61656

To highlight the point, here’s a piece of very dirty copper pipe cleaned in 3 different methods. Left to right: - Quick rub with 180grit paper - Flux for 5 minutes then wiped off - 180grit clean followed by flux (the very dodgy joint on the right isn’t mine, but it is the reason the pipe is now spare.) You definitely should try this at home.

Agree with all of that. An excellent summary for anyone soldering a model railway or indeed copper pipes (don’t try tinning the gas gun though). A good joint is always shiny and should be as strong as the components themselves. A pull test on every joint will save endless heartache later.

Looks like the former guard’s compartment was still available for parcels. I’ll align the brutes accordingly!

I think this answers the end doors: Driver’s door marked private. At the other end on the double door it’s marked guard. I can’t find any photos of the middle car, so assume the double doors are locked out of use and marked private.

Thanks. Where do you get powder paint from? I’ve been unsuccessful in looking for it, but imagine it would be handy for all sorts of jobs.

With the trauma of the lining now behind me, I started the research to find a suitable number and determine what other transfers it needs. Not much, although it’s going to be time consuming. As I brought the first coach to the bench for numbering, I managed to knock some of the lining. Not quite a disaster but very close. Mission aborted and the whole unit has been given a light coat of matt varnish to seal the lining. Hopefully the next transfers won’t object to it. I had to break my always spray outside rule due to the late hour at which I made the decision. Window open and room left for the duration. Avoiding further mishap was key! I think as well as front numbers, they need a carriage number on each side, logo on each cabside, private on the driver’s doors and guard on the guard’s door*. I can’t find a good enough photo to see if the door lettering assumption is correct (but who will know if it’s wrong?). Some also had electrification warning flashes on the secondman’s window. *we’ve previously discussed that the motor coach guard’s compartment was taken out of use along with the adjacent passenger compartment. Potentially the end door of the MBS should say guard rather than private.

Sanity - benefit I think. I’ve done the other side now, which was much easier. On that basis I’d say have a go. If you use water slides you can just wipe them off if you’re not happy.

Elsewhere, as a break from the endless 304, I’ve been working on the fuel roads. I’d previously made a concrete pad out of plasticard. This has worked really well in the shed, but always warped in this area. It looked ok, but the plasticard often curled up above rail height causing running issues for the 0-6-0s. I’ve been impressed by other forum members’ use of polyfilla, which I always like working with. I found it quite hard to get a square edge - I should probably have used some shuttering like the real thing. A wide metal scraper did however get a reasonably smooth surface that’s fractions of a mm below rail level. A first coat of pale grey followed by an initial wash of watery black starts to get a better look. It definitely needs more work to tone the grey down. A couple of storage tanks have also appeared. I’m planning to build a canopy structure for the fuelling points to keep fitters and drivers dry. This will be a trial structure for the canopies I’d like to build for the platforms.

I can’t get a remotely decent photo, but lining is on one side of all 3 cars. Despite the horror of the job, I will do the other side. During the application I was seriously contemplating all over blue and back dating the layout 10 years! There’s a minor issue on the centre car to resolve, but otherwise I’m quite happy with the result. I’m keen to get the matt varnish on as gloss does nothing for the visual appearance! If you’re reading this considering having a go yourself, I think you could definitely get away without the lining!

Thanks. I’m really happy with them so far. I thought I’d probably get something that would be runnable at home from the project, but it’s definitely going better than I dared hope. The problem now is keeping the finishing expectations within my capabilities! The gloss coat is on, and they’re just drying in my super expensive paint booth* before I attempt the lining. I’m going to look at lighting for the ends and interior next. I wasn’t going to bother, but as it’s going ok… *no hedges were damaged in the making of this unit.

A continuity test, rail to rail, can be really revealing. Nearly all my locos are two bogies pick up and just occasionally the 08 will venture out and find a dead spot. Screw terminals on very thin wires can be unreliable, and they are prone to poor contact caused by vibration (heavy type 3s). Tinned wires in the terminal will help. As for mojo, it’s supposed to be a hobby, not a penance! I find the visit of a friend usually guilts me into action…

Do you remember when you started building a model railway? It’s amazing how distracted you can get!

There’s nothing more frustrating than intermittent running. Have you sorted this yet? I’ve found a continuity tester to be invaluable (most cheap electrical meters have one). I also soldered a feed wire to every rail - time consuming but worth it.

All advice regarding undercoat and any yellow alternatives should be listened to! After several coats the yellow is about there. I’ve painted inside the cab windows matt almost black to try to hide their thickness. I’ve started the minor touch ups of the blue grey edges and I’m happy that it’s about as good as it’s going to get. Next job is some gloss varnish ready for the transfers. There are spiders that would be happy with how thin the white line transfers are!

