Signalman Rich

Mike, I too was really pleased to see your quality work in the GOG Gazette. I am sorry that you left due to the negative comments by those people who are now no longer part of the Guild. The Forum is now an altogether more pleasant place to interchange modelling skills. Keep up the inspirational work. Best wishes Rich

Lovely to see some of your beautiful work. I have long admired the L & H R from your writings in the columns of the Gauge O Guild Gazette. I look forward to seeing further descriptions of your builds. It certainly helps to have you write about the difficulties you have overcome. Sometimes when superb models are displayed on the web it is almost discouraging to think " I could never do that," but your frankness and tenacity are an inspiration. Best wishes Rich

Mike, The van is looking great! However, don't beat yourself up too much re the placement (or style) of the Staffordshire knot. In George Dow's "North Staffordshire Album" on page 96 there are photos of two three-plank opens and a 20 ton brake van and they each have different styles of the knot. On the previous page there is a builder's photo of 10 ton van No 5427 from a batch by Metropolitan C & W in 1912 that has an 11 plank side and the knot is on the third plank from the bottom (!) although on the same side as yours. I know you are producing wagons from an earlier period so my comment may be superfluous and you probably are working from a particular photo for your van, which may make it essential to get knots lettering etc in the correct place but I think different makers often interpreted the railway companies' designs differently, as well as the painters having their own particular affectations. Hope this might be helpful? We have enjoyed the lovely sunshine down here today too - enough for me to cut the grass for the first time this year. Best wishes Rich

Mike, So glad you have good news re your cancer. News like that puts modelling matters into perspective. The van is looking really crisp and neat. Looking forward to seeing the axleguards and lettering completed. The NS wagons book is full of beautiful drawings that deserve to be modelled. I think I have 'need' of a ballast train for my little layout - a good opportunity to try batch production techniques. Thanks for the continuing inspiration. Best wishes Rich

Mike, Thanks for the tip re making of crown plates. Re: your post of last Thursday on making/obtaining a suitable loco. You might like to consider the battery electric loco that used to reside at Oakamoor. There are some good broadside views in the various NSR books. The loco in glorious NSR livery is now in the NRM I believe. For you it would be just like making one of your lovely wagons but with a cab in the middle of the body. As an alternative starting point - as it is a similar loco - Jim McGeown 's Connoisseur Models have a very similar Midland Railway loco that might be worth exploring. His instructions for the MR loco, which are available to download, show some very simple ways of motorising using 4mm scale gears and motor on the 1/8" wagon axles as well as a chain drive for both axles. It might be worth considering? Best wishes and keep up the great work. Rich

Mike, Lovely crisp work that inspires me to do better. Thank you for your perseverance - the result is great. Best wishes Rich

Sam, I am enjoying your NB wagon build. In addition to Northroader's comments and not "wishing to teach granny to suck eggs" - Re recycling metal - I would be wary of melting lead or other low-melt alloys plus various additives indoors - they will likely give off noxious/harmful fumes as well as providing potential for kitchen damage. I have melted low melt alloy to pour into pre-prepared moulds in the garden where the wind blew the fumes away. I used a small camping gas burner to melt the metal. Peter Denny used to hollow out pieces of wood with axle holes made from dowel to make his uncompensated chassis for locos from lead. (see his book 'Buckingham Great Central') Perhaps it might be an idea to prepare some small oblong moulds from offcuts of pine or other wood to pour the molten metal into rather than have a great lump to have to deal with in the future. A ladle would keep the metal contained in small enough amounts to make the process safer. A old table spoon is an alternative if you do not have a ladle to hand. I have used both with success in the past. In case of accidents or unexpected errors I would suggest some leather gardening type gloves and some goggles as essential safety equipment. Make sure that all the moulds are bone dry too. Pouring liquid metal onto moisture will result in a shower of hot metal - not recommended! Hope this may be useful. Best wishes Rich

