Dave John

I rather like the Plasticote red oxide metal primer. However I'm sure the shade as applied varied and tended to go a bit lighter and pinkish with age. Good to see someone else having a go at modelling the Caley. Seems to be picking up a certain inertia these days ; solid association with an excellent magazine, good books published, seriously accurate kits available.

Interesting ideas. Just a thought, a simple handbrake of a wire in a tube that can be raised or lowered through the baseboard to catch the axle of the train might give remote uncoupling? Almost invisible with the tube level with the ballast. This is one I made to act as a handbrake on an inclined siding years ago, uses an old H+M motor but there must be lots of neater ways of doing it these days.

If only the Caley had panniers.....

Interesting thread, the whole system is a great improvement . Actually some companies prior to the grouping did use fishplates that curved round the bottom web of the rail. Here is drawing of the Caledonian version. Had these been available when I was tracklaying I would have used them for EM.

Yes Mikkel, thats the sort of stuff.

For the horse reins I have used fine enamelled copper wire salvaged from chokes and transformers from old junk electronics. Useful for all sorts and doesn't go hairy like cotton.

Och, all comments taken in jest Mikkel. Actually I do rather like the S&DJR, if I had infinite time and resources I might have a go. I also fancy a 7mm GWR branch, but I might resurrect some N gauge first ......

Yes Compound, the solebars and buffer beams were plated , 1/4 " I'd guess. Maybe 3/8" Now, it could start a war in here, but some would claim that the Dean-Churchward brake was a variant of the McIntosh one. My own opinion is that they were parallel developments with the same objective; a short brake lever with unambiguous positioning operable from both sides, hence the slack adjuster pinned to the lever. As you say the BOT really didn't like either and in the end the Morton, and eventually the double sided Morton cam became the norm. S&DJR is a bit too far, but given that the NB and the Caley lines were a stones throw ( or a lump of coals throw ) apart all the way out to Dumbarton I could justify a bit of NB green. I know that there were some LNWR coaches worked through to the west, so they might turn up one day.

Well, if Hornby ever did anything vaguely accurate for the caley I'd buy one Mikkel. Its actually the back end of a 104 class, made from the excellent Caley Coaches kit. Must do something about a backscene too....

This is another CR Diagram 3 wagon. I made it way back in 1988 from a John Boyle etch, and although I was reasonably good at working with etched brass I didn’t have access to all the drawings and photos that are now available. The result was a decent body, but rather wrong from the solebars down. It got displaced by newer stock, but I thought I’d dig it out and have a go at bringing it up to standard. This particular example is one of the 1891 build converted for perishable goods traffic. It was fitted with through air and vacuum pipes, flitched frames, oil boxes and the McIntosh patent brake. I have added these from the bits box, a full repaint and there it is back in service again. I have weathered it a bit, the picture in the wagon book shows it in a rather dusty condition. Time to fire up the silhouette and have a go at the stairs from the station building to the platform.

Very nice work. I must dig mine out and dust them all. If you are at a show and there is a Langley stand keep an eye open for the bits box, they sell off all the bits individually. A few years back I came home with a bag of assorted wheels, horses and things. Its kept me entertained for hours building odd stuff. Based on a photo from , er, somewhere.

I have also found that the revell contacta is good for laminating styrene sheet. I keep a 2 inch bit of 11 thou wire down the tube . A pattern of tiny dots of it across the surface, dries slowly compared to the liquid solvents and if the assembly is held flat with weights it doesn't warp. Oddly too it does smell sweet and lemony, I do wonder if it is limonene in a gel ?

I haven't tried their point rodding stuff. I have however made some of their etched point levers. I found them to be neat accurate etches which soldered up with ease. ( I use standard solder, the low melt stuff is just for special jobs at that price) http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/2091/entry-19391-some-point-levers/ Usual disclaimers, hope that is of help.

