Northroader

I did wot you said, following links until I ended up in 19 pages of porth byhan, (new to me, and most useful for a West Country line in the planning stages). hAving seen this, and now knowing your capabilities, I'll watch developments with great interest, although worried by your time deadline. very best of luck.

Another bright suggestion, then. (You know how it is, you hit the post button and then think "noooo", thank you for your forbearance ). What about reviving something you never see these days - stud contact? You could place these in random grouping close on either side of your running rail poking up through the weeds and the elephant poo, so they wouldn't be so obvious. Looking at the pictures various kind folks have sent in, there would seem to be plenty of room for collector skates to dangle unobserved under the coach. With the reed switch thing you'd need a further magnet to return them to the original setting for the next circuit, or another train wired up backwards following the first, if you follow me.

On modelling the Indian scene, I suspect with your micro layout interests, you would be familiar with carendt.com, there's a German guy on there doing very good scenes for a Darjeeling - Himalaya line you could draw on, pages 96a and 86a, for example? Me, I've been no further than Glassy Junction.

Shouldn't it be possible to make the road surface with a dull, rough finish that is still conductive? Then you could still have a return through the balance wheel. I seem to remember that oxen could be used as well as steamers?

Now it's in black it's a very impressive loco, and a very nice model. Until you started it I had never heard of this class, which shows what a sheltered life I've had. With that long coupled wheelbase it would just laugh at the curves thru the points on my line. Now I want to see something painted blue, please. I'm knocked out by your workshops programme, moving St. Rollox, not the other place, to Gt.Yarmouth, should keep you going til Xmas. One tip If you do an M7 conversion, I tried making a NBR big 044T, which looks a dead ringer for the Caley equivalent, and it went well until I dropped the boiler to the right pitch, when I found the boiler came too close to the driving wheel flanges. As you're only chasing 4" and I suppose the boiler and footplate are a single moulding I expect you'll not bother?

Referring back to the Stationmasters post #905, - sorry, I've only just seen it - mentioning the signal gantry that folded up when the signal head was lowered on it at Westbourne Park when Paddington was re signalled. Yes, a S&T contact I had told me that the guy doing the design was out by a factor of 10 in his calculations, something to do with metrication. I kid you not.

Looking thro the pictures you posted about a month ago of your loft job. I've been in my loft for years, originally uninsulated. That was hell, there were two windows of a few weeks in April and September when you could do anything, and I measured a temperature difference over the year of 40degRees, which would tear the solder joins on the tracks without expansion joins and bonding. I've now got the full monty, well worth it. Have you discussed ventilation with your lad? It could still get pretty warm in summer otherwise. Hoping that you're recovering well from your medical setback and able to push on with your vision.

I joined this thread at about page 20, when I thought the new Terrier will be out, what do people think? Then I posted #499 about coaches for it. Since then I've read the thread from the start, it's been a long wait but you've all had such fun. I don't claim to be a Brighton expert, some of the folks on this thread have a marvellous low-down on these engines. I'm building a small BLT with short points, and need small tank engines pulling short coaches, as much from perversity playing trains rather than following the high standards that should be aspired to. The LBSC 1880 style fitted the requirements I wanted.

I'm daft posting a picture of my work when Dapol's product has now appeared, and I think they should be congratulated on doing a model of this quality for the price it is. The points I want to show, are:

A) an AnD coach kit made up. The appalling lack of detail underneath is entirely down to me, must do better.

B) a grotty loco from my fair hands, the point here being the colour. Some time back I was talking to that nice Mr.Phoenix, and he wouldn't give me a tin of the paint I wanted for another line because he'd never found a reliable sample to form a match, the point being he is producing Improved Engine Green, No.476, and this, unadulterated, is what the loco is painted. You can allow that a sample from a full size loco is dark on a model, but to me it's rather like mustard, the Dapol engine is English mustard, mine is French mustard. I know from experience that the colour a loco. Is painted can guarantee a punch-up, sits back and waits....

