Flymo749

Still have this bookmarked, still interested in progress ;-) I used to live just a little distance away in Sawbridgeworth and often strolled around the course of the Buntingford branch on weekend walks. Some good pubs around there as well... So I hope the garage progresses well, and you're able to crack on with some modelling in the near future. Cheers Paul

Brilliant David, brilliant...

There is an article on the transportation of giraffes by the Great Eastern Railway in issue 172 of the GERS Journal. If the GERS will forgive me a slight copying of material, this suggests that the tale on the Portillo programme does have an element of truth to it... "Another occasion of the movement of a giraffe by the GER was when, in 1912, the Sirdar – Sir Francis Wingate – made a gift of a young member of the Kordofan species to The Zoological Society of London. This gentleman had succeeded to the position of Sirdar of the Egyptian army and governor general of Sudan in December 1899. By all accounts, he made a habit of donating unusual animals to the zoo. One of the Society’s agents was sent out to board the ship at a Mediterranean port and to telegraph back the height of the animal so that, if necessary, arrangements could be made to send it to its destination via a bridgeless route. The Times noted that: ‘…when the bridges over railway lines were constructed, the possibility that giraffes might be passengers had not been taken into account. …’ That newspaper further reported on 16 September 1912 that: ‘As one of Mr. Carl Hagenbeck’s agents was bringing home a consignment of Egyptian animals, including several young giraffes, it was arranged that the Sirdar’s gift should travel with these others. The animals were brought down to Suez, partly by rail and partly by steamer, and were then shipped on one of the Hamburg-Amerika liners, which took them to Antwerp. The chief difficulty was reshipping them for England, as on account of the regulations of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries no ruminating animals are at present permitted to come from Europe to this country. At Antwerp the giraffe was transferred without landing to one of the Great Eastern Railway Company’s vessels and brought direct to Harwich, where it was examined by a veterinary inspector and passed as free from disease. It arrived in Regent’s Park late on Friday evening, where it was given a warm mash of milk and oatmeal gruel. … The giraffe is a sturdy young male, standing over 8ft. tall and probably about a year old. It is very tame and docile, much more so than the larger animals born in captivity …’ How the animal was transported from Harwich to Regent’s Park is not recorded, but perhaps a young 8ft animal could fit inside a van?" See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Wingate for a history of Wingate's career. Cheers Paul

Hi Khris, Usually it's Alan Gibson wheels. That said, I've just used my first set of Ultrascales, and I think I'll be placing some orders to allow for the lead time of manufacture on the queue of unmade kits. That said, the real question is probably about how you short them out to conduct the current from the tyre to the axle. My preference is for the etched brass shorting strip. Have a look at Brassmasters, although similar are available from the EMGS, and there used to be some in the Bill Bedford range. They all basically do the same thing. I use a square profile needle file to create a shallow recess on either side of the back of the tyre, then solder the strip in there. Afterwards, they are filed smooth to ensure there is nothing that can catch in a flangeway. I thought that I might have some photos of "here's some that I made earlier", but annoyingly I don't. Must try harder with the next chassis. I'm also experimenting with silver conductive paint, and it seems viable. However it does take a few days to build up a properly conductive layer (measured by using a multimeter to assess resistance after each coat had dried). It is a safer alternative than melting plastic spokes though! Cheers Paul

Morning! As I'm now a complete convert to the benefits of split chassis, this topic caught my eye. As others have said, Branchlines make an excellent jig for producing axles from their components. I use both the two- and three-part axles, using the three-part to keep the gearbox in a neutral section. I wrote a couple of posts on this a few months ago on the Scalefour Society Forum. You can see some being made here: Making Branchlines split axles I also adopt a belt and braces approach to making sure that the gearbox stays neutral by insulating the gearbox sides with cigarette paper held on with (soaked through by) superglue: Insulating gearbox sides And I use the same trick to insulate the body from the chassis, again to make sure that there is no chance of accidental contact. Being (naturally!) only a fag-paper in thickness, this makes no visual difference. You just re-cut the hole for the motor/gearbox with a scalpel when all is set solid. This is the locomotive is question - a Great Eastern Railway E22: I hope that all of these posts encourage you to have a go at split chassis. The small amount of extra time invested up front is worthwhile compared to the alternative amount of fiddling that you have to do with *****ed pickups! Cheers Paul

