ullypug

I think of it as a description of people who may look good but have no substance and just melt away when things get too difficult. Admittedly it applies to the younger generation (mainly millennials) who want and expect it all without having earned or worked for it. In my profession (property and construction Project Management) it's a very applicable simile to quite a few people I meet...

Model railways direct have Hornby Pecketts at £66 until Monday 14th

In my youth I worked at the model railway in Weston-super-Mare in the mid-late 1980's. This was in sea-front premises leased from the council. The owner (Brian Oliver) used to open at Easter, then close until Whit week after which he'd stay open until the end of the tourist season at the end of September. He used to have to take work over the winter months, but he made a living out of it. I believe he was involved with a similar set up in Torbay somewhere back in the 1960's. Although a tourist attraction, the theme was the history of railways, so you had Rocket and Locomotion on the top level, running down to modern image on the lower levels. I really wish I'd taken photos back then. I remember the layout was based on a series of loops on different levels, each with multiple trains on each, something like 40-50ft long by about 15ft. In some cases up to a dozen running on loops, shuttles back and forth. Control was traditional with reed switches under the track and magnets on the rear coaches breaking loops into sections and triggering switching to adjacent sidings via old Post Office relays. Brian sold locos from display stands but it wasn't really a shop as such. It really was an ideal job really!

Thanks Gents

Thanks Tim. Err, no. I'll leave that to you! I do have other layout plans include a PDSWJR cameo, WCPR Clevedon gas works in 7mm, maybe even Portishead in EM, oh and another china clay north Cornwall layout. If I can ever find any information on the potteries narrow gauge system in Weston-super-Mare I might even consider that! Thanks Ade. I appreciate your comments, especially as you know the area.

Thanks Dave and to you too

Thanks Rich Happy New Year to you

Along with a few others, the end of the year seems like a good time to take stock of modelling progress over the previous 12 months. I set out this year to make progress with Cheddar, having previously been distracted by other projects and any excuse to avoid the wiring. Well I think it's safe to say 2018 was a year of ups and downs on a personal front. However, from a modelling point of view I've achieved what I wanted to; wiring was finished in March and track testing even resulted in some video clips. A lengthy and unexpected period off work in the summer resulted in a lot more time at home than I was anticipating and I'm pleased that I found the scenic work suitably therapeutic as part of my recuperation. Scenics are now well and truly onto the 5th board, the one with the goods shed and signal box. I've mocked up the station master's house based on drawings I found on the local authority planning portal. I've decided it's going to have a bit of compression eventually as it's too big presently. The permanent way shed beds in nicely and the yard has had coatings of Dulcote Stone scenic dust from Attwood Aggregates. I'm planning on bedding a few things down once it's all up and assembled. I've put a platform for the stone loading point on Bartlett's (?) siding and finished off the point rodding and returns into the mocked up signal box. Next will be to install the 2 rod point rodding for the Wells end turn out and then I can mock up the platforms. Board 4 is just about finished. Some additional weeds have been added to the extensive strawberry patches and I'm happier with these. So what's in store for 2019? Three boards to finish. Lots of buildings to make and two fiddle yards to build. Maybe even some signals. And an awful lot of detailing! Backscenes and lighting are a long way away yet. I hope you all have a great 2019 and I wish you all the very best for the new year.

Thanks Dave. Your tip about the brass pins worked a treat. Yes, I think the return crank could do with a slight realignment. I set it up thinking it was right but further photographic evidence would suggest not. It's fixed with nut retainer so I'll weight up how bothered I am about it if it's going to cause potential damage realigning it. I've been sold on CSB's for a long time now, so when I do the Kemilway 3MT (see above) I'll no doubt use this method too. I do have a class 4 tank 2-6-4 in the cupboard. This was originally intended for Wheal Elizabeth which is now sold but it's one of my favourite classes of loco so I will have a play with it at some point. Maybe the next layout (after the next one, ahem...!)

Thanks. Yes I have a Kemilway 3MT to do. It might make it further up the queue based on the 2MT!

