Adrian Stevenson

After decorating today, I managed to get the last running boards folded up and soldered on. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Andy, I have decided to start on it tomorrow. Cheers, Ade.

Thanks Guys. I like spending other people's money too. Did a bit more today and got all the running boards done on the 1st/3rd. Just four lower boards left to do on the brake 3rd's. Cheers, Ade.

I have scanned these and sent them on. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Andy, happy birthday! Hope you have a nice day. I think Trebudoc was one of your very best layouts. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Rich, Martin who posts under the name of Gismorail used a home disco smoke unit which piped smoke to various points on the layout. Have a search of his posts to locate the exact one. Cheers, Ade.

Nice attention to detail.

Hi Bob, glad you are doing ok and keeping in work. ( I was a gardener for 26 years) The drawing is great. Cheers, Ade.

Thanks the the tip Simon. I do intend to invest in a hold and fold plus a rivet press before I do my first loco. Cheers, Ade.

A bit of weathering can hide a multitude of sins They are looking fine now Simon. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Gerry, glad this is of use and of interest. I don't yet own a proper folding tool. I intend to buy a "Hold and Fold" tool, but the size I would want is about £90 I think and it will have to wait. Proper model engineers look away now! How I have done it is this: run a stanley knife blade down the etched line a couple of times. For the 2mm fold I put the etch under a steel ruler and clamped this to the edge of the bench. I then got a small hammer and tapped the etch folding it over against the ruler. This made a nice 90 degree bend. You can then clamp the etch and make the next fold getting it so far and then gently tap it right over. Being brass it is easy to bend and straighten up. Hi Tender, on the Malmesbury line the carriages saw over 40 years of service. They were replaced by the B set in 1934. Most had gone out of regular passenger use before the war. Some great info on 4 wheelers here: http://penrhos.me.uk/Udiags.shtml Cheers, Ade.

Hi Simon, I think you have improved it no end. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Alan, not done it, but I have read they come off fairly easy with a blade slipped underneath and then pry off. I reckon I am going to replace mine. Cheers, Ade.

Made the cut outs and now all soldered into place. The cast brass mounts need careful bending to get things to line up and sit square. I think the running boards give the carriages their character. Dropped a few of the seats in for show. The plasticard strip can be used to make the roof removeable by having the gas light vents screwing into it. The kits don't come with any screw link couplings, so I have ordered some Dapol ones from a well known Merseyside retailer. Been looking at my reference book again. I am starting to get tempted by Crimson Lake. The branch set was still wearing this in 1931. Now, if I could afford the cost and the build time I would buy another set....... Cheers, Ade.

I like the detail you have added with the rubbish around the skip. Nice work. Cheers, Ade.

Just folded up the first running board for the 1st/3rd compo. A tricky 2mm fold to start with then the whole thing is folded over again to form the board. Note to anyone who is building or planning on build these kits: carefully read the instructions for making the cutouts for the axleboxes. Cheers, Ade.

Just about to make a start on the chassis. Here is where I am at now.

As pictures always speak louder than words, I have just done to few snaps to illustrate the above post. 1st pic is the bottom rail only cleaned with the track rubber. 2nd pic is uncleaned track. 3rd pic shows the cloth after doing an Acetone wipe over the clean rail. 4th pic shows the clean rail after the Acetone. 5th pic shows the cloth after wiping a dirty rail without track rubber cleaning. Black! 6th pic shows the muck on clean wheels after a run on dirty track. Cheers, Ade.

I am still old school at the moment and use a Peco track rubber. I know there is talk of problems with these making micro scratches to the rails which in turn can hold dirt. I may well turn to a liquid cleaner in the long run. I did a little experiment simply out of curiosity and cleaned as usual with the rubber, then VERY carefully cleaned the top of the rail with a paper towel with some acetone on it. The muck which came off on the towel was black. I would not recommend using this BTW. Nasty stuff and it will harm the plastic sleepers and chairs. But it does show that "clean" is not always clean. I am pretty pedantic about keeping things clean and before the first trains ran I cleaned the wheels on everything. But track does get dirty simply from the air. I had not cleaned the track for a week or so and after the test shunt with the new Slaters carriages noticed the wheels were filthy after running! Having said all of this, not had any real issues with dirty track. A good overall cleaning regime is paramount. Cheers, Ade.

Thanks Phil and to everyone who has "liked". Today I have done the spring hangers, springs, brakes, vacuum gear etc. Also painted one set of seats. Amazing where the hours go to... But I really do need to crack on. Looks like I am going back to work the first week in May for 4 days. And Lez wants that kitchen doing..... Cheers, Ade.

Hi Mike, they don't have a website, but here are the contact details I have: 3 Meads Close, Newport, Gwent NP19 4NR Tel: 01633 279897 Cheers, Ade.

Hi Phil, she looks great. I know what you mean about photos: they show faults that the naked eye does not pick up upon and can be really useful in making the clean up or painting a much better job. Cheers, Ade.

Hi Alan, that Pannier tank just keeps getting dirtier. It looks great! Cheers, Ade.

Here is the current state of play. Just taken the carriages down to the cabin to do a photo. I spent yesterday afternoon working on the kits. Still loads to do. Springs and brakes to go on next. Cheers, Ade.