The Western Master

You can still purchase the N gauge Parkwood resin bodies from this eBay seller, but as others have pointed out it may well be a while before other stuff is available again. Hopefully someone will be willing to take on the business as Phil filled a very important niche for many of us. https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?item=175629332949&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m3561.l2562&_ssn=woodpark88

Can't be sure but I think the train loco is 6998 Burton Agnes Hall, given she has the Hawksworth tender and was part of the pool of locos used in 1985.

Rapido have more than enough in the works in N and OO to keep them ticking over I suspect. Sonic is currently focused on its J50 in N gauge and GCR A5 in OO. Accurascale are exclusively OO so no incentive for them at a glance. I think Heljan or another European manufacturer is more likely contender to collaborate with Peco to deliver a British loco. Failing that, another collaboration with Kato could be a possibility.

Lemke apparently announced one in 2014 but no idea if it actually ever got to market....

I have to disagree. Here is Peco's latest offering against its Dapol and Farish equivalents, and I think the Peco version stands up well. Yes, the brake lever is a little thicker, but to my mind you'd only notice if you were right up close. I have to say it is brilliant that Peco have brought this wagon up to modern standards, and it can only be hoped their other N gauge wagons are brought up to similar standards in the future.

With the S stock of course they used 100 ton tankers as barrier vehicles so there's an ideal opportunity there for someone... However the easiest one from Bachmann's view would be a pair of 25T BR standard brakevans in appropriate liveries.

It's great to see the class 17 finally break cover. It's only a shame that the projects lined up by DJM models that didn't reach tooling are unlikely to see the light of day anytime soon, with the exception of the King of course from KR Models of course. But nevertheless, well done Bachmann! A very commercially savvy move to my mind as it means models that were popular but have had limited production runs to date could reach more modellers in time.

To anyone whining about a lack of new products I point you to today's announcement from Bachmann.

Hi everyone Prototype now built. Not a high load puller, mostly because the Dapol M7 chassis used cannot get much traction from 4 driving wheels, even with a body packed with weights where feasible. This example has been built by a friend of mine and I think you'll agree he's made an excellent job of it.

Greetings all After months of painstaking work I will shortly be releasing a print to my Shapeways shop to convert a Dapol M7 to a Metropolitan Railway E class 0-4-4T. Finished with parts from N Brass (chimney, dome etc.), this is my first foray into loco design. I had to do several test prints to get it right but I'm hopeful that I've ironed out the bugs now... More pictures of the prototype soon.

The milk van is complete and is now available in my Shapeways shop. 4 variants are on offer including the preserved example No3 and the tool van conversion used in the breakdown train. https://www.shapeways.com/shops/tinyundergroundmodels

So it's been a while I know, but the good news is the Dreadnoughts have now been released. If you're interested they can be found in my Shapeways shop. https://www.shapeways.com/shops/tinyundergroundmodels

Well, here's a taste pf things to come. I think you will agree with me that Pegasus Designs have done a fantastic job. Interiors are being finalised for the 3rd and 3rd brake so prototypes won't be ordered just yet but don't they look fantastic?

Hi everyone Hot on the heels of the Dreadnoughts, I'm pleased to present an N gauge model of the Metropolitan Railway milk van, as seen behind Met 1 on the various steam tours on LU metals since 2013. I've drawn up the 3 variants that I'm aware of, and all will be available from Shapeways by early August once I'm sure the model works. The first picture shows the body for vans nos 1 to 3 as built. The second shows nos 4 to 6, while the third is number 3 as preserved today. An interesting element for the final model is the apparent hybridisation of number 3, having the ends of the early examples but the sides and loading doors of the later 3 vans. The plan is to use a Peco brake van chassis but if this doesn't work I may attempt a unique chassis in due course.

Exciting news. I'm reliably told I should have CAD for 3rd class and brake 3rd coaches very soon. Subject to prototype builds not having any concerns, I will release all 3 coaches to Shapeways for general sale in due course. Currently expect this to be early August if all goes to plan.

Sherlock Holmes is 95% finished...

Also a GRCW 30 ton gondola ballast wagon. I have 3 of these now awaiting final detailing but otherwise in this condition.

Fellow modellers, presenting the prototype 1st class coach. A few details to add like vacuum pipes and coupling hooks but the essentials are all there.

Used the bank holiday to get some transfers on. A small selection of the engineering fleet on show here but really pleased with how they have turned out...

According to a Facebook post Dave will have an update on several projects at N Gauge Southeast thus weekend. This includes news of the King, fingers crossed for a painted sample....

2 years... bit of a while to wait. Progress continues every so often in between various escapades. Amongst other projects seen elsewhere on this forum, my brother produced this 10T wagon with tank. This is built on a Micro Trains test car bought on EBay. My brother has done the main construction work and changed the Kadee couplers to Elsies and I'm now in the process of painting...

Thinking just sheet acetate glued in for glazing. Shapeways print, but I must admit they're not cheap. The prints alone are about £60 At current prices...

Greetings Further progress. The prototype requires detailing with brake pipes, transfers then a final varnish. Mk2 has now been printed. The design has been modified and an interior has now been created. The bogie mounting arrangement has been changed so the chassis shouldn't break when the bogies are mounted...

Hi everyone Some new CAD renders of the 1st class coach. I've had the bogies and chassis modified slightly based on the experience gained from the prototype. In the meantime my designer has also added an interior so it's really starting to look the part now... The buffers have also gone back onto the chasis for ease of construction. As soon as we're happy with the 1st class coach then the 3rd class and 3rd brake will follow relatively quickly because the chassis will be shared between all 3. A second bogie variant has been created for the brake 3rd as this will have the electric shoe used in these sets for continuous lighting etc when running over point work. Happy modelling Pete

Greetings all An update. The issues seen on the first body appear to have been a poor quality print from Shapeways. Highly unusual but they kindly sent me a second body for free. I have now got both bodies sprayed into a first coat of brown paint. This is because my eventual layout will be nominally 50's and 60s as these coaches ceased service in 1962. Alternative livery is varnished teak in the metropolitan, LPTB and pre-war LT days. Another is the red and white the 3 preserved coaches received in the early days of the KWVR for filming of The Railway Children (1970). But back to the plot. The bogies have been designed for simplicity, so in the final design all modeller will need to do is insert 2 spoked wheel axles from GF and add 1 coupling with spring. The prototype will be a bit of a lash up as we're very much on a learning curve but this is coming along as time allows. All the best Pete