Merry Christmas and festive compliments of the season (whatever they are - that's a moist turkey etc.) to you all. Following some sound and appreciated advice, I turned with some trepidation towards the Walschaerts valve gear on the 2MT. But, as was predicted, I took things steadily and didn't really have any problems at all (Thanks Dave!). In fact I enjoyed it. So much so I want to do another one! I've used a 16BA nut and bolt to join the two halves of the valve gear on the expansion link pivots. Not prototypical but it will allow disassembly should it ever be required. I used the rather lovely Markits milled crosshead and valve rod. I'm not completely sure that it's exactly right for this engine, but it's as close as I care about, more refined than the lost wax Comet one and a joy to use. I'll be using these again for sure. The grooves for the slide bars have to be opened out a bit but that's no bother. The return cranks are Gibson, tapped 14BA to screw onto the crank pins. I took advice from John Brighton's Steamline blog to halve the connecting rod at its joint with the cross head and did my usual trick of halving the leading coupling rod boss. The Comet chassis have been clearly thought through for the wider gauge modeller and I had no problems with clearances at all. I've spaced out the connecting rod with a couple of washers to keep its orientation roughly parallel to the chassis side frames and all appears well. Certainly everything rolls round as its pushed up and down the work bench, though I haven't tried it under power yet. I did blacken everything with gun blue but I didn't like the effect and removed most of it off again with a scratch brush. The cylinders need a bit of filler and detailing to finish, but all in all I'm a happy boy.

That's very clever!

Thanks! I'm going to need it. I've managed to avoid building outside gear for 50 years and I'm not planning on building many more!

Ride height now sorted and brass pins ordered! Thanks for the tip. The rear mount is as you describe so I may copy your solution.

As it's been too cold and wet to go to the garage this weekend, I've shuffled up to the work bench and turned my attention to another loco for Cheddar. This one's an Ivatt 2-6-2 2MT tank which were a regular feature of the Cheddar Valley branch. No idea what number it'll be yet. The basis is the Bachmann body with a Comet chassis to go underneath, Gibson wheels, High Level horn blocks and gearbox and fully sprung with CSB's, as is my usual these days. The chassis side frames were assembled and spacers added. The benefit of P4 means I can get a Mashima 1420 motor well down in-between the frames so it doesn't really matter what gear box I choose. It's a Road Runner Compact Plus if anyone's remotely interested, with a 54:1 reduction. The rear horn blocks are the space saver variety. CSB's are made with Markits WD handrail knobs and the useful High Level jig for positioned the anchors. Happily quartering worked first time with my usual NWSL jig. All seems to fit on the body, though the front end may be a tad high. Next it'll be the intricacies of Walschaerts valve gear which will be a first.

Ouch! Hope you're on the mend soon. I'd put both crew members in the engine and one in the push/pull coach. I did that with my auto tank and 14xx. Just pretend you can't see both ends of the train simultaneously and that way it'll be correct as it heads towards the viewer!

Those coaches look lovely. I may do a small cameo of Clevedon gas works one day. Classic inglenook as per the prototype.

I've ordered one and hopefully will be able to build it before Clevedon's next outing at Preston in March next year. 247 Developments do the corresponding WCPR wagon/coach plates by the way. I commissioned them from Errol years ago and they're still in the range.

Did you see the reference to the GER brake in the latest issue of the Colonel, which fortuitously arrived today? There's an email from the GER society. The coach was No 181, sold to the WC&P in October 1916. A GER diagram 508 vehicle, body length 27ft, one of 56 built. Coach 181 was built in Dec 1880 and with drawn in Dec 1915. The original GA was microfilmed by OPC and is at the NRM, ref 11076. The description is Main Line Brake Van, The Stratford Works drawing number is 6124 but don't use that for searching apparently. Apologies if this information is already known to you in your investigations, but I thought I'd share just in case.

Looks good to me. I'll be having one when they're released for purchase.

I bought a bow pen set from Golden Arrow a couple of years ago. He sells reconditioned antique sets. You can get cheap pens from art shops or on line. I do have one of these but replaced it with the aforementioned set. link here

Hi Dave Yes, something along the lines of weeds was my thinking. The boards are 1m wide so access front and rear was always going to be required. Either that or all the operators will have stilts like they use on construction sites to reach ceilings!

I know it's only been a week since my last confession, but I've reached the point when I can transit onto the next board. Progress this weekend has seen the point rodding installed to boards 3 and 4, board 3 finished and board 5 duly dragged down ready to start. I still need to break up and detail the large strawberry patch as it's a little too uniform at the moment. Probably needs more scenic variation. This is where it gets interesting. I've mocked up the permanent way hut; an odd little building with a couple of lean to extensions. It may be a tad on the low side but that's why I build mock ups first. Board 5 has the goods shed and signal box, not to mention the platform ends and the station master's house. It's going to be back on the Coreldraw over the festive period between the odd mince pie to draw up the windows, bargeboards and other details I might need cutting or etching. All good practice before board 6 which is just the small matter of the train shed. Point rodding installed. Board 3 joins the first two on its runners. There'll be a few things to touch up here and there and the water works to add in the foreground obviously. Board 5 along side and ready to start