thegreenhowards

A tough one this as others have said. My immediate thoughts were an A8 or a Z Atlantic. But I think a G5 would be ideal for smaller preserved lines, so I’ll go for that.

Thanks Tony. I agree about NPCS and also have a thing for sleeping cars, so put the two together and it’s almost a perfect train. I’d really like to build some of the 66ft SLTs (D148) for it which were in the formation from 1957(I think) as they look more like sleeping cars. But sadly there’s no kit or sides for them. I’m working on a couple of possibilities so watch this space! Andy

Sounds like a good reason to avoid modelling Southern Railway to me!

Thanks Simon, I should have spotted that snifting valve. From Yeadon vol 36 it’s clear that it was on the LH side only. I’ve added it this evening along with some lamp irons. I think the plating over was more a timing thing than an F1/ F2 thing. But you’re right that it should be done on mine. It seems a shame to cover up the nice rails, but it’s all in the interests of accuracy. I think it should be done on the outside, but it won’t be easy to do without being too thick. Nice photo of 7113. Those carriages appear a lot on the Ally Pally shuttle pictures. Are they just standard Gresley non corridor stock? The roof line looks a bit different between the two which makes me wonder whether one is different. Regards Andy

This afternoon its the turn of another of my favourite overnight trains, The Car Sleeper Limited, headed by 60066, Merry Hampton. Merry Hampton is a Wills body on a Hornby chassis. The weight from the white metal is useful on this train. This was the first motor rail service in the UK and ran on every night except Friday from KX to Perth. This is the 1956 formation when it still had the four wheel CCTs and the 61’6” SLTs. Later it got bogie vans for the cars and the longer 66’ SLTs. There is a good picture of the train in the Banks and Carter LNER train formations book. Here it is crossing the viaduct. ...and a going away shot. The CCTs are the Hornby ones. I invested when Hornby were selling off surplus stock cheap and I think I paid about £10 each. I’ve had to renumber most of them and weather them. I think they look quite impressive en mass. The most interesting coaches are the three convertible sleepers to D.95. These are Kirk sides - one a complete Kirk kit and the others built onto Hornby donors. As far as I can tell, these were not branded ‘sleeping car’. The video shows the complete train crossing the viaduct.

Progress on the F2. I tried moving the chassis back on the body but that looked very front heavy. So In looked again at the photos/ drawings that i have and realised that whoever fitted the springs on the original F1 kit did so in the wrong position. So I moved the springs forward by 2-3mm so they line up with the front wheels and raised them slightly to make them more prominent. I think it now looks OK. On the push pull gear I decided that I wasn’t prepared to pay postage for one small part that isn’t even quite correct for LNER engines. So I dug around in my spares box and knocked one up out of half a Westinghouse pump and some bits and bobs. Here is the result. The push pull gear doesn’t bear close scrutiny but it gives an impression. Any more comments before she enters the spray booth? Andy

Today, it’s a debut performance from C1, 2881 on a Royston-KX outer suburban. This loco is the Bachmann/ Locomotion model renumbered into LNER post war condition as featured on Coulsdon Works recently. I don’t have carriage workings for the late ‘40s. This was a non corridor 6 set with a couple of vanfits added by 1958 so I’ve used my teak non corridor set. Here it is at rest in platform 5. Instead of the vanfits, I added my new ex GNR milk brake to the rear of the formations I needed an excuse to run it!

I think that’s perfectly fair. Trouble is they then stood (more or less) still for 25 years!

I have a detailing question. Does anyone know where I can get push pull gear like the one in the photo below? I remember struggling to find one for my C12 and eventually settled for an LMS (I think) version as below. The trouble is that firstly, it’s not quite right and even if it were, I cant remember where I got it! I remember touring all the stands at Scaleforum asking about it but can’t remember which one I bought it from. Gibson list push pull gear but with no picture, so it may be him? Can anyone help with a source? Andy

Thanks Keith and Asterix, I see what you mean. The problem is not so much the difference between the F1 and F2 as the difference between the L&YR 2-4-2T and the F2 as the chassis is pure Bachmann. In fact these were pretty similar (which is why I chose it as a donor) but there was a 6” (i.e. 2mm) difference at the front as you may be able to see in the photo below which explains some of your observed problem. This wouldn’t have been so obvious if using the Bachmann body and chassis as per my original intention - they would both have been equally wrong! The issue has been exacerbated by my fixing the chassis too far forward in the body. This was me being lazy and trying to reuse existing fixing holes. I think I can solve both problems by moving the chassis back about 3mm. This will mean that the drivers and rear axle are slightly too far back but that is less noticeable because they don't have leaf springs. Before I start hacking into white metal does anyone have any other suggestions? Thanks for your help. That is why I post things on here half completed as I can rely on people to spot things I have missed. Andy P.S. I also note from the pictures that I have managed to knock off the whistle I put on top of the cab. I will have to try to find another in my spares box but will leave it to the end as it’s very vulnerable.

