D6150

So one for the bucket list from me today. After years of thinking about it, I've finally managed a short trip on Britain's longest passenger rail service, CrossCountry's once a day run from Aberdeen to Penzance/Plymouth. Which of course means a Voyager. In this case 221138. Externally it was in need of a good clean, and the dirty mark on the nose where virgin logo used to go didn't help. Inside, the carpets and seats are starting to get a bit tired, but it still seems quite modern. Plenty of noise and vibration while stopped, but it got a lot quieter once on the move. Good performance as well, with an early arrival in Dundee, where it was time for me to get off. Extra points for a friendly and helpful crew. Thanks Ken

The grand plan for my boxfile layout includes a road overbridge to hide the join between the two boxes. And of course railway modeling 101 dictates that if we have a road bridge there should be a bus driving over it.... I have a few 1:76 buses from EFE, but very little in HO, apart from an old Wiking mercedes 0305. This has now been cut down from a "bendi" into a regular two-axle bus. A Saviem or Renault PR100 would have been a lot more typical french, but it's that money thing again, and the merc was already lurking at the bottom of a cardboard box. The 0305 was actually sold in france (Nantes had a fleet), and eventually there was a license built version from Heuliez (rectangular headlights instead of round). The bus is more or less complete, just needing door mirrors and a few other bits. Its supposed to be an in-service vehicle, so the less than perfect paint is hopefully realistic.... Can anyone suggest a source of 1:87 drivers and passengers? The ones on ebay seem to be either horribly inaccurate or horribly expensive. Thanks in advance. Ken

So another bit of progress with the boxfile layout. Scalescenes low relief warehouse chopped to suit 1:87 (ish). Still needs some signs and a coat of matt varnish to finish, but quite happy with the result. The car poking out of the roller door is a 1950's Opel as modeled by Wiking in the 1980's. A bit short on details but ok for background. The Scania T142 is an 80's matchbox toy, which is marked as 1:90 scale, and looks pretty good for HO. Some nice crisp detail on the cab. It's based on an Australian spec tractor unit, but shouldn't be hard to convert to a more European version. These were relatively common in Scandinavia and some other bits of Europe at the time. A few even made it to the UK on low loader/construction work, but were never as common as the 142 cabover. Ken

An unidentified Colas Rail class 70 crossing the River Dee at Ferryhill in Aberdeen this morning. Workington to Waterloo Quay tanker train. The first time I've managed to catch a Class 70 at this location. A slightly more sophisticated camera might have helped, a pity about the awkwardly placed lampost... Thanks Ken

So after a lot of procrastination (oh yes...), here's a first look at my upcoming boxfile layout. The setting is deliberately vague (or just inaccurate), somewhere in NE France between the late 1970's and mid 1990's. When finished there will be two boxfiles joined end-to-end, with a road overbridge to cover the join. There will be a sector plate or fiddle yard at one end (accessed through a tunnel portal), representing the rest of the SNCF system. In the photos 70001 is arriving light engine from its home depot at Chalindrey. There will be one siding for assorted freight stock and locos, possibly awaiting repairs. The other siding will be a (very) small oil or lpg terminal, as I have seen several photos of mainline sncf diesel and electric locos with trains of only 1 or 2 lpg tanks. I will probably also work in some decaying heavy industry. I'd love to do prototypical trains of 20-30 grain wagons, but it's never going to happen.... So there you go. This will probably take a while to complete (sorry), but any comments and suggestions are welcome. Thanks Ken

So having more or less finished CC70001, I realised it's in need of some wagons to shunt in it's upcoming boxfile layout home. A locotracteur would be a much better choice for a boxfile, but hey.... Being short of cash for modelling projects, I borrowed an idea from another RM webber (sorry I have forgotten your username) and bought one of those cheap plastic trainsets from Ebay. £9 got me three roughly ho-scale wagons and a battery-powered loco (not sure what I'll do with it yet). Wagon one is now more or less complete, having been re-branded from a petrol tanker (really) to a grain hopper. I went with Coopagri Bretagne because I like their logo. First attempt at weathering with watercolours, and quite happy with how it turned out. Thanks Ken

