wainwright1

Studying the details, looks like some overlap between the K and L classes. So if Rapido are contemplating one of those they could possibly get two different bodies to go on one standard chassis.

I recall that the Hornby 4 wheeled Sentinel shunter was available in two versions: one with coupling rods and one without. (Mechanical and Hydraulic ?) What's available now and price wise I would not have a clue. All the best Ray

The two preserved ones, Sharpthorne on the Bluebell Railway and Charwelton on the Kent and East Sussex Railway would make lovely examples. The former I think is a K and has dumb buffers and was first used as a contractors loco on the Great Central, then used on building the Bluebell line itself. The second may be an L. There is of course the one the SE & CR had for use in Folkestone another K ? This was bought by the SER, operated under the SE & CR in full Wainwright livery, then battleship grey, but unfortunately lost its chimney cap and looked a bit drab and dire. It was seconded to Hawkhurst during WW1 as station shunter, presumably during the hop-picking season, but was not successful. Then the two on the Isle of Wight. Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway K. Bembridge branch BEMBRIDGE. possibly L. From memory, this was called up for military service during WW1 and got sent to Mesopotamia. I think that the K type had at least four cab options to choose from, ranging from just a basic front spectacle plate to fully enclosed. That's a little bit to think about. I wonder which type it will be ?

A K class would be very nice, especially in full SE & CR Wainwright livery. Or maybe one of these L Class !

How about four for a full selection ?

Got my Bachmann Collectors magazine yesterday. no mention of the Craven RT. Still shown as due Summer 2023 on their website.

I hope that the Southwark Club will be able to offer a layout or two. Always one of our favourite shows. All the best Ray

The Grove Street Tramway from the Deptford Wharf Branch to the Foreign Cattle Market was operated by the Corporation of London (City of London), not the LCC. You can see their logos on the side of the loco. I did have a builders picture of the loco when new, unfortunately lost when my computer crashed earlier in the year. Hopefully, I have a print somewhere that I can scan in again. The vans were also owned by them, I think that there were only four, as seen in the picture. The trackwork from the Dockyard was altered twice to ease the curves for the vehicles. The motive power started off as horse, then petrol and finally steam, although an 08 was tried briefly towards the end, but not found satisfactory. All the best Ray

Hi Matt. That's certainly starting to look good. Looks like you went for the 00 ballast on there. We tend to use the N gauge ballast on 00, it looks better and you can make it sit tidier. But don't worry, it is done now. With regard to cranes, there are the old Airfix kits for the dockside crane and the railway mounted type. both still available from Dapol. If you want something smaller, there is a road crane in the Hornby Trackside range. I think that there is one of those available at the moment, but possibly only available as an exclusive to the Hornby Collectors Club. If you wanted one I could get it for you. I think that the 08 has more flexibility in the wheels, so they can follow the contour of the track better than the Peckett. I am working on the Crystal Palace boards at the moment, bringing them up to presentable scenic standards which requires the en-masse treatment of the ground areas. The second stage will be to develop the in depth scenics which can be done in smaller areas and I am intending to use static grass as part of the process. I have got the applicators and a varied selection of grasses from 2mm to 10mm in length. I have seen demonstrations on how to to do this, but will be experimenting before going in on a bigger scale. Keep up the good work. Might we see you up the club one night during the school holidays ? Open every Tuesday. All the best Ray

Received mine yesterday. Very nicely done. Ray

Is the main body of the coach moulded in clear plastic as well ? If not, how do they go about producing the clear windows in the side of the coaches. Ray

I was hoping to get the ROD liveried version of the 4300 and have not seen the livery samples in the flesh. Don't know if anyone else has commented on this, but looking at the recent pictures of this model, the livery looks rather anaemic, more like desert yellow than Khaki. I took a picture of the loco at Didcot some years ago which I cannot currently access, but from memory, I am sure that it was darker than than the model. Ray

I hope that none of these new metal bodied models develop the dreaded Mazac rot. Ray

When first introduced, would these wagons be painted in an RAF or War Department livery for war time use ? Did any end up at Longmoor ? Many thanks Ray

We are exhibiting at the Spa Valley show this year and will have several layouts at Eridge. All the best Ray

