SteveyDee68

Update: Paul at The Locoshed has located some bits in his bits box from which I will make some drawings! Thanks for all the information, pictures etc - I shall show/share my efforts in due course! Steve S

Never too many! I find the different settings inspiring! When planning my dockside layout, I had in mind two opposing inglenook plans to provide shunting challenges (then realised the complexity of wiring up for two interchangeable controllers and thought 'one engine in play until I switch to DCC!'). The shortening of longer sidings by the placement of non-moving stock as per Hillside Depot's Drew's Sidings is a brilliant way of disguising/setting up the 5-3-3 formula in longer sidings - that is what I plan to do on my (eventual) layout! Also, I plan to have an inglenook set up "buried" in a loop off an oval for my cousin's boys to play with: 3 wagon plus loco "headshunt", 5 wagon loop length, two 5 wagon sidings but reduced to 3 wagons by crane placement, cattle dock/van unloading etc. That way, a train can be left looping whilst shunting takes place. The younger boys will simply play trains, the oldest can be given the inglenook challenge to complete! That plus a loco shed lane - there's three boys, and each of them has their own loco! Good luck with your layout - make sure you share!

BBC2 programme “The Repair Shop” has an actual Emmett train being repaired tonight! First item on the programme! The LSSR!

Hi Thanks Emma - I must learn how to do that for future reference! I have been told that the outside cylinder 0-6-0 is more likely to be a Fowler than Stanier design, but most probably a dock shunter, so at least I got that bit right! Hopefully someone was able to pick up a decent loco for a fair price. Steve S

Calling O gauge modellers... Two eBay listings finishing soon (next 9 hours), incorrectly listed as OO gauge and so not much interest! 85A Models 0-6-0 Hunslet tank loco (green) - NB untested! Item No #264405603951 Kit-built metal 0-6-0 BR shunter - NB untested! Item No #264405614311 Seller cannot determine the maker of the kit - I'll describe it as an outside cylinder possibly Stanier/LMS dock tank loco, finished in early BR livery and numbered as 47162 No connection with the seller, but she is unable to end or modify the listings to correct the information. If I had some spare pennies right now...! Steve

Thank you David and 34theletterbetweenB&D for your responses. I suppose what I have in mind are the Manchester Ship Canal Hunslets, with their sloping tanks, albeit much smaller locos overall. Thinking cap on, as I'd like to do something "brutish" as opposed to British!! LOL The Lima loco was an impulse purchase for my cousin's boys but I do like the sloping tanks! (This freelance lark is strangely addictive ... currently pugbashing a Lima 0-4-0 American "switcher" into a kind of four wheel variant of the SR USA class dock shunter! Interesting times...) Steve

Hi Bay of Fleas has a Lima J50 body mated with a Bachmann 0-6-0 chassis. Looks good but seller has no info. Can anyone suggest what might be a suitable chassis to do this? Realise it won't be "accurate" but intend to turn it into a heavy industrial tank loco anyway! Any other suggestions of suitable RTR chassis welcome! Cheers Steve

Tom if you still want metal tension lock couplings, PM me with your address and then I will send you an envelope full of them that I've taken off stock and have no need of (actually can't think why I am keeping them!) Steve

Thanks Dave R - great name for a dock shunter!

Thanks Neil for the link - that's a bobby dazzler of a chassis replacement! Looking at the Bay of Fleas, it would seem everyone is trying to flog their old Dapol and Hornby Terriers as you suggest, but at prices only a crisp twenty off the price of a new Hornby Terrier! Would seem to be trying to recoup most of the cost of upgrading to the newer model! Will have to watch for the bargain prices! Steve

Thanks for all the information - now I know what to look for, I can see what everyone means! What is great about this hobby is that there is always something new to learn. Steve

Thanks for showing this - it is what I want to do. But where is that suppressor thing on your motor?

I am showing my ignorance here, but as this apertains to a "pugbash" perhaps someone may be able to help.... I have acquired a Hornby 06 with the intention of cutting down the chassis for my Playcraft diesel shunter (that I recently posted about). Removing body, footplate and motor clip spring leaves me with this: I undid the screw underneath to discover it simply releases the casting that the motor sits on top of... And lifting the motor off I have a chassis with free running wheel sets... And I can now see the power pickups pressing against the back of the wheels... But I cannot work out how the power is transferred to the motor! I can see that the top of the pickups extend into the plastic "saddle sides" that the motor sits in. As there are no wire connections to the motor, I assumed that meant that the motor must be somehow isolated down the middle (for positive and negative). But the motor casing goes all the way around in one piece... I am therefore very confused! I want to remove the plastic side pieces so that the chassis fits into the width of the body of my Playcraft shunter... but how do I then get power to the motor? Also, by losing the horrible clip (again to reduce the horizontal width required for the motor) I need to secure the motor to the metal block it sits upon. Can I use "no more nails", silicon glue or similar or does power need to flow across that joint? Loathe to make a start until I understand what the implications are, so any advice would be very helpful. Don't think I've seen it mentioned here before, probably because it is so basic that nobody thought it needed remarking upon! Thanks in advance for help with this. Steve

John - I have acquired a Hornby 06 for its chassis. Did you use the wheels and wheelbase as supplied, or did you shorten the spacing between axles and/or change the wheels? Steve

