richard.h

I know that this is way off topic but I,m struggling a bit at the moment. We have a pre-booked (before the virus) holiday coming up touring around Lancashire which at the moment now looks as though it will be going ahead if we don't have to go in quarantine. After searching online I find that the East Lancs Railway and over in Skipton the Embsay Railway are re-opening in August with a limited service, does anyone know of other railway related places of interest in the region that will be open and worth a visit.

A great set of photos of your first class layout, I was very impressed by the items made withe 3d printer, I had previously thought that this type of printer was a luxury but seeing your work and others it is starting to look like another essential tool for quality railway modelling. Richard

Just to finish off the Triplet Story here are a few photos of the set in use hauled by A3 Persimmon. I haven't got a correct rake of coaches sorted out yet these a just a random selection from my available stock but that will be done next.

Hi Paul This is a link to the site where I purchased the magnets which has all the details. https://www.guysmagnets.com/neodymium-magnets-c11/guys-magnets-20-5-mm-x-7-7-mm-x-2-mm-neodymium-block-p440 I found these to be the most efficient magnets for uncoupling Kaydees but they really need to be fitted before tracklaying. I did try the other type where you drill a series of holes and fit rows of 3mm dia rod magnets inside the track between the sleepers but these didn't work as well and they also had a tendency to tip over light rolling stock such as trucks because the magnets tended to pull the coupling down instead of uncoupling it. Richard

Hi Thank you very much for taking the time to provide that information it is exactly what I was looking for and will give me a good starting point to building up correct rakes of coaching stock. As mentioned before I would also like to build some coaching stock not available as RTR and by coincidence yesterday I saw a video by Tony Wright in which he mentions fitting Comet sides to the old Airfix 57ft coaches. I have quite a few of these under the bench which are not used now so it seems like the perfect opportunity to build something different.

Thanks for your comments, it really is encouraging to get feedback like that and it helps keep me motivated, you do feel isolated out here at times and I would just love to spend time browsing through a Model Shop again (if there are any open at the moment.) Also welcome to RMWeb there's lots of info on here whatever your level of expertise. Richard

The Triplet set has now been completed. Clearance is very tight on the sharpest curves but the coaches don't quite touch, helped I think by the corridor connections What I need to do now is find a typical coach formation that can be condensed down into an eight coach train (my maximum). But they perform well and I've really enjoyed making them, what's next, well I have a lot of older LMS era coaches which I think can be fitted with 'Comet' sides so that needs looking into.

Here is the Triplet Set on running trials around the layout. The roofs are not glued on yet as more passengers are due to arrive soon. Clearances between the coaches are quite tight on the sharpest curves but they don't touch partly helped I think by the use of corridor connections

I'm waiting for parts to detail the roof and also some sprung buffers, the buffers supplied with the kit are just whitemetal castings which by today's standards look coarse. You mention gun blue I think I have seen this also recommended for painting the brass wiring when constructing signals, is there a proprietary brand available that I could buy when next visiting the UK.

Completed the Coach Lining this week apart from the numbers which are on their way. Then fitted out one coach with seats, tables and passengers. Finally put the unfinished roof on temporarily to see how it looks.

Started on the Dining Cars again last week, firstly by fitting all the underframe details. Then I temporarily put together the unit to check clearances around the sharpest curves on the layout and general running over the pointwork. I also gave the brass parts a good clean-up and degrease ready for painting. When everything checked out OK the painting was started with primer, paint and a first coat of varnish for the transfers to key into.

Here is a video of The Class 24 in action, it is a superb model and with the range of sound functions available you can 'virtually' drive the machine. Conflat container wagons are out of production at the moment but using the unpainted version the intention is to build up to a full rake to simulate the Condor Express.

Those lamps look really good and fit in perfectly with the street scene I agree with you about the commercial ones they seem too large, I use them without the base extensions and they still appear overscale. Richard

Today we have the Mail Train hauled by Jubilee 45609 Gilbert and Ellice Islands. The first two coaches are Bachmann models with collection nets. But the rest of the train is made up from a mixture of Sorting and Stowage Coaches built from Southern Pride kits.