There is also a good article to look at by my good friend and occasional poster here, Mark Tatlow. It's is Scalefour News 195, and is entitled "Trackwork problem-finding checklist". It's basically a series of things that you can do to "debug" trackwork after it's been built - I know that mine certainly needs it! It makes mention of the Mint gauge, and quite a few other tips besides. If you don't have a hard copy, it's downloadable from the Members' Area. I keep digital copies of all the Scalefour News now, as well as the hard copies. Much easier to search when you need a particular article. Cheers Paul

Bear in mind that the Mint gauge is used for checking track, not for building it. I just wanted to make that clear at the outset for you. The idea is that you slide it along, and it will reveal any tight spots or snags. It's excellent for fine-tuning track after it's built. There are plenty of discussions of its use on the Scalefour Society Forum. Cheers Paul

Thanks Jeremy - much appreciated. Aiming to model nothing more recent than 1911, I've always a been a bit lost with this sparkifying stuff. Cheers Paul

There are more than four of the Conductor Rail Supports in a pack. The picture is just to illustrate the completed items. I'll find out for you exactly what length of track one of the £4.50 packs covers. The broader range of 3rd/4th rail parts available from the Society are: 145A Conductor rail, S.R. & LUR, nickel-silver (includes £2.75 postal supplement) £12.75 10 mtr 145B Conductor rail, S.R. & LUR, nickel-silver (includes £2.75 postal supplement) £22.75 20 mtr 145C Conductor rail, S.R. & LUR, nickel-silver (includes £2.75 postal supplement) £32.75 30 mtr 145D Conductor rail, S.R. & LUR, nickel-silver (includes £2.75 postal supplement) £42.75 40 mtr ER18 End ramp, conductor rail, short - 18mm (lost wax casting) £1.40 1 ER22 End ramp, conductor rail, medium - 22mm (lost wax casting) £1.40 1 ER40 End ramp, conductor rail, long - 40mm (lost wax casting) £1.40 1 PR Pilgrim Ramp, conductor rail, (lost wax casting) £1.40 1 CRS Conductor rail supports kit - see photo for completed items £4.50 1 pkt CRJ Conductor rail drilling jig£7.50each Hope this is useful, Paul

An Iain Rice build of "Bromley's Be-riveted Drudge" (as he termed the M12) is the star piece in issue 0 of the MRJ... It had me hooked at that! "A new quarterly journal for the finescale model railway enthusiast" was how it was termed, and we all know what happened after that... Cheers Paul

Or you could build your own... Connoisseur Models kit, the dome and chimney aren't quite right but that only became apparent when it was photographed. The livery is remarkably pleasing, with just a touch of East End grime. I chose to build it as an 0-6-0. You never know when that extra traction will come in handy for hauling all those barrels of rum and sacks of spice around... Cheers Paul

The Mk.1 Lever Frame (i.e. without the accompanying interlocking gubbins) remains on sale to any and all. In my time spent manning the Scalefour Stand, I've heard of this being used in everything from 2mm to garden railways. It's the second item down here: Scalefour Society public e-shop. HTH, Paul

Which is what I intend to do ;-) I had a couple of random thoughts earlier today as to how to make the alignment easier when it comes to fit things together. I need to have a doodle in my sketchbook... Cheers Paul

I have that drawing bookmarked ;-) That said, I'll be etching the hole to 0.7mm. I tried 0.8 on my trial etch of just the DC bits, and it was a bit too close to the edge when I broached the etched hole out to take 0.8mm rod. I'll actually be drawing this directly off the GA to scale for the overall sizes. I intend to make the upper part extend to the level of the bottom of a prototypical floor - you may have spotted similar in the way I etched the end handle "vees" ("ells"?) . In that way, if a kit/scratchbuild has the floor in the correct place, the height is automatically set correctly. For anything else, it can be cut down. Cheers Paul

