Caley Jim

Valences and the longitudinal beam have been fitted, ready to start on the pillars. Again this has made it a much more rigid structure. Jim

This was often done on 1st April. Other errands were to go for along stand, a left handed screwdriver or a bucket of steam! Jim

Do you know a man who knows a man who can get you that at a very good price, no questions asked? Jim

I agree entirely with @Andy Hayter. A result as good as that is always worth the effort Definitely! Procrastination is the enemy of progress! Jim (whose never got round to joining the Procrastination Society)

The ten bays have now been assembled, seen here on the plan with the main building. Next job to bend down the tabs and solder on the valences. Jim

Locarno? Blackpool Tower? or maybe the Barrowlands? Jim

Tuesday's dreich weather up here meant I got a bit more done. A further 3 bays added. and how it fits against the station master's house and waiting rooms. Only the three long bays to go! Jim

It was traditional to have a 'Clootie* Dumplin' ' at Christmas which had silver thre'p'nys wrapped in grease-proof paper mixed through it. Jim * so called because it was boiled wrapped in a cloth, or 'cloot', in Scots

Other coins are available: Though generally only in Christmas puddings! Jim

The verdict is a unanimous 'Guilty! - of very high class workmanship as always'. Puts us mere mortals to shame. Jim

Caledonian saddle tanks had 'C . R' on the sides of the tank. Jim

First four bays of the Up platform canopy. As before, the tabs at the end and sides will be bent down to allow attachment of the valences. This fits against the building, so there is no valence at the back, but there is a strip to be attached across there to support the edge. Jim

The late John Boyle advised me to undercoat CR coaches in black as it produced a richer tone to the purple brown. See the results in my recent thread on building one of his coach kits. Jim

Stunning as always, Mike. Jim

You always know the faults in your own work. It's only by acknowledging them to yourself that you improve. Educationalists would call it 'reflective learning' I believe. Jim

Following a good clean with Flash Bathroom cleaner (other household cleaners are available) the 20thou styrene gutters have been fitted which gives the whole thing a more finished look. Especially in end profile. Pity I didn't notice that the left hand end bottom corner wasn't soldered down properly! Attention will now turn to the canopy for the up platform. Jim

Paul, does that mean all of the roofs have warped? Jim

If you scroll down this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartan to the section on The Dress Act 1746. you'll see that tartan was included in the proscription. Most present day setts are indeed modern inventions and new patterns are often being introduced for specific events or even towns. E.g. Peebles has its own tartan designed to celebrate the centenary of the Beltane Festival, one of the Common Riding events of the Border towns. Jim

Only until the wearing of tartan was banned following the '45! Edited to add that strictly speaking tartan is a type of cloth, not the pattern. Jim

Could ModelU be persuaded to do a Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson? The etches of brackets arrive yesterday, so they have now all been fitted. The apparent angle of some of the pillars is camera distortion. They are all perfectly vertical! Seen better in this inverted view. The original fret I was given appeared to be in phosphor bronze as it has a very 'coppery' appearance. These new ones are brass. They grip the building, but it can still be easily removed. The eagle eyed will spot the top ends of the downpipes projecting through the valences. They are in different positions on either side of the canopy. Jim

Yes, I was aware of that typo @Asterix, and that the Battle of Prestonpans was fought across it. Jim

I always find it much easier to add as much as possible while the underframe is in the flat, with the exception of footboards. Tried that once - never again! Folding down the solebars without distorting the footboards was well nigh impossible! What is the wheelbase and how tight a curve will it go round, being rigid with presumably no sideplay in the centre axle? Jim

You can cut 5thou brass in the same way as you would styrene with a sharp craft knife, but taking many more strokes. To stop it curling up don't start the cut right at the edge. Jim

This was standard practice to form a 'leader', effectively a 'crumple zone' in modern day parlance. where trains were being divided to run forward in separate sections it was sometimes necessary for spare brake vehicles to be available to form a leader if one portion was not going to have a brake compartment next to the loco. Often trains which were to be divided would have two brake vehicles 'back to back' inthe centre of the train where the division would take place. Jim

Another way to secure the bogies is to solder the nut onto a piece of scrap etch. Make the length of the pivot screw such the when you screw the nut down tight the bogie can still pivot and rock. Easy to take them off and on and no need for glue. It's also a good idea to arrange the bogie mounting such that one bogie can rock on the longitudinal axis and the other on a transverse axis. The latter then keeps the coach stable when running, while between them giving a degree of compensation. See the link in my post above for both these points. Jim