Yes, as far as I know it is the Chatham & Dist. MRC, and I did attend most of their shows going back over a number of years. I think that the show at Fort Pitt organised by the Gravesend Club is now defunct for a variety of reasons. I had heard a murmur previously about a new show at the Dockyard and someone mentioned yesterday that their layout had been invited for next years show. All the best Ray

Been hearing some good rumours that the well known Chatham show is coming back next year and will be returning to the slips in the Dockyard. Has anyone heard what date it will be ? All the best Ray

We went yesterday and had an enjoyable day out. We have been exhibitors at the last three shows I think, but not sure if the same layouts as last year were there again. Operating a layout last year I did not really get a chance to have a good look around. Yes the areas mentioned were not in use, and the platform nearest to the station building at HK was out of use as the platform surface is being substantially renewed and the building canopy and frontage restored. Also I think that there was less space used in the workshop at SP this year. Nice to see progress on the Atlantic. I believe that they are hoping to have that is service sometime next year. Hopefully the exhibition will back to normal next year, as we hope to take one of our larger layouts. All the best Ray

Will there be a shuttle bus or is there a convenient local bus service from the station to near this venue ? Many thanks Ray

Hi. Just remembered this. Have you seen these 3D printed items ? Westgate Models by derekesmith - Shapeways Shops Derek Smith has also done a book on the Ramsgate Tunnel Railway. I have a copy, but cannot locate it at the moment. If you contact him, I am sure that he can be of assistance. All the best Ray

Gave my SE&CR grey a test run last night up at our club. Ran very smooth and quietly with a couple of Hornby Mk1s. Only fault we found was that the main hand rail on the offside did not seem to have been fixed in place and was sliding in and out. Will have to put a small drop of superglue in an appropriate place.

I think that the Crampton Tower Museum in Broadstairs have a model of one of the stations and the rolling stock. Just opposite Broadstairs Station.

Certainly looks nice in that livery.

These issues come up periodically. I use mostly Precision Paints or Railmatch for painting rolling stock or specific company building colours where regular handling is required, but still tend to use Humbrol enamels for most scenic jobs, buildings, figure painting etc. and have a large stock of it. Acrylics I like to use for weathering, where they can be thinned and applied in almost transparent coats until the right amount is in the right place. All my work is brush painted as I have nowhere that I can use an airbrush. Tamiya is also good, as it mixes very easy and thins down well. Certain Humbrol enamels have always been a bit wishy washy, matt yellow and red stick out, and matt white has always been strange, perhaps a different smell to the others, and once opened it does not seem to keep as well. There have always been problems with some colours or batches of matt paints not drying matt, or at all. Two of the worst are matt black and matt varnish. The black can dry with streaks in it and the varnish can be patchy or cloudy. I have a procedure for preparing and checking paint before I use it: Open the tin and stir well for at least ten minutes using a flat wooden coffee stirrer. Larger tins such as Precision 50ml will require at least 15 - 20 minutes. Test the paint on a piece of non-porous card or plasticard. Wait to see if it dries properly, especially important with matt colours. If it does not, repeat the stirring and test again. I once had a tin of Precision Track Colour which required to be stirred for nearly half an hour each time I used it before it would dry matt. But Humbrol tins should be a lot less. I also have some cards with colour patches which I specifically use for checking varnish, as I also use tainted varnish with some paint mixed into it for overall weathering finish and this needs to dry both matt and with an even cover. Important note. These days Humbrol put a label on the bottom of the tins which quotes the paint number and a batch number. If you get a dodgy tin, take it back to where you bought it, tell them what is wrong and ask for a replacement with a different batch number if they have one. They can then send the dodgy ones back to Hornby for replacement. If you get a good tin you get a good un. But please test properly before using it on a valued model. All the best Ray

That's very informative. In the second drawing there are wagons with two different wheelbases, the second row apparently being longer than that of the coaches. However the bodies are perhaps slightly shorter than the coaches. For any manufacturer the viability of making models of these vehicles must be by making some economies in terms of the number of standard chassis. So the direction that Hornby have gone is sensible, but they could perhaps provide for a longer wheelbase version to add some variety to the range.