Sam Your builds are looking good. Just a small point with your Hunslet diesel which you may find helpful. In "A Pictorial Record of the Diesel Shunter" by Colin Marsden (OPC) there is a photo of 11502 under repair at Stratford Diesel Depot. (plate 118). It shows the front louvres on each side covered by a rectangular closed box about two and a half or three inches deep. The article in Model Railways by Don Townsley with the accompanying drawing and notes mentioned that the shunters were affected by the fumes from the engine when riding on the front steps and the decision was made to cover the front louvres up to prevent that happening again. It would save you making louvres for the front set if you are making the BR version, although obviously there were some Hunslets of this type sold to industry that may not have had the louvre covers. A simple rectangle of an appropriate thickness of plastic would do it. I have been making a model of this engine too, but from card instead of plasticard and laminated up strips of overlapping card which were then cut to length and width. I look forward to seeing your Hunslet when completed. Hoping this may be of interest. Best wishes Rich PS Others may like to know that 'Narrow Planet' make etches for the distinctive 'Hunslet' plate on the front of the loco, but I expect you already know about that.

Neil, For converting the safety valve cover from whitemetal to brass I have tried 'gold' leaf from the local art shop. If you paint the safety valve cover with a red oxide paint first, then let it dry. Next apply some Gold size (also from the art shop about £6 or so) and let the size go tacky. Then carefully apply some gold leaf (which is actually very thin brass) on the top. When dry the brass leaf can be gently burnished. Varnishing over the top will prevent the brass tarnishing over time. I have used it with some success for a dome on a little Neilson tank based on a Roxey kit on my Watchmouth Railway. The idea behind the red undercoat is to give more of a gold colour. The 5 by 5 inch sheets of the leaf cost me 33p per sheet when I last bought some last year. Might be worth a try when the shops open up again? I will try to attach a photo. Hope this may be useful. Best wishes Rich

The book looks really interesting. However when I tried to ring the number listed above I heard "The number has not been recognized." Would it be possible to check and find the correct number please and then post a correction? Thanks in anticipation. Best wishes Rich

Hi Killian There was a wonderful 7mm scale model of the Danish loco made by Nick Baines that was on display on Ian Rathbone's stand at Telford recently. I believe that he has a photo on his web site. Burtt's 'Locomotives of the LB&SCR' has some side elevations that may be helpful. Best wishes Rich

Hello Eric. It was great to see the photos of Vintner's Yard in Digest 9 - a reminder of the enjoyable Nailsea show. I too view on a laptop and think that the current format is excellent. No need to change the format - something about 'gilding a lily' comes to mind. Best wishes Rich

Hello John (Archer) Jim Read, the author of the article that Johng (above) posted in the GOG Gazette has a blog that is worth looking at. He has several small layouts that he has built on his blog, as well as info on economically building locos, wagons, a controller etc. If you Google " Jim Read model railways" it lists his blogspot and also lists his writings on RMweb - a very useful resource for those of us interested in economical 7mm scale modelling. Try http://ogaugemicro.blogspot.com As an aside I would recommend re-joining the Gauge O Guild. One gains access to the Gazette Archive as well as the Forum which continues to be a fantastic resource of advice on all sorts of practical modelling topics. Each Gazette ( four each year ) has reviews of current products and loads of 7mm scale adverts that are worth their weight in gold to aid finding particular castings or kits. The 'Traders' section lists and provides links to most if not all the traders who provide 'stuff' in 7mm scale. I hope this may be helpful. Best wishes Rich

I left home at 5.54am on Saturday and after a trip of 115 miles arrived at Railex in time to have a breakfast ham roll and sit in the car park watching some red kites swooping and diving and generally enjoying themselves in the skies over Stoke Mandeville while the trains rattled by on the adjacent embankment. A thoroughly agreeable start to the day. What followed was one of the best, if not the best, model railway show I have ever attended. Things to like? The superb quality and variety of scales on offer in the layouts, an excellent range of traders ( and yes, I did overspend ) and a splendid venue, not too hot, not too cold, with places to sit down to look at the guide and decide where to go next. The aisles were a comfortable width even as the day progressed and the crowds grew. It was good to see others taking advantage of the opportunity to sit down and have a chinwag or a sandwich without feeling they were in the way. I came particularly to see the Cameo layouts, and was not disappointed by the quality and variety. They were all inspirational in their way and I hope that we shall hear more from their makers in the modelling press. There must be many tips and constructional lessons to be learned from such superb modelling. Perhaps their constructors could share their secrets. I would particularly like to thank the exhibitors, traders, the members of Risborough and District MRC for their efforts in organizing the show, including the selfless members of the Car Park team who stood out in the sunshine yesterday directing us punters in such a helpful way (hope it did not rain on your parade today). Those who travelled from near and far seem to have enjoyed themselves despite the efforts involved in getting there, setting up, taking down and getting home again too, hopefully tired but happy. Was it worth all the effort? From my perspective - I should say so! See you all next year! Best wishes Rich