Over on the workbench I have been busy this week finishing off the Kitchen Car unit of the triplet set under construction. Bit more work to do but I think I'm ready to tackle the dining cars now

I concentrated on finishing off the Kitchen Car this week so that I could gain experience before starting on the two dining cars. First off a good scrub and degrease to prepare the body for painting. Then a coat of primer and a first coat of maroon. After a general tidy up a coat of varnish for the transfers to stick to then transfers applied and sealed in with a second coat of varnish. Also opaque glazing applied to all windows except the crew quarters I also took the rainstrip off the roof as now it had been cut down the profile didn't match the coach length. Just need to find a supply of the correct coach numbers now.

Just spent a pleasant afternoon weathering the new Coke Wagons, firstly with a coat of Frame Dirt on the chassis and weathered black on the hoppers. Then built up the layers of grime with slightly different types of blacks, worn, smoke and dull to give some variation in the colouring. Then this was finally washed downwards with a brush lightly loaded with thinners to give a streaking effect. I also took the opportunity to dig out my old Mainline Coke wagons and weathered them by painting in some planking to represent repairs and them give them some brushed on coats of Dust and Frame Dirt

A bit more progress this week. On the Kitchen Car the brass sides were assembled and roof put in place temporarily. And all the bits underneath added. As the widows in this unit are opaque there are no interior fittings so I'm just waiting for the BR Maroon paint to arrive when it will be given a thorough clean and a first coat. The other two restaurant cars however are different as they have interior seating so a different approach was used for these. I've left the delicate undercarriage till later and built up three sides of the coaches which meant that it was easier to slide in a floor and temporary partitions and then I could work out how the seating was going to fit in as there seem to be different options depending on which version is built.

Hi John I wouldn't claim to be an expert on winding gear but if it was the type which had pulley wheels which ran in the H section girder then it would have some sort of end plate to prevent it running off the open end of the beam. They used this type in the Textile Industry as items such as bales of wool were quite large and needed to be pushed clear of the building when being hoisted. It may not apply for you as you are modelling a different area and era. Regards Richard

Hi John Superb work on the Mill you have an artists eye for painting and posing your figures into beautiful little cameos. If I could make a couple of points based on my own research The hoist end usually had a stop on to prevent the pulley block overrunning, depends on type. Safety chains were fitted across most doorways above ground level, these could be unhooked for larger loads. Hope you don't mind but I was an apprentice in't Mill in my younger days

Kitchen Car I thought that I would concentrate on building the Kitchen Car first as it looked the simplest to assemble so started by putting together the coach base. I didn't have a jig to bend the solebars but managed to do it very carefully with long nosed pliers. Then added the underframe fittings plus steps. Laid out the sides and ends ready for assembly, you have to be careful here as corridor connections are not central so you must get the alignment correct. And finally cut the roof to size and mark out the position of the fittings from a paper overlay.

Thanks for that, I'm glad the link was of use to you I don't know who collected all that but there is a massive selection available, I keep looking through it thinking about the next project. The A2/2 runs Ok now I managed to get extra washers for the centre crank pin which stopped what seemed to me to be excessive side play on the rods. Richard

I haven't done this view before as you would have to be crossing the bridge on a bus to see it. But you would have to be in a Helicopter to get this view from the other end of the Station.

Triplet Set, I always wanted one of these so this will be the next project to go onto the workbench and it's progress will be detailed there. Here's the package that arrived recently. And its contents. So its roll your sleeves up time ( they already are it is nearly 80 today) and get started

Made a start on the Triplet set The coach sides come in two halves which were clamped and soldered. Then the coach ends were formed with the brackets bent to shape both parts tinned and then clamped and tack soldered until they were in the correct position for full soldering Next the window droplights were fitted and the tumblehome was formed by shaping the coach sides over a suitably curved piece of wood. Think it's time for a break now and another look at the instructions