ArthurK

NORTHEASTERN KITS FLETCHER CAB J77 UPDATE The first batch of this is fully allocated. Those at the top of the list will have received notification of its availability. I will be ordering a further batch of twelve this week. I still nave a few names left on my list but if anyone wants one of these reserved please send me an Email or PM. If you wish to know more the instructions are in the following PDF:- J77 1900 Fletcher APR 2016.pdf ArthurK

The BR build of the J72 had no major differences from the prior LNER builds. However the obvious addition on these builds was the rear sandboxes below the footplate. These will be in the kit if and when I produce this version. The other thing of note is that all of these had train vacuum brake gear fitted when built. LNER group standard buffers were fitted along with LNER draw gear. I looks like I should give this version serious consideration. The bunker extension and the frame lower profile are the only changes required to the short bunker version. ArthurK

NORTHEASTERN KITS UPDATE I have recently restocked some of my earlier kits. These are still awaiting various bits which are on order. I will take me a while to pack these when the bits eventually arrive but for the record I have the etches for the following B15 4-6-0 (S2) four. E5 2-4-0 (1463- Tennant) four. A6 4-6-2T (rebuilt W) four. J24 0-6-0 (P) Three. Q5/1 0-8-0 (T/T1) Three. Q5/2 0-8-0 (Rebuilt with 5' 6" boilers) Eour. D20 4-4-0 ® Two only until the next batch is ordered. J77 0-6-0T (290) with Fletcher cab Six. J77 0-6-0T (290) with Worsdell cab Six. Some of the above are reserved. New releases pending are the J71 0-6-0T (E) and its development class E1 (J72 with short bunker). If there is enough interest the long bunkered version of the latter will be developed. I anticipate that the J25 0-6-0 will be among this years releases. The long awaited Q7 should be available before the end of the year. The C6 (V09) will be scheduled for early 2017. Please send me a PM or Email If you wish me to reserve any of the above. ArthutK

The Photo of 60010 was one of my very earliest. It very nearly ended up as scrap because the negative was not far from being totally transparent. I did a bit of intensifying the image which did improve it but it wasn't until the advent of Photoshop, Paintshop Pro and like that I was able to make it into a worthwhile image. Sorry if I got the date so far wrong. I didn't visit London much in those far off days but there was one memorable trip in 1962 and I mistakenly assumed that it was then. No doubt bit more checking of my records will yield a more realistic date. Just checked - should have done that before I posted - it was in fact 1954. I was only eight years out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But then it was a long time ago. ArthurK

In 1962 60010 was still sporting its bell. ArthurK

NORTHEASTERN KITS SCALEFORUM NORTH 2016 It is with regret that I have had to withdraw from Scaleforum North this year. Family problems here at home are taking up a lot of my time and require my presence here at home that weekend. I have always looked forward to meeting customers (old and new) or those coming by for a chat. I will miss that The kits are still carrying on as usual but things have slowed down of late and there is quite a bit of packing to be done. Over the next couple of weeks I will be posting news of the availability of existing kits. In addition there will be news of new kits to come over the next few months. Arthur

The OPC number is usually in one corner of the drawing. ArthurK

There is a Full Pipe & Rod drawing 4-4-0 Engines Class D20 LNER 1936. Judging by the date this is probably the D20/2. Drawing No. is 12078 in the OPC lists. ArthurK

Blandford You are right the mechanical lubricator did not feed oil to the slide bars. They used the oil pots (3 on each) on the upper slide bars for that. The only areas to get oil via mechanical lubrication were the pistons and valves. Other NER 4-4-0s used a similar arrangement. As a general rule only NER superheated engines had any form of mechanical lubrication. The horn blocks were lubricated from oil boxes which were usually fitted near to axles being lubricated. Do you have a drawing reference for the D20/2? So far I haven't found one. ArthurK

Mine was genuine Romford axle (from many years ago). It went into the junk box suitably mutilated so that it couldn't be used again. ArthurK

All this talk of how easy quartering is on Romford/Markit wheels. Obviously no-one but me has had an axle on which the two square ends were out of alignment. Took me a while to find that out. Never did get that axle to run with its neighbours! ArthurK

Checkout "NORTHEASTERN KITS" ArthurK

The flap is on the outside of the splasher. I provide a half etched overlay to represent it. There is an etched outline to aid its location. This is what you can see on Mike's build. ArthurK

The elliptic flap on the RH splasher was indeed to give access to the Westinghouse pump. It was conveniently made the same size as the original cast number plate which was of course on both sides. One thing which doesn't appear to be widely known is that the pump was originally in a lower position (as it was on the classes M and Q) with the exhaust appearing above the splasher forward of the pump necessitating a double bend in the pipe. The steam pipe from the cab was entirely within the splasher. The hole in the splasher top was not circular but was large enough to enable the pump to be withdrawn through the top. ArthurK

