coline33

It is fair to say that any 0-6-0 wheel arrangement will find any 'peaks' in the track especially if the rails have not gone into the slides properly at a track join. You may have a see-saw situation lifting the end wheel sets slightly up to lose contact which is as Baz says.

Now to keep the momentum going in lockdown for 2021. Although neither EH 92 or E 467 are 'Brixton Hill' cars, my immediate work is on EH 92. I bought the car in running order and could see that it was substantially well constructed with the feel of an EH although not quite No.92!!! The alterations I have started are just as relevant to detailing any E or E/1 class car. With the EH model it had K-ray metal destination boxes fitted both ends but the prototype kept its original wooden plain panelled boxes both ends. Flicks with a screwdriver easily removed both boxes with any damage. Before I replace them I can drill a hole in the centre of the waist's top beading to take a pigtail. The red paint used was a little dark for the LT red but the dashes were beautifully lined out and the correct fleet number style used for the 92 so I did not want to change it. Again the adverts used were not appropriate for this car at any time! Unfortunately one of the main adverts was of a dark background so I gave it a coat of white paint. I have only scraped away the small upper end adverts because they did not press down properly. So I gave one side a coat of the Humbrol 19 Red and as can be seen in the photo the dash colour is acceptable - relief!!! So being happy to proceed further I added the three strips that cover the joins in the lower saloon waist panel. These 1mm. wide strips were cut from gummed label and affixed. I now have to check if there are any similar strips in the upper saloon waist panel that need to be done. With these done to all sides and upper deck ends a coat of Red 19 will be applied leaving spaces to which the destination boxes will be positioned once they are prepared. The small dash adverts will be painted over in black before new correct ones are applied as per the prototype. The mechs on 92 are of the older smaller style BEC ones which I find suit the shorter length of the E class body better than the newer current BEC mechs. So 92 is getting an upgrade with the recovered ones going into the E class 'float'. E 467 is still in its basic body parts which are being detailed, in similar fashion to EH 92, and painted. Next to be fashioned are the three black bars for each of the outer windows of the bulkhead parts and then the open fronted platforms can be assembled with the stairs, controllers, and hand brakes not forgetting to add the MSC disc with the conductor's box, spare plough and tool box at the correct places at the correct ends! More to come as I progress, Colin.

Tonight's ITV's 6.30pm News repeated the Covid presentation from the same street but in the dark!

Lovely background view of the tracks to Five Ways in the ITV News Covid update from Birmingham in the 1.30pm edition today.

Now 11102 does look stunning - a great job.

After giving you a round of applause - don't you dare!!!

Over the festivities, I have drafted an article on the detail differences between the 20 ex-East Ham E/1s in their final conditions in 1952. This I have done with the release by KW Trams of the former BEC-Kits No.12. I am not aware of any of these cars being in or even passing Brixton Hill depot but if anyone is interested in this batch then they are welcome to contact me off group. I have only done this as I had purchased a second-hand completed model and have started upgrading it! Also started on an article about the Class E cars in LPTB pre-war years. No one has ever published the fact that their original truck side frames were narrower than those of Class E/1 but the bogies were interchangeable between the classes. I then found Class E cars with bogies where the truck side frame on one side is E and on the other side E/1!!! There continues to be many LT tram mysteries to resolve! Colin.

Looks as though practice is making perfect. Looking forward to further progress. Thank you, Colin.

Gilbert, a month has now passed and festivities are now over, so look forward to seeing the latest update on the 04 progress. I noted your comment about replacing the buffers by metal ones as my layout is very much a shunting one - especially in the fruit season! I am relying on your endeavours to encourage me to replace the two Bachmann Mavis's I use at Welney depot!!! Wishing you and LDF the very best for 2021, Colin.

Mullie, I totally agree with you as I have fallen back on Geoff's works many times over past decades. I see he has had another book published on modelling items in the landscape from the past. Just seeing things as he travelled to work and elsewhere over the decades, he photographed with this book in mind. So I expect it to be up to his past high standards. The more one looks deeply into photos of W&U so one finds such a greater variety of wagon, van and brake than one would expect on such a branch line. So another aspect worth doing indoors - the only tool needed is a magnifying glass! Colin.

Whether a Tierful Christmas or a Lockdown one, I hope everyone has the best possible Christmas and that the New Year will see the earliest possible to at least near normality. I hope to resume with the trams in the New Year, Colin.

Callum, loved the clip but is that a genuine 1 in 50 climb up to Woody Bay??? Colin.

