Wizard of the Moor

Does anyone know what the row of bolts along the edge of the roof were for? These seem to show up on some of the ex-LNER SPVs, but not all.

Apart from the need to stop locos before disconnecting the cassette, the other thing to be aware of is that a typical DCC supply will give a noticable electric shock when you grasp the sides of the cassette. Putting insulating tape down the sides of the aluminium angle prevents this. It also stops short circuits occurring if two cassettes should touch, for example, on a double track connection to a fiddle yard. I use the Pendlenton design on Waterloo Street and have nothing but praise for it.

That looks really good, Andrew. I look forward to seeing this in the flesh.

The instructions that came with my Masokits chassis were spot on. There is a generic sheet that covers general principles and a sheet specific to each variety of chassis. For this one, there was also a supplement for the corrected V hangers. Funnily enough, I broke a drill bit in one of my LMS buffers as well. They must use a heavy duty alloy for these up in Burnistoun Works

Absolutely superb! That shot showing the headcode lighting is one of the most convincing model photos that I have ever seen.

My apologies, I take it back. The mystery object is clearly visible here: http://cumbrianrailways.zenfolio.com/p349676717/h930135E#h930135e But not on the other side of the boiler: http://cumbrianrailways.zenfolio.com/p349676717/h930135E#h3e24b4e Good luck researching it! Lovely modelling, by the way. I look forwar to seeing further progress.

I would say that it's a blob on the photo and not part of the loco at all.

Thanks again for exhibiting at the show, Robin. It was a real treat to see your progress thus far.

A selection of pictures of Waterloo Street at Scalefour North 2013 appear in the photographic retrospective of the show. I should mention that the appearance of 08 546 and it's train was courtesy of John Chambers, and much of the other stock on display belongs to David Furmage. While I'm at it, here's a plug for the Cleveland Club's show at Redcar on August 3rd and 4th. Apparently there will be 12 impressive layouts and Waterloo Street. If you're there then stop by and say hello.

Sorry, Clive, I was referring to the link in post #1349. http://www.flickr.com/photos/david_christie/9310358983/ Second wagon from the camera. Edit: Actually the remains of a stripe are just visible when you look closely. Another weathering challenge for the future.

First time I've seen one with no end door stripe.

I see that the Britannia Coconut Dancers get a mention on the BBC News website today: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22528184 Good on 'em!

Some regular Waterloo Street watchers will know that, like Spike's , this post has been a long time comin'. It's shocking just how long it's been. Back in 2000 I answered a call on the E4um mailing list for expressions of interest in a Covhop kit. Seemed like a good idea at the time... 13 years and about one hundred hours of effort later, just in time for Scalefour North, the first shipment of fertilizer ingredients to the Scottish Agricultural Industries plant on the Waterloo Quayside waits to be shunted into the yard. As the kit only covers the unfitted version of the wagons, I decided to make one CHO and 3 CHPs with my usual mix of detail differences to keep the shunting inspectors happy. Following the sage advice from WaveyDavey, vacuum pipes are absent so as not to intefere with 3 link couplings. The CHO, built basically straight from the kit. The excellent Cambridge Custom Transfers (Sheet BL35f) show up well, although I did struggle to get the black backgrounds cobbled together from other sheets, not having thought ahead far enough to order a sheet of plain black material. Live and learn... The complex shape and construction shows up well in a three-quarter view. It's the little things like the lever guard being properly mounted to a bracket on the solebar that make me happy. The roof is perhaps the weakest area of the kit. The hatch clamps are not supplied or even mentioned in the instructions, which is a bit naughty in my opinion. It would have been simple to provide the bars as etchings, even if the builder is expected to provide tube and wire to represent the screws. No mention, either, of the 4 handles around the edge of each hatch. More excusable, as these don't appear on the drawings in Rolling Stock Worth Modelling. Given the usual angle of photos, it's difficult to see them at all. It was only when peering into the Bachmann display case at the recent York show that I became aware of them. After that, they jumped out of nearly every Covhop photo at me. Just goes to show that it's very difficult to see what you're not expecting. It would also have been much easier to fit them before the construction of the wagon was complete This view also shows how the etched walkway supports don't come close to fitting in the holes moulded for them in the resin body. Shrinkage is the enemy of multimedia modelling. A CHP with roller bearings and long 2 rib buffers. A light salt mask weathering with a mucky wask on top and a touch of pigment. Another CHP with different bearings and Oleo buffers. UIC screw-link couplings from Ambis are fitted. The brakes look like they need adjustment! These were not easy kits to build. Having said that, all of the etched components went together perfectly, and it would be nice to think that the underframe could be made available for upgrading the Bachmann models. The resin bodies were nothing but trouble. The halves didn't match up and some needed 0.5mm of packing to match the other half. Filling and sanding seemed to go on forever, and the scars still show. Trying to hide them with weathering just seems to highlight other problems. Ho hum. So, was it worth it? Absolutely. Even though the forthcoming Bachmann model looks very nice, and will certainly be cheaper, the satisfaction of building unique models wins every time for me. Having said that, some of the fitted versions might be acquired if they are amenable to P4 conversion.

Ah, I see. Filling in the 'four foot' with plastic card to leave just flangeway gaps helps enormously with re-railing.

Why did the storage cassettes prove to be unsatisfactory, Paul?

The North British Railway had at least one Floorcloth wagon for transporting lino. This was a long, 6 wheeled open wagon with peaked ends and a tarpaulian bar. I'm not sure how long this lasted in traffic. A CCT or full brake would probably have been easier to load. A 7mm kit is sold by Dragon Models. An example is described here - http://www.railway-models-and-art.co.uk/blog/?cat=9