JBM37404
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Posts posted by JBM37404
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They have been doing quite well of late this seems like some corner cutting or an oversight. I am personally disappointed as its going to make modelling the likes of 37080, 37113, 37106, 37088 and 37099 tricky. Maybe there's a way of filing off the skirts on a split box model. Or a nose chop of sorts. I am not the type of modeller who shys away from a challenge I just lack time at the moment to be rebuilding models completely especially when it's to represent a common form of the class. Will be asking their reps about this next time I see the stand somewhere.
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6 hours ago, SRman said:
Some of my photos from Peter's BRMA meeting last Saturday. There was a very good attendance, and a great time was had by all. Thanks to Peter and Leanne for their hospitality. I still marvel at the myriad of fine details Peter has incorporated into Llanbourne.
I have had to spread the photos over several posts because of the size limits.
Shot with the buses in is great, remember well the Crosville Cymru Coastliner services. Used to see a few VRs and the like at Flint depot when cycling past in the 80s with one eye on the railway looking to see what 47s would pass on the Eustons.
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19 minutes ago, John M Upton said:
I reckon they only have two split headcode toolings, the cut buffer cowling plated panel with headlight and the original design with the buffer cowling in place.
Never seen any others.
It means there is a whole chunk of time from the late 1970's to the early 1990's that can't be done.
Indeed and it's highly frustrating as I'd say that majority in the timescale quoted carried the doors and usually the headlights post 92 onwards. I model the Inverness fleet in 93 and as a result can only have 37025 as a split box I think as it had a plated door.
Such a shame considering Farish do a flush front 47 when required so why leave the 37 hanging. Starting to hope someone else starts considering a 37 especially as we have to mill the chassis for sound chip fitting. Revolution and accurascale collaboration maybe......
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1 hour ago, bluedepot said:
so basically if i understand right they have got it wrong for both pre 92 (no light) and post 92 (light on lower right door, doors not plated)
tim
I would say yes, it's the same front as the 37035, 37068 models and I think back to 37027 when that was done a while back.
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7 hours ago, John M Upton said:
The images Bachmann originally used showed the OO scale model which has the doors and no headlight which is what I would have expected (and preferred).
Regrettable if true as cut buffer beam cowling 37's are highly sought after but with the split box ones, only later plated doors and headlight versions seem to be available.
Looked N to me, I have a 37428 on order also which is arrived too. Looks like they won't re tool the front end on ones with the headlight which limits ones that can be modelled accurately. 37046 definitely had the doors still and headlight off centre. Remember scoring it on a Cardiff To Liverpool train in the 90s.
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Noticed this is showing as arrived on the Bachmann site. Unfortunately it looks like the model has the nose doors with the flush plate over and headlight lower centre as per 37025 and the previous 37035 release. Bit disappointed so won't be picking up one unless I can figure a way to modify the nose ends somehow...
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12 hours ago, 47475 said:
Agreed. A late 80s 37/4 in Intercity Mainline with white numbers would be great.
I am currently planning to strip a Large Logo 418 to paint as 404 in that scheme. I think about two thirds of the /4s carried it more or less late 80s to mid 90s period but we still have them doing COLAS which only one carried.....
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On 30/05/2022 at 08:01, Steadfast said:
419 and 670 were the red pair, 419 was the one that didn't last long. 401 was EWS but with a grey roof, retained from its Royal Scotsman livery.
Moving the horns to the nose top on 670 (and one or two others) was for RHTT services on routes that 37s with roof mounted horns couldn't work. DRS later met this need by using ex split box machines.
Jo
That's right, my memory wasn't working when I typed that up. 670 was pulled from the scrapline and ran in its faded condition for a while. I think most of those 37s failed at some stage on trains I was involved with.
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Grain elevator done from the Walthers kit, needs painting and weathering but I wanted it done for perspective planning as I need to figure out backscene height etc. Also can be seen an OTA in the back ground that came off one of the curves due to the previously mentioned coupling issues.
