thegreenhowards

Many thanks Tony, It’s so nearly there but frustratingly I can’t quite get it as smooth as I would like. It would be great to have your expert eye on it in due course. As for the A1/1, I think the GK resin approach if he has any left (Graeme are you reading this?) is probably the best bet for me. Or failing that chopping up my own from bits of RTR models. Andy

I think sound would add a lot to the shunting of the trip freight and a little to the stopping services, for the non stops I agree with you.

Any GN station. I’ll go with the flow and vote for Potters Bar.

That looks superb! Can I ask what Hy-cote colour you use for cream. I find Ford Rosso Red works well for crimson, but have yet too find a good match for cream. The ones listed on the online fora are all discontinued. Andy

I have three Thompson Pacifics, one each of Each A2 variant. We’ll work in number order. The ‘Wolf‘ has been seen on here before as we used it as a guinea pig for Tony to teach me how to build kits properly for which I’m very grateful. She turned out pretty well, but is sadly not.nearly as smooth as Tony’s finest. 60508 was a Gamston Bank engine which Tony sold to me on one of my visits. A loverly runner and proof that American pick ups can work well on DCC. And finally 60513, Dante was bought from Rails at Warley a couple of years ago. some bits have needed reattaching, but she’s also a good runner. Sorry for the lack of ballast - it has now been done. I really need an A1/1 To complete the set. Which kit do you recommend Tony? I expect I will also be tempted by the Hornby offerings to augment the fleet and I have a Graeme King Resin A2/3 conversion in my roundtuit pile. Andy

On the DCC question, in my experience DCC is much more ‘fussy’ but allows finer control when you get it right. A loco with poor pick ups will be virtually inoperable on DCC - but then they should have been fixed anyway. What DCC does give is super slow speed control on a loco that works well on DC. It also gives more drive ability through momentum and braking control. Adding Stayalive can make the loco even smoother and works very well on shunting layouts. As for sound, I love it but I accept it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s better for diesels than for steam, but I have some good steamers as well - my YouChoos J50 is probably the best. For a pacific storming round on 13 bogies, I agree there’s no point other than the whistle.

If that would get me a cameo appearance on LSGC it would be worth it!

I was borrowing Darryl Tooley's description as I thought it quite appropriate. I hadn't but it l can see it's different now. Was this for a cross country working? I note that one has the alternate vents in the corridor windows, so I wasn't just making it up!

I’ll go for FP too. Happy childhood memories of Deltics droning through, but I wish I could have gone back In time to see the Ally Pally shuttle....or even the streamliners!

Good evening Andrew, You know I’m an impatient b....r! I’ve been a good boy and left the numbering well alone this afternoon, concentrating on the roof instead. Nice picture And remarkably uniform. I wondered what you meant about the corridor windows but I assume you’re referring to our earlier debate about vents on D.155s. I stand corrected although presumably some were converted and maybe more by the late ‘50s? With regard to Gill Sans numbering, did the LNER use Gill Sans on coaches (other than the streamliners) or did they stick to the ‘florid’ shaded lettering to the end? Andy

Many thanks for all the help. Those Precision labels look the biz! I have used his excellent Pullman Car labels before, but never thought to look for these window decals. I’m thinking that I’ll go for a 1949 Gill Sans left hand numbering with prefix but no suffix and LNER No smoking roundels. I assume that would work for service up until 53/54 - does that seem reasonable? Andrew, you said that the numbering should generally be immediately right of the left most door. Does that mean the guard door rather than the left most passenger door on the BT?

I agree that it’s an interesting period, although a rather run down one that perhaps lacked some of the glamour of pre war or later fifties trains. The transition to British Railways doesn’t fit neatly into the RTR era classification and as you’ve shown there was a lot of variation in a short period. It’s interesting that, despite all this variation, the small number of RTR coaches that have been produced for this era (Hornby Gresleys and Bachmann Thompsons in teak with BR numbers) all follow the shame pattern of Exxxxx numbers at the right hand end and Smoking prohibited roundels, although Bachmann seem to omit the blue ‘smoking’ oblongs. As for my coach, I‘d like to go for the ‘Roundel look’ but I can’t find any Roundel or blue oblong transfers, even in 4mm scale. What do you use Andrew?

Andrew, Thank you so much for that very informative response. I do appreciate the time you must have put in to digging those photos out. What a fantastic array of different applications - I could almost summarise it as: there’s a prototype for everything except for what I did! I will ponder further on what version to apply to my BT while I sort out the rain strips. Andy

Thanks Jonathan, but I’m now rather confused. From the pictures (All books - I don’t have a great library of photos sadly) I’ve looked at all coaches in LNER livery had blue oblong ‘Smoking’ signs and/or beige ‘No Smoking’ roundels. I have found pictures of new coaches in the mid ‘30s with the roundel (e.g. p24 of Campling’s LNER coach diagram book). I haven’t found any pictures of red triangles in teak livery. As I understand it the red triangle was a BR invention (or maybe an import from a lessor big four railway?). I can imagine that red triangles appeared occasionally as replacements on teak livery in the early fifties but surely they would be the exception rather than the rule? I’m sorry to bombard you with questions but I want to I get this right! At least I can relax on the roof boards! Andy

Thanks, that’s a useful photo. I did consider Gills Sans and I’ve got some suitable numbers, but not the ‘E’. I’ll have a further ponder.