Here is my post, those of a sensitive disposition may wish to leave the room now:

Yes, AnD "aids to modelling" - not kits. First the usual disclaimer, no money going into my pocket, guv. I've had some and made one up so far and quite pleased with it. you get a pack of white plastic sheets to build up in layers, i.e. Mouldings, panels with window openings, backing with window holes and drop light frames, sandwich sheet with pockets for glazing, and backing sheet with window holes. All the sheets are cut partway through (laser?) and the waste can quickly be pushed out. if you've ever tried to cut out a "cake plate doily" type of moulding sheet you'll know what a boon this is. Then stick together, paint, put the glazing in, and you've got a coach side with proper mouldings, which is the worst part of coach making out of the way easily and cheaply. There are also ends, floor, roof, and partitions in the sheet, but at some stage you will probably want to beef up the body a bit with some thicker sheet. Then it's underframe, wheels couplings buffers and general details to find and make. It's the cheapest way to get going with some decent coaches in O that I've found.

His range is for 4wheel coaches, I've had LBSC 5comp. 2/3class, 4comp. 1st, 3comp brake 3rd. They're labelled as Billington stock, but I gather it's just roof height and profile to chanGe to backdate to Stroudley stock. Just right for the Terrier. there's also LSWR 4wheel stock, good for The IoW idea, and also some GNoSR 6wheelers. He's a rare bird for shows, possibly a phone call, Dennis Tillman, 01329-286839.

The other way to get Terrier coaches is buying the equivalent complete kits, obviously a dearer but simpler, from www.roxeymouldings.co.uk. I haven't tried any of their products, so unable to comment further.

Will I be buying a Terrier? Well, the price is the most realistic pitch for a model RTR O gauGe loco you'll get. I dunno if it will take my curves, which are very tight; and jUst looking at photos, I have misgivings about the shade of improved engine green it's turned out in. Pity.

hello, it's me back, I've had a bit more time to look thru your blog today, and I'm really impressed with your work, such as the way you can get a 2P to turn into a U2. Your details of wagon weathering are good, one thing I usually do is to daub on a very thin wash of Matt black with a load of white spirit in it, then wipe off straight away with a tissue or rag. This leaves the corners darker and in particular the grooves of the plank joins. you need to be careful that the spirit doesn't attack any previously applied paint and leave light patches. To finish off I use chalk, the pastel stuff from an art shop. Black, pale brown, umber brown and sienna brown also possibly grey. I rub these, one at a time, on some emery paper, to get powder, then sprinkle over where I want, such as the light brown to fetch the axle guard area up, sienna on brake blocks, black for streaks on roofs, then brush in dry with an paintbrush, sideways across the roof. the gain is if you don't like it you can wash it off with water, which you can't with paint. early in your blog you say you don't like Matt varnish, I presume Humbrol. I was having trouble, either it would dry with shiny patches or it would dry with whitish streaks. I sent my tin back to Humbrol with a moaning letter (not like in Hogwarts) and got a very nice reply back with said tin and a card to which they had applied some varnish out of the tin, perfectly flat. The secret is to stir very thoroughly with a spatula, very thoroughly. They didn't say, but I think what give the flatness is very fine particles, rather like talcum powder, which are in suspension, and have to be really mixed in well before you start to paint. anyhow hope this is of use. seeing all your Irish stuff and links has got me thinking, even if I am busy with other lines right now!

That German plane just doesn't look right, does it? No wonder they lost the war. I came across your blog this evening, and fascinated by your output, both the quality, detail, and choice of prototype. I dabble in Irish railways, with a short NCC train and some more in MGWR and GSWR, and in 7mm scale, only standard bRitish gauge rather than 5'3", so I can use the stock on my layout with other stuff. it looks as if you're doing the same, very sensible. Keep up the good work, this is a really useful blog.

