Graham R

Perth MRC show this weekend saw the 2mmSA Further North roadshow being manned by the Scottish Further South group (aka the Forth and Clyde group: although the Grampian group did put in an appearance). Jim and Alisdair were spreading the gospel: Alistair made sure there was no slacking in quiet periods: Jim's tools, snapped while he was off for lunch: he had been making one of his own Buchanan Kits etches, for a Caley seven-ton open, seen top right. Of note: X-acto chunky aluminium handle and curved blade, for separating parts from the etch frame. The modern X-acto handles are made in plastic and nothing like as nice. Jim inherited his from his father! Handy folding LED lamp, five quid from Squires a couple of shows ago. Industrial sewing machine needle, donated by Jim Boulton many moons back, used to push out half-etched bolt detail in the etches. Zinc sheet, brass pad, and plywood panel to provide different cutting surfaces. 188 solder paint. Martin Stewart was showing his 2mm skills on the Scottish Modellers stand and had a nice set of ScotRail coaches and a Class 68, depicting the Fife Circle loco-hauled set which performs two peak-hour turns a day and is due to be retired at the end of 2018. Catch it while you can! Martin had applied the vinyls to the coach shells when demo'ing the previous day. He had also produced some nice-looking turnouts, part of his next project, to be based on the contemporary scene at Edinburgh's Haymarket station. FineTrax jigs are in evidence. Martin wrote up his techniques recently in the DEMU magazine UPdate, issue 86 - a nice article which is well worth a look. The show had to compete with decent weather outside which kept attendance light on Sunday. Still, we saw many old friends and made some new ones. Perth is always a good show and retained its reputation as Scotland's friendliest exhibition. Thanks for having us Stan! [Edit to fix class 67 68 ... well it's a class something or other ... where's Steve Harold when you need him ... ]

The two Scottish 2mmSA area groups joined forces to run a Supermeet in Perth today. We were delighted to see several new faces from Scotland, as well as several visitors from south of the border. Several new layouts were on display: here's a small sample, there are more shots in the Forth and Clyde Area Group's blog. Jim Watt's Kirkallanmuir: John Galbraith's Glen Ammen: David Long's Ashton Fold: regards Graham Roberts [edited to correct links]

A bit more of the signalbox is visible in this post

Plus, it's Yousaf, not Yousef. How would you define "suburban" ? Plenty central belt services now start in the Glasgow suburbs and end in the Edinburgh area; they don't just link main terminals.

[Edited to correct a trigger-happy premature post] Model Rail Scotland this weekend saw the first outing north of the border for Mick Simpson's new mini layout Callaton: Hmmm, a scenic break formed of an old mineral railway crossing the scene via a couple of plate girder bridges. A bit like the Forth and Clyde area group's arrangement on Sauchenford ! but Mick has made a tidier job of the abandoned trackbed, with static grass and a carefully-blended backscene. The FCAG will have to respond ... The layout is in the very early stages of scenic treatment. Mick showed no outward signs of stress (does he ever?), but a source who asked to remain nameless confirmed that the last fortnight saw quite a few late shifts chez Simpson, up to 3 a.m. in some cases. It was worth it, because all worked beautifully. The sector plate at one end. and fiddle tracks (normally hidden by a cover) at the other: Martin Stewart was showing his latest modular fiddle yard concept on the Scottish Modellers stand - a re-usable yard which will work with a number of scenic modules, using some or all of the fiddle tracks at the scenic break: When the full layout is not in use, the curved end sections can form a test track: The 2mmSA Further North Roadshow was in action, its suitcase now on its very last legs and in sore need of replacement. Here, Alisdair (a faithful follower of the Highland Railway) does his best to preach finescale to a young modeller who was quite convinced that the West Highland Railway was the only prototype worth modelling. The HR may have had Skye Bogies, but the WHR has Harry Potter and Glenfinnan Viaduct. It looked to me like Alisdair was losing the argument ! At least we had a decent amount of space this year - thanks AMRSS - and as a result were able to field several demos at once, such as etched kit building, styrene structure modelling, and DG coupling mounting. We signed up a couple of new members and sold out of wagon taster packs. All in all a rewarding weekend.