Thanks for your expertise Compound. I have shown my ignorance of matters Midland! I was thinking of the pretty little Johnson saddle tanks which I wrongly attributed to Mr Deeley. I had in mind the photo (Plate 27 in Midland wagons Volume One by R J Essery) that shows a shunter's truck that has a large box that seems to go the full width and length of the body rather than the smaller central collection of boxes with lift-up lids. The deep footboards might go further in hiding any downwards projection of the battery. I don't think Tricky would have any problem in making either of the tank engines, given his quality modelling and his lovely Johnson 0-6-0 on the layout. Regarding battery size: I have next to no practical knowledge of radio control or of the batteries, but read Giles Favell's article in MRJ 271 and was impressed by their rectangular shape as fitted into the trailer of the mechanical horse. That might be suitable? Either way I am sure that Tricky will find a solution and hopefully write about it, too. Best wishes Rich

Congratulations! Following your build on RMweb and in your articles in MRJ has been an inspiration for me to pay more attention to details. It was a great pleasure to see your layout 'in the flesh' and to chat briefly about the potential for smaller batteries and their use in tank engines. Thank you for travelling up from Royal Tunbridge Wells and showing what I think will be considered to be a real milestone in 7mm building. I look forward to seeing more from your workshop in the future, maybe even a little Deeley 0-4-0 saddle tank that is radio controlled! Keep up the great work! Best wishes Rich PS Enjoy your book choice, it is well deserved. PPS Didn't the Midland have shunter's trucks (attached to their 0-4-0s?) - could be a great place for a battery!

Lovely detailed modelling as ever, Mike. Thanks for the tip re: making the chamfers using nickel silver guards inside the frame voids. I hope to make Railex on the Saturday to see the Cameo layouts amongst other things. I will also be at Warminster with Alma Street Quay. Please stop by and say hello. It will be good to meet you. Best wishes Rich

Don't knock the background, Mike. Looks like some good ideas for storing long thin bits. Are they Pringles lookalike tubes on the right with a cut-down cola bottle on the left with the rear section left to lean brushes etc against? Looking forward to further progress. As usual your layouts are an inspiration. Best wishes Rich

Congratulations on the birth of your grandson. I am sure he will admire Grandad's wagon building like the rest of us. Lovely work as always. Best wishes Rich

Hello Tricky, First: Congratulations on being one of the finalists in the Wild Swan Cameo competition. Thoroughly deserved, given the outstanding quality of your modelling. Second: For a low-tech approach to ambient sound the little Mini kits by Velleman might help. The Voice recording/Playback module MK195 records 90 seconds of sound that only requires a button push to activate. I went into the garden at about 4.30am to record the dawn chorus. Put the circuit boards into a small wood/MDF box about 100mm cube with a 50mm hole drilled in one side with Forstner bit for the speaker and it provides a little background noise that is not too oppressive. If you fancied a trip to a preserved line on a day when they run freight trains you might even get some shunting sounds..... An alternative is to use the Mini kit MK 134 Steam Engine sound generator for a loco. Choice of speed and volume, plus a generic whistle gives a little extra background ambience. I have no connection with Velleman other than a satisfied user. The kits provide a fairly simple soldering exercise, carefully done, and helpfully they each run off a 9 volt battery. The kits are both quite economically priced. I bought my kits from the sadly disappeared Maplins. Here is a link to the Vellemann page. http://www.velleman.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d4_Audio.html Hoping this may be of use/ interest. Best wishes Rich

