David Bell

I made a start on the works plates for the full size coach. These are made from plywood and laser cut wooden letters. One (the Lochgorm one)will be dated in the 19th century and the other (the Embo Mains one) will be dated 2023. Cheers David

A very pleasant 10 minutes or so watching the trains go by. Great video Andy. Cheers David

I have had loads of fun scouring hardware and garden centre websites sourcing bits for the coach. Here we have brackets for the coach end steps and for the steps at each compartment door together with the hoop bracket for the safety chains

BIG SCALE MODELLING! My thoughts have turned to the full size Highland coach again. I have made some templates for features of the buffer beam. These are, 1. The end profile of the buffer beam 2 & 3 The casting in which the drawhook sits 4 The drawhook 5The spacer the buffer is bolted to. 6 is the works plate To give you an idea of size, the buffer spacer is just under 10inches in diameter

All looking good Ade. You are motoring now. Hope you enjoyed catching CR419 earlier in the summer. I have a fondness for that loco because at the tender age of 13, in 1975, it was the first engine I ever worked on on my first visit to the SRPS. It was dark blue then, it is a much lighter shade now. Cheers David

I was especially taken with the plan of Wick. It occurred to me that you could do exactly the same with the other end of the line at Inverness, depicting platforms 4,5 and 6. The platform 4 line would be at the back glimpsed through the arches which form internal support of the overall roof. Platform 4 is a southbound platform, 5 and 6 are Far North platforms.

Coming along nicely Andy. Watching the trains the whole thing has such a lovely flow to it. Cheers David

Yes,great to see this on the go again. Cheers David

Much enjoyed video 8 Andy. It is really coming together well. Cheers David

So to the LFK. I have sized the windows by sticking labels over the four windows that need changed. They look about right.

Yes it is quite daunting. I will give it a go though!

These came through in the post today. A good start towards the Edinburgh/ Glasgow DMU. Before I get back into hacking coaches to produce that I thought I would start something simpler so I have sourced a Bachmann FK which I plan to make into a LFK.

Good video as always Andy. A week in the POD! Cheers David

Book arrived this morning. It is a cracking wee book. Simon's earlier post echoed my own thoughts. I looked through the book with a thought of Gauge O and or Gauge 1 application. Cheers Ďavid

Perfect!

Looks like you had a good day in Mallaig, weather not too bad either! Cheers David

Hi Andy, Not sure what is going on behind the gate. I did not pay too much attention on the day. I hope you manage to make the trip. Here is a picture to whet your appetite, taken the same day. I would love to see a tour to Mallaig headed by a Class 27! My first visit was whilst working on SRPS railtours trains in the mid to late seventies. I must have visited almost every other weekend for quite a few summers. The SRPS seventies railtour train would be an interesting roster for your model, giving you an excuse to have a Gresley buffet, a couple of LMS coaches and the two surviving CR coaches too. We usually had 3 or 4 BR Mk1s in blue/grey to complete the train Cheers David

This will make a lovely model. Here is the box taken last year on the last day of steam operation for the season. Lòking forward to following your progress. Cheers David

Put my order in yesterday!

The shed is coming along nicely. Very impressive. Cheers David

Good progress. Great to see the first circumnavigation of the POD on the new layout. Cheers David

As ever you are making great progress Mr P. A very productive week! Cheers David

Thanks for this, much appreciated. Cheers David

Thanks for that Bill. I am modelling fifties and sixties before the track layout changed. That said I intend to have an alternative seventies roster even though the track layout is wrong! That way I can model the trains I actually remember. Class 27 push pulls appeal greatly because I saw them on an almost daily basis in my teens. So your information is of great interest. Cheers David

You are right Jools. There is a picture of one on the Queen of Scots pullman at GQS dated 26 May 1962. It may have been the only visit by a Deltic other than more recently in preservation.