A friend of mine knowledgeable about both signalling and the water industry thinks that the sequence is of the Pass of Brander - he tells me "the ‘industrial structure’ is the Awe Barrage (the dam/gates that control level of Loch Awe) and the structure to right is a trash rake for removing debris in front of drum gates". So, weel spotted souwest! As to why a snippet of C&O was sneaked into a film about the West Highland, who knows ... maybe Rule 1 was applied :-)

I own a VHS copy of that video which I have transferred to hard disk, so was able to take some screenshots which may help. The sequence shows 62496 "Glen Loy" and 62471 "Glen Falloch" heading an excursion back to Glasgow. Here it is as a clip on youtube, but it's easier to see the detail in the screenshots below: The signal post is clearly not at a platform or halt; there is a telephone at the base of the post. Just past the signal location there is some kind of industrial installation or depot below rail level which might help identify the location. Quite a mystery! It does look awfy like the Pass of Brander though ... regards Graham

Nice to see Martin Stewart flying the 2mm flag with "Ketton Cement" at Falkirk show this weekend: Martin is able to operate the layout single handedly from the front by lurking at one side where he can keep an eye that all is well in the fiddle yard while chatting to the punters. All seemed to be working very smoothly! Graham

Worth noting it's open on Sunday afternoon until 5. I popped in yesterday to get some solvent. They have an excellent range of plastic modelling stuff - fillers, cements, tools and so on.

20111 on a trip freight at Kirkcaldy in May 1979 ... I think probably clearing traffic from the Leven branch (Methil Docks and Cameron Bridge distillery).

Assuming you mean WW by "standard" ... Sherline do WW collets including these sizes at 18 dollars a pop ... according to a table in "The Watchmaker's and Model Engineer's Lathe" (de Carle) WW are identical dimensions as Boley 8mm collets and 2mm shorter overall, 7 thou smaller thread OD, than IME 8mm collets. Sherline collets are not hardened. regards Graham Edit - I meant to add, Sherline collets are available in the UK from Millhill Supplies at £17.30. I have never ordered from Millhill but am happy with my Sherline kit bought direct from the factory about 15 years ago.

It's on the Aberdeen side of the station, trailing in just after the single line expands to double before the platforms. Visible fairly clearly on Bing maps satellite image here. (Google maps is not so clear). There are one or two photos in the Great North of Scotland Railway Association gallery, here (search for "Insch"). The GNSRA also publishes a CD of pdf drawings of every signalling diagram on the network, including Insch in 1936 (although that does not give you the full track plan of the yard etc.; as John suggested the NLS web site is the best place for that: the 1900 survey here shows the layout as he describes it. Zoom in to see the detail). regards Graham

Not exactly a 2mm layout, but the 2mmSA "Further North" roadshow was at Perth MRC's exhibition today, manned by the Forth and Clyde area group: Jim, Alisdair, Simon and Nigel do their best to convert an unbeliever, who has been forced to stand, the better to repent of his coarse-scale ways. Jim was busy making up one of his own wagon kits - his technique is to apply a spot of Carr's 188 solder cream with a cocktail stick, no flux, and a quick dab from a temperature-controlled iron set to 300C with a large bit with a fine tip. This gets the heat in quickly and so can be removed before other joints start to loosen. Simon had brought along some work in progress: a horse lorry and a brake van, both from Jim's etches. There was no 2mm finescale layout at the show, but there was a very nice finescale N layout using Finetrax, Eric Farragher's "Clifton and Lowther", which is probably better known Dahn Sarf but was new to me. There are pictures elsewhere on RMWeb. Just as impressive as the finsecale track was the scale speeds and accurate composition of trains. I spent quite a while just gazing at it, helped by the seemingly endless variety of trains from its million-track fiddle yard. Graham Edit: I almost forgot: for Scottish and North Eastern region modellers, it was also interesting to see the engineering sample mouldings of DJ Models' Clayton (Class 17). The mouldings arrived on Thursday and Dave Jones bought a Halford's rattle can of grey primer and painted them in the sunshine on Arbroath's KIngs Drive promenade (oh, alright ... the road out to the cliffs ...) yesterday evening. The bogie gear towers are not ready yet but the body, framing, and bogie sides are. For the purposes of the exhibition Dave placed one body and frame on Hymek bogies; the frame mouldings in front are those for the Clayton however. The body looks very nice and has the tablet changer recesses in the cab as a good Scottish Clayton should: I gather these are expected to be ready in about three weeks, at about £115 for a single powered unit, and £150 for a 2-pack of one powered, one unpowered. They should be very straightforward to finescale: the bogies are the same design as Dapol models like the 26 and 27 (pinpoint axles running in phosphor-bronze current collector cups, so the wheelsets just pop out, and can be sent off to the 2mmSA reprofiling service then popped back in). Although the models will come with two grooved wheelsets on the inner end of each bogie, fitted with traction tyres, Dave is including two spare wheelsets with each loco to facilitate finescaling. With the right bogies and a finescale coupling, these locos should look very convincing.

