Dylan Sanderson

13 hours ago, Jesse Sim said:

just waiting for some much better arches to arrive from SMS so that might take a month or so. 

Pretty optimistic of you, it takes longer than that to clear Aussie customs!

4 minutes ago, landscapes said:

Hi David

 

Thank you for that information, as I am modelling the 1958/59 period your information works quite well for me.

 

I do have A4’s 60027 & 60009 in model form but 60024 is still to be obtained some time in the future.8

 

Regards

 

David

You can't model Haymarket and not have 60024 David 

Here's my model on LB

8 minutes ago, jwealleans said:

That looks like the Plant - has it been withdrawn and the tender swapped onto another loco, or just the order they've been chucked onto the line awaiting attention?

It's definitely 36A, but I've no idea on a date unfortunately.

Morning all... I came across this photo today and was wondering if anyone can confirm 60117 ran with a GN tender at all, or is this just formation for shed movement?

6 minutes ago, Jesse Sim said:

Always a good chat Tony on the phone, mostly swearing and laughing with talk of the meaning of life. As I said I finished that Chivers CCT van today, very easy to put together I must say apart from the roof which was a bit of a fag. Can I still say that? Anyway. 
 

Lettering was proving troublesome as I couldn’t find a photo, this is the LNER design based on the NER version, built in 1940 so the small lettering is better suited. Every photo or drawing I found was in pre-37 large lettering.  
 

I’m quite happy with it, it was going in the parcels train but after a good day or two of non stop chatting with JW I’m planning a stock train. So this will go into that with another couple of NPC’s, a brake van or two and some coaches at the rear. I do like the weird the wonderful. 

Looking good mate, where can you find these kits from?

16 minutes ago, Jesse Sim said:

Works slowed on the layout, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been twiddling my thumbs. Been getting on with some wagon projects. 
 

The star attraction that I’ve finally finished which some of you may have seen on Tony’s thread is the department train. 
 

 

For the last few days I’ve been weathering and renumbering Bachmann fish wagons. I purchased about a dozen of these about five years ago, before I had seen the light and thought wagons were all the same, oh such a rookie mistake!!! From left to right:

This one has just been weathered, although I’ve tried to make it look as if someone has tried to clean it whilst the door was open, so there’s a nice bit of much on the right where the door would have been hard up against. I also tried to do scratch marks from the door closing and opening, not sure if you can see it in the photos. Next we have weather and just one number change, no prizes on which number as Bachmann lettering seems to be too big….I’ve weathered this as if someone has come along and just cleaned the lettering. The third wagon is just a nice and grubby look. Moving along to the fourth wagon, this one I’ve re numbered into the post 37 lettering with the old larger lettering still showing. I’ve always wanted to do this and I’m glad it’s worked out. All I did was a repaint of the whole wagon, but only one coat, then the lettering and a weather. The last one, same as the others one number change and a weather. 
 

 

Back to seeing the light and that not all wagons were the one style, one of the distinctive characteristics was the different heights of vans in photos, finally I have a train that’s starting to look like that and that is the fish train. You can still see the majority of the Bachmann fish vans that haven’t been weathered yet at the back!! 

 

 
 

Now for some fruit vans which lead the scotch goods, two Bachmann fruit vans only weathered, I weathered one so you can’t read the number. Lazy? Smart? I’ll let you be the judge…

The centre wagon is a Dapol product that came with that horrible factory weathering, so a complete repaint and new lettering, a fresh weather and she’s fit for service. 
 

 

I also built a David Geen GWR fruit van, a NER fish van from Wizards, a Parkside LNER standard steel ended van and I’ve almost finished an old Roger Chivers brass bogie CCT van, they’ll be posted up next week. Really pulled my finger out this week!

Super work as always mate, you've really got the hang of this weathering malarkey!

6 minutes ago, kirtleypete said:

 

That's an ace photo! I love the Ruston piggy backing!

On 02/10/2021 at 09:58, Jesse Sim said:

 

 

The doors will be painted blue with all the required lettering. I’ll post a better photo when she’s finished. I also couldn’t help but take a quick photo of the almost finished Nucast J6, she’s not the best, but she’s the first loco kit that I’ve started and actually finished. 

I recognise those wagons! 

9 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

As anyone else seen the video in question, or know how to view it?

I can't for the life of me find it anymore. It was on Hornby Magazine's YouTube Channel and was released a few years ago, just after decorated samples were released but before the Rails of Sheffield/NRM exclusives were announced.

I'm looking forward to seeing them put to use on Little Bytham!

3 minutes ago, great northern said:

Should one really be making judgments and publishing them on the basis of one video?

If the one video was all I had to base my judgement off, yes!

I'm glad your examples run fine, hopefully that will be carried through in the production run.

I'm quite apprehensive for the new V2...