I’m hand painting the yellow, as I have yellow enamel in a jar and not in a rattle can. It took many many coats to do the nose on the 40, which was on white primer… I’m in for the long haul!

A quick three quarter view before moving on. Really happy with how it’s looking. My original intention was to hand paint the roof, but I decided to get the masking tape out again and use a spray. I masked the bodies and then gave the roofs a sand to reduce, but not entirely remove, the ridge lines. We all know ridge lines are a thing made up by model manufacturers, but you definitely can see the joins in the roof canvas on a 304. I used Halfords’ plastic bumper spray for the roofs, it has a slight texture to it that looks just right. Then it’s masking off and hand-painting the yellow ends. Probably just 6 coats of Railmatch required!

Until now the 304 project has been like a non league team having a surprisingly good run in the early rounds of the FA Cup, but now the real test is here as we meet the premier league opposition that is blue and grey. Designed in the mid sixties to put the fear of God into modellers, this blandest of liveries has been weighing heavily on me! Still, in for a penny and all that. Here’s the coaches after a good hour of work with the masking tape. I use a fine white mask to get the border done and then fill the middle with the yellow. A technique I learnt from a house decorator to stop the second coat bleeding at the edge of the masking tape is to seal the tape down with the first colour. It’s then time for Railmatch blue. Despite the decidedly average reputation of the rattle cans, I’ve found them excellent. I do give them a 5 minute rattle before using and an excessive spray upside down after use. I also only spray outside. This gets us to Schrodinger’s 304. It is neither disaster or success at this point. Temptation is high at the stage, but I let it dry overnight before removing the masking tape. The next photo is a 50:50 mix of relief and sheer elation! There are a couple of blemishes (on the opposite side obviously!), which I’ll share later, including how I’ll sort them out. The list of things still to do is gargantuan, but none of it too daunting. The most important part now is not to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!

All the boxes from Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton were GW. I took them out in the early 2000’s, including making sure that all the heritage equipment went to good homes. All the block instruments went to “strategic spares”, which was code for the maintainer wanted them for his own heritage railway. A lot of the signals went to Glos Worcs. If you think the typical British workman is lazy you should watch a decommissioned heritage box left alone for 30 seconds.

Quick turn arounds are an art lost to the past. With modern couplings even loco swaps should be possible in less time than previously. Assuming the couplers are of the same type, because compatibility is also a lost art! Chester has a lot of long lay overs, which is unusual for a through station, but probably to ensure any delays have minimum impact on the WCML.

Regardless of the work going on in the EMU workshops, trains continue to undertake their usual business. It’s coming up to 9 am, as we see a Peak backing down on to the first trans pennine service of the day, 1D34 Man Vic to Bangor. As the Peak hooks on to the mk2’s, a pair of 20’s bring in the hoppers going from Point of Ayr colliery to Oakleigh Power Station (me neither). The 20’s run round 7F11, and are seen alongside the Peak ready to head off. 1D34 had six minutes of lay over at Chester, which is convenient for the parallel universe at Christleton! Finally, the guard blows a sharp whistle to break the momentary peace and the 45 opens up.

Those signal box drawings look really good. I like the off white background of the original, but otherwise the new version wins hands down. I’m very tempted but still sticking with NX mosaic panel for the moment! Equipment identification always seems to be something of a lottery, even when you know the rules there’s always some individual interpretation. The other thing to consider is that on anything other than a new installation there would have been some alterations undertaken that would be slightly different to the original style. Your propensity for subsequent modification is hardly unprototypical - and a modified panel or drawing would just reflect reality.

And then they were grey… This is the easier part of blue and grey! Once they’ve had at least 24 hours to dry I’ll start the significant masking up. Once masked I’ll lightly spray the masking tape grey to hopefully seal the joins, before going for the blue. I’ll have a very small margin for error here as the white line transfers are really thin. The roof and ends will be hand painted, so much less masking and probably not as tricky as the window surrounds.

Thank you, I always appreciate some feedback. The cabs are 3D printed by a company called Shapeways, I think they’ve American judging by the price in dollars. I found the cabs at a company called N-train: https://n-train.net/epages/deba4b2c-2faa-4fd7-967f-c57d7bf70bd2.mobile/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/deba4b2c-2faa-4fd7-967f-c57d7bf70bd2/Products/OO008&Locale=en_GB The website advised a 21 day lead time, but it was much closer to 2 days. This isn’t helpful if you’re planning to put off actually starting and just want to talk about the project!

A lot more filling and sanding, and I think I’m finally happy with them. Next job is rail grey, which is definitely a bit more daunting. They certainly look a lot more 304 than they do suburban brake thirds!

My L frame knowledge is pretty miserable! I’m thinking simple NX panel, with either basic relay interlocking or maybe something computer based. Christleton Junction is quite complicated - as evidenced by the high level of mis-routings and subsequent short circuits when operating what is essentially currently a ground frame.