Cheers
John
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On 26/05/2022 at 00:20, James Makin said:
After six months of updates, we have now arrived at the last duo of diesel locos that made up the giant batch of 40 undertaken throughout the whole of 2021!
It seemed fitting to go out with a bang, and so this Scottish 'McTractor' pairing seemed ideal to book-end the giant project.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
When it comes to the Class 37/4s, they are pretty much all celebrity locos in themselves, however when modelling a celebrity loco, you may as well go big, or go home! Joining the fleet today is probably the most famous Large Logo Blue Class 37 to ever grace the rails - of course, 37408 Loch Rannoch. An incredible BR survivor right into the heady world of privatisation, this was the real deal, unlike the retro blue colours spread across the 37/4 fleet of today.
Partner in crime to '408 today is another Scottish stalwart, 37404 Loch Long, finished in gorgeous Transrail colours with the yellow snowploughs setting off the look.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
Despite their Scottish heritage, both locos did wander, especially 37408, which was allocated to a wide range of English and Welsh depots and appeared at Didcot on a number of occasions, further bolstering the case for being part of my fleet!
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
The starting point for both of the locomotives was the current Bachmann model, with bodyshells sourced with the correct base colours, onto which the branding would be changed. Details such as the roof fan grille were changed too, Shawplan's beautiful grille replaces the Bachmann original.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
The Bachmann branding comes off relatively easy with Humbrol enamel thinners on a cotton bud, gently rubbed across the required area. With the windows masked off, the loco was then given a coat of Railmatch gloss varnish, to help with the application of the Railtec decals over the top.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
Nameplates were affixed with matt varnish, before the next coat of Railmatch matt varnish to seal in the decals. Railtec's Transrail decals are such a time-saver, being one piece examples, and with the colour intensity to not have the grey showing through from underneath.
Next comes the fun weathering stages...
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
Accompanied by a lovely slice of Gary Numan, layers of browns were applied on to certain areas of each bodyshell, building the colour deposits up from light to dark. The paint wash is wiped away with kitchen roll and cotton buds rub away the rest, having been dipped in enamel thinners, leaving the 'grime' deposits in all of the recesses.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
After the washing stages, another key part is the spot weathering, based on prototype photographs, each streak, damage and rust spot is added, using a mixture of brush strokes from fine 5/0 brushes in most cases. The time spent on this final stage really helps to make the model unique, and is where it can be lifted above the 'factory' weathering that one gets from a manufacturer.
Once the fiddly detail painting is complete, it is time to give some coats of traffic grime weathering -
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
The unsung hero featured here is the trusty airbrush! A Badger 175 Crescendo, this double-action workhorse is now 19 years old and still going strong! It does a lot of vital work yet never gets featured in my pics so it was time to remedy the situation. I've sometimes thought about replacing it or getting another brush, but it's just easy to use and gives a great finish, so why change it!
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
The grime colours are in line with all the projects featured before, Phoenix Paint's weathering colours, brake dust, track dirt, roof dirt, dirty black, and then a custom black/blue mix for the exhaust. The paints are mixed hard to a milky consistency to avoid a splatty finish, testing beforehand on an old ice cream tub before spraying the model itself.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
37404 Loch Long interested me a lot when younger, it didn't have a long life after privatisation compared to the other famed 37/4s which have gone on to achieve greatness, so was a bit of a forgotten underdog!
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
The bodysides were littered with little damages and marks, these were replicated with the fine brushes and shades of Humbrol browns, working from light to dark, drybrushing on the colour, matched to photographs of the prototype from the 1998 period.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
The bogies and grille slats are drybrushed with Humbrol metalcote gunmetal to highlight the raised edges.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
Down on the chassis, the snowploughs were added, being Bachmann examples with the rear NEM socked snipped off and sanded back, mounted to the chassis with small plastic brackets fashioned from styrene strip.
A minidrill with sander attachment was then used to grind back any part of the plough that still fouled the bogie. Once sorted, the rest of the bufferbeam detailing was added, a mixture of pipes from those supplied with the model, plus others made from 0.45mm handrail wire, bent to shape and fixed with superglue.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
The sideways shots are always fun!
