John R Smith

The killing blow . . .

Funny, isn't it Steve - when these Warships first turned up we didn't like them at all, as they displaced the Castles and the Halls on all our West Country trains in the early '60s. Then as time went on we began to appreciate their virtues - the rather impressive noise from the Maybach engines at full chat, the way they went up Dainton Bank, and their turn of speed when they could be given their head. Eventually they turned up in all sorts of unexpected places, like the Waterloo to Exeter run, Okehampton, Tavistock and Plymouth (SR), and even Ilfracombe. Generally speaking, when they were on song they went very well indeed on all these duties. So by the time they were being scrapped in the early '70s, we had got rather fond of them and were sorry to see them go. John

Seems strange. If D845 was double-red, then she wouldn't be able to cross the Saltash bridge, presumably? John

It's looking good, Howard! John

Just absolutely stunning . . . One of the best uses of space that I have seen. Please avoid any temptation to clutter it! John

I think that it was just as likely that many employees would not be too great at reading full stop, Welsh or English, come to that. Back in 1974 our Ganger at Newton Abbot had a struggle reading and could barely write - we used to fill the gang time sheets in for him (because we were vey fond of him and didn't want to see him get into trouble with the inspectors). John

David I know it's a bit late now, but when making up a backscene from photos - In Photoshop, desaturate (all colours) perhaps 30% or to taste and add brightness to lighten the whole scene. This will create a sense of distance between foreground and the backscene. John

The busbars in the shed roof for the lighting are a very sensible idea. As it is a permanent installation, there is no real need to use colour-coded wires - as long as you can keep track of polarity while you are doing the build, use all black coated wires and save yourself some painting. John

I think that it depends on the time period of the model - and the locality. In the mid-'60s, in the S Wales valleys, I found the MPDs there to be remarkably tidy, despite this being the last days of steam. Radyr shed even had clean windows (!) and a Shedmaster who spotted us almost as soon as we had walked onto the depot. Other parts of Britain may well have been a different story. John

That looks really good, Chris. It's a variant that would probably appeal to a lot of people if you brought it out as a production item. John

Foamboard is good stuff, but there are a couple of points which I have come across. I first used foamboard for "Goonamarth" thirty years ago, and those buildings lasted pretty well so longevity seems proven. But 3mm sounds awfully thin - I used 5mm - and even then I have found the cheaper stuff will warp over time. So it would be a good idea to add some bracing at the rear with balsa wood sections to keep everything flat. The other proviso is to only use PVA glue where the foam is exposed, other glues will likely dissolve it! John

Hello Rod I'm glad you enjoyed your holiday break! The correct name is in fact "Bere Ferrers", and the station was always known by this name. "Beer Ferris" seems to be an 18th century colloquial form which is found on some local milestones. The signal box is not the original, but a reconstruction, and I expect the owner has indulged a bit of whimsy with the nameboard. In 1339 we find the form "Byrfferers", so take your pick! Back in the 1960s I used to make many happy trips on the Callington branch (over the Calstock Viaduct), and then we had steam of course with the Ivatt 2-6-2 tanks. In 2008 I was asked to do an archaeological survey of the abandoned line between Bere Alston and Tavistock for the local council (to help with a project to reopen the line) and I found myself walking through young woodland where I had once travelled by train - a very strange feeling! Thanks very much for the great photos. John

Humbrol seems to be rubbish these days, it really does. I would use Halfords car Matt Black spray which is actually satin finish, goes on nicely and sets off fast. Those J50s are a nice chunky looking loco, with the slope to the top of the tanks. Nice work! John

WOW x 2 !!!!

Well, I would never have known - or noticed . . . John

When I was a kid all GW locos were clean and shiny - well, they were at Kingsbridge anyhow. You wouldn't have caught Ron Canham going out with a dirty engine . . . John

Great picture, Steve. That Western in desert sand was the first 52 I saw, must have been the early sixties on an up express at Newton Abbot. Looking back now it seems amazing how much freedom the WR had back then to produce whole classes of diesel locos which were nothing like anything else in the UK. All rather odd when you think about it, especially as the post-war steam classes had in fact been standardised under Riddles. John

Yes, and the stupid thing is that this went on for years and years, costing the railways and industry time and money. A large part of the problem was that if the load did not come well above the top planks, the sheet would sag in the middle and water accumulated in a pond or ponds, and of course would find its way through any small weakness. The answer was the tarpaulin bar, which the railway eventually got around to adopting for open wagons but far too late. All the Cornish wooden open clay wagons (UCV) were vac braked and fitted with hoods in the end and this saved the industry huge amounts. John

A magnificent weathering job, Jinty. Just like I remember them . . . John

Nice one Chris, that's looking really good. Because it's such a tiny engine, each individual piece has a huge impact on the overall look and character of it, so an error which you really might not notice on a big pacific is magnified alarmingly on a tiddler like this. Lots of work on your part, but well worthwhile! John

Go for it, Father.

Perhaps injectors, tank supports, sandboxes - all the stuff where the handrails might get damaged if they were already attached. Then the handrails, maybe . . .

David Sadly, option 4 is really the only one. You simply don't have the space to put a believable gate in a believable place. Leave the gate out, and nobody will notice. Put in a poorly conceived one, and everyone will point it out. John

I suppose it could be the Wenford Branch . . .

Chris 1369 is apparently at the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway this summer (Oxfordshire). Is that close enough to your location to make a trip and measure up the cylinders on the real thing? John