cctransuk

Purely surmise, but I would have thought that propelling a six-wheeled vehicle for significant distances would be contrary to some regulation or other. Remember that brake tenders were propelled at least as often as they were hauled. As to available models, ABS do (did?) a very nice kit in 4mm. scale. Regards, John Isherwood.

I only ordered yesterday, and my order reads :- Delivery estimate Thursday 8 Nov 2012 - Tuesday 20 Nov 2012 Dispatching Soon Regards, John Isherwood.

See http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/40947-br-cowans-sheldon-65t-hand-crane-ex-gwr-o5-runner-wagon/ for my model, utilising the etched counterweight. (Don't take the jib under-runner as gospel - a bit of modeller's licence here to justify the use of an ancient Ian Kirk kit). The model is lettered using my transfer Sheet BL36; see http://www.cctrans.freeserve.co.uk/products.htm . Regards, John Isherwood.

Brian, This is a lagged tank wagon; note the holding-down straps disappearing into the lagging. It has a larger diameter tank created from Airfix / Dapol Esso kit tanks. This is a de-lagged tank wagon; note the holding down straps visible above the tank surface. The tank is as produced by Tri-ang. Both had the ICI corporate blue livery, as modelled, and were used for ammonia traffic. I am no expert of ICI wagon traffic, I'm afraid - just a sucker for an unusual wagon type. Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. http://www.cctrans.freeserve.co.uk/

Yes - you can tell that my first OO trains were HD, can't you? The Peco / HD Simplex coupling has been my standard since then, though they're not cheap nowadays. My stock has massively expanded over the years; (765 items at present), so there is no possibility of changing. On that subject, I saw an announcement that Peco were to produce a Simplex coupler to fit a NEM pocket - but that was some time ago ......!?! Regards, John Isherwood.

The chassis and end restraints were narrowed to scale, and the bogies replaced by ones from Cambrian Models; (I shortened the wheelbase of these to exact scale, but it's not really noticeable). The Tri-ang models represents a de-lagged tank; for a lagged tank, use lengthened Airfix / Dapol Esso wagon kit tanks. The holding-down straps are brass strip and wire soldered together. Regards, John Isherwood.

Dave, I have both the BR headcode font and the original BR diesel / electric numbering font. I'm pretty certain that they came from Monty Wells via a free PC disc offered in one of his articles in MRJ. If you'd care to contact me at cctrans@hotmail.com , I'll e-mail you a copy of each font. Regretably, I can't make this offer to the list membership in general. Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. http://www.cctrans.freeserve.co.uk/

Jon, The finished crane is solely due to the etchings that I bought from you ages ago. It is rigged and operates as per the prototype - I moved the winch drums to their correct positions. I replaced the knurled moulded winch drum stems with machine screws superglued into drilled and tapped holes - the screws were cut short and filed square to fit the bore of some square brass tube that I use to operate the winches. Crane 272 was allocated to Hereford, but I have no evidence whatsoever that it was paired with an O5 runner! It looks the part, though. The ferry tanks? I took the Airfix / Dapol kit chassis moulding and milled off everything above the top of solebar level. I did this on my Unimat, but the same result could be achieved with a large file, care, and a finer file. I also removed the bearings and springs from the solebar / axleguard mouldings, and the buffers from the bufferbeam mouldings. The chassis was then assembled; the springs, bearings and buffers were added using Appleby Model Engineering castings; the brake platforms are etched chequerplate; the handrails and footsteps are soldered up from brass wire and strip; the brass handbrake columns were turned, (easily done with a minidrill and Swiss files); the brake wheel is an etching, as are the brake levers. The Hornby Dublo Traffic Services tanks were acquired as 'less than mint' from Ebay; (anyone want some HD chassis?); and I simply improved the end flame tube detail by using the moulded blanking plates on new plastic tubes. Markings are, naturally, my own Cambridge Custom Transfers. No rocket science here - simply what we used to call kit-bashing'; rapidly becoming a lost skill, methinks! I roll my eyes every time someone says of a new item of RTR or kit rolling-stock 'why didn't they produce this or that variant'! Thats what razor saws and plastic card are for - and it's called Railway Modelling !!! Regards, John Isherwood.

Please bear in mind that these are 4mm. scale models, greatly and cruelly enlarged. John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. http://www.cctrans.freeserve.co.uk/ BR Cowans Sheldon 6.5T hand crane. Detailed Tri-ang Hornby crane and Ian Kirk kit runner wagon, both with cast & etched (by Jonathan Hall) detailing parts. Ex-LMS Dia. 2080 FLATCASE wagon. Scratchbuilt using cast & etched detailing parts. BR Dia. 1/645 STURGEON A rail / sleeper / ballast wagon. Cambrian kit. Ex-GWR Dia. O30 non-fitted open wagon. Cambrian kit / cast & etched detailing parts. Ex-GWR Dia. O30 vacuum-fitted open wagon. Cambrian kit / cast & etched detailing parts. BR / TOWNSON TANKERS Dia. 1/307 tank wagon. Modified Hornby Dublo RTR body / scratchbuilt chassis / cast & etched detailing parts. WD / ICI ammonia tank wagon. Airfix RTR body & chassis / cast & etched detailing parts. ICI ammonia tank wagon. Airfix RTR body & chassis / cast & etched detailing parts. ICI methanol tank wagon. Airfix RTR body & chassis / cast & etched detailing parts. ICI methanol tank wagon. Airfix RTR body & chassis / cast & etched detailing parts. ICI ammonia lagged bogie tank wagon. Airfix Esso tank wagon kit bodies / Tri-ang RTR chassis(narrowed) / lengthened Cambrian bogies / cast & etched detailing parts. ICI ammonia lagged bogie tank wagon. Airfix Esso tank wagon kit bodies / Tri-ang RTR chassis(narrowed) / lengthened Cambrian bogies / cast & etched detailing parts. ICI ammonia unlagged bogie tank wagon.Tri-ang RTR body & chassis(narrowed) / lengthened Cambrian bogies / cast & etched detailing parts. ICI ammonia unlagged bogie tank wagon. Tri-ang RTR body & chassis(narrowed) / lengthened Cambrian bogies / cast & etched detailing parts. ICI arcton ferry tank wagon. Hornby Dublo RTR body / Airfix Esso tank wagon kit chassis / cast & etched detailing parts. ICI dyestuffs ferry tank wagon. Modified Airfix Esso tank wagon kit chassis & body / cast & etched detailing parts. ICI heavy organics ferry tank wagon. Hornby Dublo RTR body / Airfix Esso tank wagon kit chassis / cast & etched detailing parts. TRAFFIC SERVICES Dia. SFV 6120 class B ferry tank wagon. Hornby Dublo RTR body / Airfix Esso tank wagon kit chassis / cast & etched detailing parts. TRAFFIC SERVICES Dia. SFV 6120 class A ferry tank wagon. Hornby Dublo RTR body / Airfix Esso tank wagon kit chassis / cast & etched detailing parts.

