steves17

Does anyone remember an article from a few months back ( can't remember which model railway mag it was ) about a company that was looking to release a range of vertical traversers? It listed a few different lengths for both N and OO and was offering a small discount for early orders. I've been looking about the internet but I can't seem to find this company, just old forum topics or the occasional homemade attempt. Thanks Steve

Thanks for the pointers. I think you are right about those examples I had as being 'incorrect'. I acquired the one coach as part of a group buy sometime back and have just found it online-its an old Hornby product. http://www.ehattons.com/160428/Hornby_R23_SD_B_R_Operating_Royal_Mail_Coach_M30224_Pre_owned_Numbering_worn_on_one_side_sc/StockDetail.aspx This BR mk1 example's torpedoes are similar again but comparing to the various prototype photos have concluded its appearance is just down to the old moulding technique. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jouef-HO-BR-mk1-coach-roof-for-brake-coach-spare-/271787396446?nma=true&si=SV%252FNKI%252BS9FKps4ZuoCTkJXe%252B8uE%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 Anyway yeah I can't top that GWR type you mentioned in my searches so will go for that, cheers. The last thing I really need now are the steps going up to the roofs. I have been looking about but my searches always end up with ones that come as part of a complete coach kit or individual wise the types that sit below doors. I'm not exactly worried about prototype here so there must be a place i'm missing to get something like these- Anyway no progress today coach wise but i've half constructed 3 CCT vans by Parkside-now these crisp mouldings go together beautifully with little fussing about

Many thanks for the reply Eric as its proved most helpful. I contacted Chris at 5 & 9 Models and he has kindly agreed to cast me a few parts in a whiles time. I've also had the chance to read further into that early coach book by Ian White and co. Quite a few of my previous prototype questions were actually covered in there-so egg on my face and looking on pages 36 & 50-51 the penny finally dropped about what exactly the bungs were for in addition to the top hat protectors etc. I might be disappointing you by saying my coaches are for a railway based in fiction that started in 1870 but i've been getting into my LB&SC research and think i've found a solution to try and get the best of both worlds. My first set will be an early non continuous braked incarnation with the central buffers ( i'm sure they will be able to get around 2ft radius corners ) and will have the square base top hat protectors. I'm not 100% sure what livery i'll will be doing for these yet but have filled in the beaded duckets to represent the pieces of sheet iron that were used to originally form them. The second prototype is fictional but as it happens will be a similar colour to your ones, though I will be going with round based top hats, similar to the ones that come the Roxey's 4mm kits ( they are incorrect though as I've since found out there were none of these on the LB&SC coaches but I have my reasons ). I will be adding westinghouse brakes on these in some form of chassis detailing, so will also have Mansell disc on the guards coach plus the close set coaches will have short buffers on the one beam and wooden stubs on the opposing end. The third lot are the most furthest removed from prototype. These will be electrically lit but both ends of the coaches will have LB&SC type short buffers ( the ones below the guards compartment that link up to the engine will have the long type throughout the eras ). I could do with a little help with these as I can't seem to find the ventilators i'm wanting to use. I think they are called twin torpedoes but outside a large garden layout scale company, http://www.grsuk.com/Torpedo_Ventilators_Coach_Small_-_12_off-M2717 the closest I can find are these flattened type. http://www.phoenix-paints.co.uk/no-nonsense-kits/products/castings/cw310-sr-shoe-fuse-box-18.html What i'm after are like these ( either or ). As i'm now making a third era variant I'm awaiting another 8 to be cast and posted but the 12 bodies i've already got are almost ready for a prime. I found twenty thou strip to be about correct for the beading over my original thirty thou experiment. ( need to fill in that one that came out a bit short ) I'm currently on the fence about including steps on the one side of each non guard coach but i've seen a few close set photos that feature grab handles at the corner of the roof of where they would no doubt be, so I think i'm going to go ahead with them. I could probably fashion some out of a plastic L strip by using a file but given the number of them I'll need, plus the difficulty of trying to make the small pieces identical will be a major hassle. Is there a firm that make an etch? Cheers Steve