66743 running south through Bucksburn, Aberdeen, earlier this evening with the Royal Scotsman. Heading for an overnight stop in Dundee, having left Aviemore at lunchtime. The sun was going down just behind the train, so a slightly tricky shot. Not that we should complain about sunshine in Scotland.... Thanks

Hello, It's been a wee while, but time for a quick update on what I've been doing. Having finished (for now) 70001, I figured I needed some ho (ish) stock for it to pull/shunt. Not having anything specific in mind, and given the increasing prices of decent secondhand stock on Ebay, I borrowed an idea from another RM-webber, and bought a (very) cheap plastic train set, which includes 3 x approx ho scale bogie wagons. One of these, bizarrely stickered-up as a fuel tanker is now almost complete as an SNCF grain hopper. Just trying to decide between Breiz-Al or CoopAgri Brentagne colours. Thanks Ken

Thanks for all the feedback folks, lack of electrical supply for passenger stock makes sense. The train was also noticeably slower over this section of track than the usual Scotrail 158's/170's, although I guess speed probably isn't a priority for the guests. Thanks Ken

One of GBRF's dedicated Class 66's pulling the Royal Scotsman through Bucksburn earlier this evening. En route from Edinburgh to Keith I think, always a good jumping off point for the distilleries of Speyside. When did Class 66's start appearing on passenger workings? I had it in my head that they weren't suitable for passenger workings, which is why EWS (remember them?) ordered class 67's? Thanks Ken

A couple of unidentified Colas Rail class 37's top-and-tail the Network Rail inspection train through Bucksburn on the way back to Inverness on 13/06/21. This was rescheduled from 12/06, after the train stopped at Inverness with a mechanical issue.

A bit of weathering on 70001. Diesel stains from the fuel fillers. Dirt and grime on the bogies. Some dirt on the steps and door handles and some more on the (many) grilles. Tried some soot around the exhaust vents also, but not an easy effect to achieve (black on black???). Tried not to overdo it, and quite happy with the results. In most photos 70001 isn't clean, but isn't filthy either. Ken

So 70001 is back on it's wheels. It's not quite up there with current RTR models, but it probably only cost around £40 all in. The original mehano shell is pretty accurate as far as I can see, once the cab ends are sorted. It certainly captures the bulk of the real loco. To be honest, it does sit too high on the bogies, but I'm not sure how easy this will be to fix (limited space inside the bodyshell). All that remains to be done is a bit of weathering to tone down the finish. Some couplings also required, although I'm not sure what type. Next up, a boxfile layout to run it on. Stay safe folks.

So 70001 is slowly coming together. Not perfect, but quite happy with it for what it is. Tried adding grab-rails, but this didn't work well. Anything close to scale was extremely fragile, and my sausage fingers snapped them off again in minutes. Anything strong enough to stand a bit of handling was obviously over-scale... There is some weathering to be done once the loco is back together, which should help to disguise the odd paint issue. I'm modelling the loco towards the end of it's career, by which point some wear and tear was evident. As I've mentioned before, info on 70001 and 70002 is a bit limited, and one of the french websites I was using has now disappeared, after their servers were burnt out.... 70001 was apparently withdrawn from Chalindrey in 1983 with electrical issues. But confusingly Flickr has several photos of it tagged as being taken in 1988, and showing the loco complete and coupled to a CC72000. Thanks for looking. Ken

So 70001 is progressing. Cutting and shutting the cab ends wasn't too bad. Started on the paint, which is proving a bit challenging, but should hopefully tidy up ok (for my fairly low standards..). Picking a shade of blue has been difficult. There aren't all that many colour photos of 70001 and 70002, and they vary wildly in terms of colour. There isn't all that much on these locos on the web, and a lot needs to be translated from french. They seem to have been a fairly advanced design, which proved temperamental in service. However when they did work they were really good. 70001lasted from 1965 to 1983, based mainly around Chalindrey. Thanks for looking. Ken

So a bit of tinkering with the mehano Sncf 70000 this week. The model is a bit of an oddball, just like the real thing. The side profiles are pretty accurate, but the ends are wrong. And it's red instead of blue. So far, I've made a start on fixing the cab ends, cutting them off and refitting them, so the lights are at the right level (the bottom of the lights should line up with the bottom of the cab doors). New buffer beams are required, plus grab-rails and brake hoses. A couple of before and after shots attached. I've decided against making my own power bogie for the CC65000 (way more difficult than I expected). So I will be scouring ebay for a lima deltic/class 50 motor bogie instead. I may recycle so of the parts I've collected into a locotracteur instead (eventually) Stay safe folks