Thanks Darryl, I knew it couldn’t be so easy! If I build more, I’ll have to splash out on some transfers, at least there’d be more coaches to spread the cost over.

Thanks Andrew, It’s not Gill Sans, but shaded LNER numbering with an ‘E’ as in Darryl’s photo. I think your confusion perhaps backs up Darryl’s point about lack of floridity! I’d never have noticed the difference if it wasn’t pointed out though - now it’s obvious! The rainstrip is as supplied with the kit. I agree that it is too thick and would replace it with smaller diameter plastic rod if I build another one. The rain guards above the doors is a good point. Would they be roof colour or teak? As for destination board brackets, I thought they were rare on non corridor stock? Andy

Gilbert, While ECML formations on 1958 might be rather esoteric, an article about the importance of running authentic formations and how to go about doing so is well overdue and would be very informative. The process as I understand it is: 1. shifting through and interpreting CWNs; 2. comparing with photos and other records (such as the HMRS survey); 3. Sourcing the vehicles - the need for kits (and scratch building?); 4. Minimising your storage requirement and financial outlay through intelligent grouping as you’ve done with your spreadsheet/ cassette system; and 5. finally, running the trains to a timetable. Writing this up with some example photos and diagrams would be well worthwhile. It’s not for everyone, but you’ve been an inspiration to me and I’m sure to many others. Sharing this best practice would be well worthwhile. All power to your pen! Andy

Good point about the guard’s handrails. I remember thinking that when I put them on...but then forgot all about it! No smoking triangles is a good point - sounds like more expense! Seriously, would they be BR triangles or LNER roundels given the rest of the livery?

The O gauge BT is almost finished. Being a bit ‘tight’, I really struggle with the price of O gauge transfers - why does it cost 3-4 times as much in O gauge? So I spent a long time dithering before I hit on a brainwave - Modelmaster OO gauge loco lettering is the same size (3.2mm high) as O gauge coach lettering. So unless I’m missing something, I’ve managed to number this coach with a transfer pack already in stock and originally costing c.£4, for which I would have had to pay about £20 in O gauge. Can anyone spot an obvious problem which I’ve missed? I’m aiming at an Late ‘40s/ early ‘50s look. I’m still missing a ‘guard’ transfer, but I think I’ll wait and see if Modelmaster add any more to their 7mm range as a bit of competition is badly needed. Please excuse the wonky footstep at the right end - my Mek Pak seems to have gone off in the heat and I’m waiting for new supplies. The underframe also needs weathering, but if you can see any other faults, then please let me know. Andy

Thanks John. It’s precision paint’s BR Brunswick Green. It was rather flat when applied, but a coat of Klear (brush applied) really brought it to life....and made a good finish for applying the transfers (which are Modelmaster). Andy

Another great video Andy and good to see more of a role for the 37s! I particularly liked the double header on the freightliner.

Another project nearing completion. Those of you who follow ‘Wright Writes’ will have seen Seagull in bare white metal while I was trying to work out what to do to the tender. Here she is almost finished. Just coal, crew, lamps, cylinder drain cocks and some light weathering to go. The tender had to be cut down to represent one of those modified for the 1948 locomotive exchanges as shown here. This is made from an old Wills Body kit mounted on a Hornby chassis. The fit of the white metal was poor and needed a lot of filing down which lost most of the river detail. I’ve replaced the obvious line along the top with Archers transfers. But please don’t count them...it’s just a representation! I’ve jus bought an airbrush and this was my first attempt at using it. I think the jury’s still out on whether it’s an improvement over hand painting (in my hands), but I’m reasonably pleased with the result so I will be trying it again. I’ll probably practice on some coaches next, before tackling the Klondike. Andy

A first view of my latest project...a D.194/5 Steel artic. I already have one of these, but they tended to run in a five set with a pair of twin-arts and a composite in between (Initially a shorty D.190, later a Thompson or Mark 1). it’s made from brass sides glued to a cut down railroad Hornby Gresley donor. A lot of work still required, particularly on the underframe.

Gilbert, I like the view from the bridge of trains departing northbound snaking out of the down main platform showing plenty of carriages. If that’s what you mean by view from Spittal Bridge then count me in. I was going to say so yesterday but I couldn’t remember which bridge was which - sorry for my ignorance! Andy