All good things including the containerisation of freight do have 'cons' especially as size of operation builds up. Round the world shipping runs by sea give the 'economic' service whilst by air its the 'express' one - need say no more when it comes to how you put comparative value of goods in transit. Our broadcasters have referred to the overloading this year of the UK container facilities (15% higher than norm) due to Covid-19 affecting different parts of the globe at different times for production of goods plus the rush to stockpile ahead of Brexit deadlines. Felixstowe is said to be taking the brunt of this, however the extra capacity available at Thames Gateway still has to be taken up as that development comes fully onstream. Foreseeing this huge problem the PLA set up its task force in the autumn to help the LO/LO and RO/RO operators on the Thames to help out each other where circumstances permitted. Whilst incidences at sea are always occurring with loss of containers overboard, the present situation is a freight forwarders' worst nightmare and the recipients of their goods (worse if part load of a container) just have to be patient - I would not be surprised to find that all the staff at Kernow MRC (let alone at the big names) are bald!!!.

Thanks, Andrew, I had not seen this article by David. From memory he was a member of CCB and had a model clay rail layout upon which he concentrated on road vehicles and shipping. I feel sure he contributed to the files on both non-rail subjects. One day I hope to get my clay rail stock out of storage if only for a run round my dining room table layout based on Hornby sectional track and KMRC buildings! Colin.

Thanks, Andrew, for bringing Heavy Transport to the fore. In the old CCB website there were folders on road vehicles and ships. I have checked through the items I was able to save but alas only the rail items are there. I love the last photo which gives proof that you can use those modern refuse bins on a 'modern image' layout! Wishing you all the very best you can make of this year's Christmas and trust things will improve in the New Year. Colin.

Thanks, Alex, for the update and seasonal greetings. Wishing you a Happy Christmas and a better New Year. Colin.

Thanks, Chris. For those interested in photos of model 68222 with the white windows either end, please see page 37. Colin.

Yes, Jenny, lovely model especially as the windows were separate for fitting in closed or open position as desired. To correctly portray the prototype of one of mine, the window frames could easily be painted white before attaching.

Ah, the Romans - well they were probably the first in the world to have 'granite trams' in their streets! Who knows the Israelis may even extend the existing Jerusalem tram system to Bethlehem if ridership warrants??? After all they expect to open the Haifa - Nazareth tramline in the next five/six years across North Israel - now that will be a 21st century miracle!!!

Just let let you know that I start the month waiting for a delivery of the glue I use. Being in still in isolation and now waiting a call from my GP to say the first vaccine dose is ready for me, we depend on deliveries of everything! Problem has been finding a seller to combine the postage of a very much needed grout pen with my large glue order!!! I avoid Amazon if I can on ethical grounds! Up until now I have not had to use glue for my Welney project for which initial track work now down and became operational from a day in usual traffic mode to a day for the height of the fruit season - proved great for the brain! On the tram kit front painting of small parts continued so as to be ready for the glue. The priority here is to finally resolve how to proceed with the ABS tram collection of London kits. I can see an alternate way forward but just have to prove that it is a commercial possibility.

Chris, I am about to order my staff! Were these figures in 1:76 or 1:87 scale, please? Colin.

Glad you have found a suitable location in South Wales. At least you have decent scenery as you probably wanted from Lancashire. In the 1970's I was involved with consultancy in assisting Milford Haven docks to assess its future. Apart from RO/RO facilities, container handling was to the fore for Anglo-Irish traffic (Bell Line emerged) and the need for 20 ton capacity cranes for non-container traffic. You missed a commercial trick there on your big neighbour!!! Coincidentally, my father in the Ship Division of NPL Teddington had at that time model tested the designs of those massive oil tankers that Gulf Oil built to serve their Milford Haven terminal. Really 'small' world!

What a lovely quay layout, Karl. Very nice how its operation can be changed anytime to suit what stock you want to use without changing the buildings/backscene. Those shed night shots are incredible. So you must be the one who wants lockdown to continue in waves!!!

Going on from above I am definitely modelling the operational side according to prototype. The top end of my ex-WD mobile crane's jib has broken off! No not an overweight lift but down to a 'stupid crane driver'!!! Quick where's the dock's engineer!

One further point to add to Phil's photo of the CMRC 'Tramlink' model. The Wellesley Road tramline is one-way so in the model when the tram you see reaches the right hand end, it automatically reverses but a biased facing point directs it to the track that runs behind the backscene to the left hand end. The car then automatically reverses and the next biased facing point directs it back along the front again. And I have never seen it fail! So all the destination blinds (as it was in the 'red era') both sides and ends are correctly set. On John Clarke's "West Croydon" layout, the same applied to the Tramlink cars as their run was circular. However, the first generation cars on it always looked wrong when viewed/photographed from behind them because all their services were end-to-end. No I don't see KW Trams producing working destination blind boxes in 4mm. or under!!! Nor even Terry Russell in 7mm. but in this scale why not?????