turbos

Hornby are currently too busy producing the refurbished Mk3 trailers to be putting their finite resources in to doing a Mk3a, I don’t see any part of a refurbished Mk3 trailer that would be suitable for a Mk3a without it being at least as unsatisfactory as the current offerings. I expect the Oxford ScotRail Mk3a TSO twinpack will appear this year as the first batch of singles of these flew off the shelves. The Oxford Mk3a is not going to have competition for quite some time. Like it or lump it. Brian.

Or maybe Martyn never wants to see another roof vent again in his life! Brian.

Lanarkshire Model Supplies do a large range of whitemetal kit bufferstops, mostly grouping and pre-grouping and the LMS/BR type. Most of which can still be found in sidings and stations currently. Brian.

Chatting with the staff on the Heljan Stand at Warley, apparently there is a container currently on its way which contains 0 gauge items that and probably some 00. If the new batch of Class 27’s is in it then they’ll be sent out in the New Year rather than sitting in parcel depots over the winter holidays, so I wouldn’t expect them available until ‘Early 2020’ rather than ‘4th quarter 2019’. I expect I’ll need to decorate the base of the Xmas tree with empty boxes. (Happy New Year!) Brian.

As I said in a previous post ‘they all have their flaws the Triang and Trix both have major flaws, they both need some serious butchery to produce an exact scale model. The Triang is slightly overscale the Trix is clearly underscale, run alongside the Lima Whisky Blue, the Trix looks diminutive, the Triang looks OK. My opinion, yours can be different. Brian.

Hi Keith My main period of interest is early 70’s to mid 80’s, the end of the Class 27 to be precise. Scotland as well but focused mostly around Fife. The only rtr ‘Whisky Blue’ for your period is the Hornby version with Tops panel and no advert. It could do with some upgrading what you do is up to you, the easiest modifications are new wheels and file off the horizontal side stanchions. New decals can add some individuality to each wagon. For your period the Lima version requires new wheels and the advert hoarding removed/filed away and new decals on the hopper (leave the underframe markings alone). Brian.

They do appear to be a minefield, but they’re not that complicated. What period do you want them to represent and is there a particular area you model, us RMWebbers will happily help. Or there’s rule 1! Brian.

Pictures of ‘yellow’ British Maltsters’ are incredibly rare, I think they were a mustard yellow when new, but they did exist.

Bachmann 38-604 isn’t a 35 ton BRT Grain ‘Whisky Blue’, it is a 21 ton BR built grain wagon. A very nice wagon (got a few myself) but not what this thread is about. Brian.

All three models of the ‘Whisky Blue’ have their flaws. Lima: The best of the three, it is the later Powell Dufryn pedestal coil suspension modified/BR version. Suitable for the early 70s onwards, annoyingly it has a solid moulded hoarding which they all had removed by the mid 70s. It’s a wee bit over height, the couplings are standard Lima ‘Volvo’ size bumpers, the ladder is a bit crude, as is the brake linkage adjuster and the wheels are pizza cutters that will cause problems on code 75 track. Overall a nice wagon that captures the look of these wagons quite well. The red Charringtons, yellow Black & White and pale blue Vat 69 are fictitious colour schemes for these wagons, the Grainflow livery was correct for these wagons although the BRT logo plate was moved to the other end, try and find ones with the more complete under frame discharge rod linkage. They’ve not been produced since Lima closed and as such are the least manufactured but can still be found for a reasonable price. Trix/Lilliput/Bachmann: The first produced model of the ‘Whisky Blue’, it’s the Pressed Steel version, length and height wise it’s underscale as it’s 3.8mm but it’s width is correct at 4mm. The length issue can be useful for layouts where every mm of length matters such as shunting planks, ingleneuks, etc. These look quite diminutive alongside the Lima and Triang/Hornby versions and the vertical stantions are incorrectly spaced but they do run beautifully and have the largest range of different advertising hoardings and also had a myriad of different but correct numbers. The ladder is very crude and it lacks the brake adjustment linkage on one side and the vacuum pipe on the other but it does have the large vacuum tanks on one end. They do lack any under frame discharge detail but the leaf suspension is crisp. Coupling is the Trix version of the Peco coupling, except for the Bachmann produced that have Bachmann tension locks. The Bachmann Grainflow livery is fictitious for this wagon but the blue, mustard yellow and brown liveries are correct. Still in production by Bachmann, so always plenty around s/h at a range of prices due to the rarity/popularity of certain Whisky brands. Triang/Hornby: The second manufacturer to produce a ‘Whisky Blue’ the earliest one’s were a Trix body on a diecast underframe abomination, avoid. The main production version has been made on and off since the late 60s and is in the thousands manufactured (probably in to five figures), so are numerous and cheap. Over height by a couple of mm, most of this can be got rid of by removing the top (not usually glued) and filing off the vertical section along the tops side and the same amount off the tops end. The vertical stantions are incorrectly spaced like the Trix version but the overall length is OK. The ladder is very crude and it lacks vacuum tanks, side pipe and brake adjuster linkage. The underframe is from a generic Triang-Hornby tank and as such there’s 10s of thousands of them out there so no worries if you destroy it trying to modify it. No underframe discharge detail and the tension lock coupling is held on with a nasty big brass rivet that required an ugly bulge in the bufferbeam where the coupling hook should be, once the river is removed you can file bulge flat and still have plenty of plastic left for a more realistic coupling hook. This version has mostly been made in a prototypical blue with correct numbers. Railtec do most of the decals required for these wagons, Cambridge Custom do the Grainflow decals that the Powell Dufryn / BR (Lima) appeared in when air braked to operate in the Speedlink network, Retrodecals on EBay do a range of Whisky decals for the hoardings and BRT logos. Modelmaster do BRT logo decals. Peco: The only N gauge ‘Whisky Blue’ is the Pressed Steel version with leaf suspension and also has incorrectly space vertical stantions and no underframe discharge detail. Available cheaply as a kit. Railtec do some decals for this wagon. Harburn Hobbies are currently selling a limited edition pack of two, if sales are good enough they will do further versions with different whisky adverts. When I get round to doing another detailed 00 ‘Whisky Blue’ I’ll take more photos and put up a ‘how to’ on RMWeb. Slainte, Brian.

