MarkC

77014 - truly one that "Got away". She hauled the very last revenue-earning steam working on the Southern - a Bournemouth-Weymouth parcels on the evening of 9th July 1967. Presumably fire then dropped at Weymouth shed and it was all over... Mark

I'm suspecting that she failed, spectacularly? 🤔 Mark

Chile did the same - I witnessed some very hacked off Merkins who had just had their dabs taken using ink, when I arrived at Santiago from Miami, back in late 2004. IIRC they were charged $20 'visa processing/issuing fee' - cash only - too 😄 Mark

AKA (very) basic "Chittagong thunderboxes" 😁 Mark

There are plenty of shows where both 'box shifters' and traders of second-hand stock can seem to outnumber layouts; York is one that to me has always bucked that trend. Long may it continue to do so 👍 Mark

I will indeed, Mike. Yes, I suspect that print quality may well be partly a result of what printer is used for individual prints. Sadly RL got in the way of much modelling my last leave, so no further progress was made with the Clayton. Hopefully next leave will be more productive. Mark

I picked up a copy on Saturday too - a quick flick through was fascinating reading, including a note that at least one line's services were saved because, by introducing railcar operation, operating costs were sufficiently reduced to justify service retention. A side effect replicated in the 80's by the introduction of Pacers, of course... Mark

I've got a Craftsman Class 02 shunter kit in my roundtuit pile - or I might just sell it, as it certainly doesn't fit my present modelling region... Mark

Hello Mike The body I got is pretty good, tbh. Here she is today - she runs, but will need a bit of weight adding, in order to run better. Paint job & underframe detailing to complete too. Mark

A reminder - South Shields show this coming Friday & Saturday. First outing of the layout in over 11 years 1pm - 8pm Friday 9th 10am - 5pm Saturday 10th Salvation Army Hall Wawn Street South Shields https://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/event/y2024/26425-SalvationArmySouthShields_Exhibition Cheers Mark

A small, but well established show, and for a good cause. Fingers crossed for the weather... Salvation Army Hall Wawn Street South Shields. Friday 1pm - 8pm Saturday 10am - 5pm https://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/event/y2024/26425-SalvationArmySouthShields_Exhibition Cheers Mark

The "home maintenance team" scumbags are at it again... +447492682548 The b*gger had one of the thickest accents I've ever had the misfortune to try & decipher too... Have reported it via 7726 & blocked it. Mark

Thanks again, Chaz. Yes, you're correct about the trailing bogie. As for weight, obviously if I don't have to add any, I won't. I suspect that the power bogie is heavy enough, and hopefully the trailing bogie is heavy enough on its own to not require additional ballast. We'll see how it goes. I won't be hanging any tail traffic on it, so fingers crossed... Yes,it is an interesting model; I have seen at least one other one; that was completely scratchbuilt. With these 3D printed bodies now available, maybe this build will inspire others to have a go. Cheers, Mark

Thank you, Chaz. The power bogie is compensated & scratchbuilt, with Gibson coupling rods, Romford wheels, High Level gearbox & Mitsumi motor. The trailing bogie is from Nucast Partners. Mark

Update on progress on my Clayton A visit to the paint shop, interior fitting & glazing await. Mark

Hello Janet Thanks for the update on your Dad; please pass my best wishes to him, and my thanks to you for your efforts with his wonderful kit range. Kind regards, Mark Coultas

Hi Clive Thanks for the warning! Great modelling there. DMUs I either have or require 4-car original Derby Lightweight 101 - 2, 3 & 4 car sets 4-car 104 105 - 2 and 3 car sets 108 - 2 and 3 car sets 110 124 - without the buffet car, so a 5 car set. (although I will build the buffet with the rest of the set anyway - because I can! 😁 Cheers Mark

That looks to be a bargain, tbh. Surprised that it's still available at time of tryping this... Matk

Kits? RTR? Modifying RTR? Rescue someone's kit disaster? Scratchbuilding? I've tackled/used/done them all. Yes, modern RTR can be utterly sensational, but given the choice I'd still prefer to build my own model too. An example. I've recently identified a requirement for a 4-car Class 104 DMU. Now, those nice people at Heljan have recently announced a RTR set, but it'll be in excess of GBP300 for a 3-car set. After studying drawings of both the 104 and 110 units, by dint of some canny eBay shopping I've obtained a Hornby 3-car Class 110 DMU, plus a couple of extra coaches, which will, with careful razor saw use, good glue, some filler, doubtless some (free) bad language and a few hours of my time, produce a "layout" 4-car Class 104 for under half the Heljan price. There was, of course, the Silver Fox option too, but again that would work out more than the Hornby option. Having said all that, although I have some DC Kits Class 108s to build, the Bachmann 3-car Class 108 that I won on eBay at a great price, complete with correct destination blinds at each end - which I hadn't noticed when bidding for it, so that was a HUGE bonus - will take some beating 😎 Mark

Time to use other operators if possible then - I used to quite like LNER, but I'm not impressed with the way this is looking to be heading. Mark

Moi aussi... 😎 Mark

Some of my present stock is modified/repainted/renumbered RTR, but will usually be regarded as merely fulfilling an operational requirement until a kitbuilt or scratchbuilt model replaces it... ...so please count me in as part of your minority, Tony 😎 Mark

GBP138 for a D&S NER coach kit last night was a shock, to be sure. It did start at a low figure, but went mad at the death... Mark

If breathing wasn't an automatic function then some folk would be in serious trouble... Mark

Indeed so - ditto the warning etched into the glass of wing mirrors which says that "objects seen in this mirror may be closer than they appear to be". Also, on a packet of nuts - "Warning - contains nuts". There are many other examples 😎 Mark