SRman

Just ordered 5 pairs earlier today of the RT Models website. That should cover me for a while, although I own more Hornby Bulleids than that (five MNs, two unmodified WCs and three rebuilt WC/BoBs ... so far!).

Those front steps could be very useful to me as I have quite few Hornby Bulleids in all of the forms they have produced so far, and several of the front steps have gone AWOL over time. On the rebuilt WC/BoBs I have also managed to damage the rear pipe work. In fitting DCC decoders, I got the bodies off with no damage but lost bits when refitting the bodies on two of them - I was being ever so careful but still lost out (with much swearing in the process, too!). Is there any possibility of that being done in brass or copper? Is there any demand or am I the only clumsy so and so here?

I must say, there is rather a lot to be jealous of on this layout! Getting better and better all the time, Rick. Keep up the good work.

At long last, I'll have some more Underground trains to run on DCC. Spent several hours this afternoon soldering a TCS T1 decoder into my Harrow Models F stock driving motor coach, after receiving a second Black Beetle motor and fitting that with a home made plasticard adaptor arrangement. As I have already proved with the CO/CP stock, one decoder is perfectly able to cope with two Black Beetles. The operation took rather longer than I thought it would but it works perfectly on test. Simultaneously, I have been building and painting an F stock single-ended driving motor (unpowered) and I still have to build two (or three) centre trailers to make a four car (or later, a five car) unit. I am also going to do the same thing with the Q23 driving motor coach, likewise now with two Black Beetle motor bogies. The wiring will be less symmetrical in this one as I intend to hide the decoder in the end non-driving (guard's?) compartment. I have had this one running around on DC with its four other coaches (another Q23, a Q27, a Q31 and a Q38, to make a five car train) quite happily now for an hour or so. Will tackle the decoder fitting this evening. While all bar the original double-ended F stock motor are not yet glazed it is an encouraging development for me. With storage or running space for five LT trains, I can now (or, at least, after this evening!) muster four full and one half LT trains on DCC: the five car Q stock, five car CO/CP stock (with a sixth trailer still in its box), two out of four or five cars of F stock, and two LT pannier tanks with assorted wagons. Still to be converted to DCC are two motorised tube trains of 1938 stock (EFE). Still to be built are an A60 stock train of four cars, 2 x C69 trains of four cars (Little Bus Company and Fleetmaster kits), while still to be motorised is a four car 1959/62 tube train (EFE). Not all of these will fit on the layout at once but I am happy to be able to have a full roster on the LT lines whenever I want to now. However, until I get the high level tracks running, the LT lines will continue to host my main line stock as well. Photos showing the results so far: First two show one of two the Q23 motor driving coaches I have - this one is unpowered and the other has the two Black Beetles on board - and the 1938 CO/CP stock. The lack of glazing shows up badly here! These next two pics show all three passenger EMUs, Q stock at left with Q27 driving motor (unpowered) leading, Q27 trailer car next, then the powered Q23, followed by Q38 trailer and unpowered Q23 DM. The numbers refer to the nominal year the coaches were built. To the right, in the platform, are the two coaches of 1920 F stock, and on the right of the platform is are the two trains of 1938 CO/CP stock running in multiple to make a five car train.

... or play with the trains on the layout itself???

Thanks for the compliments, Peter, but the Kernow one does highlight the things that are wrong with my kit-build/conversion!! My lack of flush glazing on the sides sticks out, and the fuel tank area and lack of spoke wheels also seem rather obvious when they are side by side. Still, I am happy with what I have achieved ... just aware of shortcomings too.

They breed their men smaller in Cornwall!

As promised a few posts ago, here is my Dapol/Kernow weathered class 22, D6315, with my Silver Fox version in front. I have started weathering the Silver Fox one using the Kernow one as a guide.

Showing off the effect of the textured paint I purchased from Brunel Hobbies recently: this is the asphalt texture. It still needs a little more done to it to complete the platform surfaces but I quite like the effect. I intend to make a little skrawking tool to scrape some lines parallel to the platform edges, which will also facilitate painting the white edging (actually intended to be a light grey). While progress on the station has not been as quick as I would like, I am happy with the effects. The retaining walls are from International Models and will be cut to fit the locations properly - they are only propped there for effect at the moment. These shots also show off the latest arrival on my layout, a limited edition Dapol weathered class 22 from Kernow Models and my Silver Fox version on Bachmann class 20 chassis, which I have now started to weather to match the Kernow model.