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
Nameplates were sourced from Fox Transfers on this occasion, I flip between Fox and Shawplan - the newer generation of Shawplan Extreme Etchings plates win through every time, however in some of the Shawplan range of plates there are still old ones from the pre-Brian days, and in those cases, the examples sold by Fox are often better representations of the real thing.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
What's not to like about a genuine bit of 1980s BR large logo!
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
Dating back to the mid-80s following refurbishment and it's new life as an ETH-fitted Class 37/4, the loco received its Loch Rannoch 'plates just a couple of weeks after I was born, almost 36 years ago now.
Once allocated to Glasgow Eastfield depot, it would go on to be allocated to a range of different BR Trainload Freight pools and depots across the UK including Immingham, Cardiff Canton and Thornaby, before being placed into the Regional Railways passenger pool at Crewe before privatisation.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
The loco managed to cling on to its 1980s colour scheme right into the EWS regime, still wearing the classic Eastfield 'Scottie Dog' motif on one side!
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
Based on the Bachmann 37401 release, the original arrows and dog emblem were retained, with just the Railtec number decals being added, alongside an orange cantrail warning line painted onto the body.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
37408 did seem to wander far during its time on the network, picking up a whole legion of fans, and to retain the blue colours as long as it did, there must have been a few heads conveniently turned the other way during its various depot visits whenever the triple grey paintbrush loomed!
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
The paintwork was in pretty good condition for its age too, only a few minor damages and some ingrained dirt to be replicated.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
The underframe was given the same treatment as 37404, and extra details over the Bachmann model include the full bufferbeam detailing, with the extra piping added for the ETH sockets, some 0.45mm handrail wire being pressed into usage connecting up the body and chassis, which is designed to be removable if the body needs to come off.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
It feels good bringing these two workhorses to life. Taking the story up to date, the locomotives had interesting paths ahead, sadly 37404 would only have a few months remaining - being stored in 1999 and shorn of its Loch Long nameplates, being taken to Wigan and cut up at Booths, Rotherham in early 2002.
Meanwhile, 37408 would inevitably surrender its tatty blue to a shiny coat of EWS red & gold in 1998, much to the mirth of enthusiasts, however EWS did refit the classic Loch Rannoch nameplates. The loco would go on to see service across the country until suffering an untimely end in 2005, a collision in Rhymney would see it heading for component recovery and eventual scrapping in 2008.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
It's been enormous fun tackling these two locomotives, recreating two more grotty childhood favourites in miniature, and I can't wait to get them into service on Didcot Parkway once it gets up to speed.
37404 and 37408 by James Makin by James Makin - Account 2, on Flickr
And that's a wrap now folks! These 40 diesel locos took a whole year of modelling time to complete, from the first ones being tackled in the depths of the pandemic in early 2021, through to bringing the last ones over the line at Christmas, and it's hard to believe almost 6 months have gone by since unveiling those first Class 56s on this thread!
In the meantime, I've been beavering away on a lot of varied projects, the remaining Didcot layout boards have now all arrived and are taking shape, this Summer is set to see a lot more progress here. Alongside that, there are many smaller wagon projects nearing completion that are set to pop up on these pages too, and whilst it's the last in the batch of dirty diesels shared here, rumour has it there are some truly electrifying projects coming this way!
Cheers,
James
Good work, 404 my machine as you can tell by username. It did very little South of the border and was one of the Most Scottish of the /4s. Was seriously loud to the point that other members of the class felt a bit tame in comparison. Had several runs in Scotland off it in the 1990s and often enough apart from Charters not a single person other than me aboard. Used to slip a bit in the wet too. Good work bringing it to life. I am going to have a crack of doing it in IC Mainline for my N gauge layout.
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23 hours ago, 87023Velocity said:
Hi John,
I had similar issues regards the couplings then had an idea to use the Farish sprung coupler pocket from some redundant bogies (the generic type for the Farish 100t tanker and Freightliner flat). These were mounted on the OTAs and seem to work alot better and will negotiate the tightest curve in my fiddleyard at 9inch radius and also reverse crossovers in the fiddleyard.
