Downendian

D15 duly ordered. As this image have been posted elsewhere (my copyright) for completeness sake I’ll post it again in this thread. D15 at Temple Meads in 1970. it looks like this image have been used in the prep for the model (same headcode, Holbeck on the buffers), do I get a discount :) Of great personal interest to me as In the photo, the guy closest to the camera is I’m 99% sure my grandfather, who was a fitter at Bath road at the time. Neil

Well our cat has a bell on her collar, she’s not returned with one single bird. However her predecessor did, and I was horrified when he returned with a swift (!), song thrush and robin within a few months, but that was 20 years ago now. A collar bell sorted that issue out. However yesterday a good news/bad news story. I was up at 630am getting my standard cappuccino ready, and a large bird flew away from our back lawn, at a very rapid rate of knots. This was what was left behind, goldfinch feathers sadly. So it appears we still have a sparrow hawk hunting here in Bristol, they were common in Devon, but I’ve not seen one here for at least a decade. Neil

I’ve acquired a 2-EPB for a 3H centre trailer car. A lot of Bachmann class 205 components are common to the 2-EPB. Have you tried the excellent Bachmann spares website? I’m ordering a few bits for this project too. https://Bachmann-spares.co.uk/category/3-branchline-emu-parts/class205demu-thumper They also have spare 2-EPB bodyshells https://Bachmann-spares.co.uk/category/3-branchline-emu-parts/class-416-2epb-emu Neil

Indeed Jonathan 20 of them! It was a labour of love and they are really quite cute little things. Neil

Well I’m still picking up the occasional copyright neg/slide, but the accurascale budget has been recently all consuming, and much time committed to previously neglected rolling stock projects. One has been the building of a rake of GWR design Herring ballast hoppers, so I was delighted to see a photo of D7010 near Cheltenham on a rake of them. A stunner and will serve as reference for when I get the rake in action- D 6XX NBL warships are hens teeth shots, so I didn’t expect to win this but did so this evening, I had expected it to fetch in excess of £50 but was much less than that. Very pleased to say this is now my copyright D603 at the site of Mutley station, Plymouth in the early 1960s. Taken before the multi-storey car park was built, I’m familiar with the location but it has changed a fair bit. both images are my copyright, please do not post elsewhere without my permission. Neil

My Plymouthian friends tell me that there are currently thunderstorms accompanied with lots of steam rising from hot roads and pavements. I do remember 1976 well, prolonged drought which had much media coverage, standpipes in the street the lot. I also well remember sitting on yellowed embankments at Stoke Gifford with Westerns growling past on stone trains followed by lots of stone dust. Those were the days. Neil

We were sat in my daughters large back garden yesterday evening for a BBQ. It backs onto a 7-8 acre lake, unfortunately the banks are quite overgrown and fishing opportunities not possible. However we were enchanted by a pair of kingfishers active in the overhanging branches at the bottom of her garden, she’d never seen a kingfisher before. As she is an excellent photographer she’s promised me some good action shots. I was amazed at how many were there had never seen one before, I instantly recognised their calls, based on my fishing expeditions and multiple sightings.

Yes I’d have preferred the Bachmann lifting rings Phil, but Bachmann spares have none in stock.

