Dave John

I'd certainly agree with making detailed wiring lists. Use whatever software is freely available to you and remember to update the lists as you make changes. Kelvinbank is a simple layout, yet there are 30 + pages of wiring lists and 40 + pages of circuit diagrams. Many years ago before kelvinbank 0 I had an N gauge layout. I thought I could just remember the wiring. I discovered that memory, like hair, is temporary ...

An excellent read as ever. It does illustrate the variations within a class for these early locomotives. I shall refrain from suggesting that "Red Star" should be allocated to parcels traffic.

Some progress. The nine levers have been cut from 2mm brass. The other parts are fabricated from tube and section. I used a pair of buffer springs to assist gravity on the stop block to give a positive feel to the action. The frame made up from silhouette cut styrene, 3 ply. It will become stiffer as more is added but tests show that it is heading in the right direction. I chose a spacing of 15 mm for the levers. That gives about 28 mm as a gap for moving a lever; my thumb is 24 mm wide. Feels about right. Microswitches in place, the spacers are actually old meccano nuts, slightly thinned. This is a locking bar. The captive pin arrangement allows them to be removed. Test assembly with the locking in place. It isn’t as comprehensive as a full locking system, but it does prevent the point levers being moved until the signals are properly set. The overlap is such that the microswitches will not trigger until a lever is properly unlocked, I think in practice there would be more, possibly a fpl on the point leading to the sidings since it could be worked both ways. I will also have some electrical locking for the ground signals. Certainly signalling was simpler in the early days, more complications as time went on. A pic of the front. I will add a front sheet and some beading. Next stage, take it to bits and do some painting.

Interesting research. The fusion model with the shorter boiler does look more in proportion.

Humour me il Dottore. Junk Google. It is a sales platform not a search engine. Try Duck Duck Go, selectable under preferences > search on safari and I assume other browsers. Search for 1/24 scale helicopter kits. Note the difference.

A nice model, it is an unusual vehicle. Looking at the engraving I see that each of the four end coaches has a brakesman. I wonder whether that would be the reason for running such coaches at the rear of the train ?

I wish someone would send me to Copenhagen for a job. Mind you, having had a good look round Copenhagen via google earth I think I would be tempted to bin the return ticket.

A wonderful trip, some great pictures in there.

I had a look, they seem to just do bespoke signals. I think I'll have a go at the diy route, I have been hoarding materials scavenged from various places over the years. Challenge accepted Mikkel .

I had a look at the scalefour frame. I messed about with some bits of card , but I felt that it was just a bit too small and the levers too closely spaced for me to operate comfortably and easily. Personal view, but I want to be able to use this with my train watching specs on rather than my close work specs.

The levers will be brass . I think i will try laminating the frame from styrene, it is surprisingly strong at 3 or 5 ply. Even if I decide to move up to brass the silhouette cut parts can be used as accurate templates.

I'm not sure yet Compound. I have an idea about simple mechanical interlocking but I don't know whether it would be robust enough. If not then I know how to do it electrically.

I have never been entirely happy with the control of points and signals on Kelvinbank. Three way switches allow a signal to be set to on, off or auto. Switches set the points, in auto mode they also control the signals via short timers. It is vaguely interlocked, but not perfectly. All workable but somehow not in keeping with the period feel of things. So. Lanarkshire and Dumbartonshire section of the CR during the Edwardian era. Built in the 1890s. Boxes would have a Stevens & Sons frame. Like this one; Some research on the model frames available showed that none were really what I was after. I only need a frame of nine levers to work Kelvinbank the way I want. The very good ones are expensive and none have that Stevens & Sons geometry, with a lever about 4 “ long. A long lever pulled forward from the vertical rather than an over centre arc. Hmm, diy time I have never scratchbuilt a lever frame. Starting with the above sketch it seemed like a good idea to have a mess about with a styrene mockup. Here is the third attempt. I think that is what I am after. The stop block is sprung, gravity doesn’t quite scale. I bought some v4 roller microswitches off some lot called temu, 30 for 5 quid and they seem perfectly ok. Bear in mind that I am not trying to make a scale model of the frame, rather a practical working frame in the style of Stevens & Sons. The lever spacing has to be overscale to avoid getting my fingers stuck. Next stage, cutting nine levers from 2mm sheet brass.

I have learned a lot from this. I knew of the atmospheric railway but little of the details. Really excellent research culminating in a model which if not unique is certainly very unusual. I now understand why it proved impractical and was abandoned so quickly. Thanks too for the link to the Indonesian system, I had no idea that existed.