Hello again. The CC65000 is coming along slowly, the body is perhaps 60% complete, and I've started on the bogies. These are recycled from a Kitmaster/Airfix/Dapol kit. I'm going to try and assemble my own drive mechanism... I may regret this. I had wondered about using bogies from the original Lima deltic, as these are HO (or not far off), but given the prices these go for on ebay, a lot of other people must have the same idea. 2020 has left me with an interest in french trains, and I'm now planning a boxfile layout. This will need a handful of locos, and too much time on ebay resulted in me buying an old Mehano/RSO CC70000. The cab ends are wrong (but fixable), but the rest of it isn't bad. I'm not sure why it's red though...? My plan is to tidy up the cab ends, add some missing details, and paint it up in the correct blue/white/black SNCF colours. As an aside these were technically advanced locomotives when they entered service in the mid 1960's, and contributed to the development of the later CC72000. Stay safe folks.

Happy new year to all on RM web. Another quick update on the loco. Amended lower body sides now added, and I've made a start on sanding and filling the first lower-end. Still a long way to go, but it's good to have something to help fill the long winter nights. Stay safe folks.

So on we go with the CC65000 conversion. The "new" nose is now largely completed at one end of the V200 shell. A lot of filling and sanding required, but I think it's starting to take shape. Nothing to do with the bottle of Balvennie I opened yesterday..... Can anyone suggest a supplier of HO loco parts like buffer heads and air horns? I've scoured ebay but haven't found much that might suit? Thanks Ken

So the f104G is finally finished. Not the easiest kit, or maybe I'm just a bit rusty with aircraft. Anyhow it's off to brighten up my home office; I've been working from home since March (as I'm sure lots of other RM webber's will have been). Italian airforce markings were really difficult to source, but eventually got a set designed for the earlier f86 from FantasyPrintShop.co.uk . Not the cheapest, but excellent product and service. I now have the final f104S-asa on my to do list for 2021. Thanks for looking, and all the best for Christmas and New Year. Ken

Thanks for this. It's possible this project may fall into the old Top Gear category of "ambitious but...rubbish", but hopefully not.

A bit of progress altering the nose of the V200 shell to look a bit more like a Cc65000. Not that much of the original plastic left, but starting to look a bit more like the prototype (I hope...). A fair bit of filler required to try and replicate the compound curves of the original. Thanks for looking. Ken

So how to covert a DB V200 shell to something a bit more like the CC65000? So far I've altered the cab-side windows at both ends, including the plated-over windows above the cab doors to represent a loco towards the end of their life with SNCF. I've also cut the V200 nose off at one end, and made a start on re-shaping the windscreens. The CC65000 has windscreens that are straight at the bottom, while the V200 screens have a curved bottom edge. Fingers crossed it all goes together as planned.

So time to reveal my mystery project. It's going to the SNCF CC65000. The inspiration for this came from an excellent video on YouTube showing 65005 in its second career with Agrivap in the Auvergne. There are also some excellent photos on Flickr. Hornby made a model of the CC65000 in their ACHO range, and there have been some more modern replicas, but the cost of these is a long way beyond my budget (although I can't deny the quality). I was going to try scratch-building, but tbh I don't think I have the time or patience. The DB V200 has a similar profile to the bodyshell, and ebay turned up a cheap one from Jouef so I have decided to use this as a base. The result is probably going to be a bit like the infamous Hornby Dublo Deltic. You know what it is, although some of the details are not quite on the money. Apologies to all the finescale modellers who have run screaming from the room... Thanks for looking.

So a wee update on the F104. Paint and transfers now mostly done. This took a lot longer than expected, but hopefully looks a bit better than the Airfix kits I used to knock together in a couple of hours. Italian airforce markings have proved difficult to get hold of, the first set from ebay were old stock which fell apart when I tried to apply them. The second set have got lost in the post apparently... Thanks for all the feedback on my previous post, I was surprised by the level of interest in what for many people must be an old jet with an iffy safety record that retired from frontline service a couple of decades ago.