Two Hymeks approaching decals, numbers and glazing stages. the first is a simpler rework of a spare Heljan bodyshell, new air horns, Shawplan etched scavenger grille, floor level door handles, repaint and wire handrails to become D7026 one of the last in service in 1974. the second is a much longer project which has featured earlier in this thread. D7029 which started life in 1974 as my thirteenth birthday present - never discarded and never will. Reshaped cab roof and windows, new roof panel with etched scavenger grille, floor level grab handles, and (never to be repeated) roof panel lifting eyes. These were a pig to do, and completed them before respraying which was a mistake. The lifting eyes are so fine that no matter how careful you are with painting they clog up. With hindsight fit these after spraying as they come precoloured, I used Dapol Western lifting eyes. I cut the eyes off the fret and threaded them onto a segment of 10lb bs carp fishing line which then served as a very useful tool for fitting to the roof. I will refit D7029s lifting eyes as the roof needs more attention using a fresh fret, I would recommend the fishing line method though as it minimises losing the blighters to the carpet monster, plus I have loads of Dapol Westerns to do. The good thing with photos is that you get to spot errors, the errant handrail on D7029 has just been removed and to be replaced as the door level handles which need a tidy up. There have been several rounds of paint touching up, still no where near as good as a factory finish, but they are models I will not part with, and they still are better detailed then anything available RTR. However, the Hornby model especially the cab window area is hugely challenging including the fact that the nearly 50 year old plastic is extremely brittle. D7029 was the first Hymek in my spotting book, 48 years ago July 1974, which I remember like yesterday. It roared eastwards on a South Wales Paddington parcels through Bristol Parkway, most probably a rake of Siphon Gs. alignment and fitting roof lifting eyes D7026 (Heljan) and D7029 heavily modified Hornby top/bottom

I wouldn’t worry too much about that - ER allocated 31s were daily visitors to Bristol at least in the 1970s. Neil

Were common in Devon Phil, but unfortunately not seen them in this part of Bristol for years. They have a very distinctive call. Trichomonosis has wreaked havoc on the UK Greenfinch population, would love to see them in Bristol again - males in breeding colours are quite a stunning green.

The AC electric group have preserved examples of classes 81/82/83 and 85 and are custodians of 89001. All are in a similar state of run capability of 89001, thus the earlier AC electrics have been around considerably longer. https://www.aclocogroup.co.uk/index.php/the-locomotives-summary although I don’t model overhead electrics, I have fond memories of the “first generation” AC electrics class 81-85 which excepting Bachmann’s excellent class 85 have not been given modern treatment for models. As a teenage spotter, was hauled multiple times by classes 81/82/83 and 85, and a day at Crewe would see multiple examples of these machines. I’d say they’d be great future projects for Accurascale, I bought an 85 for nostalgic reasons. Neil

And indeed they did in real life, 55003 was the first http://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/70s/751012br.html this was following dipped rail tests by 55001 and 55007 earlier in the year for high speed testing. I saw 55018 in Bristol (I think in 1978) plus there were I’m sure other occasions, including the now preserved 55022 which I saw around 10 years ago at Bristol Parkway. Neil

And a very fine evening it was too Phil, a return Bristol leg in the not too distant future, thanks for hosting us. D9010 even joined us at one point on the dining table as well as many other projects Phil has been working on, superb workmanship as always from Churchdown works. Red kites have been seen on the outskirts of Bristol too, yet to see one here though. Neil

Looking forward to this Patrick

Perhaps deserving it’s own thread - Moths are out - however my moth identification skills obviously inferior to British butterflies. A scarlet tiger moth (never heard of it before) taken on my regular dog walk earlier in the week.

According to the Kier Hardy gang the cab door hole needs to be 2mm x 2mm, but all photos I’ve looked at show a slight rectangular surround. Neil

Completed one side of D7026, fairly pleased with the result despite the weird lighting effect in the photo. Quick waft with primer so I could also judge the removal of the headboard clips too.

