CKPR

I recall an interesting article in Model Railways Seprember 1975 on building large scale NER locomotives in wood ["Drawing Room Trophies" by Colin Bullock] - very impressive results and I often wonder what became of the models described as they were all made on commission.

I always wonder what happened to Bill Tate's 'Millport & Selfield' railway in Manchester that also used pre-war LMC O gauge standards and ran using outside third rail pickup.

Ah, but the modern Hornby engine is more 'authentic'...in that it needs an additional banking engine to get over Shap !

BBC Assistant producer or a hitherto unknown incarnation of the Doctor ?! https://youtu.be/tfOG0td7LyE?si=MBTHpfhrB1LL_Ee-

Use a 1:3 meths to water solution for the initial positioning and soaking of the transfer and then soak off the remaining thin backing paper with plain water. There's no need for any decal softening or setting solutions, but when the transfer has dried and hardened off, a coat of "Kleer" will give a really nice paInted on look and protect the transfer (albeit that properly applied Methfix transfers are pretty well permanent in the first place).

I think that the tank looks like a Panzer IV sized Panzer VI King Tiger...

One advantage of Charlbury is that you can use the old Prototype Models GWR range to provide the buildings - you'll can always find them on Ebay or possibly via Freestone Model Accessories. Also, have another look at Yelveton Junction as well as Churston as these are really compact and elegant GWR designs for junction stations.

Definitely Mikes Models lamps.

Very nice and I like the look of the LNER lamps...of course, the North Sunderland was known for being a bit lax about the niceties of BoT operating requirements when it came to lamps, single line working procedures, point locks, etc !

I've actually been building and refurbishing a rake of the 7 and 8 plank wagons and I would agree that the bodywork is very nicely moulded, it's just the underframes I'm none too impressed with.

Just to let you all know that I'm still pottering along in the senior scale, collecting kits, including a large pile of ABS wagons, for an Autumn building campaign and working away on various common or garden LNER wagons. Now, the Parkside O gauge range - the first one I built, I wasn't impressed with the underframe and used part of my precious stock of ABS and ex-CCW (!) parts to rebuild it. Then I discovered that all Parkside kits have pretty much the same not very good underframe. Hmmm, I must admit that I was expecting better as these were scarcely better than the old 3H kits, which at least had a certain charm to them.

And just what is it that makes modelling the late 1920s pre-Stanier LMS so different, so appealing ?

As for No.3, there's actually more work been done than is perhaps obvious. I reassembled the narrowed footplate and then realised that the front buffer beam was all wrong. Fair to say that these M&CR double buffer beams are starting to do my head in ! Going by the photograph in "Rails Through Lakeland" of No.3 at Bassenthwaite on the CK&PR, her front buffer beam was just a normal if deep rectangle without any curvy bits. And this after I narrowed the original one. I then discovered that the tender side frames for No. 3 were different to the ones I'd originally made when the tender was destined for No.20...at this rate, I'll have most of the parts in stock for the second attempt at No. 20. Update: I'm looking to get a proper Rotring techical drawing template in order to mark out the new tender sideframes.

As promised, some pictures first of No.7. I think I'm on the last lap with this engine as she only really needs the steps fabricating, various fittings secured with epoxy, rods fitting and then the motor wiring up [as per all my tender engines to date, No.7 is 'American system'].

Fred and his choice of reading matter.

A bit like our elderly diabetic cat Fred, I'm still plodding along and have actually made some progress with the M&CR engines, the Special DX (i.e. I've finished the Webb tender and decided to build the Special DX before the Cauliflower) and the bren gun carrier. Photos to follow in the next few days.

I would suggest very gently embossing the rivets from the reverse with an engineers scriber rather than glueing anything onto the overlap - this is fiddly enough in 4mm using styrene ! The use of a second printed side to make strapping and corner plates is also a return to old school modelling of the 1940s & 50s. Another name to look for in old magazines is Derek Sackett who wrote a few articles on card modelling in the 1960 & 70s.

That's the best GWR locomotive pun, barnum.

I see what you did there...

And Superquick originated with KeilKraft who made kits for wooden model aircraft (the flying variety).

Could be worse - I swear when whenever I see a castle or a warship. Turns out I've got Turrets syndrome.

Mind you, I was offered a bet in the butchers that I could have the meat on the top shelf for free if I could reach it but I would pay double if I couldn't. I turned it down - the steaks were too high.

Slightly off topic but I try to avoid adding any styrene parts to my scratchbuilt and kitbuilt brass locomotives and rolling stock. For example, I'll always make cab or brake van veranda floors out of thin ply. IRRC quite a lot of the older rolling stock running at Pendon is made of card and ply as per Michael Longridge's book "Building 4mm rolling stock" from the late 1940s and which is well worth reading even today.

Here's a long shot - there was a variant of the BR 12t van that had MOGO type end doors but no side doors (Diagram 1/214). These were used between Metal Box in Carlisle and a creamery at Milnthorpe, presumably because of some specific loading & unloading arrangements. I've always wondering whether MOGOs were also used on this run, albeit I've never seen any photographic evidence.

In the absence of anything more suitable and because I wanted sprung buffers, I used the generic PC short tapered coach buffers on my M&C coaches. For the older style of buffers [self-contained ?] used by the M&C on both coaches and locomotives, the Stroudly / Billington LBSC white metal buffers produced by 5&9 Models look suitable as do some MR ones that I have (possibly ex-Chowbent Models and now available from Stevenson or Wizard Models ?). I've got an original Maryport works drawing of the older type of buffer so I've got no excuse really !