down the sdjr

Someone did suggest it was probably made up by a worker as a token keepsake sort of thing. I do suppose it could have been used in say a banana van or such as a drop off marker. My mate has his Grandads railway workers overcoat and hat, he says the overcoat is really well made and very heavy. Dont make them like that any more.

Thats what i would have thought. My mate has a load of other stuff from his Grandad, overcoat, hat and a tablet token, all from the Blandford area.

So, just something, someone has knocked together then?

My first thoughts were maybe a wagon/ brake van label.

A good friend of mine has a few items in his shed that came from his Grandad who used to work on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway before closure. He sent me this picture asking what it is. I have no idea, does anybody on here know? Thanks Paul.

I walked the old railway, now trailway between Sturminster Newton and Blandford last week with some old school mates. One of the guys has a interest in the railway mainly from his Grandad that used to work on the line. He has a shed full of artefacts some of which he has donated to Shillingstone already. He sent me this picture to ask what it is, i have no idea and thought some kind soul on here might be able to tell us? Thanks Paul.

It really is a clever little thing. I presume it was invented by some engineer in the 50s, makes my generation look stupid with all our computers. Just clever problem solving,

Thats not how you use it. The instructions state the flangeway guide sets the rail,the jig is like a extra pair of hands and really clever. The jig is about 0.5mm thick.

My 1st attempt. Still waiting delivery of copper clad strip and a set of metric feeler gauges so it was a bit guess work and the brass strip was a bit thin really. The wing rails are not in the correct position, i will re solder them next week. Off to walk some of the old Somerset and Dorset railway for the next few days, hopefully the pubs will be open. The EMGS common crossing jig is a work of genius, so simple. Thanks for all the advice.

I re did a few vs this morning, much better to the side rather than butted. I have not finish filed these yet or cut the nose. Just experimenting really but each one is getting better.(i think). I also made up my common crossing jig.

Hi James, That is pretty much what i have been doing this year, buying bits off different companies and see what suits me best. Peco BH and C&L thick base will all work together so nothing will be wasted. I ended up going for the Legacy track as it is a really good price on Hattons, i dont find it a problem to solder but it does have a thin base. The EMGS Peco track is really good but they only do flexi and LH / RH B6 points. I am currently building 2 layouts, one in EM and the other 00, so i am enjoying both worlds. Paul.

Morning, i am heading up to the loft to do some bending and filing. Will post results later if any improvement.

This was going to be my next question. I am stuggling to find something 1.2mm for 00 gauge.

Thanks Dubs, That is really helpful. I saw the instructions mentioned bending the rail, was not sure what that meant.

I am going to have to experiment. I am following the EMGS instructions, both rails filed on the inside edge, 1 halfway and the other fully. Any advice welcome.

The EMGS jigs arrived this morning so i have started with the v jig. this is my 2nd and 3rd attempt, i got the filing wrong on the 1st one. I have plenty of stainless steel rail and was surprised how easy it was to solder, mind you i am using some pretty beefy acid flux. Going to put the common crossing jig together this evening.

Models like that, weathered up will look great, Nice to see something different.

I joined the EMGS this year, well worth the money for data sheets and products.

Great photo.

You make it look so easy. I have ordered these jigs plus a switch blade jig from EMGS today. Going to practice on making common crossings for a while. Wish me luck.

Nice photos, Multi layer with about 25 different focal points is how pro model photographers do it i believe. Nice thread on here somewhere all about that using Photoshop. I am like you and prefer standard shots, never got them as good as yours here. I have a modern smart phone than takes better depth photos than my oldish Canon SLR, amazing how far phone cameras have developed.

Hi Geordie, Im very much a beginner myself but you can get solder with different melting tempatures, standard and detailing solder. Others here will answer you much better than i can.

Hi Jack, I do like an Adams Radial. I have a Oxford Rail one and while some people dont like the slow gearing i think it runs lovely. Although never noted running on the S&D mine does from time to time. great locos. Paul.

I am going to order those, they look really nice. I will only buy the 1:5-1:8 v jig as i dont suppose i would need bigger for a station like Blandford Forum. If it all goes wrong i can always buy the Vs from C&L.

I bought a really nice Bachmann 4F on ebay for under £90 and EM wheels from Alan Gibson £35. It was a TMC super customised with weathering, coal, crew, fire irons and re-number. I could not build that train in EM gauge for £125 from a kit. Plus, I simply do not have the skills.