My dad spent years upgrading his Lima 4F ... first a new boiler, then he altered the tender, next he chopped the cab to size and created a proper backhead. Decided he didn't like the wheels - cut out all the spokes, detailed the under frame. By now, wasn't happy with the boiler fittings - white metal replacements came along, and then suddenly it was completely in bits again as he corrected lots of details he had previously ignored, including new wheels, before suddenly a brass chassis kit appeared which he painstakingly (emphasis on pain) built, gradually creating his own bespoke "Lima" 4F - I say "Lima" because I'm not sure how much was left at the end! Dad is in a home, living with dementia. He's lost his skills and forgotten his knowledge. I have someone doing repairs to his locos that are beyond my skill set but one thing puzzles me ... what happened to his 4F? It's vanished! What I thought was "his" 4F turned out to be a brass built 3F! He must have worked on it for 25/30 years to get it to a state where he was happy with it but at the end of the day, at day one, he traded his entire Fleischmann HO stock for a Lima 4F, some Lima mk 1 coaches, a few wagons and some (Lima) track and was more than happy with his loco. All the best for your 4F journey, however far down that road it may take you. Steve

I stripped a second hand BR green painted Dapol 57 in brown Dettol - paint came off a treat, left with a grey plastic and nice smelling body shell. Tried the same on a Lima 59 which had been painted the same way by the previous owner - after 24 hours, the paint had lifted slightly. After 48 hours, rinsed and scrubbed and it went "sticky" and "stringy". Gave it another 12 hour's dunk ... still sticky, scrubbing etched the body work, and the exhaust set into the roof had warped! Result? Bought a replacement 59 body off the Bay of Fleas. Definitely the case that different manufacturers, models etc react differently. In future I am sticking with the more expensive but specially formulated products. Good luck!

Anyone looking for a Triang dock shunter for a bash? The same seller (gostude) has a "Triang Hornby R253 BR Red 0-4-0 Dock Authority Shunter No 3 Mint Boxed np" for a bargain price of £69.50 - with free postage! My local model shop has one at £32 that I have seen (and heard) running as sweet as a nut, and he has to pay VAT, business rates and tax yet his price is half of this example ... must be the box that doubles the price! Perhaps this should be in the eBay madness thread, wherever that may be?

I don't blame you ... looking on the Bay of Fleas just now, I saw a mint boxed Polly for sale at £124.50 (with free postage)* ... I would no sooner take a scalpel to that than I would a brand new USA class loco, a Heljan B4 or a Heljan (?) class 07! Steve * I am aware that they can be had cheaper, but it was the first search result and, anyway, look - free postage!

A while back, an excellent pugbash of the above was shown by James using the original chassis/motor. Wondering if anyone has tried the Mainline J72 chassis/wheels under this body shell to make a small wheeled "industrial" styled shunter? Maybe it is a *lot* shorter and would look silly - I can't gauge the relative length from photographs of the two models! (Have yet to source a donor body, but do have a chassis that I *might* be able to repair to go under it!) Steve Steve

Oh dear - another inspiring small shunter! Brilliant upgrading, Rob, and thank you for the information about 14mm Romford wheels. I shall now start watching the Bay of Fleas and see if I might acquire one of these in the very near future to add to my rapidly increasing fleet of "dock authority" shunters! Steve

I may be responding to an old thread, but I really like what you guys have done with the Railroad Bagnall. Looking at the above, I think cutting the cab down a little would mean reshaping the front cab windows like the above around the bonnet. Shortening the cab slightly and lowering/widening the side window to create the "triple" side window, then open out the rear cab window to create the single rear door. Leave the roof "as is" to make the overhanging rear "veranda"... Oh dear, I feel another impulse purchase coming on! Saying that, watching Chris and Robert at The LocoShed restore old Triang dock shutters into smooth running locos means I am also drawn towards acquiring one of those, too! Why am I suddenly wanting to acquire all manner of dock shutters?! Stop doing such inspiring pugbashes!! Steve

Hi Views sought. Drawing pins as buffer heads on industrial locos? Purchased some yesterday from local pound shop, 10mm across, scale 2'6" (30") diameter. Is this simply too big in 4mm, or acceptable? Steve

Thanks Gibbo - have saved that as an additional reference for my next bash! (I do like the red livery, too!) Steve

Alastairq said: "That chassis is a Mantua item.....[USA stuff]...usually has a [Plymouth?] switcher body of their own design stuck on top. As an aside, the Manuta switcher has been said to be more S scale than HO....." The next photo down showed the attached body - you are right, I think, it is a Plymouth type design. (Couldn't for the life of me remember the loco name when I was typing before!) Alastairq said: "Be wary of the cranks coming undone......they are only held on by riveted-over pins.....These work loose. Might do to plop a drop of loctite on each axle end?" Thanks for that advice - will look into that as a precautionary measure. Alastairq said: "Those motors come from an age when electricity was generated in coal fired power stations.....try running the loco with a decent load.....watch all the lights around where you live, go dim? Nowadays, full throttle will bring half your local windfarm to a sparking screeching halt!" Ha ha! It zipped around a circle of track no problems at all and I assumed the lights dimming in the kitchen was the dodgy wiring put in about twenty years ago by the (very dodgy) kitchen fitters! (How dodgy, you ask? They make my modelling bodges look like precision engineering!)