R Marshall

Rather than the Q1 (LNER D18), I'd like to see a Class M/M1 (LNER D17/1). These engines performed well in the "Race to the North" in 1895 and there's the preserved example at Shildon for scanning - possibly under the Locomotion Models series of the National Collection in miniature. Like others, I'm disappointed for DJM - is it reasonable to assume the DJM Q6 will proceed? I don't know, but will be watching carefully on here. I'm afraid my hopes for a RTR Q6 in N Gauge have probably just bitten the dust!

Any remnants of the Stainmore Route are evocative and make me think how this line would have drawn preserved steam (though with some consideration of the route availability of many preserved classes) - what a scenic route this was and would have been. All power to the people engaged in preservation/restoration at Kirkby Stephen East. The Summit signs close to this bridge - though not the originals - are a nice touch. This is a shot of an overbridge near the summit, looking West, taken in May 2014 - note the smoke stains still in place. I've wondered about the soot concentration on the Northern side of the bridge - as far as I know the track was double here. Perhaps the soot is heavier on this side because the Eastbound trains were working harder, still climbing to the summit?

Les, Are Dapol Gresley bogies no good for the brake tender? Glad to hear about the Newcastle Show, but I was hoping you were going to annouince that HD would be at Hartlepool this weekend! Here's a picture I got from the photo-forums.net web site - the pictures are free to download and I was directed to the site by Chris Davies (sadly no longer with us) whose picture this is. Hope it helps. Regards, Roy

I'd love to hear the history of this little section of track. I should say that Porcy's clue had me looking in Alnwick at first, though I doubt the Aln is navigable at that point - no yellow sheds at Alnmouth either. That's all I'm saying, in case anyone else is enjoying the challenge.

Well I'm there, thanks to Porcy - he provided the spur (!). The yellow sheds are the clincher - visible on Google Earth, but despite a number of good reference points on the picture, I can't make out exactly where the track is at. Edited to say found the track on Google Earth - a bit further North East than I was looking - evidently the foreshortening in the photo is greater than it seems.

Les, I don't remember D49s in service, but they did use the coast line. See the video on this link at a point 2.29 in - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8drGvSvXSYQ Regards, Roy

A N-Gauge D49, Les?

Sorry - just been re-reading some of the earlier posts and spotted the issue about contacts for the G5. I'm a (relatively minor) shareholder - happy to channel any serious interest in a survey, etc. G5 AGM must be due later this year.

On the modelling side of this, the original GER F4 is almost identical dimensionally to the NER F8. Both were designed by TW Worsdell. A bit of care would allow a designer to produce both, without too much trouble, I'd have thought.

It's the Ribblehead shot for me - love the Covhops. The wet 9F is a great picture! Regards, Roy

Personally, I think these are great coaches and I'd have a rake of them, at whatever price, if they were produced in N Gauge. Blood and custard, please!

Les, Finally I've seen the RM coverage - the panoramic shot shows HD off a treat - look forward to seeing it up here (York, or points North) sometime. Regards, Roy

Sorry, don't have a location - rural spot with pasture and leafy deciduous woodland; two tracks at normal spacing, with a third nearer the boundary, set further off than usual, as if at a junction, with a bracket signal and a bit of platform edge showing Anything else from me is just guesswork - the stock coupled with (no pun intended) the likely loco allocation suggests Liverpool or Manchester to York or Newcastle? Perhaps a football special, or a works outing? I'm adding a bit of the picture, cropped to (hopefully) respect any copyright.

Given the expertise input to this thread, I wonder whether anyone can help with a train reporting number, please. I've seen a picture of a LMS "Crab" 2-6-0 (probably 42712) with a train of LNER stock (8 vehicles), late BR crest on tender. The reporting number (black on white) looks like C469 or C459. I don't know whether the picture is copyright, so can't post it here. 42712 was a Bury allocation in 1959, I believe. Can anyone help with the reporting number, or point me at an information source, please?

Love to see Hormby do these in N Gauge.