There was a section signal (lever 9) 236 yards from the signalbox towards Morar, shortly before where the fish sidings used to be (the platform starters were 128 yards the other side of the box). I don't remember from visits there in the 1970s whether the platform starters were cleared for movements out of the platform up to the section signal, but I would be surprised if not. It was not uncommon to have two or three locomotives at Mallaig and other sidings were all signal protected where they joined the main line (except the fish van sidings which required the section tablet to unlock the ground frame). There is no shunt limit board beyond the section signal on signalbox diagram copies I've seen. I had a quick look for photos and found one of D6116 on 19 September 1967 in the process of drawing out the observation car from the rear of a train which had arrived in No 1 platform (the main one which ran on to the harbour sidings), prior to turning on the turntable and re-attachment to the rear of the train for the journey back to Fort William. The loco is accelerating out of the platform and the starter (lever 15) is cleared for the movement. regards Graham

Jim Summers makes reference to the characteristic Caledonian Railway facing point lock arrangements in his book "Signalling the Caledonian Railway": "[The Caledonian] commonly adopted a design by its own John Steven, the Signal Superintendent, which involved two levers. These 'Steven detectors' were fitted to facing points, if facing moves in both the normal and reverse directions could be signalled over them, and used individual levers to lock the points for the normal or reverse positions. Each operated its own lock plunger, working in conjunction with a stretcher bar between the toes of the points, which was common to both, as was the lock bar. At the same time it proved (detected) which way the points lay". Steven is not the same as the contractors Stevens & Sons whose equipment the Caley also used widely! If I understand Jim's argument correctly, this meant that the Caley did not provide detectors in signalling wire runs to prove that points lay correctly for the relevant signal to be cleared at a point facing passenger traffic over both routes, but relied on the individual point locks and the interlocking in the box. That would have been more prone to wrong-side failure due to broken point rodding, which was perhaps why the LMS and BR seem to have replaced these double-lever locks with conventional single levers. (This last sentence is a bit speculative and I would be happy to be shot down by anyone more expert in these matters). Jim's book also reproduces a diagram of the from Raynar Wilson's "Mechanical Railway Signalling" showing how the two levers and locks operated a single locking bar, and finally he shows a diagram from Balquihidder East with two points toe-to-toe, facing in both directions, and a photograph of these points which makes it clear that the double locks used a single bar: only two locking bars in the photo but four drawn on the diagram allowing the operating levers to be clearly numbered. regards Graham [Edited correcting typo]

I think there have been plenty photos in magazines and books. A couple of the landscape-format Ian Allan albums for example have several shots: "The heyday of the Scottish diesels" has D5341 in summer 1969 with 1xCCT, 3x indeterminate livery bogie vans, 1x blue/grey coach, 1x maroon coach; D5336 in April 1968 with 1x blue CCT, 4x maroons, 1x blue/grey: "On Highlnd Lines" has D5130 on 21 may 1970 with 1x blue CCT, 2x maroons, 1x blue/grey, 1x maroon, 1x blue/grey. These are just what I have at arm's length, I'm sure there are plenty more examples. Graham

Here are some pics from yesterday's 2mmSA North East Area Group 35th anniversary celebration: Martin Stewart's Ketton Cement: Mark Fielder's An Clar ... I have done a poor job with the colour balance, so apologies in advance: Mark also has his Pizza on show: Henk Oversloot had Splitveld Fabriek, which was a real pleasure to look at but in a dim part of the hall, so that my shots didn't work out too well. They don't show off the layout's subtle changes of level to best effect, nor some of the beautiful trackwork. The German-built G81 in this shot was a superb performer, with all the smooth inertia of a heavy goods loco thanks to the frames milled from solid brass and the Faulhaber motor, 16mm brass flywheel in the tender (well I think Henk said it was 16mm, can that be correct?), 60:1 gears, and Intellibox Fremo DCC control. No Fingerpoken mit Kursenschweren here, the loco responded to the controller every time. The Walschaerts gear is made from steel packing bands, filed to shape in matching pairs for each side. Pin joints are made from nylon fishing line: heated one side to form a mushroom, trimmed, inserted into the holes, then heated the other side to form another rivet head and trimmed. This model really moved like a steam locomotive. Henk has described how he built this locomotive here. The metre-gauge line sneaking in from one side is modelled using Association code 30 rail. All the track on the layout was immaculate. Andrew Gibson had Swinton, which has sprouted an extension with a superb F20 turnout which must be the longest model point I've ever seen in 2mm. Stupidly, I didn't try to take a photo of it until my camera's battery was on its last legs, and it promptly gave up the ghost. Maybe someone else will post one. But the diesels sitting at the platform had sound at just the right background level. Edward Sissling had brought along the support structure for Ripleyville Goods, made from Combitech extruded aluminium sections: It all packs flat for transport and is nice and light. It's full of little clever touches, as with all Edward's projects: here are the LED lighting bars, designed for Ikea shelves, with two colours of diffusers. Edward will add a third, multicoloured set so he can program in different lighting moods. Rod McCall's Teeshead was shown partially complete. This is another one I failed to do justice to with my rather dark photo. I hope it gives an impression at least of its wide, airy feel. The Kent and East Sussex group had Lighterman's Yard which had me spellbound, reminding me strongly of my days commuting from New Cross Gate into London Bridge in the mid-1980s. So much so that I ended up taking most of my photos of the houses, rather than the trains! Maybe someone else can redress that balance. Words are superfluous, but there were admiring spectators in front of it all day. Finally here's, for me at any rate, the best layout of the day ... and this lot got replenished with a second round of plates. It tasted as good as it looks. Thanks to Mick and the NEAG - and their ladies - for your usual spendid hospitality. Here's to your 40th anniversary show! Graham (Edited to add link to Henk's FS160 site)

