Barclay

If you like the idea of building things then please don't be put off the notion of building kits etc. Soldering brass and Nickel silver is as easy as falling off a log if you follow the basics: Clean the metal beforehand, use an appropriate flux and lowish melting point solder, such as 145 or 179, and use a clean iron. I would also urge you to consider EM or P4 on the basis that if you are building loco's and track yourself you might as well. EM in any case is as easy as finescale 00; P4 I've not done and suspect a little more finesse is required, but by no means unachievable. As others have said it needn't cost the earth, and unlike the large one-off cost of a pricey RTR loco the investment tends to be incremental. Stepping away from RTR track immediately makes you think in terms of more realistic radii and suddenly everything is looking so much better!

At least I'm not going mad, well I might be but not over that - Looking forward to seeing version 2 !

With the viaduct, the six rings of bricks on the inner edge of each arch would be headers wouldn't they, while on the model one they appear to be stretchers. I can't quite tell from your picture of the real thing a few pages ago but I think they are headers and must admit I've never seen bricks laid end to end in such a position.

I remember reading that one of the MSWJR Beyer Peacock 2-6-0s, knocking around the vicinity of Swindon in its final years, was used to deputise for a failed Castle on an express - not for very far I think! Given that this was in the vicinity of Swindon you'd think they might have had a more likely stand-in, but perhaps it was just in the right place at the right time.

I can't be accused of rushing this I know... To be honest modelling has taken something of a back seat this summer, but the points were all completed, and I am now laying the track starting from the pier where the Fairbanks-Morse stands idling in this picture. This has been an ideal loco for testing as it has no paint or detail to mess up. It's now time to stick down the diamond, then start at the other end and the tracks can meet in the middle. The carfloat bridge has also been timbered and the track laid on it. Yes, I know the loft needs tidying up. I would love a proper railway room in the house itself (maybe when we retire) but the downside would be I would have to keep it tidy!

Funny you should mention that - the loco is based on the premise that the Tri-ang dock shunter is Bagnall inspired, and Brush-Bagnall also built some Bo-Bo loco's for the Steel Company of Wales. They didn't look like this of course, but I think they should have !

They are great fun, and a hoot to drive - quite smooth but nearly supersonic! I meddled with this one a little: And with this one a lot !

You reminded me of my beloved Pentax SV, unused since before Lockdown - now to get some film. Having said that Digital is a thousand times easier for taking pictures of the train set.

Sounds too easy - build it in EM !

They are generally regarded as the earliest etched kits, first available in the late - 40's. They are rather different to a modern etched kit in that the brass is only etched from one side, so you have to cut the parts out. Serious model-making. I have a kit for the Armstrong Whitworth diesel in my stash to build one day. There was a feature in MRJ no.2 (Can scan it to you if it's of interest) and a build of the Armstrong Whitworth in MRJ Compendium no.1. About 10-15 years ago my work used to take me to Ipswich and as I was round the corner I just had to look for 50A Fore Street. It was an empty old shop as I recall that appeared so forgotten that it looked like it might not have been touched since Mr. Sayer and Mr. Chaplin (???) shut the door and walked away 60 years previously. As to the price of this kit, they can go for decent money because of the historical interest. Since we are talking about antique kits, anyone else built one by R. M. Evans? These are stamped brass, again from the late 40's. I believe this is the Martin Evans who would later become editor of the Model Engineer. I got this from ebay very cheaply some years ago. It needed quite a lot of extra parts...

Those motors (looks like a DS10 as others have said) are OK but they are high revving and really need gearing down to get a smooth response, which I suspect this gearbox doesn't do sufficiently. They also aren't that powerful and a largish white metal loco is probably putting quite a load on it. I would be inclined to withdraw the steel worm from the motor shaft (grub screw fitting) and see if the chassis rolls smoothly. If not try a dot of oil on the wheel bearings. Still no go? Check there's a small element of clearance where the coupling rods sit on the crankpins. They should be capable of being waggled back and forth very slightly. If the chassis can be made to roll smoothly there's no reason why it shouldn't be OK. The motor could be easily substituted with a slightly larger can motor (from ebay, or perhaps the 12/27 that Taff Vale models sell). These are slower revving and more powerful so would work much better with the gear train that is in the loco. Just some thoughts...

Tell me about it - I think I bought it around 1987, from The Engine Shed in Leytonstone High Road. The wheels are some sort of Mazac casting though the frames are actually brass. I do look at it from time to time, work out what would need to be replaced, and, as you say, put it back again...