They're one of the most expensive RTR kettles available in OO gauge, and from what I've seen they seem to have really bad running characteristics. Hornby Magazine did a special video on decorated samples running on their layout, and the running quality was really bad. One model slowed and wheel-slipped on 3rd Radius curve hauling a small amount of RTR Box vans, the other model showed really bad oscillations and wobbling while plodding along. Both models had (what appeared to my untrained eye) really chunky and oversized running gear, which ruined the look of the model. Unfortunately, I think this video has been taken down from YouTube by Hornby Magazine. I really hope these issues have been solved before they arrive, and hopefully Tony (and all you other knowledgeable folk) can de-bunk these bad running characteristics. I really hope they aren't reflected in the production run!

43 minutes ago, Jesse Sim said:

Alright, another small update, been slaving away doing some wiring and small bits and pieces. 
 

First up we have the new signal box, referred to as “South Box”. I’ve started on some point motor switches but I’m pleased to announce that this section is now all wired in. Obviously apart from said switches. 

Now we look at “North Box” nothing has happened in this section yet, all the wiring is still there as this section has not been altered. All I have to do is re run the wiring and switches to the new signal box. 
 

 

The curve onto the scenic section at the North is in with the first tracks glued in the scenic section. Happy to say that the connection of code 100 to bullhead worked a treat. 
 

 

I also had time to weather a few more wagons, it was good to look at something other then wires, just need to weather the wheels on the wagon on the left. 
 

 

Now for something cheeky…. Dylan Sanderson kindly sent me the link to this rare beauty of a website I was unfamiliar with, but for a 100 pounds it was worth the risk, Very happy indeed! I’ll probably finish it fairly quickly as it’s the only kit on my workbench, Everything’s been packed away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is that an LNER Mk3 I spy? I didn't know you swung both ways

14 hours ago, Tony Wright said:

Two new models from Hornby just in for photography and review in BRM................

 

 

Tapping into nostalgia, the substantial packaging echoes that of the Hornby Dublo of my youth, though blue/white stripes signified three-rail back then. Since both these are two-rail, perhaps the broad stripes should be red. 

 

Both these models are substantially different from the norm of today in that their loco bodies are die-cast (again, nostalgia but these aren't the crude things of the past). 

 

 

The 'Princess Coronation'. There are extra parts to be added.

 

 

And the original 'Merchant Navy' (again, without the extra parts added). 

 

I've yet to test both these on Little Bytham, but on the test track they run superbly. Such is their weight that huge trains should be taken with ease. I'll report accordingly. 

Looking at the box art, City of Leicester looks to be intended to have the same finish as the MN, but has turned out completely different! Looks like they had some paint left over from the Thompson Pacific's...

2 hours ago, davidw said:

Q1. The double chimney A2 is built into the smoke box moulding. With a lipped or stovepipe moulding clipped on. The moulding built into the smoke box can however be removed with files (neater double chimneys are available from the likes of Graeme King. I think the single chimney  is easier to remove. But I can't remember TBH. 

Q2. The peppercorn locos had 118 boilers by the end of their lives. But originally many carried the 117. I think the only visible difference was that the 117 had a round dome placed further forward. Power of the A2s is a good pictorial reference. HTH and that my information is correct

David

Many thanks for your help David!

A'up everyone... some questions about Bachmann's Peppercorn A2 and the real thing...

1. Is the chimney relatively easy to remove? Does it come away with some pliers?
2. Did all the real A2s have the same diagram boilers? I can see in Yeadon's that they all had various boilers throughout their lives, but it doesn't say if these were all the same diagram, just the number of the boiler and who it previously belonged to.

Many thanks everyone

And everything's the right way up

1 hour ago, Jesse Sim said:

I just start of by saying thankyou to two friends, Graham Nicholas And Steve white. Steve very kindly went down to Woolmer Green and took over thirty photos and measurements for me and Graham very kindly helped me tweak and get my track plan right! He also pointed out a few things I had gotten wrong on the viaduct. So thanks a lot gents.
 

So I made up a new sketch, double checked and re checked all my drawings, photos and measurements and I’m pretty certain I’ve gotten this one as close as I can to the real thing. Here we are, after drawing up the plan i glued the grid paper onto one side of the plywood and then screw two pieces together and cut both sides out in one go. Everything’s just propped up at the moment, I want to re check again, but where does one stop with these things? Once I’m 100% happy, I’ll make the actual form up and start working out where the track goes. I’ll start track laying from the crossover northwards to rejoin the fiddleyard and then re build the southern fiddleyard and join it all together. Hopefully the bridge will be built in between that time. 
 

