CXW1

Many thanks Mick, much appreciated. I think that I should be able to knock something up from the photographs and the basic dimensions that I have, so it probably isn't necessary to post all 31 pages of the works drawings on here. I know that black and white photographs sometimes don't give much away in terms of livery, but some of the locos (especially the clean picture of 2429 third from bottom) look distinctly unlined black as opposed to fully lined-out green. Do you have any information on what liveries were carried and when?

I have seen it on your thread and it made me think about doing something similar pick-up-wise. I also have an old Ks Y8 body and one day I will make a new chassis for it. The body was built by my grandfather about 40 years ago so it has some sentimental value. The original chassis and motor packed up years ago. The 'scratchbuilt' Y8 is not 100% scratchbuilt as it has an Alexander Models Y7 chassis which has been cut down to fit. Dave Alexander sold me a chassis and all of the castings and lost wax parts from his Y7 kit separately for a ridiculously low price. He was a good bloke who will be missed.

Hello Mick It's not too late as I've hardly started. After much pondering I am going to try and build the D24 with twin beam compensation on the driving wheels. The chassis in the picture is very much an experiment/test into getting something to work and it may not end up being the actual chassis. The wheelbase is correct so if the chassis works I might adapt and use it. I have got an outline drawing of a D24 in the orange HMRS book and a few photos and information off the internet but that's it. Therefore any drawings and photos you have would be greatly appreciated. If all goes to plan the loco will end up in LNER condition and I assume that some or all of the class would have been fitted with domed boilers at some point. I have a picture of No. 2426 in 1924 - this has a domeless boiler and looks like it is painted LNER green. It would be a lot easier for me if they ended up being painted black at some point. As ever, thanks for your help. Chris

Like many people I always seem to have at least 10 things on the go at the same time. Another busy day working from home has allowed me to get a few little jobs done. I have painted the J79 chassis today but you don't really need to see that. For probably the past 12 months off and on I've been trying to renovate an old Ian Kirk carriage that I built/butchered about 30 years ago. It was originally painted BR maroon but it has been stripped and rebuilt, and I have attempted the dark art of LNER teak using some of the advice on this forum. It has turned out OK and to be honest it's just an old plastic carriage that I've used for a bit of practice. The photo probably makes it look more 'red' than it actually is. I finally got round to applying some transfers today and I think it is more or less finished apart from grab handles etc. Whether it will ever get any is debatable. Out of interest, is there anyone who can tell me what make the bogies are? They are made from whitemetal. Both sides have basic compensation on a centre pivot and are joined together by 2 springs at each end. They are as old as the carriage kit (i.e. 30 years). I can't remember where I got them from and I've never seen any like them since. They seem to work OK though. A couple of running repairs and some finishing off was needed on my J76 and Y8 locos. The J76 was scratchbuilt last year but I never got round to fitting the sand pipes - this was finally done today. The Y8 needed some weight adding to it and some fiddling with the pick-ups. The Y8 was my first attempt at a scratchbuild about 5 years ago. I told myself to start with something small and I don't think I could have picked anything smaller. The Y8 has always been very light due to its size - some extra lead added today has resulted in a small improvement but it will never have much adhesion. It will pull a few wagons which is probably all they ever did in reality. Both locos were based in Hull and will go with my Hull and Barnsley stuff if I ever get round to building a layout. Oh, and I've started a new Hull and Barnsley loco. They only had one class of 4-4-0 so no prizes for guessing what it is. The wheels in the picture are too small and are just what came to hand. Cheers Chris

The current Markits wheels do have thinner flanges than old Romfords which makes using brass brake shoes less of an issue. I've never had the need to use the space saver hornblocks. My understanding is that these tend be used where you have hornblocks on all axles (e.g. on an 0-6-0 with CSBs) and where there is limited clearance to fit a gearbox between two hornblocks. I have always found the standard High Level hornblocks to be perfect for use in a single beam chassis where the gearbox is on a rigid axle. Thanks Chris

The wheels are the current Markits profile which they sell for OO and EM - nothing P4 about them. I have used High Level hornblocks for years and they work well if you can get the beam (or beams) sorted out. CSB is another option but I've never tried it. I've never got on well with Alan Gibson hornblocks for various reasons - I find that there is too much 'slop' in them and I kept burning my fingers trying to solder the nut on the top.

