doilum

Shelves are like waistlines. They seem to acquire an extra inch or so over the years. This might allow a decoupage approach to a low relief background. There is a lot to be said for a scenic test track, if only as a background to display your later creations / acquisitions.

Did it sit level and correct first time?

In the 90s a solitary 21 ton hopper wagon was stranded in the middle of the former United Glass works in Castleford where it remained for a good decade or more. These sidings were accessed via a wagon turntable with stock propelled by a tractor.

I should also have mentioned the instructions. They won a Design Council award and are the best I have ever seen. Some years ago a manufacturer of budget loco kits told me that he would have to put £20 on the price of each kit to have instructions of that standard. The kit wasn't cheap at just shy of ,£100, well over a week's wage at the time but the quality would match most current kits.

To I had the answer a couple of years ago. It is now in the care of the National Coalmining Museum. It was in one of a series of text books written about 120 years ago for men studying for their mining exams. It came from my late grand father. Chemical composition is only one factor in deciding the characteristics of a particular coal. The density, physical structure and consistency were all important. The previous generation could identify coal from an individual seam by sight, feel and dirt left on the hands. Different coals burned at different temperatures suiting different applications. Anthracite had a high calorific value and burned almost smokelessly.

Far smarter than the blue era?

The more the vegetation, the shorter the survival time?

The tenders were quite easy ( I have done five) using a strip of 10 thou Plastikard and insulating the mounting screw using part of a discarded fountain pen cartridge. I am under no illusions that something with outside valve gear like the WD might be more challenging so I will probably start with the J25. Still it should provide a low cost project for the winter lockdown!

Exactly why I intend looking at insulating the loco frames from the superstructure.

If I recall correctly from Jim Snowdon's build, the errors in this kit were much more fundamental. These were the pre internet days when it was more difficult to check the accuracy of diagrams and the lack of a surviving prototype wouldn't have helped. Now of course it is very different and we have the 82045 as an amazing resource. This is also, I suspect a hand drawn kit from a previous century when expectations were lower and it wasn't unknown for the draughtsman to take small liberties in order to stay within the confines of the available etch. As part of my ,82004 journey I discovered that the original Triang model was redrawn to fit an existing mechanism and is far from being dimensionally correct. One day, three hours after I finally finish ,82004, Bachman will announce a RTR 3MT for around £500!

No need for isolated draw bar if the frames are insulated and the draw bar attached to the superstructure. Hi

Mentioned elsewhere recently. I have a sheet of thin ply with a strip of hardwood along one side. The cutting mat sits on top. I have a cheap flat metal square of 30x20 CMS and this is my default method of cutting Plastikard. Weapon of choice is the Xacto #2.

The bit they miss is that all kits should be built DC. Only when fully tested and sorted and running perfectly should a chip be installed. Otherwise the invisible gremlins of dcc make mechanical and current collection issues difficult to isolate and resolve.

I have a couple of tender locos which use the American collection system. Eventually I plan to fit a chip to allow them to use the club layout which is dcc. The tender chassis is totally isolated from the body, I need to do the same with the loco to avoid any potential shorting out.

Bow ended? Cut overlength and shape with a Dremel to finish with a file.

And to prove my point: on what has been a lively and quick witted thread, no-one has replied!

Coal: justification to run a gaudy PO wagon that takes your fancy, or has links to your ancestral roots. Malted barley: vans or in sacks in open wagons with tarpaulins. Hops: vans. Probably railway owned but linked to the south east. Bottles: probably vans. In BR days an excuse for a shock van or two. Final product: ditto. Pre war, perhaps an excuse to commission a couple of vans in the brewery colours. Enjoy. One of my early layouts, Kirby Riverside, had a brewery to hide the fiddle yard. A wagon turntable might help entertain.

Some very careful measurement from one end to draw the line over the roof. Follow the line carefully with a piercing saw to create a score line before attempting to cut through. If the surplus is scrap I might be tempted to use the chop saw or even band saw leaving a fraction to clean up with a file.

Only a tiny dint is needed to get a 1mm pilot started.

A sliver of Microstrip can be used to compensate for the material lost to the saw. The trick is to reassemble the parts against a steel straight edge just like building a Kirk kit.

This is another job for the rivet drop tool.

Speaking from the safety of the larger scale, the real challenge is that of current collection. A topic surprisingly rarely discussed on this forum.

Just a head up. Check the crankpin throw on the wheels you have purchased. For many years I had that "extra" set of wheels that wouldn't clear the footplate on an LNER N2. This will have the same challenge.

And the answer is: not as good as you will be when you finish. There have been several excellent threads on soldering skills, a complete soldering iron kit can be had for under £25 and etched kits contain plenty of scrap to practice on, what is there not to like!

A word with your local tyre fitter might result in some freebies from the scrap bucket. The weights need to be replaced each time a tyre is fitted.