john dew

Hi Neal I think you get the fire box glow with a regular decoder but with a sound decoder its synchronised. The loco looks so gorgeous I wont be to upset if I miss out on the glow Keep well

Any idea if and when 6380 received outside steam pipes? Hope I havent bought the wrong plates.

That must have been my sub conscious at work!

This weeks project is to finish the roof elements on the low relief Scalescene Hotel Modules. I am always worried that this type of post will be of little appeal to non card modellers. As previously I will try and keep it brief. How many hand cut card and paper components do you think are needed to build three dormer windows and a plant room on this 7" x 1" space ? Quite a lot: 89 is the tally I dont usually pre_cut everything like this, although its the method Scalescene suggests. I thought I would give it a try because as one gets to the end of a project the small components get scattered around several part cut sheets and its easy to miss something which later turns out to be vital! Its actually turned out quite well. The cutting was a bit of a pain....took about three hours and I did have a slight moment of anxiety when Mrs D thought it was a good idea to open a window. However laying everything out in order makes assembly a breeze So here is the first sub-assembly for the Chimneys The four identical shapes at the top are cut from 2mm card. Laminated together they form the base of a third chimney. Accurately cutting small, relatively intricate shapes like this requires patience and an abundant supply of new blades. Having scored all round the shape with a new blade, apply lots of shallow cuts a line at a time. I try very hard to keep the blade at 90o for every cut Below are printed cover layers for this chimney and the two already in place, followed by multiple chimney cap bases and covers. The side chimneys are now covered and capped. The centre is laminated and part wrapped. The sail-maker's needle casually leaning against the chimney? Thats the tool I used to get the crisp edge you can hopefully see on the centre cover layer. Chubber, master Scalescene builder of this parish, gave me this tip: "Before cutting out cover layers which are to be folded, prick the blue guide marks with a scalpel, flip the sheet over and with a ruler and blunt needle lightly scribe between the pricked marks". This results in a nice straight line on the correct side of the paper to achieve an accurate fold The chimney is now glued in place and we are on to the next stage with the plant room wall being test fitted. I hope this may be of some use to aspiring Scalescene modellers.......More to come Regards from Vancouver

Snap.....one is hopefully getting ready to fly across the Atlantic. Thanks for posting the pics Robin.....look forward to reading your comments.

So I may get mine before you!

Will disappointed in Vancouver suffice?

Indeed......and The Stationmaster is adding fuel to the flame.......havent had time for my breakfast with all the froth

Thanks Jason I am afraid 1950 is stretching it. Early spring 1948 is my absolute latest bearing in mind I only have two locos with “British Railways” on the tender. Fortunately I am fairly relaxed about the geography of the are. 60 miles aint that far where I live now! Thabks for the post though Regards

You are a terrible tease........you keep adding fuel to this flickering flame. I am guessing this is related to the gazzumping hints of last week? I suspect there are a load of subtle clues in this post but sadly I am not clever enought to decode them....perhaps others will try? Meantime...tomorrow is only another day. Intrigued in Vancouver

Are you getting one Robin? They do look rather nice. Anyway my mind is made up.....at last. Having just told Tinker that I was rather ambivalent, I did a bit more digging and 9408 the Oxley loco was built in May 1947......and google says Wolverhampton is only 60 miles fron Wrexham Granby. Keep Well

Someone called? confused in North Vancouver

Hi Tinker I am in a somewhat different position with the 94xx...........in Chester/Wrexham in early 1948.....really? But one was at Oxley.........so.....I have lost count of the number of times I have ordered then cancelled! Currently I have one on order but I keep hesitating....will the Dapol Mogul be as good as reported......I really “need” more than one.........decisions decisions Hope you are well pleased with yours

As a long time follower and fan of John' s I am not surprised by this. However his success does rather support my suggestion that the Large Prairie has required more than the usual amount of attention by a number of modellers to ensure it runs satisfactorily. How many releases have necessitated a number of modellers changing the front pivot screw or alternatively filing down the pony truck mounting? Having re read the July emails in this lengthy thread I am satisfied that a reasonable number of modellers did experience some issues with this release. Regards from a cold but sunny Vancouver

