thegreenhowards

Thanks Jonathan, I was afraid that might be the answer. I presume this must have been a PO wagon. The M number lulled me into a false sense of security on eBay. I might just have to pretend it’s LNER and see if anyone notices - don’t tell Headstock! I was aware of the hinge bar. The Slaters wagons do have them so this one must have lost it at some stage. Easy enough to rig up a replacement. Andy

I finished off three more wagons last night and this morning. The fish van was a new kit. It’s a bit late for my O gauge timeline not being introduced until 1938, but I forgot this when I bought it and I like them so will make an exception. The others were from eBay both built but painted and numbered in BR bauxite livery which must be wrong as they were both unfitted vans. The LNER van is the same diagram as the one I showed yesterday. So I repainted both and lettered them up in c.1930 livery. I think they make a nice looking rake with the two I showed yesterday Next project for backdating is this 7 plank mineral wagon, again bought off ebay. I wasn’t to do it as a company wagon, but I cant work out which diagram it is. The underneath states Slaters 7R045-6. I can’t find that exact reference, but 7045 seems to be an 8 plank PO wagon, so I’m confused! Can anyone help identify this? Thanks Andy

Tony, I agree with all of your list. Points 10 and 11 are where I have particular experience. I would say that the buyer should assume that any kit built loco bought on an auction site will need some work. It will probably need fettling to get it to run on your layout and will also probably need some cosmetic work - anything from paint chips tidied up through replacing all sorts of wrong or missing parts (chimneys, footsteps etc.) to a complete repaint. I’ve never failed to get one working satisfactorily although there are a couple that have beaten me when it comes to DCC and not many (none?) run as well as yours do. Buying on an auction site is not a way to get kit built locos if the purchaser can’t build one himself. But if one has the skills to build a loco it’s a quicker and cheaper way of getting a desired loco up and running on one’s layout. Regards Andy

Nobody seems to have answered you so here is mine which arrived yesterday. This is a grade D and seems pretty good to me. The problems are listed as a paint blemish on the roof which I can barely see and will be hidden under weathering, a loose window (corridor side) and glue on a window (which I can’t find). A couple more corridor side windows have since fallen out. As I have bought it to repaint in teak LNER livery the easy removal of the windows is a blessing! By repainting myself, I’m hoping the paint will match my Kirk Gresleys. The biggest omission for me is the roof rain strips above the doors. These are particularly noticeable in teak livery because they were painted to match the body colour. I will use some plasticard strip as I do on my Kirks. Now I just have to work out how to get into it! There are no instructions with the coach. Andy

Tonight it’s the 1955 KX- Cambridge buffet express headed by B17, 61646, Gilwell Park. I’m afraid this is out of the box Hornby and I’ve even put the lamp on lopsided. The train is formed from my standard Cambridge line corridor set with the Gresley BSK(3)s replaced by Mark 1 BSOs and a tourist buffet inserted. This has to be done reaching across 2’ of fiddle yard and is so much easier with the Hunt couplings. Here’s the full train. the BSOs are Southern Pride and the buffet is Mailcoach

I’d like it to be removable so the wagon can return empty, so straw doesn’t sound practical. A wooden brace each end attached to the load might work - the problem is that with all this lockdown I’ve run out of coffee stirrers!

It works very well on water slide when applied after the transfers have dried in place. It anchors them well and renders the carrier film invisible.

I didn’t try but I think these are past it. They are so brittle they have a tendency to flake into small pieces when they come off the backing sheet. The HMRS ones were much better. Yes, blutac! Did you mean that there should be something there representing what the prototype would have done? If so what would it have looked like? A couple of wooden blocks or similar? Andy

This morning I finished off a couple of Parkside 0 gauge wagon kits. They went together nicely, but the transfers have been a bit of a trial. The 5 plank was bought off eBay and came with useless PC Models pressfix transfers which had completely dried out. The van was bought new and came with water slide transfers which were easy. I have a part used HMRS pressfix LNER wagon sheet bought second hand with a few already used which I’d forgotten about. When I dug that out they worked very well, so allowed me to finish off the 5 plank as well. The load is from 10 commandments - I’m not sure if I’ve got the lettering in the right place - comments welcome. I’ve given them a light weathering but I’ve found that LNER wagon grey, roof dirt and the weathered black/ frame dirt combo I used on the running gear all look quite similar so there’s not much variation in the weathering. I’ve got another three nearing completion which should appear shortly. Andy

Gilbert, The lamps are too big IMHO. Are they springside? Why not use the LMS ones? As for the Bachmann K3, As discussed with TW on Gresley Jn, I think it’s passable. It doesn’t pick up all the subtle detail differences and I think it’s closest to the group standard version (61870 onwards). The broadside shot show up the rather small wheels but it’s less noticeable in the head on shot. You seem to have front footsteps on one side but not the other! I think a scrabble around in the four foot is on order! Andy

Yes, that’s the one I thought you meant. It’s 45.5mm between the outside faces of the rails. It may look smaller because I’ve deliberately made the gap bigger between the two lines furthest right going away from the camera. These will be platform 3 and the goods headshunt and I wanted room for support columns for an overall roof between the lines. I have used the 80mm track centre gap everywhere else. I believe that to be the O gauge standard - please correct me if I’m wrong. It results in a little over 6ft between adjacent rails. I suppose thats a function of the slightly under scale track gauge and an allowance for passing on tighter than prototypical curves. Andy

