered service as a strengthener on my 1948 KX outer suburban set.

I think it’s a very good match. It’s worth getting the top banner above the windows as well. This is one of mine. it’s worth giving John Peck, the proprietor, a ring. He’s very helpful and will talk you through what you need. Contact details here. http://www.precisionlabels.com/contact.html?new Andy

As John says these precision labels are excellent. I applied them directly over matchboarded sides with no problems. Andy

Well the Hattons deal got me to finally take the plunge. I think they’re lovely coaches and the lining looks much better in the flesh than in photos - the primrose is there but gets lost in most photos. The coupling system is completely impractical though. I can see I’m going to have to invest in Kadees for the intermediate couplings. The ends will be Dinghams as with all my rakes.

I’ve finally just about finished my isinglass ex GNR, BCL which I think has turned out pretty well. This will run with my Ivatt Atlantic on a KX outer suburban c.1948. One thing I suspect I’ve got wrong is the teak ends. Having painted them I’m loathed to cover them in black. Does anyone know of precedents for outer suburban stock retaining teak ends post 1928.

Could you use LNER numbering? I can provide some if you want to try. I agree on the cost point, you could end up paying more for the decals than the basic body! I’m afraid it’s the combination of low volume, complicated artwork and a lack of competition.

Are these what you need? https://www.fox-transfers.co.uk/transfers/ger-great-eastern-railway-loco-crests-76188

Rob, I just wanted to say a big thank you for putting me in touch with Ed Hall. My 7mm model of Glenfinnan station arrived this morning and it looks superb. Ed was a pleasure to deal with and it’s the first time I’ve been given a discount because ‘7mm is easier than 4mm’! I’m putting the cart before the horse here as I haven’t even started on baseboards but this building might spur me on! I’m enjoying all your updates. Keep up the inspirational work. Andy

I’ve just finished my latest project which was this O gauge J69. This is built from a kit of 3D printed parts. It sits on a Dapol Terrier chassis which provides a very cost effective chassis. The wheelbase and diameter are spot on although it has the wrong number of spokes - I’ll live with that as a price worth paying for the smooth running. More details of the build for anyone interested are on my workbench thread starting here.

The J69 is now finished. I haven't replaced the decals so sorry if that offends you but for me it isn’t too evident especially now it’s under some light weathering. I’m pleased with the way she’s turned out and special thanks to Rob ( @woko )for providing me with a set of 3D printed parts. I had her running at the club last night with full sound and firebox flicker which got some favourable comments. Andy

I could offer this brace for the GNR back date. They’re in as preserved condition but I hope they’d be near enough. Rolling stock would be more of a problem though.

Thanks Rob, I’m waiting to get some decent figures to put in the cab. The the ‘lid’ will be glued down. Andy

A question for you Rob. I’ve tried to add the four guard irons which you nagged reminded me about on Monday. Have I got these in the right place as photos all seem to be in deep shade. I presume I need to remove the comparatively puny Dapol equivalents on their Terrier chassis? thanks Andy

That looks fantastic now. Fort William has more or less disappeared behind the trees and the overall scene is very convincing.

I was joking in this case, but it is a reason that lots of kids are off and they don’t all stay at home.

Probably self isolating!

Some great photos there Rob, I particularly like the last one of the TTA tanks. Now that Dapol have announced an O gauge version I’m trying to work out which livery I should buy. Most of the pictures on the WHL seem to show black BRT tanks with a few grey/ red solebar examples as in this photo. Whereas Dapol seem to have gone for the more colourful schemes. Has your research determined exactly which liveries worked the WHL in this period? Regards Andy

I’m even more confused now! Is this an up or down train? I thought it was the 1715 Hull-KX which I have as predominantly Mk1. There is a similarly timed down train where the catering comes off at Donny. Is that what we’re looking at? Andy

It looks like interesting stock on the Hull Gilbert. My CWN shows it as mainly Mark 1 but it’s one of those secondary expresses which I imagine would have featured older substitutes. Do you have a photograph to base this on?

We crossed again! The Accurascale one will be interesting. I might be tempted to replace my 00 Bachmann version as I’ve never been happy with the sound project on that. I have one of their 00 Deltics on order. If only they’d do some 0 gauge locos! Andy

Yes, I did listen to Rob’s videos which is what started me thinking about the logomanbiffo project. One problem is that I’m listening to all these videos on my iPad which doesn’t really do them justice. The large speakers I can fit in o gauge are definitely better than anything which can be reproduced by an iPad. Short of linking my PC and hifi I don’t know what the solution to that is. Andy

Thanks for your comments Andy. I rather enjoy fitting the sound myself…provided the instructions are OK! This was my first attempt at an o gauge diesel - the next will be easier and I’ll go back to Youchoos as their customer service is fantastic and I prefer Zimo chips. I only swapped because I wanted to try the Legomanbiffo WD sound project. Also, I’m too mean to pay someone else to do it! I’d seen something similar to your speaker test from Road and Rails and that’s where I bought my large bass speakers from. They arrived today so will hopefully be fitted tomorrow. There’s no doubt in my mind that sound dramatically increases the ‘play value’ . I’m sure you’ll be fitting more locos before long. Andy

Right, the sound chip is now fitted. I’m pleased with the sound project but disappointed with the speakers and the lack of clear instructions on fitting. It’s more difficult in O gauge with the loco circuit board being replaced with the chip and the instructions provided by legomanbiffo are minimal. I still can’t get the fan to work so that will be yet another phone call! He also supplied a fairly ordinary speaker (equivalent to Youchoos YLR 603010) which for the money, I thought was disappointing. I have added a second Rail exclusive dumbo speaker under the fan. Here is a short video of a test run on the embryonic club layout (less cold than my garden railway!). I’d be interested in comments on the sound. The loco will be painted blue as 37051 (my favourite) in due course. I intend to fit a pair of Youchoos YLR453520 speakers in the fuel tanks to see if that improves the bass. I’ll report back on that. Regards Andy