Steven B

Looking good. I'm glad I'm not the only one to have problems with tranfer carried film. You might be able to get away with just overcoating them with Klear. Transfers sit best on a gloss finish - the carrier film shows up less. If you've got spares, I'd be tempted to remove the new numbers. Apply some Klear to the area and leave to dry. Reapply the numbers and leave to dry (over night). You can then coat over with matt/satin varnish to seal them before weathering. Where did you get the buffers from? I'm converting the coal sector class 37 to Petroleum sector 37 273 which had oval buffers rather than the round ones the model has. Happy modelling. Steven B.

What construction have you used for the lighting rig for the layout? Compared to many others there are very few supports compared to the length of the layout. Happy modelling. Steven B.

This week three of the boards have moved house to allow more work to be done on the electrics. Last time the main track feeds had been fitted. Over the last couple of evenings we've tidied up this work by using self-adesive cable-tie bases and cable-ties. Hopefully this will mean that we don't snag wires as we're moving the boards around. We've also mounted a covered distribution box in each corner. These will act as junction boxes between the cables that link the boards together and the track feeds on the boards themselves. One board is now complete appart from the connections to the neighbouring boards and a couple more evenings should have the remaining four boards up to the same standards. Hopefully the 20' scenic portion of the layout will have trains running the full length of it at the next N Gauge Society Yorkshire Area Group meeting in just over a week's time. The baseboards for the fiddle yard are now almost complete so the track laying gang will be in action again before too long. Hopefully in the next couple of months we'll have a complete loop of track. Happy modelling. Steven B.

Actors have the Oscars; Musicians have the Brits & Grammy; What do railway modellers have? How do you know when you've made it as a railway modeller? Personally I see it as being responsible for the main picture on the cover or Railway Modeller (or perhaps being the inspiration for a Railway of the Month). Happy modelling. Steven B.

Highclere's far from mediocre from the photos I've seen of it. Looking forward to catching it at a show before too long. Happy modelling. Steven B.

Never mind different liveries. What about different mechanical layouts? Maybe a Pacer running as an articulated unit on three bogies? Happy modelling. Steven B.

I really liked Sprinters when they first arrived. They were clean and modern, not like the old locos & coaches that were old and tatty round the edges. I was only 8 or 9 at the time though! People model an era because it's what they find fasinating. It might bring back certain memories or they have an interest in a particular time and place. I model mid-late 1980s - I get the tired old Peaks which I've come to appreciate and the shinny new Sprinters which helped get me interested in railways. Some are obsessed by picturesque GWR branchlines. As a lover of urban grot I can't think of anything more dull - a tatty looking loco struggling to haul a train up an industrial South Wales valley is much more appealing. Fortunatly we all like different things otherwise life (and railway modelling) would be rather dull. Happy modelling. Steven B.

But that's the whole point. Seeing locos less than ten years old looking uncared for and as though they're about to fall appart is sad, but to me at least it makes them much more interesting as a result. It's an interesting period of railway history if you can get over the trauma of loosing well loved locomotives. The two need separating. Just because something might be thought of as being bad doesn't make it any less interesting - just look at history where death and destruction are studied much more than the nicer time. Happy modelling. Steven B.

I disagree. Seeing locos looking long past their best is far more fascinating than seeing one train after another being haulled by very similar looking locos all painted in the same colours. Many people grumble about the lack of variety with todays railways but to a certain extent the GWR were for-runners of it. Due to using common parts many of the locos looked very similar to each other and they were all painted in the same basic colour - green with copper bits fitted to the top. Towards the end of the 60s you had the last days of steam - all looking sad I agree but much more interesting and challenging to model as a result. There's still a few of the early diesels hanging on whilst the more successful designs were running along side the newer class 47 and 50s. Much of the steam era way of operating was still going strong. Sounds like the best of both worlds to me! Happy modelling. Steven B.

