grob1234

Very nice. Your rolling stock collection must be vast!

I'll shop around, going for £40 plus on Ebay and Amazon, must be a sought after book. I do prefer the book to the computer screen for such things. The ability to 'flick' between sections is the best bit of a book, except the contents of course. Equally, I regard the paper map far superior to the GPS or Iphone map. The ability to have the whole picture in front of you is invaluable. Anyway, I digress.

Yes, seems eminently sensible to me. So insulated wheels all round then. The reason I bring this up, is because SE Finecast do a wheel pack, but this includes 3 live and 3 insulated wheels. I was considering this, but have now decided to get all of the components from Markits/Romford direct, meaning I can specify 6 insulated wheels. Apologies for the very basic questions. I'm sure once I have built a few locos, it will all be obvious, but I wanted to make sure prior to spending £ that I am getting the right thing. Thank you for the help.

Yes, you are absolutely right, the variations are mind boggling. I have a photo of a prototype that should be very close to the number I wish to model. I have checked out as much as I can with regard to alterations etc, so it will be good enough for me.

Hello, It is a shame that I am missing out on my (former) local show, however living 5000 miles away puts an end to that notion! Apologies for going over slightly old ground, however, I have recently received my LRM J69, and what a lovely looking little kit it is. I have decided on a motor/gearbox combination, which should fit nicely into the body. Am I correct in thinking that the ‘arms’ of the gearbox fit inside the chassis frames? This is what I have planned anyway. Wheels – sadly, the kit states that the biggest Romford wheel that can be fitted is 15mm, any larger and it is liable to foul on the footplate. I am using Romford wheels as per the advice given here, due to ease of quartering. Unfortunately, that means using 10 spoke rather than 12 spoke wheels, this is a compromise that I will have to live with, though personally it won’t have a negative effect on the finished model. I am building the model to run on DC initially; however I wish to reserve the right to change to DCC in the future if I decide to go down that route with my proposed layout. Bearing this in mind, my understanding is that I should use 6 insulated wheels, with pickups fitted to each wheel, and a ‘dead chassis’ arrangement. If I just fitted insulated wheels on one side only, I’d end up with a ‘live chassis’ and this wouldn’t be so suitable for DCC. Is this correct? I just wanted to make sure of this, before I place my order. Many thanks in advance, and I cannot wait to get started on this kit, the only trouble being I have to wait ‘til Christmas! Tom

How did you know?! Yes I have the 'blue' version. I was going to say you must have Jedi like skills to be able to find things in the blue one. Its a shame the numbers aren't in a searchable database. I might have to add the more useful book to my list of provisional purchases. I definitely knew about the underframes and trussing... trust me.....

A feast of information. Clearly running prototypical formations is difficult, not least in the respect of the amount of research that's needed to find out what they comprised. I can see how useful those carriage working documents are, and in combination with a book like Harris (which I have also got, just getting to grips with the nitty gritty of it) one would be able to form a very accurate picture of the formation. Your explanation is very clear however I wonder how you managed to find 41360 in Harris LNER Carriages? I used the index of numbers in the back but came out with nothing... Thank you very much for taking the time to prepare this, I apologise for my haste I have to go to work now! More later on

Jonathan, First of all I must apologise. In my haste to obtain information, I didn't full search my own copy of LNER Passenger Trains and Formations. Of course, your Leeds 'quint' is indeed there with a rather nice shot of an A3 on PG55. An example CWP would be nice though if you don't mind, with 10 coaches being an ideal number for this formation. I suppose as often the case it's a matter of compromise as to what to include in the formation. I find identifying the specific diagrams pertaining to a working challenging! Well, I began by coach building, my Coronation build being a bit of a baptism of fire, but the confidence I have gained in actually building a set that actually works, is immense! I'm already addicted to coach building, and have many projects in the pipe line. Quints, Quads, Triplets... plus the all the other diagrams. Not to mention the J69 I have ordered. Incidentally, I began looking at wagon kits just the other day, and I feel I am on a slippery slope. I must remain calm and try not to buy too many kits!!! The Coronation will be in the paint shop very soon, so I hope to have something meaningful to show you there. Once thats done, I can work on perfecting my 'teak' finish. By the way you're absolutely right about having the correct drawings to work from. They have been invaluable in my build so far. Thanks for your continued support, I look forward to hearing about how you use the Quint set operationally.

Hello Jonathan, Just harking back to your lovely build of the Leeds Quint Set... I have a couple of questions, and I can't seem to find out too much about it from the books I have. What loco would have hauled the service? Would it have been run as a set in isolation, or as in BR days would it have had other coaches in the formation too? Its a kit I am very interested in building, now I am well versed in the use of the MJT articulation units (very good they are too I might add) Thanks very much.

Hello, A nice little update here. I have been completing the mind numbingly boring task of adding the detail to 8 virtually identical coaches. Bits of scrap white metal and brass add to the detail found on the outer ends of each pair. I have also added the MJT corridor connectors too. I just have one 'block' to add in the centre. As this task is so boring, I could not help but start on the Beavertail Observation Car (BOC for short). It looks nothing like a beavers tail. . Anyway... One key aspect of this mini build was getting a strong joint between the curved metal casting and the aluminium roof section. I was just about to mix up some of my usual Araldite, when I remembered that about 2 years ago I mistakenly purchased some two part metal glue. Would you believe it?! Anyway, the packet says it is good for aluminium so I mixed up a really large batch and used it, with the addition of brass embedded into the resin to form a strong joint. I gave off a lot of heat while it was curing, so I assume thats good. I have subsequently found this to be exceptionally strong, in fact I was able to use an awful lot of force when 'persuading' the casting to conform to the curvature of the brass sides! Here's the join, not bad for a first effort. I will fill and sand and prime this area thoroughly to ensure it looks completely smooth. This shows it almost fully soldered up, with the exception of the nose cone. I think I can call it that! I have had to create a special shaped floor in order for it to fit in the nose, using one nut instead of two. The bracket is soldered into the nose. The bottom most side looks bent, but this is just an illusion of the camera, as I have just checked the original Finally, here is the look head on. I think it captures the look of the prototype very well. The next challenge is the curved window. I was thinking of trying to warm some plastic slightly and forming it over a blank?