I can't stop myself, I have a drawer full. They give me great comfort - sometimes I look at them and gloat. Please tell me this is normal?? 3 or 4 added since this photo 2-3 years ago, but one and a half built, so I'm only losing ground slowly!

I believe the asbestos is only in the resistance controllers, i.e. Clipper and Duette, because it is part of the resistance mat. I wouldn't want to take either of those apart for that reason, but I still use them for 16V AC for my layout.

I wouldn't worry about the slight colour difference, I'm sure that such variations existed due to weathering/time out of shops, etc. Am I right in thinking that 'Great Western' pre-dated the shirt button? If that's the case then it will have been a while since it was painted and even a clean loco ought to show some signs of fading and weathering in my view - the black would no longer be black, or shiny, and a gentle tone down wouldn't go amiss even for a well looked after engine. Did they have a polished brass safety valve and ring at the front of the boiler at the time (ever?). Just some thoughts from someone who doesn't know a lot about the GW - after all I managed to paint a 1946-built pannier in pre-1926 green, and couldn't bear to paint over the brass safety valve!!

I know exactly what you mean - primer/paint/hand paint the red bits/weathering - all these stages really need a decent gap between them but I always find myself taking shortcuts. For black paint I find the Halfords' rattle cans give an excellent finish, kept in the warm, and shaken very thoroughly first.

Hi you might want to look at Ruyton Road, a classic tiny light railway layout - I believe it is 42" long:

Our recently-departed and much-missed friend Geoff Ashdown used to take a step of his own making when exhibiting Tower Pier. On one occasion he was astonished to see a customer taking it with them when they moved away, presumably thinking it would be useful for viewing other layouts! He had to chase after them to retrieve it.

I must admit that as a teenager I tried to snap off the spigots on mine and ended up with a hole in the top of the boiler, which stayed there until I recently rescued it from my Mum's loft and repaired it - goodness knows why, I might put a chassis under it one day (6 coupled, perhaps?) Of course I didn't have a Dremel in the 1980's !

When I first started putting some stock together for a small American layout I was astonished at the cost of new RTR stuff, good as it is. To be honest that would have provided very little enjoyment for me anyway. I obtained my stock mostly from ebay 'tat' bought quite cheaply. Everything in this motley collection was very cheap, except the brass one and even that was so rough that it was cheap too before the postal costs and taxman had their way. 2 of these are now detailed and painted, which has been most enjoyable, and the others will go the same way I hope. DC - no sound, just simple stuff. The J17 in the background is a friend's, an old Bec kit from Hattons, didn't cost him all that much. I improved the body and put a scratchbuilt chassis under it, and it's come out half-decent. The 'thing' in the box is a cheap old Reidpath casting, with a kit chassis and some details. Cheap but fun to build. I hope all this shows, as others have, that you don't need to spend a fortune on this hobby, and the more of your own effort you put in, not only do you get more out but it usually costs less too!

The interweb has a great variety of spur gears available, normally either brass or Delrin, etc., though they usually have a metric bore, but perhaps they could be bushed? The key dimension to consider when looking at suppliers' websites is the Pitch Circle Diameter which is the effective diameter when meshed. If you use 2 identical gears this will be equal to the centre to centre dimension (motor shaft to output shaft). They are often sold by number of teeth and the "Modulus" which is a kind of size standard for gears I think... Number of teeth multiplied by the modulus gives the PCD, so a 16 tooth gear in the common 0.5 Mod would be 8mm PCD. Price and quality vary hugely from proper industrial stuff to cheap plastic from China. Materials like Delrin and Hostaform are specialist plastics designed for this kind of use - they would certainly quieten that Tri-ang bogie down! Sorry if you know all this already but it's just stuff picked up whilst searching for gears for a loco gear train.

Looks great - I think Airfix/Kitmaster really nailed the look of this loco. Mine has an etched chassis, Comet, I think.

In an old thread of mine @Miss Prism posted this very useful link which tells us which loco's had brass or other types of plates. Sadly my post-war pannier didn't have brass ! http://www.trainweb.org/rcn_uk/gwcabs.html

Seeing this coach reminded me of the Mopok BR CCT I built many years ago. The self-adhesive sides have their limitations but I could never do lettering and lining that well!

I think that little bit of post and chain fencing looks really good. I wouldn't change the wall myself - the existing one fits into the landscape very nicely.