Gallows Close

It has quite a beauty of its own with all that unpainted brass, bare plastic and little add ons. It like it wants to show off to us just how much detail and care in design has been packed in before it has to go off and be painted. Well done Accurascale! Best wishes, Chris.

Ready to set back

Rebuilding the Dapol Class 155 Starting point. I have owned this model of a class 155 DMU since August 1992. I've always liked it because I rather like the prototype, but it always fell short of its contemporaries. It also could never match up to current models. The prototype was built in 1988 for West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive at the Leyland Bus factory in Workington, Cumbria and as such is one of the last Leyland Nationals ever built. Production of the Leyland National bus ran from 1972 and ceased in 1985. Manufactured by Dapol the unit has some shortcomings, but in my view it is less wrong (or more right) than the Hornby class 153 model. The class 155 is too deep overall but otherwise seems to check out dimensionally whereas the Hornby class 153 is way too stumpy. The underframe and running gear is woeful on the Dapol model, but the Hornby class 153 scores well here. The question was can the Dapol model be brought up to scratch? Here's what I did. First, the model was stripped back to bare plastic and is here still standing on the awful Dapol bogies. At this point I also tried bogies from a Lima class 156. These looked far too skinny compared to the 'standard' Bachmann BT38 / BP38 so a set of spares were ordered to fit. Power would come from a redundant class 158 drive I had in the spares box. The plastic block underframe was also cut off and new components made from scratch. Underframe done, and now riding on the Bachmann bogies it starts to look much better. To tackle the deep body sides I decided on the following course. The body is approx 2.5mm too deep so by looking at the lower edge it was possible to sand the bottom 2mm down to achieve the distinctive lower 'tuck' where the body meets the underframe. The floor plate on the model was then strengthened with a strip of Evergreen and the distinctive ribs added one by one to the lower edge. New door steps were added as were the airbag bolster planks and jacking points. Then a coat of MetroTrain red was sprayed. Unfortunately the red which came from Precision was too dark, drying maroon rather than red. The whole thing had to be stripped back at this point for the correct shade to be applied. Note how much difference the black band on the modified lower body edge makes. A full compliment of seats was also added to the interior. and on the DMSL a toilet compartment built. The Lokpilot decoder fits snugly in there. On with the transfers. Lettered, numbered and ready for the glazing to go back in. Etched door push buttons and other trimmings have been added and at the rear the connecting wires between the two coaches can be seen. The two wires plug into sockets on the opposite vehicle and are used to power the lights on the non-motored coach. The exhaust stack came from the class 166 that had given up its gangways earlier, and the silencer is scratch made from brass tube. Head and tail lights have also been added from Bachmann Spares and the circuit board can be seen in the aperture where the WIPAC light lenses will be refitted. In service. Just a light weathering still to do. Best wishes, Chris.

Leyland National at 50 - Rebuilt Dapol class 155

7H43 Spirited departure for Drax

Thank you David. I haven’t posted in a while, but I have just about finished a complete rebuild of a very old Dapol class 155. I thought I’d share it now. Best wishes, Chris.

2N15

Love the armchairs. Train watching in considerable style and comfort Best wishes, Chris.

At the Loader Best wishes, Chris

Wouldn't some sort of buckeye coupler be stronger than the screw link? (and true to prototype too) Best wishes, Chris.

Those ‘47’s - Especially the ‘Brontes’ remind me so much of the loco hauled Transpennines. Line me up a mark 2a TSO next to the loco please - heaters on full and winged headrests a slightly greasy dark grey. Oh, the memories. best wishes, Chris.

.... and different couplers. A triumph of interoperability.

Thanks Lee. I don’t keep a thread running, but I do post the odd snap every now and then. Best wishes, Chris.

Tinsley’s box shifting tractors A few minutes later, a class 108 / 111 DMU hybrid. Happy times back in 1990. Best wishes, Chris.