I don't think I've ever seen the mid-late 1960s modelled. As you say, very interesting period. Plenty of variety in stock and trains. Working methods were very much steam era based. Doing a decent job of weathering the steam locos would prove very challenging though. Happy modelling. Steven B.

Don't forget to put Compo, Clegg and Foggy on the towpath of the canal. Many scenes from Last of the Summer Wine were filmed near Standedge and Marsden. One episode recently repeated on Yesterday showed 47 475 in Regional Railways heading towards Leeds with 8 Mk1s in tow. Happy modelling. Steven B.

What about cream as the base colour? If it was good enough for the Southern Railway... Happy modelling. Steven B.

Why remove the point springs for wire in tube operation? Happy modelling. Steven B.

What spares would you want? Replacement buffers and windscreen wipers are available from the likes of TPM. If you're talking about needing spares to repair mechanical faults then try contacting Dapol (or your local model shop). Dapol Dave swapped the chassis on my 26 with a working one and has done the same on a friends 9F. Neither model has had a problem since. Happy modelling. Steven B.

Do the Dapol couplings (which I don't have yet) work with the Microtrains magnet (which I do have)? Happy modelling. Steven B.

What scale are they?

Lots of variety in locos & trains (and plenty of pre-nationalisation stock still around). A lot of steam era operating methods were still around yet there was the excitment of new air-braked wagons, mk2s and even the HST. Happy modelling. Steven B.

The minimum radius for the full sized class 52 is 91m (4.5 chains) - this will be at dead slow running speeds. By my reckoning this is about 4 feet in OO. If you want your loco to run on something less than this then there will be compromises with wheel size, ride heights & brake details. Happy modelling. Steven B.

The Parkwood Warflat in N is for the WW2 version. If you want the 1970s version you either need to find an Ian Stoate Models "kit" or scratch build. The resin ISM use isn't the best for staying straight though. Appart from the jacks at the end it's not a difficult scratch building job. I'm still hunting for suitable transfers though. Happy modelling. Steven B.

The disks on the class 24 aren't etches so I'd be suprised if the ones on the class 20 are (but would love to be proved wrong). There's always the TPM ones of course. Happy modelling. Steven B.

As with many things in life you pay your money and you make your choice. The Bachmann website gives £89.95 for the RRP of the Farish Western. I'd say the extra fiver is well worth it if only for the lights and the DCC socket. There will always be people who want three older style models than two newer style ones. Personally I'd rather have fewer trains of higher quality than lots of trains that don't quite look right. Fortunatly there will be plenty of second hand locos for those who'd rather have the new models. Happy modelling. Steven B.

If it's anything like the class 153 then it's not easy but it is possible: From memory, remove the roof. Undo the screws that hold the PCB in place. Carefully lever out the windows and seating (cast metal on the power car, plastic on the dummy). You'll also need to remove the lighting blocks from the cab end - there's a peice of plastic that clips them in place. Be carefull with these - it's very easy to snap the short lengths of optic-fibre as they stick in the holes in the body shell. The body is a very tight clip fit onto the chassis - there are two are three spaces that help maintain the fit of the body along its long length that are a pain and might get broken. With the clips removed the body lifts off from the chassis - watch out for the wiring to the DCC socket. Rebuilding it is done in the reverse order. It's not for the faint hearted (potentially expensive!). Having stripped two class 153s for conversion to a class 155 it's not something I'd like to do again any time soon. Happy modelling. Steven B.

Aren't the plough shields on the same etch as the hand-wheels? (or have you just not got round to fitting them?) Happy modelling. Steven B

Nice work. I don't think it needs any toning down at all.

You could bend reality if you want a bit more traffic. The Cadbury plant at Leominster was/is served by road from Bournville. Given the location of both plants it wouldn't be unreasonable for trains to reverse at Hereford after travelling via Worcester. There were plenty of through trains at Hereford too - steel trains were regular occurrences with a wide range of wagons in use. The Railfrieght Today DVDs might have a few more pointers for you. Happy modelling. Steven B.