As I have a couple of dozen of unmade Coopercraft wagon kits with DC1 brakes, I'm confident I have spares... That said, I won't be using them. There's something fundamentally wrong about the angle of the left-hand brake rod. If you look at this image of a built up Coopercraft N13 on the GWR.org website (http://www.gwr.org.uk/graham/cooplocomf.jpg) the rod points directly up at the middle of the wagon - almost as far back as the centre of the vee. Compare that to figure 11 in GWW Appendix. This is the "works" photo of the DC1 brakegear as fitted. The left brake rod is at a much more shallow angle, looking to meet the solebar in the middle of the right-hand axleguard. Ah - here's a photo of a similar arrangement which is online, albeit the modified DC1X variant () It's that ridiculous angle in the Coorpercraft brakes that has always offended my eye - once seen, it cannot be unseen. And I've never seen a photo of a prototype wagon showing such an angle. I'm guessing that it's lost in the mists of time as to what the original mould-maker at Coopercraft worked from. Cheers Paul

Hi Rich, Thanks for noting that. I was aware of it, from the GA drawing. The DC1 should have left over right, rather than the more conventional right over left that you find on DC3 and Morton brakes. Chapter and verse, as always, at http://www.gwr.org.uk/nowagonbrakes.html The old casting was one of the very few that I have in my brake gear spares box which is a 9ft wheelbase. I definitely didn't have any proper DC1 brakegear at all. As this was a proof-of-concept exercise, that I could design the parts and that they would fit properly, I'm not fussed about the overall accuracy. The Coopercraft N13 loco wagon was an old second hand one that I stripped the paint from, and I'm using as a "test mule". I may rattle it up to be a completed model, but it's unlikely to have appeared on the GER in the East End of London in 1909... The key thing for me was to prove that I could fit the swan-neck between the face of the wheel and the axleguard in P4. I can comfortably do that using compensated w-irons. I'm less confident that I can do that with Bill Bedford sprung w-irons, as the bearing carriers are looking to occupy the same space. I'll find out when I do the next test build, which will be when I've drawn and etched the brake rods, shoes, supports, etc, as a full unit. Cheers Paul

Excuse the cross-post, as the question of GWR DC1 brakes in 4mm has popped up on two different RMWeb threads in close succession. In talking about the DC1 set up, and the swan-neck lever in particular, I believe that this is what is intended: The w-irons are from the Scalefour Society, the brake vee is a spare D&S one, and the brake gear is an old 9ft casting - ABS I think. The nickel silver operating mechanism is an etch that I drew up at the start of lockdown, based on GWR General Arrangement drawings: I had a few etched when business at the etchers that I use resumed, as a test on the edge of something else. Having now built one, I can see that they all work properly. The next step will be to draw up the other parts that I've used from other sources as part of the same artwork, and have it all etched as a single set. A couple more pictures to show how it fits together, starting with those fiddly brake lever handles: During the build process, the swan-neck fitting behind the axleguard: And the full layout of the rods underneath. The centre one is still overlength, as I need to knock up one of the vertical support straps and fix that before I cut it back to length: I'll post more of an update when I've designed and tested the other bits, as I need quite a supply of these for my own modelling of the GWR in 1909. I have quite a number of Coopercraft and Ratio kits for them to go under. Cheers Paul