Very impressive work Burgundy and a project after my own heart. I've recently tried making the Roxey Moulding kits but as a newb to soldering found them a little challenging so for bulk production purposes I decided to also buy the IoW resin sets by SmallBrooke Studio as an experimental and slightly cheaper alternative. With all the flash and other imperfections i'm not sure if I would recommend them for altering into how they originally were but thats what i'm doing and they still look better than the Bachmann Thomas Range ones at least. Lopping off the battery boxes with a disc cutter and replacing the beading on the ends ( thirty thou rod, but is a shade big and have got some ten and twenty thou now coming in the post ) to make the change over isn't too difficult but as these are my first kits I have a few questions if you or anyone else can answer them. Could you tell me what you used for the 'top hats' as these wouldn't of been in your IoW kits either I've experimented with Evergreen '225' 4mm rod but its not quite good enough by itself. The 'top hats' lantern ventilators seem bigger in some photos and kits i've seen such as Roxey Mouldings 7mm scale photos but i've not heard any text mention of them changing size during production history-anyone know about this? The bungs were not given or even mentioned with the Roxey Kits and instructions, so any ideas of how to imitate these and possibly the chains? Are the transfers you used from Fox? Anyone know which company would be good to use for the chairs? I found these but there is no mention of who made them. Lastly, with the close coupled sets did these still have the steps and hand rail on the one end of each coach or, as they were normally linked in rakes, would the ones on the guard coaches be sufficient for workers to use and hop across? Help will be most appreciated for this rookie.

Something like this N gauge example? This would actually work nicely with my layout set up, thanks.

Hi, i'm looking for a bit of advice with planning out my yard layout that is is roughly set in the 1920s. The area in question is primarily based on this illustration. I'm including an ash pit on both lines between the shed and coaling stage to make it more realistic and I was planing to adapt a kit/scratch build something similar to this. As the MPD is only a two road shed i'm wondering about how the non automated coaling stage is loaded up. I'm aware of examples where an elevated line runs behind it for easier shovelling but as the plan is to have a fence and road directly behind the coaling stage i'm wondering if there is another prototypical solution. Did any railways shovel at the front side from a truck like this, but a bit above their heads? Minus the narrow wagon network I'm not apposed to featuring a labour saving crane to the side if this is more typical, but I can't recall seeing a line side crane used for transferring coal in this fashion. *Not counting coal merchants examples, where mobile crab claws, attached to a truck of some sort were used. If anyone has any photos/prototype recommendations to look up I would be grateful. Cheers Morgan

Hi I'm planning a station layout with a bay platform to be used by an incoming motor train but I would like to know a technical question before I fully commit to a plan. When an engine is in sandwich formation, how does it top up on coal and water? I imagine detaching from the coaches rather defeats the point of them being in a semi fixed formation but i've never seen or read how such a unit goes about this periodic task. Assuming for the second the previously built coaling staith snd water tower are in the end of a yard would the engine leave two coaches in the station loop or would the facilities need to be pacifically moved to a place where the engine could access them without bother? Due to limited space such a long, purpose built headshunt would be difficult to ram in, so I suppose I could run the engine as a 2 coach unit in normal times and in peak demand pull four coaches in the conventional tank engine manner but I would like to know if anyone has any operational knowledge about how the push-pulls/motor trains operated day to day. Cheers Steve * Edit i've been informed the picture above is not a full motor train, as the ones to the left are normal non-corridors, but you get the idea.

