John Besley

The S&T department have taken note and are pestering for a van of all things, well they can jolly well wait ... we need a couple of box vans for for far more important jobs than a fiddly bit of cable and a phone... (They are also on my build list once I've brained them up...) You can be absolutely certain they will be lettered up for the correct department - possabily as EXHILL PW & Estates Dept... I need to see what is available from Fox transfers as I need something for the coaches as well, also need to cross reference coaching stock signage etc

And here is the PW dept works crew transport The old coach body had one section cut out and stiffened up to allow the timber sides which lift out to drop into some U section channel along with the tying eyes on the solebar, the passenger doors where removed leaving the bolt holes in the sides as was the remains of the seating support in the load area no doubt a plank will be slung across then to provide stowage space as well. The bulkhead was stiffened up with some T section angle iron

Having had a genteel upbringing I had to Google Cthulu .... and there was more than a passing resemblance.. A few years later the squid was dumped in a skip ... the site engineers had great fun drapping him in there as you can imagine his eyes peering over the top of a 8 ton high sided skip...

Clearly never thought to check the box or the colour of the Std 4 as they are totally different

Talking of basements, back along in 2007 - 2012 the Co I used to work for looked after The Plymouth Aquarium's fire alarm and emergency lighting... in those days they had a section called 'The Deep' as part of this they had a mechanical giant squid, to access this section and the motor room was under the display and stepping round the squid which was triggerd by a motion sensor. This area was under the floor area in a basement corridor, so when I went there for the first time with the our other engineer Dave who knew the run of the site I was completely unaware where I was ... ' oh just open that door there's a smoke detector in the plant room and lighting bank'.... so RJB opens the door where upon the Squid opens his eyes in the gloom by my face and starts wagging his tentacles - shock horror! help!, I turn round and Dave is doubled up with laughter - 'everytime it never fails' 😀 'Rotter' There was another time when changing an emergency light on a metal open grid ceiling found the grid was live - now that wasn't funny

Well it was back to work today of sorts... I was begining to enjoy semi retirement but hey ho... needs must and seeing as I can at least drive it was back to the grind stone of life. Meanwhile a bit of progress on the coaches, but the PW dept got wind of this and pestered the engineering that - ' you know the semi scrapped coach behind the works that got dumped if you want us to sort out the winter maintenece and spring time clear up youd better think how we as in the two of us are going to get around as we're not walking everywhere when Joe public get to ride so...' There have been dark mutterings and threats of duffing up round by the bike shed.. So - anyway watch this space

Nothing wrong either a Pug kit bashed... many years ago in the year '71 I made an Airfix pug with a open cab and chimney top from an Stepenson "rocket" with the saddle tank and cab sides finished off in MR Marron along with the footplate crew from the "Rocket" and a triang Rocket coach I had a 1870 train .... all good fun No pictures survived or if taken they've long since gone...

Thinking ahead to this year, when the sun come out I must go and see an Exmoor Engineering loco preferably a 10.1/4" one to gather up some ideas for the 2-6-4 tank...

I've been driven to Beer... and Peco many times, last time was in May 2022 on my Birthday... Turned out the driver was also a SDR fireman (after I'd come off the footplate there) so we got an extra free ride

Whst the guy in the blue hat doing.... and the "brethe easy returns" made me chuckle the guy coming out with his hand up says it all

Hello Steve Now that's a thought It could well work on the tank engine as and when... I like the choice of names. As and when the 10.1/4" Bulleid gets built this will be Exeter possabily as 21C101 or 34001 in early BR livery in Malachite Green, so I can't use Exeter on the tank... but Beer or Exton sound good

So she was obviously rebuilt to last untill 1952... did she have a German cross added to the cabside ...

Hello Steve, Thank you for the comment, (dont get many) I had considered it briefly but looking at the build as she progressed I couldn't see anywhere logical to fit nameplates, and it kind of didn't fit with my thoughts as a yard shunter, the number is kind of a tounge in cheek nod at Bulleid light pacifics, note No:34 does indeed have a Bulleid whistle and power classification. Bear in mind Exhill Works has a number of ex 72A shed staff on the books, hence they were wanting to keep the memory's alive No:34 kind of evolved from the aborted Tinkerbell build as I couldn't get the valve gear to run satisfactory, so to settle the desire to have a steam loco settled on the H0 loco and designed her on the hoof. Having spent much of my life in and around or working on full-size locos I knew what I needed to include to make her believable. The cab fittings had to be practical for a miniture loco but not too tiny that they became unfeasible, as a rule of thumb I delved into 15" gauge locos RG&ER RH&DR etc. everything you would expect to find on a full-size loco is there. I would like to build a 2-6-2 or 2-6-4 tank next based on an Exmoor Engineering design ... just bidding my time to find the right chassis done... maybe a Ivatt tank or 80000 might turn up with DCC socket... now there's a thought Feel free to comment

Sorted out the buffer beams, and made up 4 sets of chopper couplings ready to fit. Cut and fitted the moulding trim on the bodies as well as cut out all 8 doors, added door stops, made up dummy latch boxes for the slam handles and fitted the doors, polished up 8 x T handles and sealed with clear lacquer, next made up dummy “piano hinge” and fitted this once the doors were in place then cut and fitted 48 dummy hex head bolts from 1.5mm Plastistrut section. Hunted up a brake wheel and turned up a brake column from some scrap bar then drilled and bolted this into the floor of the guards compartment

5322 looks too cream to be Khaki or is it just the photo?

But of course back in the day not now. A Exmouth Jct fitter I knew said as kids they used to see how many times with just a platform ticket (or no ticket) they could ride between St David's and Central on a summer Saturday before getting kicked off

Exeter St David, doesn't get much better than that 👏

Graham when the new CR arises will you start a new topic or carry on from here to keep all of the developments in one place?

Today I Cut and fitted all the compartment seating areas, the guards end will only have the single seat to allow for storage and the handbrake stand with the seating in one section only, in addition the guards end panel is higher to protect the rear of the train. On checking the rolling stock found that with the Hornby bogie mounts there is far too much sideways rolling so set about turning up a bush and washer to solve this problem Once I’d resolved this issue the buffer beams where sized up and fitted in place

Is that when 4472 was shipped of to USA in 1969 as she has a crest on her cabside instead of the loco number, which was on one of her two tenders

My wife asked me to get 6 cans of sprite when I was in town, when I got home I realised in picked 7 up

So the next project is on the go while I am still off work... this classes as hand therapy (and brain) A while ago I picked up some Gresley coaches for the boigies and chassis to build a couple of coaches for the estate railway ... Stripped down the Gresley chassis and removed the bogies, milled off the battery boxes on the chassis and cut off the Hornby couplings and brake gear leaving a slimmed down bogie, Refitted the wheel sets as 14.1mm dia steel wheels and checked for clearance, all looking good so far... Then cut out a strip of plasticard to make the subfloor out of at 53mm wide, this was cut to length and two sections of 5mm L section fitted allowing the Gresley coach chassis to sit inside this frame. Thats enough for today visit to Hospitol tomorrow so need to see where we go from here.... but as regards the coaches I have a idea...

On another point does anyone have a use for 2 spare Hornby coach bodies free to a good home. i've used the chassis and boigies for a couple of coaches I am building if so send me a message

I think you can work out where my regional ideas come from...

No 34 potters about in the yard at Exhill haveing been in the shops for some seasonal maintenece