Crikey, to get all those assorted bits to come together, and run, and start to look like a Caley loco, Steve, you're a genius. I'm assuming your abortive trip to the model shop was for brass tube? I checked out my stuff but I ain't got none the right sizes, sorry. Keep up the good work.

Really good looking layout. it all takes time, but you've stuck in and made a masterpiece. well done.

Yesterday after tea my pen pal from Cape Town rang. Ach, he says, we're having a terrible winter, really cold. What do you call cold? I asks. Oooh, about 15 degrees, he says. After ending the call, I went outside, overcast, windy, occasional showers, and looked at our outside thermometer. what was the reading? Yeah, you guessed right!

Regarding the "metallic" paints you're using, a trick I found out when doing plane kits for my son was to mix the aluminium paint roughly 50/50 with light grey, mainly with the object of reducing wear with handling, but I found it gave a much smoother finish. Now I've spread the habit to my railway models, so that copper gets mixed in with something like orange, with a soupçon of rust to taste, and brass gets mixed with straw paint or something similar. the effect is to reduce the granular appearance, and still retain the metal look. Try it on the next copper cap loco you're building?

I don't have any axe to grind with printers, generally or in particular, as I'd be totally lost without mine, just saying how it happened. The tip re using clear varnish makes sense, must do more of that. Looking around the loft, I notice that some print- outs I did for posters which are mounted behind Makrolon don't have such a degree of fading, so protection should work. Fading is a fact of life, what about BR rail blue paint for example? You never see any mention if modellers ever cover their layouts with dust sheets when not in use, I suppose if we regard them as works of art we should?

like I said I'm new to this game, I ain't yet worked out the etiquette of "like, informative, " and all that, or you could have all you want, matey. Then there' s putting pictures into posts, and stuff like that, so starting a blog is a long way off yet. probably just as well, it would start " hey, guys, I've got this great idea for a line"' and five years later "guess what, I' ve started putting some track down....." , Duurr, yawn , snore, zzzz. Thanks for the encouragement, though.

I'm a Johnny come lately to this site, rmweb is a total labyrinth with great goodies tucked away. it's nice to know you've got baseboards which have a history and character all their own, due to alterations,change of use,new ideas and so on. A line I'm working on at present has similar boards with a tale of their own. One iron I have in the fire is a b.g. Layout, also terminus to fiddle yard in small space, so I must follow your work carefully, although I'm working in 7mm rather than 4mm. I'm also planning a traverser run-round tucked away! (Great minds and all that) One trouble with minimum space broad gauge lines is that the points are such a hell of a length, so I'm all for ways to lose them. I've done some track, I read somewhere that vignoles, flat bottom, rail was also used on longitudinal sleepers besides bridge rail, so I'm using some ordinary rail, soldered onto copper clad sleeper sTrip from Marcway. the rail goes on the transoms, and then the lengthwise bits are cut to fit between the transoms. this way you can get the gauge set easier, and lay track panels as units on the board. beyond that things are in a state of flux. I've got a goods wagon fleet which I'm happy with. (One of the great things about being in the broad gauge society is the great kits and information that's available) There's four six-wheelers about half way through, and two engines with running chassis and superstructure to finish, so slowly getting there. Anyhow, best wishes for your progress, I'll watch with interest.

Very interested in what you're doing, the main stumbling block when I do it is I use an ancient Epsom ink-jet, and although it looks great when printed, the colour fades terribly fast. I did some nameplates, simulated brass with red background, and they lasted no time. Before you say it, this was done with Epsom ink, horrendous price, not the cheap stuff I'm now using. I bought some commercial brick paper to be used for platform sides, which you'd expect to be more stable, and this has taken on a pinker shade after a year. so keep those lovely models away from strong light. The computer is giving you an exactitude for lining out and lettering which can't be done by spring bow pen, also an evenness of cover matching anything using airbrushing, but the test is whether your inks can be as permanent as enamel paint. One thing I've discovered going round shows, is that you can be diplomatic as you can, and still get punched on the snitch if you say anything about the colour of the loco, sorry.