Jon Fitness

Jeez, page 2 on my own followed threads pages! It's taken rather longer than I thought to get sorted in the new house but I'm back "on it" again at last. There's still a few things (including a large box of signal bits!) that have yet to surface but I'm getting there Here's the first Isle of Wight constructed signal, a rather stumpy BR(W) 3 doll bracket based on one that was at Coleford Junction.. and another rather dull test video.. More soon (hopefully!) Jon F

Well done on the mountain walk David, I've been up there on the train and walked back but never the other way round! Cheers JF

I did one of my LMS brake vans with their ball race bearings and I have to be very careful where I stable it. Just rolls away for fun when you're not looking! JF

I think these last 2 pictures are better than the published ones! Nice article too. JF

Ooh, I'd forgotten about the 25! Ah, now I shouldn't have said that... Looks better already Jints!! JF

Blimey, does it fit under the signal brackets? Lovely loco though! JF

Us builders can never seem to avoid the GWR signals for long....! JF

Thanks Brian! Hopefully here's another tedious test video! JF

Ooh nearly a month since the last update! Lots going on at the moment Anyway, couple of bog standard GW tubular lower quadrants (I think I'm finally getting the handrail supports the right shape!) An LMS ground signal, a single and a triple shunt signal, all LED lit and servo operated.. Lots more to come as I'm trying to crack all my current orders off before my house move! JF

A few more signals completed for the layout... LMS shunt signal LMS triple shunt signal LMS ground signal All servo operated and LED lit.. Jon F PS fingers/hand not included!

Nice Lattice post Steve!

Ardwick; amazing, surrounded by electricity and lit by gas! Wonderful aura about it though. Cheers JF

It is. He's also interested in the fuel pumps!

Looks the business Steve! Really captured the look of the real thing. I keep having to remind myself they're 4mm scale. Cheers JF

Hmm. I know the whereabouts of the last remaining half roll of Bolton moquette, in fact I'm meeting the owner of it this morning, but as he too owns a Bolton bus and I've pestering him about it for years.... I'll have to see if I can sneak it into the van when he's not looking! JF

That would be nice. "Just nipping to Laura Ashley's for a roll of East Kent moquette love." "Ooh, can you pick me up a roll of Bolton Transport while you're at it?" JF

For a short while in the mid 1970's our school bus we had at Deane Grammar in Bolton was an ex East Kent Beadle bodied AEC coach. MJG 50 I think. A very fast comfortable and attractive vehicle until the physics teacher blew the head gasket on it. Back to Geoff Lister's scrapyard it went! To my eternal shame I never took a picture of it. JF

..and expensive too I would imagine. My own bus is a 74 seater and it's looking like I'll have re-do them all JF

Painted and weathered... JF

Painted and weathered.... More soon JF

A little bit of progress on your first signal.. More later! Jon F.

Back on to the LMS upper quadrants again! This one uses an etched brass tapered post and Scale Signal Supply etched arms. It will be LED lit and servo operated. I usually use by own cast arms for U/Cs but I was very kindly gifted some SSS etched ones. They are made from a two piece spec plate and separate blade. I bashed a bit of rivet detail where necessary to give them a bit more texture. The blades are half etched with a fine ridge on the back edges to represent the flanged edge. Much finer than my cast ones but extra work to construct! The extra pins you can see on the back are arm stops but they clashed with my lamp castings so were removed. Had to resort to the old method of a small pin in the post acting on the arm tails! The post is a privately etched example which folds up a treat as long as you run a scrawker along the half etched fold line before bending. So much easier than a wooden one and I can solder everything to it instead of pinning and glueing things and of course the wire for the LEDs is fed down through it. Now ready for the paint shop and should be finished by the end of today More Soon JF

This looks an excellent development Steve, really looking forward to seeing the end result with this one! Cheers JF

A big shunt out at Freckleton (home of the RVPT) enabled a rare chance for me to actually see a full view of my bus I'm restoring. Usually there's something parked 3 ft to it's left at all times so as soon as I saw the buses moving out I grabbed my camera. Within 10 minutes it was buried again! The smoke wasn't mine I hasten to add! The bonnet is missing as I was repairing the main hinge and one of the catches!! JF