Narrow Minded

I've used it on the buffer beams of a couple of battery fired loco's and now the Caradoc, and I reckon there's plenty left to do the beams on the 5" Planet - you definitely get your 99p worth

Thanks David - the paint is from our local "old fashioned" hardware shop (and only 99p a can!) but I have seen the same brand in "Home Bargains". Fantastic coating results and very quick drying It's called 151 Spray Paint and is the Red Gloss in their range of colours. The small print on the back says 151 products ltd, The Old Schoolhouse, 39 Bengal St, Manchester, M4 6AF. If you have problems finding it, message me.

"Work in progress" report today After stripping down, de-greasing and masking, bits of the Caradoc got painted. The cab roof, tank tops and coal greedy are now satin black, the smokebox and chimney are matte black, and the buffer beams are now red at the front and black behind instead of the Accucraft 'orange all over'

You could scratch build one from plasticard or foam board Mike, and if you see a "He Man" castle in a secondhand store I've seen a good looking model made from one of those. Of course, there's always the Pola "Castle Ruins" in their G scale range.......

Nice job so far O.B. - and as per usual you're off to a flying start! The open cab back is really there to make manual operation that much easier (since this is a freelance loco), but of course, some narrow gauge loco's had similar arrangements anyway. Nothing to stop you altering it in any way, but I reckon the simplest prototype "disguise" is a rolled-up tarp' cover...... ........ and I think you'll find that those "lamp brackets" are actually firing iron brackets

I've marked the above as "informative/useful" but would like to add "craftsmanship/clever" Thanks for sharing

"testing the track with the Liverpool mob in attendance" - did you count the sleepers when they'd gone

Gorgeous loco! and don't it look right at home on your line?! The only thing I'd suggest at an early opportunity would be to get the smokebox and chimney sprayed matte black (Hi Temp barbeque / wood burner paint)

It might be Schrödinger's dog, opening the box would ruin the paradox

Yay!

Thanks Phil, the info has gone into "the blue book" for future reference

Rooting out those photo's of old loco's turned up some more "archive" views from the line, just thought I'd share my nostalgia trip This "look-alike" is actually taken at the local club track - the Westwood & Loscoe has never had any dual gauge sections

I like how you've bolted the collars to the wheels to make 'em gauge adjustable - an idea I'll definitely be using The question is though, where do you get the collars?

How big are they? Just thinking that the clear and red ones might be useful for some scratchbuilt lamps??

Yeah, I had a broken spirit level like that once

Small progress report on the Caradoc, but another tick on the "To Do" list all the same The knobs have been replaced by the regulator handles! Next job I reckon will be the smokebox, tank tops and cab roof (I might paint the cab interior as part of that batch)

Hmmm, "artistic differences" - it sounds very Rock'n'Roll Sad loss though cos they do some great models. I might also have to get a few ordered before they disappear (which of course, will probably ensure that the range continues under another guise )

A thumbs up here for the engine de-greaser, I use the rattle can version and the outdoor hose tap - congratulations on being allowed to use the kitchen drainer (in fact, the kitchen!) Nice work on the wagons so far, excellent stuff!

Thanks Idris, this is how the Mortimer turned out, and here's the Leader before its disposal. Hopefully some more progress on the Caradoc soon, but I'm shocked at how many of our hobby suppliers don't even answer emails or their website's "contact" messages They're obviously earning too much money to have to bother with customer queries

I apologise for my 'brief' answer Idris - very remiss of me My first "proper" live steam loco (after dabbling with Mamods, as was the norm back then) was the Accucraft Edrig. A fantastic engine for beginners, with its open cab giving easy access to all the controls with a good sized, single fill boiler giving a long run time. But, it wasn't much of a "looker" and I eventually bought the 16mm 'Baldrig' body kit. Fast forward a couple of years, and the Baldrig (along with an Accucraft Mortimer) were traded in for my Pearse "Earl" to join the Accucraft "Countess" on the W&L. No regrets, but I missed the simple, bomb proof manual 0-4-0 So, imagine my surprise when I called in to the old "Back 2 Bay 6" shop on the way to a steam up and spotted a pre-owned Caradoc for sale - it went with me to the steam up and had as much track time as any other loco Then a couple of events coincided - Accucraft released the "Leader", and I discovered the The Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway in Kent (another 2ft 6in line BTW) - so, the Caradoc was traded for......... This turned out to be a real "looker", but I found it a terrible loco to run manually, needing almost constant attention, so it was swapped for my 5" loco and driving truck..... ...... and when the opportunity to own another Caradoc came up, we're back to the future

Finally got around to watching the video's Callum, and I'm impressed with your narrative style I liked your treatment of the Bluebells, my better 'alf has some in a shaded corner that spread their leaves all over the track - but I'm not allowed to "get rid" of 'em The standard procedure here is to put some stonework in place as a temporary barrier (and nip off errant leaves when she's not about). Once the plants have died back, the stones go back into 'storage' ready for next year Nice work on the new loop and siding, and looking forward to future updates

CONGRATULATIONS It's been a long time coming, but well worth the wait Well done you!!!!!

Just a thought Andy, but are you aware that "Garden Railway Specialists" sell kits that are designed to fit on the Otto chassis? Here's just one of them that I've built in the past.... Loads of room for batteries etc inside that saddle tank

Always missed my old one, and this one turned up at the right time at the right price

Thanks again Edwardian. My own inspiration came originally from the late great Peter Jones and his "Compton Down Railway". I'd heartily recommend having a look at some of his work. I was a retired (rehabilitated??) wargamer of many years, but I got back into it to help a friend wean his son away from the playstation / xbox, and into something more constructive and sociable You've definitely got it right Phil, I'm into my 60's now so tying my shoe laces will be a problem soon, let alone managing a ground level line Thanks Idris, funny how the memory plays tricks - I was sure the "camera coach" idea would work without having to do anything to the interior A waft of paint seems to have done the trick though. Rowlands Mix is a good old tried-and-tested method of ballasting, but from personal experience, the addition of compost to encourage moss growth is a bit of a time bomb. Eventually it created enough of a water trap to cause problems with frost in the winter I don't think the "perfect" ballast solution has been found yet. Not much to report from this weekend since we were quite busy, but the regulator handles have arrived from Acme Model Engineering to replace the 'orrible plastic knobs on the Caradoc and "Ogwen" put in some mileage while the pruning and general tidy up continued yesterday afternoon. I raised the terrace row behind the station at Westwood slightly to see if they improved the appearance - the jury is still out as to whether it's worked