That’s a good question Richard. I think it was a combination of factors. It was a good couple of years ago I tried and I was less experienced then and it depends on how many compromises you’re willing to make. I started a thread on the LNER Forum about it here. https://www.lner.info/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9104&p=126332&hilit=F2#p126332 The project grew from a basic conversion to using lots of SE Finecast bits from the N5 kit to make it more GC. I then creased the brass overlays and got into problems with lengthening the cab roof and dealing with the transitions around the cab sides and roof - I forget now exactly what the problem was. When I hit a problem I often lose patience and put it away - this one stayed in its box for too long! I probably could have made it work eventually but I like white metal kits, so when this F1 came up I snapped it up. The picture below shows the progress on the old conversion. If you (or any other readers but Richard has first refusal) want the parts to have a play yourself you’d be very welcome - PM me. Andy

The loft has thawed out now so I’ve run some trains. First up is a Highbury Vale to New England empty coal train headed by 90158. Now rounding Gasworks curve. And a couple of going away shots.

I decided to follow Jon’s recommendation in the end and stripped the loco first. It proved quite hard work as it was painted with some pretty thick tar like paint. It came off eventually but I had to finish off with a brass wire brush in my Dremel. There’s some nice rivet detail on the white metal which I think I’ve managed to save - we’ll see after it’s painted again. After stripping I’ve added the detail parts, so it’s now ready for the paint bench which should be possible this week as it’s warmed up. .

I did consider that Jon, but the body is generally well glued together. I use duluxe materials ‘strip magic’ which doesn’t seem to affect glue. It doesn’t strip quite as effectively as some others but gives me a good clean surface on which to spray. I may live to regret it, so perhaps I should strip first just in case.

Today I’ve been working on my latest eBay purchase which was this white metal GCR/LNER F1 bought for £60 which I thought was reasonable given the unbuilt kits often go for over £100. I assume it’s the Cotswold kit. It was a bit ropey and the paint job is poor but the basic build of the kit was OK. The chassis was basic being two slabs of brass and an X04 although the Romford wheels were OK. A few years ago I started trying to convert a Bachmann L&YR 2-4-2T into a F2 but got stuck and put it back in its box in disgust! The F1 was very similiar to the F2, so I thought this would make a good basis. Today, I hacked the Bachmann chassis around to get it to fit which it now does, so I will have smooth running loco. I also removed the chimney, remains of the smokebox door handles, buffers and safety valve all of which will be replaced by parts I had already got from SEFinecast (from their N5). So it now looks like this (new chimney rested in place only). As you can see I had to remove quite a bit of metal from the inside to get the chassis to fit. The body was glued together and has come apart in places, so tomorrow I’ll be out with the soldering iron to fit some captive nuts and then reattach the footplate to the rest of the body and then attach the new safety valves (the open Ramsbottom type) and wheel based smokebox door handle. Then I think it will need stripping and a repaint. I intend to finish it as E9111 in 1949/50 guise with ‘’BRITISH RAILWAYS’ on the side. This was one of the last survivors and worked out its time on the Ally Pally push pull. The butchered Bachmann body and brass chassis will probably go on eBay as a project for the brave! Any comments welcome, particularly on things I may have missed. Andy

I’ll go for a Brighton Atlantic as Beachy Head is not yet complete to rectify that glaring omission. If that’s disallowed then the I3.

Thanks John, They weren’t on my radar until you said something but once you had drawn them to my attention they screamed ‘shoddy’ at me. I will take the radio silence from other followers as acquiescence and go into production mode. Look out for an improvement on the layout soon. Andy

In which lifetime?!

It’s got to be an Atlantic so I’ll jump on the 9875 bandwagon.

Thanks Tony, I have to say it’s a breeze with these O gauge kits as they are designed like this, I.e. ready cut to size. And the bigger scale makes the imperfections less noticeable. It is much more difficult with some of the 4mm cut and shuts I’ve done when I have to do my own cutting. Thanks for your comments on my teak. I put it off for years and even chose the 1950s for Gresley Jn partly to avoid having to paint teak which I thought would be beyond someone as unartistic as me. But I now really joy it - I find swirling the paint around very therapeutic. Regards Andy

Have you done the often recommended things like removing the interference capacitor and turning DC off?

Frozen points have stopped all services at Gresley Jn - a.k.a. It’s too cold in the loft for me to go and play trains! But in the meantime, I’ve been working on the New Year’s Resolution which @St Enodocset me, namely to improve the station signage. This is my first attempt at a new running in board. It’s made from 2mm square plastic section round off at the top of the posts with a backing plate of 0.5mm plasticard and some plasticard strips top and bottom. The signage is from Scalescenes. The black section at the foot of the posts is too tall. The excess will either be buried in the platform (if I can work out how to create a square hole neatly or cut off. It’s loosely based on this one. I also intend to embellish my lamps with totems like this. Any comments on obvious errors I’ve made or areas for improvement gratefully received. Andy

I’ve been cracking on with the Kirk O gauge coach sides. I’ve added a BG and now painted all six sides in teak livery. Next job is glazing and grab handles which are both easier done in the flat, then I can start building up the coach. Andy

Me too. I love an Atlantic.

It’s made easier by the weather. Too icy to ride my bike and too cold to go in the loft and run any trains. So there won’t be a Gresley Jn update today. Andy