Scraping the Barrel On 30th September 1991 class 108 DMBS 53969 found itself working the 13:24 Leeds to Sheffield service in the company of class 111 DTCL 54061. This hybrid combo was apparently quite long lived. No doubt formed in a hurry at Neville Hill depot in response to the Sprinter crisis of the time, the pairing was recorded first in 1989, and again as late as 1991. After that 53969 was again paired with a class 108 trailer, being withdrawn on 26th November 1991. The class 111 car was transferred away from Neville Hill, first to Cambridge and then to Longsight where it was finally withdrawn in June 2000. (Info <a href="https://www.railcar.co.uk/" ) Here the unit is reproduced in model form. Both cars are from Bachmann, with the class 108 vehicle showing scars from having been fitted with window bars for working the Cumbrian coast, missing a ventilator on the roof and showing a Tyseley set number recording its nomadic career. Damage under the center cab window has been replicated and a generous coat of Neville Hill grime has been applied. The class 111 car has had all the usual treatment and been renumbered from a standard Bachmann car. The vehicle has been rewired to accept a DCC chip of its own to control the lights. Another useful addition to the Kinsley fleet.

Another nice little project ticked off. Trigger’s Broom! This loco is a little bit special to me. Bought back in 1988 as 47487 this Lima model was named after my grandfather by me as a thank you for his input into my model railway - then in a loft at my parent's home. The nameplates were made at a local engraving company and fixed to the model before it was presented to him. Fast forward to 2016 and my grandfather's passing just before his 90th birthday saw the model fetched from storage. What to do with it? In its original guise it didn't really fit with my current layout, so a refurb was planned. As you see it here 47628 owes its body and chassis to the Lima original. The drive and bogies are from a Heljan model and the motor is from a Bachmann Turbostar. A Lokpilot v5 and home made stay alive are fitted along with new lights. A repaint into the attractive Mainline livery complete with cast double arrows was then done. On the buffer beam a full suite of air, vac and ETH pipes and jumpers were added. Finally the original nameplates were refitted - one on the chassis and the second on the inside of the body. A light weathering will follow. Seen passing Kinsley Colliery with a Leeds to Nottingham service comprised of four Mk 1 coaches it makes a splendid sight. Best wishes, Chris.

For me the 9F was no failure. Very impressive. Best wishes, Chris.

Good morning, successful home made power pack with a Lokpilot V5 installed with very good results. The pack was built as per the diagram in the ESU manual. CV 113 = 61 to give a two second burst of extra juice. The capacitor pack sits transversely in the chassis and can be seen adjacent to the coal sector decal in the photo above. Best wishes, Chris.

Pity the Pacer was such a difficult beast to work on - the result looks mint. best wishes, Chris.

Thank you again Richard. just checking the manual I assumed a typo and you meant CV 113. Nontheless, I am going to give it a go. Best wishes, Chris.

Thanks Richard. Do you need to alter any CV's for the two wire version? Thanks, Chris.

Would anyone have experience of adding capacitors to the V5 in place of the ESU Power Pack? The drawing in the manual is as below. The device seems simple enough to make and solder to the decoder, but how does that affect the CV settings being as how Aux 9 is the Power Pack control CV and does not play a part in the above schematic. Any help much appreciated. Best wishes, Chris.

If you cherish it - Pledge it.

On the 14th April 1990 class 37, 37298 was one of four locos to work the Gwent Growler railtour to the Welsh Valleys. The loco subsequently returned to more mundane workings being allocated to Tinsley in Sheffield and a Speedlink Coal Network machine. The post railtour coal tractor is represented here in model form. The model is based on a Lima loco, having been completely re-sprayed and finished with home made 'Victor' painted name plates and presented in care worn pseudo-Valley Lines livery. New wheels, and a double motor configuration complete the power side of things, whilst the roof has been fitted with air horns above the cab windows. The boiler exhaust has been filled and the un-prototypical ribbing at the non radiator end removed and smoothed over. Etched window frames from A1 models have been used added to the face of the loco, and windscreen wipers made and added. On the nose, the high intensity headlight has been removed, and the correct pattern of handrails and lamp irons added. Working marker lights have been fitted behind the grey lenses in the former headcode box. Round Oleo buffers replace the factory fitted ovals. This little project was a pleasure to do, and all the more satisfying to know that another 30 year old model has been brought back from the grave. Thanks for looking in, Chris

What we are watching is something as railway modellers we have all done. This is the first - very first - time we run our railway as we imagined it in our mind’s eye. Yes it is exciting, and yes it is a learning curve. This is wonderful to watch, and what a layout to watch it happen on. Of course the scale is epic, and the glitches are there to see and improve upon, but we can all share and savour this moment. First proper running session. Brilliant. I love it. Well done Simon! Best wishes, Chris.