Having just come upon this thread, and thank you all for the detailed information on wagon sheets, it has just struck me from looking at the photo with sheets used as a 'pool' that the numbers appear to be on both sides of the sheet. (see the left hand 'pool'). I have never read any information on this system (numbers on both sides of sheet) being used anywhere and may be completely barking up the wrong tree but the numbers on the nearest side and the left side (of the left pool) are the same, so it must be a single sheet that has been used, rather than doubling up and two sheets being used, which is what I thought might have happened until I looked again at the numbers (10003 in both cases). Any thoughts anyone? Best wishes Rich

Thanks for posting these superb photos. Like rust, brilliantly observed modelling is brilliant the world over. Truly exceptional and inspirational. Best wishes Rich

Jol, Thanks for your reply. I wondered who Mr Bore was. I should have thought to check my copy of "The Trainmakers - the story of Wolverton Works" by Bill West, in case there was any information. ( I just did. He was Carriage Superintendant from 1865 -1886). There is no mention of any building, pre-fab or otherwise that I have found yet in Mr West's book. Although there is a plan inside the front cover from 1906 it shows a Timber gantry, Timber Hoist, Timber stores and Timber drying shed, but nothing about buildings I am afraid - so the search will have to go on. Best wishes Rich

Mike, Your attention to detail is an inspiration and the painting and inscribed planking of the inside of the wagon is subtle and 'real.' I hope you don't mind an addendum to the comments about wooden standardized buildings. Nick and Jol, Last night, while doing some quiet bed-time reading of some old HMRS Journals, given to me by a friend, I came across this quote by Philip Millard from his research into LNWR Minute books which were/are held at the Public Records Office, Kew. (HMRS Journal Vol 10 No 4 p95 Oct-Dec 1979). It does seem to suggest F W Webb as the source of the design of standardized buildings even if it was the drawing office that produced the plans. "Wooden Huts July 1880. " Mr Webb showed plans of a new cabin which would be far superior and cost less in repairs than the old carriage bodies used generally for the purpose." In the following month it was ordered that these new standard cabins should be supplied in the future, and that Mr Bore was to dispose of the old carriage bodies which will no longer be used as cabins. Until this date old carriage bodies had been supplied to places throughout the system for use as mess-rooms, stores, lamp rooms and offices, but thereafter the standard wooden huts were used. These were supplied in three sizes, 8ft x 8ft, 16 ft x 8ft, and 24ft x 8ft and were also widely used as booking offices and waiting shelters" Hope this is useful. Best wishes Rich

Jol Thanks for the links on the Warwickshire railways site. What a wonderful resource! The photos of N&S as well as the ones of Flecknoe ( lnwr flek1324b) shows the buildings that are very similar to the ones at Pentraeth. The Pentraeth, Rhyd-y-saint, and Ceint buildings in the photos in BRJ are very similar to the ones at Napton & Stockton although Pentraeth was a mix of buildings as in the photo I referenced above. The one at Ceint was painted in a very dark brown (using the info on paint colours below the 1324b photo, while fencing was the buff colour. Red Wharf Bay Station was also a long slim building made on the same lines as N&S but the planking was horizontal rather than vertical, with quite wide planks. The lower section below the windows was a lighter shade of brown and the upper level from the bottom of the windows was the cream/buff colour. The Red Wharf Bay station is quite like the Gravelly Hill station building in that it used the horizontal planking, but GH has wider sliding doors and a short awning all along the front. RWB has single doors and individual canopies above about the width of the door. Thank you for your helpful input on LNWR station design. The BRJ article said that the RWB branch was completed 1908/9 while the buildings at N&S were opened in 1895. I wonder how much earlier the standardized building design began to be used? Given the early standardization of loco production it seems reasonable to think that the buildings with modules must have been fairly early. Mike, Apologies for taking your wonderful builds off at a tangent, but hopefully it will provide some food for thought for when you start your layout. Best wishes Rich