You’ve got me worried now! Being a newbie in O gauge I’ve been trying to follow online guidance and set my track centres 80mm apart. I think the scale 6 ft you’re talking about is between the two rails nearest each other on adjacent tracks. So with a 80mm track centre spacing, 32mm gauge and 2.5mm for the rail width that gives a good 45.5mm between rails which is a scale 6’6”. If the two turnouts you’re talking about are the ones immediately behind the Gaugemaster controller and the one to its immediate left, then yes, the track centres are 80mm apart, so the gap between the rails is 45.5mm. That is measured from the toe of the left hand point to the right turn on the right hand point. Does that sound OK or have I misunderstood your comment? Regards Andy

The sleeper trains are some of my favourites and today marks the first of the evening trains through Gresley Jn. This is the Aberdonian headed by 60156, Great Central. Here is a longer look at the train. This is the heaviest train on Gresley Jn and not many locos will manage it. This Bachmann A1 has been well weighted and now manages fine although there’s a bit of wheel slip on starting and it slows a little on the curve. The formation is based on the Summer 1956 version of the train and the stock is mainly kit built (10 of the 14 vehicles) with my particular favourites being the sleeping and restaurant cars as follows. Thompson SLTTP (Mousa sides with the rest scratch built/ cobbled together) Gresley 66’6” SLF (Kirk cut ‘n’shut) Gresley twin SLC (D.161/2 Kirk cut ‘n’ shut). Only two of these were built and both worked the Aberdonian - one northbound and one southbound. Gresley SLC (Mousa sides on Hornby donor). D.11 Restaurant car (Kirk cut ‘n’ shut). This went on the rear and came off at York after serving dinner. The video shows the full train.

Some more progress to report. The wiring is complete (apart from the frog juicers which are on order) and tested. It all works fine. This view shows the droppers waiting to be connected. and this shows them all wired into the BUS. I was slightly nervous about whether a loco would be able to pull six wagons plus brake (the max for a four foot cassette) up the incline from the ‘Billingsgate’ fiddle yard, so tested it with my N1 and some of my heaviest wagons. It managed fine without even a slip. I’m now waiting for the final baseboard to finish track laying to the buffer stops. And longer term for a club meeting to discuss detailed arrangements for the goods yard which will be laid after lockdown. Andy

I like the Thompson CL and was tempted to go for that, but I’m going to vote for Gresley non -corridor stock. In particular the twin artics like the D.210 as below.

Thanks Steven, I have Microsol and it does help encourage pressfix transfers to counter round rivet detail etc. I also have liquid decal film which is brilliant on water slide transfers. It helps them counter round rivets and also gets under the carrier film making it invisible. But when I tried Liquid Decal Film on the old pressfix transfers after application they just curled up and were therefore useless. Are you saying that it should be painted onto the transfers before application? I haven’t tried Micro Set - it sounds like that might encourage my old transfers to stick. Andy

This evening it’s a down Class C from KX Goods to Leeds headed by my namesake V2, 60835. Now with a going away shot. you'll have to watch the video to see the whole train.

Thanks David, How does micro set differ from micro sol? I have the latter but not the former. Andy

I didn’t use any meths. I’ve never tried methfix. I cur them out and tried to position them on the model but they wouldn’t really adhere. So I just rested them in place and added some water which is what the instructions said. When I removed the backing the numbers floated off in random directions or at best we’re still just resting in place. I put them back in place and tried some Microscale ‘Liquid Decal Film’ to fix them in place but that just crinkled them up (it always works well with water slide decals). I have some microsol so could try that instead of the decal film. Andy

A week or so ago we were discussing transfers on here at which some people were praising pressfix transfers. I hit a problem last night with a couple of Parkside 0 gauge wagon kits I'm just finishing off (bought unmade second hand off eBay). They have transfers included but they are very old PC Models pressfix transfers and are completely dry. I tried to use them but they just float about on the wagon side - I can't make them adhere. Is there a trick to renovating these transfers or do I bin them and buy some Fox waterslide ones? Any advice gratefully received. Andy

There can be no other - especially with the beaver tail observation car just being restored. I can't wait for a ride on that!

As trailered yesterday, it’s now fish ‘o’ clock. There were three up evening fish trains on the southern part of the GNML, two from Hull and one from New Clee. This is the first Hull. In honour of yesterday’s exchange on K3s, this is headed by, 61905, one of my SEF versions with the correct sized drivers. It was an eBay purchase last Summer and all I’ve done is renumber and weather it. Here is an aerial view of the whole train. And a going away shot. The video shows more of the fish wagons for those interested.

Rob, I like the raised beading for lining idea. Will be interesting to see how it comes out. As for the underframe, I can’t help thinking the resin will be too brittle. I think that something like Ian’s 6 wheel chassis looks like the way to go. You could still print the axle boxes and other underframe detail in resin. Looking forward to getting my hands on one of your prints! Regards Andy

I agree about the perpendicular requirement. I’m intending to use them where the track enters the fiddle yard (extreme bottom right on the plan in post 1) where it is perpendicular.

You didn’t specify best for customer comfort. If you had I might have gone for the GNR royal saloons! I was marking the quads parts on their fitness for the role intended. As a design to cram a lot of seats into the very short length available (imposed by the platform length constraints at Moorgate) they were fantastic. They also did so with a very modest weight per seat. For this poll, I think I’ll skip over the obvious Gresley corridor stock and go for the Thompsons.