Ha! Thanks- though i'm not actually the first. Knuckles set the bar some years back. He started in OO and his kit builds of Sodor's locos are a marvel. I almost went down the OO route, but decided to hold off until going to the NEC- where to my surprise I ended up joining The Scale-four society. Building this layout has been quite vexing, but I want it to look as prototypical as possible, allowing me to run real world trains also (i'm not counting chair bolts,and correct region signals etc, but I want it to look like the 'real Sodor' ). I think my problem on the track stemmed more from one rail being a shade high on the joint rather than the curve being under-scale/too sharp. If I were to have started again I would of smoothed it out a little further and moved the board joint up, but its quite a gentle transition. Out of curiosity I would be interested to know if anyone could answer my tunnel questions, but i've decided to forge on, as the wiring is all ready done. Here is where i'm up to now. [/url]">http:// [/url]">http:// These are the TV Bachmann type models- just thought I would include them in this edit showing my progress with the tunnel and embankment- as they are going to be boxed up. The plan is to one day make Edward from a Dragon Models K2 kit ( after its actually built of corse , way down the line, just converting some OO rolling stock for the moment). I need to get my kit built turnout operational, but while waiting for a part, I thought I would make a start on the tunnel and embankment. *My wire came today-so I can do the point rodding now, then make a TOU and hopefully get my tortoise to operate from there. When its done i will tidy up the track a bit more than push on the scenery side of things. I might have to get a servo otherwise, but I hope I can get the tortoise and accessory decoder working. I've got my fancy DCC controller system working at least. This is a working test layout and it will only be used for 2 stories, plus any proxy ones I might make up, so I can live with the odd discrepancy. Making this one so far has already taught me a lot. Here is my Wilbert-its not finished, as it will need a repaint and a proper face ( the one on there was just put on for a quick mock up shot). I might try and fit a Hornby shell on top too ( seen in the background), as this kit build isn't quite as good. [/url]">http:// And here is my Oliver at the time he was rescued from scrap in Barrow-in-Furness. [/url]">http:// and after The Fat Controller put him to work on 'The little Western' with Duck. I decided to give him GWR lettering instead, as I find the shirt button a little more subdued. ( it is my take on Sodor-so I can tweak some of the Fat Controller's choices ). Update, as the tunnel section is almost looking like a layout now. The plastic mix has had a brown wash and a Bachman 57xx has had a face swap. [/url]">http:// ( the 00 coaches are giving him a little jip and he's scorning the Spiteful Brakevan. ) Though the wheel are still OO for now, i've sprayed up a Bachmann 08 and stuck on a battery Tommy Face with a simple repaint of the white plastic. [/url]">http:// [/url]">http:// I think the founding farther's would have heart attacks with Sodor's wild range of loco's and rolling stock, but it certainly lends its self wonderfully to freelance modelling. If you do want to know more about my work you'll have to first sign up to http://sodor.proboards.com Be prepared for the bright images- as its for fans of all ages, but there are a number of us interested in a 'Sliders' type universe/parallel reality, where there is a land mass between Barrow and the Isle of Man and having it mixed into real Britain's history- railway wise and beyond. My thread is under model railway madness. Sleeper agent- Agent's reports. I'm also working on an extensive history event guide, chronicling Sodor's rich history. Its not complete by a country mile, but I think you'll be surprised by just how much Awdry and others put into Sodor's genesis onwards. This might also be of interest to some people. http://www.pegnsean.net/~railwayseries/engines.htm It gives a history of Sodor's locos from the books- I'm modelling 'The Railway series', not 'Thomas and friends', but it also has the TV universes fleet, mixed in with other tid bits. Via that web site there are links to Knuckles OO locos on Henry, Gordon, James, Duck and Oliver's profiles- they are pretty good and I look forward to seeing his P4 ones in time. Cheers.

