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Peak Under the Wires

BREL Prototype

Kinsley Colliery, Hemsworth, Yorkshire.

I have just found this old print from 1989. 47365 labours southbound with a tanker train. Best wishes, Chris

If I were on the Design Panel Brian, I'd have gone for blue. It looks much better. Best wishes, Chris

Hello Lee, The RES '57's look very nice. Just a quick one though, what was the function of Lab 14? Best wishes, Chris.

Hi Alex, No disappointment at all. I was curious as to how the lathe would fit into your overall scheme, and a static model / diorama is still a unique piece of modelling. I like to understand the thinking behind the modelling as I believe it helps others to push their own modelling talents that bit further. Thanks for the inspiration, Chris.

Hello All, With the fine weather finally upon us, I have been able to spend more time in the railway shed. This means scenery. I have tidied up the baseboard edge along the viewing side, adding fences and bushes, as well as attending to a couple of other details. I have also made a start on the Lowfield Road bridge which crosses the railway at the Leeds end of the layout. The brickwork requires painting to match the prototype, but I think the weathered girder span has come out quite well. As you can see I have also added a concrete span to allow the colliery lines to pass under the road. Lowfield Road also has a structural function, it is the anchor point for the OLE. With this finally fixed I have added the catenary wire and droppers to the OLE. This just leaves the return cables to add to each side. As these are required to sag between the masts I'm planning to try single strand black knicker elastic (still working up the confidence to ask for this in the haberdashery shop in Dutch). The A628 bridge across the line at the southern end is next, but I'm struggling for photos of that one. As a last mini-project I have detailed the area around signal L634. This signal controls the exit from the colliery complex to the headshunt, and is capable of showing Red, Yellow and Red + two white 'cat's eyes'. Steps have been added to allow access up the embankment, and the brick base has been weathered and detailed. Lastly a warning to drivers and staff of the proximity of the overhead line has been added. With all this going on, there had to be some playing. I have included the latest lineside video below. With the scenics coming along a new vantage point has become available. This video assumes the photographer is standing on th footpath by the A628 looking north. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ljW_HS66x4 Thanks for looking in, best wishes, Chris.

Hi Alex, I like how you have made the lathe and pit, but I'm left wondering if you can actually drive a loco on and off it. Have you tried it yet? Best wishes, Chris.

I-Phone and plonk. Best wishes, Chris.

The class 141 is looking very nice so far - keep it up! Back to the Mark 2's. I'm calling the mk IIc finished, and that marks the end of the cross country set project. The coach has been flush glazed and mounted on a modified Dapol underframe, just a light weathering to go. I'd also like to tone down the roof colour as at the moment it is a bit too shiny. I thought I'd post a YouTube clip of the inspiration for this train, it is the first thing you see on the below video. https://youtu.be/NOCWs1EJeuc And, here is my video response..... https://youtu.be/wwXT69Qz_hs Control must have been short on class 47/4's today - they have turned out a '50! The complete six coach cross country set heads north with a SW/NE working. Thanks for looking in, next up it is the (Leyland) National Front (end), Chris.

Class 141's have never been so popular........

Nice to hear I'm not alone.... The class 142 windscreens are correct for a class 141. Best wishes, Chris.

Nice updates David. The surveyor looks like he's just had a shock and is about to fall over. Is the driver of the 'Tractor' a Healey Mills man by any chance? Chris.

Not a bad effort at all - you can be proud of that. MTK did a kit for the 141, but it looks like a lot of work to me- if you can get hold of one that is.... Best wishes, Chris.

Hello Brian, The pre-production railbus was an an acquired taste for sure - We can almost be thankful that Leyland built the first production batch..... The class 140 is preserved somewhere in Scotland if I'm not mistaken. Chris.

Hello Tamperman, I remember the class 140 derelict at Holbeck - It lay in a sorry state for many years. More on the class 141 project soon, but first back to the mark two upgrade. The BFK is all but finished. For comparison the others have come up quite well as well. They have all been repainted to get a consistent finish across the different manufacturers, and the Lima offerings have been re-glazed with scrap windows from the donor Dapol coaches. Running numbers still need to be applied to all the intercity liveries coaches. Below is a standard Dapol IId. The surprise in the bunch was the Lima Mk IIf. With a nice paint job and flush glaze it looks like a completely different model. The IIc has reached lettering and lining out, and is looking reasonable. What do you reckon? Best wishes, Chris.

Thanks Brian. An update on the Mk IIc. The coach is now in undercoat. Prior to painting I thinned out the window bars a bit to try and get them looking a little more elegent, and there were one or two areas on the body and roof that required attention. The roof vents are salvaged from the Hornby class 110 that died for the parcels unit. The coach had a coat of rail grey this afternoon and hopefully will get rail blue tomorrow. Best wishes, Chris.

Hi Clive, The build is well resourced. I think it will be tricky, but I reckon I can do it justice. (He hopes!) Mark two project to finish first though........ Best wishes, Chris.

Spot on Brian. I'm going to give it a go. I've got some ideas in development at the moment, and I think I might be able to get this to work. We'll see! Best wishes, Chris.

Hello Alex, I can hear them from here Chris

Hi Bri, The class number starts with a 1 Any guesses? Think West Yorkshire....... Chris.

OK, So some photos. First up the IId BFK and the other aircons... Front to back cut 'n' shut IId BFK, Lima IIf TSO, Lima IIf TSO, Dapol IId TSO and Dapol IId TSO. Still to do on the back four lining and lettering, and on the BFK the remaining paint and then of course the lining. I did the yellow stripe first on this one as I had the paint out for the class 114. It received its coat of exec light grey today and still to do are the exec dark grey and the roofs and ends. Not very different to last time, but I've filled and filed to get the Lima sides to match the profile of the Dapol ends on the Mk IIc. Hope to have this one in undercoat soon. Thanks for looking in, Chris.

Hello Alex, It can't always be heavy freight.... You have to have somewhere for the people to sit I'll be back to loco's soon..... I have a very interesting - and challenging unit to do after the Mk II's. Best wishes, Chris.

Hello Andy, The IIc is coming along. At the moment it is in the rubbing down phase (not very interesting), but I hope to have it in undercoat in the next few days. The remaining MkII's have all been in the paint shop for a quick blast of executive light grey. I have at least three different types, so I wanted consistency across the board for this colour. Photos to come later....... Best wishes, Chris.