Deltaskelta

Sent on a Monday and returned following Saturday, so more or less by return. We're both in the SW which might help. Same packing with even more brown tape. Brian

Update Sat 3rd Feb. Many thanks, Kernow. Replacement arrived by return of post and running perfectly, including over the branch line curves and the "crossover from hell". Brian

A couple of weeks ago I bought a s/h Hornby 0-4-0 Peckett which performed in a similar jerky way, but at least kept moving. I put this down to short wheelbase until I opened the lid and found the loco had been sold with the tiny chip in place. "I know nothing" about DCC so phoned a friend who said - "No prob as it will have been set to DC - which is why it runs". However, I wanted smoother running and decided to bypass the chip and wire the pickup wires directly to the motor - perfection. Slow and smooth in both directions. I wonder if something similar might be happening with my railmotor, especially as other members report "sound" coming from their supposedly DC models.

No 93 arrived well packed and looking good. Sadly, a bit stuttery starting off, then after 14 min of forward running at 40% on my Gaugemaster controller, on the easy curves of my DC layout, it came to a stand with lights still operating. Applied reverse power and off she went with lights appropriately lit. Back to forward again and this lime could barely move before stopping with a sound like minced pickups - but nothing visible. Now the lights have stopped operating too. Can't be bothered lifting the lid so back to Camborne it has gone (actually to their warehouse at Scorrier). I didn't mind rearranging the brake gear on the Beattie Well Tanks or filing the front bumper on the Adams Radial but this sounds a bit electronicky to me. Brian

Many thanks for coming back so promptly with the information. I've found the petrol filter brass gauze on ebay @ £5.80 and solved the question of obliterating the holes with paint. Will try to see Shawplan at Ally Pally and chat, but failing that the Class 40 grill gives me something definite to order by email. Onward!............

I'm making progress with a cut'n'shut homage to the Hastings unit but have come to a juddering halt trying to create the two side ventilation panels in 4mm gauge. All my bits of mesh are too large to be convincing and I have resorted to scaled pictures of my Kernow "Thumper" grills as a stop gap. I have some Shawplan DP45-229SM D Square Mesh bought at Warley, some time back, but his web site just says "Domain name has expired" so cant access the catalogue. Does any forum member know if Shawplan produce specific etchings for the Hastings 6L or 6B units or failing that any alternative set of grills. The attached pic shows all 10 elements temporarily tacked together to test the general impression. The two grills are to the rear of the drivers end (R). Many thanks for any advice - Brian

Thanks for that. I have copied my message to them this evening.

I'm happy with that, but find it easier to do photo scaling in mm.

Good Morning. A recent visit to the B&W to locate the stream-fed water tank which provided a welcome drink for Beattie well tanks on the Wenford Bridge Line, prompted me to incorporate a model, in 4mm, on my layout. There are lots of images of the water tank but most are from the down side (to show the loco) with just a couple from the up. From these side views I have been able to calculate/best guess the dimensions of the supporting structure and found this was made from bent bullhead rail in typical Southern fashion and the upside view has a good side profile of the tank itself. However no one seems to have taken a shot of the end elevation - after all the loco would have been in the way! Has anyone any idea of the width of the tank? On this forum, Ian Dunmore provided a link to his excellent picture of the structure, sans loco and with a sun shadow of the tank which suggests it might be just a metre or so wide. Any first hand observations would be most welcome as would a steer towards any published plans. Many thanks and best wishes for Christmas. Brian

Thanks for that info. I might give him a go in future. I've been bodging up some "might-have-been" 4-SUBs out of old Tri-ang suburban coaches with a nice Replica Railways diecast powered chassis. With some whitemetal pickups, front end castings and my failing eyesight they pass muster in between services from RTR suppliers, but there is always room for "correct" modelling if it is available.

Has anyone recent experience of ordering from this company. I have seen them (or Ayjay Models) at Ally Pally and like their taste in unusual SR models and understand they are doing/re-doing a Class 70 Booster loco resin kit. Cheers, Derek

Thanks for that info. I'm reassured by your view that the BR Ultramarine is a likely candidate. The CCs went through "grey with whiskers", "blue", "green" and "black" with such rapidity that it is surprising that anyone, at that time, was able to fire up their Brownie 127 in time for a pic - and as for a colour transparency!! Since the livery was so fleeting I guess it will be more a matter of looking OK within my fleet rather than pursuing historical perfection. I'll chase up the Colourail refs plus, if memory serves, the brief excursion of MN "Belgian Marine" in the same hue.

In anticipation of building a resin body kit of a Raworth "Booster" I have been looking at possible liveries to contrast with my existing black/silver and malachite liveried Southern designed diesel and electric locos. Southern Way issue 11 talks of "ultramarine blue" being used in 1948 but I can't find any colour pictures for reference. I would be very grateful if anyone could point me towards a colour print of a CC2 in this experimental livery or which model paint would be the best match? Many thanks, Brian

Ho! Hum! https://mailchi.mp/railsofsheffield/oo9-flash-sale?e=1b0a8b5bd8

Many thanks for that. After posting yesterday I had a prod around the powered carriage with my basic meter and wonder if the yellow/light brown wires are actually supplying AC to the dummy. This could explain why the original setup works in both directions while powering directly from my analogue rails is polarity sensitive. As things stand, it is unlikely that I will ever do a straight reverse working and swapping the powered car to the leading end is no problem with Kadees so I shall happily settle for what I have now.