88C

I must admit that recently, although I have done some modelling, I have lost my mojo. Amongst other things this, I think, is partly due to finishing the D and not knowing where to go next. I have been building mineral wagon kits, 2 for the price of 1 compared to a new RTR, initially they were to use on club layouts at exhibitions, enough said. In doing these kits I am hoping to introduce variety into a rake of similar wagons, a train of identical wagons just doesn't look right. Weathering also helps to do this and to this end I have been dry brushing. Finished and early stages. Earlier on I mentioned that I had bought a a Bachmann 56xx, this has also had an attack from the dry brush, it looks a lot better from normal viewing distance, honest. It is certainly better than the uniform black when new. Like the D it still needs coaling. I found Derek Huntriss's book Steam in South Wales very useful as a guide. Finally a little moan, why do manufacturers have the couplings so far in front of the buffers? This is my birthday present Oxford tank wagon coupled to a Hornby Peckett, the distance between buffers scales out at 2'6". The Model Rail 16xx has come in for criticism on this point and rightly so. Hopefully I will get a bit more motivated, possibly venturing into the British Railway period for my own use as well, after all a 94xx looks a really good model. I will use the tension locks with all their faults rather than 3 links etc. that my Barry and GWR models use, future proofing my eyesight. By the way, these pictures were taken on my test track inglenook which sits on the shelf of my workbench. That's it for now, keep safe. Brian

Good to see you back in action. Brian.

Have a look at CSP Models as well they have a good section. I have built a couple of their kits and they were both well designed and straight forward to build. CSP have also given me excellent customer service. Brian

Kevin, I have just shown the latest picture to my wife and her first reaction was why are you showing me this, when I explained that it was a model she was amazed. She the spent some time looking at all the small details which make the scene so realistic. Saying well done is not really enough. Brian.

I bought one from Squires recently and have found it really good. It came with a hose which I put the end under the garage door to extract the fumes. The whole lot fits back into its box when not in use so does not take up a lot of space. Hope this helps. Brian

Very little has happened on the layout recently for a number of reasons although I have had a few running sessions. A plan for this year was to get the signals working but that has not happened. I was looking at the Megapoints system at Doncaster but the recommended servos were not available and I was not prepared to buy the electronicy bits if I could not get the servos, then covid got in the way so I will have to get back to this later. Family commitments have also eaten into my time but I have not been completely idle. I have been building up a collection of BR, not Barry this time, wagons for use on club layouts but I can't see me needing them any time soon. More of this another time. Lockdown has given me the chance to make a lot of progress with my Barry D class, as you can see in the photo it is now finished apart from a crew and coal, it seems to be working well. Not sure what I'll be doing next apart from building some more 16T mineral wagons. Brian

They are certainly interesting locos and are actually smaller than you expect an 0-8-0 to be. I don’t know what the German engines were used for but I doubt if 35 was used for anything else but shunting in and around Barry docks. I have had chance to give the loco a bit of a test and after a bit of tweaking the pick ups it now seems to be running reliably. It took 22 wagons round my Llanforen layout, including a slight gradient on a 2’ curve, without any problems. Time didn’t allow for any more trials and now I need to remove a board to give access to the gas boiler so it can have its annual service. Some more wagon kits to do next. Brian

Chris, I think the black wash really did improve the appearance. Well done, Brian

I do like panniers. Brian

Well it's finally done. Just needs a load of coal and a crew. Brian

Don’t give up on the idea Chris. If you have got the load ordered see what it looks like before committing yourself, if it isn’t what you want I’m sure you will be able to find a space for it somewhere on your layout. Brian

Thanks for all the replies, it is rather looking like I have a display model. Normal life means that I won't have chance to investigate further, a clear head will be needed and I'm not sure that I can justify spending on professional help as the only chance to give it a proper run is at the club, remember them. Brian

I have only looked in the tender so far and I do notice how fine the wires are. The are no instructions about removing the loco body so it will be a case of removing a few screws and see what happens. If the motor has blown the blanking plug thank goodness I don’t have DCC sound fitted! Brian.

