RedGemAlchemist

Actually, it really looks like the old bridge over what is now the Mid Norfolk in Wymondam (in my little bubble in Norfolk).

You and me both, Sem!

Yes. Very nice indeed. Sorry for the ultra-serious first contribution LNWR, but that is my honest opinion as a diehard freelancer. Anyway, onwards to fun! Some quick photos of some of my own creations for those of you who haven't read through my workbench thread (considering the people on here already probably most of you have but best to be courteous.)

I'll also need willows for my freelance layout (need one in the garden of the riverside pub next to Hewe station) so I hope your experiment works. I'll be taking notes.

Speaking of course as someone who you know works entirely in freelance as part of the ever-expanding Castle Aching universe, I feel that is a sincerely underrated part of the hobby. People underestimate the amount of creativity and dedication needed to design and build their own locomotives and stock, especially for an entire line, and call it childish: that annoys me to no end. Not being a stickler for accuracy or making real locomotives doesn't make you any less of a valid part of the hobby than any one of those elitist rivet counting sorts (not saying everyone who strives for accuracy is like that of course, I've had nothing but support and encouragement here on RMWeb, but I have heard some real horror stories.) Personally I feel that freelancing is more in keeping with the true spirit of the hobby: building for fun rather than to recreate some specific point in time. If people support you and help you fantastic. If they don't, just ignore them. You do you. As for the Bachmann Jr. stuff, I've also been trying to get my hands on some for some time with similar success to your good self. I'd wanted to turn the aforementioned J94-ish into something similar to a Manning Wardle 0-6-0 kind of like relaxinghobby did. Then again I improvise a lot of my stuff so if I really want one I can find other ways. The journey is just as important as the destination. If you're looking for something to bash into a TV-style Wilbert, can I suggest the old Triang 0-6-0 saddle tank as a starting point? You can find the body shell quite cheap on eBay.

Well done Linny! Congratulations!

Kelsby station building is complete. Sorry for the lack of updates, I... kind of forgot to take photos. Complete with rain staining on roof and one slightly wonky chimney. Kelsby is shaping up to be a very attractive little station in my mind.

Beautiful little pair of coaches, Linny. I'd be pleased too if I were you.

Very smart indeed! Great job Sem!

Me yet again, with a bash I think I showed as a WIP earlier on this thread. Directly inspired by relaxinghobby's earlier creation which I liked so much I have built my Kelsby Light Railway's No.7, Gremlin, out of a Nellie, a Caley Pug and a Triang Jinty.

I love Andrew Barclay tanks. I wish I could get my hands on one for cheap Or rather I just generally love small industrial tank engines. Why my own KLR currently has 5 of them.

No need to grab your coat. I like having someone to discuss my interests with even if it does take the thread off topic for a while. If Edwardian can get away with it so can I! Look forward to seeing the outcome of it. Might give me some inspiration for my own potential freight loco plans. Also some more loco lore. No.7 "Gremlin" Many of the KLR's locomotives were constructed within the railway's workshops at Berkham in some respect. But all of those were locomotives before, and were modified into their current forms which sometimes are unrecognisable. There are, however, three which were built in their entirety at Berkham. Gremlin was the second of these. Completed in 1979 and constructed from spare parts from Bulldog along with parts from several unsalvageable locomotives, Gremlin is an odd beast. This small open-cab 0-4-0 tank engine is very squat, with a short wheelbase and tall tanks that almost encase the locomotive's entire boiler and firebox. The design for this little tank engine was one of Emily Bradleigh's first design works for the KLR, and her technical genius really shines through here. Gremlin really should not work. Much of its engineering is what would be considered wrong. But those wrong things are so well engineered around that it works. However, it created a small shunter that while effective and powerful does have some noticeable issues with reliability. It generally works as the pilot at Alnerwick station, keeping the large mid-line station as clean as possible between having to be checked over.

"And then there were eight..." Gremlin is complete, with just the usual silver detailing to add. What started off as a project I had no idea how to finish has produced a rather sweet little 0-4-0 tank engine - one of now three the KLR has. Quite what it'll do on the KLR remains to be decided.

Hmm. Never tried, so can't say if I know. I'd say go for it Chris. Could be interesting to see the result. And thanks for the praise as ever. Should have a picture of the finished Gremlin soon. Not at all the wrong place to ask. I don't mind this thread going a little off topic so long as it gets back eventually. I felt the movie was OK. What they tried to do in doing a live-action Ghost in the Shell was ambitious, and the whole whitewashing backlash, while not unfounded, was extremely unfair. The movie itself is far from perfect, but not unwatchable, and far from the level of brilliance of the original animated version. Scarlett Johansson is very attractive though. It does have that in its favour

Smart little trio of engines you have there. Good job!

I haven't. Sounds extremely interesting though.

My total rework of Gremlin was a total success. The only remaining Caley Pug parts are now the running plate, the chassis and the cab. The boiler and tanks are cut from a Triang Jinty, and the smokebox, as one can probably tell, is from a spare Nellie. The body is full of a ton of filler to help keep the thing together and the result of that is it's stupidly heavy. Seriously, the body is almost as heavy as the entire of Mastodon. I'm worried the body will either not fit or that the modified Caley Pug chassis won't be able to carry the weight. Gremlin has ended up as definitely a strange little beast. The inspiration I took from relaxinghobby's creation from the Pugbash thread is plainly visible.

Not really very familiar with Southern coaches, but that is a beautiful photo.

Got a bit of a minor issue: (Using the old phone again as new phone is out of commission at the moment for various reasons. Sorry about the picture quality.) I've shortened the running plate of Gremlin but now the bit of metal behind the smokebox interferes with the worm screw. Also the body is too low for the boiler to fit so it may need a bit of a rework. EDIT: And now the running plate has fallen in half as the glue isn't strong enough to hold that weight of metal and I can't fix it back together. D*mn it. I'll have to think of something else entirely. I did mention that yes. Issue is finding an appropriate chassis and making a workable body shell. I'd wanted to make Mastodon but because of its dimensions it ended up as an 0-6-0T. I'd like an 0-8-0 or 0-10-0 goods loco but I don't know quite how to go about it or whether it'd make sense running something that size in the middle of a tiny railway in the Fens.

Finally gotten started on Kelsby station building. It still surprises me how good these Dapol kits are considering how old most of the kits are.

I know. I keep trying to find it but Tesco seems to have suddenly stopped selling RM for some reason.

No mate you're not doing it right. You need to repeat one entry ad nauseum until everyone screams at you to stop, then do one different. If you're going to rip off Python do it right.

Thanks Brings the KLR's count of functioning locomotives up to a nice 7 out of an intended but non-final number of 16 at this moment. An 8th is of course in the works then it's back to trying to work out what's next...

If I were not before the bar...

Thanks. I am very proud of it. Didn't actually do even close to as much as I originally intended to it, but the outcome looks great. Though maybe still a teeny bit too much like its former self as a K3, but I can live with that.