Shez

Pictures look great Sam. The layout and stock performed well all weekend.

Sam has been working on the bridge and having completed the scribing of the stonework brough it down last night. The second photo is looking towards the goods yard.

Number 648 has arrived in 1904 through a time warp having been rebuilt. She will have to deputize for the as yet unfinished Holmes goods at the exhibition. Meanwhile, a passenger still has to wait a week for a train to Berwick.

just one week to the show now so we had a test run yesterday afternoon.

Spent a morning working on the layout today. First time I had seen the completed water which looks fantastic. Completed the platform edging, and then went on to do the tops of the walls along the back of the platform. Have used DAS rolled into lengths and then (hopefully) secured with a bit of wood glue. The stone toppings were then scribed on. I have also been working on the grounded coach body. (There were actually two but some compression only allows one). Again, like the water tower its one of my "build it from scrap" projects as I have used the original test etch from Jamie Guest's North British six wheelers cut down to four wheel size. Just took it down today to check its going to fit in the space. I had an off cut of roof from a n NBR bogie coach and then it was just off cuts of plasticard, brass sheet and brass tube. for the details.

I Had meant to also load a photograph of the painted water tower in position on the layout. It just needs some more weathering now.

Had a morning at the club and got on with some further work on the platforms today. Almost got the edging completed but ran out of the edging blocks which I have made from stripwood, so I need to cut some more before I can finish. The wooden part of the platform is made from some very thin wooden sheets, which were then scribed with my craft knife to represent the planking. The wood came from the wonderful Calder Graphics in Huddersfield, always a great source of modelling materials. I used embossed plasticard for both the stone and brick sections. The platform surface was of crushed stone. According to the evidence I have read it was not "tarmaced" until world war one. I am planning to use either OO o N gauge ballast to represent this unless someone out there can suggest a better idea. In another development the branch loco and some of the coaches have been fitted with "Flippem" autocouplers , so we should be able to test this out on the layout once we decide where to put the magnets.

Finished construction of the water tower today. The last part was the tank filler on the end which had got me thinking a bit on how to go about it. In the end I used a piece of balsa as a former and used some scrap etch from a coach kit. I cut notches into the side so I could solder it on to the tank. I bit of heatshrink was found for the "bag". The whole thing comes apart for painting which will be the next job. Not so much scratch building as scrap building! Apart from the slaters brick sheet everything came out of my scrap box. I will bring it down to the club and make sure that there is enough clearance on the pipe for passing locos.

Looking at the picture I would say a class E. Later J31. Originally a Wheatley design, rebuilt by Holmes. The giveaway is that they retained the slab sided Wheatley tender with no coal rails as in picture. Quite a few had Westinghouse so they could run mixed. Berwick shed had no 195 so it could well be that loco. Almost identical to a class C In appearance excelpt the C had a Drummond tender.

Got some more work done on the water tank over the last few days as some appropriate bits and pieces appeared from the scrapbox. Firstly I built the water gauge from some pieces of scrap etch and wire from a loco I am building. As I couldn't get a close look on a photo I used a picture of a similar tower elsewhere on the NBR system. I then cut some plasticard to represent the planked over roof of the tank having soldered some bits of etch inside as a support. The scrap box also produced a couple of etched window frames which will be a good fit once I add some sills to the brickwork. I have just blue tacked these on for the picture. Next job is to add the pipe work, both for filling locos and the feeder pipe which was boxed in on the left side of the tank. I cant help feeling there should be a ladder somewhere, but I cant see any evidence of one on any of the photographs. Hope the rest of the team are happy with it so far. I have also started a Class C tender loco. This is a Holmes rebuild of a Drummond 0 6 0 with the curved cab roof. (Later J32) Although the is no direct evidence these worked on the branch I thought It would be a good loco to work a none fitted pick up goods in between the fitted mixed trains. They are very similar to the J31s that are known to have worked the branch.

Been making good progress with the water tower. The tank it self is constructed of scrap brass which was left over after building a couple of NBR bogie coaches, along with some brass wire soldered on and then filed flat for the beading. The basic structure of the brick base is made from laminates of slaters plasticard with the outer layer being embossed brick. With the basic structure complete its now on to detail both the base and the tank. Back to modelling now after a long break resulting form the house move and grandparent duty.

Hi Folks. Its been a while since I was on. Work on the new house and grandparent duties pretty much taking up all my time so the new workshop has had very little use in the last few months. I even skipped Guildex as I decided I have plenty to get on with for the moment. Any work I have got done relates to painting all the models I made in lockdown. I have not posted any pictures as I became quite disillusioned after all the pictures disappeared from this thread. (the NBR bogie coaches just need seats and glazing now. The J35 is being painted and lined, the Director is in primer.) I think that this particular thread may have run its course and therefore will sign it off by thanking everyone who has read it, and everyone who has given me so much help in completing my models. I hope that its initial intention of showing that you didn't need to be an expert to have a go at building kits has provided a bit of inspiration. I hope to get back to modelling regularly in October (once grandchild no 2 is safely here and the weather makes outside jobs difficult) I will post progress on the GOG website, so if you are on their you should be able to catch up on what I am up to. Any further posts on here will probably relate to threads on individual projects. Thanks form Shez, (or Mark if thats what you know me as !)

Will look out for you!

Thanks DOC! I am a NBR study group member. Is it on photos accessible from the website?

Getting on with a few small finishing off projects between jobs on the house. Just wondered if any of you will be at GOG Kettering on Saturday?