There is a description of a McLane Tipper here, at the top of page 45: it's described as "a machine with two pans which, when reaching a set position, rotated and emptied the pans". So maybe the vehicle on the inclined plane is in fact the McLane Tipper. Should make a very interesting model! Graham Edit: sorry, I should get a prize for stating the bleedin' obvious ... since your photo's caption makes it clear that's what it's of ... the McLane tipper description refers to a frame at the summit where the tipper pans turned. I have another of the Stenlake books Jim refers to which has a good photo of a hutch being tipped at the top of a bing in Fife. The track simply ends at a baulk of wood, with the hutch being tipped up onto its end to be emptied by a man with a shovel. Another photo in that book has a view of a bing at a larger pit, where the track at the top of the bing seems to have an A-frame above it and to continue some way into space, possibly for a pulley to return the haulage rope. Unfortunately it is too distant to see clearly and the photo screen is fairly coarse so it doesn't enlarge well. A reference library in a mining area (such as the Mitchell in Glasgow) might have catalogues or yearbooks with contemporary advertising for the McLane tipper.

Jim Watt has done some strapping etches in his Buchanan Kits range to convert Association plastic 1887 RCH mineral kits to the Scottish "cupboard door" variants. Probably too specific for your needs, but it shows what's possible. Graham

The RCTS green bible 9A states that 69510 was sub-sheded at St Boswells on pilot duties when it was allocated to Hawick. It also mentions an N2 (2590, later replaced by 2594) was allocated to St Boswells from January 1928 for three years, to work trains on the Berwickshire line; another N2 (4739) was at Duns in 1929 for the same reason, although later moved to work the same duty from Heaton. A third N2, 4729, was stationed at Hawick from November 1935. So they weren't exactly unknown there.

There is a 1905 architectural plan at 1:48 scale (RHP 16725) listed in the National Archives of Scotland ... it's already been digitised so should be straightforward to get a copy. Contact the NAS via their enquiry form explaining that you cannot easily travel to Edinburgh and asking for confirmation that RHP 16725 includes elevations as well as just the building plan, and for a price for a digital copy. Or maybe someone else on RMWeb already has one. cheers Graham

A couple of nice shots of the Nairns Duff traffic at Sinclairtown in 1977, which is about the earliest I have clear memories of (but from infrequent visits to Kirkcaldy): http://topticl.zenfolio.com/p175454229/h872bd52d#h872bd52d http://topticl.zenfolio.com/p175454229/h872bd535#h872bd535 Edit: and another one of a 26 on grain (Cameron Bridge?) and oil (Leuchars air base?) traffic: http://topticl.zenfolio.com/p175454229/h872bd514#h872bd514 If you are interested in the Edinburgh area in the 1970s and want to lose an evening, have a look at the rest of the recently posted images (note: commercial site - no connection with seller)

What you say sounds logical Jerry. I wasn't a group member when the track was laid, but I doubt if it was done carelessly. One way or another it seems to have become slightly dished and we have convinced ourselves the balsa was part of the problem. Perhaps we are doing it an injustice, or perhaps we used a softer grade of balsa than was wise. Or perhaps I am simply wittering ... so I'll stop now :-)

I'm interested that balsa is used as trackbase on Tucking Mill. We used it on the Forth and Clyde area group's "Sauchenford" and regretted it, as any accidental heavy pressure can squash the balsa and destroy the level surface, causing infuriating short patches of poor running. Maybe we are just cack-handed, but we would steer clear of balsa next time.

That slow running looks superb. Thanks for posting it. Graham.