My weathered D6315 has now arrived from Kernow Models and very nice it is too! I tested it briefly on DC then fitted a TCS 21-pin decoder and ran it in. It does have a little bit of gear whine, rather similar to ViTrains' classes 37 and 47 - not unpleasant but noisier than Hornby and Bachmann's similar mechs. I haven't tried it with any sort of load yet but I am absolutely convinced it will haul anything I choose to hang off the couplings! I note that the cab light at one end only comes on when function 1 is selected - a nice touch. I haven't fitted the headcodes yet so it looked a little odd with just the empty boxes illuminated and I will definitely paint over those horn apertures that seem to allow the light out. Encouraged by the weathering on the Dapol/Kernow item, I decided to start weathering my Silver Fox one as well with results, so far, that I am quite happy with, although not quite up to the professional standards of the Dapol one. I'll post a pic or two in the next day or so. One other thing though: I am more and more convinced the Silver Fox one looks more like the earlier converted locos rather than the later ones built from new with the headcode boxes, although it does have only two-piece centre doors on the front. I numbered it D6356 believing it to be one of the later ones so do I now renumber it or do I leave all my paintwork unscathed and leave well enough alone? EDIT: Function 2 operates the opposite end cab light.

Ahhh! Tim Hale, I had forgotten the St Petersburg models. Excellent quality and a good variety of types and eras, albeit, at a price. Definitely worth a look, though.

The 'hinged' effect on your valances looks very effective, Trevor. I was pondering doing something similar to my Kernow weathered 22 when it arrives; now you have shown what to do that makes it all the easier to do.

Adding slightly to my earlier post, I do recall seeing a couple of 1:43 scale resin kits although they were of more modern types. One was for a Marshall bodied Dennis Dart. They crop up occasionally on eBay.

There have not been many 1:43 scale buses available, either ready to run or in kit form. I do have a German Mercedes coach (probably 1980s) which is 1:43 scale but it was a dealer special so came in an unbranded box. I'll have alook at it to see if I can locate a manufacturer name - this could give a few leads to other models in your scale. You could consider a bit of perspective modelling - use a 1:50 scale bus towards the rear of your layout. Make sure no larger scale items are directly beside it.

This is great! Wonderful work there, Davy. It is also very good of you to share it with everyone. One small suggestion: if you can acquire any Bachmann SO coach you could try swapping the interior into the TSO of your CEP. I'm not sure if it will fit straight in or may need some modifications because of the electrics inside the CEP, but it should be reasonably easy.

Just buy 16 and pretend one has already gone for scrap!

Hornby did a 'tie-up' deal with Oxford Diecast before taking over the Corgi ranges (including the Trackside range). What this means is that Hornby and Oxford Diecast can release the same models but with livery variations. The R-B face shovel in the Hornby catalogue is in green with large 'SR' markings in white. I had a feeling I saw an advertisement for Oxford in one of the magazines that showed the SR one as well as GWR and LNER variants (and LMS too??). EDIT: Autocoach was correct and these are from Corgi's Track side range. The ad I saw was in February Hornby magazine and the green crane was plain green but the others were in GWR and LNER liveries, while the Hornby catalogue shows the same three PLUS the SR darker green face shovel. Apologies for any misinformation or disinformation in my earlier post.

Oxford also have a Ruston Bucyrus face shovel or dragline (or some variant of the crane) showing for release in 2012 in SR green livery - I don't know how accurate this is but it looks nice! EDIT: The SR face shovel appears in the 2012 Hornby catalogue - not sure if this is in addition to a standard Oxford release or exclusive to Hornby. Either way, it still looks nice!!

I can't believe I missed this topic! Another member of the Blackburn South thread hijacking team here! So I'm another one in Melbourne, Victoria.

Back to the old Hornby Dublo signal box I started playing with a week ago: I have now glazed it. I found some printed glazing from Downes Glaze (I think) which had some windows well suited to the apertures on the ground floor locking room. The upper floor windows are done with plain glazing, to which I will add some microstrip bars in the next installment for this item. The first two pics show the railway side of the cabin while the other two are of the side that normally faces away from the trains. There are still a few spots that need the paint retouched (particularly the staircases and landings, also the door architraves). After the glazing has been properly completed, I will need to make up an interior which can be inserted from below, together with a track diagram to be pasted to the interior wall.

