Regularity

No. It isn’t. There is no such thing as a Holmes J83, at least in NBR days - although it is useful shorthand.It’s a Holmes class D. As built by Holmes, these had dome mounted lock up safety valves, and other than some being equipped with Westinghouse pumps and air brakes, the class was unusual in remaining in as-built (so much better than the appalling “un-rebuilt”, don’t you think?) condition.

That’s an S scale model, by Scott Willis. He is an RMWebber.

This is all a bit weird. Gordon asked for advice, but felt overwhelmed by it all, and this was getting in the way of modelling, so he will not post anymore questions in this thread, and may freeze it altogether. He is not leaving RMWeb, and has thanked those who did make suggestions for getting involved and trying to help. That’s it. Perfectly reasonable, and there is no need for people to assume more than that and jump in with side swipes about unnamed members. Edit: my interpolation removed at Gordon’s request.

I thought it never operated on the varsity line, rather the GER branch to Huntingdon.

In the former, they wanted to get some value for money out of the capital investment made in steam after the war. (Unlike the unseemly haste to dump it in this country: steam was supposed to go in 1972, despite Bullied designing pacifics intended to run until the mid 80s.) In the latter, I think it was just the result of a lack of capital investment, full stop.

From Newsstand (magazine distributor): We all have our opinions about our favourite “top end niche hobby publication”, and often indulge ourselves in criticism of it, but it’s good to know how well regarded it is.

Yes, but his answer is funnier.

Well, there’s always the good old Triang-Hornby wagon chassis of my youth: pre-grouping length over headstocks.Unfortunately, the wheelbase seemed to be 10’...

Hmm. Still got a massive parting between the hair on each side, but as it has become shallower, it has also gotten wider...

Gordon, Possible slight simplification to option 1 - just a suggestion, but I do like outside single slip diamonds!

This has also been discussed on the Castle Aching thread very recently:http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/107713-castle-aching/?p=2988754

Fine by me: loose heel blades suit my interests just fine!

Brilliant. One of those items where you buy a whole sheet, and gradually use them up, with plenty to spare. In your case, though, I expect you will buy several sheets...

Yes, but coal is the worst, I believe.

Sorry to hear that, but glad you have accommodated to it and it us not an issue. I hope you share it either way: if it works, great, and if it doesn’t, then it might inspire someone to come up with a workable solution (and at the very least, stops anyone else going down a blind alley). Me, I just like telling people not to be fooled by the crusty, grouchy exterior as the inside is pretty crusty and grouchy, too.

Sounds like most aspects of model railway design! Talk about the prototype emulating models! I agree with SS: option 2 looks good. Plus, you can view the whole MPD from the turntable end, making this a standalone layout within a layout - if you made it detachable, you even take it to exhibitions. Would make a change from taking it to the tip. Just so long as you remembered to bring it back!

There would still be an issue (!) with the various emissions: coal is a very dirty fuel.

Not trying to persuade you, Clive, but speaking generally, you could connect a DCC system in place of one of your controllers, and simply switch a section, sections or the whole layout over to DCC. The only reason for using juicers is to prevent system shut downs if you run against a turnout. Agree about it often being over complicated: for most modellers, a couple of ten position rotary dials for selecting engines, plus speed knob and direction switch (aligned forward-reverse rather than left-right) is all that’s required, with maybe two or three buttons for those who like sound. The reason for 4-digit loco addressing is not that US modellers have thousands of locos, but that most North American loco fleets use 4 digit numbers.

The old pattern £1 coins are spot on for S gauge!

The W&SS was 42” gauge, I think - fairly common across the Midlands, not just the Black Country. That’s why the Corgi Trams, designed to run on 00 track, are to 1/64 Scale.

Thanks. I can modify the ones which are present, but it would be useful to know how wide they should be as I would rather not cut too much out. Agree about them being great. I think that of all the various road switcher designs, this is the best looking and their pulling power was legendary. I also like a bit of clag...

I generally notice that fashion and style tend to look good only on thin people, so it has been well over 2 decades since I could manage to look stylish*, and I was never bothered about fashion... I also think that sheep dressing as lamb shows even less self-respect (and certainly less self-awareness) than wearing comfortable old clothes! * Unless the style happens to be baggy jumpers.

60/40 tin/lead solder plus 9% phosphoric acid flux, and a decent iron of 40W or more (which you have) are all that you need, provided you clean the surfaces first - purple Scotchbrite is best if you can get it, but I use green. I would use 145 or 125 lowmelt if applying a thin overlay but not for strong joints (you are ok with it on pcb track as the strength comes from multiple joints, but these are not strong enough for structural joints on chassis: ask me how I know this...) and 70 for white metal (which adheres well to tinned brass) but otherwise don’t bother with lots of solders. I know people say that you use different temperatures for complicated assemblies, but that just suggests to me that the iron isn’t hot enough to be able to quickly dab in with it, or the assembly is not properly supported during assembly. One of my friends uses 60/40 solder for everything, including white metal: he cleans, fluxes and then carries the solder to the join, but does not touch the white metal with the iron. Fascinating to watch, but I cann’t do it - ask me how I know that, too! It s important that the 60% is tin and not lead. Edit: that’s what works for me, and saves faffing about with lots of different solders. YMMV.

No problems: I take it as agreement on the suggestion.

Hi all, I have a brass RS-11 which is intended to become MEC 802 in green, but it has large fuel tanks which photographs of the prototype suggest are not appropriate. Trouble is, most of my information sources don’t mention the fuel tanks at all, and a scan of the diagram books refers me to page 14, but page 14 is missing from the pdf! Is anyone able to identify which capacity fuel tanks were fitted, and does anyone know where I might find a drawing or dimensions of the tank? Linked photos: 802 as my pin-up. 802 in orange. http://www.railpictures.net/showimage.php?id=463370&key=6177795