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20088 in triple grey and ploughs! Can't beat it Alex. Best wishes, Chris.

Hello Jez, Good luck with the rebuild. I for one am looking forward to watching what you come up with. Best wishes, Chris

Hello David, I love the photo updates! I do have a question though.... Can you tell me is the cement works a kit or scratch build? Thanks and best wishes, Chris

I never tire of seeing locos lined up on shed. You can't beat BR blue! Best wishes, Chris.

Hello Alex, That looks quite elegant. Just one question to add - What are you doing to the fibre optic cable to allow the light out at the required intervals? Thanks, Chris.

Thanks Derek, I have 20090 still to weather a bit more - and I'd seen the little '90 on another photo - so that is a little tweak I'm considering along with the fresh paint where the Railfreight logo once was. Photos to come. Over the weekend I had the camera out again. I filmed a typical 1991 sequence. http://youtu.be/CIvnr-7TmZk Enjoy! Best wishes, Chris.

Hello Royal Oak I haven't done that. I am not sure when those modifications were made, and they may post date my layout timescale. Any ideas when the turn was implemented? Thanks and best wishes, Chris

Hello, Thanks for all the comments about the video - I'd like to make another lineside film in the coming weeks. In the mean time I fancied a quick project to while away a wet day. I have a Mk IV (Intercity 225) set, but I've always been disappointed with the way Hornby dealt with underframe fairing at the coach ends and I'd like a bit closer coupling than the clunky tension lock offers. So out with the mini drill to see what I could achieve. First - detach the bogies from the coach The bogie can then be dismantled. Keep the screw! The fairing can then be cut in to three equal bits. The tension lock can also be cut off the bogie - Be careful not to nick the wheels with the cutting disk. The gap between the fairing and the coach body needs to be filled. It is a 2mm gap, and the coach floor is also recessed. I cut a rectangle of 2mm plasicard and stuck it to the coupling end of the coach. Mean while the two outer pieces of fairing were attached to 2mm sqaure section Evergreen strip and left to dry. The coach end was then reassembled. I chose to use a Kadee coupler, and this was mounted directly onto the plasticard filler and glued. The salvaged Hornby screw was then attached for extra security. The bogie can then be added. Turning the other way up, the Evergreen strip can be trimmed to match the fairing profile. Paint, and couple up. Finally for comparison, the original tension lock coupled coaches are behind, and the new arrangement to the front. Thanks for looking in, and best wishes, Chris.

Yes, I understand. Thanks for explaining Best wishes, Chris.

Hello Alex, The lighting idea looks simple and very effective. Looking forward to seeing the full effect. Is there any chance that perhaps Grimley Senior and yourself could post a "how to" for the torch and fibre optic please? I think there will be a lot of people who'd like to see how exactly you have done it. Thanks and best wishes, Chris.

Hello 4474, The wheel diameter info is useful and interesting. I do have a question though, why was it so important to maintain the ride height?- particularly as the differece in wheel size was so minor.., Thanks and best wishes, Chris.

They look very nice Peter. best wishes, Chris.

Hello David, The class 144 looks just right - framed nicely by the LNER signal. Very atmospheric. Best wishes, Chris.

Hello, Thanks David, I always appreciate your comments. With the class 20 project finished I thought a short video might be in order. Class 20's (090 and 143) arrive light from Doncaster to pick up the afternoon trip working of domestic coal for Healey Mills. The pair stop by the trailing crossover before reversing in to the colliery headshunt. Meanwhile the resident class 08 emerges from the rapid loader with a single loaded HEA and waits as the choppers run on to the adjacent line and stop. The 08 then shunts the HEA on to the locos and shuffles off. The train then propels back in to the headshunt and departs northwards. http://youtu.be/E_KucRv1L94 Thanks for watching, and I hope you enjoyed it. Best wishes, Chris.