Its a bit of a minefield Compound. Logically the steel wagon frames would be black, but looking at the build photographs they are clearly the same as the body, with just the strapping picked out in black. Same goes for buffers, the majority of CR wagons had them in red lead, but a few were in black. Actually the brakegear in the build photo is the same as the body , but in service pictures they all look black. Tyres are another nightmare. The painting specification calls for them to be white, and build pictures nearly always are. In service pictures indicate that it vanished very quickly, the odd photo shows remnants. I was also puzzled by the sheet rings. The 1903 drawing and the build photo of the first 1000 Hurst Nelson wagons doesn't have them. However the 1905 drawing with the modified end door and the build photo of the next 1000 wagons quite clearly does have them at both ends. They were still fitted on the 1916 build when the steel underframes were substituted with oak ones due to wartime steel shortages. Indeed the D59 seems to be the only CR wagon fitted with them, but as to why I couldn't really say. Some earlier diagrams had cleats on the lower sides, but I can't see loops on the ends. ( Shame really, they were fun to make ) Next up is an odd version of the D3, Flitched frames and the McIntosh brake...

Hi Mikkel, it is what the Caledonian called a "wrong line backing signal" Its purpose is to permit a train to reverse from the main line into the sidings or one that has reversed out of the sidings to cross to the other line. All the parts are from mse, I got quite good at making up the signal ladders with the correct round rungs by the end. Other companies used a different shape of arm and description, but some of the ex CR scissors shaped ones lasted in BR days, 1956 in the case of Oban. (I'm saying all this quietly, you know how signalling can cause endless debate round here ...... )

Ah, thats better, a bit of wagon building. Nice relaxing stuff. In this case its a pair of D59 wagons from the “true line models” kit, available from the CRA. Many thanks to Tony Brenchley for making the range available. Resin body, my usual type of chassis. As ever full history in “Caledonian Railway Wagons’ by Mike Williams. These two have the later 1905 style end door. Thought I would have a go at weathering them a bit, that coal dust gets everywhere. And just a bit of a panorama from the direction which isn’t usually viewed. Gives me an eye on what it all looks like. Still a bit of a wide open space.

Brilliant stuff as ever Mikkel, the combination of figures and accessories is most evocative of the era. I have painted 60 of Andrew Staddens figures, the more I do the more I appreciate his artistic genius. Really, I don't think anyone has created Edwardian figures as accurately. ( I have had a go at making my own figures. Er, I'll post a pic of blobs in the bin sometime. It is a skill beyond me.) Mixing the parts up takes it to a new level.

Great pictures as usual GN. "Fuse wire" is rarely used these days, I have spent much of my life ripping out fuse boxes and fitting consumer units. However Tinned Copper Wire and Enamelled Copper Wire are still widely available and relatively inexpensive. Very useful stuff .

They look the part. The Caley also used the Coal in piles followed by man with shovel at local yards.

They were a bit stingy Mikkel, the only photos I have show 1 under the canopy and 2 along the platforms. They were longer than the one I have there and I think they had the fancy CR cast ends. I do have some pictures of a preserved example, sometime I might give it to the silhouette as a challenge.

Thanks all. Its a valid point 26 power, the slates are a bit of a compromise. I wanted to keep the edge of the slates very thin with a gap of about 2 inches above the lead canopy flashing. Most of the available sheets of slates are too thick and would have not matched the leadwork at the skylights or the chimney flashings. I have individually laid paper slates in the past, but these days I don't think I could get accurate lines of them over that length of the roof. In the end I decided to use "Redutex" sheets. These are very thin and quite long so there is only one join in the whole length of the roof. I agree though, the gap between individual slates is a bit wide. However to my eye the accuracy of size and straightness of the courses is what I would notice from normal viewing distances.

One of the best decisions I ever made was to build my layout in sections and have everything in the railway room on castors. Given the number of boards on your layout I reckon it makes a lot of sense. http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/2091/entry-19250-the-baseboard-waltz/

At last, a platform building with a roof on it. I’m reasonably pleased with the way it has turned out. Close up photos show the odd bit that needs a touch of paint, that always tends to be the case these days. The final position will depend on how the stairs from the upper building work out but thats pretty much in the right place. I have learned a lot along the way, particularly with regard to messing about with photographic textures and some of the finer points of using the silhouette. I will be interested to see how stable a delicate styrene structure is long term, only time will tell on that one. The figures could do with a spot of matt varnish too. Maybe even a bit of light weathering though at the time I’m modelling the building would be barely 10 years old. Anyway, a bit of wagon building next, will seem like a holiday I think.

Very impressive, I do like the long run through the countryside. Glad you decided to do that and resist the temptation to cram too much stuff in

I like the footplate construction method. Er, lets call that a hint for etched brass kit designers in general....