The LB&SCR E2/ Sodor E2X tank locomotive is of some interest to me [/url]">http:// - as i'm at the start of modelling The Railway Series. Dalby gave Awdry a fair bit of grief with his drawings in his books. One problem was Thomas's running plate. It gnawed at him so much that he released a revamped book called 'Thomas comes to breakfast' drawn by Clive Spong. After he smashes his front buffer beam up against the station master's house he is sent to the works. In the rewrite, this job is more extensive. There has been talk on http://sodor.proboards.com about the ins ands outs about how realistic is would be to alter his running plate- with all of the mechanics involved etc. However I very recently found out about this curiosity. [/url]">http:// . It was fitted with an E4 boiler- so a swap job basically in December 1953. It also has Clack valves on the boiler sides and a different dome. As Daisy arrived under BR rule, I'm guessing with a fair bit of certainty that this Southern engine had its rebuild some years before Thomas's rebuild. The Fat Controller may even of got the idea from reading about it. After he comes out the work shop he would look like is iconic self, as opposed to a standard E2. The running plate being lowered [/url]">http:// gives the need for his splashers and he can have larger side tanks- giving a slightly longer running distance between refills and better adhesion to the track as well as giving Thomas his fat an dumpy look over a standard E2. I'm no rail expert, but I think this stacks up. Anyway this is actually what I wanted to talk about. I've chosen to do 'The three Railway Engines' as a basis for my first layout. More accurately the Ballahoo tunnels, from 'The Sad story of Henry' and 'Edward, Gordon and Henry'. I choose this one first, as i'm green to modelling and its the most simplest of all my plans. I've dove strait into the deep end with P4. This has been problematic, but I want my layout to look as close to the real thing as possible. I'm trying to be faithful to the images, but I want what would be prototypical on a railway as a first. 'The Sad story of Henry' is a very far fetched one in reality, but with a lot of pondering, I've got a semi believable basis to make the story work- in a reality where trains are sentient at least. Anyway the line at the tunnel is a single, but is double beyond the mouth on both sides [/url]">http:// ( Ignore the left bore on the template). - this was done for cheapness and speed at the time when the NWR was formed in 1915. Henry blocks the tunnel- effectively cutting off the flow of traffic. This is the unbelievable bit. He stays there, and they build another cutting next to him using the south line instead. [/url]">http:// I'm basically happy with this, but i've found i'm having trouble with the bend in the track on the other side of my layout ( the tunnels have been inverted to make the best use of space ), where it goes from the standard distance away from the second line [/url]">http:// to the new bore cutting. [/url]">http:// The problem up to a point is the flexie P4 track I have. Annoyingly its a shade tight on the roller gauge. Its ok for strait track- though I will be building my own for beyond the tunnels, where it curves and on my next layout project. I was was thinking that I need to uplift that S curve area and replace it with an even more gentle curve. At the time I thought it ample, but with the some derailments and looking at it more from a prototype point of view i'm not so sure its right. ( I know about the importance of weighting and gauge widening etc, but I don't want to focus on that here). I want to faithful to the drawings. [/url]">http:// ( ignore the top row, as they were incorrectly drawn at the time of the first story and received a revamp imagery later on ). With the middle support support wall, but i'm thinking, if I got rid of it and just had two supports on the outside edges of the bores, then I could shave down the gap between them a bit more- up to a cm or so. What I really want to know is there a minimum distance to be had between two single tunnel bores? The ones i've found tend to be bigger. I suppose tunnelling too close to one another might be unsafe. In a normal soil type hill, would the the tunnel have to be brick lined to pass for public use in 1923, even at reduced speed? One theory I had to make the story some what believable to that two crews started a relief cutting. One at the entrée bore, laying the double track up to it, and the other crew starting behind the track of Henry's tender. This would quicky re-open the line. Crews would be working in shifts, to complete this as quickly as possible. After that, tunnelling could progress at a more reasonable pace. On a quiet day, they relay the temporary cross-over to the new tunnel. ( I've seen an old documentary of the relaying of one of London's terminus stations entree track work. This is one busy complicated track work area, but they do the work for a set amount of hours every sunday, until it is finished ). Could this temporary in tunnel cross-over be supported by wooden supports like a mine, or would it have to be brick lined? Is it practical to do tho piece meal or would they have to wait until the digging was completed, then start? [/url]">http:// ">[/url] I could stretch out the S bend regardless, but it will also make things easier on the left end of my layout where the express cross over exists when I come to build it, as I only have X amount of space between the board edge and where the tunnel mouths need to start. As much as i've learned since joining the scale-four society, I don't know that much about tunnels. Can anyone help please. Not not sure if this is the right thread to ask, but i'm new to this forum and it is a freelance project. Thanks. Morgan.