Very impressive Mike. That certainly illustrates how it worked. I didn't realise that the hangers were cranked like that. Must have involved a lot of work at the termini, lifting the whole piston frame and moving the whole coach ( via a point? ) to the return track.

Hmm, I tend to think that a rtr 7mm wagon made to the accuracy of yours would cost an awful lot more than 40 quid . That brake gear is exquisite, but why did they put the horse loop at the brake lever end ? Compounds figures for 4mm are about right, I reckon £10 - £15 for a scratch build wagon , heading towards the £20 - £25 mark for a kit. I had to look it up , but I gather a "deltic" represents about £ 250. Ouch. I also note that Historex are showing better stocks of rivets and bolts. It was your use of them that led me to experiment with them in 1/50 scale. Now I'm an addict ....

I remember the vacuum systems in shops, brass cans that twisted open and had a felt pad at the ends. The coach body looks a good print. It will be interesting to see the running gear, I have often wondered how it worked in practice.

Well, I chopped up some old sprue, and gave each bit a rub on some rough sandpaper. glued them to a bit of plasticard so the just sit in there . A shot of halfords grey primer. Then tamiya acrylics, black white and aluminium badly mixed, well thinned and splashed on. Finally I have some stuff in a pot labelled "rust it" which I bought from a squires stand way back . I think it is a mix of rust and acrylic paint. Splash some of that on . All very visceral but seems to work . I must take my camera and photograph the organ bellow weights at Cottiers . They would be late 1900s and locally sourced . Glasgow is full of Victorian cast iron if you know where to look .

According to the 1907 wagon census the Caledonian had 1861 pig iron wagons, of which 1300 were to Diagram 16 in various build lots to either 8 or 14 tons. Certainly the CR moved a lot of pig iron from furnaces to steelworks and foundries, but these wagons were used as a sturdy one plank dropside for anything that needed moved. One of those wagons that turned up everywhere and is very useful for forming short rakes on the layout. These two are from the whitemetal 51L kit, they go together easily. Designed for fixed W irons, but I prefer etched W irons on a copperclad chassis, the wheelsets can be left out for painting and it gives somewhere to mount the aj and the buffer springs. A photo of the underside to illustrate that ; Posed for a photo ; A slightly elevated view. The pig iron loads are removable, made from old plastic kit sprue stuck to a bit of styrene. I have various modelling ideas in the pipeline but various things have to be done round the flat first.

Some of us have been building vans with magnetic roofs that can easily be removed for a while. Makes painting the roof simpler, weight can be added simply and it gets round the issue of an accident with glue whilst trying to stick them on.

I totally support the idea. I have a feeling that the way things are going there will be a lot of potential modellers who have time but not financial resources. I have only bought a couple of OO items in years so I can't contribute anything practical. My own approach is the 1/50 scale project, 100 % scratch build though I'm a bit odd and lean towards the making rather than the running side of things .

For the parts of my layout yard that are covered in setts I used code 75 bh for the running rail and some code 55 ish N gauge rail as the checkrail. Construction was copperclad with some brass shim so that both heads were level. The effect is like that second pic , the inner rail is narrower that the running rail. In EM I think that the space between the running and inner rail is a bit wider than true scale but it does mean that the sets between the inner rails are supported and it is practical and cleanable.

I think the brake gear was worth the effort with so much being visible around the wheels.

Given that it is just a background project the tank wagon has come on well. I spent a bit of time faffing about wondering how to make something that looked like the clamping straps and hawsers that hold the tank on. Eventually it dawned on me, at 1/50 the simple answer is just to make some straps and hawsers and hold the tank on with them. So I splashed out a tenner for 50 m1 nuts and bolts. Some bits of brass and m1 nuts and bolts. Five strands of 5A fuse wire for the hawsers, bit of soldering. I have tried to model all the brake gear, reservoir, cylinder and triple valve all piped up. Rather a fancy paint job, but why not. I decided to keep the sand colour for the tank, makes a nice contrast to the general dark grey of the rest. Since both Mikkel and I rather like it that makes it a committee decision. A couple of pics with a figure to give a sense of size. I’m happy with the way that has worked out. Perhaps a bit crude, but solid and workmanlike. One of my objectives for the 1/50 project is to enjoy some model making without breaking the bank. I estimate that tank wagon has cost less than 20 quid to build. A lot of simple fun on the bench for that price.

Thanks Mikkel. Still some detailing to do and I'm not entirely happy with the goods shed. More stock needed too.