Adam

Hi Steve - thanks, not a book I have and, by the sounds of it, I've guessed wrong. Not a catastrophic error and one I'll have to live with, I suppose, though I could replace the mesh with battens? Hmm. Adam

No, just the HMRS images. The walkways are just visible above the top lip and can't really be anything else. The lid is hidden from view in all these works pictures, but you can make out the pressure relief valve: https://hmrs.org.uk/insulation-of-rectangular-tank-wagon-chas-roberts-wagon-built-for-wm-butler-tar-distillers-bristol-order-1619-1648.html The photos of the wagons as complete show them peeking over the sides. I'm not 100% sure about the inset top, but I can't think why else they'd be angle riveted to the cladding. See this image for the clearest view: https://hmrs.org.uk/butler-wm-bristol-14t-rectangular-tank-no-73-tar-distillers-bristol-order-1619.html All this detail is conjecture, I should add, because the photographer in Wakefield didn't think to bring his ladder. I'd love to be proven wrong because then I could get it right, but this is, at least, plausible. Adam

That’s sort of the point - though you can go too far with these specials and I build plenty of normal wagons too - but any layout in the steam era can probably find space for a tar tank as it was a byproduct of town gas production. That said, if you’re going to have one then it may as well be something more interesting than the Slater’s one: there were so many variations. Adam

Well it is Friday night…

It's been a while, hasn't it? Here's a recent project, a tar tank modelled on one of a fleet owned by William Butler of Bristol. It was sort of prompted by picking up a rather nicely finished Slater's kit lettered for that company, but ultimately by the availability of transfers for a Westcountry-based tar distiller from POWSides. The thing is that the fleet I know Butler owned weren't quite like the Slater's kit, charming though the original model - which I've lightly detailed - is: https://hmrs.org.uk/butler-wm-bristol-14t-rectangular-tank-no-73-tar-distillers-bristol-order-1619.html The HMRS Chas Roberts collection has a couple of useful images and these show a 1923 spec' wagon chassis and a heavily insulated tank which is pretty simple to make out of plastic sheet and so I have taken one Parkside underframe (the rest of the wagon will not be wasted): The size comparison is obvious - the scratchbuild is about the size of an SR 8 plank. Here's the complete, unpainted, article: Probably because of the lightweight cladding over the insulation these had catwalks on the top of the tank (just like a round one). I'm not quite sure what they were like so I've added a plausible guess: Time for paint. Adam

It is, as Tony says, very much in the school of Frank Dyer. It’s based on a 100hp Sentinel but with an additional lump to clear the top of a motor bogie. The real thing had a vertical boiler in the cab so it’s not exactly faithful to the prototype! Adam PS - Frank Dyer’s effort was much more in proportion with the real thing!

Hurst just means a wooded hill in Old English (which explains why it's so common), but then, so are any number of tree-related names. The fuel(?) tank looks like a normal 3000 gallon tank to me; the 2000 gallon tanks were noticeably smaller in diameter (LIMA got the diameter spot on). Adam

Interesting stuff, Andy. Don't look too closely at the available RTR milktanks (take it from one who has... and has the shelf-queens to prove it) and enjoy building something that works would be my suggestion initially. The Ruston looks splendid. Adam

The NCB ones were built by Chas Roberts and even BR were turning out all wood hoppers (frames and all) effectively to NER designs so who knows? Adam

Hi Ron, Yes it does. Not quite the complete job then, but the greater circulation space on the bridge will make a big difference (not that I've any intention/need to of head back any time soon). The rebuilds of Acton Mainline and West Ealing should also help - though neither should have made it to the 21st century in the form they were... Thanks, Adam

Thanks for those shots of Ealing Broadway, a vast improvement from what was there before - level access, decent lighting, etc. I wonder what it’s like the other side of the barrier - accessing the down platform always was a pain with a 180 degree turn on quite steep stairs blocked by clustering of passengers at the bottom, something especially bad in the peak. Not the Western Region’s finest hour. Adam

Nice work - there’s a very good detailing kit for the Matador available from Milicast. I have one to finish from that source - will have to retrieve progress to date from the drawer. Adam EDIT: here’s the link - http://www.milicast.com/shop/product.php?productid=2530&cat=0&page=1

The Barclay archives (and drawings) are at Glasgow University: https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/c6033f7d-600a-37d8-98ec-c98913dd81d7 Again, if you’re able to quote the work’s number that is probably the best route. Adam

For some reason these latest shots have a much more accurate rendering of colour than the earlier ones - I approve! Adam

That's stunning work! A rather more sophisticated technique than dad used for his YEC 0-4-0, but the result is well worth it. Adam

Just to show that some things get finished and that I haven't vanished from the face of the earth - and as a thank you to @Enterprisingwestern for supplying the base material, here's the completion of the SECR ballast hopper project. Just a reminder of where we began: One Hornby Trout. Not a bad model, lots of potential to do all sorts of things, including this: The pressed steel doors have come out especially well, I think. Whatever, I haven't seen another and don't suppose I will. It's represented here right at the end of its life working out of Meldon. The rendition of the BR black livery is speculative - all the pictures I have in BR ownership show these in rusty SR engineer's red oxide - a bit of a stretch for 1960ish. Adam

Having seen Steve’s I3 in action I can confirm that it runs very nicely and stays on, even with Mr Sharman’s fine flanges. The varied parentage of South Junction’s p-way (Yeovil MRG’s large EM layout) means trailing wheels left to chance or duff execution are generally shown up quite quickly, mine included... Adam

I’d cut the shaft off (there’s numerous ways of doing that - I wrap the motor in foil and proceed, gently, with a slitting disc in a mini drill). I understand that DCC does away with the need for a flywheel so you can use that space. Adam

Proper job, Stuart. As I remember, the tank gave me grief, too, but at least yours has the 'proper' chimney (much though I like the Giesel that mine wears). A nice kit, otherwise, of an attractively proportioned engine. Adam

It makes no odds whatsoever. 0.06mm (naff all, in this context - as noted above, EM stock is perfectly happy on 18.83mm plain track a full half mm wider) is well within tolerance of what will work. Adam

They ARE under gauge - the samples I have to hand, on the desk at this very moment and on the layout at the other end of the garden, come out at 17.96mm. Adam

It is - and it's referred to in the piece - (thanks for making the kit available by the way). Adam

I’m glad you enjoyed that piece, John, I’m quite pleased with the model and enjoyed writing it. I suspect the Anderson shelter sheds were standard issue as they appear in countless images of prefabs and were usually consistently located across estates. Let’s face it there were enough of the things produced and available for reuse but what I don’t know is whether that was centrally planned as part of the prefab programme or locally instigated. Adam

I reckon that's about 9 ton - something supported by this one: https://zenfolio.page.link/wTxVj Adam

I absolutely love the scale of that warehouse, Stuart. Fantastic! I have a back of the envelope plan (set in northern Italy, in H0 - don't ask...) that involves grain traffic and a backdrop consisting of a great big set of silos. These things have a real presence and are so typical of rail-served industry. Like trees, we tend to make these too small so I really admire the boldness of the execution here. Adam