Back to the Dean The poor performance is caused, in part, because after the very initial release the second fly wheel was removed! A stay alive makes all the difference. There isnt a lot of room in the tender....I replaced the supplied plastic coal and was able to squeeze in a Hard wired Zimo, Lifelink and a full fat 6700 u/f supercap. The added weight makes a big difference. I was running my Dean this afternoon and popped it on the scale so you could make a comparison. It weighs in at 230 gm Hope that helps.....they are lovely when they run properly

I think we are both correct. As I understand it, from Victorian times the breweries tried to expand and secure their market by buying up and tieing free houses when they came on the market. By the time of MrsThatchers reforms 90% of pubs were tied but it was a gradual process throughout the 20th century . i would suspect the total of free houses in the Thirties would, therefore, have been greater than 10% I love this searching the by-ways for trivia.

Well they would hardly video it stalling would they? I have just reported my experience with two of the models on Granby. A layout with admittedly less than perfect track but a layout on which I successfully run a number complex automated sequences with a variety of RTR locos and RR&Co . I found that I had to spend far more time getting the locos to an acceptable level of reliability than almost all my recent purchases, although in fairness not as quite bad as the Oxford Dean Goods or DJM 14xx. I love the detail on them and they are now operating acceptably but they certainly will not have my vote for model the year! I am glad that you and others are happy with the models you have received. Right now I am looking forward to a better experience with the new Mogul Best wishes

The additional weight seems to help with reliability rather than traction. Many users, including Keith and I have reported poor performance with stalling on track that other locos have no issues with. Various techniques have been described to correct this in the thread. It sounds as though you have got a good ‘un! Lucky guy! Kind regards

Hi Neal I think you will find that when the brewery name was on the pub sign it meant it was a tied house ie freehold owned by the brewery with the landlord as a tenant. This applied to most pubs up to Maggie Thatchers reforms......there were however quite a number of pubs that were actually owned by the landlord.......they were known as a “Free House”. This meant they carried a wider ranfe of beers from more than one brewer. Free House would be displayed prominently on the outside of the building.....not always on the sign. If the Vidler Arms is fictional you have a choice.....tied or free! Have fun

Slowly!

Glad you got the Dean sorted electrically. I had a similar problem and eventually had to add a Supercap SA which made all the difference for guaranteed reliable performance. I now use one of mine for an automated pick up goods. If you havent done so already , you may want to add some weight to the loco. I found haulage want great until I started squeezing some lead in. Lovely photos, I think the Dean rather lends itself to Black and White. .

I was just about to suggest Times New Roman as well.

Thanks for researching the AA Neal.......that was certainly news to me. I wonder where I got my rosettes from? The logo is exactly as I remember from when I fitted the badge on to my first UK car.....a slightly rusty 1947 Ford Prefect! I think Granby's premier hotel would probably be 3 star because of old fashioned amenities and decor but with 4 star ambiances. That would tie in with my memory of the better provincial hotels in middle sized towns (mind you that was in the Sixties. Keep Well

Hi Neal Always good to hear from you. Its almost too imposing! Its turning out to be somewhat larger than I originally intended.......but hopefully will complement the station and not look too out of place. I do intend to create an image of it being the social hub of the town. A bit like the Grosvenor in Chester.......so yes there may well be a couple of Oxfords more exotic pre WWII cars outside. I have a Modelu Guard in an overcoat so a quick re paint may produce the all important Head Porter. They didnt have a star classification as such but the AA had a rosette system in the late fifties which they published in the year book. I am trying to dig out the pre war logos for the RAC and AA ....they were of course more ornate. I am really looking forward to the Mogul. I do hope it turns out to be a good performer....it should be a reliable indicator for the Manor and Prairie. I hope Dapol get the latter moving. There are aspects of Hornby's Prairie which I like but it can hardly be described as ultra reliable! Best Wishes

I have two split chassis Ivatts running regularly on Granby. They both have pony pick ups from new.