I was opting to lay track and cut the rails and have the bridge removable but I decided against it and I’d rather lay track on top in one sweeping motion without the gaps in the rail in fear of bad running. A wise decision considering @Dylan Sanderson was right when he said the peco bullhead is very brittle. I’m also not going to be pinning the track down, everything will be glued, so that’s another learning curve. Another will be soldering drop wires to the track prior to the track being laid and feeding the wires through holes as it’s being laid and glued, minimising visible drop wires. Hopefully by that time Graham’s built the signals 

 

I don’t think I ever planned this much before building Brighton Junction, feels good. 
 

So enough waffle, here’s the photos. Keep in mind everything is sitting in a mock up stage. 
 

 

Looking good mate!

Where's the goods yard, overly large station, church with a wedding and bus on a bridge going though?

Afternoon everyone... I've got a bit of a conundrum, so hopefully posting it here and getting some professional thoughts can help solve my issue!

I've just moved house, settled in and have discovered I can build a Model Railway, Cassette-Cassette, which will measure (not including cassettes) 3306mm x 221mm (10.8ft x 8.7inches in old money). The reason it'll be these measurements, is because I'll be building them on Scale Model Scenery Baseboards that fit perfectly into 77L storage boxes when not in use (this is essential, I only have room for 3x 77L storage boxes).

I have some criteria that the layout must adhere too:

1. Late 1950s British Rail (Ex-North Eastern Railway, North Yorkshire or Northumberland)
2. Little to no compromise, I want the layout to be as realistic as possible (I've made to many compromises with previous layouts, which ruins it for me).
3. I don't mind using a fictional track plan
4. Track will be Peco Code 75 Bullhead and DCC

Is it physically possible to build a 'realistic' model railway that's just 221mm wide? On first thoughts, I thought something similar to the layout 'Hartburn' might be feasible, but on second thoughts I'm not too sure due to my limited depth.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I'm really struggling to think of something at the moment!

Many thanks in advance everyone

4 hours ago, Jesse Sim said:

As some of you may know, I’ve started a new layout, Woolmer Green. Brighton Junction was built over a 3-4 year period and gone within a week. Progress is going well, boards have been cut, one half of the viaduct cut out as well. I couldn’t help but take this photo, I’m very keen to start taking prototype photos. 
 

No rest for you is there? Must be all that coffee... 

10 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

I can confirm that, Paul,

I think that's why my EM A2/1 was so (relatively) cheap! I couldn't believe it when I won it for £120!

3 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

An interesting 'comparison'?

 

 

I've just received the latest Oxford Rail J27 for photography and review. 

 

First impressions are of a very fine model indeed. 

 

By way of a comparison...................

 

 

This is the Bradwell J27 (in OO Gauge) which I've just sold on behalf of a widow (builder unknown; of the loco, not the widow!).

 

It's beautifully-made, entirely-natural and an excellent runner.

 

However, though its running is a of a very high order (it's fully-compensated and Portescap-powered), it's no better than the RTR one (which is neither compensated nor P-P). In fact, because of its Portescap, it's not as quiet. 

 

On test, both will haul prototype-equivalent-weight/length trains, smoothly and without fuss. Both are superb models in their own right, and in their own sphere. The main difference (other than one is hand-built and made of metal) is that one can get more than five of the RTR ones for the same price! 

 

There's no doubt which one I prefer. The metal one has a 'presence' which the plastic one can never equal, even if expertly detailed and weathered. It's 'finer' in every way and the product of individual craftsmanship rather than a distant factory. But, if your layout needs several J27s........................

 

 

And at around £100 per model, they seem like great value for money.

I'm looking forward to getting my BR Late one, will probably send it straight to Tom for a new identity and weathering!

1 minute ago, Manxcat said:

Could I seek some assistance please? Can anyone identify the class of locomotive in the picture below for me? Even better would be if someone knows which company made the white metal kit from which it has been constructed. I have tried all the usual search engines for an LNER loco with the number 1025 but none of the results even resemble the model. Thank you in advance.

 

Looks like a J27 to me!

6 minutes ago, Jesse Sim said:

I know what I’m doing, I know how to alter it and it’s dead easy to install

Famous last words...

1 hour ago, Jesse Sim said:

I’ve asked a few peoples opinions, so I thought I’d jump on here and ask everyone here as well. Everyone’s opinions and ideas will be welcomed!
Woolmer Greens curve starts just before the four tracks become two. After a few hours of looking at my track plans I have a few options. 

 

1. Have all points, so the four track to two and the crossover on the straight and then curve into the viaduct.

2. Have the four to two tracks on the straight, start curving into the crossover and then the viaduct 

3. Start the curve as the prototype.

One and two are the easiest routes to using the peco bullhead and also considering the curve into the fiddle yard. But is it too much modelling licence being used? It will still look like the prototype as the curve is very faint at the beginning. 

I'd say 3 if possible, if it's not do-able then go for 1