Firebox was nine feet external. Same as B16 ArthurK

Tony I am no expert on GNR locos but the O2 kit appeared to be a bargain as the model shop was closing down. I still maintain that the quality on opening the box was to say the least disappointing. I didn't even consider using the chassis. This was some thirty plus years ago. In view of what I found I decided to build this with the LNER style cab with raised footplate. I don't recall the drawing I used but it may have been from the MRC or (dare I so it) Skinley, but that was about all there was back then. So if there are inaccuracies then so be it. We all learn with experience which drawings to trust. The other pigs-ear was the NuCast Q6 (or as I refer to it) Q5 & 1/2. The boiler on that is 6mm (18") too short and they had overlooked that fact that the frames on the Q6 were 12" longer. Never mind it did serve until the Chivers Q6 appeared. Someone mentioned MTK. Don't get me started on that. I bought a preformed LNER Gresley coach. On that the lower beading was underneath the tumbleholme. You don't have to ask where that went. ArthurK

in my books one of worst kits was the NuCast O2. The boiler was in four bits none of which fitted its neighbour. In end I arrived at the following result. it is 95% scratch built as I considered if not worth spending my time building/fettling something that I would never be happy with. There are a few bits from the original. It looks as though I used the smokebox saddle and door. I did use the coupling and connecting rods but the remainder was scratch-built. I did use the tender but on that I replaced the coal rails. Oh yes I kept the backhead! ArthurK

Yes the ring is a tight fit as intended. Check that the length is correct and doesn't overlap at the bottom. Trim if necessary. Push it forward to the very front of the boiler. No need for clever stuff here it will move it it is pushed hard enough. Solder flush with the boiler front. Part of the ring will disappear into the smokebox wrapper. ArthurK

Ah! the cosy, Swalwell's Cinema, front rows were hard forms the front one was no more than five feet from the screen those on that looked up almost vertically but it was only a penny. We were in the plush seats (cost 3d I think). My fathers shop was directly below and when things got exciting during afternoon matinees or Saturday morning serial films (The Lone Ranger etc.) the audience started stamping the feet and the noise below had to be heard to be believed. I may add that the shop was in the centre of the three pubs that you mention "The Sun", "The Three Tuns" and "The Seven Stars" and if you didn't like those the were about ten others to choose from. Not bad for a village of about 3000 people. Sorry about all this being off topic, Tony, but Porcy has rekindled old memories. ArthurK

The colour shot of the coke works was indeed 1963 but the B&W shots were later. I don't have the exact date to hand but my estimate is indeed about 1972-73. The posh part you refer to was and is Axwell Park situated next to an ox-bow lake long since separated from the river Derwent. My newsagent father delivered their newspapers daily for 363 days of the year but we lived in the 'lower' class area in the middle of Swalwell. ArthurK

Porcy This was taken at the north end of the coke ovens where the line becomes a single track leading down to Derwenthaugh. This link shows more views of NCB locos and wagons at Ashington and Derwenthaugh. http://www.rmweb.co....dpost__p__11782 This is a very long topic. Derwenthaugh is about halfway down. ArthurK

Porcy It may be a football field now but this is how it was in 1963. In a direct line my home was about a half mile from here. Coachman No one is suggesting that an entire train should be made up of wagons in such pristine condition but it would not be un-prototypical to include three (possibly more) such wagons. The other wagons in the train were in the usual distressed condition (as most then were). ArthurK

Of course if you are feeling lazy you can always use this as an excuse! If I recall correctly there were three in this condition, Winlaton mill Coke Ovens. Mid 1960s. ArthurK

All the kits that I have built (I have lost count of the number) use the convention of bending with the etched line inside At least one kit that I have built got at least one bend wrong . With the etched line inside we achieve a sharp corner to the outside of the bend. Bending the other way leaves a hollow on the corner which is very noticeable. Also most kit manufacturers allow for the bend when designing the artwork so that the fit of parts is compromised if bent the wrong way. A simple example of this is a simple double bend to form a square cornered 'U' shaped piece. The width of the 'U' is greater than the distance between the two etched lines. This must be allowed for to obtain an accurate build. There are some occasions when the bend line is on the outside.This is most common when a part is bent over upon itself by 180 degrees. In my own kits this occurs on the brake hangers of both loco and tender. All that is required is a touch of solder then a clean-up with a file. With my loco brakes there two such bends. The first folds the hanger over from the top to give a double layer. The second brings the brake-shoe detail to the front. ArthurK

With a few exceptions I rarely use bending bars with my kits. The only time that I find that I find these necessary are on footplate angles of 1mm (3" full scale). Two mm angles (6" full scale) may also require the use of bending bars if there are slots close by. The J77 has angles 8" deep (2.67mm in model terms). These can bent without bars but the use of a vice can be helpful near the tank slots. The body etches require little more than finger pressure. Hold one side of the bend on a flat surface and ease the other upwards with the fingers or a 6" rule. Short bends such as those on the tank front are made only with the fingers. All tank bends are right angles. As an aside bending bars are easy to make. Angles of about 1/2" to 3/4" (B&Q) clamped together and drilled (4BA or thereabouts. Drill both (tapping diameter for the chosen bolts) then tap one side with clearance on the other. Bolt together and the job is done. Length in OO 12" for coaches 6" to 9" for most locos. Clamp the etch along its bend line between the angles, hold in a vice if possible and push the whole length over with a steel rule. ArthurK