Here are pictures of the Diagram 338 Thompson CL. I'm embarrassed at the quality compared to those in the previous post. The light wasn't really sufficient in the conservatory, but they show progress so far: - the etched sides are in red primer and I plan to spray them with carmine tomorrow; - the roof has been sprayed with Halfords' light grey bumper paint, sanded as far as possible with the ventilators aready glued in place and resprayed - I plan to add rain strips and then it'll be weathered and varnished; - the main body, underframe and bogies are in satin black, also to be weathered and varnished - there's a lot of overspray into the interior, but I decided I didn't want to leave any of the white 3D print material showing around the edges - I'll paint the interior by hand after the varnishing. It's probably an obvious point, but the 3D material is so light that it needs anchoring before spraying - I blu-tacked it to a piece of MDF. I've said, on another forum, how I was surprised to find that there were tiny holes in the etched sides which stood out after priming - I'd thought they might have been filled with the spray. I was puzzled by them - the instructions made no reference - but, when I looked more carefully at a Paul Bartlett picture of the prototype CL, I realised that they were for the door stops, which prevent the doors bashing the coach sides when opened. Applying these is a job for steadier hands and better eyes than mine, so I fed a little paint into the holes from the rear, making sure that there was no overspill on to the outer surface.

Well I finished drilling the sides and plucked up the courage to roll in the tumble home. I'm not completely satisfied, but it's a first attempt and I think they fit more or less. I found that they take the curve better near the ends than in the middle and part of the problem is that the top of the roll line is close to the bottom of the window line and I didn't want to put a fold in along the bottom of the windows, so have (hopefully) erred on the side of caution. The etches are also thinner vertically along the edges of the doors, so they need careful handling. After that I fitted the door handles and half of the grab handles and drop lights. All of the handle parts are very small and need a lot of care - I used sellotape to hold them in place on the outside, while I fed in some glue from the back. Some of the handles went pinging away into the carpet - lost for ever. I need to go and lay down in a darkened room for a bit. Pictures later when I've finished the handles, droplights and ventilators ( I did one of these and found it just as challenging as the other details) and tidied things up a bit.

That set is worth it for the Brake Van and 16T Mineral alone! Great stuff.

No, a NER Z would be best! Failing that, the best looking locomotive at Shildon - 1621, please.

A quick look at the Colour Rail website shows 32468/79/87/92/93/94/97/98/500/506/08/10/15/18/57/66/77 with early crest and lined. 32497 is shown in plain black, but lettered BRITISH RAILWAYS. The pics are copyright, so can't put on here, but you can browse the thumbnails before buying the ones you want.

Agreed - the GNER Livery is the best I've seen on these. Grand Central is not bad on their stock. East Coast was also good - reminiscent of the Silver Jubilee look (not that I ever saw the SJ stock in service.

David, I think it's only fair you should elaborate on the received pronuciation of these locations! Regards, Roy

David, That's great - thanks very much. Scared myself earlier, having drilled the sides for grab and door handles (the positions are marked out on the sides to make this easy - I used a pin vice and a very fine drill bit, not trusting myself with my powered mini-drill on these fine etchings) and cut a couple of handles off the etch for a trial fit, while the sides are still flat. They're just about at the limit of what I can see and handle! Still, I think I can manage, but I'm going to make up a small jig around which to form the grab handles. If it does the job, I'll put up a picture. I might be doing a lot of whinging, but these are undoubtedly great kits. REgards, Roy

David, Please could you post a picture of the jig you made for rolling coach sides? I've read the description earlier in the thread, but it would be so easy to get it wrong. Thanks in anticipation. Regards, Roy

David, Yes, there is a battery box on the off-side in the pictures - I should have thought to photograph both sides, of course, but it's an etched front over a 3D-printed rear - no weight to speak of - I could add some white metal or lead behind it - if I keep it to the same profile, or, better still, flat against the underside, it shouldn't be too obvious. The only other available space for weight is in the central lavatory compartment, which isn't large, but has the advantage of frosted windows. I guess the lower the better though. I don't know whether I can bear to take off all the (17) ventilators, in case I make holes in the roof. I might try sanding the roof carefully without removing them - I'll give this some thought and test the filler primer on some scrap to see how much it obscures detail. The most pronounced lines in the 3D-print are longitudinal either side of the flatter central section which holds the vents. I realise I'll have to be very gentle with the sanding to make sure I don't remove the gutters (there must be a specific name for these on a coach) at the roof edges. The (Dapol) bogies are fitted for lighting, with pickups in place - I plan to paint the outside of the pickups, because they stand out too much in those pictures, and I think I'll paint the coupler sockets - they're opaque. Your comments much appreciated. Regards, Roy