Caley Jim

I've built 11 locos so far without any machine tools, other than an old Black and Decker drill and a minidrill. These include total scratch-builds, white metal and etched kits and from my own etches. As @VRBroadgauge as said, it's a matter of having a go and learning from your mistakes. Jim

Highland Cathedral bring a lump to my throat. I walked my youngest daughter down the aisle to that! Couldn't sing the first hymn. Jim

Well, if that doesn't restore your mojo and spur you on, nothing will! Jim

NBR wagon seems to have lost the hoop off one of the end door hinges. Jim

Commiserations to you both from me too, Jerry. Pets become part of the family and it's never easy losing one, whether it's your own or is part of one of your family's family. Still miss the Beagles my daughter had, though the last one passed away several years ago. Jim

My friends (wooden) cabin now has metal sheeting about 3ft up the walls and also round the uprights supporting the roof over the veranda after the cockies attacked them (the walls and uprights, not the people!) one year. At a neighbouring cabin they actually got through the walls and made a mess of the interior! Jim

Was there not a Kookie around to do the 'benevolent policeman' bit and keep them all in order as we used to see at my friend's cabin in Halls Gap? Jim

Derbyshire? The North? That's almost the Deep South from where I'm sitting! Jim

Aye, that'll be shining bright! Jim

And why not, might I ask? CR 0-4-4T's always had the guard irons on the bogies, same with 4-4-0's. Surely that kept them directly over the rails? Moderators, can we please, please have a 'thumbs down' rating? What you want is a full pipes and drums, WITH SOUND! I could stand in front of that layout all day! 😁👍 Jim

Somewhere I have a copy of similar drawings for the Caledonian Railway, who referred to these as 'swivel wagons'. Their 'General Instructions relating to Goods Mineral and Live Stock Traffic' state in Rule 97: Long timber and iron, requiring more than two wagons, must be loaded so as not to bind the whole of the wagons too tightly together. Swivel or Bolster trucks must be used when possible. Guard trucks, or under-runners, may be used when necessary, to ensure safe transit. and within Rule 98: ....Rails, Bars, Plates &c., on Bolster or Swivel truck, must have the chains wrapped round, and not merely tightened over them, and the trucks must be coupled together as tightly as possible to prevent the loads shifting in transit. There is also an instruction for guards to examine such loads at every stop. Jim

I never have and never will support independence, but if the SNP can't manage their own finance, what chance would an independent Scotland have in their hands? We'd be back to the reason for the union in the first place! Jim

On a phone-in program on BBC Radio Scotland yesterday a caller said that all 5 year olds should be taught the 4 'R's. Reading, writing, arithmetic and realism. They should also be taught what an oxymoron is and that the biggest oxymoron is an 'honest politician'. There is no such thing in the entire world! Jim

I've done little on my Kirkallanmuir layout itself over the past two years, other than playing trains a bit of maintenance work, however I have added two locos to the fleet along with a set of three 65ft carriages (see link in signature). I've also been doing some work for our area group layout http://2mmfcag.blogspot.com/ so have not been idle, but doing rather as @Andy_C has said. Currently almost finished drawing up the artwork for an appropriate loco for the Glasgow and Edinburgh Direct set. Jim

Is that a beagle perchance? If so, you have my sympathies! Good to have you back here, James. Having been through a period of Ill health earlier in the year (major bowel op) I can confirm that modelling is the answer! Now what was the question? Jim

This reflects the fact that a large part of the CR's traffic was in coal from mainly (but not only) the Lanarkshire coalfield. Of that 65,615 1905 total, no less than 42,885 (65.3%) were mineral wagons, including many early 'bogies' of 6 or 7 ton nominal capacity. These latter were replaced by larger wagons and the company tried to introduce high capacity wagons, vis. the 30T bogie wagons, but were thwarted by the intransigence of customer industries to upgrade their handling facilities to accommodate these. They also had proposals in 1901 for 15T and 20T long wheelbase steel mineral wagons, but these were likely to have encountered problems on sharply curved colliery lines and it assumed this was the reason for not proceeding with them. Jim

I was simply quoting the CR's own publicity! 😁 Jim

That's because the Caledonian was The True Line! 😀 Jim (windae picked)

Did the removers do a first class job, or just good enough? Hope you settle in well and find where everything was packed! Jim

Another example of WSLR livery lurking in the background! 😉 Jim

We have a few in the Forth and Clyde AG, all of whom are involved with Burntisland 1883. Jim

Pith helmets at the ready? Jim

Of course. I'd forgotten that that was the answer to everything! 😁 Jim

When using a round file for a reamer, aways rotate it anticlockwise. That way it won't jam. Jim

The AI might? Can you ask it? Jim 🤔