Wagonmaster

A bit more progress on the 504's. Glazing around the cab area has been done, but the rest of the car needs glazing. I phoned Replica Railways about the glazing and they confirmed there was a problem with the tool. However, it is being fixed and they hope to start production shortly. Interiors are being made and painted and the lights will be wired up shortly.

Hi, unfortunately my 'fix' as described will only work for DCC as I am using the decoder for light switching and logic. You can modify GT3 to display your required lighting on dc/analogue, but it is different to my described wiring and will require the use of diodes and resistors. I cut the NF wire close to the plug as I wanted as much cable as possible to re-route the wiring without fouling the tender body when it was replaced. I did point out about voiding the warranty in my post.

I came up with a solution for my GT3 which I think would satisfy your requirements in my post of April 2nd on page 78, if it's of any help?

I deliberately didn't suggest a Realtrack chassis for a few reasons, but it would probably be the best choice. Firstly is the cost, it seems a very expensive option. There are the inter car connections, if they're like the Class 143/144's plus the associated wiring for the lights. Lastly, are they available yet? I have a Bristol Railbus and a Class 140 that both use the High Level Kits motor conversion and they run very well. I take what you say about the Hornby chassis and ride height. Good suggestion about using bus transfers though!

The 141's are looking really good! Must get on with mine! Would Hornby Class 142 Pacer be any good for a chassis? You can always re-motor them with either the Branchlines or High Level Kits motor units for better performance.

Brilliant, thank you very much. I'll download these and adjust them to fit. Thanks again

More progress on the 504's. The interiors have been painted and the cab ends glazed. Lights are being fitted, but there is a query. The headcodes in the centre window seem to be of an unusual font. What have people used for this? Any suggestions gratefully received.

Yes, I tbink placing diodes in the relative wiring would solve your problem.

Thanks for that link. I've been following Andy's articles on this project in Railway Modeller with interest. One point though, the locomotive illustrated is not a Wagonmaster, but one of the later diesel-hydraulic Hunslets which are normally referred to as a Hunslet DH. Great looking model, pity it's not available in 4mm scale. Just as a matter of interest though, below is my scratchbuilt version of a Hunslet DH in 4mm scale running on 12mm gauge track.

Thanks for the kind comments Kevin and I'm glad you found my BnM book useful. There is an updated version in preparation to include all the changes since written. No problem with the gauge. Richard Insley did do a small Irish Peat layout, but I seem to remember that it was TTn3 scale, that is 3mm/ft on 9mm track. If Charles is on here maybe he could confirm? Now I've broken cover, my 'handle' is probably an obvious choice!

I did indeed and I am still building odd bits and pieces of BnM stock. I must correct you however, it's not OO9, but OOn3, which in 4mm scale is the correct 12mm gauge representing 3ft gauge. There were a couple of 2ft gauge systems, such as Glenties for example, but I'm not modelling those. As for the Ferguson Rail Tractors, try this effort with a model of the vehicle it was hauling!

I'm not convinced about a red cab light either. I would like to see the piece of documentation that states that this was the case. If it is proven that GT3 had a red cab light, I'll gladly disconnect my replacement white one and restore the red one! As for the other issues, they have, or will be shortly sorted. At least they are not major like a certain Class 44 I have!

That's great, thank you. Anything would be better than nothing, however basic. Cheers

They are also illustrated and advertised on page 56a of the May 2021 issue of Railway Modeller as 'in development'.

In need of more help from our knowledgeable friends on RMWeb. I recently acquired an MSL etched brass kit of LNER 6701, 6000, BR 26000 'Tommy'. Although a complete kit of parts, it unfortunately didn't have any instructions! Most of it is fairly obvious and I have built up the body with most of the detail parts. However, I have some bits left over that I have no idea what they are and where they go. The biggest problem concerns the roof area behind one of the pantographs. There is a rectangular area, with four holes in the roof, where something goes, but I can't see anything obvious that fits. From the few prototype photos I have seen l, it appears to be the electrical circuit breakers? So, does anyone have a set of instructions they can copy for me or a diagram of the roof so that I can see what goes there please? Any help gratefully received.

And a white cab light and round tender buffers?

A bit more progress on my Class 504 Bury units. Having finally sorted out the lining issue (thanks to philsandy), the bodies have been lined, numbered and other text applied. Now, these units are in 'as built' condition. As such, both cars have the carriage roundal. They also don't have the 'M' suffix, this seems to have appeared about the same time as the small yellow warning panels. Obviously the underframes still need to be finished. Interior painting and glazing are next. However, it seems Replica Railways are out of stock of their suburban glazing at the moment! Doh! Still, plenty to do in the meantime.

You could do what Heljan do with their O Gauge locos and not put a number on at all, just leave it blank. That way, the individual can put on whatever number they want. A nice touch you could do is to supply a transfer number sheet with sufficient numbers to make pre-TOPS or TOPS numbers in with the model. Just an idea.

Can't help noticing the prismatic effect of the cab glazing in that photograph. I wonder if Shawplan will produce some Laserglaze for it?

That's an interesting array of liveries! Not a big fan of fictitious liveries personally, so I'll just go with the prototype maroon and cream. Be interesting to see how many takers there are for the other versions though.

Mine arrived safely too, this being E3114 in original blue with small yellow panels. This how I first saw them and fits the era I'm modelling. Firstly, following the endless discussions on this thread, I think the blue is about right. It's not Electric Blue and not the Rail Blue of latter years. So I'm pleased about that! The overall shape is good and it certianly looks like an AL6 to me. There are a few detail issues, as has been previously mentioned on here. One I was wondering about is the bus bar on the roof. Weren't these painted red originally? The other thing I would have liked to see are the raised aluminium numbers and 'Lion and Wheel' crest. Bachmann supplied these in the 'bits bag' as add on extras with the AL5/Class 85. Maybe some of the etched ones from the detailing suppliers might fit? It does run nicely and at a later stage I'll fit a dcc sound chip. Anybody any ideas on the best version? Other than that, I'm pleased with it!

Thanks for your reply philsandy. I've had a look back over your post and photographs and it does look fine done that way. Certainly better than my attempt, which is truly atrocious! For some reason I thought the lining was yellow, but you and various photographs have used cream. Thought something didn't look quite right! Thanks again.

Progress has been a bit slow on the 504's of late. They are all painted and at the transfer stage. This is where the problem is. I tried using Fox Transfers yellow lining. The 0.75mm line at waist level doesn't sit well across the moulded detail of the Replica Railways body, mainly the door knobs, hand grabs and bump stops. I've tried using some MicroSol, but that hasn't helped. Anybody got any ideas?

Thanks for all the compliments, appreciated. I meant to post a picture of the Motor Brake Second as well. So here it is. Please note that the pantograph isn't quite right and I've yet to sort out the roof detail. Just having a difficulty in sorting the parts for this.

Thanks very much Dave! They are! I'll have a good look at those.