I posted the picture below on my workbench thread a few days ago and I am assuming that it might be similar to your Terrier chassis. The chassis in the picture is scratchbuilt and for an EM gauge LNER J79 which has a wheelbase of 6ft & 5ft, so not far off a Terrier. The wheels in the picture are too big and are just some old Markits wheels that I am using to get the chassis set-up - by this I mean making sure that it runs freely without any binding and to get the beam at the correct height/angle. When the chassis is sat on the track or any other flat surface, the front two axles on the beam cannot independently move upwards like the front axle in your picture. The beam places some light downward pressure on both axles - just enough to keep them on them track. Both axles can independently rock on the beam. I've never measured how far the axles can rock but it won't be any more than 0.5mm in both directions. The beam on your chassis is possibly bent, broken or completely the wrong shape if the front axle can lift up while the other 2 axles remain on the track. The gearbox will be on the rear axle on the J79 and the motor will end up over the middle axle, so weight distribution should be fairly well balanced. I have used this set-up on lots of 0-6-0 and 0-6-2 tank engines and it works OK. Izzy is correct in that twin beam compensation can be more stable, but I've always found single beams easy to deal with. You shouldn't have any problems using brass brake gear as long as there is a small gap between the brake shoe and the wheel. Hope this helps. Clearly there are many ways to achieve the same outcome and I'm not saying that my way is correct or the best way, but it does work reasonably well. Chris

I did a little more to the J79 body this evening. I was initially unconvinced about the safety valve but on closer inspection I think that the 'trumpet' is more or less the correct shape - the problem was the shape and thickness of the lever (or whatever it's called) on the top. I have cleaned up the trumpet casting, made a new less obvious lever and moved the whole thing closer to the cab as per the picture of No. 1787. I think it looks a bit better now. Also made and fitted the front steps, front and rear sand boxes under the footplate, and some plumbing for the Westinghouse pump - the pump itself was in the cab (according to the RCTS green bible).

Mick, the J79 was No. 407, so definitely some of the number missing. Larger side tanks were fitted to 407 for working on the Cawood branch. Nice F8 - is this the Falcon Brass kit that you 'enjoyed' making?

LNER J79 (ex NER Class H2) I acquired a J79 from Connoisseur Models several years ago when they did a limited re-run of 4mm scale kits. This was my first attempt at an etched brass kit (having previously made some whitemetal kits). I made a reasonable job of the body, including rolling my first boiler, but the chassis did not turn out so well. If I’m being honest I don't think it is the best looking prototype but it will go well with my J78 crane tank. They are very similar but the J79 has a cab and bunker at the back rather than a crane. The body has sat at the back of the workbench gathering dust for a while and some of the original castings have been ‘borrowed’ for other models over time and need replacing. It has finally made it to the top of the ‘to do’ list. I am going to make some basic improvements to the body, make a new chassis for it and hopefully it will work. Here are some pictures showing progress to date. The pictures were taken over a couple of weeks - I’m not that quick. The Chassis is shown during testing to make sure it is free-running and to get the compensation beam set at the correct height. The wheels in the picture are far too big and are just a set of old wheels that I'm using to get the chassis set-up correctly. The finished model will have smaller Alan Gibson wheels. There isn’t much room for the motor and gearbox so I’m using a very flexible High Level LoLoader gearbox and a little 1015 motor and driving off the rear axle – it just fits. The final picture is of the body sat on the correct size wheels from the original chassis which have been taken off the axles a few too many times and are now no good, but hopefully this gives an idea of what I’m aiming for. I’m not convinced about the safety valve and I will probably replace it. Cheers Chris

Thanks Tony, The wagon was lightly weathered with powders and the splodge of tar is just some brushed on clear varnish.

I found a spare hour or so to finish off the 2mm scale tar wagon this afternoon. Hopefully it won't be too long before it can find its way to Yeovil Town. Laurie will fit DG couplings to the model to ensure the coupling height is the same as his other rolling stock. In the time-honoured tradition of 2mm-scale modelling, here is a picture of the finished model next to a coin . Cheers Chris

I've just had a look at the relevant RCTS and Yeadon books - both suggest that 590 moved to York as shed pilot in 1924 and stayed there until its withdrawal in 1937.

I managed to finish the Hull and Barnsley horsebox this evening and I'm pleased with how it has turned out. SWMBO asked if there was a horse inside. I told her that there wasn't and that it would be pointless putting a horse inside because you wouldn't be able to see it. I was told that I should therefore add hinges to the side door so it can be opened and closed, which would allow people to see the horse. I don't think I'll bother attempting that modification.....

