Caley Jim

But then all the b****y jam slides off!! I'm just back from the Perth show (Perth being near Scone (the ooon one) -so there's a link) and, for my money, one of the best layouts was 'Overlord' and there's another link. Jim (how's that for linking diverse topics on this ever more convoluted thread while keeping it still on model railways?)

That's a nice job you've done there! Hope you found the kit reasonably straight forward. BTW the kit is in nickel silver, not brass. N/s is much easier to work with and solder than brass. Jim

The only jogs I made were for getting the lengths of the hook and tail correct, one for winding the coils and one for setting them the correct distance from the headstock. To get the angles correct I simply have a piece of paper with the angles drawn on it. I'm up in Perth this weekend, but I'll post the references to the articles in the 2MM Magazine when I'm home. They do need to be set up accurately but the coil sprung version are fairly robust and I find rarely need adjusting. There is a fairly steep learning curve for them, though. Jim

Don't think you get much for grandchildren these days. We used to take our, now teenage, ones to Lanark Market of a Monday, but the general consensus there was that we would need to pay someone to take then off our hands! ;-( Jim

My objection to the Electra is the fact that you have to do a 'soft-shoe-shuffle' over the magnet to disengage them. With AJ's you just activate the magnet as the vehicles are propelled over it. Also, being made from p/b wire, they tarnish to a dark brown which is almost invisible! Jim

Looking after the 4year old grandson? Jim AKA 'need you Papa'

When shall we five meet again... Jim (with apologies to WS)

With difficulty!! Jim

The roads round there seem to be pretty soft and muddy! It's almost up to its axles in it in places!! Jim

Moderators, can we please have a 'not like' button? Jim

It's more a case of what exactly do you call the shade of blue. The CR appears to have had a fairly dark ultramarine blue to begin with, which was later changed to a royal blue. Yes, the lighter blue was as a result of the painters mixing in white. They were paid per locomotive and as the blue didn't cover well, and so needed several coats, mixing in the white required fewer coats. I have to confess that many CR locos looked rather handsome in red in later years, but then they were handsome locos anyway. However, that period is far too modern for my taste! Jim

'Chocolate' and 'lake' seem to have been interchangeable descriptions from what I can gather. Jim

Blue with lake frames and lined black and white is, of course, the only proper livery for passenger locos! Jim

Should that not have flanged wheels if it's to run on rails? :-) Jim

That certainly looks a lot better than your average N-gauge turnout, especially in the crossing area. I don't know about calling it FS148 as N-gauge RTR seems to be to an 'elastic' scale. I'm currently drawing up an etch for a footbridge for the 'Dunallander' project (the layout started by the late Neil Ballantyne which the 2MM SA Grampian Group are completing), based on the one formerly at Dunblane and now at Bridge of Dun. We have had to increase the clearance above rail level to almost 29mm in order to let some re-wheeled N-gauge locos through. Jim

Barrels? Crates? Bricks? Blocks of stone? Pipes? Open wagons were occasionally used for carrying coal, roadstone etc. Jim

I Printed some on dried out tea bags. Drew it out in CAD, printed it on a sheet of paper, fixed the tea bag over the printout with sellotape and then ran the paper through the printer again. It was attached to the wagon with little bits of double sided tape. Jim

Try this link http://www.brightontoymuseum.co.uk/index/Category:Sir_Eric_Hutchison . Found by not including 'Colonel' in the search. Jim

Or 'No Parking' ones? Jim

Since Martin's system is based on a Canadian one for N-gauge, I wouldn't have thought it would be too difficult to adapt for what you are after. I will direct martin to this thread and he may be able to advise. Jim

Thanks njee20. The search facility wouldn't give me any link. Jim

This interesting link was recently posted on the Caledonian Railway Association Forum https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/viaduct-refurbishment-uncovers-war-time-damage# . Jim

A 'mousehole' can be well disguised if there are prominent scenic features around it which divert your eye. Nice to see the brass and nickel silver livery getting an airing! Jim Edited to correct predictive text (again)!

Where the guard's compartment was at the end of the vehicle that end was painted vermilion (as were the end of goods brakes and full brakes). There is some doubt as to the situation where the guard's compartment was in the centre of the vehicle, including the possibility that the ends of the duckets were vermilion. Jim

My apologies to you. I read your original post as suggesting that the wheels on either side should be at 6 o'clock. On re-reading now I see that you were referring to the wheels on the same side. Jim