jamieb

It worries me that photographic records of our current era won't survive in the quantity that 20th century life does. People take more snaps now but they exist as digital media only and will either be deleted by their owners over time or will be prone to digital corruption as most digital files are. Back in the old days,photos had to be printed out from negatives but will physically survive for future generations because of this On the slightly different subject of photographing the unusual,I think as railway enthusiasts this gives us a slightly skewed view of how the railways actually looked, especially pre war.Film was expensive and photography was the preserve of the better off members of the public.It would be a natural instinct to photograph the less prosaic things they saw,and not record the everyday events,which it was assumed would always be there.Coupled with the fact that most photography would be at the weekends,it is not always easy to find photos of ,for example,a mid week mixed goods train or a local coal train pulled by a grimy goods engine,because these were not considered photo worthy at the time I would love to go back in time with a digital camera and capture all those unremarkable everyday scenes which have in the main faded from living memory

People complain about Hornby not interacting with their customers,now they are attempting to do so,they get more criticism.Seems they can't win! For what it's worth ,I'll have a Midland 2F,but a round top firebox version please,oh and a Fowler 3P tank,and... a Cambrian Railways Volunteer class 0-4-2 tender engine

If they're anything like IKEA lack shelving units ( which I suspect they are copying), they are corrugated egg box construction inside.Very strong and sturdy however,I use one for my fiddle yard and there's enough meat on the outer framing to hold screws and brackets etc

I notice that 99% of this is wishlisting for diesel and electric. Is it likely that Bachmann have pretty much given up on standard gauge steam? Is there anything steamwise still in the pipeline to come that has been previously announced?

He was Group Captain Brian Huxley,who became air vice marshal CBE in 1986. Given the age and experience that would go with that sort of career,I'd be incredibly surprised if he was still with us 40 years later!

I've purchased a few sets of Hornby wheels like this.A set of L1 wheels(£5) came with 3mm axles ,easily opened out with a 1/8" reamer and spare Gibson axles do the job.I've also got some Patriot wheels (£6 per set) to rewheel an old Hornby model and some Bachmann Jinty wheels for a Comet chassis Dont tell everyone about them though!

I'm afraid I've let the side down with this one! A failed soldering iron brought things to a halt and I've realised in the meantime that I've got far too many other projects on the go,so the Metro has gone back in the box for now.When I do return to it,I'll try and find this thread to post the results

Sounds interesting.Will you be running GW and LNWR ?

The buildings look very impressive and I look forward to seeing this progress. What era will it be?

I'm embarrassed to say that my progress has been snail paced,thanks in part to my soldering iron packing up on me and other commitments getting in the way but it's good to see some finished models on here, looking good What's the best option for bespoke GWR numberplates these days,as I can't see any of the usual suspects do 1495 in their ranges?

Bargain! I was offered a buy it now price of £300 but regrettably had to pass! Funnily enough he has a 517 which is described as a Metro,and a 633 which is described as a 517. (I take it the Metro which was described as a 633 has sold,to complete the triangular cock up)

It says that one of these coaches is 'preserved' at the Telford Steam Railway.Unfortunately it's decaying at a rate of knots and has become an eyesore .Maybe Dapol could use a percentage of the profits to pay for it to go on a low loader to somewhere who can actually restore it!

I was going to mention the same thing .I'm sure there were probably other examples of Lefties and I don't really see what difference it would make to how a loco ran.I believe the issue with the Jones Goods was not the LH lead but balancing of the centre wheels,which Swindon resolved by drilling out massive holes in the central balance weights . I'm not aware of them changing the drive to RH lead but I shan't dispute it! It's possible it was more for the sake of matching GWR practice Of course,3 cylinder locos had 'quartering' at 120 degrees (so not quartered at all). I wonder if anyone has attempted to model that? Maybe one of the masochists who do inside valve gear has tried it?