Ha... its actually P4....

Hi Chris, Thank you very much, that's kind of you to say so. Alot of work, but I think worth it in the end, and much more satisfying than getting something out of a box. Time will tell, when I get some paint on them! Does the track give the impression of being OO-SF? Its just bog standard Hornby set-track I have to admit. I have set the gauge on the wheel sets of the coaches to OO-SF though in anticipation of my future layout being OO-SF.

Well, I lied slightly. They won't be in the paint shop just yet. I forgot to add that of course, the rake needs testing. So I rigged up my Radius 3 set track loop and placed my new Hornby A3, Book Law on the track. I simply wired the coaches together temporarily, to test how well they ran. I'm very pleased to say they ran superbly, and, as a bonus the A3 hauled them without fault. No loss of speed, and no wheel slippage, despite the heavy load. A tiny speck of PTFE lubricant on each bearing will aid smoothness, and I just need to file a few areas on the coach steps down on the inside where they may rub a tiny amount on the wheel rims. The buffers on these coaches 'stick out' quite a long way. I'm debating removing about 1.5-2mm on each buffer to enable closer coupling. What are your thoughts? They say a picture paints a thousand words, so what's a video worth? Sorry for the awful iPhone footage! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M7Q8H7HRfQ&feature=youtu.be Another little one - I like the angle. https://youtu.be/VxD5uTNgibg

Oops, that's embarrassing... Nice looking either way though

I think the A3 is a splendid looking loco too...

Hello. Well as far as I'm concerned, alignment is complete. Getting the bogies central will be done after painting. This brutal close up shows I am pretty close to getting the coaches fully aligned. Took me ages, as you tend to end up compensating errors, but its done now. Next stage will be to add couplings, and then clean up and prime.

Thanks everyone for the comments. Actually, its very motivating to know that people are looking in and are interested in the project. Here is a much better (daytime) shot of the rake as it stands, with recently acquired A3 'Book Law' at the helm. Although I am not aware of this particular loco hauling the Coronation, according to my Yeadon book, A3 'Grand Parade' from Doncaster did deputise for a failed A4, as did Gateshead based A1 'Galopin'. It seems then, that A4's were exceptionally reliable, despite all the track miles they had to complete. Coupled to all the moving parts, this makes 80 year old plus engineering seem rather special. I think a green A3 and a rake of these coaches in shades of blue would actually look very nice. I will replicate a shot of this when they are complete. Today, I will be focussing on alignment. I will build a couple of jigs to aid in this. Hopefully when you lot start waking up, I will have something meaningful to show you. More on the 'inter-carriage-fairings' (ICF's?) later. Cheers.

Isn't the V2 a rather smart looking locomotive? Very much in proportion I think.

Lovely set of pictures. Being away from home certainly makes me appreciate the British countryside much more. When it has an A4 in it, and the sun is shining, well, what more could one ask for?!

I think there is a bit of debate about what colour the wheel centres are on the coronation. The notes I have show black. That's not to say they weren't crimson originally, but I feel they can be reasonably painted black, given the grime and dirt that would have accumulated. Plus its too late for me to change it now! Its surprising how little of the wheels you can actually see through the bogie side frames. Edit: to quote from Michael Harris in LNER Carriages pg67: 'underframe fairings, bogies and wheels were black'

I presume so Ian. The problem being the small size of the gap. On the straight, the pairs of coaches are about 8mm apart I guess, however at min radius, the pairs of coaches virtually touch on the inside of the curve, so there would need to be an awful lot of flex in whatever material I use. Maybe it will hit me one day, but I am not sure at the moment. Mick, the colours you mention are correct for the Jubilee, however this is a coronation set. The coaches themselves are just in grey PE primer at the moment. The bogies, and wheel centres are black, as will be the lower fairings when it goes to the paint shop.

Hi Mick, Is that for the LNER Jubilee set?

Hello Folks, I realise it has been an embarrassingly long time since the last update. Various reasons for this, but I have been working away on things in the background. At the moment, we have all 8 coaches constructed. Removable floors fitted, all bogies made and painted (just need a little filler here and there), and I am currently in the process of aligning the coaches, and fitting the centre bogies to each pair. On coaches A and B, I have got the distance between coaches just right, and they are able to negotiate radius 3 curves as planned. These are now the 'master' coaches, and all the rest will be aligned to them. I have soldered most aspects of the kit, which provides a much stronger join than the glue I originally planned to use. My new Antex 660D is perfect for the job. Next will be a final prime and sand, then painting, and the construction of the coach interiors. I hope to get a bit more done (work permitting) over the next month or so. I apologise for the awful pictures, its getting dark here now, and I was late in taking them. Thanks for looking.

Cracking video chaps. Really sets the 'benchmark' for my future project, though if I'm able to only get a little of the way there, I shall be very satisfied.

Thanks St Enodoc, sounds like I'm 99% of the way there then, which is good to know. I noticed that SE Finecast do a wheel set including axles etc for the J69, so this might be my preffered source of wheels for the kit. Here is a link to the promised video upload: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKtVEsFybIU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVh2nedeG7c I think you can agree that the running is 'smooth'! Edit: Now with viewable videos!