The other issue is trying to get sufficient weight in them.
Cheers
Simon
Thanks Simon, I will try some similar couplings.
Cheers
John
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Tested the Sleeper set vid here:
Had some major issues with Chivers OTA wagons. They won't take the 2nd radious curves at the ends of the layout can't think of a solution tried every coupler going in my spares box. Anyone else used these wagons with success on curves?
Cheers
John
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9 minutes ago, John M Upton said:
One only lasted a few days before a major engine failure and that was it. The other managed a little better but overall it was a colossal waste of money by DBS repainting them.
Also one had the horn relocated to the front of the nose roof for no readily apparent reason, that would require a retool which is never going to happen. They could just release a version with the horn in the normal place but, oh the whinging that would generate....
There was 3 of them 419 which failed, 401 and 670 which ran paired and got repainted I think as Northern Belle were not happy with the state of them when used on an Oban trip. They were all knackered and sounded rough and failed on a tour I was involved with just before repaint. As for choice of livery Bachfar 37s are that short on supply they could probably paint them in any colour and they will sell....
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So on a few rest days I got some more track down. Laying code 40 has to be done with a bit more care than peco I have found. If your working with tools near it and slip then it can easily cause irreparable damage to the rails meaning that's got to be relaid. I also started putting in the first fiddle yard line and a point with the cobalt motor mounted on the baseboard as opposed to underneath. This was due to the underframe leg support being in the way underneath but I wanted the point in that location.
I have also been working out what traffic to use the Yard for. I wanted to keep the Whisky theme going to shunt my NGS polybulks. So that is for one siding. The next siding will be for export whisky. This traffic will go out in ferrywagons and I have a roco one already which will need re wheeling. 3rd siding will be Timber traffic as I have some OTAs already done.
As my layout will stick to 1993 by this time I think grain traffic had more or less finished. The last trains used to go to Roseisle near Elgin IIRC but I'm inventing a grain terminal here. This is well located for Bells in Pitlochry and Dewars in Abefeldy plus it could easily be roaded to Speyside or any other Distilleries from my terminal as its pretty much centre of Scotland.
Speedlink finishing saw a lot of this type of traffic end so my story is that a Block train comes up from Whitemoor for the Polybulks. The ferrywagons will take Whisky to Dover and the train ferry into Europe. Timber can be detached off the Dee Marsh to Elgin train,loaded up and tripped back to Mossend.
A lot of rule 1 going on here as I remember the Highland Mainline was pretty much just a passing point for all freight by the 1990s with far more action going on around Aberdeen and on the line from there to Inverness.
It's all a what if but that's what some of us do and I am enjoying the build so far even if some learning curves are a challenge!
John
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Just now, jonhinds said:
Thanks! Yeah, it’s a pain as I absolutely wouldn’t hesitate to start again if it was Peco track. I’m impressed you’re going for super elevation; when everything works perfectly it looks a million.Sometimes the only way to master these things is a bit of error! By getting so much wrong, I’ve learnt a lot about best practice with track building, hopefully save time and hair-pulling in future.
There is always compromise to be made its how much can be accepted before it ruins the fun. If you can get your current set up working better and it saves you some hassle then all good. How do you find the code 40 gets on in the heat/cold?
My layout sits in a building in the Garden which is a real sun spot although I can open large doors and windows when in to cool it down.
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3 minutes ago, jonhinds said:
Well, the stalling issues have continued so I took the nuclear option and installed a hefty stay alive on the C150.
The issue is absolutely the track, particularly the turnouts.
1. Several rail chairs have broken, leading to lateral kinks.
2. Not only are there large gaps between frog and rails, but they’re also misaligned by a few tenths of a mm.
3. A switch blade has bowed slightly on one turnout.
4. Some soldered joints may have an intermittent electrical connection.
5. Turnouts have several undulations where wheels can drop.
Should I rip them up and start again, knowing what I know now? Absolutely, but I haven’t the appetite for it yet. My current aim is to relay the problem points when the FiNetrax easy build turnouts are available for FB rail. With an SA fitted (£17 extra per Zimo decoder) everything runs fine, and it certainly doesn’t hurt to have onboard.