Next time anyone pays a visit to Hayle, have a rummage around near the fish sheds (behind Philps Bakers) - there's some track remaining there, too Mentioning Philps - the best Cornish pasties bar none !!! Regards, John Isherwood.

The colour match list never purported to relate solely to the Halfords of-the-shelf range - it gives the matches that can be obtained either from Halfords or other motor factors - often mixed-to-order. I can only speak from my own experience, but I've had no problems with the Halfords custom mixing service. I recently needed ICI blue / green, and was offered many colour swatches to go through. Having found a near, but lighter, match, I was then able to inspect the mixed paint, and have progressively more black added until the colour was just right - at which point it was put into the aerosol can. No problem with spraying, either. Car factors will provide the same service, (look in the yellow pages), and they have an even broader range of swatches to choose from. Regards, John Isherwood.

See Sheet BL20 @ http://www.cctrans.freeserve.co.uk/products.htm . Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers.

I don't think that there is any mystery about this - the maroon Westerns were painted in standard coaching stock maroon - which is known by many and various names nowadays. The intention was that they matched their trains. Regards, John Isherwood.

Wholly uncalled for IMHO !! DapolDave has amply demonstrated his superb attention to customer service - just read back up this thread. John Isherwood.

From my (brief) review of available photos, I take it that this version would be correct without the 'eyebrows' - in which case, fine by me! Are you able to list which locos are correct with discs and without the 'eyebrows', regardless of liveries, please? Regards, John Isherwood.

Too late for you, but it may help others, I just got mine and the same author's lightweight DMU book together for pennies over £20 from Amazon - P&P included. Sorry, John Isherwood.

Now there's a man who listens to his customers !! Thanks Dave. Regards, John Isherwood.

Dave, Congratulations on the foresight and thanks for the extra investment. I will await, (impatiently), the disc headcoded version. Regards, John Isherwood.

I can't believe that you haven't worked this out already, but let's call a spade a spade. Just because a deposit is paid to a retailer, it doesn't necessarily follow that the money immediately finds its way to the model manufacturer. (My comment is wholly hypothetical, and should not be taken as referring to any specific retailer). I would simply observe that it is common wholesale practice for stock to be supplied only to retailers with cleared accounts. Regards, John Isherwood.

Dave, Thanks for the quick response. I can't personally help with the second part of your criteria, only to give as a link. I will admit that it's difficult to tell from this photo of D6334 even if the front end matches your model. Ah - wait a minute - here's another, later photo of D6334 that confirms that its front end DOESN'T match your model. OK, I admit defeat - I'll just wait in hope of an authentic overall green model being produced. Regards, John Isherwood.

I interpret this to mean that the current Dapol moulding CAN authentically be produced / repainted in over-all green, provided that the resulting model is nymbered D6334 or D6335. .... or have I missed something; (perhaps not surprising given the comings and goings on this one)! Would DapolDave care to comment? Regards, John Isherwood. (Needless to say, I am desperate to buy one of these models, but only if it can authentically be repainted into overall green).

The likely support can be estimated - the number of order cancellations when it became known that the overall green version had been cancelled would be a guide. Regards, John Isherwood.

So - if I understand what you're saying - the current Dapol model represents one of the main production batch D6306 to D6333 AFTER fitting of headcode panels. This batch WERE delivered in overall green, but all those fitted with headcode panels had small yellow panels before or when they were converted. Thus the current Dapol model cannot be prototypically produced in overall green. Will Kernow consider commissioning the modification of the tools to allow an overall green version to be produced - there certainly seems to be plenty of interest? Thanks, John Isherwood.

The problem is, though, that the front end details of D6334 etc. are very different from Dapol's current model - just compare the photos in this thread. If it were simply a matter of a repaint, Dapol would not have cancelled the all-green version at the last minute. I emailed Dapol earlier this week to enquire if / when an overall green version might be available; the reply was :- "Certainly not yet a while. The shell for the model is not suitable for an overall green version which is why the specs had to be changed at a late stage. We can only produce an overall green version if we modify the tooling and no decision has been taken on that". We can only hope that Dapol are eventually prepared to modify the tooling. Perhaps DapolDave will invite us to indicate the level of support for versions that could be produced in overall green? (Hint hint)! Regards, John Isherwood.

Perhaps I could mention that virtually all of my range of transfers is available for S scale? Regards, John Isherwood, Cambridge Custom Transfers. http://www.cctrans.freeserve.co.uk/products.htm