It wasn't a looker,from memory I can only recall seeing 2 pictures of it. Not even one on the GWR.org website

They're good little motors, unfortunately the only ones showing on eBay at present have a very short shaft which is no good for hanging a worm gear off I attach them to the gearbox with superglue! Open out the hole in the gearbox where the shaft goes through to fit the size of the boss on the motor,it's about 4mm or so. I will fit a similar bracket to the motor rear to stop it moving in the frames,by opening out a hole in a frame spacer and soldering in place between the frames

Yes,the coupling rods will be modified,they're just on as a rough guide for now

I've finally joined the party properly today and made a start on the Perseverance chassis Firstly the brass was very tarnished and although this doesn't really matter for painting,it didn't make soldering any easier so the first job was a light rub with the sanding block The Percy spacers are tab and slot which helped with the construction,which incidentally is to EM and the Comet spacing jigs I intended to use are slightly narrower so I had to go freehand . Drive is to the rear fixed axle,the front two being compensated in the old fashioned way.The half etched lines for the front two axleboxes which are to be removed for the hornblocks were cut with a piercing saw but the top horizontal line was left for now.The existing axleboxes will be wiggled out after the chassis is together and the compensated ones soldered in Which brings me to coupling rods. As I mentioned before,my chosen victim had plain bowed rods so these will be sourced from a redundant Comet pannier etch,the rear rods being the correct length.Once these are made,the hornblocks will be soldered in place and the compensation beam added,but for today the impetus was on getting a rolling chassis. Frames went together easily enough and after a scrub with Vim,an old pair of Romfords was tried for size,along with the as yet unfinished rods and the front bogie wheel. The finished loco will have Gibson wheels so I don't want to fit these yet The photos shows a hole at the top of the ashpan etch,this is for a plunger pickup for the rear wheels.The two compensated axles will have wipers. Motor was tried for size,a cheap Chinese 5 pole and an old gearbox mount which it marries to nicely.It fits under the tank top and doesn't intrude into the cab That's all I've had time for today but I thought it might be interesting to show how the Percy chassis compares to the Finecast etch

I've had no problems with the ends on my poppy's jig axles.Would it not be better to open out the coupling rods holes slightly until they fit? This way it will still work with rods of varying hole size.Once you've turned down the axle diameter you can't put it back again!

Hi Tony If you do decide to sell the J40/2F then I may be interested

This is where the importance of finding a photograph of your chosen victim proves important... I was planning on starting the chassis yesterday ,but 1495 had plain bowed coupling rods and the Percy chassis kit has parallel fluted rods! I have some redundant 57XX rods somewhere so can use the rear rods from these,but can I find them? The Perseverance chassis looks to be fairly basic compared to the modern Finecast one but there's probably at least 20 years between them.The front spacer with the etched on cylinders is a nice touch though and I'll see if I can find some suitably sized washers to replicate these. The other major (well fairly minor to change but it affects the look of the loco majorly) is the cut out at the cab/bunker join.The kit gives a convex curve,whereas 1495 had a concave cut out .The kit instructions give a template for this to cut the white metal,but a quarter circle notch cast onto the inside of the bunker as a guide would have been nice.The photo should show what I mean.Will be easy enough to trim but fiddly to reapply the beading . Now today,domestic duties have reared there ugly head in the form of flatpack furniture having arrived early,I was hoping it would be tomorrow so I didn't have to do it until next weekend! So whether I will get around to starting the chassis today is uncertain

A good going over with a fibreglass brush should go a long way to hiding the damage ,or maybe a blacking solution

I probably could find something that would fit more invisibly but it's a case of using up what I have in stock as I don't really want or need to buy anything to complete the kit

Having finally found a photo of 1495 at Merthyr,I know which particular style of cab and bunker etc I'm dealing with,so shall try and get the chassis up and running at the weekend.The motor and gearbox I'm planning to use will encroach into the cab a little as I'm driving the rear wheel because of the front two axles being compensated.Luckily I know now 1495 had a closed cab so it will be easier to hide the worm and gear

I always assumed that they still came separately packaged.Is this something new they are doing now that Squires have taken over? Your reference to a 'big red box' makes me think the packaging has changed recently

The body and chassis are sold as separate items,that's why they are in two boxes