bigd

So is 47500 to be donated to MOSI?!!? :-) Well they did park it on the MOSI access line!

Amused that Chard started the thread. In the case of 47500, perhaps it should have been charred!

Did I buy your book secondhand?According to Don Thorpe 'The Railways of the Manchester Ship Canal' the had 18, numbered DH15 to DH32. They were delivered 1963 to 66. They were resold 1970 to 72, other than three, that were modified for tandem working. There is one preserved at Williton, in the same livery as the NCBOE model. Are there any transfers available to renumber.

Why did you have to post that. I was quite happy to believe that I did not need a Clayton on a mid 1970s layout based in the Manchester area. The RTC Clayton is now on my must have list!

There is some history, photographs, dimensions, and a diagram in Don Thorpe's Railways of the Manchester Ship Canal. They had 4ft 6in wheels and a 11ft 6in wheelbase. I could not see any evidence that they had been stationed at Ellesmere Port. That seems to be dominated by the six wheel sentinels.

I had a look at the oo signals at Wigan show. I was impressed. By mid afternoon they had only one home signal left.

Well, I suspect I will have to get one from Bachmann, and back date it to this condition. 85007 at... (well no prizes to Mr Delamar for correctly identifying the location)

Its the new IEP http://railwayeye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/eye-exclusive-first-picture-of-iep.html

I remember catching a train to Liverpool composed of a 6 car blue/grey transpennine, with a 2 car blue dmu tacked on the back. The ride in the dmu at the rear got a bit lively once past 70mph!

Something like it did exist! There is a picture in 'Churchward Locomotives' by Brian Haresnape and AlecSwain, on page 103, that looks like it. If you close your eyes that is!

I tried matching Allegheny1600's pictures with the model numbers: 31-677 Class 85 (AL5) Electric E3056 in BR Blue with single pantograph and no air tanks 31-676 Class 85 (AL5) Electric E3058 in BR Electric Blue with twin pantograph 31-678 Class 85 (AL5) Electric 85026 in BR Blue with single pantograph and air tanks and plated over headcode. I realised that there is no model matching mid 1970s condition of single pantograph and air tanks and headcode. It looks like some hacking will be in order for me to reinstate the headcode to an airtanks version.

I guess, based upon the design of the mechanicals, that they would sound more like 2 x 4F!

No, its a bit more modern than that its a Base State B150 - All I need now is a Guitar! Is this a mid life crisis? I appear to be returning to the thinks of my youth - model railways and guitars.

I had planned togo to Stafford, but after tring to mediate between my son and his (now ex) partner, well into the small hours of last night, and also managing to pull a muscle lifting a Marshall bass amp, I think a quiet day in the garden will do me more good.

Thanks everrybody for your feedback. I am feeling a bit more positive this afternoon. I will have another go at this cab later, if time permits.

After an 18 month gap I have picked tthis project up again - but I am beginning to wish I had not. I have purchased a new soldering iron, rated at 60w, and some flux. Laminating the cab floor went well, and after opning up some holes was soon bolted to the footplate and chassis. I then waxed the underside of the cab, and tried to solder the front of the cab to it. I did not manage to solder it on. I do not know what the problem was. Did I forget the flux? Was the wax migrating into the joint? So I decided to build the cab off the engine. I quickly got the cab front on, only to realise that I had put it on the wrong way round! So I desoldered it, and cleaned it up, ready for attempt no2. My second go, seemed to go better, putting the cab sides and bunker front on. I then found that the cab back would not fit! I went back to a photograph of the prototype: Hunslet Bickershaw, where I could see that the back was not flat, but instead was sloped. It was about this time that i realised: 1, That some of the screws I had previously soldered to the cab base had migrated out of position. I now understand why Michael recommends building the cab with the base bolted to the footplate. 2, That for the second time, I have managed to solder the cab front on the wrong way round. Doh!. I am in two minds how to recover the situation, Do I desolder it, clean it up, and try again? I am not confident I could clean it up so that it is smooth, and the rivets and seams are clean. Or do I live with it, scribe on the seam, repunch the rivets, and drill replacement holes as appropriate. I really do not feel I am doing this kit as it deserves, and am not confident that I can produce a competent result.

Large Logo? A bit like this: http://fictitiousliveries.fotopic.net/p16338608.html Though I think Rail Blue Suits http://fictitiousliveries.fotopic.net/p45214293.html

After a long stressful January, punctuated by Snow, Colds, Virus, friends and relatives in hospital, minding granndson for a week at a time, I have finally made a start on the build. Michael Edge, quickly supplied the missing bushes. Thank you. I also took his advice to build a rigid frame. I decided to make a tool to punch rivets, from odd bits hanging around. Its just a bit of threaded bar, a few bolts, a screw, and half a dozen larger diameter bolts for the weight. It managed to produce rivet impressions, of consistent size, but not a clearly defined as I would like. My attempts at soldering the chassis are very much on a learning curve. I tried heating the joints dry, and then feeding in the solder, with the result that there is a lot of excess solder around each joint. I think I will try tinning the pieces before mating them together, to see if this will produce a neater soldered joint. I managed to drop solder into one of the axle bushes (my own clumsy fault). I thought I had managed to remove it, but this wheel now revolves less freely than the other two. I also failed to check the squareness of the chassis (as per instructions - so my fault again), after tacking in the first two cross braces, with the result that I had to 'persuade' the chassis back into alignment. So, after a slow start, I hope I can move faster with the next stages.

Thanks Tony, Its the 15" Hunslet 0-6-0ST. I found a picture of a gravity rivet punch on Mike Calverts site Mike Calvert - Riveting Tool It looks like a tool that could be made from bits lying round the garage! I managed to find the London Road site London Road - Components It look like communication is by snail mail only. Regards Andy