Hello, So, with the class 307 all but done, it is time to start a new multiple unit project to tide me over the winter. Whilst browsing the web I came across another modeller's website where a Hornby class 110 had been butchered to create a class 114 Derby Heavyweight DMU - basically a stretched class 108. Now, I have no use for that, but my model Kinsley Colliery is set right at the beginning of the 1990's and typical during this period were parcels and Royal Mail DMU's. True, they were on their last legs, but why not a Derby diesel parcels unit in Royal Mail Letters livery? This is what I'm trying to achieve. https://www.flickr.com/photos/23987565@N05/4811757561/in/photolist-8kcvTg-9vkwv1-9vhwDi-9uQ241-9zzXx3-9tZvL8-iBHv5a-9qRZ8j-9qRZiW-9qRZdj-9qS1bQ-9qS4sq-9qS1xh-9qRZqS-9qNY8z-hqdrvr-9qRWGL-9vAp73-9PHkmx-beizDz-bfK3mK-bfKbg8-attFVX-attG1g-atwnxj-attFTv-buZCGD-bXhH5a-frfrMJ-d6QCx5-bgtoLV-p9U2Za-ns9HsU-df5p3Y-9rCKWz-p6S6ii-hNKKFx-7FrMLd-8H5Veq-pvc99h-934Vp8-9Vv1xq-9JoLuU-8HBDBT-m5DnbH-9svsLZ-hKhoCn-dUEyZH-9wffC4-8GSxn3-a2nvpz The model is based on the venerable Hornby class 110, and I take no credit for inventing this conversion - however after the passenger version we're on our own to make it in to a parcels unit. A DC kits Derby cab is also required to make this work. The starting blocks are shown below. Cab Front Redundant class 110 Now with a bit of chopping and splicing, you can quite quickly come up with this. A basic class 114 DMBS car. From this... As you can see, I have stretched the Hornby body by inserting parts of the centre coach to make the DMBS - The same priciple is required for the DTC coach. There is however a problem. I was thinking of using a Lima class 117 underframe, however the DMBS car scales out at 4mm too short. I'll have to see what I'll do once the DTC is made. One idea is to use the Hornby frames and bogies, but they'll have to be stretched and the underframes rebuilt. Another is to work out where to add the missing 4mm to the bodies and use the Lima bits.. Time will tell. Next up the DTC.... Please feel free to pass comment, and any suggestions are of course welcome. Thanks for dropping in, Chris.

Hello All, I'm calling the class 20 project finished. The last loco 20143 has been reassembled and weathered to reflect a well faded and work stained loco from the early 1990's. Here she is! I have already made a start on the next project - a Class 114 parcels DMU. I'll be detailing the construction of that one on my workbench thread. Thanks for looking in, and best wishes, Chris.

Now I am really looking forward to seeing one of your viaducts in brass. Unpainted, and shiny it will be stunning I'm sure. Best wishes, Chris.

Another motive power project has almost reached completion. On the bench for a few months now has been the class 20 project. The idea was to create four locos which survived on coal traffic until 1991. With one donor loco, plus two blue, one green and a Railfreight example I have created two typical pairings from the period. First up 20052. Bogies have been filled to create the flueted type without holes. One disc survives on the nose, and the paintwork is very work stained. Second 20177, a straightforward re-number this time. No modifications to the flueted, drilled bogies. 20090, a standard Bachmann model, with bogies swapped as per prototype. At the cab end a flueted bogie with no holes, and at the nose end a flat beam bogie. The holes where the plastic headcode discs should fit have been filled as the prototype was without. Last 20143, as portrayed in mid 1991 with snow ploughs and mixed bogie types. Still to varnish. All of the modified bogies are still to weather, and the last two locos definately will need faded paint and a bit of road dirt. But that is what makes a model, become all the more real. I also will batch build a set of buffer beam pipes for the four - I do not like the Bachmann MW jumpers at all, and find their vac pipes a bit thin. So I prefer to make my own. The locos all have ESU LokSound chips on board. Thanks for looking in, and any comments much appreciated. Best wishes, Chris.

I now have sufficient HAA wagons or their equivalent for a second rake. Tonight I have spent a happy evening cutting off tension lock couplers and replacing Hornby's rail rollers with something a little finer. That's twenty-two wagons this evening! Tomorrow I'm hoping to fit Smiths instanter couplers to each wagon. The end wagons from the rake will also be fitted with air pipes and tail tail lights. The idea is to have one rake entirely composed of HAA's, and the second a mixed rake of HAA, HBA and HFA wagons for a little variety. Thanks for looking in, and best wishes, Chris.

Long overdue David. I'm pleased you have started a thread for this layout. Can we see more pictures in due course please? Thanks, and best wishes, Chris.

Thanks Branchie! Glad you like it. Hello Brian, apparently the good people of North Yorkshire objected during the planning phase for Selby to the abhorrent thought of a slag heap in their shire. Shale trains to other sites were the result, and must have added to the complex's running costs. Another nail in the coffin of British Coal. Best wishes, Chris.

Hello Brian Do you remember any MGRs at South Kirkby? They used to run round at Moorthorpe to access to pit. I think it closed in 1989 with coal clearance carrying on in to the early '90's. Frickley was also a hotspot for class 56's and MGRs - happy times! Thanks, and best wishes, Chris.

Hello Jeff Thanks for the suggestion, it is one I have considered. The main problem with the Hornby class 142 is that it is not free running. The electrical pick ups act like brakes. Eliminate the effect from that, and I think the mechanism will be able to transmit its power more effectively to the track. That's the idea anyway.... Un- motored and free running would also be a massive improvement. Thanks, and best wishes, Chris.

Hi Ron, So, the electrics have crossed your mind once or twice I see..... Best wishes, Chris

Hello Max, The layout looks really nice - excellent photos. I do like the shot of the class 60 in the headshunt. Best wishes, Chris.