Ragtag

Thought I'd best post as this topic still shows up high in Google search results. I'd never heard of d&m but on the back of the above managed to find one of the Waveney class. It looks to be nearer 1/98 scale and is a full 3 scale metres short in OO. A 3D printed Mersey is now available for those who may be interested though.

I may be going crackers but I'm convinced that as part of the series of articles on Polwyddelan, there was one where Chris describes how he made the lifeboat station. I've hunted through my back issues and the index to no avail however, can anyone point me in the right direction? @dibber25 perhaps? Thanks in advance.

Had the Santa's Express set for £25 from my local Hobbycraft today (be rude not to at that price, now each of the sprogs has their own!)

They would have been, yes. However one of the main issues as I understand it with getting a regular local service running to Berwick is pathing it against the intercity services - hence why most stations north of Morpeth see around 3 trains a day stopping. The 158's superior line speed make it a better choice than the 156 in that regard - if 156s were capable of being routed in I suspect someone would have tried by now. Of course I may not run it in the Northern Spirit era at all, as I say its just a rough idea for now.

Been working on the routes serving Ashington and have arrived at the following as a rough idea of timetable. Morpeth - Metro Centre Morpeth - Pegswood - Ashington - Bedlington - all stations to Newcastle - Metro Centre Frequency: once per hour (once per 2 hours if in italics) Stock: Northern Spirit era: Ashington-Newcastle operated by Class 142, Morpeth - Metro Centre operated by Class 156 Northern Rail era: Ashington-Newcastle operated by Class 142, Morpeth - Metro Centre operated by Class 156 Northern Trains era: operated by Class 156/155 Northern Connect: Berwick - Newcastle Berwick - Chathill - Alnmouth - Widdrington - Morpeth - Ashington - Bedlington - Northumberland Park - Newcastle Frequency: once per hour Stock: Northern Spirit era: Class 158 Northern Rail era: Class 158 Northern Trains era: Class 195

The window itself shouldn't be too tricky a fix, matching the colour on the other hand... Then again I'm more inclined to tinker around with one of these than I am to try and fix the lights on the Realtrack version.

Not getting to London much I was bemused to alight onto Platform 0 at Kings Cross.

Hi Matt, they're a mix. The handrails I think are Gibson with some suitable diameter brass wire threaded through - did those years ago and need some more so we'll have to see what's out there nowadays. The NRN pod is Hurst but has been unavailable for years - I have some Pete Harvey ones for the other units. They're fiddly to fold but do look good. The seats are intended for model buses and are from Mark Hughes. Theyre not a perfect match but are close enough to the Arriva seating for me. I also have some Merseyrail style ones from the same source. Hope that helps Stu

I have a topic (below) where I can answer any questions rather than hijacking Charlie's topic

Having considered the options a bit more I'm thinking metal rather than styrene construction for the body sides and probably the roof too. I've had some success scratchbuilding coach sides from thin aluminium in the past so may try that, or venture into the realm of brass. Any thoughts on which would be the easier to cut? I'm guessing aluminium for equal thickness.

Perhaps I'm mad, but the beginnings of another project arrived today. Bit of an impulse buy these so I haven't really got a plan together for this one yet but it will certainly be a scratchbuilt body (medium undecided). Hopefully I can adapt a proprietary chassis - need to investigate wheelbase and bogies more closely to see about that.

Apologies for the thread necro but this has inspired me to have a go myself

Easier to remove from the box than the older versions and it feels secure enough to me. Then again, as you say there's not much in the way of separately fitted detail to fall off. With Realtrack's model out I don't imagine many view this as anything except a Railroad version, but with a bit of detailing it will still hold its own.

Picked up the latest Northern Class 156 today in commemorative RAF livery - nice model but the change in packaging is interesting. Gone is the block of polystyrene inside the box (hurrah!), and in its place is a cardboard container not unlike an egg carton albeit sturdier. I'm just curious whether this is a shift that has been seen anywhere else in the range, or is this perhaps a sign of things to come?

Yes I tried at North Road too (decided to check out the exhibition). I eventually drove to Peters Spares, did see a pacer Bishop bound as I headed home but as I was behind the wheel, no pic.

Well, I went out to Bishop Auckland today with the intention of getting the train to Middlesbrough and photographing a pacer, but sadly it was cancelled due to a train fault.

Any more news on the 141?

I have a couple of 1/76 Ford Rangers which I had 3D printed - not cheap though!

Thanks for that, I'd spotted that shot but unfortunately it's not the car I was after. I managed to find the shot I needed after a delve on Flickr however, seating all sorted now

Thanks Jack, the cab interior has been hacked back to the driver's seats - I may see whether the control desk can be refitted above the LEDs though there's not much room.

Chris started out in Code 3 vehicles where I've used his services in the past - top bloke. I believe the railway side of things is a relatively new venture, I'm sure he'd appreciate any feedback.

After a lot of toing and froing on this I think I've reached a compromise I can live with. No DMU depot, but a small infrastructure depot plus a stabling siding for DMUs - something akin to that at Morpeth. This should strike a balance between realism and operational interest with the added bonus of letting me run my Serco and Network Rail stock as well as room to display a few more road vehicles.

I've never thought they are as bad as the press and indeed many others like to make out. Anyway, as promised here are the interiors. There were a few differences in layout between the 2 ATN cars which I've captured, including the slightly odd sideways seats in the former luggage rack of one car. The extended 'decoder box' can also be seen but shouldn't be too prominent once painted up.

I use 0603 LEDs - cheap as chips. Can get 20 of these for a quid, same with the resistors and wire them to a function on the decoder. I'm sure you could even through wire a few coaches to run from one decoder if it was just for the hazard lights.

Bit more progress with lighting and decoder fitted to the powered car as well. Both cars have been coupled together and taken for a test run where (as expected) they jerked along the track like a bag of spanners. I'm hoping a bit of running in etc. will sort some of the issues but I do have a suspicion that even with white metal seats in both cars and the chassis weight, some liquid lead may need adding in places to get things running smoothly - we'll call that Plan B. Plan C is one of the replacement chassis kits although this would be problematic at this stage with the lighting already wired in. I couldn't find a suitable TCS decoder at a reasonable price for the powered car so have used one of Hattons' own as a test run - it's a bit larger though and this has meant I've had to extend the 'box' at the rear further into the seating area. I'll post a pic of that later.