Caley Jim

My object all sublime I shall achieve in time To let the punishment fit the crime The punishment fit the crime..... (Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado) Jim

Unfortunately, I don't think there is a cure for that (yet)! Perhaps if you stood in front of the National Gallery on the Mound and viewed a procession of non-descript multiple units trundling in and out of Waverley it might help. Jim

There was a similar arrangement in Union Terrace Gardens in Aberdeen. Bottom left of the photos. Jim

I won't be fitting the Association crankpins as I have always turned my own in the minidrill. The wheels were spray painted (acrylic matt black from a rattle can) yesterday and I turned up one crankpin before we went out for the evening. It will probably be tomorrow before I get round to doing the rest of the crankpins as I have a batch of new member forms to enter into the membership database and the church website to update first. Jim

They are made by the same process a the new ones, but are a special order. The beauty of the new process is that 'specials' can be produced at much the same cost (depending on the size of the wheels). Jim

On the subject of locos, why not get a proprietary diesel which will take drop in replacement wheelsets? That will get you something to run and test track with. You can then later replace the original wheels and dispose of it on a well known auction site or via the Association VAG. Jim

I picked up the wheels from the PO today (they arrived yesterday, but we were out when they were delivered). 3D printed stainless steel centres. They are superb!! Many thanks to both Nigel and Alan. First job will be to make a card mask for the flanges and get them painted. There are two sets as we could fit that many into the print. Jim

Hi Ed, Welcome to 2FS and to the Association. I can only respond to your first question as I have never used N-guage stock. My advice is to read up all you can on soldering, but I would very much agree with Don's advice and avoid lead-free solder like the plague!! You need three things for successful soldering (apart that is from solder!). Clean metal, flux and plenty heat. What you are doing with soldering is creating a surface alloy between the metal and the solder and then uniting these two layers of alloy. For this you need the flux and the heat. I use a temperature controlled iron, ERSA RDS80, with a 2mm wide chisel bit, running at 300°C for most work. The wide bit and high wattage gets heat in there quickly and reliably. Searching on line they are much pricier now than when I bought mine several years ago, but in my opinion and from experience it is well worth it. Others may recommend a cheaper alternative. For kit assembly etc I generally use Carrs 180° solder paint, which has the solder as a fine powder suspended in liquid flux. Tinning, as Don describes, is not always necessary with this and you can produce really neat joints without too much excess solder, though I do also use plumbers solder where I want a fillet to reinforce the joint. I also use paste flux (Fluxite) from time to time. BTW, if you do get too much solder in a joint and want to remove it, it can be carved away with a sharp craft knife or scalpel as solder is much softer than brass or nickel silver. You also need a thin layer of solder on the bit and a clean bit. The best thing I've found for cleaning the bit is the 'pan scourer' type https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Soldering-Tip-Cleaning-Sponge-Industrial-Wire-Tip-Cleaners/182946/bn_7115759337 . If you can get hold of some scraps of metal, I have stacks of etch fret surround and I'll happily post you some if you would like - PM me, then practice by soldering them together, edge to edge (to form an angle), edge to flat and 'sweating' them together, i.e. flat surface against flat surface. You must let the iron dwell until you see the solder flow - DO NOT be tempted to give it a quick stab with the iron - and you then must hold the parts together until they cool below the melting point of the solder. As Don says, it's not the black art that some would make out and practice and experience will soon dispel that myth. Nickel silver is generally more user-friendly to solder than brass as doesn't conduct the heat away quite so quickly. Having someone to mentor you to begin with would be a great help, so when you get your Association joiner's pack, look in the yearbook to see if there is an area group near you who will be only too willing to help. but don't hesitate to ask questions either here or on the Association VAG. Jim

I wouldn't worry about the paper slates swelling. I've used acrylic paint without any problems painting slates cut from both 80gsm and newsprint paper. Jim

Could the barn and the oasthouse be swapped over? That way the taller barn would hide more of the exit holes in the backscene and the oasthouse would be less dominant at the front than the barn. Jim

Could Kelso be about to rival Falkirk as a centre for bus building? To be fair, Alexanders only build the bodies on other makers chassis, whereas Kelso are building chassis for existing bodies! Jim

Nah! that's a pub on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh. It used to be just inside the city walls, so was at the end of the world as far as Edinburgh folk were concerned. Infamous through the 'Worlds End murders'. Two girls who went missing in 1977, last seen leaving the pub. They were found murdered and it wasn't until 2014 that their killer was convicted. Jim

Nearly as good as 'No Place'! (Which does exist) Jim

As an occasional sufferer of migraines myself, I can fully sympathise. You just have to give in and try to sleep it off. Thankfully mine rarely last more than 24hrs. Jim

The coaches are Tri-ang ones if I'm not mistaken. These 0-4-0St pugs never carried that Westinghouse fitted livery, only the two 0-4-2ST' varients that were used on the Killin branch. Jim

On this advice I purchased a bottle from Eileen's and have applied it to some areas, mainly parts of the main chassis which might be visible, any vulnerable edges of the body (including the steps and the coupling hooks) and the 'ashpan' section of the rear compensating beams. The results can be seen in this post on my '......Jubilee.......' thread. Jim

On advice from the 'Any Questions' thread I purchased a bottle of Birchwood Casey Aluminium Black from Eileen's and have applied it to some areas, mainly parts of the main chassis which might be visible, any vulnerable edges of the body (including the steps and the coupling hooks) and the 'ashpan' section of the rear compensating beams. I'm very happy with the results, though it didn't work on the area around the wormwheel shaft bearings (which will just be visible in front of the firebox) due to the amount of solder used to ensure the bearings were secure. I also tried some on the chimney, but it was less successful there, though it has blackened the inside quite well. Jim

While waiting on the wheels coming for my 0-6-0ST I've put Neil's horsebox through Biggar Works. It has had the DG's removed, brake pipes, coupling hooks with screw couplings and AJ couplings fitted. The solebars and headstocks have been painted black and the footboards painted 'weathered wood'. It is now ready to enter service! The lettering and number are not quite correct, but I'll live with that!

I wouldn't like to take a broken pay packet home to her of a Friday! Jim

A point to remember is that the RCH specifications were really about bringing together a set of standards which were 'best practice' at the time and, as Andy says, were mainly about underframes, buffing and running gear as these were the aspects which most related to reliability of wagons and were the things which determined whether any company would register the wagon for use on their (and therefore other) line. Different wagon builders had their own style of body, sometimes determined by the customer. Jim

Annie, I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that you and your fellow New Zealanders are in my thoughts and prayers as you come to terms with the tragedy surrounding the volcano eruption. Jim

I agree entirely with Poggy1165. I would add that you can't do too much to make it look 'used'. After all, the more used it was, the heavier would be the weathering'. Jim

If you can paint the bolections before inserting the glazing, do it by lightly loading the brush with paint, passing it through the opening and using the side of the brush to apply the paint. Jim

The CR coach livery was officially purple brown and white. The bolections were mahogany with the recess between them and the beading white. Jim

Note the acronym on his shirt!! Jim