The Herring rake will be predominantly hauled by Hymeks, reflecting the late 1960s operations of Tytherington quarry where prototypical shots show this actually happened. I’m extending the 1967 closure of the route as if it never happened and operations continued through 1967 until the relaying and reopening in July 1972. I have a large Hymek fleet, but gradually working through them getting Shawplan upgrades, roof fans, removal of headboard clips etc to reflect the D7000-D7033 batch , new air horns etc. The Heljan model is an excellent starting point, but all lack the lower door handle modification which was applied to all locos from 1966, the exceptions being D7005, D7021, D7054 and D7060. This is quite a prominent feature, and hopefully the new Heljan tooling reflects this. My Hymek fleet will be initially all locos I actually saw in operation (relatively few in late 1974) plus about half the class in scrapyard condition. First up for such treatment in D7026 which I saw in action August 1974, when there were just a handful still in service D7011; D7017; D7018; D7022; D7026; D7028; D7029 and D7093. On discussion with my good friend Phil Bullock and others on here plus the evergreen site of excellence (Kier Hardy EM gauge 1970s) I think I’ve come up with a solution to model this modification, after purchasing multiple brass etches which were either too big or too small. Almost the exact size can be obtained by cutting out individual panes from the Ratio N-gauge domestic windows brass etch and introducing the central bar with 0.3mm plastruct rod. A trial run this morning with the etch, put in place to judge size and appearance. It’s not an exact match, but serves my purposes. Excuse the rough and ready shot, as it’s a work in progress. The prototype (From Reddit) the raw materials first attempt - since refined - brass trimmed and central bar glued in place after careful trimming. The other three will involve protecting the bodywork with masking tape- noting the sideswipe from an errant drill! A cruel close up photo- the real thing is tiny and fiddly to work with. Neil

I think I’ve come up with a solution to this. Having purchased several “trial” etches, most of which were too big or too small, this is the closest I’ve got to modelling the prototype. After studying multiple prototype photos I was quite surprised how large these handles were. I was also wary that on the preserved locos modifications to this design may have been made, but apparently not. Anyhow the solution I’m going to use is the Ratio N gauge domestic windows etch - it is enough for 10 Hymeks assuming no cock ups, plus 0.3mm plastic rod from plastruct for the central bar. I’ve done a trial this morning and this looks about right, maybe a tad too wide but excuse the rough and ready shot, still some brass trimming to be done and the hole in the door still needs enlarging (note to self use masking tape to protect the bodywork), and the etch needs more accurate locating. I’ve affixed the rod to the rear of the brass etch, and will cut a notch in the door to recess this part of the etch when fitting. edit - image added two fitted today and given a waft of primer Final shot is the prototype structure on D7018 at Temple Meads, there are much better resolution shots of preserved examples but not my copyright. Neil

Running trials with the Herring rake - all looking good except some wheels a little “stiff” and not as free running as I would like. Some wheelsets May need to come out for a clean of the bearings as I suspect weathering grot has leached into them. Some maybe due to the brake gear being too close and file at the ready. First extensive use of instanters, very pleased with the close coupling and more prototypical appearance and do appear to be behaving over pointwork. The big test yet to come, a run up the helix.

A bit addicted to these Herring things, decided to go for a full rake of 20 by adding another two, and to break up the monopoly of the black liveried wagons, added two in gulf red, but yet to receive decals and weathering. Whilst the phoenix gulf red tinlet was out I completed it by respraying two mainline light blue Sharks which I’d picked up a few years ago for £13 each. All are awaiting slight tweaks with a fine brush (amazing what is picked up in photos), weathering, gloss varnish - decals - Matt varnish, followed by ballast loads. it’s a shame Hornby haven’t rereleased their mighty fine Sharks or Trout hoppers. The early BR black and engineers olive liveries are now hard to come by, and gulf red was never done as far as I know. The ballast fleet are now approaching completion and attention now to more routine wagons. Neil

Hmm would be very good news too if that was to happen, not a difficult route modelling wise to build a 3H centre car for the 205 or for that matter 4-EPBs. Excellent news again from Accurascale, too far a stretch for my 1970s WR interests, but then again I do remember them rumbling into Kings cross looking decidedly ropey. I need the cash for my Siphon G rake as well. Neil

What size brass rectangular tube did you use Phil?

Indeed as quoted in modern locomotives illustrated no 212 only 4 Hymeks were not so treated D7002/21/54 and D7060 mod MB 400/95 which started in 1966. Edit: all four of which never made it to blue. The bulk of my Hymek fleet will need modifying, not a trivial task. Neil