Are you quite sure Bachmann have produced a correct scale new tooled ‘Whisky Blue’? I’ve only seen their Trix tooled ones so far. Brian.

Here’s a pic of the 3 different 00 gauge whisky blues, left to right Lima, Trix, Triang, Lima. The Lima is a bit over height, the Triang is even more over height and the Trix is 3.8mmish underscale.

I’ve just finished painting and applying decals to an modified Triang-Hornby Whisky Blue and now awaiting weathering. I used Halfords grey primer then Tamiya Blue from a rattle can, decals are mostly Railtec.

MDF is quite heavy and its dust is particularly nasty, not a good idea for a child’s bedroom. Framed plywood, sanded and painted with a layer of cork on top, not the cheapest, quickest or easiest option, but it is the wisest.

Repeat posting.

The brake lever is 51L from Wizard bent and cut to what I think is the right shape and the large hanger I made from plasticard with brass rod joining it up. Brian.

This is where I’ve gotten to with my Whisky Blue today, decals are mostly Railtec and a couple of Fox and Modelmaster ones as well. This view is the corner that had suffered some damage, which contributed to it only costing a few quid. Hopefully finish it by the end of the year!

The removal of the horizontal stanchions is probably the easiest and visually the best improvement on these wagons, there’s so many modifications you can end up making once you start closely looking at these wagons it’s a question of what not to do! Keep up the good work. Brian.

There were two intermediate driving cars transferred in to the Class 126 fleet iDMBS 79088 transferred to Ayr Nov 71 and iDMS 79168 reinstated at Ayr Sep 73. The 79xxx iDMS were almost identical to the Class 125 iDMS where as the 79xxx was not like any Class 126 vehicle. The 79xxx leading DMBS did not have multiple working jumpers at the driving end which ruled them out of further use in Ayrshire. Brian.

The goods shed at Bridge of Dun station is ex Highland Railway (I can’t remember where they got it from), a very nice example of a Highland Railway one and probably a lot easier to arrange full access to for dimensions etc.

The only rtr alternative to the Oxford Mk3a is the Jouef Mk3a, Hornby have only ever made HST Mk3 trailers. There’s a myriad of detail differences between the loco hauled and HST version. The Oxford build quality isn’t the best but this is reflected in the price. All easily rectified using some basic modelling material, as explained above. Brian.

Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement for this wee project, I've not made a lot of progress so far other then drilling out the headcode boxes and auxiliary diesel-generator exhaust port, the good weather, shiftwork and building a model railway have gotten in the way. As I said in my opening post 'Time to decide which one of the 12 to do!' well I've decided to do 27 211, it lasted to the end of the Push/Pull service and detail wise it lost its end door beading around the same time it was fitted with the auxilliary diesel-generator vent grills, so a little less to do. Ordered a set of bespoke loco transfers from Railtec, got the usual great service we've become used to. Will up date again when I progress it more. Brian.

I usually sit my rattle can on a radiator , or in a hot pan of water in summer while getting my spray booth set up, final check and setting up of model, and putting on appropriate PPE. Then I shake the can as much as possible and when I think it’s shaken enough I shake it some more, then spray. Your coach sides look good, I wish some of my early attempts had been that good.

I don’t think SLW have committed to a 25, they appear to be busy with the 24 in various incarnations, they’re committed to doing a 24/1 (Bachmann are as well) which would then be getting close to a 25/0. Which is quite different from the 25/3. Only time will tell what SLW do. I can certainly see myself getting one of these Heljan 25/3 based on the ep sample (nice paint job as well), one of the great things about Heljan is there willingness to correct faults if able to.

I would second Gaugemaster controllers, very robust, easy to use and have a life guarantee. Anyrail6 is a good computer track design program, free to use up to 50 pieces in each layout design. I have no link to either company, just a satisfied customer.