Thanks Mick. I've seen several pictures of No. 590 but not that one. Do you know where it was taken?

It does have a Kitson look to it. It was built by Robert Stephenson & Co, who I think also built the 3 J80s for the Hull and Barnsley a year or so later and couldn't be any more different.

Corbs, excellent - thanks for posting this. I've been meaning to go back through the Tanfield FB and twitter pages to try and find this picture so you have saved me a job. I think I said previously that there was a picture of the model sitting on the footplate of the real loco but that is clearly a breeze block. I was nearly right. Cheers Chris

I have more or less got the Hull and Barnsley horsebox finished. The brake gear and other underframe details were a bit of an educated guess as there are no photographs of what it looked like under LNER ownership. The view is that it would have been upgraded from the arrangement in the pre-grouping photograph that appeared earlier in the thread and I have tried to follow the general pattern of LNER 8-shoe clasp brakes with the parts that were available in the kit. The roof is just plonked on for now. I have very little knowledge and experience of building brass carriage-type kits, so if I've done anything that is blatantly wrong or if anything is in the wrong place, please tell me. It looks like the weather will be OK tomorrow so hopefully I can give it a final clean-up and get outside and give it a coat of primer. My aim is to end up with it in an 'end of its useful life' condition like the D&S NER horsebox it is next to (rather than pristine teak). Cheers Chris

Laurie, thanks for posting the picture of the tar wagon. I was going to get in touch to ask you to send me a picture of it because I need to paint the second one and couldn't remember how I'd painted the first one or what number it was!! Here is a picture of the latest progress on the 2mm J26 after we rolled the boiler at the pre-lockdown area group meeting. I have got an 8mm Nigel Lawton motor to go in the tender and once I am confident I can get something this small to stop and go in both directions I'll make a start on the LSWR G6. And in the time honoured tradition of showing how small everything is in 2mm Finescale, I have also posted a picture of the 2mm J26 and a bigger Dave Alexander J27 that I made some years ago. Cheers Chris

I have some Halfords Rover Russett Brown in the garage, so there is a 99% chance that is what it will end up with.

I've read a few debates on here about 'teak brown'. Let's not start another one.....

Mick, Tony - many thanks. There is a single block brake in the kit and it is suggested that this would have been fitted as built with an assumption that the LNER would have fitted something more modern, but no pictures of this modification exist. I haven't encountered any problems as yet other than the locating holes for the brake hangers (if fitting clasp brakes) were slightly too near the wheels - easily dealt with. The etch says 'MSE' if this gives any clues away as to its origins. The W/M castings are good and the vacuum formed roof is the correct profile, so hopefully there won't be too many problems. The instructions suggest that the small grill on the bottom left corner is a 'dog box'. Not sure what colour it should be in LNER days. Info suggests they were all gone by the late 1920s so possibly just left as they were or painted brown?

The class K would make a lovely model but I don't like the thought of that valve gear in 4mm scale - probably a fiddly job even in Gauge 1. I look forward to seeing your progress. Am I correct in thinking that the 'side tank' isn't a side tank and was something to shield the valve gear? Also, do you have any pictures of the H&BR horsebox as sold by London Road Models? I started to make one last night. The instructions suggest that very little information is known about the prototype and only a couple of photographs exist. I have started to build mine with LNER clasp brakes (assuming they were fitted after the LNER took over) but the kit includes a more basic earlier brake. I was a little surprised that the kit as supplied can only be built rigid. I expected that it would have a rocking axle. However, it seems to be nice and square so I will leave it as it is. It is something to run on the layout that I haven't started yet. Here is a picture of progress to date.

Thanks for the comments. I spoke to my dad last night and he said that the current status of the real Twizell is 'non-operational'. It is having some boiler tubes replaced. Work started on this a few months ago but stopped when the lockdown was imposed.

While we are the subject of getting 2-2-4s, 0-4-4s and 2-4-2s to balance, the F8 (which runs pretty well) is set up with a gearbox and motor on a fixed rear driving axle. The front driving wheel and the smaller leading front wheel are in High Level hornblocks with a compensation beam. The smaller trailing wheel is a pony truck to help it go around corners. I found that it was OK to have the front wheel in hornblocks with no side play because the wheelbase of the front three wheels is no longer than an 0-6-0 tank engine. In reality the the F8 has the same set-up as the 0-6-2 loco above - but on the F8 only the 2nd and 3rd axles are coupled. I'm not sure if this set-up for a 2-4-2 is meant to work, but it appears to.