The Vollmer brick sheets have now arrived and I have completed the brick facings for each side of the platform, allowing me to continue with the platform surfaces properly. I decided to change to 40 thou plasticard for extra rigidity and neater joints so cut the new surfaces using the old card ones as templates. There may still be a little filing and trimming to do but I haven't tested yet with the widest and longest stock. I have also now reused the old surface card, cut into strips, as extra cross-bracing. It was all fairly crudely cut to interlock, then glued into place. And finally, the plasticard surface roughly painted (first coat only), but not glued down pending further clearance tests. Next stage: glue the surfaces down then add strips of the brick (two bricks high) as corbels under the edges of the platform overhangs. These will also hide any gaps, with luck!

I have no further work on the platforms to report at this stage but, while awaiting the arrival of the Vollmer brick sheets, I have not been entirely idle. I have decided to compromise a little further and reduce the radius of the siding curves to allow a little more length for train storage. The radius is still slightly over 2nd radius but less than 3rd - at its tightest it equals 2nd radius. While it looks a little tight for the 4CEP unit in the pics, it actually suits the shorter LT stock somewhat better. There is now room for a six car LT unit with room to spare. The second photo shows the new position for the buffer stop. I haven't fully tidied up yet - the track pins are not yet hammered fully down to allow me to adjust the alignment more easily if needed and there are still a few track pins floating loose beside the track. Buildings have been rearranged but this is still definitely not the final arrangement, even allowing for the fact that the whole lot will be on a rising slope towards the rear. I have slightly modified and repainted my Hornby Dublo signal box, inspired by a picture on Radley Models' site (http://www.radleymod...rack_side_items). Mine still requires glazing and some sort of interior. The pics show both sides of it. I have added a little Slaters brick plasticard to blank off some of the windows on the back of the cabin, just as Phil Radley has done for his model. I wasn't sure what colour to paint the doors; I chose a light blue for two of them and red for one that I thought might be entry to a restricted area.

Further progress with the third and fourth rail laying tests: I laid a second stretch of third and fourth rail on the adjacent track but this time used a template for the positioning of the centre rail made from a piece of scrap brass. It sits between the running rails on plain track with the edge aligned with the edge of the selected sleeper. I then dril lthe hole through the hole in the brass. The 'bent up bit' is a crude handle. I should add that I cannot use this with the track power on! The track on the right was laid using the template. That on the left has also had further work done to lower it slightly. This was achieved by simply drilling out the top part of the mounting hole to a size that matched the diameter of the third rail pot. The rails are still not quite level with each other but I am not far off achieving what I want, now. At this stage, everything is still just a firm push-fit. When I am satisfied I will glue it all down - after ballasting.

Hi Doug. I had to do just that with the couple of the ScaleFour end ramps I experimentally placed after taking the pics. It is a useful tip.

The Platforms are still on temporary hold, pending the arrival of more of the Vollmer brick sheets. However, I have now got hold of my code 60 rail for the third and fourth rails, courtesy of Brunel Models in Cheltenham (Melbourne). For the platforms, I have now decided to go for the plasticard top surfaces for more rigidity, so I bought some Evergreen 40 thou plasticard for the purpose. The centre section of the platform will have paving slabs, under the buildings and canopies but the rest will have a different texture. While in Brunel Models, I saw some textured spray paints that would give an effective bituminous finish to the platforms (or roads), which i may experiment with in the near future. I have laid a short test section of third and fourth rail using the Peco third rail chairs (pots). From this, I know I will have to countersink the bases of the pots slightly as the rails are slightly higher than the running rails. While this is correct for the prototype, I want to have them all level to ease track cleaning. For this section, I haven't glued anything down, nor have I created any end ramps. I have some ScaleFour castings for the end ramps and will be using those for the LT lines but I will only bend the ends of the third rail sections down slightly for the main lines to give a different appearance to the two sets of lines. I made a template out of card to drill the holes in the centre of each of the relevant sleepers. This worked well but is not very durable so, having proved the concept, I'll make a better one out of some brass strip. I already have a sore finger from sliding 44 of the pots on to the rails; I'm not sure how I'll cope with doing this for another 80ft of track (the code 60 rail comes in 2ft lengths and I have only done two of them here!!). Also in the pics, you can see my latest acquisition, the Bachmann Collectors' Club Network SouthEast liveried 2EPB unit.