60027Merlin

Shaun, The time of year I took into account was between June and early September. From mid September on the nights fairly draw in fast here and the leaves in the trees start to turn various shades of brown. Eric

Sorry to read of the “clear out” your mother undertook Gilbert. All that information gone. However, fortunately you did not grow out of it as we would not be able to enjoy all the fine work of Peterborough North, always wonderful to view. Eric

Brian, Yes, Kitmaster indeed! back to 50 years ago when they were built. way ahead of their time, Here is the 5 coach rake with Pearl Diver. Usually there is a Gresley Full Brake in as well.

With snow all around just now it reminded me of a disappeared posting on page 3 here from 1st. December 2010 during that bad winter - quickly set up in the garden. On one of the Colour Rail catalogues from years earlier the cover photograph was of one of the Haymarket A4s running through Cockburnspath on an up train in a snowy winter scene. 60024 is still running well!

Have just watched the video. ECML paradise! Complete all round excellence Tony, well done. Eric

A return to the disappeared photos with some from a posting in 2011. A bit like a partial reprint of a railway book!

Another mixture of old and relatively new photos, this time freight only, being topped and tailed with one of the new Bachmann V2s.

With regard to Markits I have received good service over the years from Mark adding in to that the enjoyable crisp north/south banter. However, a couple of years ago after speaking to him, I became aware of his age and as Tony mentioned in a previous post he now has 77 years old on the horizon. Being of similar years I did not really fancy doing what he does on a daily basis and wondered back then just how long he will continue with all the attendant stress. If/when he packs up, all us kit builders/detailers are in trouble! When building kits etc. my mind often drifts to the potential non availability of his extensive range and wonder just what happens then? Will some parties be seriously interested or does it all disappear? Eric

John, The N15 looks the part and fits in fine. Perhaps St. Margaret's sent it down for a running in turn! Re your query about the previous photo of Spearmint, it would, more than likely, be a loco change at The Waverley with either another 64B loco or a return trip for an Eastfield loco. Great stuff from the north! Eric

Oliver, I used two Stanley knife blades without the holder, one blunt and one new. Firstly pull the both the boiler handrails out by about an inch and by doing this it frees up space for removal of the door. Then put the blunt knife blade carefully down the wedge separating the door from the smokebox and gradually twist it until the door is out. Better to do this on the top behind the lamp iron to start with. There is less danger of marking the smokebox by using the blunt blade. Then use the brand new blade. There is an inner plastic ring going around the inside of the door about two mill in from the outer edge. In this outer area about two mill wide gently scrape the surface all the way around. This will take some time as great care is required and I found it better to scrape away from the 12 o’clock position to the 3 o’ clock position then the 3 to 6 position etc. There is less danger of cutting yourself as you are only scraping rather than using more force if cutting. This took me at least half an hour, if not more, as I took a few minute long breaks during which time I was cursing Bachmann for this design! My wife heard me on one occasion and enquired as to what I said and the usual reply was “it’s nothing dear”. The objective is to get the outer edge on the inside as thin as possible but do not go over the score as you could end up damaging the door by going through the thinner layer. I have four pieces of thick balsa wood glued together making a block about two inches high which I have used since the 1970s as it is handy for leaning fittings etc. on when working on them As the balsa wood is soft it stops anything sliding and with the face of the smokebox door facing down on to the balsa wood there is less opportunity for damage to the door fittings. After that is completed the inner plastic circle requires to be scraped down a bit as well. If this is not done the door will not fit properly. This is because in the inside of the smokebox there are plastic intrusions only a couple of mill or so in from the front. The inner ring if not scraped then hits these and the door cannot go further in therefore you have a gap between the smokebox front and the door! Before fitting I put a few extremely small spots of UHU glue on the inner edge of the door to ensure it stayed firmly in place bang up against the smokebox. Then finally push the boiler handrails back in place fitting the ends into the small holes in the outer edge of the door, these also help to keep the door in place And that is that! P. S. You have to take great care when holding the door for the scraping procedure as there could be damage to the lamp iron and the door handles. I was not too bothered as I planned to make a new lamp iron from spare etches and to use the door handles from Markits. Hopefully this all makes sense. Eric

Eventually the new Bachmann V2 was worked on and modified with a new drawbar and the smokebox door trimmed to something more realistic. It is running in well. Another couple are just about finished and are the inside cylinder variant both from Haymarket whilst this one is a St. Margaret's engine. Now Coldstreamer. the Nu-Cast kit, has some company!

At long last the new V2 has been "done up" and running in fine. The new style drawbar was binned and replaced with a bar and hook and the smokebox door altered to improve the front end. Not some of Bachmann's better ideas!

A couple of photos of the B. R. Departmental coaches which I weathered for a friend recently, as after purchasing them, he preferred that they were not in a clean and tidy state!

Another mixed bag of old and fairly new photos, hopefully some variety. K3 61990 - Wills kit over 50 years old and still working!

More views of some older stuff which disappeared and some fairly new.

Regular daily turns for the Haymarket number 2 link included the Aberdeen - Kings Cross fish traffic and here are some of them captured by local photographers on the first leg of the journey south to The Waverley CALL BOY (and again and again) AULD REEKIE HUMORIST SAINT JOHNSTOUN BONNIE DUNDEE SPEARMINT

Haymarket to the fore! More photos from the disappeared ones on here from years ago plus some other fairly new ones.

For what it's worth here is a photo of the 6 wheel brake B. R. Departmental black model in another shade of black!

Another selection of new photos on the layout during running sessions earlier this year.

My brother took this photo from his garden in West Lothian shortly after the C17 took off from the former RAF Turnhouse heading south for RAF Northolt on Tuesday 13th.

A couple of shots of The Queen of Scots as The Queen makes her last journey south.

David, There was a loco change at Newcastle then at The Waverley. Waverley to Newcastle in both directions were Haymarket turns. On The Waverley to Glasgow Queen Street, in both directions, it was hauled by an Eastfield loco usually a B1 and later on a Standard Class 5 when they appeared at Eastfield in the period of your layout 1958/59. Eric

When checking through the photo files today I came across some taken by my good friend, Bob Baird of Harburn Hobbies on one of his regular visits. They must have been taken not far short of twenty years ago!

Exactly, all down to the previous owner who bought it from the family who had owned it for a century. The previous owner of course will be well known to you as he owned your local football club until last year.