brian daniels

Very nice work, don't know why but that's one conversion I never did and I never did a JLTRT airbraked 26 either.

Back in 1980 on my first railway trip ti Europe we saw FO 81 on freight on the Ratbahn. Mention earlier of them working the Albula line but pic here is of it on the Disentis line at Reichenau.

I am hopeless on dates when things stopped or started so can't remember when the parcels service finished. But the two dock roads were used for loading and unloading parcels until that was withdrawn. After that you might have got a DMU stabled or a loco for an hour or two. But in 1991 at least it was used to stable the Bicester MoD train if it was a little un before we took it to Lawley Street then if memory serves me right. The Down C.Sdgs were indeed mainly for terminating trains to reverse in be they loco hauled or DMU. The up C.Sdgs, Jericho Sidings, were used for overnight stabling. I remember down evening loco hauled trains going down to Oxford North Jct and crossing over into the up loop and then reversing up the loop and through the groundframe into Jericho Sdgs with a shunter in the rear ready to turn the butterfly if needed! RES Parcels did indeed use the Down C.Sdgs to attach vehicles. 37 in 1991 stabled. 47 on RES service in Down C.Sdg in 1991

Bit more weathering on the VIX van yesterday and also some on my Dapol MCV's. I will be the first to admit I don't like doing rusty mineral wagons, these ain't bad but others have more patience than me doing these. I might return to the bodies later to see what can be done. But having said that they look good in a rake. Here is a close up of the Archer welding beads, look good I think.

I know what you mean but the roof casting is not the best I have used. The whole model is too narrow but I could have made it wider by flattening the roof but that would loose the domed cab roof which is what makes a 56 a 56 to me.

Been doing a bit of weathering today on a friends 33 and my 56. Also done a bit on my VIX. I am painting another Heljan class 25/3 in blue as well.

I think I still have those Dapol vac cylinders in my rubbish bin so if you pm me your address I will get them off to you.

Got the M&M vac cylinders today so cracked on with the underframe. I was glad to find that the Dapol vac cylinder came off easily as it is a separate moulding. End details added New L shaped tiebar added and secured with small plastic bolts. Majority of these moreton braked vehicles have a strengthening bracket on the opposite side V hanger to where Dapol put it so I cut up the old plastic tiebar and used it for a new horizontal stregthener. New vac gear underneath. Had to modify the cross shaft by just using the arms that connect to the vac cylinder and shortening them a bit as well. Can't make out what Dapol ones supposed to be?

These I used are all Severn Mill, not cheap but very nice but you do have to paint them yourself.

Just googled it and it came up with red ones. Also should not have a border around the name. Who's plates are they?

Vac pipes are swan next style. I have enough lost wax sprues from Slater's for these which include their lamp brackets. I have some L shaped brass for the tie-bar as well so nothing stopping me getting on with them now. I noticed that with the handles on the end doors.

Finally found some text that says the mineral wagons were double vac cylinder in Wagons Of The Final Years Of British Railways 1962-1968 by Larkin, second paragraph. Interestingly though out of the 5 pictures in the book of these moreton fitted MCV's only one has lamp brackets on. I guess that fully fitted trains of these were not run until the 70's so until then there was still a brake van for the guard to ride in as I guess the manning agreement was not relaxed when these were built to allow the guard in the back cab. I have one picture showing one end of one for the vac pipe placement. More work. I have ordered some vac cylinders from M&M to change the ones on the model. It's a shame but a £39 wagon is going to end up over £60 by the time I change everything, oh well that's modelling I suppose.

just see on the end one of my bolts has fallen out.

Finished the VIX at last. One extra detail I did was to add Archer waterslide welding beads transfer to the roof which I think finishes it off nicely. Is there a definitife answer to the painting of bufferbeams in this era? I have done mine black but should they be bauxite?

It does not make any sense to me as I would have thought one vac cylinder would be ok, it is on nearly all the other vac braked wagons! But unless anyone knows the definite answer I will go for two cylinders on MCV's with moreton brakes.

Putting the transfers on my VIX yesterday did not go without a hitch. These are Rail-Tec transfers and they all went on except the arrows which just sat there and curled up. Even a setting solution would make them lay down. So in the end I put a Fox one on. Just varnishing it at the moment.

8 shoe clasp braked MCV's do have a change load/empty leaver but it seems the moreton braked ones do not. Here is a link to Paul Bartlett's moreton MCV's http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/mineralmortonmxv which all show a vac cylinder underneath, now you can't tell me he photographed all the single cylinder ones from the same side!

Sorry Mike, keefer is correct that when BR did some more conversions from un-fitted to fitted it says they only used one cylinder.

I just read in An Illustrated History of BR Wagons vol 1 that in the 1970's unfitted wagons were fitted with a simpler vac brake with only one vac cylinder. So two or one? I am getting confused, which I find is quite easy these days. As it's a bank holiday weekend I can't order anything until Tuesday anyway so a bit of time to think it over.

Photo's are fine and don't worry about a hijack as it's all relevant to what we are talking about.

I have an 8 shoe MCV to build from MMP but thought this would be a quick little block of wagons but we are back to getting hold of bits to up-grade/make right. I have some Slaters vac pipes and lamp brackets so think these will do. Nice pics thanks, something to ponder over. I should be putting the transfers on my VIX tomorrow at last.

I have a set of these to build, one day.

At the Ally Pally show I bought 3 Dapol fitted mineral wagons but they need some details adding I'm afraid. I see they have no lamp brackets on the ends and the vac pipe on one end is in the wrong place. The vac cylinder has a funny arm coming out connecting to the cross brake shaft. One thing that keeps bugging me is these have two cylinder, I keep looking on Paul Bartlett's site and everyone I look at I can see a vac cylinder on it whichever side you look at but there is only one on the model, and it's on the wrong side, it's pulling the brakes off! So who does a decent vac cylinder and operating arms? Think you can still get ABS ones. Oh and the tiebar should be L shaped.

Good luck with your first kit John. My first kit I did many years ago was a 47 from the same manufacturer and all I did was build it as it came to just get used to soldering and the principles of building diesel kits. After that first one all hell has been let loose I do quite a bit of mods on kits and ready to run but I think it's a good idea to walk before you run, so to speak. There are no real pitfalls to these kits but as they do not have bulkheads you can make them as wide or narrow as you want by using the bogie stretchers. The 56 can be done with a flattish roof or a curved roof depending how wide you make those stretchers! How much has been built already on your 56?

These little boats do look a bit vulnerable as they collect the ropes to tie the ships up. I am sure the nice shiny new ship will soon look like COSCO Vietnam also entering Southampton.