Excuse the cross-post, as the question of GWR DC1 brakes in 4mm has popped up on two different RMWeb threads in close succession. In talking about the DC1 set up, and the swan-neck lever in particular, I believe that this is what is intended: The w-irons are from the Scalefour Society, the brake vee is a spare D&S one, and the brake gear is an old 9ft casting - ABS I think. The nickel silver operating mechanism is an etch that I drew up at the start of lockdown, based on GWR General Arrangement drawings: I had a few etched when business at the etchers that I use resumed, as a test on the edge of something else. Having now built one, I can see that they all work properly. The next step will be to draw up the other parts that I've used from other sources as part of the same artwork, and have it all etched as a single set. A couple more pictures to show how it fits together, starting with those fiddly brake lever handles: During the build process, the swan-neck fitting behind the axleguard: And the full layout of the rods underneath. The centre one is still overlength, as I need to knock up one of the vertical support straps and fix that before I cut it back to length: I'll post more of an update when I've designed and tested the other bits, as I need quite a supply of these for my own modelling of the GWR in 1909. I have quite a number of Coopercraft and Ratio kits for them to go under. Cheers Paul

There are things out there... For the GWR W3 cattle wagon, there was the TMD/Perseverance etched brass kit. Keep an eye on well known auction sites, as they come up from time to time. https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/perseverance-gwr-mex-cattle-wagon-dia-479392025 If you're after an open cab and bunker for a 517, find someone who has built the later cab version of the M&L/Alan Gibson 517 kit and have kept the early ones as spares. I'm afraid that I can't help on this, as I built my 517 as the early version, and have the later parts in my spares box. Or just fire up that CAD for the hell of it ;-) Cheers Paul

Give me chance to play around with them first What I mean is that having drawn up the basics of the levers that I needed, the next step is to decide how far I go down the road of drawing up full brakegear, with the pushrods, shoes, v-hangers, etc. I suspect I'll end up doing all of that, as it will look better at the end of the day than whitemetal or plastic, and my spaces box has a surprising lack of 9ft brakegear... Cheers Paul

Hi Dan, Without wanting to promise too much, too quickly, literally yesterday I had some sheets of new etchings arrive for my 5522 Models range. As well as the GER bits which are the main subject, around the edges of the etch I stuck some bits and pieces for my own modelling. As well as some parts like LNWR wagon number plates and GWR buffer steps, I have done a few tests of a GWR DC1 brake lever. This is for my own modelling purposes, as I have a fair number of CooperCraft kits to either build from kits or to upgrade my past efforts. These two GWR O5 wagons are either restored (with new brake gear, awaiting weathering to blend in): Or a new build showing the various bits (the brake gear from ABS, brake lever is Bill Bedford, brake safety loops and rear straight bar from scrap bits of brass) unpainted - this will be one of the infamous red wagons when painted: So I'll be doing a test build of one of my own DC1 levers in the next day or two to go on future wagons. I'll definitely be adding the straight back support, and the safety loops to each etch, to save making them from scratch. Indeed, at the last minute I stuck some brake safety loops on the etch as a test, given how fiddly these had been to bend up using tweezers: These parts are all drawn from the original GWR General Arrangement drawings. I can't remember if they came from an issue of GWRJ, or from the "Bible", but they are all absolutely true to scale. I've designed them for my own modelling needs, so they are intended to be at the correct height when the wagon floor is at the correct prototype height, IYSWIM. Anyway, I'll see how I get on. Pass me another wagon kit nurse, I'm going in... Cheers Paul

Excellent, thank you. No particular rush, just a lot of LNWR stock to refurbish/build. Cheers Paul

Implausible, but not impossible... I've more extensive references to the East London line in various issues of the Great Eastern Journal, but it was a moderately used conduit for goods traffic north and south of the river. Have a look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_London_line#Early_use for a short summary. Includes ownership by the LBSCR and SER, You know you want some of those kits... Cheers Paul

I see from your website that the LNWR diamonds have sold out already. Any chance of any more in the near future? I've just about exhausted my stock from Ratio kits and HMRS sheets. TIA, Paul

If you're expecting to get through a lot of drills, don't go to the model trade, but go to where industry goes... https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Cutting-Tools/Twist-Drill-Bits/Drill-Bits---Polished/04-08mm Twenty pence each! Okay, so you can't get 0.55mm exactly, but you can get 0.05mm either side in bulk. Cheers Paul