I appreciate this is bad practice, but ultimately I want something that looks right and is fun to build, and as a medium-term sticking plaster this works for me. I just want to build scenery and run trains!
I’m in two minds whether to lightly ballast and weather the points, as they will be hacked up eventually.
Here’s the 150 newly in action on the points, complete with cheesy video filter:
From another code 40 user As much as its a pain probs take it up and go again. I'm putting super elevation in on a curve and have tested it around 100 times already but as yet it may come up. It's better to get it working properly otherwise the enjoyment is getting ruined. Great work so far and you have plenty going on with the buildings and the atmosphere is spot on.
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Put some super elevation on the end curve round to the fiddle. Looks alright I think but am going to test it a lot before ballasting etc. Cheers John
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Installed first point motor last night, gone for cobalt digital for all points so got a large box of them. In a change to the plan I have scrapped the gradient and short branch and the track will remain on the level. I was not happy with the track laying and the look after using woodlands risers. I am also not using Cork underlay now after giving it a go and will lay track straight on the board.
My new plan is to have a walthers grain terminal and 3 sidings with a headshunt and still have the mainline and passing loop also.
After many choice words the point motor worked last night which I was pleased with as I have never put one in before despite 30 odd years of modelling.
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2 hours ago, Solo said:
This is the thing - rather than new models/tooling I'd much rather see new runs of the really useful things for which tooling and artwork already exists, and which clearly sold very quickly. Standard Class coaches and blue or blue-grey DMUs to name but two examples. With Farish stuff it seems if you're not first to the table when something popular is released you have to wait years and years to get another chance. The production runs are simply not large enough. I managed to get two of the recent Regional Railways Mk2 carriages - lovely model but they were the last in the shop and now seem to be sold out everywhere within the space of just a couple of months. Apparently some of this is down to people pre-ordering large numbers of a particular model but I think Bachmann and others have to some extent ignored demographics and under-estimate how many of us now model BR Blue/Sectorisation and also how many just want run-of-the-mill every day rolling stock and locos.
Seen a few of those test train mk2s about but no more RR ones. I agree the late 80s to early 90s is seeming overlooked in favour of blue or Colas type era colours.
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Repeated liveries again, how's about some InterCity 37s either the full swallow sleeper ones or the /4s without the branding. Some different sub sectors would be good too for freight. Load haul was very over rated livery in my own opinion although each to their own.
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At a point here (no pun) were I need to consider how I am going to wire some handbuilt points that came into my possession. Does anyone else have any pictures or diagrams of how they have wired scratchbuilt points? I am aware the frog polarity will need to be changed and have some cobalt dcc motors on order. Greatful for any assistance.
John
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17 hours ago, PjKing1 said:
Thanks mate, still plenty more I want to add 😉 I need to stop myself though
I have stopped buying stock for now as I need to put money under the boards point motors and the like. Not as much fun as buying and weathering/detailing stock though!
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On 26/04/2022 at 20:22, PjKing1 said:
Managed to grab a few hours over the last couple of days so I’ve re-cut the board for the second section of raised line and I’ve been measuring up the position of the points for the siding and the point and single slip. I’ve also finally got around to making another video at long last, only a short one though showing the current fleet.
Paul
Great fleet your building up there!
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26037 after some weathering and headlight added. Still some work to do with the airbrush but couldn't resist a shot in the sunshine.
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Farish 37046
in Graham Farish
Posted
I dropped down from O gauge where Heljan sold 37/0s with painted out skirts at one point. It seems in 4mm we can have multiple suppliers and a race for detail (Accurascales 37 does look the business) but those of us in other scales get left wanting although I know Heljan have finally retooled the 37 in O.
Come on Farish don't drop the ball here, why bother doing Crewe cut buffer beam 47s if the 37s get left with the wrong nose ends.