That is something that I will have to investigate. Thanks, Brian

I regret that I feel the need to make comments on this forum but I feel no alternative. My 47xx which I bought a couple of years ago hasn't been used very much but I try to give all of my locos a run every so often to check them the last time I tried this engine it did not move, then I noticed a smell and smoke was rising from the tender. Needless to say power was turned off and an investigation started. The blanking plug was the culprit. My first action was to contact Heljan using the e-mail address they give in their adverts, after three weeks and a couple of e-mails no reply at all. As Gaugemaster now handle the spares I contacted them, they did reply promptly but no replacement available. Next I contacted DCC Supplies and Richard suggested that a Dapol chip might work so it was worth a try, sadly no success. No criticism of DCC Supplies they did try. In my ignorance I would expect all blanking plugs to be the same, glad I don't delve into the dark arts of DCC and I will stick to the KISS principle for my models. Not sure of of where to go from here, one possibility is to bypass the remaining chip. Any suggestions welcome. My opinion of Heljan customer relations cannot be printed here and it is probably a good think that I can't confront them at Warley. Brian, with an expensive static model. PS I'm glad I had built kits for the 1361 and 1366 tanks, they work.

No matter how carefully I try to get chimneys to sit properly I always seem to fail, it must be gremlins moving them over night. After a coat of primer it was clear the chimney and dome were not right so off they came to try again. With my record I’m glad I don’t solder them on. Brian

I have not done a lot of work on the layout recently but there are a few more trees. Some time ago I bought some cheep Woodlands Scenics clump foliage at a local swap meet and along with some of the armatures every so often I make a couple of trees. As they come the armatures are a little short of branches so using some rather poor plastic branches of unknown origin I add some more. The corner near the station is still a mess, a repository for for sub standard trees at the moment and I still don't know what to do with it. My cousin, ChrisF, has described the layout as timeless, a feel that I would like to keep. Any suggestions welcome. Brian, with apologies for not cropping the photos.

I have just realised as I sat here to give an progress report that I haven't taken any recent pictures. Anyway all the bits and pieces have been completed and the model is now in the paint shop. Next bulletin when it is finished. Brian

Of the four engines acquired by the Barry 35 and 36 retained the side window cabs, the other two, 92 and 93 had the cabs remodelled without any side windows. I chose to do 35 for the simple reason that I thought that it would be easier to make the cab. Brian

I don’t know but I suspect that Sharp Stewart may have made some changes before delivery to Barry. One of the differences that I noticed in your picture is the cab window, was this modified in Germany. A photo of what became Barry number 92 whilst it was in Sweden shows a smokebox door with ‘normal’ handles which remained on the Barry locos, this is another difference in your picture. I am sure that your picture is one of the Swedish locos but has had changes made to suit local preferences. Another photo in Richard Chown’s article shows an earlier version built for Spain, again with a different cab. All very interesting. Brian

According to Richard Chown’s article in the WRRC journal The Welsh Railway Archive vol VI no. 3 the other six were sold to the German Palatine Railway. Brian

Slow but steady progress with the D. All major parts are now in place and I am working on the details. The tender flares were a bit of a challenge but have turned out OK. To position them I clamped a piece of ply to the tender sides which made it easier to position the flare for soldering, I took the photo after I had done the job. A shot with the model really starting to come together. The steps are from a Mainly Trains etch, modified to suit and the boiler fittings have not yet been fitted permanently. Still a lot to do, I have made the tender weather shield but haven't photographed it yet. The boiler is a lot heavier now thanks to some lead and I have worked out a way that I can paint it before final assembly, not like me to make things easier. Currently I am working on the splashers, so far two attempts have been rejected but the third looks promising, I'll let you know how I get on. I know there are things which are not quite right but I am pleased with the overall appearance of the engine but I know it's the best I can do and there are not likely to be many 4mm Ds in existence. The next up date shouldn't take so long. Brian

Just a quick note to thank Brian for his help sorting out a small order for me recently. I do miss being able to browse all the castings at a show. Brian

On behalf of The Elizabethan Railway Society I am afraid to say that we have decided that our annual exhibition due to be held in Kirkby-in-Ashfield on 10/11 October 2020 is now cancelled. There is so much uncertainty over the current situation we thought that it was best to cancel now rather than hope for a sudden improvement over the next few months. Brian

You will need a C class as well. Brian