Ben Alder

Good to see the tender getting a new lease of life- the axleboxes and side frames generally on my Bens have been a cop-out really. I just hacked away at the axleboxes and filled in the cutouts to get an approximation that would do until I tracked down some better looking axleboxes- which I haven't done yet Looks like I'm going to be shamed into doing something about it though .......

A couple that I posted on my layout thread recently, but which might fit in here. A Highland backwater. End of the day.

Fear not- a red liveried Ben is half finished in the workshops, waiting on me either bothering firing up the airbrush or finding a suitable acrylic spray topcoat- any suggestions gratefully received. There then is the question of lining, and these two things have been enough to shove what is really an indulgence onto the backburner. Anyone who has looked at my layout thread will know I'm not short of a Ben or two ........

To continue the elderly pre-group engine theme- many thanks for all the likes,BTW- appreciated- here is a "what if". The last HR 4-4-0 survived till 1953 and then wandered, unwanted it seems, around the back of sheds till it was scrapped in 1967, but what if it was resurrected alongside the other Scottish groupers that had an Indian summer till 1965. As part of 54398's "problem" was that it had been rebuilt by the LMS and thus wasn't in original state, then might BR lined black been a suitable livery. Here it is ,caught in sunlight, coming off Helmsdale shed.

- not guilty- I gleaned my stockpile a couple of years ago when they were much cheaper.....Bargains are few and far between now- perhaps I started a trend! They're still a lot less than Romfords and gearboxes and trying to get kits ideas of chassis up and working though.

Another view of an elderly Highland engine taking its last years easy, with some shunting - no more piloting over Slochd for it.....

The photographer possibly presses the shutter before he has properly composed the picture as an elderly 0-6-0 does some shunting at Helmsdale sometime in the Fifties.

Settling the engine down at the end of a shift- a Highland backwater.

Sounds interesting- I wish more would examine the possibilities of altering R-T-R- good old fashioned modelling! I never put down anything regarding the wheels, but it involves levering them off the axle and fitting and quartering by eye- it is quite easy if you squint through the spokes and line them up at 90o. I pressed them home by hand onto a back to back gauge and tweaked any irregularities and wobbles till they ran smoothly. Not an engineers approach by any means, but all four run very smoothly now

Another little gem- Highland Buses- full of colour images that are bound to get the imaginative juices flowing. Well worth adding to the Scottish collection,IMO. Highland Buses by John Sinclair Amberley Publishing £14.99 978-1-4456-1473-1

Train spotting at Helmsdale 1958- for some reason two Hikers are on shed - makes a change from a Caley 4-4-0.

Yes, 1646 and 1649, both looked after at Helmsdale when not at work on the Dornoch branch. SR, and GW ones for that matter, were not uncommon in Scotland. Glorious days......

Thanks,-it's the eponymous Hills and Dales backscene from Art Printers that so many have used successfully for layouts based the length and breadth of Britain- it really deserves some sort of award for its versatility, and is to my mind , just about the best of the various backscenes that have appeared over the last few years. IIR, he said it was taken along the course of the closed CR main line in Angus, but it translates easily to a lot of locations without turning into that "Superquick" product that was ubiquitous without ever being relevant. The photo was taken in direct sunlight, which usually is too strong for any model illustration, but it seemed to work in this instance, but more often an overcast sky can produce enough "scale" light to illuminate a scene adequately for our purposes. As an aside, here is another one I took at the same session.

Here is one, of a pannier far from home.

I noticed my mention here the other day, and intended to reply sooner- look in now and then, but spent a couple of nights reading through the thread with great interest- so much space! - but this has to be measured against that other precious asset- time- and I think you have the right balance for such an impressive set up with the Peco track.Despite its glaring shortcomings, it works, and removes a lot of barriers to progress quickly. Layout building is always a compromise, and everyone strikes a balance suitable to their own priorities, which can seem sometimes questionable to viewers, but we all know our own strengths and weaknesses in the hobby, and if it is going to be enjoyable, then this have to be a factor in the build. My own set up is tiny compared to this, and much of the viewing will be fairly close up, so the Peco points are far to visible to ignore, hence my mods. I wouldn't begin to start doing it on a layout like this, but it is is a stunning recreation of an express line, and the eye will be drawn to the moving trains rather than the minutiae as is the case for me.

At the risk of going slightly off topic, welcome aboard- it's good to see another HR modeller here- and hope you enjoy your stay, Any chance of a layout build thread? I used the Scottish Record Office many years ago when I was pursuing a NB based project, which never saw the light of day, but can say that the amount of railway information there was mind boggling, and is a largely untapped asset.

Just published- The Last Days of Scottish steam- an all colour collection of Bill Reed's photos from the last decade of steam. A very nice collection- all new AFAIT- and covering many of the smaller engines overlooked by some of the other colour photographers of the time. I found it full of modelling inspiration, not to mention nostalgia, and recommend it to all enthusiasts of that era. The Last Days of Scottish Steam Peter Tuffrey Great Northern 978-0-9572951-7-9

I use UHU for fitting coal to tenders.

A real change for you, Shaun, and all the best with your plans and future. There's plenty of railway inspiration in Edinburgh though- especially in the old freight lines, so be careful- you might be heading off in a new direction......... Richard

More innovative and creative work from you- an inspiration to those who want to get something done by themselves.

Delighted to see you on the forum- welcome aboard. You were one of my inspirations when I was a lot younger, and followed your articles avidly; in fact went through a spell of narrow gauge modelling until I decided that 9mm wasn't for me, but look forward to more of these postings with great interest.

Modellers Mecca do a similar range to these.

As are we all

Here's a link - http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=89&t=49048 -some lovely stuff there.

Just found this here - marvellous stuff- I had seen in on YMR, but its good to see it getting a wider audience- more please